Jul 032023
 


Henri Matisse The Dessert – Harmony in Red 1908

 

As France Rocked by Riots Again, Macron Looks Like ‘Spent Force’ (Sp.)
France To Shut Internet Services To Control Riots (R.)
Macron Asks Ministers to Restore Order in France (Sp.)
A Matryoshka of Psyops: General Armageddon Is Not Going Anywhere (Pepe Escobar)
Value of Wagner State Contracts Revealed By Russian Media (RT)
CIA Sees Ukraine Crisis As Unique ‘Opportunity’ (RT)
Ukrainian Commander Complains About French Tanks – AFP (RT)
Families Of Fallen Ukrainian Soldiers Demand More Cemeteries (RT)
US Congress May Need To Impeach Supreme Court Judges – AOC (RT)
Ukraine Could Become World’s First Cashless Economy – Official (RT)
Major Revaluation Of Gold & Precious Metals Is Imminent (Von Greyerz)
Nothing Can Stop Currency Crisis & War Crisis – David Morgan (USAW)
Jim Rogers: De-Dollarization Fuelled by Soaring US Debt (Sp.)

 

 

Happy birthday Julian

 

 

 

Caviezel
https://twitter.com/i/status/1675534694643904512

 

 

 

 

Tom Renz
https://twitter.com/i/status/1675189276995190784

 

 

Grossi
https://twitter.com/i/status/1675509498117586945

 

 

Vaccine, anyone?

 

 

Trump gender
https://twitter.com/i/status/1675403134133321728

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He still hasn’t declared a state of emergency.

As France Rocked by Riots Again, Macron Looks Like ‘Spent Force’ (Sp.)

France has already seen five consecutive nights of violence after the shooting of 17-year-old driver of Algerian descent Nahel Merzouk by a police officer. What do the immigrant riots mean for the country and Emmanuel Macron’s presidency? “Immigrant riots are an already old and frequent occurrence in France where a large legal and illegal population of mostly African and Near Eastern origin has not been successfully assimilated and does not regard itself as French,” Come Carpentier de Gourdon, geopolitical analyst and convener of the editorial board of World Affairs, told Sputnik. “The second or third-generation youth is troublesome, frustrated and aggressive as it has internalized grudges against the former colonizers and thinks it has a right to live by its own rules. Its educational level is generally low and work opportunities are few.”

“Drug dealing has become very prevalent in many low-income peripheral neighborhoods and brought much illegal wealth to the ring leaders of the local gangs (…) In one sentence, many of those immigrants belong to broken tribal societies where ethnic and religious solidarity is the main bond and where the values of civility and respect for a ‘foreign’ elected and bureaucratic state structure are largely meaningless.” Nahel Merzouk, the teenager of Algerian descent, was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop on June 27. As per the Daily Mail, the passenger who was with Nahel in the car at the time of the shooting, broke his silence on July 1, claiming that one of the police officers threatened the teenager and allegedly told him: “Don’t move or I’ll put a bullet in your head.” The passenger went on to claim that the second officer said: “Shoot him.” The first officer allegedly hit the teenager with the butt of his gun two times. After that Merzouk released the break and was then shot down.

The 38-year-old police officer who killed Merzouk has been put under investigation over charges of voluntary homicide. The policeman’s lawyer disputed claims that the officer had threatened to shoot the teenager in the head before firing. Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) subjected Paris to criticism, as Merzouk’s death became the third fatal shooting by law enforcement officers during traffic stops in France in 2023, and the 21st since 2020, according to the mainstream media. The teenager’s death became a pretext for nationwide protests. On July 1, around 45,000 French policemen were deployed throughout the country. The protests spilled over into Switzerland and Belgium. Over 100 rioters attacked shops and police officers Lausanne, while in Belgium’s capital Brussels, protests kicked off on 30 June and proceeded relatively peacefully.

Commenting on the unfolding havoc in France, leader of the right-wing French Reconquete party, Eric Zemmour, stated: “We are in the early stages of a civil war. This is an ethnic revolt…. The French are witnessing what it means to be the product of mad immigration.” “Police brutality is more of a pretext than a real cause for most rioters, despite real cases of abuse of power and unjustified violence,” said de Gourdon. “Lawbreakers of immigrant origin seek to use their identity to claim virtual immunity. They often refuse to obey police summons on the grounds that they are discriminated against and many threaten and insult the police. They thus put themselves in the situation of being suspects and dangerous and those who are law-abiding among them get painted with the same brush.”

If organized crime and drug-related gangs hijack the protests, it could pose a serious challenge to French national security, warned Paolo Raffone, a strategic analyst and director of the CIPI Foundation in Brussels. “The appearance in the riots of Kalashnikovs is not a good sign,” Raffone told Sputnik. “Many countries in Europe live under enormous economic distress that has left social scarfs and divide lines within the society. This situation is the result of the neoliberal privatization policies enforced by the EU and the governments over the past 30 years. After the terrorist legislation enacted in 2001 and the austerity policies after 2008, the pandemics and the central banks’ rise of interest rates to combat the inflation, the situation is generally steaming up in all European countries. Emulation processes may easily occur if triggered by an accident.”

 

 

GADDAFI (2011): “If instead of a stable government which guarantees security, these bands linked to bin Laden take control, the Africans will move in a mass towards Europe and the Mediterranean will become a sea of chaos.”

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How to get popular.

France To Shut Internet Services To Control Riots (R.)

The French government decided to shut down internet service in certain areas amid riots turned violent to prevent the spread of false information. Police officials quoting France Interior Ministry said the ban on social media is to secure the life and property of the citizens. The French Police said landline and mobile service will be restored. Rioting across France was less intense overnight, the interior ministry said on Sunday, as tens of thousands of police were deployed following the funeral of a teenager of North African descent whose shooting by police has sparked nationwide unrest. The government poured 45,000 police onto the streets to try to keep a lid on a fifth night of unrest after Saturday’s funeral of Nahel, a 17-year-old with Algerian and Moroccan parents, who was shot during a traffic stop on Tuesday in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.


Since then rioters have torched cars and looted stores, but also targeted town halls, police stations and schools – buildings that represent the French state. President Emmanuel Macron postponed a state visit to Germany that was due to have begun on Sunday to handle the worst crisis for his leadership since the “Yellow Vest” protests paralysed much of France in late 2018. He was due to meet his ministers on Sunday evening to review the situation, the presidency said, after the prime minister said on Friday the government’s “crisis unit” had been activated until further notice.

Cheap labor

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What can they do that he cannot?

Macron Asks Ministers to Restore Order in France (Sp.)

French President Emmanuel Macron, during a meeting with ministers on Sunday night, called on them to do everything possible to restore order in France amid ongoing unrest, local TV reported. Macron met with French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and several other ministers at the Elysee Palace on Sunday evening to discuss the situation in the country. A local TV channel cited participants in the meeting who said that Macron had asked the prime minister, the interior minister and the justice minister to continue doing everything possible to restore order in France. Macron also said that the French government must continue supporting law enforcement officers and members of special services who have been mobilized over the past five days.


A source told the channel that Macron was planning to receive more than 220 mayors of the communes affected by the riots at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Friday that more than 45,000 law enforcement officers, including special units, were involved in the fight against riots in France, while over 300 police officers and gendarmes were wounded in the first three days of unrest in the country. France Info reported citing a government source on Saturday that French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne had urged all cabinet ministers to return to Paris and stay there amid ongoing unrest in the country. On Friday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the French government to “seriously address the deep problems of racism and discrimination in law enforcement” after a 17-year-old was killed by police in France.

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“..there are no heavy weapons to be confiscated. Already on Monday, June 26, Wagner had moved their heavy weapons to Belarus..”

A Matryoshka of Psyops: General Armageddon Is Not Going Anywhere (Pepe Escobar)

To clear the fog, let’s start with a roundup of the usual “winner” suspects. First one is undoubtedly Belarus. Due to the priceless mediation of Old Man Luka, Minsk is now gifted with the most experienced army in the world: the Wagner musicians, masters of conventional (Libya, Ukraine) and non-conventional (Syria, Central African Republic) war. That is already inflicting the Fear of Hell in NATO, which is suddenly facing in its eastern flank a super pro army, very well equipped, and de facto uncontrollable, and on top of it hosted by a nation now equipped with nuclear weapons. Simultaneously, Russia props up dissuasion on its western front. Like clockwork that is leading NATOstan to invest in ballooning military budgets (with funds it doesn’t have). That process happens to be a key plank of Russian strategy since at least March 2018.

And as an extra bonus Russia creates a 24/7 threat to the whole of Kiev’s northern front. Not bad for a “mutiny”. Way more complex is Russia’s internal dynamics. Putin’s current and subsequent difficult decisions may entail loss of popularity coupled with loss of internal stability -depending on the manner Kremlin-defined strategic victories are presented to Russian public opinion. Whatever 24/7 NATOstan mainstream media spin may come up with, the Kremlin’s official explanation for June 24 boils down to a Prighozin demonstration: he was just trying to shake things up. It’s way more complicated than that. There were strategic gains, of course, and Prighozin seems to have followed a very risky script that in the end favors Moscow. But it’s still too early to tell.

A key sub-plot is how the Dance of the Oligarchs will proceed. Independent Russian media was already expecting some – treasonous – players, including state functionaries, to buy their one-way ticket when the going got tough (or to say they were “ill”, or refuse to answer important calls). The Duma – fed by Bortnikov’s FSB – is already working on a hefty list. The Russian system – and Russian society as well – see people like these as supremely toxic: in fact much more dangerous than the demshiza (a term that mixes “democracy” and “schizophrenia”, applied to globalist neoliberals). On the military front, it gets even more complicated. Putin has charged Defense Minister Shoigu to compile the list of Generals to be promoted after The Longest Day. To put it mildly, for quite a few people, from many different persuasions, Shoigu has become a toxic element in Russian politics.

Wagner – rebranded, and under new management – will continue to serve Russia’s interests via Minsk, including in Africa. Old Man Luka, wily as ever, has already firmly stated there won’t be any provocations against NATO via Wagner. Wagner recruiting bureaus will not be opened in Belarus. Belarussians may join Wagner directly. As it stands, most of Wagner fighters are still in Lugansk. For all practical purposes, from now on the Russian government won’t have anything to do, militarily and financially, with Wagner. Additionally, there are no heavy weapons to be confiscated. Already on Monday, June 26, Wagner had moved their heavy weapons to Belarus. What remains – and had not been moved during The Longest Day – was returned to the Ministry of Defense (MoD).

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$10 billion is real money. Russia’s total defense budget is some $80 billion.

Value of Wagner State Contracts Revealed By Russian Media (RT)

Evgeny Prigozhin’s holding, which includes the Wagner Group, has enjoyed substantial benefits from working for the Russian government, securing contracts worth hundreds of billions of rubles, Dmitry Kiselyov, the head of the Rossiya Segodnya media group, said on Sunday. Speaking on air during his weekly news program, Kiselyov said that Prigozhin’s Wagner private military company “has received a little more than 858 billion rubles ($9.8 billion) under the contracts it signed with the state.” He added that under other contracts, Prigozhin’s holding Concord, which is also engaged in the catering and media business, had provided services to the tune of 845 billion rubles. “This does not mean that they have earned so much, but it is still indicative of the scale of the business and the scale of ambitions,” Kiselyov noted.

He went on to point out that Prigozhin’s company had a strong media clout, adding that some people might have had the impression that the Wagner Group was the most capable frontline unit Russia had. Stressing that he did not want to “detract from anybody’s merits,”Kiselyov recalled that regular Russian units had been faster in capturing the heavily defended city of Mariupol than Wagner troops were in seizing the Donbass stronghold of Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine). His remarks come after Russian President Vladimir Putin noted on Tuesday that the Wagner Group was completely dependent on state support. He claimed that for the last year the Russian authorities had allocated 86 billion rubles to pay wages and provide incentives for Wagner fighters.

At the same time, according to the Russian leader, Prigozhin’s Concord company received 80 billion rubles from the state in a year for supplying food products to the army. Last month, Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry of staging a deadly missile strike on a Wagner camp, and vowed retaliation. The ministry denied the allegation. His troops proceeded to capture several military installations in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, with some forces driving on towards Moscow. However, Prigozhin stopped his advance as part of a deal mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. According to the agreement’s conditions, the Russian government consented to drop a criminal case against the PMC leader, and permit him to relocate to Belarus.

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“..the spy agency was simply “wasting American taxpayers’ dollars” as attempts to divide Russian society from abroad won’t work..”

CIA Sees Ukraine Crisis As Unique ‘Opportunity’ (RT)

America’s top intelligence official has openly cheered the alleged internal discord that he claims is rising in Moscow because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, saying the CIA has been given an historic opportunity to recruit spies and undermine President Vladimir Putin’s government. CIA director William Burns claimed on Saturday at a Ditchley Foundation lecture in the UK that “disaffection with the war will continue to gnaw away at the Russian leadership beneath the steady diet of state propaganda and practiced repression.” “That disaffection creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us at CIA, at our core a human intelligence service. We’re not letting it go to waste,” he added.

Burns noted that the CIA launched a Telegram channel in May to recruit military officers, government officials and scientists who can provide intelligence on the Russian leadership and economy. “We had 2.5 million views in the first week, and we’re very much open for business,” he said. Moscow insisted at the time that the spy agency was simply “wasting American taxpayers’ dollars” as attempts to divide Russian society from abroad won’t work, according to Ambassador Anatoly Antonov. Washington is betting that the Ukraine crisis will stir enough division to help turn potential Russian intelligence sources against President Putin. Burns made his speech one week after private military contractor Evgeny Prigozhin ended his brief rebellion against Russia’s top generals.

The aborted mutiny was far less “bloody” than US officials had expected, according to CNN. Burns has insisted that Washington played no part in the uprising, but argued that Prigozhin’s short-lived revolt was “a vivid reminder of the corrosive effect of Putin’s war on his own society and his own regime.” Putin said last week that the Russian people reacted to the crisis by showing unity, spoiling the hopes of foreign enemies that the nation would be “split asunder and drown in a bloody feud.” Putin’s approval rating among Russians was little changed at 81% after the aborted insurrection, even according to the independent pollster Levada Center, which had been listed as a foreign agent in Russia since 2016.

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“This is what liberty, equality and brotherhood look like.”

Ukrainian Commander Complains About French Tanks – AFP (RT)

A Ukrainian military commander has reportedly raised concerns that light combat tanks supplied to the former Soviet republic by France aren’t suitable for attacks against Russian defensive lines because their thin armor can easily be pierced by artillery shells and other weapons. Touted earlier this year by Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov as a “sniper rifle on fast wheels,” the French AMX-10 RC armored fighting vehicle has proven “impractical” during Kiev’s current counteroffensive against Russian forces, Agence-France Presse (AFP) reported on Sunday. One four-man crew has died because of the tank’s thin armor, which can easily be pierced by Russian weaponry, a Ukrainian battalion commander told the media outlet. “Unfortunately, there was one case when the crew died in the vehicle,”said the 34-year-old Ukrainian major, whom AFP identified only by his call sign, Spartanets.

“There was artillery shelling, and a shell exploded near the vehicle. The fragments pierced the armor, and the ammunition set detonated.” Reznikov was filmed in April riding in an AMX-10 RC, which was among the Western weaponry rushed to Kiev this spring for a long-awaited counteroffensive that finally began in June. “These fast, modern machines with powerful guns will aid us in liberating our territory,” Reznikov said in a Twitter post thanking French President Emmanuel Macron and Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu. “This is what liberty, equality and brotherhood look like.” However, Spartanets said the French tanks have proven to be ineffective in front-line assaults. “The guns are good, the observation devices are good, but unfortunately, there is thin armor, and it is impractical to use them in the front line,” he said. Just sending out the vehicles so they get destroyed, I consider it is impractical and unnecessary because it’s primarily a risk for the crew.”

The Ukrainian commander added that the AMX-10 RCs also has been plagued by breakdowns in their gear boxes, possibly because of their use on dirt roads. Kiev’s troops received one month of training in France, which wasn’t adequate to master operating the vehicle, he said. The 20-ton AMX-10 RC travels on wheels, rather than tracks. It was developed in the 1970s for armed reconnaissance and attacks on tanks. The French military is in the process of replacing its fleet of AMX-10 RCs with the more modern EBRC Jaguar. Thousands of Ukrainian troops have been killed in the counteroffensive, which has failed to breach Russia’s defensive lines. Dozens of Western-supplied armored vehicles have been destroyed, including German-made Leopard tanks and AMX-10 RCs, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The New York Times reported last week that 17 of the 113 Bradley fighting vehicles supplied to Kiev by the US have been damaged or destroyed.

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“..management of the site had decided to exhume unmarked graves from World War I, as it ran out of space..”

Families Of Fallen Ukrainian Soldiers Demand More Cemeteries (RT)

A small-scale protest, staged by families of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, including members of the notorious neo-Nazi Azov regiment, was held in the heart of Kiev on Friday. The protesters gathered in the Independence Square (the Maidan), urging Ukraine’s authorities to build a national military cemetery. The protesters carried portraits of their fallen relatives, as well as displayed several banners. One of them read “Government, where’s the Ukrainian Arlington?” while another said “Military cemetery cannot wait.” One large banner also stated “National military cemetery must emerge in Bykovnya in 2023,” referring to promises to create such a site in the aforementioned Kiev suburb, previously voiced by top Ukrainian officials.

“The construction of the national military cemetery, promised by the authorities this year, has not even started. The authorities must hear us and understand that the cemetery for the soldiers who died in this war cannot wait,” one of the event’s organizers, the head of civic group ‘Heart Out,’ Vera Litvinenko, said during the rally, as quoted by local media. Litvinenko’s son was killed during the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has been raging on since February 2022. Lack of space to bury fallen soldiers has apparently been an issue for Ukraine for some time already. Multiple videos circulating online show rows of fresh graves emerging at the burial sites all across the country.

In some locations, authorities have to exhume old graves to make room for the newly deceased, the New York Times reported last month. For instance, a groundskeeper at one of the cemeteries told the newspaper that the management of the site had decided to exhume unmarked graves from World War I, as it ran out of space.Both Ukraine and Russia have been tight-lipped on their frontline casualties, each claiming that their opponent has sustained significantly more than they report. Moscow has repeatedly accused the collective West of pushing Kiev into waging war “to the last Ukrainian,” warning that the continuous flow of military aid to the country is only bound to increase the cost of war for Ukrainians.

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“..abusing its power with “authoritarian” rulings..” Nuff said.

US Congress May Need To Impeach Supreme Court Judges – AOC (RT)

US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) has accused the Supreme Court of abusing its power with “authoritarian” rulings on such issues as abortion, LGBTQ protections, and race-based college admissions, arguing that lawmakers should consider impeaching justices for breaking laws. She told CNN on Sunday that if Chief Justice John Roberts does not voluntarily testify in a congressional probe of alleged ethics violations by Supreme Court judges, lawmakers should consider issuing subpoenas to demand answers. The New York Democrat also called for imposing more stringent ethics guidelines to help maintain a proper balance of power among the nation’s three branches of government. “There also must be impeachment on the table,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We have a broad level of tools to deal with misconduct, overreach, and abuse of power.”

The congresswoman made her comments after a string of rulings last week in which the nation’s high court struck down President Joe Biden’s plan to wipe out $400 billion in student loan debt, blocked colleges from admitting students based on skin color, and upheld the free-speech rights of a Christian graphic artist who refused to offer her services for same-sex weddings. She also cited last year’s decision overturning Roe v Wade, a landmark 1973 ruling that had protected abortion as a constitutional right. “The courts, if they were to proceed without any check on their power, without any balance on their power, then we will start to see an undemocratic and, frankly, dangerous authoritarian expansion of power in the Supreme Court, which is what we are seeing now,”Ocasio-Cortez said.

For instance, the court’s ruling on refusing services for same-sex weddings stripped away “the full personhood and dignity of LGBTQ people,” she said. “These are the types of rulings that signal a dangerous creep towards authoritarianism and centralization of power in the court.” Ocasio-Cortez and other members of the far-left “Squad” group of Democrat representatives have called for expanding the court to 15 justices, arguing that “democracy is in crisis” because six of the nine current judges were appointed by Republican presidents. Biden, who would get to appoint six left-leaning justices in such a scenario, said on Thursday that expanding the court would harmfully politicize the judicial branch.

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That doesn’t seem to rhyme with corruption. How are you going to pay the 10% to the Big Guy?

Ukraine Could Become World’s First Cashless Economy – Official (RT)

Ukraine is considering imposing a complete ban on the circulation of cash in the country in a bid to stamp out corruption, the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, Rostyslav Shurma, revealed on Wednesday. Speaking at the London Ukraine Recovery Conference, he said his government will present a roadmap on “whether we will do it or not.” The politician expressed hope that “the decision will be ‘yes’,” adding that such a measure would help prevent bribery. “These are very deep and serious discussions within our team, the prime minister and the president. We want to become the first totally cashless economy,”Komsomolskaya Pravda in Ukraine quoted Shurma as saying. The initiative could become a “very effective instrument for liquidation of 95-99% of all corruption cases”in Ukraine, according to the official.


Economists, however, have expressed doubts over the scheme. Ukrainian financial analyst Aleksey Kushch noted that a ban on legal tender would prompt a flow of the hryvna into dollars, triggering a collapse of the national currency. Moreover, he pointed out that hard cash becomes the only means of payment during power outages. In Ukraine “people have been paying bribes through offshore companies for a long time, so cash has no effect on corruption,” the head of the Ukrainian Analytical Center, Alexander Okhrimenko, argued. He claimed that Shurma was engaging in “meaningless publicity and just said something stupid.” According to the analyst, around 40% of settlements in Ukraine are currently conducted in cash.

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“I have never seen a more obvious situation during my soon 60 years in investment markets. ”

Major Revaluation Of Gold & Precious Metals Is Imminent (Von Greyerz)

We have been in the physical precious metals market for almost 25 years for wealth preservation purposes. During that time gold has gone up 6-12 times in most Western currencies and silver slightly less. As the premier company for bigger wealth preservation investors in physical gold and silver, outside the financial system, we have had a very exciting journey so far. But looking at the last 23 years I am very clear that in spite of greater returns in physical gold than most investment classes and much lower risk, the real moves haven’t even started yet. I have never seen a more obvious situation during my soon 60 years in investment markets.

Although some of the precious metals mining stocks will vastly outperform physical gold and silver, we will stick to what we know best in order to serve our esteemed clients as well as future wealth preservation investors. In coming years, most investors will lose a major part of their investments and net worth as they hold on to their conventional investments. For a quarter of a century I have been standing on a soap box, imploring investors to protect their wealth. During that time we have seen The Nasdaq lose 80% in the early 2000s and the financial system being a few minutes from implosion in 2008. But with the help of finger-snapping $10s of trillions into existence, most markets have remained strong. Still, the (almost) Everything Collapse is hanging over us and this time finger-snapping money into existence is unlikely to help.

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“..you cannot go from one fiat phony currency, lie-based system into another one that is digital only.”

Nothing Can Stop Currency Crisis & War Crisis – David Morgan (USAW)

Economic analyst and financial writer David Morgan went against the majority of financial gurus and predicted at the end of 2022 that there was no way the Fed was going to cut interest rates. He said on USAWatchdiog.com in December, “Cut Interest Rates & Dollar is Done, Toast, It’s Over.” Fed Head Jay Powell said this past week the Fed was raising interest rates at least two more times to “fight inflation.” This was a direct hit by Morgan. Morgan sees a coming currency crisis and a war crisis. Morgan explains, “Yes, we have both a currency crisis and a war crisis. Let’s start with the currency crisis. My favorite phrase for what is going on is ‘All fiat currency fails.’

We have never seen a time in all of recorded history that an unbacked currency does not go basically and effectively to zero. When you say that ‘All fiat fails,’ there is a subgroup that says, yeah, but not the U.S. dollar. . . .I don’t know how many people have given me pushback on that statement from all over the world. . . . When I say fail, I don’t mean it goes to absolute zero. What it means is a currency fails and a new system is implemented. . . . History is on my side. . . . The precursor to this is what takes place. Substitution. What is substitution? Crypto currency and gold and silver, of course. . . . and things like people going off grid. All of these are indicators of how to mitigate the end of the U.S. dollar or the end of the currency crisis. We have this all over the place. . . . Sooner or later, there will be a run for the exits. Where are the exits? Crypto currencies, gold and silver, barter clubs or the BRICS currency.”

Morgan contends you just cannot run into an alternative to the U.S. dollar because there are going to be supply disruptions for everything. You might not be able to get what you need no matter how much money you have. So, be prepared in every way you can. Morgan also says, “The Great Reset is what the bankers want, but the Great Reject . . . will come from many who will not want to go down that way. That’s what is going to be the most interesting because anyone who is awake, and there are more people waking up all the time, they will understand that you cannot go from one fiat phony currency, lie-based system into another one that is digital only.”

On the war crisis, the dark powers running the world want war. Why? Morgan says, “It covers up all the things that are wrong, and it also takes them off the hook. It was the war. The war did it. All wars are bankers’ wars, and they are on both sides. They make money regardless. . . . The main things are profit, but it also is mitigating their responsibilities. They can get most people to think that it was the war that caused all this poverty, and, of course, the war will do that. . . . They don’t have a real conflict with Ukraine and Russia. They just need a way out, and it is the most profitable way out. They are going to default on all this debt, and this is how they are going to do it.”

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“This is not a good time to be a young American. I’m an old American. It’s a good time to be an old American because I don’t have to pay the debt. But my kids are going to have to pay the debt..”

Jim Rogers: De-Dollarization Fuelled by Soaring US Debt (Sp.)

The US president declared on Wednesday in a Chicago speech that “Bidenomics is working.” Per Joe Biden, his economic policies have prevented the nation from sliding into recession, driven the strongest recovery among the developed economies, and managed to tame inflation. Nonetheless, just 34% of Americans believe that the country’s economy is in good shape, according to NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. One needs to be cautious when listening to politicians taking credit for taming inflation and saving the day, according to Jim Rogers, a legendary American investor. “I would concur that the worst is yet to come,” Rogers told Sputnik. “It always comes later after normal fluctuations and corrections. I do not agree with the White House that everything is okay now, and I certainly don’t agree that they should take credit for it. To look back at previous inflation anywhere in the world, you will see it goes up, down, up, down. This is the way markets work.”

The crux of the matter is that the US is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world, said the investor. Indeed, the US national debt has reached over $32.3 trillion, or $96,702 for every single person in the country. “Every nation in history that has gotten into that kind of situation has wound up having problems,” Rogers explained. “We have printed a lot of money, we have borrowed and spent a lot of money, which is wonderful for the short term, but eventually we have to pay the price. Inflation is going to get worse. The debt problems are going to get worse, and the US is going to suffer. This is not a good time to be a young American. I’m an old American. It’s a good time to be an old American because I don’t have to pay the debt. But my kids are going to have to pay the debt and they will have a lot of problems.”

Even though DC policymakers are insisting that the US economy is too big and too important to default, and so technologically advanced that it could keep growing despite soaring debt, the reality could be harsher than they dare imagine, as per the investor. To illustrate his point, Rogers referred to the 1980s, when inflation was similarly bad. Then Federal Reserve Chair Paul A. Volcker resorted to sharp interest rate hikes that exceeded 19% by January 1981. It worked at the time. However, in 1983, the United States was still a creditor nation, Rogers pointed out. “The inflation now is worse,” the investor said. “Now the United States is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world. So, sure, things are okay at the moment, but ‘at the moment’ is not going to last forever. Somebody has got to pay this debt. Somebody has to print more money. Somebody has to borrow more money. And when you borrow huge amounts of money, interest rates will go higher and higher, inflation will go higher because so much money has been printed.”

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In 1878, Isabella Bover, a renowned French model, was carefully selected to embody the spirit of the Statue of Liberty. This iconic statue, a gift from the generous people of France to their American counterparts, was intended to symbolize the enduring friendship and commemorate the momentous occasion of America’s centenary in 1876. Isabella Bover’s captivating presence became the face that would forever grace this monumental masterpiece, representing the shared values of liberty and freedom cherished by both nations.

 

 

Humpback

 

 

Leopard sleep

 

 

Great white
https://twitter.com/i/status/1675533770340855808

 

 

Swans

 

 


Canada is so big, it’s easternmost city (St. John’s) is closer to Venice, Italy (4833km) than it is Vancouver (5004km). Source:

 

 

 

 

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Jul 012023
 
 July 1, 2023  Posted by at 12:00 pm Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  3 Responses »


Albert Bierstadt Storm in the Mountains c1870

 

 

Andrew Korybko:

 

It was earlier advised to “Be Very Skeptical Of US Intel Claiming That Surovikin May Have Helped Plan Prigozhin’s Coup”, and now two new developments lend even more credence to those suspicions. The “investigative project” of exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was designated by Russia as a foreign agent last year due to his operations being funded by Ukraine, shared “documents” with CNN purporting to show that over 30 senior military and intelligence officials are secretly VIP Wagner members.

The outlet reported on these alleged findings around the same time that they published former Vice President Mike Pence’s answer to the question that one of their journalists asked him during his unannounced visit to Kiev regarding his opinion of whether or not President Putin has full command of his military. He claimed that this is an “open question” in light of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed coup attempt last weekend, thus suggesting that Russian leader is struggling to exert his authority.

These two back-to-back news items were intended to leave their audience with the impression that the President Putin remains at risk of being overthrown by his armed forces, which is nothing but an artificially manufactured information warfare narrative designed to sow doubts about his leadership. It simultaneously attempts to influence him and his circle into carrying out large-scale purges that could adversely affect the special operation while also making the public think that he’s weak if he doesn’t.

The New York Times earlier admitted that “American officials have an interest in pushing out information that undermines the standing of General Surovikin, whom they view as more competent and more ruthless than other members of the command. His removal would undoubtedly benefit Ukraine, whose Western-backed troops are pushing a new counteroffensive that is meant to try to win back territory seized by Moscow.” It’s with this motivation in mind that the latest reports should be interpreted.

No honest observer on either side of the debate really thinks that an exiled Ukrainian-funded oligarch and one of the US’ previously most powerful neoconservatives have President Putin’s best interests in mind when suggesting that he’s at risk of being overthrown if he doesn’t purge the Russian military. To the contrary, the only reason why these insincerely expressed concerns were publicly shared and then amplified by one of the world’s top Mainstream Media (MSM) outlets was for subversive purposes.

What’s curious to note is that the MSM and their putative competitors in the Alt-Media Community (AMC) are each aggressively pushing weaponized conspiracy theories to their respective audiences in the aftermath of recent events. The first wants folks to think that last weekend’s regime change plot involved high-level military-intelligence collaborators who might soon give it a second shot out of desperation to preempt their supposedly impending purge if President Putin doesn’t remove them first.

At the same time, top influencers in the second have suggested that President Putin colluded with Prigozhin to stage a so-called “false flag coup” to redeploy Wagner to Belarus and/or expose internal enemies, thus implying that he ordered that group’s chief to shoot down Russian pilots. It’s unclear whether those who propagate this totally ridiculous theory actually believe it, but this baseless innuendo is nevertheless anti-Russian to the core by hinting that its leader therefore committed treason too.

The reality is that Western intelligence agencies masterfully manipulated Prigozhin’s rivalry with the Defense Ministry, the paranoia that this provoked, and his delusions of grandeur after Wagner led Russia to victory in the Battle of Artyomovsk to plant the seeds in his mind for carrying out a coup. He therefore functioned as the West’s most potentially destabilizing “useful idiot” in history who risked sparking a civil war that was only narrowly averted at the last minute as was explained here and here.

While it’s possible that senior military-intelligence officials are VIP Wagner members, that can’t be known for sure until the FSB’s investigation concludes, which might even determine that there’s truth to this claim whether in whole or in part but that it isn’t evidence of a deeper and more serious plot. In any case, the speculation of those Ukrainian-backed and US figures like Khodorkovsky and Pence respectively should be seen as meddling since they don’t have innocent intentions in talking about this.

They only want to manipulate the public’s perceptions of President Putin and the state of affairs in Russia, which their MSM allies like CNN are helping them do by maximally amplifying their messages. Likewise, those in the AMC who spew anti-Russian conspiracy theories about Prigozhin’s failed coup attempt such as suggesting that President Putin was in on it and thus colluded to have his own country’s pilots shot down by Wagner are also scheming to manipulate the public, albeit a different segment.

Taken together, they represent complementary efforts of the same destabilization operation that’s actively underway in the aftermath of last weekend’s events, which aims to manipulate perceptions among the MSM’s and AMC’s audiences alike about what recently took place. These weaponized conspiracy theories are being deployed to discredit President Putin, his government, and the Russian security services in the minds of their targets, and those who launder them are these three’s enemies.

 

 

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Jul 012023
 
 July 1, 2023  Posted by at 9:11 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , ,  48 Responses »


Edward Hopper Approaching a city 1946

 

Time To Make Peace In Ukraine, Trump Tells Reuters (TASS)
Arming Ukraine Is A Cynical And Dangerous NATO Ploy – Bowes (RT)
Poland Wants US Nuclear Weapons – PM (RT)
Russia Always Emerged Stronger From All Troubles – Lavrov (TASS)
Russia Will Destroy Foreign Fighters, Western Generals In Ukraine – Lavrov (RT)
Ray McGovern: Russia’s ‘Coup’ Is Actually Biden’s Disaster (SP)
Orban Taunts EU’s Drained Coffers With Travolta Meme (Sp.)
Ukraine’s Top General ‘Pissed Off’ Over Counteroffensive Criticism – WaPo (RT)
Kiev Considers ‘Holding Crimea Hostage’ – WaPo (RT)
West’s Ideas About How To End Crisis In Ukraine ‘Schizophrenic’ – Lavrov (TASS)
CIA Chief Made Secret Trip to Ukraine to Discuss Battle Plans, Ceasefire (Sp.)
CIA Head Calls Russian Intel Chief To Say US Uninvolved In Wagner Mutiny (TASS)
Hunter Biden’s Lawyer Sends Scathing Letter to GOP Chair (Sp.)
The Long, Hot Summer (Kunstler)
America Is a Military Dictatorship Disguised as a Democracy (Whitehead)

 

 

How much longer can Macron last? Very little in the press about the riots, and to post 100 videos of fires here is also not great. But it’s serious.

“2 Police Unions have written to Macron threatening to revolt. “Today the police are in combat as we are at war. Tomorrow we will be in the resistance and the government should be aware of this”

 

 

Comer

 

 

 

 

Maté Ritter

 

 

Tucker pride

 

 

Blumenthal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cancer cells

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I think the biggest thing that the US should be doing right now is making peace..”

Time To Make Peace In Ukraine, Trump Tells Reuters (TASS)

The time is ripe for making peace in Ukraine, and the United States should contribute to the peace process right now, acting as a mediator, former US President Donald Trump said in a telephone interview with Reuters on Thursday. “I think the biggest thing that the US should be doing right now is making peace – getting Russia and Ukraine together and making peace,” he said. “This is the time to do it,” he added. The ex-US leader also believes Ukraine may be allowed to keep what it has “earned.” “I think they would be entitled to keep much of what they’ve earned and I think that Russia likewise would agree to that. You need the right mediator, or negotiator, and we don’t have that right now,” he lamented.


Without either elaborating on what Trump meant under “earned” or citing the former US president directly, Reuters said that he did not rule out that Kiev might have to concede some territory to Russia. Everything would be “subject to negotiation” though, Trump added. The former US leader has repeatedly said publicly that he would broker peace in Ukraine in 24 hours if he were to win the 2024 presidential election. However, he never explained exactly how he sees ending this conflict.

Read more …

“..weapons being supplied by NATO and their allies to Ukraine are being wilfully targeted against civilian populations on a daily basis… all miraculously invisible to the Western media..”

Arming Ukraine Is A Cynical And Dangerous NATO Ploy – Bowes (RT)

Western nations are pushing Ukrainian soldiers into suicide missions against Russian forces after providing them with outdated and often inoperative weapons, RT correspondent Chay Bowes has told the UN Security Council. The Irish journalist was among the speakers invited to address to the Council on Thursday, sharing his views on Western lethal aid to Ukraine and the related proliferation risks. The gathering was attended by ambassadors including Russian Permanent Representative Vasily Nebenzya and his UK counterpart Barbara Woodward. Bowes told the delegations that NATO nations have been helping Kiev to build up its military since 2014, training thousands of troops each year. He described the current hostilities as “a proxy conflict, where Ukraine supplies manpower… to support a de-facto NATO operation to prevent a Russian military victory”.

A defeated Ukraine would undermine the US-led military bloc itself, he predicted, which explains the escalation of arms supplies from the West. Many of the weapons provided to Kiev, especially by smaller nations, are often in a poor state of repair, Bowes said, citing multiple reports from the Western media and officials. Some are “outright lethal”to the Ukrainians using them. The sub-par weapons are being “dumped” as part of schemes by the larger powers, primarily the US, to replace and upgrade their own stocks. Meanwhile on the frontline, Kiev’s troops have paid a heavy price for “strategically insignificant” territorial gains during this month’s counteroffensive, he said. Ukrainian action essentially amounts to a “suicidal full-frontal attacks on in-depth prepared defenses”, and allowing them to occur is “deeply cynical” and “sinister”, the reporter argued. “No modern NATO military strategist or senior officer would suggest these maneuvers are anything but an inhumane ticket to tragedy, when commanding their own troops,” Bowes claimed.

“Yet when it comes to Ukrainian young men mounting these assaults being decimated – they are silent.” Continued hostilities are also taking a toll on civilians in Russia, some of which Bowes said he had met personally in places including Belgorod Region. “I’ve seen [Russian] villages burning, I’ve heard artillery strikes, and I have to tell you that weapons being supplied by NATO and their allies to Ukraine are being wilfully targeted against civilian populations on a daily basis… all miraculously invisible to the Western media,” he told the UNSC. Historical precedents, such as the Troubles in Northern Ireland or the terrorist attack on the 2015 Bataclan Theater in Paris, show that even a small number of weapons can cause much suffering by civilians, Bowes warned. The arming of Ukraine may lead to decades of instability in the region and cause spillover effects in far-away nations, he added.

Read more …

Why not give them directly to Kiev?

Poland Wants US Nuclear Weapons – PM (RT)

Warsaw is asking NATO to include it in the bloc’s Nuclear Sharing Program, Prime Minister Mateus Morawiecki told journalists in Brussels on Friday. The program allows the deployment of US nuclear bombs on the territory of other nations. Morawiecki called Poland’s appeal a response to Moscow’s decision to station its tactical nuclear arms in neighboring Belarus. “Due to the fact that Russia intends to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, we are… appealing to… NATO to [allow us] take part in the Nuclear Sharing Program,” the prime minister said. The final decision on the issue would rest with Washington, Morawiecki said, but added that Warsaw sought to “act quickly in this regard.”

Poland “does not want to sit idly,” he explained, while accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of increasing “all sorts of threats.” Launched in 2009, the NATO Nuclear Sharing Program has seen US B-61 nuclear bombs deployed to various locations around Europe, including in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Türkiye. Some nations have appeared to regret allowing the deployments. In 2010, German lawmakers made a decision on the withdrawal of America’s nuclear weapons from Germany but the arms have remained in place. In April 2023, Sevim Dagdelen, the deputy head of the Left party in the Bundestag, demanded a US troop withdrawal from Germany, alongside America’s nuclear weapons.

Moscow and Minsk signed a treaty on Belarus hosting Russian tactical nuclear weapons in May. The atomic warheads will be mounted on Iskander-M missiles and fighter jets specifically modified for the purpose, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at that time. Moscow pointed to the NATO Nuclear Sharing Program as its own justification for the move. An estimated 150 American atomic bombs were deployed across several NATO nations on the European continent as of April 2022.

Read more …

“This is an indirect, but very clear, explicit recognition of who is at war against whom..”

“So, thank you for your concern, but we can handle it ourselves..s”

Russia Always Emerged Stronger From All Troubles – Lavrov (TASS)

The West should not worry about Russia’s national interests; the country has emerged stronger from all troubles, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at an online briefing on Friday. “Thank you for your concern about our national interests, but you shouldn’t feel worried,” Lavrov said, responding to a question from Reuters. About the attempted mutiny in Russia Lavrov said that “Russia has always emerged stronger from any trouble.” “This will be the case this time,” he stressed. “Moreover, we already feel that this process has begun.” Lavrov added that the attempted mutiny in Russia brought to mind only one epithet – “much ado” – and could hardly be described in a different way.


Lavrov recalled how last Saturday some Western officials, in their comments on the internal political situation in Russia, said that “the facade of the Russian authorities has cracked” and that they were doing everything right with regard to Ukraine. Lavrov pointed out that in this way the Western officials acknowledged that it was they (and not Ukraine) who were at war with Russia. Lavrov also recalled the European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell’s statement that the West was doing the right thing by arming Ukraine and called for stepping up arms supplies to Kiev. “This is an indirect, but very clear, explicit recognition of who is at war against whom,” Lavrov pointed out. “So, thank you for your concern, but we can handle it ourselves,” he concluded.

Read more …

“..committing a war crime by allowing mercenaries, Western generals and instructors to use civilian objects to hold all sorts of meetings.”

Russia Will Destroy Foreign Fighters, Western Generals In Ukraine – Lavrov (RT)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Ukraine of allowing foreign mercenaries and Western generals to use civilian infrastructure to fight against Russia, and has vowed to destroy these groups. Speaking at an online briefing on Friday, Lavrov said that Russia has “not seen confirmation of a single fact of deliberate shelling of civilian targets by the Russian army.” He claimed, however, that the Ukrainian side has been “violating international humanitarian law and committing a war crime by allowing mercenaries, Western generals and instructors to use civilian objects to hold all sorts of meetings.”

“If we discover such gatherings, for example, as in Kramatorsk, we will destroy them, because these are people who have declared war on us,” Lavrov said, referring to Russia’s recent high-precision strike on a temporary brigade base in the Donbass city of Kramatorsk on Tuesday. The Russian Defense Ministry had claimed that the base was hosting a staff meeting involving dozens of Ukrainian officers and foreign advisers, and reported that the attack resulted in the deaths of “two generals, up to 50 officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as up to 20 foreign mercenaries and military advisers.”

Russian forces have continued to repel Ukrainian attacks on their defensive positions in Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, as well as in Donbass, since Kiev launched its much-hyped counteroffensive earlier this month. Ukraine has so far been unable to make any significant gains and has suffered numerous casualties, losing hundreds of servicemen and dozens of heavy equipment, including tanks and infantry fighting vehicles provided by Kiev’s Western backers, according to numerous media reports.

Read more …

“Ain’t because McGovern knows everything. It’s because McGovern knows guys who know everything. Scott Ritter. Colonel MacGregor.”

Ray McGovern: Russia’s ‘Coup’ Is Actually Biden’s Disaster (SP)

The reason I adduce the Iraq example is because it’s a mirror image of the media lying and being fed by the intelligence community that matters. Now, there’s something that I have that you don’t have, Robert. You have a much longer record of objectivity and fearless reporting. What I have I was two years an Army infantry intelligence officer. Okay. Now, let me be very brief here. This may sound corny, but the first thing we were drilled into that was drilled into our minds. You do an estimate of the situation. You get a map and you find out where Ukraine is relative to Russia and where the U.S. and Western Europe are. And then you try to figure out how many Russians are under arms and how many how many Ukrainians could be stood up. And then you say, well, are they motivated?

And then you say, well, what kind of weaponry they have? And then you say blocks. Now, locks, not like locks and bagels that were usually in the Bronx. Okay. This is lines of communication and control and supply, actually. Now, there’s no way that Russia facing an existential threat from NATO and the U.S. and Ukraine can lose this battle. And, you know, for proof. Well, don’t believe me now. Check with me in three weeks and see where the situation on the battlefield is, because the Ukrainians are almost down to their last soldier. And the question will be, where do the Russian army stop the Dnieper or do they go all the way to the Polish border? So check with me in three weeks on that. Don’t trust me now. Okay. But the cardinal thing is that Americans have been misled.

And, you know, I’m really glad that whether you’re playing devil’s advocate here or whether you’re I’m really glad you’re posing these questions, because I am supremely confident. Ain’t because McGovern knows everything. It’s because McGovern knows guys who know everything. Scott Ritter. Colonel MacGregor. Just like when I was briefing Schultz, I could say I know these guys who are serious analysts don’t pay any attention to Gates and his boss, Casey. I listen to me and them because we’re giving you the straight scoop. Now, again, my record is there for everyone to see what people call me as some sort of devotee of Putin. But that’s that’s only because what he and I say tend to coincide much more than what John Kirby and others say on behalf of the administration.

Read more …

“Where is the money?”

Orban Taunts EU’s Drained Coffers With Travolta Meme (Sp.)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban trolled the European Commission in a Twitter post on Thursday over its rapidly emptying coffers. “What happened to the 7-year budget?” Orban queried, accompanying his tweet with a John Travolta meme from the movie Pulp Fiction. “How did this happen? What happened to the budget? Where is the money?” were the questions that Orban put out there, as the European Commission requested an increase of €66 billion ($72 billion) on Tuesday for its long-term budget. A review of a draft budget for the 2024-2027 period by the European Commission triggered an urgent need to boost the rapidly dwindling budget, with most of the money ostensibly needed to fund additional assistance for Ukraine.


Viktor Orban’s post on Twitter kicked off a thread of comments. Many took to social media to deplore the money going towards propping up Ukraine’s “corrupt” President Volodymyr Zelensky. Since the beginning of Russia’s special military operation, EU members have provided more than 61.7 billion euros in direct support to Kiev, including over 10 billion euros in military assistance. Moscow has warned repeatedly that such aid threatens to escalate the crisis. Back in May, Hungary blocked the European Union from allocating the eighth €500 million package from the so-called European Peace Fund to pay for military assistance to the Kiev regime. Orban has insisted that the ongoing hostilities stem from a “failure of diplomacy.” Rather than pursuing a strategy of further ramping up tensions, the veteran Hungarian leader urged an immediate end to escalation by the West. Viktor Orban has also offered especially harsh criticism of the European Union’s aggressively anti-Russian policies.

Read more …

“It’s not a show the whole world is watching and betting on or anything..”

Ukraine’s Top General ‘Pissed Off’ Over Counteroffensive Criticism – WaPo (RT)

The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces has vented his frustration over recurring remarks by international commentators and officials that the country’s counterattacks are proceeding too slowly. In an interview with the Washington Post published on Friday, General Valery Zaluzhny stressed that Kiev’s ongoing push – which Moscow claims has failed to gain any ground – is not a spectacle for the entire world to enjoy. “It’s not a show the whole world is watching and betting on or anything. Every day, every meter is given by blood,” he stressed. Zaluzhny, who was earlier reported to have been seriously injured in a Russian missile strike, also said that it “pisses [him] off” when he hears that Ukraine’s offensive is bogged down.

The Ukrainian general also reiterated that without adequate supplies, Kiev would not be able to implement its plans. “But they are being carried out. Yes, maybe not as fast as the participants in the show, the observers, would like, but that is their problem,” he added. Zaluzhny went on to complain that Ukraine still needs more weapons from its Western backers, saying that his troops have often been outgunned by their opponent due to limited resources. He also voiced frustration that Ukraine has to storm Russian lines without air support, with deliveries of advanced F-16 fighter jets still at least several months away.

Ukraine kicked off its much-anticipated counteroffensive in the early days of June, attempting to penetrate Russian defenses along several sections of the front. It has so far failed to gain any ground, according to Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Ukrainian losses have exceeded Moscow’s by a factor of ten, estimating that Kiev has lost 259 tanks and 780 armored vehicles since the start of the campaign. At the same time, Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov has described the attacks as a “preparatory operation” while President Vladimir Zelensky has admitted that the offensive is developing “slower than desired”in the face of “tough resistance” from Russian troops.

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“..they hope to gain leverage over Moscow by retaking “substantial territory by the fall,” and, “in an ideal scenario,” station artillery and rocket systems on the border with Crimea..”

Kiev Considers ‘Holding Crimea Hostage’ – WaPo (RT)

Ukrainian officials aim to station long-range weapons near Crimea in order to gain an upper hand in future peace negotiations with Russia, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing three people familiar with the matter. According to the Post, the Ukrainian leadership shared the plans with CIA head William Burns during his secret trip to Kiev last month, where he met with President Vladimir Zelensky. Zelensky and his aides are reportedly devising plans to end the fighting “on terms that are acceptable to Russia and the Ukrainian people.” To achieve that, they hope to gain leverage over Moscow by retaking “substantial territory by the fall,” and, “in an ideal scenario,” station artillery and rocket systems on the border with Crimea, where the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is located.

By “holding hostage” the peninsula, Kiev wants to “open negotiations” and demand that “Russia accept whatever security guarantees Ukraine can secure from the West,” the Post said. Ukraine’s top commander, General Valery Zaluzhny, has voiced frustration over criticism of the much-hyped counteroffensive, which was launched last month, but has so far failed to push back the Russians in any significant way. According to Moscow, multiple Ukrainian assaults were repelled, while Kiev’s forces had suffered heavy losses. The troops lost Western-supplied heavy tanks and combat vehicles to minefields and artillery fire as they tried to break through fortified Russian positions.

Peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine broke down in the spring of 2022. Kiev has since demanded that Russia surrender its four newly acquired regions, as well as Crimea, which Moscow stressed was non-negotiable. Russia also named Ukraine’s neutrality as one of requirements for the conflict to end. Crimea voted to join Russia in the wake of the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev. The regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye did the same after holding referendums in September 2022. Ukraine considers these territories illegally occupied by Russia.

Read more …

“..Ukraine must first win and carry out a successful counteroffensive, and only then will we decide to negotiate..”

West’s Ideas About How To End Crisis In Ukraine ‘Schizophrenic’ – Lavrov (TASS)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statement about ending the conflict in Ukraine through “diplomacy” and “negotiation” strange against the backdrop of the West’s constant speculations about the need to defeat Russia first. “It’s a strange statement, I’ve heard about it,” Lavrov said in response to a TASS request for a comment. “This is all being said almost simultaneously with statements by the very same Secretary of State, Blinken, the very same leaders of the US National Security Council and the very same European Union and NATO functionaries, who keep saying: Ukraine must first win and carry out a successful counteroffensive, and only then will we decide to negotiate,” Lavrov explained. “This is a schizophrenic situation: they say that everything will be ended by negotiations, but first we have to defeat Russia.”

He also drew attention to the basis on which the West wished to negotiate. “The United States, together with NATO members and with the European Union, has stated firmly, repeatedly and uncompromisingly that the sole basis for negotiations is the notorious [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky peace formula, which consists of ten points,” Lavrov pointed out. “There are some neutral things there. Trivial, I should say.” “It is unclear why they were included there,” he noted, naming food and energy security among such things. “These are the very same things that have been undermined by the West’s sanctions.”

“But the main thing about the prospects for a peace treaty is that first Russia is to withdraw beyond the 1991 borders, the Russian leadership is to be put on trial, and Russia must pay reparations. Only after these preconditions have been met, will peace be made. This is what the West has in mind when it speaks of the need for negotiations and a peace settlement,” Lavrov explained. He remarked that “this split personality disorder does not help to correctly navigate the situation.” “The way I see it, they are trying to temporarily freeze this conflict, to achieve some kind of cease-fire and buy time to beef up Ukraine’s military muscle again, to create a new military infrastructure, and to supply it with new lethal long-range weapons,” Lavrov pointed out, adding that this scenario “is being advanced by US political scientists.”

He cited a recent article in Foreign Affairs magazine that promotes “exactly this type of scenario.” “Make peace, take a breather. Yes, Russia will also get a break, but the entire West is behind Ukraine, so we (the Western countries – TASS) will make it much stronger and then [will] continue to press ahead for the same aims mentioned in Zelensky’s plan.” “Demagogy has never hindered diplomacy in achieving certain aims, but that’s what diplomats are for: to distinguish some contrived moves from reality,” Lavrov concluded.

Read more …

“Ukraine officials told Burns they aim to move artillery and missile systems near the boundary line of Crimea and push further into eastern Ukraine by the fall. ”

CIA Chief Made Secret Trip to Ukraine to Discuss Battle Plans, Ceasefire (Sp.)

The head of the CIA in a secret trip to Ukraine reportedly held talks with officials on an ambitious strategy to retake territory from Russia and open ceasefire talks with Moscow by year-end. Citing officials familiar with the visit, US media reported that CIA Director William Burns during the trip in June met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine’s top intelligence officials. The purpose of the visit was to reaffirm the Biden administration’s commitment to sharing intelligence designed to help Ukraine in the conflict. Ukraine officials told Burns they aim to move artillery and missile systems near the boundary line of Crimea and push further into eastern Ukraine by the fall.

Then Kiev intends to open negotiations with Moscow for the first time since they broke down in March of last year, the report said, citing people involved with the planning. Officials reportedly later said they hope by agreeing not to take Crimea, Russia would accept whatever security guarantees Kiev can secure from the West. One Ukrainian official told the outlet “the US agrees that Ukraine should enter the negotiations from a strong position.” The CIA refused to comment when asked about Burns’ assessment of Kiev’s plans, the report said. Burns’ trip occurred just before Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin’s aborted mutiny. The report said the US intelligence community had detected in mid-June that Prigozhin was plotting something, but that those findings were not relayed to Ukrainian officials.

According to the report, Kiev is under extraordinary pressure from Western allies that provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in weaponry ahead of the counteroffensive. Earlier Friday, US media reported that Burns recently called his Russian counterpart, Sergey Naryshkin, to inform him that the United States had no involvement in Prigozhin’s aborted mutiny against the Russian government.

Read more …

“..the highest-level interaction between the US and Russia since the incident..”

CIA Head Calls Russian Intel Chief To Say US Uninvolved In Wagner Mutiny (TASS)

CIA Director William Burns called Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergey Naryshkin this week to tell him that the US had nothing to do with the mutiny attempt by the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC), The Wall Street Journal said on Friday citing its sources. According to them, the phone conversation between Burns and Naryshkin was the highest-level interaction between the US and Russia since the incident. The conversation, initiated by the American side, aimed to deliver a message that the US “had no involvement” in Wagner founder Evgeny Prigozhin’s actions and did not intend to exacerbate tensions in Russia, the newspaper writes, noting that the conversation took place this week.

According to the newspaper, Burns told Naryshkin that the US had no role in the mutiny and the incident was Russia’s internal affair. On the evening of June 23, several audio recordings were posted on the Telegram channel of Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin. In particular, he claimed that his units had come under attack, blaming the Russian military. The Russian Defense Ministry slammed the Wagner boss’ allegations of a strike on the PMC’s “rear camps” as fake news. The PMC units that supported Prigozhin headed to Rostov-on-Don and toward Moscow. The Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case on calls for armed mutiny. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised address to the nation on June 24, described the Wagner group’s actions as armed mutiny and a betrayal.

Later on June 24, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in coordination with Putin, held talks with Prigozhin, resulting in the PMC standing down, turning its units around, and retreating to their base camps. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian authorities pledged not to prosecute those Wagner PMC fighters who took part in the mutiny in light of their “frontline achievements.” The criminal case on armed mutiny was dropped, the FSB said.

Read more …

Let’s get to court..

Hunter Biden’s Lawyer Sends Scathing Letter to GOP Chair (Sp.)

One of Hunter Biden’s lawyers reportedly sent a scathing letter on Friday to US Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), the chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, accusing him of feeding a “misinformation campaign” against the Biden son. US media reported the letter claimed Smith was trying to undermine the law and feed “the misinformation campaign to harm our client, Hunter Biden, as a vehicle to attack his father.” In the letter, Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell references transcripts of interviews between the committee and IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, who earlier told the panel he had copies of WhatsApp messages in which Hunter Biden allegedly attempted to use his father’s position as then-vice president to influence his business dealings.

“I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction,” reads the message, from 2017, which was allegedly sent from Hunter Biden to a Chinese businessman. Last week, Smith released transcripts of the interviews while the White House and Justice Department dismissed the IRS whistleblowers’ claims. Smith also tweeted screenshots of the message, according to a report, which Lowell says are “complete fakes.” “Both include a photo of Mr. Biden not from 2017 but from the White House Easter Egg roll in April 2022 (long after the purported message was sent); both images portray the message in a blue bubble, when WhatsApp messages are in green; one image super-imposed the Chinese flag for the contact ID, when surely that was not how a text or contact was kept; and one purports to be a screenshot with the ‘…’ of someone composing a text (as in Apple’s iMessage) when that does not happen on WhatsApp,” Lowell wrote in his letter, in reference to Smith’s tweeted images.

“In short, the images you circulated online are complete fakes,” he concludes. In reference to the IRS whistleblowers, who Lowell says are “claiming that title in an attempt to evade their own misconduct,” Lowell added that the interviews were “orchestrated recitations of mischaracterized and incomplete ‘facts’ by disgruntled agents who believed they knew better than the federal prosecutors who had all the evidence as they conducted their five-year investigation of Mr. Biden.” “Chairman Smith, it is easy when a committee does not operate with fairness and thoroughness and an adherence to rules and procedures to forward a false political narrative,” concluded Lowell in his letter.

Read more …

“It’s unfortunate that America suffered three fake presidential impeachments in recent decades..”

The Long, Hot Summer (Kunstler)

Do you suppose that “Joe Biden” & Company can keep up this charade of a proxy war with Russia much longer? $150-billion pounded down the Kiev rat-hole, purchasing yet another foreign relations humiliation. Never has an American president been heaped with such an ignominious foundering and dishonor. He can only pretend to run for reelection as he wrecks the country. The DNC poohbahs, cross-eyed in transports of Woke-ism, must know that this bumbling grifter personifies a failing state. The White House press pool reporters are even flinging harsh questions at him these days as he desperately searches for doors to escape through. The tally in the Biden family bribery operation stands above $30-million now, with government whistleblowers pouring out of the agencies like termites from a burning house.

Most of them have not testified in Congress yet, or in any other venue, nor have the various DOJ and FBI officials associated with the broad-based cover-up of these blatant crimes. Do you doubt anymore that Attorney General Merrick Garland perjured himself testifying that the Delaware US attorney David Weiss was not interfered with in the Hunter Biden tax and gun violation case? The mounting evidence of foreign influence-peddling is hard and vivid now, viz., the Whatsapp text out this week of Hunter, “sitting here with my father,” extorting Chinese business associate Henry Zhao to fullfill his commitment or “regret not following my direction.” Hmmmmm. Explain that. Or the email archive carefully saved by IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley, who was prudent enough to back up his story with docs apt to prove DOJ malfeasance.

It’s unfortunate that America suffered three fake presidential impeachments in recent decades — Bill Clinton’s over a sexual impropriety, which is hardly a high crime, and the two utter charades involving Donald Trump — because now our nation is faced with serious presidential crimes explicitly laid out in Article II Section Four of the Constitution: bribery. “Joe Biden” will be impeached if he doesn’t bail altogether, and he might not do that because then he loses the power to pardon the other Biden family members involved. The impeachment of Merrick Garland for debauching and dishonoring the Justice Department logically would be the warm-up act for the impeachment of the president. They’ve both got to go and they both could save our country a lot of trouble by just stepping down. Then we can see about Kamala Harris.

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This too made me think of France.

“..sometime over the course of the past 240-plus years that constitutional republic has been transformed into a military dictatorship disguised as a democracy..”

America Is a Military Dictatorship Disguised as a Democracy (Whitehead)

The government is goosestepping all over our freedoms. Case in point: America’s founders did not want a military government ruled by force. Rather, they opted for a republic bound by the rule of law: the U.S. Constitution. Yet sometime over the course of the past 240-plus years that constitutional republic has been transformed into a military dictatorship disguised as a democracy. Most Americans seem relatively untroubled by this state of martial law. Incredibly, when President Biden bragged about how the average citizen doesn’t stand a chance against the government’s massive arsenal of militarized firepower, it barely caused a ripple. As Biden remarked at a fundraising event in California, “I love these guys who say the Second Amendment is—you know, the tree of liberty is water with the blood of patriots.

“Well, if [you] want to do that, you want to work against the government, you need an F-16. You need something else than just an AR-15.” The message being sent to the citizenry is clear: there is no place in our nation today for the kind of revolution our forefathers mounted against a tyrannical government. For that matter, the government has declared an all-out war on any resistance whatsoever by the citizenry to its mandates, power grabs and abuses. By this standard, had the Declaration of Independence been written today, it would have rendered its signers extremists or terrorists, resulting in them being placed on a government watch list, targeted for surveillance of their activities and correspondence, and potentially arrested, held indefinitely, stripped of their rights and labeled enemy combatants. This is no longer the stuff of speculation and warning.

For years, the government has been warning against the dangers of domestic terrorism, erecting surveillance systems to monitor its own citizens, creating classification systems to label any viewpoints that challenge the status quo as extremist, and training law enforcement agencies to equate anyone possessing anti-government views as a domestic terrorist. A 2008 Army War College report revealed that “widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security.” The 44-page report goes on to warn that potential causes for such civil unrest could include another terrorist attack, “unforeseen economic collapse, loss of functioning political and legal order, purposeful domestic resistance or insurgency, pervasive public health emergencies, and catastrophic natural and human disasters.”

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This particular shark is believed to predate the existence of the United States of America. A team of scientists discovered a cluster of Greenland sharks and concluded that some of them are the oldest known vertebrates alive today. These sharks inhabit the frigid waters of Greenland and were the subject of a study conducted in 2017, which examined 28 individuals. The eldest shark in the study measured 16.5 feet (five meters) in length and was estimated to be approximately 392 years old. The researchers established, with a “95 percent certainty,” that the shark’s age fell within the range of 272 to 512 years, with a most probable age of around 390.

While the exact reasons behind their exceptional lifespan remain unclear, it is believed that the arctic temperatures they inhabit (plunging below 29 degrees Fahrenheit) contribute to their longevity. These low temperatures result in reduced body temperatures and slower metabolisms, thereby minimizing damage to the sharks’ tissues. Additionally, their growth rate is exceptionally slow, with less than half an inch (a centimeter) gained per year, suggesting a significantly longer lifespan compared to other vertebrates. Furthermore, the females of this species exhibit delayed sexual maturity, only beginning to mate at the age of 156.

 

 

Octopus
https://twitter.com/i/status/1674792210985021440
https://twitter.com/i/status/1674822032649863179

 

 

Tigers
https://twitter.com/i/status/1674806164310175744

 

 

Oarfish

 

 

Roman theater
https://twitter.com/i/status/1674843500917948420

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Jun 282023
 


Ivan Aivazovsky Creation of the World 1864

 

Putin Wins – on All Counts (Pepe Escobar)
The Real Casualties Of Russia’s ‘Civil War’: The Beltway Expert Class (GZ)
‘Whole Logic of West’: US, EU Want to Weaken Russia ‘Through Ukraine’ (Sp.)
US Congress Urges Biden To Send Cluster Bombs To Kiev (RT)
Wagner Troops Are Still Inside Ukraine, Pentagon Says (Az.)
Wagner To Hand Over Heavy Weapons – Russian MOD (RT)
EU Attempt to Get Anti-Hypersonic Weapon in 3 Years Unlikely to Succeed (Sp.)
UN Documents Rampant Torture of Civilians by Ukrainian Security Forces (Sp.)
All Aboard The Gravy Train: An Independent Audit Of US Funding For Ukraine (GZ)
Audio Shows Trump Refused Decades-Long Push to Attack Iran (Sp.)
Biden Family ‘Lawyered-Up’ for Legal Battle After Incriminating Leak (Tweedie)
GOP Leaders Block Radicals From Impeaching Biden for Foreign Graft (Tweedie)
Canadian Military Members File $500 Million Lawsuit Over Vaccine Mandates (LSN)
EU To Consider Blocking Out Sun – Bloomberg (RT)

 

 

 

 

RFK Ukraine
https://twitter.com/i/status/1673710581977686016

 

 

 

 

Scott Ritter
https://twitter.com/i/status/1673489886970535936

 

 

Tucker
https://twitter.com/i/status/1673866669628727298

 

 

 

 

“..in the end the “coup” could turn out to be the Greatest Russian Trolling of the West Ever..”

Putin Wins – on All Counts (Pepe Escobar)

After the extraordinary events in Russia during The Longest Day, President Putin wins on all counts. Among other feats, he has made an absolute, inter-galactic ass of the whole collective West MSM – all over again. He rallied virtually every Russian to end the Special Military Operation (SMO) – or “almost war” (according to some business circles) quicker. He – and the FSB – amassed a formidable list of traitors and 5th and 6th columnists, which will be properly dealt with. And he now enjoys unlimited freedom to deploy de facto Counter-Terrorist Operation (CTO) martial law powers. As much as Putin helped perennial Lukashenko in August 2020, preventing regime change in Belarus, good ol’ Luka prevented Russia from sliding into civil war in June 2023.

A complex wide-ranging counter-terror op is now in effect in Moscow and beyond, while assorted Western sub-zoology specimens are stunned, dazed and confused: wasn’t that supposed to be Putin meeting his Czar Nicholas II moment? A first glance at the chessboard tells us that all the pieces seem to be falling in their right places. Prighozin gets a golden parachute in Belarus. Shoigu may be about to be sacked, perhaps even Gerasimov (yes, there are deeply dysfunctional layers inside the Ministry of Defense). The Wagner musicians will be incorporated as a regular Army Corps. They may keep doing business in Africa: demand is huge. So what really happened after The Longest Day? Hefty CIA funds may have changed hands. But in the end the “coup” could turn out to be the Greatest Russian Trolling of the West Ever.

Once again, facts on the ground prove Putin is the undisputed champion of Russia. After keeping a strategic silence for a few hours, his intervention gathered full support from the civilian population, the FSB, the Chechens, the Army, the Communists, everyone. The exact terms of the deal between Luka and Prighozin, with help from the governor of the Tula region, Alexey Dyumin, are still unclear. Prighozin said he was satisfied with the terms. Peskov confirmed on the record that a criminal case against Prigozhin would be dropped. A key Prighozin demand was the twin resignation of Defense Minister Shoigu and Chief of Staff Gerasimov. That may – or may not – happen in the immediate future.

And that brings us to the still fascinating possibility this was the Mother of All Maskirovkas. Prigozhin sets up all this circus just to get a meeting in Moscow with Shoigu and Gerasimov. Talk about an overkill just to go out on a date. The Mother of All Maskirovkas scenario also implies a move worthy of 5D chess. On Saturday, Wagner was 200 km away from Moscow. Yet on Sunday, Wagner was 100 km away from Kiev. Next level Sun Tzu Art of War, anyone?

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The level of misinformation coming from the experts is something else.

The Real Casualties Of Russia’s ‘Civil War’: The Beltway Expert Class (GZ)

When Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a supposed revolt against Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 23, sending his forces on a march toward Moscow following a series of tirades against the country’s defense establishment, Washington’s expert class overflowed with an orgy of regime change fantasies. For just over 12 hours, everyone from former US ambassador to Russia and noted Hitler apologist Michael McFaul to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to neocon pundit Anne Applebaum exploded with seemingly libidinal excitement about a supposed “civil war” that was certain to feature “Russians…killing Russians,” along with “lots of casualties” and Putin “probably hiding somewhere.”

It was as though the Soviet Union was collapsing all over again, and Prigozhin, a character named on the FBI’s most wanted list whom the US government has sanctioned for leading what it described as a “transnational criminal organization,” was suddenly a white knight storming into Moscow to liberate Russia from “the Putin regime” on the back of a tank. Move over, Juan Guaido. Expecting a bloodbath and seismic political upheaval, corporate networks like CNN had budgeted wall-to-wall coverage of the coup that wasn’t, filling cable news green rooms with rent-a-generals, K Street think tankers, and war-hungry former diplomatic corps hacks. On the afternoon of June 24, however, news broke across the US that Prigozhin had struck a deal with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to end his protest and go into exile.

Thus ended a largely bloodless affair that ultimately saw fewer documented deaths than the January 6 Capitol Riot. Though the supposed revolt in Russia burned out faster than a Leopard tank on the way to Zaporizhzhia, we now know that a number of serious casualties were incurred inside the DC Beltway. The Grayzone obtained an exclusive look at the massacre some of America’s top Russia experts carried out against their own credibility. Ever since he was unceremoniously ejected from Moscow for apparently attempting to organize a color revolution in 2012, Ambassador Michael McFaul has waged a personal jihad against the country’s government. His hatred of the Russian leadership grew so impassioned that he once declared that Putin was morally inferior to Adolf Hitler, embracing a fringe view associated with Holocaust deniers that asserts the Nazi dictator “didn’t kill German-speaking people.”

When the events of June 23 kicked off, McFaul could hardly contain himself. The disgraced diplomat immediately took to Twitter to insist without a shred of evidence to claim that Putin “has ordered his army and others to destroy Wagner & Prigozhin.” “So there’s going to be a big fight,” he promised. As for the Russian President, McFaul confidently declared: “I am sure that he is no longer in Moscow.” Just after noon on June 24, he seemed to believe the Russian president’s demise was imminent. “Rats are jumping” from Putin’s ship, he effused, referring to oligarch Arkady Rotenberg taking a flight to Azerbaijan. “This is now a civil war,” the self-styled expert confidently declared.

But around 1:30 PM on June 24, the unwelcome news had made its way to Washington: Putin and Prigozhin had reached an agreement. There was to be no civil war in Russia, after all. McFaul was suddenly forced to reckon with the reality that his predictions of a coup were premature, and that virtually everything he had said hours before was completely wrong. “Can anyone remember a mutiny or coup attempt that lasted 24 hours and no one really fought or was killed?,” pondered the retired diplomat, seemingly coming to grips with the obvious. Then, like an alcoholic in denial after yet another blackout, McFaul whimpered, “I was wrong about this. Eager to learn why.”

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But the opposite is happening.

‘Whole Logic of West’: US, EU Want to Weaken Russia ‘Through Ukraine’ (Sp.)

Western countries continue to do their utmost to damage Russia by various means, Professor Stevan Gajic, a research associate at the Institute of European Studies in Belgrade, told Sputnik. Discussions on the expansion of military and financial aid to Ukraine topped the agenda of a recent meeting of EU member states’ foreign affairs ministers held on June 26 in Luxembourg. The US recently also expressed its readiness to announce a new $500 million military package to Ukraine, which is expected to include Bradley combat vehicles and Stryker armored personnel carriers. “The whole logic of the West and of these statements” pertains to the drive by the US and its allies to continue damaging Russia, not least by fuelling the conflict in Ukraine, Gajic said.

He insisted that “The United States wants to pull Russia into a series of internal conflicts and to inflict as much damage as they can through Ukraine.” He suggested that Western countries “eventually want a partition of Russia and [its] occupation through creating many invented puppet states similar to those that we’ve seen in the B or C category Hollywood movies.” He was echoed by US author and lawyer Dan Kovalik, who told Sputnik that the White House is interested in the continuation of the Ukraine conflict because they want to use it “to weaken Russia.” Touching upon Wagner’s aborted mutiny, Kovalik said that Western countries “smell blood in the water and therefore they want to speed up the process of, in their minds, destabilizing Russia.”

“So all of this is leading them to increase aid to Ukraine at a time when people in Europe, I think, are getting cold feet about this,” he added. The same tone was struck by Michael Shannon, a political commentator and Newsmax columnist, who told Sputnik about a possible “two reasons” regarding Washington’s drive to go ahead with providing Kiev with hefty military packages. “One, the long-awaited spring offensive hasn’t really gone very far. It doesn’t look much different from the winter stalemate. So, the vehicles are to replace what has been lost in the fighting so far. Two, they may believe the Wagner mutiny has weakened the Russian position in Ukraine — either physically or in morale — and they want to follow up as soon as possible,” Shannon said.

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No conscience. And they represent us.

US Congress Urges Biden To Send Cluster Bombs To Kiev (RT)

Washington should supply Kiev with artillery-delivered cluster bombs, a group of US Congress representatives told President Joe Biden in a letter last week, Foreign Policy reported on Monday. The lawmakers urged the White House to put what they called America’s “vast arsenal” of the highly controversial munitions to its “intended use.” Cluster bombs carry smaller explosive submunitions that are released in flight and scattered across a target area, typically used against personnel and lightly armored vehicles. According to Foreign Policy, the US-designed bombs, also known as dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICMs), can penetrate four to eight inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of armor. The munitions also have a tendency to leave behind undetonated ‘duds’ that can remain in former conflict zones for decades.

This fact prompted more than 110 nations, including many NATO members, to ban cluster bombs under a UN convention back in 2008. The US did not join the convention but banned exports of cluster bombs with a ‘dud’ rate of more than 1% in 2009. The ban covered most of its existing stockpile. Now, the lawmakers, who are all members of the Congress Helsinki Commission, which monitors human rights in 57 OSCE nations, push for their transfer to Ukraine to be used in a conflict zone. “During the Cold War, DPICMs were developed and fielded specifically to counter Russia’s numerical and material superiority,” the group, including the Helinski Commission head, Joe Wilson, wrote in the letter. “Now they can be put to their intended use in Ukraine’s defense,” they said, adding that it would serve US national security as well.

“Let us use this untapped, vast arsenal in service of Ukrainian victory, and reclaiming Europe’s peace,” the letter said. Kiev’s troops already received DPICMs, which can be launched through the NATO-supplied 155mm artillery pieces, from other nations. Türkiye sent such munitions to Ukraine in January 2023. The Pentagon has also recently spoken in favor of such deliveries. “Our military analysts have confirmed that DPICMs would be useful, especially against dug-in Russian positions on the battlefield,” Laura Cooper, the Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, said last week amid the ongoing Ukrainian offensive that had largely stalled without gaining much ground.

Moscow previously warned Washington against sending cluster bombs to Ukraine. Such actions would have consequences both for NATO’s own security and the normalization of bilateral relations between Russia and the US, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in March. Kiev has repeatedly asked the US for various cluster munitions. The Ukrainian troops wanted to get MK-20 cluster bombs, which they sought to drop on Russian forces from drones. The artillery cluster shells were also on its wish list. So far, US officials have said they are not “actively considering” sending cluster bombs to Kiev. Yet, Biden can potentially waive the export restriction at any time.

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They’re waiting for a guaranteed passage to Belarus. Where first camps have to be built etc.

Wagner Troops Are Still Inside Ukraine, Pentagon Says (Az.)

Wagner troops are still inside Ukraine after the weekend mutiny, according to the US Defense Department, Report informs referring to CNN. “But in terms of their specific disposition and whether they may or may not move be moving, I’m not going to speculate on that,” said Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder at a press briefing. Ryder added that the US did not make any changes to US force posture in response to the events in Russia.

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“The Wagner Group currently has many of the same weapons as regular troops, including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and attack aircraft..”

Wagner To Hand Over Heavy Weapons – Russian MOD (RT)

The Russian Defense Ministry has announced preparations for the handover of heavy weapons from the Wagner private military company to units of the national Armed Forces. A brief statement posted by the ministry on social media on Tuesday offered no further details on the arms transfer. The Wagner Group currently has many of the same weapons as regular troops, including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and attack aircraft. Some of them were used by the contractors during their short-lived mutiny last weekend. Last Friday, Wagner chief Evgeny Prigozhin accused senior Russian military figures of treason and sent his troops towards major cities in Russia, including the capital, with the stated goal of having the officials removed from service.


The mutiny ended the following day, when the businessman accepted a Belarus-mediated deal with Moscow, including immunity from prosecution for him and Wagner personnel. The insurrection was not bloodless, as Wagner soldiers shot down several Russian military aircraft, while their convoy rolled down the M4 highway. Details on those losses remain murky, but President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the deaths of military pilots during in his address to the nation on Monday. There have been unconfirmed claims that Prigozhin has offered to pay compensation to families of the slain service members. Putin has offered Wagner troops the choice of joining the Russian military or law enforcement agencies, retiring from active duty, or following Prigozhin to Belarus, which has agreed to host them.

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“Talking about lagging behind in certain aspects is the best way to increase defense spending..”

EU Attempt to Get Anti-Hypersonic Weapon in 3 Years Unlikely to Succeed (Sp.)

While European missile manufacturer MBDA recently announced its intent to “lead a consortium” for developing an interceptor capable of defending against “hypersonic threats” called the Aquila project, it remains unclear exactly how fruitful this venture is going to be. Military expert with independent Russian military affairs think tank Center for Military-Political Journalism, Boris Rozhin, told Sputnik that it seems unlikely that some MBDA prototype interceptor would be adopted in the next three years or so. As Rozhin pointed out, even the United States is currently experiencing serious problems with the development of an air defense system capable of dealing with hypersonic weapons, and Europe currently lags behind the US in that sphere.

“Some additional funds will definitely be allocated, additional research and development teams will be assigned,” he pondered. “But I don’t think that Europe will be able to acquire within the next two-three years more variants of air defense system that could effectively combat modern hypersonic missiles.” Rozhin noted that four countries – Russia, China, Iran and North Korea – currently have working models of hypersonic missiles, and that the United States may acquire a working hypersonic missile of their own within two or three years, but so far, no air defense system capable of effectively countering such a threat exist.

“Talking about lagging behind in certain aspects is the best way to increase defense spending,” Rozhin added. “That is, we say that we are lagging behind [our rivals] and so we need more money to develop something in order not to lag behind.” However, it is hard to say at this point, i.e. during the development stage, how efficiently this funding is going to be used, he remarked. Rozhin also observed that Russia currently surpasses the US and Europe in terms of hypersonic weapons development, and while he did admit that Moscow may be working on anti-hypersonic defense systems, the expert argued that any such research would be highly classified and not advertised to the public.

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They have similar files about Russia, no doubt.

UN Documents Rampant Torture of Civilians by Ukrainian Security Forces (Sp.)

The United Nations has recorded a significant increase in law violations by Ukrainian security forces since start of Russia’s special military operation, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said in a report on Tuesday. “Since 24 February 2022, OHCHR has documented a significant increase in violations of the right to liberty and security of person by Ukrainian security forces. Out of the overall number of such cases, OHCHR documented 75 cases 92 of arbitrary detention of civilians (17 women, 57 men and 1 boy), some of which also amounted to enforced disappearances, mostly perpetrated by law enforcement authorities or the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the report read. “Of further concern, OHCHR has documented the arrests of several civilians involved in distribution of humanitarian aid in territory ‘occupied’ by the Russian Federation,” the report read.

On May 30, a Russian law enforcement source told Sputnik that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has opened torture chambers to get testimony from people who had cooperated with the Russian authorities while the city was under Russia’s control between March and November 2022 The source said the torture rooms were created at two district police departments, Dneprovsky and Komsomolsky. While mostly Ukrainians work at the Dneprovsky department, locals are not allowed into the second one, as only foreign mercenaries speaking English, Polish and Georgian work there, the source said.

Vladimir Malina, a former business assistant who decided to stay in Kherson after the withdrawal of the Russian troops, died in the torture chamber of the Dneprovsky police department. “[He] was kept in the torture chamber of the Dneprovsky district department, [he was] brutally beaten, the next day, he died in the cell. In order to hide his death, for three days, two [former] employees of the Russian humanitarian center [in Kherson], Roman Gavrilyuk and Igor Gurov, who were detained with him, were tortured and forced to write an explanation that Vladimir Malina was released together with them,” the source said. Several people were tortured to death in these chambers, including a nurse and an investigator, the source said, adding that all of them are recognized as missing.

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“.. there is currently no limit to how much Washington can send to Kiev..”

All Aboard The Gravy Train: An Independent Audit Of US Funding For Ukraine (GZ)

During a recent discussion with New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, touted her organization’s push to guarantee transparency for US taxpayer funds sent to Ukraine. “We are involved in funding efforts at ensuring judicial integrity, which is intrinsically important to building Ukraine’s democracy and its integration plans to get into Europe,” Power declared, adding USAID’s work in Ukraine was “also really important in terms of assuring the taxpayer, the American taxpayer, that they’re resources are well spent.” While innocuous on the surface, Power’s comments revealed a great deception the US government is currently waging against the American public.

In the roughly 16 months since Russia’s February 2022 escalation of the Ukraine conflict, the US government has approved several multi-billion dollar spending packages to sustain the Kiev military’s fight against Moscow. Though many Americans likely believe that US dollars allocated for Ukraine are spent directly on supplies for the war effort, the lead author of this report, Heather Kaiser, conducted a thorough review of Washington’s budget for the 2022 and 2023 fiscal year and discovered that is far from the case. US taxpayers may be shocked to learn that as their families grappled with fears of Social Security’s looming insolvency, the Social Security Administration in Washington sent $4.48 million to the Kiev government in 2022 and 2023 alone.

In another example of bizarre spending, USAID paid off $4.5 billion worth of Ukraine’s sovereign debt through payments made to the World Bank — all while Congress went to loggerheads over America’s ballooning national debt. (Western financial interests including BlackRock Inc. are among the largest holders of Ukrainian government bonds.) Though it is nearly impossible to calculate the total sum of US tax dollars sent to Kiev, Kaiser was able to perform an independent audit of Washington’s proxy war in Ukraine through a careful search of open source data available on the US government’s official spending tracker. Kaiser reviewed all the funding allocations in which Ukraine was listed as the “Place of Performance” for fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

Additionally, she discovered supplementary funds were sent to Kiev by listing Ukraine as the “justification” for spending, rather than the location where the money was physically sent. Calculating the total dollar amount that the US has given to Ukraine is incredibly challenging for multitude of reasons: there is a lag in reporting expenditures; covert money given by the CIA (Title 50 Covert Action) won’t be publicly disclosed; and direct military assistance in the form of military equipment is not calculated in the same manner as raw cash. The Pentagon recently admitted to an accounting error revised up to 6.2 billion dollars. Despite this, Kaiser submitted a request to the Department of Treasury asking them to disclose the total dollar amount of US taxpayer support for Ukraine. Treasury has not responded at the time of publication.

Though Kaiser was able to search through pages of reported spending, the US government has yet to conduct an official audit of its funding for Ukraine. What’s more, there is currently no limit to how much Washington can send to Kiev.

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“He resisted the pressure from advisors who wanted to start a war with Iran, but he refused. He refused to go along with them. And that’s I think that’s really part of the anger directed at him as well.”s

Audio Shows Trump Refused Decades-Long Push to Attack Iran (Sp.)

A veteran of the US state apparatus told Sputnik that the most significant part of the story about former US President Donald Trump holding onto still-classified plans for war with Iran after he left office is that Trump refused to give in to pressure to launch such a conflict, which Washington has sought for decades. US media has obtained the audio of an alleged conversation between Trump and his aides in which prosecutors said he described showing them files he knew were still classified. The conversation, which allegedly occurred in the summer of 2021, was previously reported based on a partial transcript cited in a criminal complaint against Trump that was filed in a federal court earlier this month.

In the two-minute-long audio clip, Trump can seemingly be heard referencing top secret plans regarding an attack against Iran that he says were prepared by Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has become a sharp critic of Trump after the former president’s term ended. “These are the papers,” Trump is heard saying. “This was done by the military and given to me.” “See as president I could have declassified it,” Trump continues as others in the room laugh, adding: “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.” Trump faces 37 charges related to the classified files, which the FBI seized in a raid last August at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Many of the charges each carry a potential 20-year prison sentence, if Trump were to be convicted.

Larry Johnson, a retired CIA intelligence officer and US State Department official, told Sputnik that Trump’s administration was by no means the first to consider a war against Iran, and that the focus on the war plans conceals a greater truth: that Trump didn’t want to launch such an attack. “The war plans against Iran have existed since 1980, since the mullahs took power. And those plans exist and have been revised and updated over time. So I wouldn’t read too much into his discussing one plan.” “I think the key point is that Trump did not act on these plans,” Johnson asserted. “He resisted the pressure from advisors who wanted to start a war with Iran, but he refused. He refused to go along with them. And that’s I think that’s really part of the anger directed at him as well.”

However, Johnson said there was actually a greater chance of war with Iran under Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama. “During the presidency of Barack Obama, the United States was more actively engaged in supporting intelligence operations that were leading to the assassination of Iranian scientists. They were backing this terrorist group, the MEK, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq. So, Trump is really sort of a problem for the defense establishment in Washington, DC, who were eager for that conflict. Trump tried to avoid conflict. He was always looking to cut a deal as opposed to go to war.” Johnson predicted that if Trump manages to dodge the charges against him and win the 2024 US election, for which he has already declared his candidacy, that Trump would “cut a deal” with Tehran.

“He would find a way to de-escalate the tensions. But unfortunately, you’ve got a war party. There’s not just one political party. It’s bipartisan. We’ve got Republicans and Democrats alike who are promoting conflict, insisting on conflict. [US President Joe] Biden is not keen upon actually getting a real agreement with these guys. Trump was. I think Trump genuinely believed in and tried to promote those kinds of agreements,” the former CIA officer said.

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“Will this take Joe Biden off the ballot?” Wong pondered. “I’m not sure it will, but certainly it’s another thing he has to address and he can’t hide from this one.”

Biden Family ‘Lawyered-Up’ for Legal Battle After Incriminating Leak (Tweedie)

US President Joe Biden and his family are preparing for legal trouble after the latest revelation about his son Hunter’s shady foreign dealings, journalist Angie Wong has said. Last week it emerged that Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent Gary Shapley blew the whistle on a WhatsApp exchange between Hunter Biden and Chinese businessman Henry Zhao in July 2017, in which Hunter demanded to know why their “orders” had not been carried out. “I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” Hunter Biden wrote. The message has contradicted the president’s previous claims he had no knowledge of his son’s dealings with foreign millionaires, including payments he received allegedly in return for political influence.

Just days earlier, Biden’s son had avoided doing jail time for corruption and influence-peddling with a plea bargain for misdemeanor charges of tax evasion and illegal possession of a handgun. Angie Wong, who also serves as the president of the Legacy PAC, told Sputnik that Biden and son were “lawyered-up” and ready for battle. “They can’t keep trying to disguise what’s actually right there in front of everybody’s faces. And now they have to address it,” Wong said. “We’re going to expect some major legal moves coming up, I would imagine in days.” “When Hunter Biden got a slap on the wrist last week for a gun charge and for tax fraud, that really just fueled the sentiment that was going on in Washington and certainly in American homes,” she noted.

“It’s not that we want to necessarily get them. It’s just that it’s just so unfair. I think it’s prompted what’s happening right now, which is the release of this text message,” Wong stressed. “If you and I even lied to our government. That would be a felony. But when our government lies to us, well, that’s just politics.” The journalist said Biden was “finally worried” that his son’s dodgy dealings would come back to haunt his presidency, and “now needs to address it” because “these are real voter issues and this is an election season.” “Will this take Joe Biden off the ballot?” Wong pondered. “I’m not sure it will, but certainly it’s another thing he has to address and he can’t hide from this one.”

Read more …

Radicals? Like free radicals?

GOP Leaders Block Radicals From Impeaching Biden for Foreign Graft (Tweedie)

Republican Congress leaders are stymying attempts to impeach US President Joe Biden even as proof of of his shady dealings with foreign businessmen came out. Biden’s wayward son Hunter wriggled out of a jail sentence last week with a plea bargain that got him a slap on the wrist for tax evasion and illegal possession of a firearm. But Internal Revenue Service whistleblower Gary Shapley testified to a WhatsApp message exchange the president’s son had with Chinese businessman Henry Zhao in July 2017, in which he demanded to know why their “orders” had not been carried out. “I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” Hunter Biden wrote — belying the president’s previous claims he had no knowledge of his son’s dealings with foreign millionaires, including payments he received allegedly in return for political influence.

Hunter’s attorney Chris Clark made a statement on Friday in which he blamed his client’s addiction to crack cocaine for the wording of the messages. Former Colorado state senator Ted Harvey told Sputnik that while the latest revelations of misconduct by the Biden family were “astonishing,” the Republican Party was playing its hands close to its chest on a possible presidential impeachment. “The leadership of the Republican Party is doing everything they possibly can to avoid any impeachment discussion, to make sure that they do not fall into the trap that every political party does when they have the ability to impeach a president and their party wants to go in that direction,” Harvey said. Republican in the House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy and others “are doing everything they can” to stop Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene or Colorado’s Lauren Boebert getting the ball rolling.

“But when you have this kind of stuff coming out, this is what the impeachment process is there for,” Harvey stressed. “But now that it’s getting to the point that Republicans are going to be have to throw their hand in.” Not only are the White House, Democrats and GOP trying to downplay talk of impeaching Biden, but the media are attacking the dissident Republicans who refuse to let go of the issue. “The reason why the press is being as direct and aggressive as they are is because they realize this rises to the level of criminal activity,” Harvey said. “But it also gets to the point of compromising our national security” since the Chinese government “can hold this over him” when disputes and conflicts arise “whether it be Taiwan or anything else,” he argued “Our national security is now compromised because the president of the United States.”

Read more …

“It’s dangerous in the military to have legal orders disobeyed,” he said. “It’s a very slippery slope.”

Canadian Military Members File $500 Million Lawsuit Over Vaccine Mandates (LSN)

Hundreds of members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) last week signed onto a $500 million class action lawsuit against military leaders over the imposition of “unlawful” COVID jab mandates. According to the legal challenge, the mandates “caused the Plaintiffs harm and constitute[d] a breach of the public trust.” A victory in the case could set an important precedent for all Canadians who have been pressured to get the experimental shots against their will. In the 137-page statement of claim filed with the Federal Court on June 21 and viewed by LifeSiteNews, 329 individuals who have served in the CAF argued that Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre “issued an unlawful order on October 25, 2021, in violation of established law and constitutional rights” by requiring members of the armed forces to get the experimental COVID-19 shot or face removal from the service.

On October 8, 2021, the CAF handed down a military-wide COVID jab mandate requiring all service members to become “fully vaccinated” against the coronavirus or be discharged from service. Hundreds of unvaccinated service members were subsequently discharged. The mandate was finally partially rolled back last year, though troops supporting operational readiness are still required to get the injections. Last year, military leadership said they would still discharge soldiers who chose to remain unvaccinated. In an interview with the Canadian Press in October 2022, General Eyre suggested that the refusal by service members to get vaccinated “raises questions about your suitability to serve in uniform.”

“It’s dangerous in the military to have legal orders disobeyed,” he said. “It’s a very slippery slope.” However, the June 21 statement of claim — which also names Vice Chief of the Defence Staff Lieutenant-General Frances Allen and Minister of National Defence Anita Anand, among others, as defendants — contends that the Canadian military “shirked its own purpose and rushed an untested product onto its members.” The plaintiffs claim that top members of the military “mislabeled this experimental gene therapy a “vaccine,” knowingly made false statements of safety and efficacy, and facilitated its mandate with no option to refuse except for mandatory permanent removal from service.”

The lawsuit is seeking monetary damages of roughly $1,000,000 per plaintiff and well over $1,000,000 more in other damages, coming to around $500,000,000 total. “This is not about COVID-19,” Catherine Christensen, an attorney with Valour Law who filed the class action suit on behalf of the plaintiffs, said in an email statement to LifeSiteNews. “This is about a corrupt Chain of Command that thinks they are untouchable and above the law.”“The Canada I want to live in has [the] Rule of Law and no person is above being answerable to the Court for malicious and unlawful act,” she said.

Read more …

Limitless stupidity.

EU To Consider Blocking Out Sun – Bloomberg (RT)

The European Union is looking into technologies involving large-scale interventions into natural phenomena like sun rays or the atmosphere, as part of its new strategy for tackling climate change, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing a draft document that might be made public later this week. The paper Brussels is reportedly about to release is aimed at assessing the consequences of rapid global warming such as water or food scarcity, and the risks of them triggering new conflicts or mass migration waves, the outlet said. It will also feature an assessment of the potential for studying atmospheric re-engineering technologies and the dangers associated with them.

Such projects might range from deflecting the Sun’s rays or blocking them from reaching the Earth’s surface to changing the weather patterns, Bloomberg noted. The EU would like to invite international discussions on the matter as well as on potentially creating rules in this field. “The EU will support international efforts to assess comprehensively the risks and uncertainties of climate interventions, including solar radiation modification,” says the document, which is still subject to change, according to Bloomberg.

The paper also admits that such technologies “introduce new risks to people and ecosystems, while they could also increase power imbalances between nations, spark conflicts, and raise a myriad of ethical, legal, governance and political issues.” The geo-engineering option is considered amid fears that the international community might miss its target of limiting global warming to 1.5C (2.7F), Bloomberg noted, adding that the EU might turn to more radical options like spraying stratospheric aerosol to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching earth. Bloomberg also noted that critics of geo-engineering have warned that such methods might involve unforeseen side effects like changes in rain patterns, without naming any names.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net zero
https://twitter.com/i/status/1673683916195086337

 

 

Bald art

 

 

Roseanne

 

 

 

 

ChatGPT

 

 

Unleash

 

 

 

 

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Jun 272023
 
 June 27, 2023  Posted by at 12:47 pm Finance Tagged with: , , , , , ,  4 Responses »


Thomas Cole The Course of Empire – Desolation 1836

 

I’m still full of questions. Prigozhin and his men are now gathering 100 km from Kiev, instead of 200 km from Moscow. With Putin’s full approval. Lucky coincidence?

 

 

Andrew Korybko thinks he has a few answers. Again, fair enough.

 

Andrew Korybko:

The Wagner Chief Speaks

Prigozhin released an over ten-minute-long audio message on Telegram in which he shared his version of events from over the weekend. It can be listened to at his press service’s account here, while those who don’t understand Russian can read a rough automated translation here. Upon doing so, they’ll see that he predictably twisted the truth about his failed coup. In fact, one of the purposes behind his message was to deny that he had any such regime change intent, instead claiming that it was only just a protest.

Was Wagner Really Going To Be Fully Disbanded?

The Wagner chief started off by alleging that his group would have ceased to legally exist by 1 July after refusing to sign contracts with the Defense Ministry (DM) despite all of its accomplishments in advancing Russian interests across the world and especially in the course of the special operation. While that might have been the case in terms of the law, it’s doubtful that Russia would have fully disbanded the same fighting force that functions as the pillar of its African policy, which was explained here, here, and here.

Wagner members might have been prohibited from participating in the special operation and had their activities inside Russia restricted due to their group’s lack of legal status, but there are no grounds to believe that its African-based fighters would have been prevented from fulfilling their duties there. Considering the patriotism that characterizes most of their members, the vast majority would probably have redeployed to that continent in order to continue serving their country.

Prigozhin Admits To Russian Blood On His Hands

The next point that Prigozhin made was to claim that Wagner gathered their equipment ahead of time in anticipation of handing it all over to the DM in Rostov by 30 June in the event that a last-minute deal wasn’t reached to enable them to continue operating as before without signing contracts with the DM. He then claimed that the DM launched a surprise strike against them on Friday, resulting in the death of over 30 members, which is why the decision was made to march on Rostov and Moscow later that day.

None of the above can be independently confirmed, but the bombing was denied by both the DM and the FSB, for what it’s worth. A cynic might suspect that Prigozhin is just spinning a story to explain why Wagner gathered all that equipment in advance if it didn’t supposedly plan to carry out a coup. This narrative also presents his forces as acting out of self-defense, which is important when it comes to winning and retaining the population’s support, especially after what he soon thereafter admitted.

Prigozhin confirmed that his forces did indeed fire on the Russian Air Force exactly as was reported, which readers can learn more about in detail here if they aren’t already familiar, but said that they regretted it and only did so after bombs were dropped on them first. This detail discredits the popular conspiracy theory swirling around the Alt-Media Community claiming that the coup attempt was a false flag cooked up by President Putin, which some say was to secretly open a northern front against Ukraine.

There’s no way that he colluded with Prigozhin to kill their country’s pilots, especially since last weekend’s events attracted much more attention to Wagner than if its fighters quietly dispersed over the weeks and then gradually reassembled at a later date in Belarus and/or on Russia’s pre-2014 borders with Ukraine. It’s everyone’s right to believe whatever they want, but it’s beyond kooky for anyone to still insist on this after now knowing that Russian pilots were killed during the failed coup.

Why Wasn’t Wagner Stopped En Route To Moscow?

Moving on after debunking that ridiculous conspiracy theory, Prigozhin then claimed that his forces locked down and neutralized all military facilities along the route of their march to Moscow without killing anyone on the ground despite a few of their own suffering casualties. Like what he alleged about the DM bombing Wagner, this also can’t be independently confirmed but might be speculatively due to President Putin’s reluctance to have the military resort to force except as an absolute last resort.

Despite saying during his national address that “The Armed Forces and other government agencies have received the necessary orders” to have those involved in the events “punished” and “answer before the law”, those tasked with doing so could have been told to use their discretion when it comes to force. After all, the Russian leader also said during his address that “We will not allow [Russians killing Russians and brothers killing brothers] to happen again”, so it’s a credible possibility and not baseless conjecture.

In that scenario, those at the military facilities along that route might have decided not to resort to force to stop Wagner so long as that group didn’t fire first, instead calculating that it’s best to heed President Putin’s words as much as is realistically possible under those tense circumstances while waiting to see if the crisis will soon end on its own. As for Prigozhin’s next claim that his fighters knew the ultimate goal of their march and weren’t forced to participate in it, that might only be partially true too.

What Were Wagner’s Fighters Really Thinking?

Many might have truly thought that it was an “anti-corruption” campaign like their boss told them and didn’t hear President Putin’s national address until later since they reportedly had to hand over their cell phones before heading out. If what he said was true about their compatriots not stopping them along their route, especially for the reasons speculated above, then this impression would have persisted until they approached Moscow and realized that blood would definitely be shed if they didn’t back down.

At that moment, they’d have known that something was wrong and that the Armed Forces were willing to use force to oppose them, thus dispelling the illusion that they had the Russian leader’s tacit support for what they’d hitherto sincerely thought was their “anti-corruption” campaign. If Prigozhin didn’t intend to challenge the head of state, then he’d have called off their march the moment that the latter demanded this of him during his national address instead of defiantly continuing on to the capital.

This observation therefore contradicts the Wagner chief’s claim that this was just a protest aimed at bringing to justice those who he says allegedly bungled the special operation since Prigozhin already caught President Putin’s attention by the time of his speech yet still kept marching towards Moscow. Nevertheless, what he said regarding the support that his group received from some of the public is true since it’s backed up by video evidence, but all isn’t as simple as he makes it seem.

What Were Wagner’s Supporters In Rostov Really Thinking?

Anti-corruption causes and criticism of the military brass for their conduct of the special operation thus far are legitimately popular among a segment of the population, many of whom had up until this point assumed that Prigozhin had the support of people in the Presidential Administration. The very fact that he wasn’t apprehended or at least charged for violating the otherwise strictly enforced law prohibiting defamation of the Armed Forces was interpreted by them as evidence that he had powerful patrons.

Even after President Putin sharply condemned him for treasonously stabbing their country in the back due to his “Inflated ambitions and personal interests”, some might have thought that the Russian leader was a so-called “palace hostage” of the supposedly corrupt military and thus said this under duress. Placed in traditional historical terms, they could have imagined that he was “the good tsar surrounded by bad boyars who had to be freed by a good boyar for the sake of the country”.

The point is that it shouldn’t be assumed that all those in Rostov who publicly supported Prigozhin did so because they shared his thinly disguised intent to overthrow President Putin after he refused to make the personnel changes in the DM that were demanded of him. It should also be said that the number of people in that footage represents an insignificant proportion of the population, though as was earlier written, there’s also no denying that Prigozhin’s self-professed causes resonate with many more than that.

What Was The Real Reason Why Prigozhin Retreated?

What’s beyond dispute, however, is that practically everyone in the country regardless of their stance on this crisis was relieved that Prigozhin turned around after approaching Moscow and concluding that there was no way to continue his march without provoking enormous bloodshed. What he said about not wanting to spill any Russian blood isn’t true though since he himself earlier admitted in this same audio message that his side did indeed fire on the Russian Air Force, albeit out of self-defense he said.

Blood was therefore already spilled by his fighters regardless of their reason behind doing so, thus meaning that this explanation isn’t sincere and that he probably decided to turn around at that point since he thought that it would be a suicide mission to try to take the capital. The second explanation that he shared for this decision is that he’d already demonstrated his protest, which he insists was never intended to topple the government, though this also isn’t true either.

As was earlier written, he defiantly challenged the head of state by continuing onward after explicitly being told by him to stop, which leaves no doubt that his march had transformed into a regime change operation by that point even if one believes that it was only an “anti-corruption” campaign until then. In any case, he claims that this marked the moment when Belarusian President Lukashenko intervened to offer Wagner the option to continue legally operating by relocating to that allied country.

Can Wagner’s March Really Be Compared To The Special Operation?

In his closing remarks, Prigozhin said that this march exposed serious security problems in the country due to his force’s neutralization of all those military facilities along their route, though this was already accounted for in the analysis. The next part about them having traveled further during this march than the Russian Armed Forces did at the beginning of the special operation, and this supposedly proving that the latter could have ended right away if properly executed, is also questionable.

Even though it’s true that Wagner is universally regarded as an elite force that stands head and shoulders above their peers, they weren’t being fired at by their compatriots over the weekend, unlike the resistance that they’d have been expected to receive from their Ukrainian foes. This makes his comparison an inaccurate and manipulative one, especially when remembering that Kiev was able to muster enough meat to hold Wagner back from capturing Artyomovsk for months.

That’s not to imply that they’re equals since that battle ground down Ukraine’s capabilities and forced it to throw literally dozens of formations against that single one, but just that this example shows in hindsight that nobody should have expected a quick victory no matter how the special operation began. The point that he’s trying to make is obviously intended to score political points, redeem his reputation after last weekend’s failed coup, and also hammer home the harsh criticisms that he’s made of the DM.

Concluding Thoughts

Altogether, his first audio message since last weekend’s events saw him sticking to his demands for justice, still denying any intent to overthrow President Putin, and insisting that those pilots who his forces shot at and which reports claimed were killed had been targeted in self-defense. This fact-check proves that he’s twisting the truth in all regards, which is likely being done out of ego as well as the possibility that he still has some political ambitions that he hopes to revive sometime in the future.

 

 

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Jun 272023
 
 June 27, 2023  Posted by at 9:15 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  33 Responses »


Vincent van Gogh Interior of a restaurant 1887

 

Putin: Mutiny Organizers Wanted Russian Soldiers to Kill Each Other (Sp.)
Western Experts Salivated Prospect of ‘Doom’ and ‘Civil War’ in Russia (Sp.)
Washington Expected More Bloodshed From Wagner Mutiny – CNN (RT)
Ukraine Failed To Exploit Wagner Coup Attempt – NYT (RT)
Biden Officials Worry That Ukrainian Offensive is ‘Behind Schedule’ (Sp.)
Prigozhin’s Farce Is Over And It Is Clear Who Has Won (MoA)
Prigozhin Mutiny Was Monster Acting Against His Creator- Borrell (G.)
Investigation Into Case Surrounding Prigozhin Continuing (TASS)
Prigozhin’s Gambit – Treason By Any Other Name (Scott Ritter)
John Kerry Says Iraq Invasion Was Based On Lie (RT)
Coup Coo (Kunstler)
Who is Lying? Merrick Garland or the Whistleblowers? (Turley)
‘Journalism is Not a Crime’: Experts Lambast EU Media Freedom Act
Germany Opposes EU Plan To Steal Russian Assets – FT (RT)
Germany, France Want To End Veto Rights In The EU This Year (RMX)

 

 

Prigozhin is in Belarus. Putin has given permission for Wagner fighters to move to Belarus as well. They will then be 100km from Kiev. The Chinese noticed this too:

Ukraine will need to deploy troops to guard Kiev.

 

 

Watters
https://twitter.com/i/status/1673479291315814401

 

 

General Mark Milley wanted to attack Iran and blame it on Donald Trump. This was “exclusively obtained” by CNN…

 

 

 

 

RFK vaccine

 

 

Brett Tolman
https://twitter.com/i/status/1673374501516591104

 

 

Dr. Fukushima
https://twitter.com/i/status/1673365972764196864

 

 

 

 

“Those who want to move to Belarus may do so freely, the president added.”

Putin: Mutiny Organizers Wanted Russian Soldiers to Kill Each Other (Sp.)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has chastised the organizers of the recent aborted mutiny perpetrated by forces of the PMC Wagner Group, stating that these people betrayed not only their country and their people but also the men whom they duped into participating in this “crime.” In a speech delivered today from the Kremlin, Putin said that Russia’s enemies and the “neo-Nazis in Kiev” along with their Western sponsors wanted the same outcome as the mutiny organizers: an internecine conflict in Russia where Russian soldiers would have been killing each other. He pointed out that the mutiny organizers were well aware of the fact that their mutiny would have been inevitably crushed, and that their actions were ultimately aimed at weakening Russia.

At the same time, he stressed that the vast majority of the Wagner Group’s soldiers and commanders are “Russian patriots devoted to their people and state,” who proved their patriotism “with their courage on the battlefield, liberating Donbass and Novorossiya.” He thanked Wagner Group members who stopped before crossing the “final line,” and said that they can now continue serving Russia by signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense, or any other law enforcement agency, or to return home to their families. Those who want to move to Belarus may do so freely, the president added.

Putin thanked all Russian servicemen, law enforcement officers and special services’ members who “stood in the way” of the mutineers and “remained faithful” to their duty during this crisis, as well as members of the Wagner Group who did not participate in the mutiny. The Russian president also expressed his gratitude to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for “his efforts and contribution to the peaceful resolution of the situation.” Putin did add, however, that it was the “consolidation of the entire Russian society that played a decisive role” in resolving this crisis.”

Read more …

“Russians will be killing Russians, probably in large numbers, unless Prigozhin surrenders..”

Western Experts Salivated Prospect of ‘Doom’ and ‘Civil War’ in Russia (Sp.)

Western press, politicians, and “Russia watchers” prophesized “doom” and “civil war” in Russia upon the PMC Wagner Group’s mutiny, only to learn later that they were profoundly wrong. On June 23, Wagner PMC leader Evgeny Prigozhin announced that he and his 25,000 men were kicking off a “march of justice” towards Moscow amid the private military group’s feud with the Russian Ministry of Defense, prompting the Federal Security Service (FSB) to charge the Wagner chief with inciting an armed mutiny. While Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the PMC leader against irresponsible and treasonous actions, Prigozhin’s mutiny of June 23-24 caused nothing short of euphoria in the Western media sphere. Tom Nichols, a staff writer at The Atlantic, immediately projected on June 23 that the unfolding “crisis” could change the course of the conflict in Ukraine and lead to “a lot of bad things” in Moscow “in the next few days, or even hours.”

Eurasia Group scholar Ian Bremmer echoed Nichols on June 24: “Prospects for Ukraine’s counteroffensive – which hasn’t gone well to date – improving by the minute,” he claimed on Twitter. “In a slow, unfocused sort of way, Russia is sliding into what can only be described as a civil war. If you are surprised, maybe you shouldn’t be,” wrote Anne Applebaum, an American journalist and spouse of Polish MEP Radoslaw Sikorski, who thanked the US government for the destruction of Nord Stream in a later-deleted tweet last year. Former US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, went even further by claiming that the “civil war” was already underway and promised a “big fight”: “Russians will be killing Russians, probably in large numbers, unless Prigozhin surrenders,” the American diplomat tweeted on Saturday.

The Hill joined the chorus, predicting “combat and potential doom”: as per the media, passions of ordinary Russians could be “enflamed” and “it’s conceivable that some Russian soldiers will defect.” “Much depends on how swiftly Putin can put down the rebellion, or indeed whether he can. Expect curfews and martial law in Rostov and possibly other cities,” the media forecast. The New York Times referred to Wagner’s “seizure” of Rostov-on-Don as a “grave threat to President Vladimir Putin’s government.” While security had indeed been heightened in Moscow and in Rostov-on-Don, there had been no signs of a gathering storm or a mounting civil unrest in the country. The Associated Press reported that in Moscow “downtown bars and restaurants were filled with customers.”

The media added that “at one club near the headquarters of the FSB, people were dancing in the street near the entrance.” An apparent cognitive dissonance with regard to the “civil war-that-never-happened” reached its apogee in the West after the news that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko struck a deal with Prigozhin and the latter’s announcement that the PMC Wagner Group was returning to its field camps. Some Western netizens couldn’t believe their eyes, claiming that “the odds of this being true are slim to none.” McFaul also seemed perplexed by the sudden turn of events which brought to naught the West’s “Russian civil war” fantasies: “I was wrong about this. Eager to learn why. There is so much to this story that we don’t know yet,” the diplomat tweeted.

Read more …

When Wagner took over the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don, not a shot was fired that I read about. Isn’t that weird?

Washington Expected More Bloodshed From Wagner Mutiny – CNN (RT)

The US expected more resistance to the coup attempt by the Wagner private military company as Evgeny Prigozhin advanced on Moscow, a source has told CNN, predicting that the aborted insurrection would be “a lot more bloody than it was.” The intelligence community in Washington claims to have had advance information about Prigozhin’s actions, according to reports in the US media, and also believed it would result in greater bloodshed. “I do know that we assessed it was going to be a great deal more violent and bloody,” the source told CNN. Prigozhin staged the coup on Friday evening in what he described as an attempt to oust senior Russian military officials, whom he accused of treason.


His forces, which are armed with heavy weapons, had faced little resistance in capturing the headquarters of the Southern Military District, one of territorial commands of the Russian Defense Ministry, in the city of Rostov-on-Don. They were moving unopposed towards Moscow when Prigozhin called off the insurrection on Saturday after accepting a deal with the government, which had been mediated by Belarus. He cited the desire to avoid bloodshed as his reason for stopping. During the brief uprising, Prigozhin claimed that his forces had shot down a Russian attack helicopter. There are uncorroborated reports of several more military aircraft being downed by the Wagner Group, and suggestions that the businessman agreed to pay compensation for the deaths caused by his actions. There was also some fighting along the route, with 19 homes reportedly damaged in Voronezh Region, according to local authorities.

Read more …

Blinken always gets it wrong. He’s sort of like Jim Cramer.

Ukraine Failed To Exploit Wagner Coup Attempt – NYT (RT)

Ukraine was unable to capitalize on the coup attempt in Russia by the Wagner private military company, the New York Times has claimed, citing unnamed US officials. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier suggested that the events had created potential “openings” for Kiev to improve its position on the battlefield. In a report on Sunday, the NYT quoted anonymous “American officials and independent analysts” as acknowledging that “there did not seem to be any immediate defensive gaps to exploit” in Russian lines. The article noted that, “according to a preliminary analysis,” no Russian units in eastern and southern Ukraine abandoned their positions on Friday or Saturday as the attempted insurrection was in full swing.

It went on to emphasize that on Saturday alone, Russian forces reportedly fired some 50 missiles at various targets across Ukraine. American officials cited by the paper predicted that, at least in the short term, the “front lines in Ukraine are likely to remain unchanged.” The NYT added, however, that Ukraine is still likely to attempt to use the “chaos caused by Mr. Prigozhin” to its advantage. The article suggested that supposedly “weakening morale” among Russian troops could be one of the factors that potentially helps Kiev make gains. The paper concluded, however, that “it is too soon to determine the long-term implications” of the failed coup attempt. Speaking to CBS News on Sunday, Blinken described Wagner’s attempted rebellion as a “direct challenge to Putin’s authority,” arguing that it “raises profound questions” and “shows real cracks.”

The diplomat went on to claim that this “creates even greater openings for the Ukrainians to do well on the ground.” Blinken suggested that Wagner’s actions had created a “real distraction” for the Russian leadership, who will now have to “sort of mind their rear.” Blinken’s assessment appeared to echo that of other top US officials, as reported by Politico on Sunday. Wagner rebelled on Friday against Russia’s military leadership. The head of the private military company, Evgeny Prigozhin, agreed to end the uprising and withdraw his forces in exchange for “security guarantees,” as part of a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday. The same day, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian troops had mounted several attacks, which it claimed had all been repelled.

Read more …

“..the Ukrainian forces have so far demonstrated remarkable aptitude to losing that military hardware and taking heavy casualties without making any meaningful gains in the field..”

Biden Officials Worry That Ukrainian Offensive is ‘Behind Schedule’ (Sp.)

As the Ukrainian “counteroffensive” that started earlier this month now appears to be grinding to a halt, with Kiev troops failing to breach even the first Russian defensive line, US government officials have apparently become somewhat disappointed by this turn of events. According to one US newspaper, White House officials have been privately fretting about the progress of the Ukrainian offensive while publicly urging people to be patient, with one senior administration official describing its results as “sobering.” “They’re behind schedule,” the official reportedly said. The newspaper also notes that, despite failing to produce any meaningful gains on the battlefield, Kiev forces have already lost a considerable amount of military hardware that was supplied to them by the West.


Over 15 percent of the Bradley infantry fighting vehicles – at least 17 out of 113 – provided to Kiev by the United States have been destroyed or damaged during the futile attempt by Ukrainian forces to reach Russian defensive lines, if the media outlet’s information is to be believed. In the beginning of this month, Ukrainian forces launched what appears to be the much-anticipated “counteroffensive” that the regime in Kiev has been announcing for months. Despite being provided vast quantities of Western military hardware and weaponry by the US and its allies and receiving training from NATO instructors, the Ukrainian forces have so far demonstrated remarkable aptitude to losing that military hardware and taking heavy casualties without making any meaningful gains in the field.

Read more …

When Lukashenko called, Prigozhin already knew what was up. He had all of 3,000 men with him. Lukashenko offered him a way out that Putin had authorized. He didn’t have to convince him to give up, just offer the way out.

Prigozhin’s Farce Is Over And It Is Clear Who Has Won (MoA)

The Prigozhin’s insurrection farce is over. I had predicted that it would not take long to end: In twelve or so hours things are likely to have calmed down. About eight hours after I published the above Prigozhin had given up and left the scene. Prigozhin had launched his hopeless mutiny after the Defense Ministry had demanded that all his men sign contacts with the Russian army. That would have taken away the autonomy of his Wagner outlet and with it a large chunk of his profits. The run of his troops towards Moscow was a desperate attempt to get Putin’s attention and to make him reverse the ministry’s plans. To justify his move Prigozhin had claimed that Russian miliary forces had attacked a Wagner camp and killed a number of its troops. To prove that he published a video that shows some trash in the woods but no dead soldiers. It was an obvious fake.

Putin had already publicly agreed to the ministry’s plans and he is not the man who reverses his decisions on a dime, or under pressure. After Putin’s Saturday morning TV speech, during which he accused Prigozhin of treason without naming him, it was clear that there was no chance for the mutiny to have any success. Many of Russia’s governors and high ranking military soon assured Putin publicly of their loyalty. As far as is known none of Wagner’s military commanders and only a few thousand of its 25,000 troops had joined Prigozhin in his lunatic run. No one in Russia changed sides or supported him. When the Wagner troops entered Rostov on the Don the people who talked with his soldiers were critical of their presence. When Wagner were leaving without further bloodshed the people applauded. To interpret that as support for Prigozhin, as some ‘western’ analysts did, is false. The people were just happy that the whole stunt was over.

Finally the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, likely on request from Putin, got Prigozhin on the phone, used some very strong words and negotiated a deal. If Prigozhin goes into exile in Belarus he will not be bothered any further. But the Russian prosecutors will not close the treason case against him. Should he again make a hassle he will likely end up in jail. Prigozhin may be allowed to take some of his troops with him to Belarus. But the large majority will come under the command of the Russian military and will be transformed into some special unit. The French foreign legion may be an good example for such a force and its potential use. In previous years Prigozhin’s companies had made large profits by catering to the needs of the Russian military. The contracts they have will likely end and his personal fortune will take a big hit. The good days are over for him.

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Yes, yes, Josep. Go home now. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.

Prigozhin Mutiny Was Monster Acting Against His Creator- Borrell (G.)

Yevgeny Prigozhin’s aborted mutiny in Russia was “the monster acting against his creator”, the EU’s foreign policy chief has said. “The political system is showing fragilities, and the military power is cracking,” Josep Borrell told reporters in Luxembourg as he arrived for a meeting with ministers from across the 27-member bloc. Wagner group mercenary forces under Prigozhin seized control of military headquarters in southern Russia and began to move towards Moscow on Saturday before suddenly heading back to eastern Ukraine after a deal with the Kremlin. “The most important conclusion is the war against Ukraine launched by Putin and the monster that Putin created with Wagner, the monster is fighting, the monster is acting against his creator,” Borrell said.

Borrell said the instability in Russia was dangerous given its nuclear arsenal and would be top of the agenda at the Luxembourg summit, where ministers voted through a promise to top up Ukraine’s military funds by €3.5bn (£3bn). “Certainly it is not a good thing to see that a nuclear power like Russia is going into a phase of political instability,” he said. EU foreign ministers were scrambling to digest the fallout from the mutiny at their meeting. The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said Putin was destroying his own country with his “brutal war of aggression” in Ukraine. “We are seeing massive cracks in the Russian propaganda,” she added. Baerbock said the EU would focus on helping Ukraine in its fight to let its people live in peace and freedom.

The Swedish minister Tobias Billström said it was too early to do an analysis but that the weekend’s events brought Ukraine’s potential membership of the EU into sharp focus. The most important thing was supporting Ukraine so it could win back its territory, he added. “We will have a good opportunity to sit down and talk about the future policy with regard to Ukraine, when it comes to EU integration,” Billström said. “And when it comes to giving both political, military, humanitarian and financial support to Ukraine, until Ukraine has restored its territorial integrity completely.”

Finland’s new foreign minister, Elina Valtonen, said: “It’s too early to tell where this will lead to. But of course, it’s pretty obvious that the events of the weekend will have continued effect on how Putin is seen internally, but also on how Russia is seen to the outside world. “It is common for authoritarian states that everything seems to be very stable until one day, nothing is stable any more. And I expect such a development for Russia as well.” The ministers are also expected to approve the 11th round of sanctions against Russia, aimed at stopping Putin from circumventing previous sanctions by using third countries to ship crude oil and other products around the world.

Read more …

Prigozhin’s private jet was spotted in Belarus this morning. Reportedly, the probe is now closed.

Investigation Into Case Surrounding Prigozhin Continuing (TASS)

The investigation of the criminal case against Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC), accused of organizing an armed mutiny, has not been closed, a source in the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed to TASS on Monday. “The criminal case against Prigozhin has not been closed. The investigation is continuing,” the source said. Kommersant newspaper reported on Monday that as of the morning of June 26, the criminal case concerning the organization of the armed mutiny involving Prigozhin has not been closed and continues to be investigated by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).


On Saturday, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said that, on June 23, FSB investigators opened a criminal case against Yevgeny Prigozhin under Article 279 of the Russian Criminal Code for organizing an armed mutiny. The case was initiated after Prigozhin’s Telegram channel published statements that his units were allegedly attacked and appealed to supporters to come out against the country’s top military leaders. The crime is punishable by 12 to 20 years in prison. The Russian Defense Ministry denied information about Russian strikes on the “rear camps of the Wagner PMC.” Russian President Vladimir Putin made a televised address to Russian citizens, servicemen and law enforcement agencies, slamming the ongoing events as a stab in the back.

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Scott Ritter lagging behind the events.

Prigozhin’s Gambit – Treason By Any Other Name (Scott Ritter)

Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind—Yevgeny Prigozhin has become a witting agent of Ukraine and the intelligence services of the collective West. And while there may be those within Wagner who have been unwittingly drawn into this act of high treason through deception and subterfuge, in the aftermath of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s address to the Russian nation on June 24, and Yevgeny Prigozhin’s impolitic reply, there can be no doubt that there are only two sides in this struggle—the side of constitutional legitimacy, and the side of unconstitutional treason and sedition. Anyone who continues to participate in Prigozhin’s coup has aligned themselves on the wrong side of the law and have themselves become outlaws.

Having taken Wagner down this unfortunate path, one needs to examine the motivations—stated and otherwise—that could prompt such a dangerous course of action. First and foremost, Prigozhin’s gambit must be looked at for what it is—an act of desperation. For all its military prowess, Wagner as a fighting force is unsustainable for any period without the logistical support of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The fuel that powers Wagner’s vehicles, the ammunition that gives its weapons their lethality, the food that nourishes its fighters—all comes from the very organization that Prigozhin has set his sights on usurping. This reality means that to succeed, Prigozhin would need to rally sufficient support behind his cause capable of not only sustaining his gambit but offsetting the considerable power of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Russian Federation which, if left intact, would be able to readily defeat the forces of Wagner in any large-scale combat.

In short, Prigozhin is looking to create a so-called “Moscow Maidan” designed to replicate the success of the events of early 2014 in Kiev, where the constitutionally elected government of President Victor Yanukovych was toppled from power through violence and force of will that was orchestrated by Ukrainian nationalists supported by the US and Europe. The fantasy of a “Moscow Maidan” has been at the center of the strategy of the collective West and their Ukrainian proxy from the very start. Premised on the notion of a weak Russian president propped up by a thoroughly corrupt oligarch class, the idea of creating the conditions for the rise of sufficient domestic unrest capable of bringing down the Putin government like a proverbial house of cards was the primary objective of the sanctions regime imposed by the West after the initiation of the Special Military Operation (SMO) on February 24, 2022.

The failure of the sanctions to generate such a result compelled the collective West to double-down on the notion of collapsing the Russian government, this time using a military solution. The British Prime Minister pressured his Ukrainian counterpart to forgo a negotiated settlement to the conflict that was ready to be signed in Istanbul on April 1, 2022, and instead engage in a protracted war with Russia fueled by tens of billions of dollars’ worth of military and financial assistance designed to inflict military losses on Russia sufficient to trigger domestic unrest—the elusive “Moscow Maidan.” This effort likewise failed.

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“He actually voted in the Senate to authorize the invasion, however. When Rochebin pushed him on the apparent double standard, Kerry began speaking about “climate justice.”

John Kerry Says Iraq Invasion Was Based On Lie (RT)

The US-led invasion of Iraq was completely different to the current Ukraine conflict, Washington’s special envoy for climate change John Kerry has told French TV channel LCI. He appeared on LCI’s Sunday evening show hosted by Darius Rochebin, who had previously interviewed him for a Swiss outlet in 2017. Rochebin tweeted a video segment of the interview, in which he confronted Kerry about the West accusing Russia of aggression regarding Ukraine. The French journalist noted that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was an actual war of aggression, based on the lie that Baghdad secretly possessed weapons of mass destruction. “No,” Kerry replied. “Because there’s never even been, you know, a process of direct accusation of President [George W.] Bush himself.”

He added that there had been “abuses” in the course of that conflict, and that he “spoke out against them.” When Rochebin asked him directly whether the Iraq War had been a crime of aggression, Kerry repeatedly denied it. “No, No, No. Well, you didn’t know it was a lie at the time. The evidence that was produced, people didn’t know that it was a lie,” the former diplomat said, before telling Rochebin that he doesn’t intend to “re-debate the Iraq War” at this point. Kerry also claimed he was opposed to the war at the time and thought it was the wrong thing to do. He actually voted in the Senate to authorize the invasion, however. When Rochebin pushed him on the apparent double standard, Kerry began speaking about “climate justice.”

The Bush administration accused Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of having chemical and biological weapons, as well as being somehow involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. The ‘evidence’ for WMDs offered to the media and the UN Security Council turned out to be entirely fabricated, and no such weapons were ever found. Likewise, no connection between Baghdad and Al-Qaeda was ever established. The 2003 invasion and the subsequent occupation of Iraq was carried out without UN approval, by what Bush called a ‘coalition of the willing’. The US, the UK, Australia and Poland provided troops for the attack, though Washington later claimed 44 more countries had offered some kind of support. Kerry ran against Bush in 2004 but lost. He later served as secretary of state in the Barack Obama administration, and was appointed climate change ambassador by the current president, Joe Biden, in 2021.

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“..Mr. Zelensky might use some of his NATO missiles to zap it, but Russia has video surveillance and recording equipment at every angle around the joint and the world will know five seconds after how it was blown up..”

Coup Coo (Kunstler)

Let’s address one nagging question: why did Mr. Putin allow the Wagner Group private army to play the leading role countering the Ukraine offensive? Answer: because he was saving and building-up the regular Russian army to strength in the further event that NATO might finally jump into Ukraine with all its multi-national feet when all else fails. We’re left, of course, with the manifold mysteries of the coup’s hasty resolution. Mr. Prigozhin, we’re told, will be turned over to the custody of the Belarus president Lukashenko, to… to be done what with? To be put on the shelf like a bowling trophy? I’m sure…. If they can even find the bugger now. (I’d look in Africa, where sundry Wagner units have been operating — Priggy must have had a plane standing by in Rostov.)

In any case, we know the rest: Wagner troops who did not participate in the coup get folded into the regular army, and said regular army takes over duty along the front in Ukraine. Mr. Putin, despite all these insults, will continue to seek a diplomatic end to all this nonsense, and he might get it sooner rather than later. Germany and France, among Euro others, must be sick of these shenanigans. Can Ukraine even carry on much longer? President Zelensky, the comedian, seems to have gone mad-dog now. He just cancelled next year’s election, which makes him… what? Dictator? So much for America’s democracy export program. He’s also issued warnings to the effect that Russia is about to blow up the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest.

Such an act would supposedly trigger direct intervention by NATO, according to the policy promoted by war-hawk US Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal. The nuclear plant is under Russian control. Mr. Zelensky says they have set mines in it. The scenario is pretty absurd. Nobody believes it. Of course, Mr. Zelensky might use some of his NATO missiles to zap it, but Russia has video surveillance and recording equipment at every angle around the joint and the world will know five seconds after how it was blown up. From his latest photographs, it looks like Mr. Zelensky is in the terminal throes of a cocaine rapture, and his actions are consistent with that state of mind. He must know that he’s not long for this world. And our country, the USA, must know that this Ukraine gambit is another lost cause on our long march of military misadventures.

And if the government of our country doesn’t know, the people surely do. Have you noticed, the yellow-and-blue flags are not flying anymore? Even the most hardcore anti-Trump Democrats seem to understand what pounding sand down a rat-hole means when it comes to the many billions of dollars squandered on this stupid project while our cities rot and a whole lot more goes south in our own ailing homeland. Not to mention the parlous position of the American president himself, the spectral “Joe Biden,” skulking in his demon-haunted White House as evidence of his treasonous turpitudes mounts and mounts. Which leaves us to wonder whether our Intel Community may have stirred up the Russia coup as just another distraction from its own Biden-linked crimes against this nation.

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“[a]ny verifiable words or actions of my client in the midst of a horrible addiction are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family.”

Who is Lying? Merrick Garland or the Whistleblowers? (Turley)

“I’m not the deciding official.” Those five words, allegedly from Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, shocked IRS and FBI investigators in a meeting on October 22, 2022. This is because, in refusing to appoint a special counsel, AG Merrick Garland had repeatedly assured the public and Congress that Weiss had total authority over his investigation. IRS supervisory agent Gary A. Shapley Jr. told Congress he was so dismayed by Weiss’s statement and other admissions that he memorialized them in a communication to other team members. Shapley and another whistleblower detail what they describe as a pattern of interference with their investigation of Hunter Biden, including the denial of searches, lines of questioning, and even attempted indictments.

The only thing abundantly clear is that someone is lying. Either these whistleblowers are lying to Congress, or these Justice Department officials (including Garland) are lying. The response from both Hunter Biden’s counsel and the attorney general himself only deepened the concerns. Christopher Clark, an attorney for Hunter Biden, responded to a shocking Whatsapp message that the president’s son had allegedly sent to a Chinese official with foreign intelligence contacts who was funneling millions to him. “I am sitting here with my father,” the younger Biden wrote, “and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight. And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.”

President Biden has repeatedly told the public that he had no knowledge or involvement in his son’s dealings. He maintained the denial despite audiotapes of him referring to business dealings, photos and meetings with his son’s business associates, as well as an eyewitness account of an in-person meeting. Clark did not deny that the above-quoted message had been sent. He only said that it was “illegal” to release the text (he did not explain why) and then added that “[a]ny verifiable words or actions of my client in the midst of a horrible addiction are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family.” Most of us expected a simple denial. Yet, after five years, Hunter has never even denied that the laptop was his. His team has continued with the same non-denial denials.

The transcript also details how investigators wanted to confirm the authenticity of the Whatsapp message through the company. The Justice Department reportedly shut down that effort. If Hunter Biden was evasive, Garland was irate. He denounced the allegations as “an attack on an institution that is essential to American democracy, and essential to the safety of the American people.” The statement bordered on delusion. Polls show that a majority of the public now views the Justice Department as politically compromised and even engaged in election interference. The level of trust in the department under Garland is now lower than it was under his predecessor, Bill Barr.

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“..empowering EU governments to install spyware on journalists’ devices under the guise of “national security”..

‘Journalism is Not a Crime’: Experts Lambast EU Media Freedom Act

The European Media Freedom Act envisages installing spyware on journalists’ phones for the sake of “national security”. Sputnik sat down with some international observers to discuss how the provision correlates with the act’s name and basic European principles. “There is no legitimate reason to spy on journalists,” Lucy Komisar, an investigative journalist based in New York, told Sputnik. “Remember, this law targets people identified as journalists, not as spies or terrorists or criminals. Journalism is not a crime, unless Julian Assange does it. The real reason is to protect government officials from journalists reporting on officials’ misguided policies, abuses and corruption. It’s quite ironic in view of the EU’s self-congratulatory rules trumpeted as protecting peoples’ data from tech companies. Stealing data when a company does it is bad, stealing audio and written text when a government does it is just fine.”

The bloc’s new media regulation was proposed by the European Commission (EC) in September 2022. The initial draft stipulated that European governments could deploy spyware on journalists’ devices “on a case-by-case basis” to ensure national security or to investigate “serious crimes,” such as terrorism, human or weapons trafficking, exploitation of children, murder or rape. However, in May 2023, Politico obtained a document penned by French policy-makers who called to narrow journalists’ immunity under the new EU rules and strike what they called “a fair balance between the need to protect the confidentiality of journalists’ sources and the need to protect citizens and the state against serious threats.” According to the media, Paris’ argument was accepted by the EC. As a result, the draft legislation was amended to loosen safeguards for the journalists’ immunity.

The EC’s original list of “serious crimes” allowing surveillance on reporters was replaced by a broader 2002’s Council Framework Decision of the European arrest warrant consisting of 32 offenses. The development triggered a storm of criticism from European journalist organizations, NGOs and activist groups. In particular, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), representing over 300,000 members, denounced the EU’s move as a “blow to media freedom”. The EFJ warned that empowering EU governments to install spyware on journalists’ devices under the guise of “national security” would in particular have a “chilling effect on whistleblowers” and confidential sources. “Since the eighteenth century when newspapers began to circulate, the secrecy of sources has been sacrosanct,” Professor Ellis Cashmore, the author of Screen Society and an independent media analyst, told Sputnik. “Journalists have, over generations, respected this and steadfastly refused to reveal sources. As recently as 2005, Judith Miller, a New York Times journalist, was sentenced to prison for not revealing sources. So, it is an extremely important principle in the media.”

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“Germany’s Justice Minister Marco Buschmann had studied the EU proposals for harvesting Russian Central Bank assets, and concluded they were legally unworkable.”

Germany Opposes EU Plan To Steal Russian Assets – FT (RT)

Germany has raised objections to Brussels’s plan to use frozen Russian Central Bank assets for Ukraine’s reconstruction, warning of the legal and financial risks arising from such a move, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The European Commission has been working on a plan to raise billions of euros by requiring financial institutions holding immobilized Russian assets to hand over some of the profits they generate. However, many lawmakers from across the bloc have pointed out that the EU legal system only allows the assets to be frozen, not expropriated. According to the FT, senior German government officials voiced doubts that the EU’s plan can win sufficient support, due to the legal risks.

A Foreign Ministry official reportedly said Moscow “will have to pay for the damage it has caused in Ukraine” and insisted that Germany was doing “everything it legally can” to locate and freeze the assets of sanctioned Russian individuals and companies. The official, however, noted that the idea of using Russian funds for Ukraine’s reconstruction raised “complex financial and legal questions.” “It opens a can of worms,” another German official warned, adding that if the EU took money from the Russian Central Bank or reaped the profits from investing the funds, it would set a precedent for others to pursue, such as Poland, with its World War II reparation claims against Berlin. An unnamed official told FT that Germany’s Justice Minister Marco Buschmann had studied the EU proposals for harvesting Russian Central Bank assets, and concluded they were legally unworkable.

At a meeting with the European Commission last week, several diplomats reportedly urged caution on the proposal. The EU and its allies have frozen hundreds of billions of euros of Russian Central Bank assets as part of the sanctions policy. Officials have so far rejected calls to confiscate the assets outright, and have instead looked for ways to harvest some of the proceeds for Kiev, FT wrote. The report indicated that one option is for securities depositories to be required to make a windfall contribution from the profits generated, when they reinvest the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. Kiev reportedly believes the EU could raise €3 billion ($3.2 billion) a year from Russian Central Bank assets.

According to a senior Ukrainian official, it was also looking at an alternative scheme, whereby the commission could use seized Russian assets as collateral against which it could borrow to invest for a return, which would be designated for Kiev. “The challenge is to try to work out what is legally sound and defensible,” according to one EU diplomat involved in the discussions, who added: “It’s more complex than anybody thought at the outset.” Foreign ministers from the 27-nation bloc are expected to discuss the issue at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, officials involved in the planning of the meeting told the FT. Moscow has repeatedly condemned the EU’s seizure of its assets as theft. While addressing the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the measure as “medieval.”

Read more …

The ultimate power grab.

Germany, France Want To End Veto Rights In The EU This Year (RMX)

In what may be the beginning of the end for European nations, Germany and France are determined to reform national rights, including the EU right of veto, this year. The debate has caused a stir in recent months, and in recent weeks, the measure has been put back on the agenda. France and Germany are convinced that a large-scale institutional reform of the European Union, including the abolition of the veto on European Council votes, could be achieved this year, French EU Affairs Minister Laurence Boone and German Minister of State Anna Lührmann told Euractiv. “This is one of the options we want to explore in order to maintain our position as a global player with the EU’s common foreign and security policy,” Lührmann said.

She added that “it would be an important signal in other policy areas if we were to move to qualified majority voting already this year” and expressed confidence that this would happen. The two ministers said that both countries consider it important to abolish unanimous voting in the European Council in areas such as foreign policy and taxation before the enlargement of the European Union. This could mean, for example, that Brussels would be able to implement a flat tax rate across the EU or even involve itself more deeply in the war, both moves that Hungary has rejected and in some cases even deployed its veto to stop.

Paris and Berlin claim abolishing the veto is a change that is possible without amending the EU treaties, a point hotly contested by a number of European parties, as it would not only give Brussels enormous power but also the largest states, such as Germany and France. This would subsequently allow for the EU to enact a liberal immigration policy, green rules and various other progressive goals without any hindrance from Hungary and other smaller, conservative nations. The introduction of qualified majority voting would remove the veto on foreign policy issues, which would mean that only 15 of the 27 member states — representing 65 percent of the EU’s population — would have to agree to make particularly important foreign and defense policy decisions affecting the EU as a whole. Laurence Boone told Euractiv that this would be “an important step toward greater integration and efficiency.”

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Mobula ray

 

 

Bat swim

 

 

 

 

1st steps
https://twitter.com/i/status/1673386327163674633

 

 

Throw in a donkey

 

 

Art
https://twitter.com/i/status/1673370199301537809

 

 


The oldest musical composition with musical notation still existing anywhere in the world is the Seikilos epitaph from Aydin (Turkey). The epitaphs’ Greek text reads:

“While you live, shine
have no grief at all
life exists only for a short while
and Time demands his due.”

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Jun 262023
 
 June 26, 2023  Posted by at 8:54 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  53 Responses »


Rembrandt van Rijn The standard bearer 1636

 

FSB Spooked The CIA On Prigozhin Coup (Bhadrakumar)
US Ambassador To Moscow Contacts Russian Diplomats Over Wagner Crisis (TASS)
US Intelligence Knew Of Wagner Plot Days In Advance, Briefed Congress (ZH)
Putin Says He Deals With Special Military Op Issues 24/7 (TASS)
Lavrov Slams Biden’s, Zelensky’s Nuclear Remarks On US Nuclear Threat (TASS)
Russia, Internal This Time (Denninger)
A Wild, Conspiratorial, Fantastical View of World Politics (Cook)
J.K. Rowling’s Moment of Truth (Rachel Lu)
IRS Whistleblower Reveals Names of Witnesses to Show AG Garland Lying (CTH)
Joe Biden Used Secret Global Cell Phone While He Was VP (GP)
FBI Knew Hunter Biden’s Laptop Was ‘Reliable’ Before Smearing It (Sp.)
The Designated Defendant: Was Hunter Biden Always the Fall Guy? (Turley)
Why Julian Assange Must Be Freed (Matt Taibbi)
Biden Would Need His Pound of Flesh From Assange (Lauria)

 

 

Everyone in the west appears to fall over each other declaring the Wagner story a “coup”. If it was, Prigozhin is an exceptionally inept man. What was he going to do when he got to the outskirts of Moscow?

They also claim Putin comes out brutally damaged. You sure he’s not the big winner? It’s okay to admit you don’t know things. I’m doing it right here and now.

 

 

I’m still looking at this map. It makes so much sense.

And a take like this one:

“Putin scammed the world by faking the coup to fool NATO and eliminate disloyal high ranking military inside Russia without protests from other officials. The ploy also duped Ukraine into advancing, thinking Russia was weak, thus revealing their entire offensive. If that’s what he did it was a genius military tactic that will go down as one of the greatest moves in military history.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bucky
https://twitter.com/i/status/1672961473553874947

 

 

 

 

Extermination

 

 

 

 

“Blinken has piled up a consistent record for being horribly wrong on his assessments on Russia — starting from the deathly blow the ‘sanctions from hell’ were expected to give to the Russian economy; Putin’s hold on power; Russia’s catastrophic defeat in Ukraine; Russian military’s deficiencies; Kiev’s inexorable military victory, and so on..”

FSB Spooked The CIA On Prigozhin Coup (Bhadrakumar)

Just as the CIA or most intelligence organisations do, the FSB also psychoanalyses the remarks of their targets for profound meanings. They do that routinely and have trained analysts who do only that. It wouldn’t have escaped the attention of Russian intelligence analysts that Prigozhin’s ranting and ravings from Donetsk from last autumn and winter began originally on the operational aspects of the Bakhmut war front in Donetsk oblast, but incrementally began acquiring political overtones, culminating finally in his incredible statement that the raison d’être of the special military operation in Ukraine since February 2022, was all baloney. Even more strangely, this man who physically witnessed the Battle of Bakhmut, came to the bizarre conclusion that Kiev or Nato had no mala fide intentions toward Donbass or Russia.

Therefore, the ‘known known’ here is that the Russian intelligence was under instructions to be in ‘listening mode,’ give the eddies a free flow in the Battle of Bakhmut where Wagner was in the driving seat. (Interestingly, though, at some point, much to Prigozhin’s annoyance, Moscow also began deploying regular troops selectively on the Bakhmut front alongside the Wagner fighters. ) On Saturday, top US intelligence officials sprang into action to brief the media as it emerged that Russian authorities were literally waiting with a road map to squash Prigozhin’s coup attempt. Even the Chechen militia was put on standby. The crucial element in the deal struck with Prigozhin has been that he will not be prosecuted but must simply get lost. And where else could his exile be arranged better on Planet Earth than in Belarus under the benevolent eyes of President Alexander Lukashenko?

Now, we may get to know at some point from Lukashenko, who struggles to keep secrets for long, as to when exactly would Putin have taken him into confidence on a ‘need-to-know basis.’ It strains credulity that such a complex dealmaking was possible within a clutch of hours via tortuous 3-way negotiations between Moscow, Minsk and Rostov-on-Don even as the renegade Wagner column was approaching Moscow. An intriguing sub-plot here is that amidst all this heavy traffic, Lukashenko also negotiated with Nurusultan Nazarbayev, the former Kazakh dictator who headed a pro-western regime in Astana and was ousted from power after reigning for nearly three decades, following the failure of a similar US-backed coup attempt like Prigozhin’s in the winter of 2021-2022, which too was crushed with the help of the CSTO forces (Russian troops) led by a Russian general.

On the previous day, in fact, Putin had spoken with two Central Asian leaders — Kazakh President Jomart Tokayev and Uzbek President Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev. Did he share any crucial intelligence? In fact, both these countries have been facing western plots for regime change lately. By the way, Given Moscow’s preoccupations in Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping has stepped in to take a hands-on role to consolidate the stability and security of the Central Asian region. (Please see my recent articles — China takes leadership role in Central Asia ; An “Axis of Seven” to supplement SCO ; and, Russia, China take holistic view of the Pamirs and Hindu Kush. Clearly, something was seriously afoot in Kazakhstan, which is sandwiched between Russia and China and is the most crucial piece of real estate in geopolitical terms in Central Asia.

In all probability, this was what the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken alluded to when he told ABC on Sunday that the situation with the attempted coup in Russia “is still developing… I don’t want to speculate, and I don’t think we saw the final episode.” That said, however, Blinken has piled up a consistent record for being horribly wrong on his assessments on Russia — starting from the deathly blow the ‘sanctions from hell’ were expected to give to the Russian economy; Putin’s hold on power; Russia’s catastrophic defeat in Ukraine; Russian military’s deficiencies; Kiev’s inexorable military victory, and so on.

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“..we had some engagement with the Russians over the weekend to make sure they understood their responsibilities when it comes to looking out for the safety and security of our personnel in Russia..”

US Ambassador To Moscow Contacts Russian Diplomats Over Wagner Crisis (TASS)

US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy got in touch with Russian foreign ministry officials amid the situation around PMC Wagner but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has no contacts with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the CBS television channel said on Sunday, citing its sources. According to CBS, contacts with Russia were carried out both between Ambassador Tracy and the Russian foreign ministry and at several other levels. However, there were no contacts between the two countries’ top diplomats. When asked about contacts with the Russian side, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with CBS, “I instructed my own team at the President’s behest to engage with the Russians, first and foremost, to make sure that they understood their responsibilities in terms of protecting our own personnel, ensuring their safety and well-being, as well as any American citizens in Russia.”

“So a number of people have engaged to make sure that the Russians got that message,” he noted. When asked whether US President Joe Biden would reach out to Russian President Vladimir Putin or whether the CIA director had any contacts with Russian intelligence, he said, “I’m not gonna get into any diplomatic contacts that we may have or have had, I can tell you that, on my instruction, on the President’s instruction, we had some engagement with the Russians over the weekend to make sure they understood their responsibilities when it comes to looking out for the safety and security of our personnel in Russia. Very important that we do that, and we did that.” No response has come from the US Department of State to TASS’ inquiry about Ambassador Tracy’s contacts with Russian diplomats.

In the evening of June 23, several audio recordings were posted on PMC Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Telegram channel. In particular, he claimed that his units had been allegedly attacked and blamed the military leadership of the country. In connection with these statements, the Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case over calls for an armed rebellion. The Defense Ministry dismissed the claims about alleged strikes on the “rear camps of the PMC Wagner” as false. In his address to the nation on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the PMC Wagner’s actions as an armed mutiny and treason and vowed that measures against the trouble-makers would be tough.

Later on Saturday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in coordination with Putin, held talks with Prigozhin, which yielded a de-escalation plan. Later, Prigozhin said that PMC Wagner was halting its advance to Moscow to return back to its field camps. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that a criminal case against the Wagner chief would be dropped, while Prigozhin himself would go to Belarus. Besides, the Russian authorities pledged not to prosecute PMC Wagner troops who took part in the mutiny because of their “combat merits.”.

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More Blinken assessments.

US Intelligence Knew Of Wagner Plot Days In Advance, Briefed Congress (ZH)

While over the past months Prigozhin has made his personal hatred for Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and top general Valery Gerasimov well known, the intelligence that Washington supposedly had seems very specific and appears to have accurately predicted events, a mere few days before they unfolded. While the Kremlin has thus far refrained from blaming the tumultuous events on US or NATO countries, it has indirectly hinted and warned that the West could exploit the situation. “The attempted armed mutiny in our country has aroused strong disapproval in Russian society, which firmly supports President Vladimir Putin,” a Foreign Ministry statement said Saturday. “We warn the Western countries against the slightest attempts to use the internal situation in Russia for achieving their Russophobic aims. Such attempts are futile and evoke no support either in Russia or among soberly-minded political forces abroad.”


But soon after, Secretary of State Blinken did just that, in Sunday news shows pushing the talking point that the Wagner mutiny exposed “real cracks” in Putin’s government: Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said the short-lived rebellion from Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin “shows real cracks” within Russia as it wages its war on Ukraine. “Prigozhin himself, in this entire incident, has raised profound questions about the very premises for Russian aggression against Ukraine in the first place, saying that Ukraine or NATO did not pose a threat to Russia, which is part of Putin’s narrative. And it was a direct challenge to Putin’s authority. So this raises profound questions. It shows real cracks,” Blinken said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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“.. the president shared that he “has been staying up quite late lately.”

Putin Says He Deals With Special Military Op Issues 24/7 (TASS)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he keeps the situation of the special operation under control around the clock. “Of course, I pay priority attention [to the special military operation],” he told journalist Pavel Zarubin. “This is how the day begins and this is how it ends,” Putin pointed out during an interview with the “Moscow.Kremlin.Putin” TV program, recorded on June 21. When asked if he can get a report on important issues at 3 a.m., for example, the president shared that he “has been staying up quite late lately.” “Of course, I always have to be in touch. That’s the way it goes. Always, I’m always in touch. Close by,” he concluded.

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“I cannot be responsible for the psychological state of people who repeatedly, daily prove their inadequacy..”

Lavrov Slams Biden’s, Zelensky’s Nuclear Remarks On US Nuclear Threat (TASS)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called statements by US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky on the nuclear threat allegedly emanating from Russia a “turbulent stream of consciousness” not worth commenting on. “It’s hard for me to comment on what the US president has been saying lately, as it is for other observers in general who are wondering how to interpret it all. I wouldn’t put too much weight on verbal escapades that have no basis in fact right now,” the top Russian diplomat said in an interview with the “Moscow.Kremlin.Putin” TV program, according to an excerpt posted on Sunday on journalist Pavel Zarubin’s Telegram channel.


Lavrov called Zelensky’s statements “even more turbulent stream of consciousness.” “I have no medical background. [Head of the European Commission] Ursula von der Leyen has a medical degree. I cannot be responsible for the psychological state of people who repeatedly, daily prove their inadequacy,” Lavrov added. Earlier, Biden said during a speech in California that he believed the threat of Russian leader Vladimir Putin using tactical nuclear weapons was real.

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“These people are under the foolish belief that a man with 6,000 nuclear weapons at this control will back off and let them put ours 5 minutes away..”

Russia, Internal This Time (Denninger)

You can look at Putin as whatever you’d like but the fact of the matter is that this is a nation with thousands of nuclear weapons and, whatever your view of Putin is, he is one of the more-moderate members of the government in Russia. If he is deposed by force or worse, there’s a no-BS civil war that occurs over there who knows what comes out of that. The odds that it will be “more-friendly” to the United States than what we have now, never mind NATO, are very poor, and what’s worse is that both we and all the other NATO nations are likely interfering in a covert manner and everyone involved over there in this thing knows it. It is entirely reasonable that if Putin is deposed the US and NATO will be given a 24 hour ultimatum to remove everything they have to the Polish border or beyond and if they don’t it and the land under it will be destroyed with tactical nuclear weapons.

If you think that’s crazy you’re wrong. It is in fact very possible. Further, there is no “polite” or “conventional” response to such a threat available to us or anyone else. We either comply or its on, for real. Do realize there are people over there who consider NATO’s continued additions toward Russia, and the fact that each puts the flight time for a surprise attack closer and closer to Moscow and other major cities, an existential threat to the nation and its survival as a political entity. We would no more put up with China entering into a treaty with Mexico to put nuclear weapons on the Rio Grande or in Tijuana — within howitzer range of San Diego — than we should expect Russia to put up with us doing essentially the same thing.

Mike Pompeo is an idiot. So is Lindsey Graham. They have a right to their opinions but attempting to execute them as policy should earn them a permanent stay in prison — and in solitary confinement at that. This is wildly preferrable to a bunch of smoking holes in the ground and plumes of radiation drifting over what was a “fruited plain.” These people are under the foolish belief that a man with 6,000 nuclear weapons at this control will back off and let them put ours 5 minutes away. The problem is that in the event this goes sideways in Russia one or more people may wind up with the ability to actually use one or two. That is a much higher risk, and further, I’d like Pompeo to tell me what he thinks we would do if China and Mexico stuck some boom-booms within a few miles and a couple of minute flight times from a US city.

We all know that the United States would never tolerate that, yet this is exactly what we think NATO should be able to do over there. That is not a multi-polar or even bi-polar world when it comes to national power; it is a unipolar world where we set an agenda and everyone else must follow “or else.” sThat’s dumb.

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“Of course, Trump had the opportunity to pardon Assange and others but failed to do so. Now it’s his turn.”

A Wild, Conspiratorial, Fantastical View of World Politics (Cook)

Tucker Carlson dates the beginning of the plot to the Republican candidates’ debate in Greenville, SC, on February 16, 2016, when Trump said we never should have been in Iraq when we went to war in 2003. Trump said the U.S. “destabilized the Middle East.” He said, “They lied. There were no weapons of mass destruction. They knew there were none.” To be fair, in his June 13, 2023, broadcast, Tucker Carlson did not use the word “assassination.” But he did say that the intent was for Trump to die in prison. So I think “assassination” is a fair word. Regarding the 2024 presidential election, the only individual the Controllers and Deep State have to cling to is the corrupt, doddering Joe Biden, with enough baggage to sink an ocean liner. Even more laughable is his parody of a vice president, Kamala Harris.

But also appearing out of nowhere is a legitimate rival to the Biden/Harris comedy team in Robert F. Kennedy Jr., scion of the family that earlier stood in the way of Controller/Deep State rule but whose stalwarts were blotted out by assassinations–JFK, RFK, and, yes, I believe, JFK, Jr. All the foregoing should be seen against the observation that the Controllers/Deep State will stop at nothing in trying to destroy anyone who stands in their way in furthering their project of ruling the world now and forever. But cracks have been appearing in their façade for over a decade, the most glaring being the 2007-2008 financial collapse, the failure of the “War on Terror,” punctuated by Biden’s 2021 flight from Afghanistan, and now the Ukraine fiasco.

With the images of Joe and Hunter Biden, overlaid by those of Kamala Harris, Victoria Nuland, and Volodymyr Zelensky, as the public faces of the clique of plutocrats and gangsters who rule over us, we gain a new appreciation of the gravity and danger of the present moment. To return to Trump, he brought the “War on Terror” at least to the stage of winding down. Cutting funding for ISIS in Syria, ordering plans to evacuate Afghanistan, and his refusal to implement his advisers’ intent to bomb Iran may testify to his reluctance to march in lockstep with the Controllers’ program. Trump’s advisers openly bragged about refusing to obey his orders to pull troops from Syria. Whether he was fully cognizant of the subversion of the Minsk agreements by the coup-installed government of Ukraine and its NATO/Neocon consiglieri appears questionable.

Back to the latest indictments, the entire concept of “classified” documents is a trap resembling flypaper, ideal for ensnaring those ignorant of the danger in handling them. By some estimates, fifty million documents are given the “classified” stamp each year, with the stamp being used selectively to send its victims to prison. But until we see the contents of the documents in Trump’s possession and gain a fair assessment of exactly how their misuse by him aided and abetted our “enemies,” the indictment is objectively meaningless. Of course, by definition the documents are verboten to the hoi polloi such as ourselves, so we will never see them. Yet the indictments may serve their purpose, which is to lock up Trump for the rest of his life. [..] Of course, Trump had the opportunity to pardon Assange and others but failed to do so. Now it’s his turn.

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Fighting cancel culture.

J.K. Rowling’s Moment of Truth (Rachel Lu)

J. K. Rowling is not a witch. She acquitted herself well in her recent “trial,” a podcast series hosted by The Free Press, detailing the explosive controversy between history’s most famous children’s author and liberal progressive activists. The Witch Trials tells the story of Rowling’s rise to fame and her fall into (progressive) infamy. It’s the sort of podcast I had to turn off whenever my kids climbed into the car. There’s a good bit of profanity, as well as “adult themes.” Nevertheless, I found the story of Rowling’s battle with gender ideologues oddly inspiring. In an age when so many have cowered before the cancel mobs, Rowling stood by the truth.

Millennials worshiped Rowling in childhood. This comes through quite clearly in Witch Trials, as childhood fans gush about the way her books represented a “security blanket” through their childhood and adolescent growing pains. In a way, this is odd, because as children’s books go, Rowling’s are quite dark. Death is a major theme. Political oppression is rampant. Even “good” adults seem to be offering a tutorial in “failure to protect,” as Harry arrives each fall at Hogwarts brimming with eagerness to learn, only to be socially ostracized, plagued with death threats, or both. This is what gives today’s kids warm fuzzies?

Perhaps it is not really so strange. For all the grimness, Rowling gave her readers a universe that they found morally comfortable. Inclusion was always a major theme. The bad guys, a group of “pureblood” wizards, want to rule the world and ensure that their magical club is restricted to people of noble (magical) birth. They’re one part evil aristocrats protecting their privilege, and one part wand-wielding Nazis crusading under a “dark mark.” Meanwhile, the good guys are crusading for meritocracy, equality, and love, with side plots exploring the ethics of discrimination, especially against house elves (which some wizards regard as natural slaves).

At the same time, the Hogwarts universe explores at length the importance of personal identity. Children are initiated into the wondrous world of Hogwarts after discovering that they have an innate capacity for doing magic, and readers then get to follow these elite characters to their posh boarding school, where their unique abilities are further explored and refined. In the very hour of their arrival, their minds are probed by the magical “sorting hat” that assesses their character and places them within the proper House. As they continue at Hogwarts, Dumbledore’s Mirror of Erised shows each person his hopes and dreams, while spooky Bogarts display their greatest fears. Students eventually learn to cast a magical “patronus charm,” which brings forth a kind of animal-protector in a form that uniquely reflects the caster’s soul.

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“If Hunter Biden was caught not putting the foreign payments on his U.S. tax returns as income, and we know Joe Biden received the same payments, well, did Joe Biden list his portion on his income tax returns?”:”

IRS Whistleblower Reveals Names of Witnesses to Show AG Garland Lying (CTH)

Things are getting spicy in/around Main Justice in DC. On Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy AG Lisa Monaco denied any involvement interfering with the decisions made by USAO David Weiss regarding the investigation of the Hunter and Joe Biden bribery and tax fraud scheme. However, in response, the IRS whistleblower is now naming additional witnesses to Weiss’s statements. Through his attorneys, whistleblower Gary Shapley is now naming additional witnesses to the statements of USAO Weiss:

“In an October 7, 2022, meeting at the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Attorney David Weiss told six witnesses he did not have authority to charge in other districts and had thus requested special counsel status. Those six witnesses include Baltimore FBI Special Agent in Charge Tom Sobocinski and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryeshia Holley, IRS Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Shapley and Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon, who also independently and contemporaneously corroborated Mr. Shapley’s account in an email, now public as Exhibit 10, following p. 148 of his testimony transcript. Mr. Shapley would have no insight into why Mr. Weiss’s would make these statements at the October 7, 2022 meeting if they were false. That Mr. Weiss made these statements is easily corroborated, and it is up to him and the Justice Department to reconcile the evidence of his October 7, 2022 statements with contrary statements by Mr. Weiss and the Attorney General to Congress.”

Someone is lying, and the whistleblower appears to have all his information well documented and cited. Mr. Weiss, Mr. Garland and Mrs. Monaco have some explaining to do. An interesting thought ran through my head last night as I was thinking about the Hunter Biden IRS agreement. If Hunter Biden was caught not putting the foreign payments on his U.S. tax returns as income, and we know Joe Biden received the same payments, well, did Joe Biden list his portion on his income tax returns? Just wondering….

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A “present” from Hunter. Joe couldn’t very well put it in his own name.

Joe Biden Used Secret Global Cell Phone While He Was VP (GP)

Peter Schweizer on Sunday dropped a bombshell during an appearance on Fox News with host Maria Bartiromo. Schweizer, author of “Secret Empires,” said Joe Biden was using a secret cell phone and it was paid for by Hunter Biden’s firm. “What is the line of communications between Hunter Biden and his business partners and Joe Biden when he’s Vice President of the United States?” Schweizer said. “It’s not the government phone. It’s not Joe Biden’s personal phone. We know from the laptop that Hunter Biden’s business paid for a private phone line that Joe Biden used while he was Vice President. Schweizer continued, “It was from AT&T. It was $300 a month. It was a global phone where you could access somebody anywhere around the world.”

Peter Schweizer said he shared the “phone number and account information with the people over at the House Oversight Committee.” “My hope is that the House Oversight Committee will subpoena those records,” Peter Schweizer said. Biden’s secret global cell phone was used to run a very lucrative international influence-peddling operation that included his entire family. House Oversight Chairman James Comer last month identified the NINE Bidens implicated in corruption. “Joe Biden’s son. Joe Biden’s brother. Joe Biden’s brother’s wife. Hunter Biden’s girlfriend/Beau Biden’s widow, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife. Hunter Biden’s current wife. And 3 children of the president’s son and the president’s brother. So we’re talking about grandchildren – a grandchild. That’s odd. Most people that work hard every day a grandchild doesn’t get a wire from a foreign national,” Comer said at a press conference last month.

James Comer said the Biden family received over $10 million from foreign nationals while Joe Biden was Vice President. The countries involved directly correlated with Joe Biden’s work as Vice President. This is textbook money laundering and influence peddling. “The Committee is concerned by the complicated, suspicious network of over 20 companies we have identified the Bidens and their associates used to enrich themselves,” Comer said. “Most of these companies were Limited Liability Companies formed DURING Joe Biden’s Vice Presidency.”

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“..the bureau received information about the device containing “evidence of white collar crimes” in October 2019 and quickly attributed the laptop to Hunter Biden..”

FBI Knew Hunter Biden’s Laptop Was ‘Reliable’ Before Smearing It (Sp.)

The FBI verified the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s “laptop from hell” months before the release of the Post’s October 2020 bombshell about the Bidens, according to IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley. The FBI determined that the infamous “laptop from hell” belonged to Hunter Biden as early as November 6, 2019, and by spring 2020 the bureau had concluded that there was “no reason to believe there is anything fabricated nefariously on the computer and/or hard drive,” according to a contemporaneous investigative memo by IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley. In late May, Shapley delivered testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee which was made public earlier this week. The IRS agent also presented a memo, penned by him in October 2020, and shared by independent media outlet Just the News on June 25.

The memo provides a detailed chronology of the FBI’s activities concerning the laptop in question, which was abandoned by the first son in a Delaware repair shop. As per the document, the bureau received information about the device containing “evidence of white collar crimes” in October 2019 and quickly attributed the laptop to Hunter Biden – codenamed “Sportsman” in the document – via Apple ID account/iCloud account and supporting evidence. “Financial records show Sportsman was around Wilmington DE shop at a cigar shop on the same day,” the memo said. “Other intelligence shows Sportsman was in the area. Computershop calls Sportsman to tell him to bring in an external hard drive to put recovered data on to. Sportsman returned to the shop with the external hard drive. Phone records show the shop called Sportsman and Sportsman called the shop around this time.”

Having taken possession of the device in December 2019, the agency started to scrupulously analyze its content which included messages, emails, pictures, and other types of files. By May 2020, FBI agents had little if any doubts that the collection of files was authentic and belonged to the younger Biden. However, when the New York Post released its October 2020 story stemming from the laptop’s content, the bureau and 51 ex-intelligence chiefs rubbished the bombshell as “Russia’s disinformation operation”. Before that, during all of 2020, the FBI warned Twitter officials about an allegedly forthcoming “Russian hack-and-leak” operation “involving Hunter Biden”, as per Twitter’s then-Head of Site Integrity Yoel Roth’s testimony. The bureau particularly referred to APT28, claiming that it’s a group of Russian hackers linked to Moscow’s intelligence services.

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Take one for the team.

The Designated Defendant: Was Hunter Biden Always the Fall Guy? (Turley)

Many have noted that Hunter Biden was an implausible business associate or board member to be working with various foreign companies. He had lived a life that was a toxic mix of nepotism and narcotics, by his own admission. According to his 2021 memoir, during the period when foreign companies were clamoring to give him millions of dollars, he was “drinking a quart of vodka a day” and “smoking crack around the clock.” He kept up that self-destructive lifestyle, he said, until his father’s 2020 presidential campaign began. When Hunter’s world began to collapse financially, his uncle, James (who has been implicated in influence-peddling in news reports and by House investigators) rushed to assure him that he and his father were arranging a “safe harbor” for him, according to one media report.

The alarm over Hunter cutting off contact was understandable as a family matter in dealing with a relative with a history of drug addiction. Yet Hunter also potentially represented something of a threat to a family that has long been accused of influence-peddling. Hunter has relied on his family and his father’s political associates to protect him. He reportedly paid his delinquent taxes with the help of a wealthy friend; other unnamed individuals paid huge sums for his art work. When Hunter’s gun disappeared near a school and local authorities were investigating, the Secret Service mysteriously showed up at a gun shop and asked for the paperwork tying him to the gun. When Hunter lost a laptop reportedly filled with incriminating emails detailing criminal conduct with drugs, as well as alleged evidence of influence-peddling, national security experts rushed forward to declare it was likely to be Russian disinformation.

Much of the media joined with an effective news blackout of the story. The FBI then allegedly sat on the laptop and did not appear to do a thing to investigate further. At every juncture, the wayward son of Joe Biden seems to be snatched from the jaws of disaster. Now, at the center of a swirling scandal of alleged influence-peddling, Hunter has emerged with a plea that brings a new meaning to the word “bargain.” He will plead guilty to two minor misdemeanor tax counts and a phantom felony count that will go away in time. Yet this may be the most vital role that Hunter has played for his family. He will declare himself guilty so the media and the political establishment can declare the scandal to be a closed matter: Nothing more to see here, other than a plea to a couple misdemeanors.

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“..If Assange is successfully extradited and convicted, it will take about ten minutes for it to happen again…”

Why Julian Assange Must Be Freed (Matt Taibbi)

At Parliament Hill in London Saturday, there was a demonstration on behalf of jailed Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Present was the famed rendering of Assange, Chelsea Manning, and Edward Snowden made by sculptor Davide Domino. The statue includes an empty chair for the next whistleblower. I had the honor of standing on that chair to give a short address: I have a confession to make. Once. like a lot of journalists, I didn’t like Julian Assange. It wasn’t just that Wikileaks was breaking one huge story after another. He had fab hair. He wore skinny jeans. He even modeled at fashion week! What can I say? I was jealous. We’re in London, so I can quote Shakespeare, can’t I? “Beware the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on.”

Jealousy, that monster, impairs one’s thinking. It impaired mine. I didn’t have a reason to dislike Assange. So I invented one. I decided I didn’t like the concept of “radical transparency.” I thought: “You can’t just dump all of those secrets on the public. That’s irresponsible!” I was so brainwashed that I forgot, as many people do, that secrets do not belong to governments. That information belongs to us. Governments rule by our consent. If they want to keep secrets, they must have our permission to do so. And they never have the right to keep crimes secret. I’m an American. Many of you are from the U.K. In our countries, we’re building skyscrapers and huge new complexes to store our secrets, because we don’t have room to keep them all as is! Why do we have so many secrets? Julian Assange told us why. From an essay he wrote:

“Authoritarian regimes give rise to forces which oppose them by pushing against the individual and collective will to freedom, truth and self realization. Plans which assist authoritarian rule, once discovered, induce resistance. Hence these plans are concealed by successful authoritarian powers.” When governments become authoritarian, they inspire resistance. Techniques must then be developed to repel that resistance. Those techniques must then be concealed. In short: the worse a country is, the more secrets it has. We have a lot of secrets now. Julian Assange became famous as we were creating a vast new government-within-a-government, a system of secret prisons, extraordinary rendition, mass surveillance, and drone assassination. Many of these things we know about only because of Wikileaks. Ostensibly, all this secrecy was needed to fight foreign terrorism.

The brutal irony now is the architects of that system no longer feel the need to hide their dirty tactics. My government, openly, wants to put this man in jail for 175 years, mostly for violations of the Espionage Act. These include crimes like “conspiracy to receive national defense information,” or “obtaining national defense information.” What is “national defense information?” The answer is what makes this law so dangerous. It’s whatever they say it is. It’s any information they don’t want to get out. It doesn’t even have to be classified. What is conspiracy to obtain such information? We have a word for that. It’s called journalism. My government wants to put Julian Assange in jail for 175 years for practicing journalism. The government of this country, the U.K., is going to allow it to happen.

If they did this to Andrei Sakharov, or Nelson Mandela, every human rights organization in the world would be denouncing this as an intolerable outrage. Every NGO would be lining up to lend support. Every journalist would be penning editorials demanding his release. But because our own governments are doing it, we get silence. If you’re okay with this happening to one Julian Assange, you’d better be okay with it happening to many others. That’s why this moment is so important. If Assange is successfully extradited and convicted, it will take about ten minutes for it to happen again. From there this will become a common occurrence. There will be no demonstrations in parks, no more news stories. This will become a normal part of our lives. Don’t let that happen. Free Julian Assange.s

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“It might indeed be in Biden’s and the C.I.A.’s interests to wash their hands of this filthy endeavor once and for all.”

Biden Would Need His Pound of Flesh From Assange (Lauria)

Biden would need his pound of flesh from Assange if he would allow his administration to offer a plea. Assange would most likely have to plead guilty to something and serve more time, likely in Australia, before Biden would entertain ending the case. Though he was never charged for the Democratic National Committee or the C.I.A. leaks, Assange is the continuing target of their ire, and would be unlikely to look kindly on Biden letting him go, especially a year before a U.S. presidential election. Biden knows he’s wrong on Assange, if he can remember it. He clearly stated his position on Assange on Meet the Press in December 2010. Vice President Biden told the program that Assange could only be indicted if it could be proved he conspired to steal the published documents. That could not be proved and the Obama-Biden administration did not indict Assange.

The Trump administration did. But only on the original 2010 espionage charges. The U.S. indictment does not accuse Assange of stealing U.S. government documents, but only receiving them. If Biden stuck to his original principles he would have these charges dropped and let Assange go. But it’s political dynamite for him. The C.I.A. and DNC would likely be furious with Biden so he will need something in return to show them for letting Assange go. Whether that satisfies them is another matter. The last, long-shot possibility, is that the U.S. drops the case altogether. This is what Assange’s supporters, parliamentarians around the world, human rights and press freedom groups, journalists’ unions and even WikiLeaks‘ five corporate media partners have been calling for.

But until now it’s been like talking to a marble wall in Washington. Yet, developments in the UC Global case in Spain and the upcoming U.S. presidential election might provide conditions for the U.S. to want to get out of its pursuit of Assange. A recent development in the Madrid criminal trial against UC Global chief David Morales for violating Assange’s privacy by spying on him in Ecuador’s London embassy with 24/7 live surveillance for the Central Intelligence Agency as well on his privileged conversations with his lawyers has solidly confirmed the C.I.A’s role. Would Langley want that exposed at Assange’s trial federal court in Alexandria, VA, where U.S. media interest would be intense?

Also, would Biden welcome during a presidential campaign the protests in the plaza before the Alexandria courthouse, highlighting his administrations efforts to convict a journalist for publishing accurate information exposing U.S. state crimes, handing his political opponents a cudgel to expose his hypocrisy about defending press freedoms? It might indeed be in Biden’s and the C.I.A.’s interests to wash their hands of this filthy endeavor once and for all. (There is precedence for this in the Katharine Gun case.) In one way or the other, the coming weeks appear to be leading to a climax in the extradition phase of arguably the most important press freedom case in U.S. history.

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Patrick Moore

 

 

 

 

Duck

 

 

Sweet art
https://twitter.com/i/status/1672980825577537536

 

 

Komodo
https://twitter.com/i/status/1673056191621021696

 

 

All you need

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Jun 252023
 


William-Adolphe Bouguereau Whisperings of Love 1889

 

US Knew Of Wagner Coup Plans In Advance – NYT (RT)
Prigozhin ‘Exiled’ To Belarus In Exchange For Peace, No Criminal Charges (ZH)
Russia May Ink Contracts With Some Wagner PMC Fighters – Kremlin (TASS)
Kremlin: Situation With Wanger PMC Won’t Affect Russia’s Military Op in Ukraine (Sp.)
US: Coup Attempt In Russia Provides ‘Opportunity’ For Kiev – Politico (RT)
Trump Cautions Those Rooting For A Russian Coup (RT)
Chechen Commandos Leave For Areas Of Tensions – Kadyrov (TASS)
DC Scholars: Ukraine Conflict Shows World Has Grown Weary of US Hegemony (Sp.)
Over 500 Excess Heart Deaths a Week in England Since COVID-19 Began (ET)
The Elite War on Free Thought (Matt Taibbi)
Millions Of Brits Could See Savings Wiped Out (RT)
Many Western States in ‘Critical Situation’ Due to High Public Debt – IMF (Sp.)
Rates, Inflation And Congress (Denninger)
Biden Allies Ignore Voters’ Desire For Primary Debates (Sp.)
The More We Learn About The 2020 Election (Tom Elliott)

 

 


Health expert, 67, vs Science denier, 69

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too many questions. We will find out some things, but much more we never will.

A coup? Is that what this was? Apparently, while Wagner consists of 25,000-50,000 men, only 5,000 joined the march from Rostov to Moscow, a city of 12.5 million which is very well defended these days. How does that become a coup? Sure, Prigozhin may have counted on parts of the “regular army” to join in, but still.

Also, the Americans knew, but Russia did not? Really? I like this take:

“Plot twist: Prigozhin was approached by the US to do a coup in Russia for billions of dollars. He tells Putin about it, Putin agrees. They keep the money.”

US Knew Of Wagner Coup Plans In Advance – NYT (RT)

US intelligence agencies strongly suspected that Evgeny Prigozhin was planning a major move against the Russian government, days before the Wagner chief ordered his troops to march on Moscow, The New York Times reported on Saturday, citing sources. According to unnamed US officials interviewed by the paper, the administration of US President Joe Biden and military commanders were briefed on the Wagner preparations as early as Wednesday. As additional details came in, another briefing attended by a narrow group of congressional leaders was reportedly held on Thursday. The situation escalated only on Friday night, when Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry of launching a deadly missile strike on a Wagner camp, and vowed retaliation. The ministry denied the allegation, accusing him of an “informational provocation.”

In the following hours, Wagner troops captured military facilities in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, while Prigozhin announced that his forces were beginning a “march for justice” with a plan to reach Moscow. On Saturday, the Wagner boss agreed to halt his advance and withdraw his forces in exchange for “security guarantees,” as part of a deal brokered by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko. According to NYT sources, prior to the uprising, Washington officials were in no hurry to alert Russian President Vladimir Putin of an impending threat, as they feared that Moscow could accuse them of orchestrating a coup. Moreover, the US “had little interest” in helping Putin amid the Ukraine conflict and Russia’s stand-off with the West, the article says. Still, US officials were reportedly alarmed by a possible conflict between Prigozhin and Moscow, as they worried that Russia’s descent into chaos could create considerable nuclear risks.

The NYT report was echoed by CNN, which claimed on Saturday that US officials had believed Prigozhin was planning to challenge the Russian military “for quite some time,” but did not know what his ultimate goal was. According to CNN sources, Western officials had prior knowledge of Prigozhin’s preparations, including his efforts to accumulate weapons and ammunition. However, the outlet’s source noted that “it all happened very quickly,” and it was difficult to say whether the Wagner chief was serious about delivering on his threats to the Russian military. On Saturday, when the Wagner insurrection was still in full swing, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned the West that any its attempts to use the unrest “to achieve their Russophobic goals” would be futile. Meanwhile, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev noted that a coup in a major nuclear power could result in catastrophic consequences, and Moscow would never allow this to happen.

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“..Wagner’s fighters will not be persecuted, taking into account their efforts on the frontlines of the Ukraine conflict. Peskov explained that President Vladimir Putin’s team “have always respected their exploits.”

Prigozhin ‘Exiled’ To Belarus In Exchange For Peace, No Criminal Charges (ZH)

This entirely bizarre slightly less than 24-hour short-lived coup attempt has just gotten even stranger, given the terms of the truce which evidently caused Evgeny Prigozhin to announce his Wagner fighter columns would turn around and go back to their bases.= The Wall Street Journal has confirmed based on Kremlin statements that “As part of the agreement, Prigozhin will leave Russia for Belarus, and criminal charges against him will be dropped, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. His fighters will be allowed to sign contracts with the Russian military.” And Russia’s RT provides some further details as follows based on Peskov’s statement: “He added that Wagner’s fighters will not be persecuted, taking into account their efforts on the frontlines of the Ukraine conflict. Peskov explained that President Vladimir Putin’s team “have always respected their exploits.”

Those PMC contractors, who refused to take part in the mutiny – and whole units did not – will be allowed to sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry, Peskov stated. Can this even be called “exile”?… given that Kremlin statements at this point aren’t even so much as using the word which has a clear punitive implication. The irony remains that one can get a much harsher punishment for mere Cannabis vape pens in the country. In summary: • charges dropped against Prigozhin, who will leave Russia for Belarus • Wagner fighters who didn’t take part in the uprising will sign contracts with the MOD • Wagner fighters who did take part not charged • No word on potential MOD leadership changes What’s clear is that it does indeed look to be over, with no further immediate danger of civil conflict. Sputnik is further confirming Wagner has handed HQ/bases in Rostov-on-Don back to the regular military.

Despite the slap on the wrist (if even), the Kremlin is still talking “tough”: “The plotters’ adventurist aspirations are essentially aimed at destabilizing the situation in Russia, destroying our unity and undermining Russia’s efforts to reliably ensure international security,” the Foreign Ministry said. “The mutiny plays into the hands of Russia’s external enemies.” “The attempted armed mutiny in our country has aroused strong disapproval in Russian society, which firmly supports President Vladimir Putin,” the Foreign Ministry said. Regardless the speculation has begun, and is likely to continue for the coming days and weeks, over what precisely the world just witnessed here…

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It’s the end of Wagner.

Russia May Ink Contracts With Some Wagner PMC Fighters – Kremlin (TASS)

A part of the Wagner private military company’s troops, who decided against participating in an armed mutiny, will be able to sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. “An agreement was reached that PMC Wagner troops would return to their camps and places of deployment. Some of them, if they wish to do so, can later ink contracts with the Defense Ministry,” Peskov said. “It also applies to fighters, who decided against taking part in this ‘armed mutiny.’” The spokesman also said “there were some fighters in the military formations [of Wagner PMC], who changed their minds at the very beginning [of the armed mutiny] and returned immediately.” “They have even requested the assistance of the traffic police as well as other help to return to their permanent places of deployment,” Peskov added.


On the evening of June 23, the Telegram channel of Wagner private military company founder Yevgeny Prigozhin posted several audio records with his statements, in which he claimed that strikes had allegedly been delivered against his formations and accused the country’s military leadership of that. In the wake of this, the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia has opened a criminal case into a call for an armed mutiny. The FSB urged Wagner fighters not to obey Prigozhin’s orders and take measures for his detention. Russia’s Defense Ministry dismissed as untrue the reports that Russian forces had allegedly delivered a strike against “the rear camps of the Wagner private military company.” In his televised address to citizens on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the actions by the Wagner private military company an armed mutiny and betrayal and assured that harsh measures would be taken against the insurgents.

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“..the Belarusian leader has personally known Prigozhin for around 20 years..”

Kremlin: Situation With Wanger PMC Won’t Affect Russia’s Military Op in Ukraine (Sp.)

Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin ordered a halt to Wagner troops’ drive on Moscow and opted for de-escalation on Saturday, accepting a proposal mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. “Under no circumstances,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists when asked whether the events with the Wagner PMC would have an impact on the operation in Ukraine. “The special military operation in Ukraine continues, our soldiers at the frontline are demonstrating heroism, they are quite effectively and successfully countering the counteroffensive of Ukraine’s armed forces. And the operation will continue.” He stressed that Wagner troops engaged in the tensions won’t be prosecuted, adding that those wishing to sign a contract with the Russian defense ministry in the future would be able to do so.

Regarding Prigozhin’s status, the spokesman noted that the businessman would be allowed to leave the country. “A criminal case [against Prigozhin] will be terminated and he will leave for Belarus. If you ask, what is the guarantee that Prigozhin could leave for Belarus, it is the word of the Russian president,” Peskov told reporters. Peskov thanked Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for his mediation in talks with Prigozhin, which were aimed at reaching the “highest goal” of avoiding the conflict. “There was the highest goal of avoiding bloodshed, internal confrontation and clashes with unpredictable results. It is for these goals that Lukashenko’s mediation efforts were made, and President Putin made a relevant decision on that,” Peskov told journalists, adding that the phone call between the two presidents was sincere and “very constructive.”

The presidents agreed on Lukashenko’s brokering efforts since the Belarusian leader has personally known Prigozhin for around 20 years, the official stated, also noting that Lukashenko himself had proposed his talks with the Wagner head. Peskov stated that thanks to the agreement the situation had been resolved without further losses, with members of the Wagner PMC able to return back to their field camps.

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Well, no more.

US: Coup Attempt In Russia Provides ‘Opportunity’ For Kiev – Politico (RT)

US officials believe that the Wagner PMC’s insurrection in Russia will play into Ukraine’s hands, allowing Kiev to revitalize its much-hyped counteroffensive which Moscow says has thus far failed to gain any ground, Politico reported on Saturday. Shortly before the private military company’s leader Evgeny Prigozhin agreed to halt his advance on Moscow and withdraw his troops as part of the deal brokered by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, US officials held several meetings to assess the potential impact of the mutiny, the report says. In the end, they reportedly arrived at the conclusion that the insurrection would keep the Kremlin busy, providing Ukraine’s stalled counteroffensive with a window of opportunity.

“I don’t see how it could hurt them,” one senior official told Politico. Others opined that the development would likely help Kiev, pointing out that Prigozhin had taken control of the HQ of Russia’s Southern Military District in the city of Rostov-on-Don. However, Wagner members have left the city on Saturday evening, according to local officials. With Wagner drama unfolding in Russia, a US official told Politico that policymakers in Washington called their European counterparts, seeking to “reassure them” and tell them to “message neutrality.” “No one should be spiking the football,” he added. According to Politico, the general consensus between Western officials was that Kiev now had “an unprecedented opportunity to advance.”

Some US lawmakers supported this point of view, with Democrat Congressman Jason Crow tweeting that the Wagner insurrection “will almost certainly benefit the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the near term and [Kiev] should move fast to capitalize.” In the early hours of Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian troops were attempting to take advantage of Wagner insurrection by reading two brigades for an offensive thrust near the Donbass town of Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine). Later, however, it said that while Ukrainian forces tried to mount attacks along several sections of the front, all their attempts to breach Russian lines failed. Ukraine’s offensive, which had been talked up for months, finally kicked off in the early days of June but has so far failed to gain any ground, with Kiev’s troops suffering heavy losses, according to Moscow. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has also admitted that Kiev’s troops had been advancing “slower than desired” in the face of “tough resistance.”

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“This is China’s heretofore unthinkable opportunity – much bigger than Taiwan, which to President Xi can wait.”

Trump Cautions Those Rooting For A Russian Coup (RT)

Former US president Donald Trump has splashed cold water on Western hopes that this week’s conflict between military contractor Wagner Group and Russia’s top generals could lead to the toppling of Moscow’s government, warning that ousting President Vladimir Putin could have unintended consequences. “A big mess in Russia, but be careful what you wish for,” the former president said on Saturday in a Truth Social post. “Next in may be far worse!” Trump reacted to the unrest in Russia just before news broke that Wagner founder Evgeny Prigozhin had agreed to end his rebellion and halt his group’s advance on Moscow. Under an agreement with the Kremlin, the former Putin ally will leave Russia and be spared prosecution.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky cheered the short-lived Wagner uprising, but his Western backers refrained from openly rooting for an overthrow of Putin’s government. US President Joe Biden, who has previously called for regime change in Russia, was reported to be “consulting with allies and partners” on the situation in Moscow. Western media outlets were less restrained in touting the Wagner revolt as an existential crisis for the Russian government. Kurt Volker, former US ambassador to NATO, told CNN that the unrest marked “the end for Putin” and “the beginning of the end of Russia’s war in Ukraine.”

Trump took a shot at his successor, saying Biden would “do about Russia whatever President Xi [Jinping] of China wants him to do.” Alluding to allegations that the Biden family received bribes from business contacts with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, he suggested that the US president was beholden to Xi. “China and Russia, until Biden came along, have always been natural enemies, with China wanting large portions of largely unpopulated Russian land to have for their much larger population,” Trump said. “This is China’s heretofore unthinkable opportunity – much bigger than Taiwan, which to President Xi can wait.”

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This too got old fast. But would Wagner really want to fight the Chechens?

Chechen Commandos Leave For Areas Of Tensions – Kadyrov (TASS)

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has slammed the armed mutiny of the PMC Wagner as betrayal and said that Chechen commandos are on the way to the areas of tensions. “What is happening is not an ultimatum to the Ministry of Defense,” he wrote on his Telegram channel. “It is a challenge to the state. To counter this challenge, it is necessary for the military, security forces, governors and the civilian population to rally all around the national leader. Soldiers of the Ministry of Defense and Chechnya’s units of the National Guard (Rosgvardiya) have already left for the areas of tensions. We will do everything to preserve the unity of Russia and to protect its statehood!” Kadyrov wrote. He is certain Russian President Vladimir Putin takes decisions “in a balanced and scrupulous manner.” “Each of us sees only one part of the map, but he sees it all!


The president noted quite correctly in his address to the nation – this is a military mutiny! There is no excuse for such actions! I fully support Putin’s every word,” Kadyrov said. He urged the servicemen of the North Caucasus Military District not to yield to provocations. “Whatever aims some may declare and whatever promises some may give – at a time like this the security of the state and unity of Russian society is above all! Look at how our enemies in the West are taking advantage of this situation. How many insinuations, how many lies, how many false appeals that frighten our citizens and create the danger of a destabilizing situation are being used. These are the expected consequences of Prigozhin’s treacherous march,” Kadyrov wrote. He reiterated that the current events were a challenge to the state. “It is necessary for the military, security forces, governors and the civilian population to rally around the national leader,” he stressed.

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“..six nations in the Global South – namely, India, Brazil, Turkiye, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa – are set to decide the future of geopolitics..”

DC Scholars: Ukraine Conflict Shows World Has Grown Weary of US Hegemony (Sp.)

Despite having the largest military budget in the world and being the largest operator of military bases abroad, the US is far from being a global hegemon, argues a DC-based think tank Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Over the past decades Washington has demonstrated a capacity for mass destruction – in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere – but “it has won no more than Pyrrhic victories” which led to the erosion of trust in Pax Americana both at home and abroad, according to Responsible Statecraft scholars. The US military spending reached $876.9 billion in 2022, while the nation also operates a whopping 750 foreign military bases. Still, Washington is incapable of persuading the Global South to join anti-Russia sanctions over the latter’s special military operation in Ukraine, the think tank remarks.

“If hegemony means the capacity to get other countries to comply with one’s demands, the United States is far from being a global hegemon,” the report notes. Judging from the so-called Pentagon leak, even some US allies and partners demonstrated hesitance and unwillingness to provide the Kiev regime with shells, jets and armored vehicles. Meanwhile, most nations of the Global South shrugged off the US calls for slapping sanctions on Moscow as contradicting their national interests. US political observers emphasize that six nations in the Global South – namely, India, Brazil, Turkiye, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa – are set to decide the future of geopolitics and insist that the Biden administration needs to win their hearts and minds. At the same time, European commentators argue that developing nations have the right to remain neutral and non-aligned.

[..] Per DC scholars, the emerging trend was articulated by Brookings Institution fellow Fiona Hill, former Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States, in May 2023: “The war in Ukraine is perhaps the event that makes the passing of Pax Americana apparent to everyone. … [Other countries] want to decide, not be told what’s in their interest. In short, in 2023, we hear a resounding no to US domination and see a marked appetite for a world without a hegemon,” she said at a conference in Tallinn, Estonia. According to Hill, the Global South’s resistance to the US and the EU’s demands to slap sanctions on Moscow is nothing short of “an open rebellion.” She noted that “this is a mutiny against what they see as the collective West dominating the international discourse and foisting its problems on everyone else, while brushing aside their priorities on climate change compensation, economic development, and debt relief.”

Western observers also acknowledge that the world’s center of gravity is steadily shifting east, adding that the Biden administration has so far sought to avert this trend by trying to establish “a lasting technological lead over China” and beefing up the US military in Western Pacific. However, “most developing countries, including emerging powers in the Global South, are no longer willing to make zero-sum choices” between Washington and its geopolitical rivals, DC scholars underscore, urging American policymakers to accept the reality that the US is no longer “the indispensable nation.”

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Long waits for heart care, COVID, anything but vaccines.

Over 500 Excess Heart Deaths a Week in England Since COVID-19 Began (ET)

More than 500 additional deaths a week involving heart diseases have been recorded in England since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has said. Based on data from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, the BHF revealed in a report (pdf) that, since February 2020, there has been a total of 96,540 excess deaths involving cardiovascular conditions—an umbrella term for a range of heart and blood vessel conditions, including heart attacks and strokes. “It is deeply troubling that so many more people with cardiovascular disease have lost their lives over the past three years,” BHF Chief Executive Dr. Charmaine Griffiths said. In the first year of the pandemic, COVID-19 infection drove high numbers of excess deaths involving cardiovascular disease.

While deaths from COVID-19 have since fallen year-on-year, the number of deaths involving cardiovascular disease have remained high above expected levels, the BHF analysis stated. Dr. Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the BHF and consultant cardiologist, said, “COVID-19 no longer fully explains the significant numbers of excess deaths involving cardiovascular disease.” She said there may have been other contributing factors, including the disruptions to the NHS over the past few years. The charity said a major contributing factor has been the “severe, ongoing disruption” to heart care in the NHS. The number of people waiting for time-sensitive cardiac care was at a record high of nearly 390,000 at the end of April in England, according to NHS England.

Average ambulance response times for heart attacks and strokes have consistently been more than 30 minutes since the beginning of 2022. There has also been significant disruption to the detection and management of high blood pressure and other conditions that put people at much greater risk of a heart attack or stroke, the charity said. Babu-Narayan said: “Long waits for heart care are dangerous—they put someone at increased risk of avoidable hospital admission, disability due to heart failure, and premature death. Yet people are struggling to get potentially life-saving heart treatment when they need it due to a lack of NHS staff and space, despite cardiovascular disease affecting record numbers of people.”

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Address at Free Speech Event in London, with Russell Brand and Michael Shellenberger.

The Elite War on Free Thought (Matt Taibbi)

[..] Isn’t that a beautiful phrase, a “redress of grievances”? Great, memorable language. Like a lot of Americans, I know the First Amendment by heart. I’ve recited it to myself enough to know it doesn’t say the government gives me the right to speech, assembly, a free press. It says I have those things, already. As a person, as a citizen. This is a very American thing, the idea that rights aren’t conferred, but a part of us, like our livers, and you can’t take them away without destroying who we are. That’s why in other contexts you’ll hear some of us say things like, “I’ll give you this gun when you pry it from my cold dead hands!” Some people roll their eyes and think that sounds crazy, but we know that guy actually means it, and to a lot of us it makes sense. We’re touchy about rights, especially about the first ones: speech, assembly, religion, the free press.

But we’re not here tonight to debate the virtues of American speech law versus the European tradition. Instead, Michael and I are here to tell a horror story that concerns people from all countries. Last year, he and I were offered a unique opportunity to look at the internal documentation of Twitter. I entered that story lugging old-fashioned, legalistic, American views about rights, hoping to answer maybe one or two questions. Had the FBI, for instance, ever told the company what to do in a key speech episode? If so, that would be a First Amendment violation. Big stuff! But after looking at thousands of emails and Slack chats, I first started to get a headache, then became confused. I realized the old-school Enlightenment-era protections I grew up revering were designed to counter authoritarianism as people understood the concept hundreds of years ago, back in the days of tri-cornered hats and streets lined with horse manure.

What Michael and I were looking at was something new, an Internet-age approach to political control that uses brute digital force to alter reality itself. We certainly saw plenty of examples of censorship and de-platforming and government collaboration in those efforts. However, it’s clear that the idea behind the sweeping system of digital surveillance combined with thousands or even millions of subtle rewards and punishments built into the online experience, is to condition people to censor themselves. In fact, after enough time online, users will lose both the knowledge and the vocabulary they would need to even have politically dangerous thoughts. What Michael calls the Censorship-Industrial Complex is really just the institutionalization of orthodoxy, a vast, organized effort to narrow our intellectual horizons.

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“..the average variable-rate home loan in the UK has more than doubled from around 3% to 6.19% as of Thursday morning. This has affected around 4 million UK households..”

Millions Of Brits Could See Savings Wiped Out (RT)

British homeowners may have to pay 50% more on their mortgages by the end of the year as a result of the Bank of England’s (BoE) interest rate hikes, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) warned in a new report published on Thursday. According to the findings, higher mortgage repayments could wipe out the savings of some 1.2 million British families, bringing the total number of insolvent households to 7.8 million, or 28% of the total in the country. The analysts also calculated that the rising repayments in aggregate will erase 0.3% of the UK’s GDP and cost households with home loans a total of £12 billion ($15.2 billion) per year.

The warning from NIESR follows the BoE’s decision on Thursday to raise its base interest rate by 0.5 percentage points to 5% as the regulator tries to tame the persistently high inflation in the country. While annual consumer price inflation remained unchanged at 8.7% in May, core inflation, which excludes volatile energy, food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, surged to 7.1%, its highest level since 1992. “The rise in interest rates to 5% will push millions of households with mortgages towards the brink of insolvency,” Max Mosley from NIESR stated. He explained that many families who took out mortgages with interest rates of 1-2% may be in for a rate surge of 4 percentage points.

“No lender would expect a household to withstand a shock of this magnitude, so the Government shouldn’t either. Some investment should be done in forbearance agreements, giving households and lenders the ability to create payment plans that work for each other,” he said. Since last year, the average variable-rate home loan in the UK has more than doubled from around 3% to 6.19% as of Thursday morning. This has affected around 4 million UK households that either have variable-rate mortgages or are facing the need to remortgage due to their fixed-rate deals ending. For a household borrowing £300,000 ($381,000) on a 25-year mortgage, monthly repayments have already been pushed up from £1,400 ($1,780) to £2,000 ($2,540), a nearly 50% increase, NIESR calculated, warning that with more interest rate hikes expected, these bills will only grow further.

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“Europe will gradually turn into a region with an average standard of living. This is a tragedy, but I do not see the ability of the authorities to allow pain,..

Many Western States in ‘Critical Situation’ Due to High Public Debt – IMF (Sp.)

Many countries around the world, including Western ones, are in a critical condition due to their high levels of public debt, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Director for Russia Aleksei Mozhin told Sputnik. “After COVID, there was a big recession in the economy; budget deficits increased and had to be financed by increasing public debt. Many countries found themselves in a critical situation in terms of public debt, including Western countries,” Mozhin said. Years of irresponsible budgetary and monetary policy, including pumping money into the economy to revive it, lie at the heart of the current debt crisis, he said. Mohzin pointed out that the example of Japan shows it is possible to kick the can down the road to avoid default for a long time, but at the cost of the Japanese economy not growing for 30 years.

This is the case with other economies as well, the Italian economy has not grown for 20 years, he said. “All these are consequences, first of all, of the skyrocketing level of public debt,” Mozhin said.Almost all European countries are now facing significant levels of debt, including Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, not to mention Greece and Italy, Mozhin noted, characterizing the situation as “simply awful.”At the same time, Mozhin said sick economies must experience pain to get better as there are no other ways to treat them. They must raise interest rates to reduce inflation but that kills economic growth and increases the cost of borrowing.”If there is a huge public debt, it means that ‘budget consolidation,’ achieving budget surplus, is required. This requires either an increase in taxes in order to increase budget revenues or a reduction in budget expenditures. Both kill economic growth,” Mozhin said.

The countries of the collective West cannot cope with these challenges because of the ruling populism there, he said.”The very political system of these countries leads to the fact that they have a complete fixation on short-term indicators,” Mozhin said. “Good growth and low unemployment must be achieved today at all costs, otherwise you may lose the upcoming elections. And elections are held there almost every year.”Mozhin noted that states that find themselves in a critical situation because of high debt are able to avoid defaulting by issuing new government bonds and forcing their own banks to accept the government debt. “Europe will gradually turn into a region with an average standard of living. This is a tragedy, but I do not see the ability of the authorities to allow pain,” Mozhin said.

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” If Congress does not stop deficit spending then the outcome is certain with the only remaining question being time.”

Rates, Inflation And Congress (Denninger)

Inflation will not return to the Fed’s Target, which itself is illegal under the Fed’s mandate for STABLE prices, until and unless Deficit Spending ends. The current price level for many essential goods and services — including housing, food, medical care, insurance of various sorts that are not optional (e.g. vehicle insurance in order to be able to legally drive or homeowners in order to have a mortgage) are impossible to afford across the general public at the present time; they were generated by artificial and impossible to maintain federal government subsidies such as paying people $600/wk to stay at home and get drunk or not having to pay back student loans.

Therefore even a complete halt to inflation is insufficient; the price level must drop to approximately, in income-adjusted terms, including for those on fixed incomes, to pre-pandemic levels and in fact likely to pre-2006 levels, because the gross subsidies via credit emission at the federal level has been going on and embedded itself into the American psyche for that long or even longer. Congress has been imbued with the idea that the Federal Government can spend more than it takes in plus the increase in productivity. Of course when productivity is negative this means the delta in spending must also be negative to retain balance, but Congress never does that, do they? The most-gross abuses are in CMS but hardly the only ones.

Markets appear to believe that there is no limit to this insanity either. You can somewhat explain that given the last 20 years or so of history but that externalizing your costs (e.g. by offshoring labor and production, thereby “hiding” the inflation by using an externality) appears to “work” but since this planet is finite in size, mass and resource there’s a limit to how long you can hide all that before it either stops working or worse, comes back at you.We’re seeing this now. This issue does not belong to The Fed; the Federal Reserve’s is only charged with, and in fact only can, respond to what Congress does. They do not have the power to alter what Congress does; that is neither in their remit or within their capacity. If Congress does not stop deficit spending then the outcome is certain with the only remaining question being time.

As I pointed out this issue is resolvable but doing it requires kneecapping the medical monopolists. No new laws are required to do that; only an Executive that will enforce existing laws. However, since Congress controls in every instance the purse that responsibility is in fact on Congress as well since they can demand that said laws be enforced or they will zero the budgets of any agency that refuses.We as Americans may not like these options but whether we like them or not isn’t part of the disucssion. This is about mathematics and whether or not we wish to have a peaceable nation or whether we will continue to play this game until civil society breaks down in catastrophic and possibly-unrecoverable ways. The choice is ours — not theirs.

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”There is nothing unusual about the incumbent not participating in primary debates: in fact, no sitting president has taken part in the event since at least 1948..”

Biden Allies Ignore Voters’ Desire For Primary Debates (Sp.)

Democratic strategists believe there is no need for President Joe Biden to participate in primary debates, but the US public thinks otherwise. Top Democrats have made it clear that Joe Biden won’t cross swords with his Democratic opponents, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson, let alone third-party candidate Cornel West. There is nothing unusual about the incumbent not participating in primary debates: in fact, no sitting president has taken part in the event since at least 1948. Neither Donald Trump, nor Barack Obama held primary debates when they sought re-election.In addition, Democratic operatives claim that Kennedy and Williamson are “gadflies” who don’t deserve to debate a sitting president.

According to them, Biden’s “marginal” opponents could score political points by sharing a stage with the incumbent, while the latter is unlikely to gain anything. They also cite Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial vaccine remarks and an unorthodox position on the conflict in Ukraine. Meanwhile, a number of surveys indicate that the American people want to see a series of Democratic debates during the 2024 campaign. Per the Suffolk University poll, eight in 10 Democratic primary voters share this stance. A Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey shows that 68% of eligible voters believe that the Dems should hold primary debates. The figure is even higher among those who voted for Joe in 2020: 79% of them have agreed that there must be a televised event.

During the 2020 election cycle Joe Biden did not hold large rallies, but took part in Democratic National Committee debates where his soon-to-be veep, Kamala Harris, pressed him on race issues. He also attended all debates with his rival in the general election, then-sitting President Trump. While it’s unlikely that Democrat top brass and Biden change their mind, some US media suggests that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not as “fringe” candidate as one might imagine. In early June it turned out that Silicon Valley moguls decided to throw weight behind RFK Jr., insisting that he could outperform both Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Furthermore, RFK Jr. commands a 15-20% support among Democratic voters and has a “media-ready image” being an heir to the famous political dynasty. As per Axios, Kennedy’s growing popularity may increase the pressure on Joe Biden to participate in a debate with the representative of the famous political clan. “Of course, there should be debates in a democratic system as a way to help voters choose the candidate that best represents their views,” a campaign spokesperson for Kennedy told the US media. “Debates can also help voters evaluate a candidate’s character.”

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Twitter thread.

The More We Learn About The 2020 Election (Tom Elliott)

The more we learn about the 2020 election, the more undeniable it becomes that Biden owes his “victory” to blatant political corruption. To wit:

1) An IRS probe into the Bidens money laundering payments from hostile nations — the normal outcome of which would have ended his candidacy — was instead given a stand-down order

2) The FBI & IRS wanted to search Biden’s house in September 2020 but were given a stand down order.

3) The FBI authenticated Hunter’s laptop a year before the NYPost first reported on its contents

4) Rather than use the laptop’s voluminous documentation of myriad felonies to initiate criminal investigations, the FBI hatched a plot to warn social media companies of an imminent “hack & leak” operation of what they heavily suggested was Russian disinformation

5) The FBI used its 2016 Russia collusion probe — which the Durham probe has since proven was essentially an extension of the Clinton campaign — to rationalize its meddling in the 2020 election.

6) The FBI also conducted an influence operation with various reporters at major newspapers to convince them that forthcoming damaging reporting about Biden that they knew was true was in fact not

7) The FBI was spying on Giuliani when he shared the laptop’s contents with the NYPost

8) When the FBI told Twitter & Facebook a Russian disinformation campaign was coming, they had already concluded Russia wasn’t trying to game the election

9) In their attempt to corroborate their own rumor of Russian electoral influence, the FBI became aggressive with its demands for user data from Twitter, eventually getting shutdown for seeking users’ private info without a warrant

10) Nonetheless, in the preceding years, the FBI established a beachhead inside Twitter, with an operations center of former agents who communicated via their own dedicated slack channel. These ex-agents included Jim Baker, the FBI’s former top counsel who played a central role in the FBI’s Trump/Russia scam, as well as Comey’s former chief of staff, Dawn Burton, who started the FBI’s Russia collusion probe.

11) The CIA, in collusion with the Biden campaign, seeded disinformation claiming the laptop was itself Russian disinformation. The major media used this as a pretext to avoid reporting on its contents and instead attack those who were.

12) The FBI also arranged a meeting with Sens. Grassley & Johnson about supposed Russian disinformation & Hunter Biden.

13) The FBI then used this briefing with the senators to justify quashing their own agents’ probe into the Bidens’ corruption.

14) When the story broke mere weeks before the election — one that polling later indicated would have altered enough Democrat votes to send Trump to a second term — Twitter & Facebook orchestrated an unprecedented & anti-democratic mass censorship campaign.

15) When Twitter initially resisted censoring the story, it was Jim Baker who convinced them to do so (despite the FBI having known for a year the informartion was true).

16) In December 2020, after the operation’s success and Biden’s “victory,” the FBI agents working at & with Twitter celebrated the outcome.

17) The FBI subsequently paid Twitter $3.5 million for the staff hours expended on their influence operations.

18) At the time Trump was being impeached for asking Ukraine to investigate Biden’s alleged corruption in Ukraine, the FBI & IRS already knew the Bidens had indeed laundered more than $10 million from Burisma, via fake companies and dozens of bank accounts, while at the same time VP Biden had used U.S. aid as leverage in getting the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Burisma fired.

P.S. And that’s to say nothing of Democrats orchestrating a state-by-state campaign to change voting rules to enable the widespread adoption of voting boxes … Left-wing activist groups, funded in part by Facebook, facilitated the exploitation of these drop-off boxes on behalf of the Democratic Party. That part may not have been illegal since they simply changed the rules, but it’s especially shady since it was done alongside federal health agencies then-knowingly overstating the threat of Covid, which was used as the rationale for the change of rules in the first place.

P.P.S. And this is just what we know despite the feds’ best efforts. Imagine how much we don’t.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

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Image created by a Japanese neurologist. It stays still when you are calm. It begins to move when you experience a slight amount of pressure. It moves like a carousel when under a great deal of stress.

How are you doing?

 

 

Baby owls

 

 

Octopus

 

 

 

 

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Jun 242023
 
 June 24, 2023  Posted by at 2:55 pm Finance Tagged with: , , , ,  19 Responses »


Thomas Cole The Course of Empire – Destruction 1836

 

 
For me, the situation in Russia is still far too fluid and uncertain to comment on. For Andrew Korybko it is not. Fair enough. As long as people understand this is not my opinion.
 

 

Andrew Korybko:

 

Background Briefing

President Putin accused Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin of committing treason in his national address on Saturday morning after the latter launched an armed coup attempt the night prior. He called on all the participants to immediately cease their anti-state criminal activities and condemned them for taking up arms against their comrades. Their betrayal is made all the worse, President Putin said, by it happening amidst the NATO-Russian proxy war in which their Motherland is fighting for its very existence.

The culprit claims to be acting in defense of Russia’s national interests in the context of that aforesaid conflict, but his cause doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. The Wagner-Defense Ministry (DM) rivalry has been escalating since early May after Prigozhin’s allegations that the military establishment hasn’t waged the special operation properly and was purposely withholding ammo from his group. Despite his accusations, Russia emerged victorious in the Battle of Artyomovsk, which cast doubt on his narrative.

In the aftermath, the DM mandated that all private military companies (PMCs) sign contracts with it, which Prigozhin adamantly refused to do. This was the first time that he was openly placed on the opposite side of President Putin, who told war correspondents earlier this month that “if there is no contract with the state, no contract with the Defence Ministry, there are no legal grounds for receiving social guarantees from the state. This must be done as soon as possible.”

Rubbishing Speculation About Prigozhin’s Relationship With Putin

Up until that point, speculation swirled about whether Prigozhin had the Russian leader’s approval for his furious rants against the DM, which violated legislation that strictly prohibits defaming the armed forces. The conjecture at the time was that President Putin was indirectly relying on the Wagner chief to put pressure on leading military officials to optimize their conduct of the special operation since many wondered why Prigozhin hadn’t been apprehended or at least charged after his inflammatory attacks.

Whatever may or may not have previously been the case is no longer of relevance after President Putin made it clear that his former chef has committed treason and must be stopped due to the threat that he poses to their Motherland’s unity during this time of existential conflict with the West. Prigozhin’s armed coup attempt is a stab in the back exactly as the FSB described it as and risks Kiev reviving its failed NATObacked counteroffensive like the DM said that it already unsuccessfully tried to do Friday night.

The Difference Between Contrarian Opinion & Anti-Russian Propaganda

Many Non-Russian Pro-Russians (NRPRs) in the Alt-Media Community (AMC) might have sympathized with Prigozhin’s harsh criticisms of the special operation after Russia’s setbacks last year in Kharkov and Kherson Regions, not to mention the grinding Battle of Artyomovsk, but that’s no excuse for what he did. Prigozhin could have operated within the law to push through his envisaged reforms via Wagner’s nationwide “Second Front” media campaign that he initiated a month ago, but he chose force instead.

Some of the elite were already warming up to the idea of comprehensively improving Russia through long-overdue and gradually implemented reforms as evidenced by him being named trendsetter of the year during the latest St. Petersburg International Economic Forum earlier this month. Had Prigozhin remained committed to the Russian Constitution, then there’s a very real chance that he could have eventually generated enough support to see some of his proposals promulgated into policy.

He regrettably went rogue, however, which was likely due to two so-called “trigger events”: the previously mentioned requirement for all PMCs to sign contracts with the DM and President Putin’s recent signals that he’s interested in politically resolving the proxy war if Russia’s security is ensured. The first was already touched upon while the latter was analyzed at length in this piece here, which cites his own words from the official Kremlin transcripts of three relevant events earlier this month.

Returning to those NRPRs from the AMC, they’re entitled to disagree with President Putin’s newly implied approach towards this conflict, but they become enemies of Russia when they question the patriotism of those like him and Foreign Minister Lavrov who are arguably in favor of this nowadays. Prigozhin has repeatedly agitated for escalating his country’s special operation, which aligns with some of his compatriots’ views, but it’s treason to take up arms against the state in pursuit of this agenda.

A Painful Fact-Check Of A Viral Alt-Media Article

It’s at this point that a painful fact-check has to be carried out against a popular AMC influencer who published a piece last month chock-full of falsehoods that in hindsight contributed to misleading countless NRPRs about the state of affairs in Russia. Pepe Escobar’s article from 12 May for the Strategic Culture Foundation titled “Cries and Whispers Along the Russian Watchtowers”, which went viral after being republished by ZeroHedge, recklessly speculated about the loyalty of leading Russian officials.

He divided them into three categories: “the Victory party; the ‘Peace’ party – which Victory would describe as surrenders; and the Neutral/Undecided”, with the second-mentioned “Peace” one being framed unfavorably due to the innuendo that they want Russia to “surrender” to the West. It’s now obvious as was argued several paragraphs above that President Putin, Lavrov, and many other top officials can be included in this ignoble category with all that Escobar ominously implied that it entails.

At the time, his categorization of the Russian elite was already extremely scandalous after he baselessly questioned FSB Director Bortnikov’s patriotism by placing him in the “Neutral/Undecided” category and then described Russia’s top domestic security official as a “special bone of contention”. This served to discredit the man who’s responsible for the safety of over 145 million people by implying that he might support “Peace”, which Escobar already wrote is associated with “surrender[ing]” to Russia’s enemies.

The Soft Power Consequences Of Reckless Speculation

Many NRPRs in the AMC look to this influencer for guidance about Russia, especially after he was feted by its elite during his last two trips there, which made them think that he’s the so-called “voice of Russian insiders”. Escobar extended credence to this false impression by referencing his alleged “sources” in other articles and social media posts. As a result, many well-intended but naïve folks wrongly mistook his speculation about Russian officials as fact, including about Bortnikov.

Had it not been for Prigozhin’s coup attempt, Escobar’s words wouldn’t have been exposed as only being his personal opinion but would have continued to be seen by many as reflecting the views of “Russian insiders” after they came to regard him as their “voice”, the falsely impression of which he cultivated. The FSB’s accusation that the Wagner chief stabbed Russia in the back, and President Putin’s subsequent description of his actions as treason, prove that Bortnikov and the Russian leader are on the same side.

As can now be seen, Escobar’s placement of the FSB Director in the “Neutral/Undecided” category that he implied amounts to “surrender[ing]” to Russia’s enemies and his description of Bortnikov’s patriotism as a “special bone of contention” couldn’t have been further from the truth. This AMC influencer’s discrediting of Russia’s top domestic security official ultimately misled countless NRPRs during the most sensitive moment in Russia’s domestic political history since the Constitutional Crisis of 1993.

Concluding Thoughts

Without a formal mea culpa unambiguously setting the record straight about this ultra-sensitive issue and taking full responsibility for the consequences that his reckless speculation, it wouldn’t be surprising if Escobar isn’t welcomed back to Russia after everything settles down. Whatever his intentions may have been in writing what he did, which were presumably “innocent” unless proven otherwise, he inflicted enormous damage to Russia’s objective national interests and must thus profusely apologize.

Those like President Putin, Lavrov, and other leading officials who are interested in politically resolving the NATO-Russian proxy war if their country’s security interests are ensured should never have been associated with “surrender[ing] to the West in the first place. Escobar’s false framing of this policy option poisoned it in the minds of many and indirectly extended credence to Prigozhin’s treasonous coup attempt that was partially launched on the basis of opposing this pragmatic scenario.

What the Wagner chief did is unacceptable, as was Escobar’s twisting of NRPRs’ perceptions about the patriotism of those who explore a political solution to this proxy war instead of further escalation. Nobody in the AMC should be misled by either of them into supporting Prigozhin’s coup attempt. The Russian state is united and all efforts to divide it, whether by force or reckless speculation, will fail. Prigozhin’s fate is sealed, but Escobar’s reputation can still be salvaged if he repents and makes amends.

 

 

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Jun 242023
 


Johannes Vermeer The girl with the wine glass (Dame en twee heren) 1659

 

Prigozhin Charged With Armed Mutiny, To Face Up To 20 Years In Prison (TASS)
Russian MoD Denies Media Reports of Strikes on Wagner Positions (Sp.)
Russian Army Retreating In Ukraine, Putin Being Deceived – Prigozhin (Az.)
Prigozhin Says Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Unjustified (MT)
Zelensky May ‘Sacrifice All Of Europe’ – Russian Envoy (RT)
Russian UN Ambassador Says Ukrainian Counteroffensive ‘Suicidal’ (TASS)
West in Denial About Failure of Ukrainian ‘Counter-Offensive’ (Tweedie)
The Counteroffensive Had No Chance. NATO Failed To Explain That (MoA)
Analysis Ukrainian Counteroffensive Part 2 June 23 (Valtersson)
Why an Armistice Offers the Best Hope for Peace in Ukraine (Foreign Affairs)
Envoy Slams US Senators’ ‘Absurd’ Claims About Nuclear Strike on Ukraine (Sp.)
The PRC’s Rise Is A Failure Of American Presidential Leadership (Thayer)
Cash-Strapped Europe Still Paying to Arm Ukraine for Proxy Conflict (Tweedie)
Teachable Moment (Jim Kunstler)

 

 

 

 


This is not a counteroffensive, it’s a bloody crashtest.

 

 

 

 

Pressure difference between a space capsule and the vacuum of space: Less than 1 atm.
Pressure difference between a submersible at the Titanic and the surrounding water pressure: Nearly 400 atm. (5,600 lbs per sq inch)

 

 


There will be no presidential elections in Ukraine until the end of the war – Zelensky

 

 

Lumumba

 

 

Baerbock

 

 

Obama

 

 

Jean-Pierre


Kirby

 

 

It’s all true. Hunter, the laptop, the bribes, the foreign cash, the money laundering to his dad. The President of the United States is a crook and a traitor. The DOJ has known all of it for years. So they’re destroying Trump’s life to protect Biden.

 

 

 

 

Strange things happened in the past 24 hours. Core: until now it was Prigozhin vs Shoigu and Gerasimov. Now it’s Prigozhin vs Putin. Or at least he doesn’t leave Putin a way out.

But Prigozhin has been part of PR schemes before -Bakhmut-, to lure Ukraine into thinking they could attack, only to get slaughtered.

Prigozhin Charged With Armed Mutiny, To Face Up To 20 Years In Prison (TASS)

The Russian Defense Ministry called the reports on strikes at Wagner PMC units false. The Ministry added that Russian forces continue to carry out missions in the special military operation area. Later, the Ministry announced that the Kiev regime took advantage of Prigozhin’s provocation and is concentrating forces of 35th and 36th Marine Brigades on the Bakhmut direction for offensive action. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin was informed about the situation around Prigozhin and “necessary measures are being taken.” According to the spokesman, all Russian security agencies report to Putin about measures being taken around the clock.

The National Antiterrorism Committee announced that Prigozhin’s statements became grounds for initiation of the criminal case over charges of calls for an armed mutiny; the Committee demanded to immediately stop illegal actions. Later, the Prosecutor General’s Office said that the criminal case was initiated legitimately and was justified. The Office promised to provide legal assessment to Prigozhin’s actions. The Wagner PMC founder may face between 12 and 20 years in prison. Prigozhin’s statements effectively constitute calls for beginning of and armed civil conflict, Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) press office said. “Prigozhin’s statements and actions effectively constitute calls for an armed civil conflict on Russian territory and a stab in the back of Russian servicemen fighting with pro-Nazi Ukrainian forces,” the press office said.

Russia’s Deputy Commander of Russian joint forces in the special military operation area Sergey Surovikin called on the Wagner PMC to comply with President Vladimir Putin’s order and to resolve all issues peacefully. “I urge you to stop. The enemy is waiting for our internal political situation to escalate. We must not play in enemy’s favor in this difficult time. Before it is too late, it is necessary to submit to the will and order to the nationally elected president of the Russian Federation, to stop the convoys, to take them back to their permanent deployment and concentration locations, and to only resolve all issues peacefully,” he said. Russia’s Channel 1 aired two special reports. The first said that the video about the “strike” on Wagner PMC positions is fake, proven by the absence of other video footage, and the fact that audio files on Prigozhin’s Telegram channel were recorded simultaneously and were published as scheduled messages. In addition, the report announced the initiation of the criminal case against Prigozhin.

Moscow’s critical facilities have been put under reinforced protection, security measures in the capital have been increased, a source in law enforcement agencies told TASS. According to the source, Russian National Guard special units were put on full alert. Car traffic has been blocked on Russia’s M-4 highway past Rostov-on-Don towards Aksay, according to TASS reported at the scene. All cars moving from Rostov-on-Don towards Aksay are being redirected back in the city, and police checkpoints have been reinforced. Checkpoints have been established near the Southern Military District headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, with military and law enforcement upholding the public order.

Military checkpoints have been established on streets adjacent to the headquarters, with numerous police cars; an armored personnel carrier was spotted near the headquarters building. The city’s central streets are being patrolled by police cars; aircraft was heard in air in Western parts of the city. No security agency has provided any official comments yet. Meanwhile, the situation at the “Wagner PMC Center” building in St. Petersburg remains calm, there are no Russian National Guard employees or employees of other security services, according to a TASS reporter. Security detail on duty debunked reports of searches in the building. Crimean authorities urged residents to only trust official information due to intensified activities of Ukraine’s Informational and Psychological Operation Center (TSIPsO).

Read more …

The whole thing was started based on a bunch of videos?

Russian MoD Denies Media Reports of Strikes on Wagner Positions (Sp.)

Earlier, videos surfaced on social media attributed to the Wagner private military contractor accusing the Russian military of hitting a Wagner camp in rear areas. The MoD has characterized these videos as a “media provocation.” Reports about Russian military strikes on Wagner rear area camps are not true, Russia’s Defense Ministry has said. “All the messages and videos distributed on social networks on behalf of [Wagner Head Yevgeny] Prigozhin about alleged ‘strike by Russian Defense Ministry on the rear camps of the Wagner PMC do not correspond to reality and are an informational provocation,” the ministry said in a statement posted to its Telegram page Friday. “The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to carry out combat missions on the line of contact with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of the special military operation,” it added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday that President Putin has been “informed of all events around Prigozhin,” and said that “necessary measures are being taken.” The press secretary did not elaborate. Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee said Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) had opened a criminal case over “calling for an armed rebellion,” and that allegations spread on behalf of Wagner chief Prigozhin were “unfounded.” “In connection with these statements, the FSB has opened a criminal case over calls for an armed rebellion. We demand that these illegal actions be stopped immediately,” the committee said. Earlier in the day, footage and audio attributed to Wagner troops and Prigozhin surfaced online alleging that a “missile attack” had been launched at a Wagner camp, and that the strike was “delivered from the rear, that is by forces of the Russian Defense Ministry.”

The voice attributed to Prigozhin appeared to call for the ouster of the Defense Ministry’s leadership. The footage and audio were immediately jumped on by Ukrainian and US state-funded media outlets, which have been reporting heavily on Prigozhin’s criticism of Russian generals in recent weeks. Wagner units and Russian Army forces jointly took part in the battle of Artemovsk (Bakhmut), liberating the Donbass city in late May after eight months of heavy fighting which pinned down large concentrations of Ukrainian troops, allowed Russia to train up its mobilized reserves, and resulted in a major defeat for Kiev ahead of its now-stalled counteroffensive.

Read more …

From yesterday, before the “coup attempt”. Prigozhin says Russia is losing. Got me thinking, because that’s something not even the most pro-Ukraine western MSM reports.

Russian Army Retreating In Ukraine, Putin Being Deceived – Prigozhin (Az.)

Russian troops are retreating along the front line in Ukraine – in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, while the Russian Defense Ministry and the Russian General Staff are talking about a possible victory and are providing false information to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Head of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin said, Report informs referring to Russian media. He noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are actively neutralizing the Russian army, adding that the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff ‘still hope that they can win this war’ and ‘thoroughly deceive the president.’


In his video, Prigozhin shared his vision of the events taking place in Ukraine. In particular, the founder of PMC Wagner said that by February 24, 2022, the situation in Donbass was no different from what had been happening there since 2014. Ukraine was not going to attack Russia together with NATO. The Ministry of Defense, speaking about the upcoming Ukrainian offensive, deceived both the public and the President of Russia, Prigozhin claims. The war was needed only so that a ‘bunch’ of people simply ‘triumphed and promoted,’ as well as the oligarchs who profit from it, Prigozhin noted.

Read more …

Also from yesterday, and also a strange statement.

Prigozhin Says Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Unjustified (MT)

Russia did not face an imminent security threat to justify its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary outfit, said in a bombshell video posted on social media Friday. “The Armed Forces of Ukraine were not going to attack Russia with the NATO bloc,” Prigozhin explained in the half-hour tirade released by his press service. “The Russian Defense Ministry is deceiving the public and the president,” he added. Prigozhin’s comments were at odds with the casus belli given by President Vladimir Putin when he ordered troops into Ukraine last February, although the private army chief avoided personally attacking the Russian leader. Putin has cited NATO expansion near Russia’s borders as one of the main justifications for invading neighboring Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Prigozhin escalated his criticism of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu by claiming that Russia went to war “for the self-promotion of a bunch of bastards.” He blamed Russia’s military leadership for “poorly planning” the invasion and “embarrassing” the military after a series of setbacks on the battlefield last year. “Shoigu killed thousands of the most combat-ready Russian soldiers in the first days of the war,” he charged. “The mentally ill scumbags decided ‘It’s okay, we’ll throw in a few thousand more Russian men as ‘cannon fodder.’ ‘They’ll die under artillery fire, but we’ll get what we want’,” Prigozhin continued. “That’s why it has become a protracted war.”

Prigozhin also accused Kremlin-linked oligarchs of seeking to plunder Ukraine’s resources after its military capture and appointment of a puppet regime in Kyiv. “The task was to divide material assets in Ukraine. There was widespread theft in the [industrial eastern Ukrainian territory of the] Donbas, but they wanted more.” Some analysts have interpreted Prigozhin’s latest comments as a sign of his growing political ambitions. He addressed the Ukrainian forces’ ongoing counteroffensive in similarly critical terms, saying the Russian army is retreating from the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. “We are washing ourselves in blood. No one is bringing reserves. What they tell us is the deepest deception,” Prigozhin said, referring to Putin and Shoigu’s claims that Russia is successfully pushing back Ukrainian counterattacks.

Read more …

“Mikhail Podoliak, a senior aide to Zelensky, blamed the offensive’s failure on the West’s apparent hesitance to give Kiev all of the heavy weapons it asked for..”

Zelensky May ‘Sacrifice All Of Europe’ – Russian Envoy (RT)

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky could stage a false-flag attack at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in order to provoke NATO intervention, Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, warned on Friday. Polyanskiy said on Twitter that Russia had “just drawn attention to these plans of [the] Kiev regime during the UN Security Council meeting” that morning. “The whole of Europe may be easily sacrificed by Ze and his blind Russophobic sponsors,” he added. “Don’t tell us we didn’t warn you!” Zelensky’s “plan” – according to some pro-Russian commentators – would involve causing a nuclear accident at the ZNPP facility, which has been under Russian control since the early days of the special military operation in Ukraine. According to this theory, Kiev would then blame the ensuing disaster on Russia, leading NATO to openly declare war on Russia in response.

This exact scenario was mapped out by US Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal on Thursday. The two lawmakers proposed a resolution under which the US would consider a meltdown at the plant as an act of war against NATO, due to the fact that Poland would be affected by radioactive fallout. Russia’s ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov, cautioned that the “crazy” resolution could be laying the groundwork for such a false-flag incident. Zelensky claimed on Thursday that Russia is preparing a “terrorist act” at the ZNPP, adding that “radiation knows no borders” and “who it hits” will depend on the “direction of the wind.” Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of shelling the ZNPP, with Moscow’s permanent ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, demanding on multiple occasions that the UN Security Council order Kiev to cease firing on the plant. Ukrainian forces also made several attempts to retake the plant by crossing the Dnieper River last year, and allegedly attacked it with explosives-laden drones on Friday morning.

“Ukraine blew up the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric power station in order to distract the world from the failures of their much-publicized counteroffensive,” Zaporozhye authorities said in a statement. “Now they need another disaster, this time a nuclear one, for which they will again blame Russia.” Launched at the beginning of this month, Ukraine’s counteroffensive has cost Kiev 13,000 troops so far, without netting any significant territorial gains, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. With American and Western officials reportedly displeased, Mikhail Podoliak, a senior aide to Zelensky, blamed the offensive’s failure on the West’s apparent hesitance to give Kiev all of the heavy weapons it asked for in recent months.

Read more …

“..obsessed with this notorious counterattack, set little store on the interests of their people and the future of their country..”

Russian UN Ambassador Says Ukrainian Counteroffensive ‘Suicidal’ (TASS)

The counteroffensive from Ukraine’s armed forces is fully self-destructive, set in motion with complete disregard for the interests of the Ukrainian people, Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya told a meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday. “Ukraine’s armed forces have been conducting a suicidal counteroffensive against Russian positions for almost a month now; it has already cost them tens of thousands of mobilized men, several hundred pieces of armored hardware, and it is called in Ukrainian society none other than the Zaporozhye slaughter,” Nebenzya said. “As was the case with the Bakhmut slaughter, where the Kiev regime sent Ukrainian soldiers to their deaths for several months just to prove to Western arms suppliers that Ukraine could defeat Russia.

Of course, they only succeeded in proving the opposite, which [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky and his clique are trying to forget today.” “Now they face a bigger task: how to make a victory out of a complete fiasco and defeat. Toiling on this task together with them are Washington, London and Brussels, who never think about Ukraine as such and its interests,” the UN ambassador went on to say.

“Against the background of what is going on, it is even more evident today that they are interested in this country only as an instrument to weaken or at least restrain Russia. That is why they will not let the puppet regime in Kiev have any peace talks, at least as long as there are still some Ukrainians left. The same way they didn’t allow it to be done in March last year, as Russian President Vladimir Putin explained in detail at a meeting with African leaders,” Nebenzya said. “It is obvious that those in Kiev, who are behind this terrorist attack (Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant blast – TASS), obsessed with this notorious counterattack, set little store on the interests of their people and the future of their country,” the diplomat stressed.

Read more …

“..Russia called up 300,000 reservists on top of the 150,000 force that they went into Ukraine with..”

West in Denial About Failure of Ukrainian ‘Counter-Offensive’ (Tweedie)

Former CIA director and US Central Command chief General David Petraeus predicted on June 6, two days into Kiev’s southern offensive, that “the Russians will prove to be more brittle than the expectation is” when faced with Western-supplied armour, also claiming that Moscow’s troops were poorly trained, equipped and led and exhausted after a year on the front line without a break. Since then, the Russian army’s Vostok (East) battlegroup has destroyed at least 246 Ukrainian tanks, including 13 NATO models including the vaunted Leopard 2s, along with more than 440 other armoured vehicles, while the Ukrainian forces have suffered some 13,000 casualties Military analyst Mark Sleboda told Sputnik that Petraeus’ statements were “blatantly false.”

“First of all, Russia called up 300,000 reservists on top of the 150,000 force that they went into Ukraine with,” he pointed out. “These are all people who had prior experience in the military, and then they received over eight months of training since they were called up on top of this.” He also attacked the Western view of the conflict as akin to a heroic war film. “Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results,” Sleboda noted. “No it’s not. Why would we think that this is a Hollywood movie?” “We had videos of this Kiev regime information war, which they have always prioritized over the real war,” Sleboda underscored. “We had a number of Ukrainian military flashing through them, showing them all shushing us into silence, assuring us that there is a plan for the counteroffensive.”

That was followed by an “obvious deepfake video” of Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, believed hit by a Russian missile strike on his Kiev headquarters on May 29, “staring into the camera for a interminable period of time, blinking oddly at these intervals.” The military analyst predicted that once the Ukrainian offensive runs out of steam, Russia will mount a counter-offensive in the “proper use of the term.” “But it probably will not look like a big arrow sweeping Hollywood style offensive, like we’ve been expected to believe,” Sleboda said. “I expect it will be more of the same focused on liberating the last these fortress strongholds in the Donbass.”

“There won’t be a big tank blitzkrieg, riding on the minefields, because we’ve seen how well they work for Kiev,” the security expert stressed. “It will be doing what works for them, which is the slow grind of artillery and air power from above.” The analyst argued that Russia was much better prepared for a protracted conflict than the Kiev regime and its Western masters. “Putin is definitely sending signals that Russia considers that it is in this conflict for the long term,” Sleboda said, but the US and NATO as a whole “are running low on the stockpiles of many items that are essential for the Kiev regime to continue the conflict, like artillery shells.”

Read more …

“‘Western’ equipment is more complex than Soviet era stuff. It also requires more specialized maintenance. The Ukraine received a zoo.

The Counteroffensive Had No Chance. NATO Failed To Explain That (MoA)

At the end of 2022 the Ukrainian army had been exhausted and had been already been destroyed twice. The Russians had first destroyed large parts of the original equipment of the Ukrainian army and then the Soviet era equipment that was brought to Ukraine from former Warsaw Pact nations. More importantly they had killed or wounded many of the experienced non-commissioned staff (Sergeants etc) and lower rank officers of the Ukrainian military that command and are the core of each company. The newly mobilized Ukrainian forces did not have the knowledge or training necessary to replace them. ‘Western’ equipment is more complex than Soviet era stuff. It also requires more specialized maintenance. The Ukraine received a zoo.

The many types of equipment and the many incompatible kinds of ammunition they use are a logistic nightmare. ‘Western’ training for the mobilized Ukrainian forces did not bring up more capable soldiers than Soviet training would have done. Those who watched NATO stumble in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya should have recognized that. Russian on the other side mobilized 300,000 soldiers who mostly had been contract soldiers before they had returned to private life. They received extensive refresher training. They now mostly get paid more than in their civilian life which certainly helped to increase their motivation. Russia also changed the structure of its military. The main Russian fighting force in 2022 was made up of Brigade Tactical Groups (BIG). Each of them was part of a garrison brigade which next to the one contract soldier BTG had additional battalions that were mostly training conscripts. Under Russian laws the conscript battalions could not be used on foreign ground.

The fighting BTG’s had few real infantry soldiers. Next to their 9 infantry platoons they had 8 artillery and 5 auxiliary platoons. Of a total of some 800 plus soldiers in a BTG only 200 were actually infantry that could man the trenches. The whole structure was too big and too difficult to command. After the mobilization had brought up enough men the Russian military changed from BTGs to a mobile brigade structure. Under a higher commander the brigade holds two or three battalions that each consist of three or four companies of mobile infantry or tanks. Most of the artillery and auxiliary troops of the former BTGs are now concentrated under the brigade structure and can be used more flexible wherever they are needed. The tooth to tail ratio in the frontline battalions is now much higher than in a BTG and the whole structure is easier to command.

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Twitter thread by @MikaelValterss1

Analysis Ukrainian Counteroffensive Part 2 June 23 (Valtersson)

Some asks how I can say that the Ukrainian counteroffensive already is a failure. Many Ukrainian units haven’t seen combat yet, so things could change. The easy answer is that it’s hard to make up for early losses. UkrAF has 40-50 good field brigades, usable for offensive purposes. A problem is that many soldiers are raw and have had to short training, but the brigades also has many battle hardened veterans and good weaponry. Half of these are on the Southern front and half on the Eastern front. Earlier a large part of them used to be a strategic reserve. On the Southern front about a third of the units has seen combat and maybe two thirds on the Eastern front. All in all, half of the brigades has seen combat recently. Half a dozen of the brigades has been rotated away. Probably due to high losses. That’s mean that 12-15 percent of the Ukrainian Field Army is used up since the beginning of June.


On the Eastern front there are a lack of fresh Ukrainian units and the possibility of major Ukrainian counteroffensives are limited. Some believe that Ukraine prepares for a large scale offensive e near Kreminna, but I think that’s unlikely, even though a large number of Ukrainian brigades are stationed there. But many of these are made up of fresh recruits with limited training and no heavy equipment. The better brigades are in the second line. This positioning of units are probably to defend against a Russian offensive, with the good brigades as counterattack units. On the Southern front, Ukrainian forces probably are in a quandary about what to do. Abandoning the Counteroffensive and save unit or gamble everything on success.

The original plan was probably to attack in the west and east with strong forces (blue arrows), making so large breakthroughs that Russian reserves would be moved there (red arrows) and leaving the Centre exposed. The second attack would come in the centre (purple arrow) with the aim of breaking through to the Russian rear and move towards Berdyansk (1). If Russian reserves turned around and attacked the Ukrainians I the Centre (yellow arrows), Ukrainian reserve units could move eastwardsand, help breaking through south of Vreminka salient (green arrow) and move towards Mariupol (2). I don’t think the attacks in the west towards Tokmak (4) and Melitopol (3) was the main push, since there are many strong defencelines to fight through to get there.

In the Centre and south of Vreminka salient the Russian defences are much thinner and easier to break through. Unfortunately for the Ukrainians, Russian units, air power, artillery, mine fields etc was much stronger than expected. So there was no need to move around reserves to handle Ukrainian breakthroughs. Instead the Ukrainian avant-garde brigades got severely mauled by Russian forces. Now the UkrAF are clerly weakened after dozens of attacks against the Russian forward positions,not even getting to the real russian fortifications. If things continue like this the coming 19 days 25-30 percent of the assault brigades in the south will be spent and all reserves used up on the Eastern front. Even if there are some territorial gains, larger than the first 19 days, the brigades left, probably aren’t strong enough to achieve a breakthrough of the Russian main defencelines and if they could do that, there wouldn’t be much left to continue advancing.

Especially with Russian strategic reserves arriving on the Southern front. The offensive isn’t over and it might continue during the summer. But if it does Ukraine might have spent most of their offensive power to do nothing in the South, all the while RuAF might have used Ukrainian preoccupation with Zaporizhia and South Donetsk to make own breakthroughs in the East and North. Breakthroughs hard to contain if Ukraine spends its offensive power running into a wall in the South. Abort the Counteroffensive and save the reserve to counter russian offensives.

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Jim Rickards: “Foreign Affairs is the voice of the globalists. Last year they discussed a Ukrainian victory and the end of Putin. Today, it’s a stalemate and armistice. Next year it will be Ukrainian terms of surrender. They just don’t get it. Russia is a superpower.”

Why an Armistice Offers the Best Hope for Peace in Ukraine (Foreign Affairs)

Today, the Korean Peninsula remains a site of high geopolitical tension. North Korea is governed by a dictator who brutally represses his citizens and regularly threatens his neighbors with nuclear weapons. But the carnage of the Korean War is now a distant memory, and the peace produced by the armistice allowed South Korea to develop a robust economy and, eventually, a stable liberal democracy. For all its flaws, the armistice was a success. The war ravaging Ukraine today bears more than a passing resemblance to the Korean War. And for anyone wondering about how it might end, the durability of the Korean armistice—and the high human cost of the delay in reaching it—deserves close study. The parallels are clear.

In Ukraine, as in Korea seven decades ago, a static battlefront and intractable political differences call for a cease-fire that would pause the violence while putting off thorny political issues for another day. The Korean armistice “enabled South Korea to flourish under American security guarantees and protection,” the historian Stephen Kotkin has pointed out. “If a similar armistice allowed Ukraine—or even just 80 percent of the country—to flourish in a similar way,” he argues, “that would be a victory in the war.” The negotiations that produced the Korean armistice were long and difficult and took place alongside heavy fighting, before the war’s costs were clear enough to persuade either side to compromise. The same would likely be true today.

The Korean experience also suggests that the obstinacy of Russian President Vladimir Putin—who, like Stalin, seems averse to compromise of any kind—could be especially obstructive. On top of that, domestic politics in the United States and the gap between Washington’s and Kyiv’s legitimate but distinct interests could trip up a cease-fire. At the moment, debate in Washington often focuses on the question of when would be the right time to start pushing Ukraine to negotiate, and the consensus answer has generally been, “Not yet.” The Korean War shows that, in a military stalemate, it can take a very long time for both sides to clearly see that the costs of continuing to fight are outweighing the benefits. And by the time they do, a great deal of death and destruction can occur without producing any meaningful advantages.

If the United States, NATO, and other supporters of Ukraine do decide to work toward a cease-fire, the end of the Korean War offers three practical lessons. First, they must be willing to fight and talk simultaneously, using battlefield pressure to enforce demands at the negotiating table. Second, they should include the United Nations in any negotiations, since neutral arbiters are an asset. Finally, they should condition future security assistance and postconflict support for Ukraine on Kyiv’s willingness to make some concessions. A complete victory for Ukraine and the West and a total defeat for the other side would be a welcome end to the Ukraine war, just as it would have been in Korea. And as in Korea, the risk of escalation confounds such an outcome. Kyiv, Washington, and their partners in opposing Moscow’s aggression should understand that an armistice that both Ukraine and Russia can accept—even if it fails to settle all the important questions—would still be a win.

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A nuke attack would activate Article 5. So you fake one.

Envoy Slams US Senators’ ‘Absurd’ Claims About Nuclear Strike on Ukraine (Sp.)

Earlier, US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the lawmakers were introducing a resolution to consider the use of a nuclear weapon by Russia in Ukraine as an attack on the NATO alliance. US senators’ speculations about the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine are absurd and contribute to the escalation of tensions, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Thursday.”Speculations about Russia’s possible use of tactical nuclear weapons are absurd. The provocative and short-sighted rhetoric of US lawmakers only contributes to the escalation of tensions and increases the risk of the situation sliding to an even more dangerous line,” Antonov said in a statement shared among media.

Antonov slammed the resolution as another “crazy initiative” of “Russophobe senators” in the US. Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus was done on legal grounds, the ambassador noted. “We have not violated a single international obligation and have done exactly what the Americans have been doing for decades, deploying nuclear bombs on the territories of European allies,” Antonov said.The ambassador suggested that these speculations serve to prepare the world community for a false-flag provocation at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant by sliding a “dirty bomb” there and blaming it on Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in mid-June that Russia had transferred the first part of the nuclear warheads to Belarus and would complete the task of moving tactical nuclear weapons completely by the end of the year. Putin said the deployment was an element of deterrence and a signal to those thinking about inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia. Russian Foreign Intelligence Service head Sergey Naryshkin said earlier in June that Kiev could continue to work on the creation of a “dirty bomb,” adding that the possible use of the “dirty bomb” by Kiev would have severe consequences for the life and health of the entire population and ecosystems of Eastern Europe.

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Well, sure, but China could rise because they produced cheaper and thus made US corporate profits bigger.

The PRC’s Rise Is A Failure Of American Presidential Leadership (Thayer)

The foundation of the People’s Republic of China’s rapid growth was laid by Deng Xiaoping. Yet, it could not have been accomplished without U.S. support and cooperation. That the PRC is now the principal enemy of the United States and its challenger in all aspects of global politics is prima facie evidence of the failure of U.S. presidential leadership to prevent its rise. The fundamental responsibility of every U.S. president was to defend the safety and national security of the United States. Since the end of World War II, the central objective of every U.S. president was to sustain what their predecessors had created. Then, having defeated one peer competitor, the Soviet Union, their obligation was to prevent the rise of another. It was an easier strategic task given the abject poverty and military weakness of the PRC.

Thus, sustaining the status quo should have been a far easier task than generating U.S. victory in World War II and the defeat of the Soviets in the Cold War. Yet they failed. This failure compels an examination of why it occurred, and thus why post-Cold War U.S. presidents wasted what had been provided by previous generations. The buck stops with the U.S. presidents. During this period—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama squandered our earned advantage, before Trump attempted to reverse course, and now Joe Biden appears to be reversing Trump’s course correction.

An accounting begins with the recognition that presidential leadership regarding the PRC threat was absent in the aftermath of the Cold War. In fact, the U.S. aided the PRC’s rise through ever-greater volumes of trade and investment. While President Jimmy Carter granted Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status to Beijing in 1980, the PRC’s growth did not take off until Deng fully supported capitalism in the wake of his 1992 economic reforms. Two years later, President Clinton ended the need for MFN renewal on a yearly basis, which had been linked, at least, to improvements in the PRC’s atrocious human rights record. Clinton granted the PRC MFN status on a permanent basis and placed the PRC on the path towards membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The PRC then entered the West’s economic ecosystem. From that time, the PRC’s rise was rapid and added a new peer competitor.

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“..Victoria Nuland, the architect of the 2014 EuroMaidan coup in Kiev, has said “the war is going to last six years, 16 years. So it basically depend on the new president who’s going to continue, how far he’s going to go.”

Cash-Strapped Europe Still Paying to Arm Ukraine for Proxy Conflict (Tweedie)

Europe is spending ever more on arming Ukraine — while its populations become increasingly impoverished. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to demand at a Ukraine aid conference in the UK that member states stump up a further €50 billion to cover the cost of financial and military aid to the Kiev regime. That comes as governments of European Union and NATO members implement austerity policies and raise interest rates to extortionate levels in the face of the inflationary crisis brought on by sanctions on Russia. Brussels-based journalist Elijah J Magnier told Sputnik that the “Eurocrat” von der Leyen’s demand was out-of-touch “when Europe is under a stress and financial difficulties, when the French President, Emmanuel Macron, is having [disagreement] with the population because you want to increase the pension scheme saying there is no money.”


“It is really not appropriate and doesn’t correspond to the suffering that the European citizens are going through,” Magnier stressed. The major concern is that “Europe is preparing itself too, for a long war with Russia,” Magnier warned. “It means Europe is doubling down, is not facing the reality that the Ukrainians are losing, that at the end of the day, every war is solved only around the table.” “When we hear the Americans saying: ‘we will send F-16s’, capable of carrying nuclear bombs, or we going to give Ukraine weapons or ammunition with depleted uranium, it seems that what has been done so far by the 50 Western nations and their allies meeting in Ramstein in Germany, has not been enough to drag Russia into a wider-scale war.” The journalist noted that US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, the architect of the 2014 EuroMaidan coup in Kiev, has said “the war is going to last six years, 16 years. So it basically depend on the new president who’s going to continue, how far he’s going to go.”

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“We are treated in these twilight months of the “Joe Biden” regime to a cavalcade of revelations laying out the degeneracy of a federal justice system at war with the American people..”

Teachable Moment (Jim Kunstler)

I hope you agree this has been an instructive week for our republic, sinking to the bottom as fast as the Titan submersible on its way to consort with its grandmama, the RMS Titanic. Here’s what I learned, for instance, from Special Counsel John Durham’s visit to the House Judiciary Committee: When asked why he did not seek grand jury testimony from the primary culprits in the Russia Collusion hoax — Comey, McCabe, and Strzok — he told the room it would have been “unproductive” because they habitually claimed to “not recall” anything when testifying in Congress. That’s an interesting legal theory. If it is so, we must suppose that any witness in a criminal inquiry may decline testifying on the grounds of claiming a defective memory. I’m not a lawyer, of course, but is it not the case that witnesses can be prompted to recall events when presented with evidence? E.g., “…here is your smartphone text of July 29 saying, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll stop him [Trump].’ What means did you have in mind to accomplish that, Mr. Strzok?”

In the four-year lead-up to his personal appearance in the House, many of us were fooled into thinking Mr. Durham was a serious dude. (I sure was.) Turns out the ferocious facial hair masked a rather timorous persona. Mr. Durham apparently did not dare test the boundaries of the narrow lane laid out in the scoping directives set forth by then Attorney General Barr. Mr. D. did find a line of criminal conduct between Lawfare artist Michal Sussmann, the Fusion GPS disinfo company, the DC law firm Perkins Coie, and candidate Hillary MyTurn in the creation and marketing of the Steele Dossier — yet he never called Hillary to do any ‘splainin about it (or anything else she did in 2016). Weird, a little bit.

While his omissions and missteps were spotlighted by the Republican members, Mr. Durham was mugged, kicked to the curb, stomped, and peed-on by the committee Democrats, who still labor to prop-up the dead-letter Russia Collusion fraud against all evidence and reason. As usual, the lead attack dog on that was Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). He was rewarded the next day with a censure vote for seven years of shameless lying about said fraud, and stripped of his seat on the House Intel Committee, which he used, as then-chairman, to launch Trump Impeachment #1 in 2019 with fake “whistleblower” (and CIA goblin) Eric Ciaramella, whom Mr. Schiff naturally lied about never meeting prior to the proceeding.] We are treated in these twilight months of the “Joe Biden” regime to a cavalcade of revelations laying out the degeneracy of a federal justice system at war with the American people and its shady machinations in service to the Biden family global bribery operation.

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Babies

 

 


Human hand vs eagle’s talon

 

 

 

 

 

 

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