War Party Archives - The Automatic Earth

Unless you have the IQ of a meat thermometer, you can see the split in the Democratic Party.

Nobody pays attention to what Presidents Obama or Clinton, Sen. Schumer, or former Speaker Pelosi say anymore.

The real leaders are Zohran Mamdani, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, and Sen. Sanders. pic.twitter.com/bCd8DIOimf

— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) August 14, 2025

Wray

You think James Comey was corrupt?

Just wait — Christopher Wray covered up the attempted overthrow in 2016, oversaw the overthrow in 2020, and covered up the overthrow on January 6

• Christopher Wray had the 2020 election server.
• Christopher Wray had Huma Abedin’s… pic.twitter.com/szKbRNYv0r

— 🇺🇸RealRobert🇺🇸 (@Real_RobN) August 14, 2025

Kash

KASH: “We found a room locked away in the Hoover Building that contained burn bags … We didn't find one. We found seven … We found hard drives from our predecessors and prior FBI leadership … The list goes on from Russiagate.”pic.twitter.com/evS0U4wukq

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) August 15, 2025

BREAKING 🚨 D.C. Citizens are coming out of their homes to tell Law Enforcement, “THANK YOU” for making the streets safe once again. WOW

Mainstream media will never tell you this

This warms my ❤️

pic.twitter.com/m60zJ61yoP

— MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) August 15, 2025

275

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Democrats and the media repeatedly said no illegals were on social security, now Donald Trump says THEY HAVE REMOVED A QUARTER OF A MILLION ILLEGALS FROM SOCIAL SECURITY SO FAR????

250,000 illegals DRAWING OUR SOCIAL SECURITY

pic.twitter.com/BXDMo43tsT

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) August 14, 2025

Turley

It’s funny. How do you summarize this summit? It’s like there was no tangible “big breakthrough”, but at the same time everything about it was a giant breakthrough.

“..CNN said: “Putin’s isolation ended when his plane landed in Anchorage..”

• Putin & Trump Find Common Ground as West’s War Party Shut Out (Sp.)

Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump took place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska. Russia acknowledged positive, constructive dialogue between the sides, while Donald Trump hailed significant progress toward a Ukraine settlement. The Putin-Trump meeting shows the West “gambled on an easy victory over Russia and lost,” Mikael Valtersson, a Swedish Armed Forces veteran, told Sputnik. Both Russia and America have signalled satisfaction with the summit as a step forward towards a real peaceful solution of the Ukraine conflict, he noted. “Those that wanted more isolation and sanctions against Russia, if Russia didn’t agree to Western demands, didn’t have their way,” the former defence politician and chief of staff with Sweden Democrats emphasized.

The “Western war party” had hoped for new harsh sanctions on Russia and those trading with it, but instead what can be seen is improving relations between Russia and the US, as well as a continued peace process. After Donald Trump talks with his European allies and Ukraine, they will be faced with a choice, Valtersson said. They can either support the peace process by accepting the realities on the ground and legitimate interests of Russia, or reject it. If they choose the latter, they will isolate themselves from not only the majority of the world, but especially from the US. “Hopefully the cooler heads in Ukraine and Europe will realize that it’s better to follow the US and accept reality, than continue a lost war,” Valtersson concluded.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s reunion made clear they’d missed the bond from years past, psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman told Sputnik. “When President Putin and President Trump approached each other… their body language showed a very open and warm receptiveness,” the Beverly Hills best-selling author said. The two leaders shook hands multiple times, touched each other’s arms, and smiled—a clear signal they’d missed the connection they had during Trump’s first presidency. Lieberman noted the direct eye contact, standing close marked an “auspicious beginning that foretold a positive meeting.” Even after three hours of serious talks, their joint press conference carried the same energy. Both turned slightly toward one another, as if to emphasize unity. “They gave the impression that they were facing the press together, on the same team,” Lieberman observed.

“..not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up..”

• Trump Pushes Peace Over Ceasefire After Putin Meeting (RT)

The Ukraine conflict should be ended through a permanent agreement rather than a mere ceasefire, US President Donald Trump has said, following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said his almost three-hour talks with Putin in Anchorage “went very well,” adding that it was “a great and very successful day.” He confirmed that he had discussed the summit with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, several EU leaders, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up,” Trump said. The US president also confirmed that he and Zelensky would hold talks on Monday, adding that “if all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin.”

“..plunged into “frenzy bordering on complete madness” over the honors given to the Russian leader..”

• Western Media In Frenzy Over Putin-Trump Summit – Moscow (RT)

Western media have erupted in hysteria over US President Donald Trump’s cordial welcome for his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska on Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. Zakharova weighed in on the three-hour negotiations in Anchorage that brought Putin to US soil for the first time in more than a decade. The Russian leader was greeted at the airport with a red carpet and a flyover of US fighter jets. He and Trump then rode together in the US president’s limousine to the summit venue. While the sides did not announce any deal on Ukraine, Putin described the talks as constructive, with Trump calling the meeting “warm” and suggesting that Moscow and Washington “are pretty close” to settling the Ukraine conflict.

Zakharova noted that Western media had plunged into “frenzy bordering on complete madness” over the honors given to the Russian leader. “For three years they spoke of Russia’s isolation, and today they saw a red carpet rolled out to meet the Russian president in the US,” she said. Western media is attempting to frame the Alaska summit as a diplomatic win for Moscow. The Washington Post wrote that “the warmth of the welcome sent shock through Ukraine and Europe” while pointing to a stark contrast with the reception of Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky at the White House in February, when Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of disrespect, ingratitude over US aid, and of “gambling with World War III.”

😡 COPE & SEETHE In London: BBC Incandescent That Putin Treated With 'Respect' By Trump

Something not given by London to anybody who doesn't to its unipolar line. pic.twitter.com/w1SNRGhY44

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 16, 2025

Sky News correspondent Ivor Bennett, a former RT reporter, voiced surprise that Putin was first to speak at the media conference “as if he was the host rather than Donald Trump.” Another Sky News reporter had suggested prior to the talks that Putin would “use his KGB-trained powers of deception and seduction” on his US counterpart. Bloomberg reported that “by inviting the Russian president onto American soil and giving him an audience, Trump had already delivered a diplomatic win” for a seemingly isolated leader. The agency also published a separate piece headlined “US-Russia Summit Shows How Little Europe Matters in Trumpworld”, referencing the fact that no EU leaders were invited to the summit. Politico ran the headline “Putin’s Alaska triumph,” while CNN said: “Putin’s isolation ended when his plane landed in Anchorage,” adding, the Russian president “[is] back in from the cold.”

“There were even some indications that a serious US-Russia reset could be on the horizon..”

• Putin-Trump Summit Went Much Better than Expected — Pepe Escobar (Sp.)

There are few details about what exactly was discussed in the meeting, but Russian officials have made it clear that they’re pleased with how it went, says veteran geopolitical analyst, Pepe Escobar. There were even some indications that a serious US-Russia reset could be on the horizon. Even according to President Trump himself, they came to agreement on several important points and only a few are left. So this implies. serious discussions not only about Ukraine, a possible resolution in Ukraine, and of course we we have no idea about the terms and the parameters, but a reset, a serious reset of US-Russia relations. [..] The Russian delegation featured Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, and RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev. The US delegation included senior diplomatic and security officials.

He would have to give up Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye. That would be the end of him.

• Zelensky Should ‘Make A Deal’ – Trump (RT)

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky should “make the deal” to settle Kiev’s conflict with Moscow, US President Donald Trump has said following three-hour talks in Anchorage with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, their first summit since Helsinki in 2018. In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Trump reflected on “a very warm meeting,” adding that the sides are “pretty close” to resolving the conflict. He stressed that Kiev should be on board with the push for peace, for it to have any chance of success. When asked what advice he would give Zelensky, Trump replied: “Make the deal”, adding that he believes that Putin “wants to see it done.”

“It’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done. And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit,” the US president added. Trump said that he was ready to mediate direct talks between Putin and Zelensky. “If they’d like, I’ll be at that next meeting… Not that I want to be there, but I want to make sure it gets done. And we have a pretty good chance of getting it done.” Both leaders described the meeting as productive, although no agreement on Ukraine was announced. Putin earlier did not rule out direct talks with Zelensky, but stressed that it must be preceded by significant progress on settling the conflict.

Moscow has also voiced concerns about Zelensky’s right to sign any binding agreements, given that his presidential term expired last year, and that the Ukrainian leader has refused to call a new election, citing martial law. Ukrainian troops have been on the back foot for months, with Moscow making advances in Donbass and elsewhere. Moscow has insisted that any settlement should see Ukraine commit to bloc neutrality, demilitarization and denazification, as well as recognize the new territorial reality on the ground, including the status of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye Regions, all of which have voted to become parts of Russia.

“The US leader earlier suggested that he would “give today a ten” when it came to the outcome of the summit..”

• Trump Praises ‘Warm’ Meeting With Putin (RT)

US President Donald Trump has described his summit in Alaska with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as a “warm meeting,” and suggested that the Ukraine conflict is close to being resolved. In an interview with Fox News, the US leader praised the three-hour talks with Putin in Anchorage on Friday, noting that they had made progress in talks mainly focused on ending the hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. “Actually, I think we agree on a lot. I can tell you, the meeting was… warm,” Trump said, calling Putin a “strong guy.” The US leader earlier suggested that he would “give today a ten” when it came to the outcome of the summit. According to Trump, the sides are “pretty close to the end” of the conflict, although he added that “Ukraine has to agree” to any potential peace deal.

He would not provide any details of the discussions, saying only that “there’s one or two pretty significant items, but I think they can be reached.” The US president also noted that he had “always had a great relationship with President Putin, and we would have done great things together,” while praising Russia as a land brimming with natural resources. Putin similarly described the talks with Trump as “constructive” and “useful,” saying Moscow was “sincerely interested in putting an end” to the hostilities. He also suggested that the two leaders could hold their next meeting in Moscow, with Trump replying that he could “see it possibly happening.”

“We have always considered the Ukrainian people…fraternal, as strange as it may sound in today’s conditions.”

• Talks with Trump ‘Constructive’ – Putin (RT)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called his talks with US President Donald Trump in Anchorage on Friday “constructive” and “useful.” The discussions focused largely on the Ukraine conflict. Moscow is “sincerely interested in putting an end” to the ongoing hostilities, Putin stressed. “We have always considered the Ukrainian people…fraternal, as strange as it may sound in today’s conditions. We have the same roots and everything that is happening is a tragedy and a great pain for us,” he said. Speaking at the press conference, Trump remarked that the meeting was highly productive, although the two sides didn’t reached full agreement and no deal was finalized yet.

He highlighted the significant progress made during the discussions and affirmed his strong relationship with President Putin. Putin said that in recent years – under the administration of Joe Biden – US-Russia relations had sunk “to their lowest point since the Cold War,” which benefits neither the two countries nor the world as a whole. “It is obvious that sooner or later it was necessary to correct the situation and the transition from confrontation to dialogue had to take place. In this regard, a personal meeting of the heads of the two states was really overdue,” he said. The negotiations at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson lasted nearly three hours.

The Russian delegation for the Alaska summit also included Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, and presidential economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who has been a key figure in the Ukraine settlement process. Trump was accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

“Next time in Moscow,” Putin said in English. “That’s an interesting one,” Trump replied. “I’ll get a little heat for that one. But I can see it possibly happening.”

• ‘Next Time In Moscow’ – Putin to Trump (RT)

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare public switch to English to invite US President Donald Trump to Moscow for the next round of peace talks, following their summit in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday. Trump said he could see the meeting taking place though it would likely face political pushback. Speaking at the press conference, Trump called the meeting “extremely productive” and said, “we didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there,” implying no deal had been reached yet. He said the talks marked significant progress and reaffirmed what he described as his strong relationship with Putin. “Today’s agreements will help us restart pragmatic relations,” Trump said.

At the close of the press conference, Trump thanked Putin and said he expected to speak with him again soon. “Next time in Moscow,” Putin said in English. “That’s an interesting one,” Trump replied. “I’ll get a little heat for that one. But I can see it possibly happening.” Putin thanked Trump for what he called a “friendly” tone and “results-oriented” approach, saying it could “start us on the path towards a resolution in Ukraine.” He described the talks as “constructive” and reiterated his view that there would have been no war in Ukraine if Trump had been president when the conflict broke out. No details of any deal were provided, and neither Putin nor Trump took questions from reporters.

Zelensky tweeted he’ll be in Washington on Monday. He’ll try and bring the entire EU.

• Lasting Settlement Essential In Ukraine Conflict – Putin (RT)

For a lasting resolution to the Ukraine conflict to be achieved, all of its root causes must be addressed, Russia’s legitimate concerns taken into account, and a fair global security balance restored, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a joint press conference with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on Friday. The two men met in Alaska for a much-anticipated summit, to discuss restoring bilateral relations and to work toward a resolution of the Ukraine conflict. Putin acknowledged the willingness of the US administration and President Trump to engage in dialogue and seek solutions, noting their commitment to understanding the complexities of the situation.

He reiterated his view that Russians and Ukrainians are brotherly peoples and described the current circumstances as a tragedy, stressing Moscow’s sincere desire to bring the conflict to an end. Putin said that any sustainable resolution must address the root causes of the crisis while taking into account Russia’s legitimate concerns. “A fair balance of security in Europe and globally must be restored,” he stated. Putin agreed with Trump that ensuring Ukraine’s security is imperative and expressed a readiness to collaborate on the issue. He expressed hope that the mutual understanding reached during the discussions will pave the way toward peace.

“We hope that this will be perceived constructively in Kiev and European capitals, and that no obstacles will be created,” Putin stressed. “There should be no attempts to undermine the anticipated progress through provocations or behind-the-scenes intrigue.” Trump stressed that the key takeaway of the talks is that there is a reasonable opportunity to achieve peace. He expressed hope to meet Putin again soon, noting that the Russian president shares his desire to bring the conflict to an end.

“..that puts “President Putin in what Americans call the catbird seat,”

• Judge Napolitano: the Chance for a ‘Grand Reset’ in Russia-US Ties (Sp.)

Presidents Putin and Trump are meeting for the first time in over six years.The main topics on the agenda? Ukraine and Russia-US relations. Veteran journalist and Judging Freedom host Andrew Napolitano shares his insights. The US is “in no position to consent to the very reasonable, intellectually honest and consistent Russian demands” in Ukraine, as its officials don’t seem to fully understand or appreciate Russia’s national security needs, Napolitano told Sputnik, when asked whether the meeting could lead to a speedy cessation of hostilities. The Russian military is already very close to achieving its objectives in the special military operation, Trump knows it, and that puts “President Putin in what Americans call the catbird seat,” Napolitano said.

“Add to those reasons the recent Russian triumphs in the battlefield, which are rather extraordinary and which have left the Ukrainians with very, very little manpower with which to resist the Russian military,” he added. The Putin-Trump meeting could be the “first of many steps” toward a new era “commercial, political, diplomatic, cultural integration” between the two nations, a “grand reset” that could require help from other rising global powers to fully realize. “That’s not going to happen today, and it may have to involve other countries like China, Brazil and India, maybe even Iran, but the grand reset between Russia and the United States, I believe, is a personal goal of President Putin and an aspiration of Donald Trump,” Napolitano said.

Written pre-summit.

• A New Security Order Is On The Table In Alaska (Lukyanov)

It has been a long time since a diplomatic event drew as much global attention as Friday’s meeting between the Russian and US presidents in Alaska. In terms of its significance for the international balance, it is comparable only to the negotiations on German reunification 35 years ago. That process laid the foundations for political developments in the decades that followed. The Alaska talks could prove a similar milestone – not just for the Ukraine conflict, but for the principles on which a broader settlement between the world’s leading powers might be reached. Ukraine has become the most visible arena for historical shifts that go far beyond its borders. But if the German analogy holds, no one should expect a breakthrough from a single meeting. The marathon of high-level diplomacy in 1990 lasted many months, and the mood then was far less acute and far more optimistic than today.

The dense fog of leaks and speculation surrounding Alaska underlines its importance. Much of this “white noise” comes from two sources: commentators eager to sound informed, and political actors seeking to shape public opinion. In reality, the substantive preparation for the talks appears to have little to do with the propaganda framing. This is why official announcements so often catch outside observers by surprise. That may be a good sign. In recent decades, especially in Europe, diplomacy has often been accompanied by a steady drip of confidential details to the press – a habit that may serve tactical purposes but rarely produces lasting results. In this case, it is better to wait for the outcome, or the lack of one, without giving in to the temptation to guess what will happen behind closed doors.

There is also a broader backdrop that cannot be ignored: the shifts in the global order catalyzed by the Ukraine crisis, though not caused by it. For years, I have been skeptical of claims that the world is dividing neatly into two opposing camps – “the West” versus “the rest.” Economic interdependence remains too deep for even sharp political and military conflicts to sever ties entirely. Yet contradictions between these blocs are growing, and they are increasingly material rather than ideological. A key trigger was US President Donald Trump’s recent attempt to pressure the largest states of the so-called “global majority” – China, India, Brazil, and South Africa – to fall in line with Washington’s instructions. The old liberal order promised universality and some benefits to participants. Now, purely American mercantile interests dominate.

As before, Washington dresses its demands in political justifications – criticizing Brazil and South Africa over their treatment of the opposition, or attacking India and China over their ties with Moscow. But the inconsistencies are obvious. Trump, unlike his predecessors, prefers tariffs to sanctions. Tariffs are an explicitly economic tool, but they are now being wielded for political ends.

“..they have often stood on the brink of a path from which there would be no return. This is why Alaska matters, even if it does not yield a breakthrough…”

• Why Putin and Trump Had To Talk In Person (Bordachev)

The meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States in Alaska is not an end point, but the beginning of a long journey. It will not resolve the turbulence that has gripped humanity – but it matters to everyone. In international politics, there have been few moments when meetings between the leaders of major powers have decided questions of universal importance. This is partly because situations requiring attention at such a level are rare. We are living through one now: since the start of Russia’s military operation against Ukraine, Washington has declared its aim to be the “strategic defeat” of Russia, while Moscow has challenged the West’s monopoly over world affairs. Another reason is practical. Leaders of the world’s most powerful states do not waste time on problems that can be solved by subordinates.

And history shows that even when top-level meetings do occur, they rarely change the overall course of international politics. It is no surprise, then, that the Alaska meeting has been compared to famous encounters from the past – notably the 1807 meeting between the Russian and French emperors on a raft in the Neman River. That summit did not prevent Napoleon from attacking Russia five years later – an act that ultimately brought about his own downfall. Later, at the 1815 Congress of Vienna, Russia was the only power represented by its ruler on a regular basis. Tsar Alexander I insisted on presenting his personal vision for Europe’s political structure. It failed to win over the other great powers, who, as Henry Kissinger once noted, preferred to discuss interests rather than ideals.

History is full of high-level talks that preceded war rather than preventing it. European monarchs would meet, fail to agree, and then march their armies. Once the fighting ended, their envoys would sit down to negotiate. Everyone understood that “eternal peace” was usually just a pause before the next conflict. The 2021 Geneva summit between Russia and the US may well be remembered in this way – as a meeting that took place on the eve of confrontation. Both sides left convinced their disputes could not be resolved at the time. In its aftermath, Kiev was armed, sanctions were readied, and Moscow accelerated military-technical preparations. Russia’s own history offers parallels. The most famous “summit” of ancient Rus was the 971 meeting between Prince Svyatoslav and Byzantine Emperor John Tzimiskes, following a peace treaty.

According to historian Nikolay Karamzin, they “parted as friends” – but that did not stop the Byzantines from unleashing the Pechenegs against Svyatoslav on his journey home. In Asia, traditions were different. The status of Chinese and Japanese emperors did not permit meetings with equals; such encounters were legally and culturally impossible. When the modern European “world order” was created – most famously in the 1648 Peace of Westphalia – it was not through grand encounters of rulers but through years of negotiations among hundreds of envoys. By then, after 30 years of war, all sides were too exhausted to continue fighting. That exhaustion made it possible to agree on a comprehensive set of rules for relations between states.

Seen in this historical light, top-level summits are exceedingly rare, and those that produce fundamental change are rarer still. The tradition of two leaders speaking on behalf of the entire global system is a product of the Cold War, when Moscow and Washington alone had the ability to destroy or save the world. Even if Roman and Chinese emperors had met in the third century, it would not have transformed the fate of the world. The great empires of antiquity could not conquer the planet in a single war with each other. Russia – as the USSR before it – and the United States can. In the last three years, they have often stood on the brink of a path from which there would be no return. This is why Alaska matters, even if it does not yield a breakthrough.

“..when Kiev loses, they say, “Ok, well this sucks – how about if everyone just pretends that none of this happened and we dial all the territorial gains and losses back to a point of our choosing, okay?”

• The EU Throws An Epic Tantrum As Trump Meets With Putin (Marsden)

The European Union had been wailing about “transatlantic unity” in the run-up to US President Trump heading to the negotiating table with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday – without it. It sounded like a toddler stomping their feet because Daddy let go of their hand in the mall and now they’re lost between Cinnabon and Burger King. A lot of good their dogmatic rhetoric has done them so far. If it wasn’t for Brussels getting drunk on its own transatlantic solidarity and unity propaganda, maybe it wouldn’t currently be in economic and political dire straits. The kind where you’re trying to duct-tape your economy back together with overpriced American gas.

They could have charted a different path vis-a-vis Russia. Maybe one that involved spearheading diplomacy rather than marching in lockstep behind the US-led NATO parade of weapons and fighters on Russia’s border with Ukraine, which helped supercharge the conflict in the first place. They could have insisted on keeping their cheap Russian energy instead of sanctioning their own imports like they were vying for a Nobel Prize in masochism. Now, the US is daring them to even close their clever little loophole in their own anti-Russian sanctions. The one that lets them moralize about helping Ukraine and the need to avoid negotiations with Russia while guzzling Russian fuel on the down-low. Trump Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told them to “put up or shut up” and sanction the Indian and Chinese importers of Russian petroleum through which the EU still buys Russian fuel.

While the EU indulges itself in rhetorical games, Trump has dropped all pretexts of serving any interests but America’s first, and isn’t following any agenda beyond trying to wrap things up with Russia in Ukraine and to score some economic wins in the process. Brussels has had more than three years to do the same. Instead, it kept repeating the mantra that Kiev had to win on the battlefield. There were no other options, it said. Whoops! Now that the option has materialized, the Europeans are relegated to running behind Trump, pleading with him to indulge them by letting Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky decide where the post-conflict borders will be. What did they think the downside of their “win by force” gamble would be, if not changed borders?

The EU insists on Ukraine fighting Russia with EU cash and weapons, and when Kiev loses, they say, “Ok, well this sucks – how about if everyone just pretends that none of this happened and we dial all the territorial gains and losses back to a point of our choosing, okay?” The EU insisted on waiting for someone else to take the initiative for peace. Now all it can do is pick up its pom-poms and cheer Trump on. Then hope that he rewards it. As Zelensky’s self-appointed babysitters, instead of spending the past week in the run-up to the Alaska summit insisting that Putin and Trump allow a high chair booster seat and a pack of crayons at the negotiating table so he can show them where he wants the borders, maybe the Europeans should have been calming him down and managing expectations.

He sounded like he was treating his phone like a toy, calling up everyone in the contacts under “EU” – Estonia, Denmark, probably a few pizza places. The EU has tried to gaslight Trump with the same rhetoric that it constantly firehoses onto European citizens about peace in Ukraine being a dangerous gateway drug for Russia to invade Western Europe – a convenient marketing pitch to justify boosting the weapons industry to the detriment of domestic priorities. Not even warhawk US Senator Lindsey Graham is saying that now, telling NBC News that “Russia is not going to Kiev”…let alone the EU. European leaders treated Wednesday’s video call with Trump like a win. Perhaps because he didn’t explicitly tell them off, for once. But they really have no idea what he’ll actually discuss with Putin, nor do they have leverage over any eventual US–Russia deal.

They don’t know whether Trump is just placating them because he doesn’t need a bunch of hysterical circus clowns in the mix. So how could the EU spin this to avoid looking completely irrelevant? “Today Europe, the US and NATO have strengthened the common ground for Ukraine, we will remain in close coordination. Nobody wants peace more than us. A just and lasting peace,” said unelected EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Yeah, sounds desperate for peace, alright. Which must be why the EU is building weapons factories at breakneck speed, according to the Financial Times. Nothing says “we’re committed to ending the war” like tripling down on weapons. What are you going to do with all those if peace breaks out? Toss them in the landfill and hope that taxpayers forget about the boondoggle, like you did with the hundreds of millions of unused Covid jabs?

“It’s funny they call [intel] a ‘community.’ That sounds so benign and beneficial. Everybody likes communities.” —Doug Casey

• Carefully and Gracefully (James Howard Kunstler)

And so, now, in Alaska, Mr. Trump sits down with Vlad Putin to attempt a settling of Ukraine’s hash. This war has been a three-year bloody grind, millions killed, mostly Ukrainians, provoked underhandedly by US State Dept / CIA neocons, Britain’s MI6 apparatus, and the girl-bosses of the EU, for no good reason, namely, to weaken and possibly break-up Russia so as to get at its vast mineral and energy resources. This has been tried before in history, always to the grief of the triers. From our country’s point of view, the dynamics in play at this moment are delicate to an extreme. In the background of the Trump-Putin meet-up, amid an eerie silence in the DOJ and FBI, an epic, sweeping prosecution of the RussiaGate hoaxers creeps forward.

RussiaGate, of course, was born in the false charge (by America’s highest officials, derived from nonsense cooked up by Hillary Clinton) that Donald Trump was a Russian agent. It was preposterous and continually disproven, but the many-footed creatures of America’s deep state, which controlled so many levers of power, dragged it out for years. Altogether, that endeavor amounted to a campaign of sedition and arguably treason. The delicacy comes in as President Trump must now avoid at all costs any appearance of giving-in to Mr. Putin, of appearing to be any sort of a vassal — “Putin’s puppet,” as charged in RussiaGate. The raw truth is that Russia has likely already “won” the war in Ukraine, in the sense that it has finally gained control of the battlespace and worn out its opponent. It is fait accompli.

What remains is the disposition of Ukraine’s future which, in another raw truth, is mostly Russia’s to determine. Yet another raw truth is that this would probably be the best outcome for all concerned: a neutralized, disarmed Ukraine returned to its prior condition as a mostly agricultural sovereign backwater of Europe within Russia’s sphere-of-influence, resuming its longstanding status as not being a problem for anyone. Still, yet another raw truth is that the USA would benefit hugely from normalized relations with Russia, no more sanctions, fair trade, a rebalance of the drift toward China, lessening the chance of nuclear war — and this would even benefit the knuckleheads of Europe whose economies are imploding due to a lack of affordable energy (and also because of, let’s face it, the EU’s terrifically stupid “green” policies).

All of which means there will necessarily be a lot of “pretend” played in Anchorage for show. Mr. Trump must pretend to be tough on Putin, and Mr. Putin must pretend, a little bit, to give-in to Mr. Trump’ proposals. That is, it will be something of a kabuki, a kafabe. Surely, many of the stickiest points have been pre-negotiated by Mr. Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, who quietly visited Moscow a week ago. Mr. Trump must appear strong with Russia because his appointees are commencing to go medieval on the folks who called him “Putin’s Puppet” nine years ago — and subjected him to a series of epic torments including the subversion of his whole first term in office, nonstop obloquy from the media, impeachment (X 2), home invasion, and a grotesque set of malicious, nitwit prosecutions that have either failed completely (Fani Willis, Jack Smith) or will be subject to humiliating reversals in the higher courts. Not to mention two attempted assassinations.

You should assume that Mr. Putin well understands all this and intends to play along. He will appear to make some generous concessions to Ukraine, starting with the promise that it can go forward as a sovereign, self-governing nation. The big enchilada might be to grant that Ukraine can retain possession of Odessa, the port city on the Black Sea which is Ukraine’s depot for export to the world of its chief commodity, grains. In any case, both Russia and the USA intend to relieve Volodymyr Zelenskyy of his duties — notice he is conspicuously not invited to the Alaska meeting. Mr. Trump well understands that one way or another, Russia is going to prevail in this conflict on-the-ground. He abhors all the killing. He has already expressed a disinclination to keep backing the war with money and weapons. He must be disgusted at how the Bidens (and the Deep State) used Ukraine as a money-laundry, as a site for bioweapons labs, and how it served as a nexus for human trafficking.

He also knows that Russia wants badly to be re-admitted to normal relations with the West, which is in everybody’s interest, except perhaps China’s. You should infer therefore that Russia wants the war to end in a way that does not humiliate the losers and backers — perhaps along the lines of how America managed our victory against our enemies in World War Two, carefully and gracefully.

“The scary thing is that the Biden administration officials who were in that room said ‘oh we’re ready for that. If the Russians wanna play, we’re ready to go to nuclear war with them.’ This is the insanity that existed in November of last year!”

• Scott Ritter: Two Things Need to Happen for Trump to Get His Ceasefire (Sp.)

The Ukrainian crisis is front and center of the Putin-Trump summit in Alaska. Sputnik asked renowned geopolitical analyst, former Marine Corps intelligence officer and ex-UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter to weigh in on the high stakes meeting. First things first: the US president “doesn’t care about the geopolitical nuances of Ukrainian battlefield locations,” Ritter said. “If Putin can convince him that the quickest route to a ceasefire is for Ukraine to leave” Russia’s new territories “and say no to NATO, that’s it. That’s all that has to happen for a ceasefire.” The Russian military has mastered drone warfare, counter-drone warfare, and new battlefield tactics to the point where its advance has become “an irreversible process,” Ritter added, commenting on what happens if the peace push doesn’t pan out.

“There’s nothing that can be done. Nothing can be done to stop this. The advantage is 100% Russia, and we’re looking at the Ukrainians on the verge of total collapse,” the observer stressed. Trump’s base doesn’t want to continue fueling a proxy conflict against Russia, much less getting into a hot war with Russia over Ukraine, Ritter said. “Don’t worry about Congress. They don’t elect the president, and they will fall in behind the president, because if he can secure his base with a peace deal, he can ruin everybody in Congress, especially a Republican, who goes against him,” he stressed.

In November 2024, the CIA briefed Congress on the risks of a nuclear war breaking out, estimating that there was a “greater than 50% chance” thanks to the Biden administration’s decision to greenlight long-range ATACMS strikes into Russia, Ritter revealed.

“The director of plans of Strategic Command, the American military command that carries out nuclear war briefed a Washington, DC think tank in November that the United States is prepared for a nuclear exchange with Russia, (that means nuclear war) and that the United States thought they were going to win,” he said. “When this was briefed to Congress, I asked a senior Democrat…’when the CIA briefed you, did the CIA say the Russians were bluffing?’ He said no. The CIA said the exact opposite. He said but that’s not the scary thing. The scary thing is that the Biden administration officials who were in that room said ‘oh we’re ready for that. If the Russians wanna play, we’re ready to go to nuclear war with them.’ This is the insanity that existed in November of last year!” Ritter stressed.

Peace with Russia means these tariffs also must disappear.

• US Has ‘No Right’ To Tell India Who To Trade With – Jeffrey Sachs (RT)

The United States has no right to tell India who it can partner with in trade, Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, said on Friday. The economist was commenting in an interview with NDTV television on Washington’s decision to impose additional tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil. Last week, the White House announced an extra 25% tariff on Indian imports, raising the overall tariff level faced by the South Asian nation to 50%. US President Donald Trump said the measure was prompted by India’s continued imports of Russian oil. New Delhi condemned the move as “extremely unfortunate” and pledged to safeguard its national interests. Sachs described the tariff increase as a clear reason for India to remain cautious in its dealings with Washington.

“Don’t rely on them. India needs a diversified base of partners – Russia, China, ASEAN countries, Africa, and not see itself as mainly focusing on the US market, which is going to be unstable, slow-growing and basically protectionist,” according to Sachs. Addressing India’s imports of Russian oil, Sachs stated that Washington has no authority to determine the trading relations of other nations. The US “does not act responsibly towards other countries. Be careful. India should not allow itself to be used by the US, somehow, in the US’ misguided trade war with China,” the economist noted.

New Delhi is now seeking to expand its export presence in the 50 countries that account for about 90% of its total exports in an effort to offset the impact of the higher tariffs, according to local media reports, citing government sources. The initiative is intended to reduce reliance on any single market and to minimize risks arising from trade disruptions. In response to the US threats to impose secondary sanctions on Russia’s trade partners, including India, China, and Brazil, Moscow stated that it believes “sovereign states should have, and do have, the right to choose their own trade partners,” as well as to independently determine which avenues of cooperation best serve their national interests.

“Grok had already been added to the GSA’s long-term procurement list, enabling agencies to buy it.”

• US Gov’t Ditches Musk’s AI Over ‘Anti-Semitism’ (RT)

The US government has dropped Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok from a planned federal technology program following controversy over anti-Semitic content and conspiracy theories produced by the bot, Wired reported on Thursday. Grok, developed by Musk’s AI startup xAI, is built into his social media platform X. It offers fact checks, quick context on trending topics, and replies to user arguments. Musk has promoted xAI as a rival to OpenAI and Google’s DeepMind, but the chatbot has faced criticism over offensive and inflammatory outputs. According to the report, xAI was in advanced talks with the General Services Administration (GSA), the agency in charge of US government tech procurement, to give federal workers access to its AI tools. Grok had already been added to the GSA’s long-term procurement list, enabling agencies to buy it.

Earlier this month, the GSA announced partnerships with other AI providers – Anthropic, Google’s Gemini, and Box’s AI-powered content platform – while reportedly also telling staff to remove xAI’s Grok from the offering. Two GSA employees told Wired they believe the chatbot was dropped over its anti-Semitic tirade last month, when it praised Adolf Hitler and called itself “MechaHitler.” The posts were deleted, and xAI apologized for the “horrific behavior,” pledging to block hate speech before Grok goes live. The bot also pushed the “white genocide” conspiracy theory and echoed Holocaust denial rhetoric, which xAI blamed on unauthorized prompt changes.

This week, it was briefly suspended from X after stating that Israel and the US were committing genocide in Gaza – allegations both countries reject. Musk has continued to praise the chatbot, recently writing: “East, West, @Grok is the best.” The move to drop Grok comes as part of a broader push by the administration of US President Donald Trump to modernize the federal government under an action plan unveiled last month that provides for less regulation and wider adoption of AI. However, the rapid growth of AI has triggered concern about its potential to spread misinformation, reinforce bias, and operate without accountability. Experts say that unless strong safeguards are in place, poorly moderated AI tools could also expose children to harmful or inappropriate content.

All the more now Trump has put them at the kiddies table.

• EU Leaders Want To Overthrow Three European Governments – Budapest (RT)

The European Union is attempting to topple the governments of Hungary, Slovakia, and Serbia for prioritizing national interests over alignment with Brussels, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has claimed. He made the comments in a Facebook post on Thursday after phone calls with Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar and Serbia’s top diplomat, Marko Duric. According to Szijjarto, they agreed to strengthen their stance on sovereignty and pledged mutual solidarity amid what they described as growing external pressure. “Brussels has ceased to be a factor in world politics. The fact that Europe has been excluded from the Alaska talks proves it,” he wrote, referring to Friday’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

Hungary stands with mothers. From October, working moms with three kids pay zero income tax for life. From next year, moms with two kids join them. Europe has never seen a family policy this bold – because without children, there is no future. 👶 pic.twitter.com/kTm7CNPNfe

— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) August 14, 2025

Kiev’s backers in Europe have repeatedly called to be included in any talks involving Russia, Ukraine, and the US, insisting that “a European power” should be “in the room” to guarantee that the security interests of Kiev and the EU are “safeguarded.” Unlike the EU, which continues to support Ukraine’s war effort, Szijjarto said Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia have prioritized national interests and resisted pressure from Brussels, favoring peace talks over military involvement. “This obviously frustrates the mainstream liberal political leaders, and as a result, the pressure is increasing on governments that are supporting peace, following national interests, and not subordinating to Brussels,” the diplomat said.

It’s “clearer than daylight” that “external intervention experiments to destabilize and overthrow governments are taking place in Central Europe against the patriot Slovak, Hungarian, and Serbian governments,” he added. Szijjarto criticized recent polling in Slovakia, which suggested citizens “only trust revolution,” and accused Brussels of trying to undermine Hungary’s elected leadership by supporting the opposition Tisza Party. He also referenced recent clashes between protesters and police in Serbia, implying that external forces were stirring unrest to destabilize the government. According to Szijjarto, these “are all different chapters of the same scenario in Brussels: they want to clean up the peace-party, patriot, national-interest governments,” aiming to replace them with puppet governments so Brussels “can get a seat.”

GoF

🚨 TULSI GABBARD JUST CONFIRMED SHE’S WORKING WITH JAY BHATTACHARYA TO BRING DOWN ANTHONY FAUCI. 👏

Their joint investigation focuses around perjury and Fauci’s role in funding gain-of-function research in Wuhan.

Megyn Kelly: “If this is true…. Then we did fund it. Anthony… pic.twitter.com/kffBujCrWY

— Lauren Lee (@sheislaurenlee) August 14, 2025

100

THIS is America at its best!
Judge Caprio dismisses a ticket for a 100-year-old WWII veteran and salutes him.

God bless this hero and every veteran who’s fought for our freedom. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/RQTdumNAqb

— David J Harris Jr (@DavidJHarrisJr) August 14, 2025

We don't deserve dogs 👇❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/RcmEeiMYb3

— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) August 15, 2025

Bees

Did you know that in Romania, trucks loaded with beehives are rented out to flower growers?

These massive rigs become mobile "bee hotels," buzzing with thousands of bees that pollinate fields of flowers and crops.pic.twitter.com/ogQGJuevwC

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) August 14, 2025

Bob

The music is perfect.. 😂 pic.twitter.com/CnxBh9vWW9

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) August 14, 2025

Thirsty tiny frog went for a full body soak.. 😊 pic.twitter.com/WnT8DXBUQe

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) August 15, 2025

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

Debt Rattle September 15 2024

Sep 152024

September 15, 2024 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 8:34 am Finance Tagged with: abortion, information war, Kamala, lawfare, nuclear war, nukes, RT, Trump, War Party 47 Responses »

Ford Madox Brown Finding of Don Juan by Haidee 1873

• US Presidential Debate Delusion: 2 Candidates For 1 Party… The War Party (SCF)

• Harris Wants War With Russia – Trump (RT)

• Russia Had Reason To Use Nukes, But Showed Restraint – Medvedev (RT)

• US Can’t Hide From Nuclear War – Moscow (RT)

• US Sanctions RT (RT)

• US Has Declared Information War On Russian Media – Zakharova (RT)

• US Media And Intelligence Services Have Long Merged – RT Editor-in-Chief (RT)

• Lawfare Collapsing Amidst Harris’ Vow To Prosecute Trump (Spivak)

• The West Is Ensuring Kiev’s Demise On Purpose (Amar)

• Is the West Attempting to Destroy Kiev Demographically? (Miles)

• BRICS, The Rise Of China And The Concept Of “Security” (Pepe Escobar)

• The Fake ‘War On Terror’ Collapses (Pepe Escobar)

• Israel Exists to Help West Loot, Dominate Middle East (Miles)

• The Abortion Issue (Paul Craig Roberts)

The MAGA people

WATCH: RFK Jr.'s running mate Nicole Shanahan just released another awesome video ENDING the media's lies about "The MAGA People." It shows how they have lied about Trump supporters and vilified them for years

"Contrary to what we have been told, we found the MAGA People to be… pic.twitter.com/rZyXxN6eJP

— George (@BehizyTweets) September 13, 2024

Jesse

NEW: Trump now seems open to another debate, after ruling it out. This after one of the ABC moderator’s “fact-checks” was proved wrong. The bias is so blatant that even Democrats are demanding a full investigation into the debate. pic.twitter.com/HUl8KZB7Ai

— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) September 14, 2024

Ritter
https://twitter.com/i/status/1834688146778263579

Newest ad
https://twitter.com/i/status/1834653270385545249

NEW: The Trump campaign has shared Kamala Harris' entire interview that was released today, saying their "newest ad just dropped."

Brutal.

In the interview, Harris gave confusing answers to a variety of questions:

Gun Control: Harris says she *does* think America needs an… pic.twitter.com/f1jN2jiIFk

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 14, 2024

Abdul

The dishonest, corrupt media in all of their glory.

"There is no Abdul. Trump made it up."

In 2021, before the botched withdrawal, Biden's CIA Director met with the same Abdul that they now claim doesn't exist.

Share this far and wide. Someone should get it to Trump. pic.twitter.com/TphmTO1fd4

— MAZE (@mazemoore) September 13, 2024

Vivek machine

The Supreme Court gave us the toolkit we need to dismantle the permanent bureaucracy. All we need is a president willing to pick up those tools & get to work. pic.twitter.com/krsts0sOxs

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) September 14, 2024

Nevada
https://twitter.com/i/status/1834805819809948137

Real fact check

This is the greatest fact-check to ever exist. It will never get better than this. Savor it. pic.twitter.com/V6U6q4EF8t

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) September 14, 2024

Tucker

Tucker Carlson: "If they think that there's a chance that Trump could win decisively enough in November that they can't steal it, then I think their only option there is to in some way throw the society into chaos as they did during COVID which was the pretext for changing the… pic.twitter.com/e3mAkQPo8T

— Camus (@newstart_2024) September 14, 2024

Yeah..no. What few people realize, and the editors at Strategic Culture sure don’t, is the impact of Bobby Kennedy joining Trump’s campaign. Kennedy will certainly have demanded no wars. End Ukraine, end Gaza -one way or another-, and no new ones. And Trump okayed this.

• US Presidential Debate Delusion: 2 Candidates For 1 Party… The War Party (SCF)

Two events dominated international news this week: the TV debate between U.S. presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump; and reports that Washington and its NATO allies are gearing up to permit the Ukrainian regime to use their long-range missiles to hit deep into the territory of the Russian Federation. The latter move would be viewed in Moscow as a major escalation from a proxy war to a direct conflict between nuclear powers. The aforementioned events are tightly connected. The U.S. presidential election is less than two months away with Democrat Harris and Republican Trump vying in a hotly contested and divisive race for the White House. Harris, the incumbent vice president, performed best in the live TV debate, according to polls. Trump, however, with characteristic brashness, claimed that he had won the debate.

His subsequent refusal to engage in a follow-up second debate might infer that the Trump campaign fears that Harris was able to get the upper hand over her older opponent, who sounded hackneyed and incoherent. We are talking here about superficial style and not substance, which neither candidate has much of. Discernibly, the U.S. establishment favors Harris to win. Most of the American media are supportive of what would be the first woman to become president of the United States, and a woman of color too. That credential alone burnishes the image of the American republic as a supposed bastion of democracy and liberal values. More importantly for the American deep state – or ruling class – is that Harris is more aligned with its imperialist foreign policy. As with her current boss, President Joe Biden, Harris spoke belligerently about confronting Russia and unwavering support for the conflict in Ukraine.

The Washington establishment wants Harris to win on November 5 to ensure the continuation of the proxy war against Russia. The all-dominant military-industrial complex at the heart of U.S. capitalism wants the war racket to keep churning out mega profits. But also in the bigger geopolitical picture, the conflict with Russia is just one element in a wider policy of confrontation with other foreign powers, primarily China, or any other nation that challenges U.S. presumptions of hegemony. As we argued in our editorial last week, the United States is endeavoring to offset its failing global power by pursuing an intensified policy of aggression and bellicosity even if such a policy puts the entire planet at risk of catastrophic world war. The highly choreographed move this week by the United States and Britain to give the Ukrainian regime permission to use long-range missiles to strike deep into Russia is tightly correlated with the high-stakes presidential election.

Even Western media are reporting that the Ukrainian regime is in dire straits as Russian forces make significant gains in the Donbass region as well as pushing back the month-old Kursk offensive. A telling report by CNN seemed to catch up with the reality that many independent observers have already been pointing out, namely that Ukrainian defenses are collapsing. The Biden administration cannot afford an embarrassing defeat in Ukraine before the November election. Candidate Harris would be indelibly damaged by the loss of prestige especially given the huge political and financial capital invested to “defend Ukraine from Russian aggression”. Hence, giving the Kiev regime another lifeline of long-range weapons is aimed at making the floundering Zelensky junta hang on for another few weeks to get past the U.S. election.

Donald Trump would benefit greatly from the debacle of defeat in Ukraine. The former Republican president is pitching his bid to return to the White House on pushing a peace deal in Ukraine and “preventing World War Three”. Trump’s maverick disparagement of the NATO alliance and European allies is partly why the U.S. establishment does not favor him. By comparison, Harris is a more pliable tool for American warmongering, especially regarding confrontation with Russia. Trump’s talk about negotiating a resolution in Ukraine is problematic for the militaristic deep state. However, it is important to disabuse the notion that Trump is a peace candidate. He may have an inchoate inclination to scale back the U.S. aggression against Russia, but the Republican contender is more belligerent than his Democrat rival toward China and Iran. Trump is fully supportive of Israel’s genocide in Palestine.

It is fair to say that if Trump were president again, the U.S. foreign policy of warmongering would merely shift to some other region of the world. Trump’s talk about stopping World War Three is not credible. When he was president (2016-2020), he stoked the NeoNazi Ukrainian regime to wage its genocidal war against ethnic Russians in the Donbass, which led to Russia’s military intervention in February 2022. He was also gung-ho about cutting Europe off from Russian gas and putting pressure on Germany to cancel the Nord Stream project. Biden later ordered the blowing up of the undersea Baltic pipeline in September 2022. Pitching himself as a peacemaker in Ukraine is Trump’s cynical attempt to tap votes among many Americans who are rightly alarmed by the reckless proxy war against Russia. It boils down to rhetorical posturing.

“..a vote for comrade Kamala Harris is a vote for war with Russia.”

• Harris Wants War With Russia – Trump (RT)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has asserted that an election victory for his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, would ultimately lead to war with Russia, warning of an impending “nuclear Holocaust.” During a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, Trump expressed concern about a potential nuclear conflict due to the “incompetent people” in Washington, claiming he is the only one capable of preventing a global war. “You’re going to end up in World War III. You’re going to have a nuclear Holocaust if we’re not careful. These people have no idea what they’re doing,” he warned supporters, promising to keep Americans “out of World War III.” “I will end the chaos in the Middle East, and I will settle the war in Ukraine… I will resolve that as president-elect,” he continued, arguing that “a vote for comrade Kamala Harris is a vote for war with Russia.”

Trump claimed that Harris aims to reinstate military conscription to “draft your child and put them in a war that should never have happened.” The former US president insists that the conflict in Ukraine would not have escalated if he had been in office at the time. Throughout his reelection campaign, he has repeatedly claimed he could stop the fighting “in 24 hours,” though he has not specified how. Earlier this week, Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, shed light on a possible peace proposal, suggesting it would likely involve creating a demilitarized zone around the current line of contact and guaranteeing Ukraine’s neutrality to Moscow, which aligns with one of Russia’s main objectives. Harris, however, contends that Trump would abandon Ukraine, asserting that her efforts, along with the supply of ammunition, have ensured the country remains “independent and free” to this day.

Putin speaks through his alter ego.

• Russia Had Reason To Use Nukes, But Showed Restraint – Medvedev (RT)

Throughout the Ukraine conflict, Russia has had ample reason to use nuclear weapons, but has so far exercised restraint, the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has said. He warned, however, that Moscow’s patience is not limitless, suggesting that Russia could respond harshly if Western nations allow Kiev to use the missiles they have provided to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. Kiev has been demanding that these limitations be lifted since at least May. Several media outlets have recently alleged that Washington and London will soon do so, or secretly have already.

In a post on his Telegram channel on Saturday, Medvedev wrote that Western leaders have lulled themselves into a false sense of security, thinking that Moscow is bluffing when it warns of dire consequences for allowing long-range missile strikes. The official, who was also the Russian president from 2008 to 2012, said Russia is fully aware that conducting a nuclear strike would be a momentous decision. “It is precisely because of this that a decision to use nuclear weapons… has not been made so far,” Medvedev stressed. He added that the “formal prerequisites for this, which are understandable to the entire global community and that are stipulated by our nuclear containment doctrine, are in place.” He cited the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk Region as one example.

“Russia is showing patience,” he said, while warning that “there is always a limit to patience.” Medvedev went on to suggest that Russia could also respond to Western escalation with some sort of new weaponry – not necessarily nuclear, but still devastating. Speaking on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin argued that the Ukrainian military is not capable of operating Western long-range systems on its own, but needs intelligence from NATO satellites and Western military personnel. For this reason, if the West allows Kiev to hit targets deep inside Russia, “this will mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries are fighting against Russia,” Putin said.

“..Americans will not be able to sit it out behind the waters of this ocean..”

• US Can’t Hide From Nuclear War – Moscow (RT)

Washington will be unable to hide from a nuclear conflict if it starts across the ocean, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov has said. Fears of a potential escalation between Russia and NATO over Ukraine have been intensifying in recent days, as Western powers reportedly mull the possibility of allowing Kiev to conduct missile strikes deep in Russian territory. Speaking with Rossiya 24 channel on Friday, Ambassador Antonov said that he is surprised at the “illusion” that “if there is a conflict, it will not spread to the territory of the United States of America.” “I am constantly trying to convey to them one thesis that the Americans will not be able to sit it out behind the waters of this ocean. This war will affect everyone, so we constantly say – do not play with this rhetoric,” Antonov stated.

He also mentioned that while Western countries accuse Russia of “sabre-rattling,” the US wants to investigate the consequences a nuclear strike would have for Eastern Europe. Antonov was apparently referring to a study ordered by the US Defense Department to simulate the impact of a nuclear conflict on global agriculture. According to a solicitation notice posted on a government procurement platform, the study will focus on regions “beyond Eastern Europe and Western Russia,” which in the simulation is the epicenter of the hypothetical nuclear attack. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that removing restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western weapons would directly involve the US and its allies in the conflict with Russia and would be met with an appropriate response. Russia’s envoy to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, later reiterated that granting Kiev permission to use Western-supplied long-range weapons would constitute direct involvement in the conflict by NATO.

“We’ve been broadcasting straight out of the KGB headquarters all this time..”

• US Sanctions RT (RT)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused RT and its parent company of acting as an extension of Russian intelligence and attempting to undermine democracy around the world. Speaking at a State Department press conference on Friday, Blinken announced sanctions designations against RT parent companies Rossiya Segodnya and TV-Novosti, accusing “individuals affiliated” and “elements within” them of allegedly attempting to interfere in the Moldovan elections. The State Department has also sanctioned Dmitry Kiselev, Rossiya Segodnya’s director-general. TV-Novosti was also accused of “being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, interference” in US or other foreign elections “for or on behalf of, or for the benefit of, directly or indirectly,” the Russian government.

RT is “engaged in covert influence activities… functioning as a de facto arm of [Russian] intelligence,” Blinken told reporters. Blinken revealed that the US, UK, and Canada plan to launch a global effort to treat RT’s activities as espionage, and hope to attract all of their “allies and partners” to the endeavor. James O’Brien, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, called RT a “threat to democracy and accurate information.” According to the State Department, RT has “moved beyond being simply a media outlet and has been an entity with cyber capabilities,” which is “also engaged in information operations, covert influence, and military procurement.” The US government claimed that “an entity with cyber operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence” has been embedded within RT since the spring of 2023 and that RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan and her deputy Anton Anisimov had “direct, witting knowledge of this enterprise.”

Another accusation leveled against RT was that Anisimov has operated a crowdfunding platform “providing material support and weaponry to Russia’s military units in Ukraine.” The State Department claimed that RT has funded “proxy outlets” that engaged in “covert influence activity” around the world, alleging that this has happened in Africa, Germany, France, and Argentina. The head of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), James Rubin, told reporters on Friday that the “broad scope and reach” of RT was one of the reasons many countries around the world did not support Ukraine. The GEC has funded propaganda games aimed at children and forced Twitter to censor pro-Russian content. Rubin admitted last year that he wanted to use the GEC to shut down Russian media outlets around the world.

“We are going to be talking… in Latin America, Africa and Asia… to try to show all of those countries that right now broadcast – with no restrictions or control – RT and allow them free access to their countries,” Rubin said, arguing that RT’s presence has “had a deleterious effect on the views of the rest of the world about a war that should be an open and shut case.” The State Department’s announcement was leaked to CNN earlier in the day. When reached for comment by the US outlet, RT’s press office sarcastically replied: “We’ve been broadcasting straight out of the KGB headquarters all this time,” adding, “We’re running out of popcorn to sit and watch what the US government will come up with next about us.”

RT is one of the reasons the world has been not fully supportive of Ukraine – State Dept pic.twitter.com/PhvJYKwE87

— RT (@RT_com) September 13, 2024

“..if the media community does not unite now, if every media corporation head does not understand this, tomorrow… it will be too late..”

• US Has Declared Information War On Russian Media – Zakharova (RT)

The new round of US sanctions against Russian media outlets amounts to a declaration of an “information war,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RT. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled new restrictions on Friday targeting RT parent companies Rossiya Segodnya and TV-Novosti. He accused the network of being “engaged in covert influence activities… and functioning as a de facto arm of [Russian] intelligence.” “The degree of aggression with which all of this was expressed is off the scale. I think this is definitely a declaration of information war. It went on behind the scenes through the sanctions policy, but there was no declaration that the Russian media would now be openly attacked,” Zakharova stated.

The renewed attack on Russian media was prompted solely by “jealousy” in the West “because they could not compete” with it fairly, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said. Washington has provided no actual evidence to back up its allegations against the outlets, she added. “When they say that’s because RT is doing something wrong in the US, if it violated at least one American law, if at least one fake was a sign of some kind of global information campaign that RT is conducting on the territory of the US, if even one RT correspondent had engaged in illegal activities, and an American court of some state or maybe even a Pan-American court would have conducted some kind of investigation long ago, a verdict would have been carried out. But there’s nothing to show.”

This new development should be a wake-up call for media outlets worldwide, Zakharova said, warning that any broadcaster could become the next target. “This suggests that journalists all over the world should now understand that tomorrow this will be done to them. Therefore, if the media community does not unite now, if every media corporation head does not understand this, tomorrow… it will be too late,” the spokeswoman warned.

“It’s very easy to promote freedom of speech and practice it when it’s only your speech that counts and no one else’s..”

• US Media And Intelligence Services Have Long Merged – RT Editor-in-Chief (RT)

Washington seeks to silence any dissenting voices, as its celebrated “freedom of speech” applies only to those who support the official narrative and obey instructions from US intelligence services, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said following the latest crackdown on Russian media. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the latest round of sanctions against the news outlet on Friday, accusing it of engaging in “covert influence activities” and “functioning as a de facto arm of Russian intelligence.” Earlier in September, Washington imposed sanctions on Simonyan and three other senior RT employees over alleged attempts to influence the 2024 election. Simonyan asserted that this latest attack on Russian media is a clear effort to clamp down on the information space ahead of the elections.

“They need to silence everyone. This is the story of freedom and democracy in the so-called free West. It seems to me that only clinically insane people or those who are obviously biased can believe in it,” she stated. In practice, the US idea of a free press doesn’t extend to others, she added. It’s very easy to promote freedom of speech and practice it when it’s only your speech that counts and no one else’s. Simonyan argued that Washington’s claims about RT collaborating with Russian intelligence are a “classic case of projection.”

“The idea that you can’t achieve results without being part of the intelligence service has exposed them for what they are,” she said. She noted that the way US mainstream media publishes various intelligence “leaks” and insider information from unnamed security officials points to their close ties with American intelligence services. “If you look at who runs these foundations and often the media, they’re either families of intelligence employees, former intelligence officers, or future ones,” she added. They receive orders from intelligence services: write this, write that. They have long since merged with each other.

“Trial Judge Juan Merchan has delayed sentencing until Nov. 26, but he first must rule on whether to vacate the verdict..”

• Lawfare Collapsing Amidst Harris’ Vow To Prosecute Trump (Spivak)

Largely shedding Joe Biden’s canard that Trump must be defeated to save democracy, Kamala Harris’ conceit is that she prosecutes criminals and Donald Trump is one. “I know Donald Trump’s type,” she sneers. As San Francisco district attorney and then California attorney general, Harris supported jailing parents of truants, suppressed evidence, keeping an innocent man on death row, repeatedly covered up misconduct, leading to the dismissal of more than 600 cases, incarcerated prisoners beyond their sentences, violated Federal laws that protect donor privacy, and failed to disclose conflicts of interest arising from her personal relationships. Her record of abusing prosecutorial power fits perfectly with Democrat lawfare against Trump and his advisers. Now, following setbacks for prosecutors, Trump will have a reprieve in further substantive proceedings until after the election.

• Colorado, Maine, and Illinois declared Trump an “insurrectionist,” ineligible for the presidency under the 14th Up to 32 other states were considering doing the same. In Trump v. Anderson, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected this travesty. Among other failings, the states violated a requirement that Congress determine the process, and Trump has never been indicted for, let alone convicted of, insurrection.
• The left’s least favorite judge, U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, dismissed the Mar-a-Lago classified records case, holding that Jack Smith’s appointment as special prosecutor violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution (Article II, § 2) and his use of a permanent indefinite appropriation violated the Appropriations Clause (Article I, § 9). The government refused a compromise that might have saved the case, and is appealing.
• In Trump v. United States, a 6-3 court held that a president is immune from prosecution for official acts, his motives cannot be questioned, and his official acts may not be used as evidence in a prosecution of his private acts. Smith has filed a superseding indictment that suffers many of the same defects as the initial indictment, including as to immunity, novel legal theories, and the First Amendment rights of free speech and petition. Despite U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkin’s best efforts to move the case forward, she has bowed to reality and delayed the next hearing until after the election.
• In Fischer v. United States, the Supreme Court threw out federal prosecutors’ use of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) to prosecute Jan. 6 defendants for interfering in congressional proceedings, holding that the statute is limited to tampering with, or destroying, official records. That ruling also will narrow Trump’s election fraud case.
• A Georgia appeals court agreed to hear a challenge to Fani Willis’ right to remain as prosecutor, scheduling arguments too late for a trial this year. Even if Willis prevails, the immunity decision, First Amendment, and misapplication of the Georgia RICO statute likely will doom her case.
• A Nevada court dismissed an indictment against six Republicans accused of submitting certificates to Congress falsely declaring Trump the winner of the state’s 2020 presidential election.

The New York cases are more problematic abuses by prosecutors who ran on platforms of “getting” Trump:
• There are at least a dozen reasons Trump’s conviction in New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s business records case should be reversed. Trial Judge Juan Merchan has delayed sentencing until Nov. 26, but he first must rule on whether to vacate the verdict because he allowed testimony by federal officials (Hopes Hicks and Trump’s assistant) about Trump’s official acts as president, now prohibited by the Supreme Court’s immunity decision. More damaging, in Erlinger v. United States, the Supreme Court held that a unanimous jury verdict is required for any factual finding that increases a potential sentence. Merchan did not require unanimity to identify the so-called “other crime” used to convert an expired business records misdemeanor into 34 felonies.

• Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump liable in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ so-called civil fraud case for misstating asset values in loan applications, though the banks testified they did not rely on the statements, lost no money, and would continue to do business with Trump. Engoron ordered Trump to pay $455 million and forfeit his New York businesses. The New York appeals court stayed most of Engoron’s ruling and allowed Trump to post a reduced bond of $175 million for his appeal. The finding of liability may survive, but the penalties should be vacated as excessive under the 8th Amendment and Article I §5 of the New York Constitution, among other flaws.

If Trump is elected, he can order that the federal prosecutions against him end, or pardon himself, and the state cases likely will be delayed until he leaves office. If Harris wins, the Democrats can be expected to press forward. Though Trump’s legal team has carved back most of the cases and will continue to do so, a conviction still could mean jail time. Democrats are doing better in their lawfare against Trump’s advisers, who have limited immunity defenses. Several are defendants in Georgia, Arizona, and Michigan. Rudy Guliani and John Eastman are being disbarred, and at least eight other Trump lawyers face disciplinary proceedings. Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon were jailed for refusing to testify to the Jan. 6 Committee. The last time a recalcitrant congressional witness was jailed appears to be 1948.

But for Trump’s wealth and perseverance, he might now be in jail. Democrats financially destroyed or jailed his closest political advisers and are broadly threatening Republican party lawyers. Usually, Harris talks about the criminal justice system from the far left. But, like other progressives, when she is in pursuit mode, the Constitution, equal justice, and fundamental principles are mere affect.

“..the Ukrainian operation has turned into the bloody waste it was destined to be..”

• The West Is Ensuring Kiev’s Demise On Purpose (Amar)

The predictable and predicted is happening again. Despite the coyly teasing dance of seven veils performed by, mostly, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to those who ignored the noise and focused on the signal, it’s always been clear that Washington and London would decide to – officially and openly – allow and help Ukraine to use their missiles for attacks even deeper into Russia than before. And of course, it’s been obvious to Moscow as well, as Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, made clear as early as September 11. That the West is escalating is no surprise. It has a well-established pattern of continually ratcheting-up the stakes in its proxy war – including (but not restricted to) the supply of intelligence, mercenaries, ‘advisors’, various tanks, armored vehicles, missile systems, and recently F-16 fighter planes. Now it’s time to fully unleash Storm Shadow and then, if perhaps a little later, long-range ATACMS missiles.

What we can safely disregard is the pretext of Iran allegedly shipping short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. It’s either simply untrue or irrelevant. Tehran denies the American claim. Those ready to scoff at that should recall that the West has a rock-solid record of making things up, from Iraqi WMDs to Israel’s legally strictly non-existing ‘right’ to defend itself against those it occupies and genocides. And even if Iran has handed over missiles – as, by the way, it would have an actual right to do as a sovereign state – that is not why this specific Western escalation is occurring now. The real reason why the restrictions on the use of Western missiles are coming off at this point in the war is that Kiev is even more desperate than usual. With Russia first containing Kiev’s Kursk Kamikaze incursion and now launching devastating counter-attacks, the Ukrainian operation has turned into the bloody waste it was destined to be, while Moscow’s forces are accelerating their advances elsewhere, as even the stalwartly pro-Kiev New York Times is admitting.

Not that adding deeper missile strikes will save the Zelensky regime from defeat and probably collapse. For one thing, Ukraine does not have a large supply of these weapons, and given Western politics and lack of production capacities, it never will. Kiev may get lucky and do some limited damage, but – as with earlier silver bullets – the missiles cannot change the course of the war. Russian countermeasures will greatly blunt their impact in any case. But the Zelensky regime has a habit of clinging to one straw after the other. And, in addition, Zelensky’s team is pursuing its usual double strategy of seeking spectacular attacks that can feed propaganda at home and abroad, as well as perhaps finally escalate the war into an open regional, that is European, or even global conflict. For that apocalyptic escalation is Kiev’s last – if insane and suicidal – chance of staving off defeat.

Leave nothing for the Russian victors, not even people.

• Is the West Attempting to Destroy Kiev Demographically? (Miles)

Millions of Ukrainian citizens speak Russian and maintain political sympathies towards Moscow. Is the West working to prevent them from becoming reintegrated with their historical motherland? Russia’s proposed European security agreement in December 2021, bombastically referred to by Western sources as an “ultimatum,” represented one final good faith attempt on the part of Moscow to foreclose the possibility of war with Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published two draft treaties seeking to halt NATO’s steady march eastward. The military alliance has provoked concern in Moscow since its establishment in 1949 and especially since the ascension of West Germany to the bloc in 1955, which spurred the creation of the Warsaw Pact. The Warsaw Pact was famously dissolved as the Cold War drew to a close in 1991 but NATO – anchored by the reunified German state responsible for the 20th century murder of 27 million Soviet citizens – lives on, expanding its influence and territorial reach every few years.

“I would really like to see some documents from that [June 2021] summit in Geneva between Putin and Biden, because I think something happened there to trigger the Russian action towards proposing that security agreement in December of 2021 and preparing for the possibility of an armed conflict,” said Serbian-American journalist and translator Nebojsa Malic. The analyst joined Sputnik’s The Final Countdown program Thursday to share a provocative theory about the US-backed Ukraine proxy war on Russia. “Something was said at that summit that nobody’s talking about, but I’m very, very curious,” said Malic, referring to the final meeting between the Russian and American heads of state before the outbreak of the proxy conflict. “Why are they doing this? I had a somewhat off-the-wall theory a couple of days ago that it all goes back to the [hypothesis] of [former US National Security Advisor] Zbigniew Brzezinski and his whole theory that without Ukraine, Russia can’t be an empire.”

“Everybody assumed that this meant territory,” the journalist continued. “But what if Washington has actually realized that Ukraine can’t possibly win this and never could and are basically trying to deny Russia Ukraine as a resource – both land, oil riches, resources, whatever – but most importantly people.” “What if the actual endgame is making sure that Ukraine is wiped out demographically?” The true number of Ukrainian troops lost over 30 months of fighting has remained obscured in mainstream media as Kiev wages a propaganda war to attempt to maintain the support of the Western public. But analysis earlier this year placed Kiev’s casualties at close to half a million, a number that has only grown since Russian Defense Ministry Sergei Shoigu expounded on the subject in April. Observers say the war is possibly the bloodiest the world has seen in decades as Western countries continue to fund the anti-Russia crusade.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian civilians have suffered an epidemic of drowning deaths as citizens attempt to escape the draft by swimming to freedom across the country’s border with Romania and Hungary. Malic suggested the elimination of an entire generation of Ukrainians is not a tragic but unavoidable consequence of the war for Western military planners, but rather the point of the war, with the protracted conflict robbing Moscow of the human capital otherwise gained by its liberation of eastern regions. “This is an incredibly cynical and sinister perspective,” Malic conceded. “But… when you eliminate the impossible, anything else, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. Because that’s the only explanation that comes to my mind at this stage, because they are either complete imbeciles and are literally fighting a completely unwinnable war, or they figure out the war has been unwinnable and their objective is to actually have no more Ukrainians at maximum and bleed the Russians.”

“..a “common and indivisible architecture of strategic security and a fair polycentric world order.”

• BRICS, The Rise Of China And The Concept Of “Security” (Pepe Escobar)

The first meeting of security experts/National Security Advisors under the expanded BRICS+ format at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg unveiled quite a few nuggets. Let’s start with China. Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed four BRICS-centric security initiatives. Essentially, BRICS+ – and beyond, considering further expansion – should aim at peaceful coexistence; independence; autonomy; and true multilateralism, which implies a rejection of Exceptionalism. At the BRICS table, the overarching theme was how member-nations should support each other despite so many challenges – mostly unleashed by you-know-who. On India, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergei Shoigu, meeting with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, stressed the strength of the alliance, “confidently standing the test of time”.

The larger context was in fact offered in parallel, in Switzerland, at the Geneva Center for Security Policy, by the always delightful Foreign Minister S.Jaishankar: “There was a club called G7, but you wouldn’t let anybody else into it – so we said, we’d go and form our own club (…) It’s actually a very interesting group because if you look at it, typically any club or any group has either a geographical contiguity or some common historical experience or a very strong economic connect.” But with BRICS what stands out is “big countries rising in the international system.” Cut to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, stressing how Russia and Brazil “have similar approaches to key international issues”, emphasizing how Moscow cherishes the current “bilateral mutual understanding and interaction, including in the light of the simultaneous presidencies of BRICS and G20 this year.”

In 2024, Russia presides over BRICS while Brazil presides over the G20. President Putin, apart from addressing the meeting, had bilaterals with all the top players. Putin noted how 34 nations “have already expressed their desire to join the activities of our association in one form or another.” Meeting with Wang Yi, Putin stressed that the Russia-China strategic partnership is in favor of a just world order, a principle supported by the Global South. Wang Yi confirmed President Xi Jinping has already accepted the official Russian invitation for the BRICS summit next month in Kazan. Putin also met with the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Ahmadian.

Putin confirmed he is expecting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for another visit to Russia, apart from the BRICS summit, to sign their new strategic partnership agreement. Geoeconomics is key. The development of the International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC) was confirmed as a top Russia-Iran priority. Shoigu for his part confirmed, “We are ready to expand cooperation between our security councils.” The deal will be signed by both Presidents soon. Moreover, Shoigu added that Iran’s entry into BRICS advances cooperation among members to form a “common and indivisible architecture of strategic security and a fair polycentric world order.”

“Discrediting official, immutable narratives, such as the one about 11 September, remains the ultimate taboo. But a false narrative construct cannot hold out forever..”

• The Fake ‘War On Terror’ Collapses (Pepe Escobar)

The events of 11 September 2001 were intended to impose and enshrine a new Exceptionalist paradigm on the young 21st century. History, though, ruled otherwise. Cast as an attack on the US Homeland, 11 September 2001, immediately generated the Global War on Terror (GWOT), launched at 11 pm on the same day. Initially christened “The Long War” by the Pentagon, the term was later sanitized by the administration of Barack Obama as “Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO).” The US-manufactured War on Terror spent a notoriously un-trackable eight trillion dollars defeating a phantom enemy, killed over half a million people – overwhelmingly Muslims – and branched out into illegal wars against seven Muslim-majority states. All of this was relentlessly justified on “humanitarian grounds” and allegedly supported by the “international community” – before that term, too, was renamed as the “rules-based international order.”

Cui Bono? (who stands to gain) remains the paramount question related to all matters related to 11 September 2001. A tight network of fervently Israel-first neocons strategically positioned across the defense and national security establishments by Vice President Dick Cheney – who had served as secretary of defense in the administration of George W Bush’s father – sprang into action to impose the long-planned agenda of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC). That far-reaching agenda had waited in the wings for the right trigger – a “new Pearl Harbor” – to justify a slew of regime-change operations and wars across much of West Asia and other Muslim states, reshaping global geopolitics for the benefit of Israel.

US General Wesley Clark’s notorious revelation of a secret Cheney regime plot to destroy seven major Islamic countries over five years, from Iraq, Syria, and Libya all the way to Iran, showed us that the planning had already been done in advance. These targeted nations had one thing in common: they were resolute enemies of the occupation state and firm supporters of Palestinian rights. The sweet deal, from Tel Aviv’s perspective, was that the War on Terror would have the US and its western allies fighting all these serial Israeli-profiting wars on behalf of “civilization” and against the “barbarians.” The Israelis couldn’t have been more happy or smug about the direction this was going. It’s no wonder that 7 October 2023 is a mirror image of 11 September 2001. The occupation state itself advertised this as Israel’s own “11 September.” Parallels abound in more ways than one, but certainly not in the way Israel-firsters and the cabal of extremists leading Tel Aviv expected.

[..] The western Hegemon excels in constructing narratives and is currently wallowing in the Russophobia, Iranophobia, and Sinophobia swamps of its own creation. Discrediting official, immutable narratives, such as the one about 11 September, remains the ultimate taboo. But a false narrative construct cannot hold out forever. Three years ago, on the 20th anniversary of the Twin Towers collapsing and the onset of the War on Terror, we witnessed a great unraveling in the intersection of Central and South Asia: the Taliban were back in power, celebrating their victory over the Hegemon in a discombobulated Forever War. By then, the “seven countries in five years” obsession – aiming to forge a “New Middle East” – was being derailed across the spectrum. Syria was the turning point, though some would argue that the tea leaves were already cast when the Lebanese resistance defeated Israel in 2000, then again in 2006. But smashing independent Syria would have paved the way for the Hegemon – and Israel’s – Holy Grail: regime change in Iran.

“Without those resources they’re going to be in really, really big trouble.”

• Israel Exists to Help West Loot, Dominate Middle East (Miles)

Although modern defenders of Israel justify its existence under the pretense of “Jewish self-determination” or “decolonization,” the state’s ideological forebears clearly articulated Zionism as a colonial project. Issued by the British government in 1917, the Balfour Declaration is often considered to mark the beginning of Western support for the establishment of the modern state of Israel. The pronouncement, notorious among Palestinians and their supporters, committed the United Kingdom to the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in the Levant. Some Zionists viewed the creation of Israel as a progressive act necessary to combat rising prejudice in Europe, but historians have pointed out the nakedly antisemitic motivations of Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour, who sought to appease a British public wary of rising Jewish immigration to the UK.

Although the West has cloaked its support for Israel in the decades since in the language of liberal antiracism its motivations are far from altruistic, argues political activist Joti Brar. The vice chair of the Communist Party of Great Britain, Marxist Leninist joined Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program Thursday to discuss the United States’ ironclad backing of the country as it continues its deadly military operation in the besieged Gaza Strip. “We see the desperation, despite the fact that this genocide is going on in the full glare of public scrutiny,” said Brar. “The balance of power has totally shifted away from them… And therefore, if they want to survive, they’ve got to find another way forward.” “But the truth is, another way forward can’t be found because as far as the truth about Israel is concerned, Israel is an outpost of Anglo-American imperialism in the Middle East to control the region’s resources,” she continued. “They need that there. It’s their armed base in the middle of the Arab world to control the Arab world and to be able to keep the loot flowing.”

Although modern defenders of Israel justify its existence under the pretense of “Jewish self-determination” or “decolonization,” the state’s ideological forebears clearly articulated Zionism as a colonial project. “You are being invited to help make history,” wrote the ideology’s founder Theodor Herzl in a 1902 letter to Cecil Rhodes, the notorious namesake of the white supremacist African republic of Rhodesia. “It doesn’t involve Africa, but a piece of Asia Minor; not Englishmen but Jews… How, then, do I happen to turn to you since this is an out-of-the-way matter for you? How indeed? Because it is something colonial.” Jewish migration to Palestine rose sharply after the Balfour Declaration was issued, with violent paramilitary gangs arising from within the transplanted population. Terrorist groups such as Lehi and Irgun attacked the country’s indigenous Palestinian population, forming the basis of the Israel Defense [sic]

Forces after the establishment of the ethno-supremacist state in 1948. Israel has pushed the territory’s non-Jewish inhabitants to the margins since then, presiding over what numerous international organizations have classified as an apartheid state. “Oil remains the single most important commodity in the world today,” noted Brar. “It is the most important source of energy for the world, for industry and for war and it is the most geopolitically significant asset for that reason. And without controlling the oil and being able to loot it at rock bottom prices in the way that they do because of their colonial position in the region, then imperialism would be in massive trouble. What’s left of their economies would be collapsing.”

“And so you see this really existential identification of Western imperialism with Israel, which to a lot of people seems to make no sense. They can’t see why they don’t just let Israel fight its own battles and fight and die or live and die according to its own abilities. Why are they all jumping in? Why is Zionism so important to the West?” “The reason is it’s their tool for controlling the region and the region’s resources,” Brar explained. “Without those resources they’re going to be in really, really big trouble.”

“The abortion issue was created by a liberal US Supreme Court that declared a right that does not exist in the US Constitution..”

• The Abortion Issue (Paul Craig Roberts)

Perhaps nothing demonstrates the presstitutes’ idiocy, ignorance, and incompetence [more] than the media’s presentation of the abortion issue as a presidential issue with Kamala standing with women and Trump standing against women. The abortion issue has nothing whatsoever to do with the executive branch. The abortion issue was created by a liberal US Supreme Court that declared a right that does not exist in the US Constitution. A liberal Court ruled in favor of sexually promiscuous women who do not want the responsibility for their own sexual behavior, and gave them the right to terminate birth. A subsequent US Supreme Court repealed the previous Court’s decision for the reason that the creation of a right to abortion was a legislative act, not a judicial one. In overturning the previous Court’s finding of an abortion right, the subsequent Court said abortion was a legislative issue for state legislatures, a position with which Trump agrees, and that the judiciary has no Constitutional authority to legislate as the US Supreme Court had done in its abortion ruling.

What Trump is supporting is the separation of powers. If sexually promiscuous liberal and left-wing women who decry responsibility for their sexual behavior want the right to terminate the birth of a person, they will have to convince the legislators in the state governments. It is not a federal issue and in no way a presidential issue. Yet, the despicable whore American media featured it as a presidential issue in the “debate.” So why was it part of the media orchestrated “debate” between Trump and Kamala? The only answer is: to give the women’s vote to Kamala. The question that needs explaining is: Why is it that the presstitute media is given control over presidential “debates?” Especially “debates” held in controlled and sealed rooms devoid of an audience. A debate should be a public affair attended by the public and one that all media can cover if so inclined. How do we explain debates controlled by biased media assigned the task of protecting official explanations and never challenging them?

The answer is to keep Americans from understanding what has happened over the course of the life of their country to their country and to their Constitutional rights. The separation of powers that the Constitution prescribes endeavors to keep people, not government, in charge. What has happened over time, is the destruction of the peoples’ rights. It began with Lincoln destroying the 10th Amendment and states’ rights. Next came the expansion of the franchise to include non-property owners given the right to vote to themselves the property of others. Then Roosevelt’s New Deal turned Congress’ legislative authority over to executive branch regulatory agencies. Then with George W. Bush and Obama declaring their right based on suspicion alone of setting aside the Constitution’s prohibition against throwing people into dungeons without presentation of evidence to a court and conviction in a trial and the Constitution’s prohibition against execution of life without due process of law, the executive branch emerged more powerful than the US Constitution.

Everyone accepted these extraordinary violations of the US Constitution, including Congress, bar associations, the university law schools, and media.The American people themselves are so poorly educated, thanks to public schools that the insouciant fools support and money-driven universities that they have no realization of the Constitution’s burial along with American liberty, which, of course, means them. They sit there thinking they are a free people while a gulag is being prepared for them. As is evident, abortion is not the only issue about which Americans are hoodwinked. For most Americans, their existence is organized for them by controlled narratives. Following the media’s instruction, they regard those who tell them the truth as “conspiracy theorists.” The suppression of truth has always been easy in America, but in the 21st century it has become total. Today truth itself is being criminalized and so are those who express truth.

Today persons, such as Dimitri Simes, who give their honest opinions about events that are transpiring, as well as social media, such as Telegraph and X , are under attack for spreading harmful “false information.” Even the owners of social media companies where people express their opinions are being held accountable for the opinions expressed by the people and for the use of social media to “abet their crimes.” Pavel Durov, Telegram founder, has been detained in France on spurious charges that he is responsible for crimes committed by users of Telegram. Elon Musk is threatened both by the EU and the UK police commissioner with arrest if he fails to censor his interview on X with Donald Trump. If you look at this honestly, the Western world today compares unfavorably with Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. Today there is far more freedom of expression in Russia, China, and Iran than in the West.

Think about what this means. It is impossible to raise and discuss a serious issue such as Washington’s provocations of Russia, China, and Iran. How many Americans or any persons in the Western world are there who are not so stupid as to think that Ukraine’s totally artificial borders are worth a nuclear war? Is there anyone in the Western world who is not so utterly stupid and compromised as to think that Israel’s destruction of Palestine in the interest of Greater Israel is anything less than the worst war crime in human history? How do we explain Netanyahu, the genocider of Palestine, receiving 53 standing ovations from the US Congress? And it was Christian Evangelicals leading the applause. So, you see, it is not merely the abortion issue about which Americans are incapable of thought. They are incapable of though about any the the issues that are destroying them.

Dolphin
https://twitter.com/i/status/1834702397891060058

Skater

Cabbage (aka Bai Cai) is a white French Bulldog who has mesmerized the Internet by skating like an absolute pro.

No wonder that some are calling him “Tony Dawg”.

His owner, Zhao Chen, who is also a skater, began training him in 2020.pic.twitter.com/F1KtBKsbUm

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 14, 2024

No stick

“ No stick, no problem”
pic.twitter.com/s9I9OMlhSm

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) September 14, 2024

Rhino spot
https://twitter.com/i/status/1834938697327825390

Bartiromo

I think one of the hardest things in life is witnessing our parents get older.

Not only is @MariaBartiromo handling it beautifully, I think she’s an incredibly inspiring example of true love when it comes to caring for our parents. ❤️ #sagesteeleshow pic.twitter.com/cx51ycMDIz

— Sage Steele (@sagesteele) September 13, 2024

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