While only two Zionist officials are being sought for
arrest, the ICC has put three Palestinians on the
list, ironically with the death toll in Gaza
climbing to nearly 40,000 and
an invasion of Rafah
looking imminent.
By issuing arrest warrants for the heroic Al Aqsa Storm
Operation on October 7, 2023, the ICC prosecutors are
spitting in the face of the right to resist criminal
occupation and aggression.
Any follower of the Palestinian cause knows that relying
on international organizations is a path to nowhere - as long as US hegemony exists. But that hegemony is
declining. And it shows --- take note of the US
political reaction to the arrest warrants
against Netanyahu and Gallant.
Last month, US Congresspeople drafted a letter
promising sanctions and other punitive actions
if the ICC issues arrest warrants against
Israeli regime officials.
Non-governmental organizations that tow the Washington
political line also lashed out at the ICC, in order to
discredit and delegitimize it. Again, a bulk of
these organizations praised the ICC
...whenever the target of arrests
was a Washington-designated
target. There is no dearth of
hypocrisy in Washington.
In a statement, US President Joe Biden declared:
“Let me be clear, we reject the ICC’s application
for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders…
There is no equivalence between Israel
and Hamas.”
Ironically, he is right - just for the wrong reasons.
Occupation, ethnic cleansing, and genocide are not
permitted within international standards and the
so-called rule of law. However, resistance to
occupation is a human right ------ that is
mentioned by name under Protocol I
of the Geneva Convention.
Indeed - there is no equivalence between the Israeli
occupation and the Gaza-based resistance
movement Hamas, or for that matter any
other Palestinian resistance faction.
The ICC’s “both sides are wrong” defense --- is
commonly resorted to by Western neoliberals.
Seeking to absolve themselves of blame, the defense
here chalks the blame up to Zionist leadership, while
condemning the whole of Palestinian resistance.
Many analysts agree that Washington’s exit strategy
from the Gaza genocide - the Biden administration
cannot afford to continue with it in an election
year - will be throwing Netanyahu under the
bus, and chalking up the genocide to
“bad leadership.”
The shamefulness of this defense goes to show that the
institutions that were engineered by the West can only
bend so much. The genocide in Gaza, which many
have labeled the “live-streamed genocide,” has
proved that if an international institution fails
to acknowledge Israeli crimes, it will have
no legitimacy at all in the eyes of the
international public.
However, the imperialist architects of these institutions
still wield influence - and they are exercising this
influence in order to ensure that they still have
the final say - no matter how messy it gets.
Be that as it may, even imperialist influence cannot stop
the global tide that is seemingly drowning the Israeli
regime. Though Israel is no longer a signatory to
the Rome Statute (which it left almost right after
it initially signed it, disagreeing with population
transfer as a war crime) - arrest warrants for its
two top war criminals, if approved by ICC
judges, further solidifies its growing
isolation globally.
Although international agencies cannot enter the Israeli
occupation and arrest Netanyahu and Gallant, countries
that are signatories to the Rome Statute are obliged to
bring in criminals with arrest warrants - facing harsh
consequences if they fail to do so.
Netanyahu and Gallant would be outcasts globally while
simultaneously facing the wrath of Zionist settlers who
are protesting weekly due to their failure to destroy
Hamas and free Israeli captives.
Despite being the darlings of the West, some countries
have expressed readiness to arrest the two Zionist
regime officials if the arrest application is
approved - including Norway - angering
pro-Zionist cheerleaders and lobby
groups across the West.
Meanwhile, resistance leaders Sinwar and Deif are
in Gaza, fighting alongside the resistance in
commanding positions - and Haniyeh is in
Qatar, a country that is not a signatory
to the Rome Statute.
All three of these esteemed men are not runaway
criminals with no home - they are Palestinian,
and they only wish to be in Palestine. An
arrest warrant, though insulting, is the
least of their concerns.
Victory for Palestine will not be won with a pen
and a legal document ------ but with resistance.
We see the Palestinian resistance factions are still
strong in the face of a genocidal onslaught while
the very fabric of the settler-colonial Zionist
society is torn apart.
Arrest warrants won’t change much. The reality on
the battlefield alone will eventually determine the
fate of Palestine and Gaza, and resistance has
already prevailed there.
Musa Iqbal is a Boston-based researcher and writer
focused on US domestic and foreign policy.
(The views expressed in this article don't
necessarily.... reflect those of Press TV.)
______________________________________
200 days of genocide: Palestinian
resistance --- prevails over
Israeli occupation
By Iqbal Jassat
April 24th, 11:59am
Gaza’s killing fields, courtesy of the genocidal settler
colonial regime in Tel Aviv, have now entered the 7th
month, without any reprieve for the besieged
territory of millions of people.
According to reports, 3,025 massacres have been
perpetrated by the murderous regime between
October 7, 2023, and April 23, 2024, with at
least 42,510 innocent civilians mercilessly
butchered, including 15,780 children,
which includes those presumed
dead under the rubble.
On average, 212 people have been killed per day, incl. 79
children and 50 women, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor
reported on Tuesday, marking 200 days of the no-holds-
barred onslaught on Gaza.
Gaza government office also released a statement on
Tuesday, sharing grim statistics of the 200 days of
war. An estimated 7,000 are missing under the
rubble and more than 76,000 are injured.
Most of the public infrastructure has been destroyed in
the besieged strip, including 70 percent of residential
properties, all universities, and 33 out of 36 hospitals.
In the occupied West Bank the Israeli army and
settlers have killed 486 Palestinians and
injured more than 4700 in the past
200 days.
In addition, Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu's evil
famine strategy has formed part of his war cabinet's
tactic to starve to death millions of Palestinians.
To compound the apartheid regime's criminal conduct,
the corruption-laden Netanyahu falsely implicated
the UN agency for Palestinian refugees as aiding
and abetting "terrorists", resulting in the
suspension of funding and a halt
of its humanitarian aid to
Palestinian refugees.
Sadly, baseless allegations against UNRWA saw a
shameful rush by Western governments to cut
$450m funding at a time when "people were
dying in droves", as described by
news media.
Months later, however, the world is now told..
that Israeli allegations have not been proven.
An inquiry – a rigorous one - led by former French foreign
minister Catherine Colonna, supported by three well-
respected research institutes, concluded that there
was no evidence for the claim that significant
numbers of UNRWA employees have Hamas
or Islamic Jihad ties.
That this decisive conclusion by the Colonna inquiry
refutes Israel's false claims, it is left to be seen
whether Western governments will revert to
funding UNRWA, thus striking a blow to
Netanyahu’s malicious war aims. Or
will they continue to drag their feet,
as is the case now?
Israeli genocidal war on Gaza launched on Oct. 7 last year
completed 200 days on Tuesday, leaving behind a trail of
death, destruction, displacement and starvation.
If they fail to recommence funding, Palestinians may not
be faulted for believing that the West remains hostage
to the Netanyahu regime's lies and vengeful genocide.
Concurrently another significant report has been issued
castigating Israel’s bloody assault on Gaza’s medical
institutions and the denial of healthcare. The author
is a South African doctor, Tlaleng Mofokeng, the
UN's Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health.
In her scathing report, Mofokeng emphasized her difficulty
in gathering data on the number of people needing
medical evacuation due to the destruction of
civilian infrastructure.
But she has been absolutely clear that the world
is witnessing “genocide” in Gaza.
"Not only is Israel causing irreparable harm against
Palestinian civilians with its bombardments, but it
and their allies are also knowingly & intentionally
imposing famine, prolonged malnutrition, and
dehydration,” she was quoted as saying.
At a press conference in Geneva, Mofokeng did not mince
her words when she said that as a practicing medical
doctor, she bears witness, that the very practice of
medicine is under attack.
"This has been a war on the right to health and underlying
determinants of health. The healthcare infrastructure in
Gaza has been completely obliterated and the right to
health has been decimated at every level,” she said.
"Not only is Israel killing and causing irreparable harm
against Palestinian civilians with its bombardments,
it and their allies are also ...knowingly and
intentionally, imposing famine, prolonged
malnutrition, and dehydration."
Interestingly, students at many US universities, including
the prestigious Columbia University, have emerged as a
potent force demanding an end to complicity in Israel's
war on Gaza.
They have been protesting for days on their campuses
despite the heavy-handedness of US police.
Professor Sami Al-Arian's observation about these raging
protests on university campuses across the country
sums it up perfectly:
“What's happening across US university campuses is
unprecedented. I lived four decades in the US --- 28
years of which were in academic settings. During
my time, it was a very challenging struggle to
present an anti-Zionist narrative,” he wrote
in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“But the passion, courage, humanity, creativity, and
determination displayed these days by students
across US campuses make me proud. The
Zionist grip on US society is weakening
and waning.”
By all accounts, it is abundantly clear that despite various
attempts by the apartheid regime to garner and maintain
global support for its terrorism in Gaza, it has turned
out to be a dismal failure.
Indeed, enormous resources allocated by Israel to
overwhelm news coverage of the horrendous
genocide from the false perspective of
"Israel's ''right'' - to defend itself from
terrorism", has been a fundamental
pillar of Netanyahu’s goal to
remain in power.
As author Ralph Nader points out, throughout history,
military empires have reduced their victims, their
subjugated, and their abducted to a state of
“The Others.” The political & mass media
institutions usually follow suit
by supporting their empire’s
predatory policies with
slanted coverage.
Remarkable therefore that alongside the armed resistance
by Palestinian freedom fighters to withstand 200 days of
relentless bombings, the images of Gaza’s devastation
and eyewitness accounts by medics, journalists and
displaced families, have not allowed the Zionist
regime to escape global outrage.
Iqbal Jassat is an executive member of Media
Review Network, Johannesburg, South Africa.
(The views expressed in this article ---- do
not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)
Glory to those who pray work and struggle
for real peace --- peace with justice for all.
What do you think?
_______________________________________
Indonesia won't normalize with Israel
because Indonesians won’t allow it
April 13th, 1:54pm
by Dina Y. Sulaeman
In the last few days, Israeli media has been reporting
about Indonesia mulling a normalization of relations
with the Tel Aviv regime to fulfill the requirements
for accession to The Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD), a
neoliberal market-based alliance
of countries.
The news - circulated at a dizzying pace on social media
platforms and triggered a wide array of reactions from
netizens worldwide, including in Indonesia. It wasn’t
something they were expecting.
Indonesia's foreign ministry was quick to deny the reports
in a midnight statement, saying that no such plan is in
the offing.
"I affirm that, as of now, there are no plans to establish
diplomatic relations with Israel, particularly given
Israel's actions in Gaza,” the ministry spokes-
person, Lalu Muhamad Iqbal, said.
Most people in Indonesia, I can vouch for, reject and
condemn any plan that leads to the normalization
of ties between the two sides or Jakarta’s
recognition of the apartheid
colonial entity.
Several notes can be taken from this frenzy. First, the
behaviour of the Israeli media, citing anonymous
sources, to report on Indonesia's plans to
normalize relations with Israel. It has
happened several times in the last
few years.
Indonesia's foreign ministry has always denied such
reports. It again denied it and then it was as if
there was nothing more. There was no
apology from the Israeli media, nor
was there any criticism of the
Israeli media from the
Indonesian side.
This time, the news about Indonesia’s so-called
normalization coincided with simmering
regional tensions in the wake of Iran's
vow to retaliate against the Israeli
bombing of its consulate
in Damascus.
Bombing a country's diplomatic mission is a fatal
violation of international law and can be equated
with bombing the country's territory. From this
perspective, Iran has every right to retaliate.
So, the situation turned extremely difficult for Israel.
Many countries issued travel advisories for the
occupied territories while Israeli regime
officials frantically tried to get Iran to
"not escalate."
The unspecified timing of Iran's retaliation.... has caused
psychological torture for the Israeli regime and settlers.
In conditions like these, rumours regarding Indonesia-
Israel normalization appear to have been deliberately
circulated by the Zionist media to reduce tensions
----- and divert world public opinion.
The second point is that Indonesia's support for Palestine
is deep-rooted. This support predates Indonesia's
independence, so it cannot be shaken so
easily by the Zionist propagandists.
In 1934, when the Palestinians fought against the British
(at that time, Indonesia was still colonized by the Dutch),
the clergy in Indonesia collected donations from the
people to help Palestine.
It is also recorded in history that a rich Palestinian
businessman, Muhammad Ali Taher, in 1944
donated a large amount of money to the
struggle for Indonesian independence.
In history lessons at schools, our teachers often
repeated the phrase: "Palestine was the first
to recognize Indonesia's independence."
What it actually meant is that after the proclamation of
Indonesian independence on August 17, 1945, the
Indonesian diplomat, M. Zein Hassan, came
to Egypt to promote recognition of
that independence.
In order to support Hassan's efforts ----- a number of
resistance figures in the Arab world based in Cairo
founded Lajnatud Difa'i 'an Indonesia on October
16, 1945, including General Saleh Harb Pasha,
Secretary General of the Arab League and
Abdul Rahman Azzam Pasha, Chairman
of the Palestine Committee.
The recommendation from the Lajnah was a resolution to
support the Republic of Indonesia and an appeal to all
countries, especially Arab and Islamic countries, to
recognize the new republic.
After that, almost all the Arab countries recognized
the Republic of Indonesia ----- one by one.
Apart from that, Indonesia initiated and hosted the Asia-
Africa Conference from 18 to April 24, 1955, the first
conference of formerly colonized countries in the
world whose main spirit was to liberate all the
colonized people on earth.
Support for Palestinian independence was one of the
dominant issues at this conference. Indonesia has a
historical burden to maintain that spirit and fulfill its promise of independence for Palestine.
The third point is, it needs to be acknowledged that
there are indeed parties in Indonesia, both
politicians and prominent figures, who
are secretly establishing personal
relations with Israel.
Indonesia's decision to submit a membership application
to the OECD, an organization controlled by Western
capitalist countries, instead of joining a new
economic power that is far more promising
for shared prosperity, namely BRICS,
shows the dominance of the West
in Indonesia's economic posture.
Membership in the OECD requires the consent of all
members, including Israel. It is very possible that
there are figures behind the scenes who are
trying to normalize Indonesia-Israel for
their interests ----- especially
business interests.
However, they never expressed their intentions openly
because it would be tantamount to political suicide.
No politician in Indonesia would dare to commit
suicide at this time when public sentiment is
very strong in supporting Palestine and
against Israel's genocidal crimes
in Gaza.
Thus, it can be concluded that the rumours of
normalization were Israeli propaganda that
took advantage of the tendencies of a few
parties behind the scenes -- but which
immediately hit a wall of failure.
The Indonesian people will not allow that normalization
to happen as Indonesia's first president, Sukarno,
stated: "As long as the independence of the
Palestinian people has not been handed
over to the Palestinian people, the
Indonesian people will always
stand up ------ to challenge
Israeli colonialism."
Dina Y. Sulaeman, is an assistant professor at the International Relations Department, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia.
(The views expressed in this article..... do
not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)
Indonesia has filed a lawsuit against Israel at the ICJ
over the regime’s violations of international law in
the occupied Palestinian territories.
I remember when a CIA coup in Indonesia resulted in every commited patriotic communist and socialist... being taken to a police station --- and then slaughtered.
I bet the Indonesians remember that too.
What do you think?
_______________________________________________
Zionist regime will drown in the bloodof Haniyeh’s children and other Palestinians
by Wesam Bahrani
April 11th, 10:47am
The cowardly killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s
three sons and four grandchildren in Gaza only
exemplifies the fact that the murderous
occupying entity is on a deathbed.
The latest diabolic crime committed by the apartheid
regime first and foremost shows its desperation and
hopelessness and its inability to achieve any of the
stated military goals it quite ambitiously outlined
before embarking on the latest
genocidal campaign.
The regime was under the illusion that by assassinating
the resistance leader’s family members, the Zionist
entity might get some form of leverage at the
negotiating table.
If anything, Benjamin Netanyahu has made
it harder for himself and his US masters.
The leaders of many resistance groups in Palestine, have
offered their sons and family members, as martyrs to the
cause of liberating their land from the Israeli occupation.
After receiving the news about the killing of his children
and grandchildren on Wednesday night, Haniyeh
appeared calm and composed, thanking God
for the “honour” of bestowing martyrdom
on his close family members. That’s
the trait of great leaders.
He said almost every family in Gaza has paid a heavy price
with the blood of their children in the past six months and
before that, and he is only one of them.
Importantly, leaders of the Axis of Resistance in other
parts of the region have also offered exemplary
sacrifices for the greater cause, the bigger
cause, against the aggressors.
This shared legacy of sacrifice and martyrdom has only
strengthened the steadfastness of the Axis of
Resistance and its leaders, from Palestine,
to Lebanon, to Iraq, to Yemen.
Among the most notable examples, is the son
of Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement
Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
18-year-old Hadi Nasrallah ---- was martyred by
the Israeli forces in 1997 in southern Lebanon.
The important aspect here is the reaction and position
of these resistance leaders when their sons or family
members are killed by the Israeli occupation.
Do they regret and repent? Do they grieve and complain?
Does it become personal, and does that personal
aspect make them succumb to pressure or
give up on the cause?
Unfortunately, for the apartheid Israeli regime and its
delusional despots in Tel Aviv and Washington, the
blood of all the resistance factions, their leaders
and their sons and family members is the driving
force that will eventually end the illegal and
brutal occupation.
One day, after the martyrdom of Hadi Nasrallah,
Hezbollah’s Secretary-General delivered a
thumping speech in which he explained
how painful it was for him before, to
visit the parents of the Lebanese
resistance movement’s martyrs
and look them in the eye.
Hadi Nasrallah wasn’t the only one martyred by
the Israeli occupation forces. Many more
offered exemplary sacrifices. Hadi’s
body, like those of others, was
held by the Zionist entity.
“I tell the families of the martyrs whose bodies
remain captive --- that we also share this
common feature now,” the Hezbollah
chief said in September 1997.
At the funeral service the same month, he added, “The
martyrdom of Hadi is a message that the leadership of
Hezbollah doesn’t leave aside its sons to enjoy the
(post-occupation) future. When our sons head to
the frontline, that is our pride, and when they
are martyred, this allows us to hold our
heads up high”.
Over the next three years, Hezbollah inflicted heavy
battlefield casualties on the Israeli occupation,
forcing it to withdraw from the Lebanese
territory in 2000.... in humiliation.
The Arab country regained its sovereignty, independence,
security, and honour as a result of all the blood given by
resistance fighters, founders, leaders, and their
family members.
History is repeating itself. Now the resistance has grown
in faith, determination as well as in military terms
while the Israeli regime is reaching
its dead-end.
There is nothing the rogue, child-murdering Netanyahu
regime can boast of after half a year of US-backed
genocide in Gaza. The resistance has prevailed
and the occupation has lost.
The video that went viral showed the moment Haniyah
(visiting wounded Palestinians at a hospital in Qatar)
was informed, via a crying voice message on the
'phone from Gaza--- about the killing of his three
sons, three granddaughters and one grandson,
without a scintilla of pain visible on the
Hamas leader’s face --- is because this
resistance, unlike the US and its
proxy, has a clear vision for
Gaza and Palestine.
“God will rest their souls.” He nods his head.
“Shall we end the visit?” an aide asks.
“No, let’s continue” he responds.
The strategy of the resistance is inked in the blood
of its martyrs, which sends a clear message to the
United States that it prefers martyrdom and
dignity ----- over a life of humiliation.
“The enemy believes that targeting the families of the
leaders will push them to give up the demands of our
people,” Haniyeh said, putting up a tough front.
“Anyone who believes that targeting my sons will push
Hamas to change its position is delusional,” the
Hamas leader hastened to add.
This has been the position of all resistance groups and
their leaders in West Asia for more than four decades
now. The principles of the cause overshadow
personal considerations.
The people of Gaza are indeed the most
oppressed people on the planet
right now.
Yet the disinformation campaign by mainstream Western
and some regional media that the Hamas leadership is
enjoying a life of luxury in exile, is aimed at
discrediting the resistance.
Has the same media forgotten, so quickly, that Haniyah
is among the millions of Palestinians who have been
arrested and served time in Israeli jails, tortured
and abused?
Was he not on the ground in Gaza when it was blown to
pieces many times before and the founders of Hamas,
along with many of its senior leaders, were
assassinated by the murderous
Zionist regime?
Was it, not Haniyah who emerged from a building in Gaza
that had been razed to the ground by an Apache
helicopter missile 20 years ago, holding the
lifeless body of a toddler and carrying it
in his arms to an ambulance?
Haven’t his three sons and four grandchildren
in addition to some 70 other close relatives
been killed in Gaza since October 7?
Many Western leaders know the answers to these
questions. But exposing them would expose the
US-backed Zionist war crimes in the territory.
Hamas leaders now living in exile spent the majority
of their life on the ground in Gaza and witnessed
firsthand the movement’s spiritual leader
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin’s assassination
in 2004 and that of the group’s
co-founder ------ Abdel Aziz
al-Rantisi, after Yassin.
Many want the world to believe -- that the genocidal war
on Gaza and the wider ethnic cleansing of Palestinians
started when the clocks of Western mainstream
media and their military-industrial complex-
affiliated analysts decided to start it
on October 7.
All the leaders of Palestinian resistance movements have
sacrificed their family members over the past decades to
free their country from its Nazi-like colonial rulers.
In the case of Hamas, which is leading the negotiations on
behalf of all the Palestinian resistance factions and
people in Gaza, the group hasn’t been deterred by
US-made bombs to relinquish its demands for a
permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of all
occupation forces from the entire strip
and a return of all the displaced
Palestinians to their homes.
All the signs indicate that no level of ignorance on behalf
of the US and its illegitimate proxy regime in West Asia
will make the group climb down from its
negotiating position.
The prayer of the dead has been read over the bodies of
Haniyah’s sons in Gaza, just like they were read for
more than 33,300 others... in harsh conditions.
The path to liberating occupied al-Quds and al-Aqsa
Mosque is a marathon, not a sprint. But the finish
line is within reach and will be crossed by the
resistance, their leaders, and their
family members.
Wesam Bahrani - is an Iraqi
journalist and commentator.
(The views expressed in this article..... do
not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)
I believe this moment shows
who loves --- and who is a
liar, thief and murderer.
Which... are you?
_______________________________________
Wounds Left-- by NATO Attack on
YugoslaviaPersist After 25 Years
March 26th, 2:22pm
(teleSUR)
On March 24, 1999, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) started an aerial bombing campaign against
Yugoslavia without the authorization of the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC).
During the 78-day bombings, Serbia lost thousands
of policemen, soldiers, and civilians, and suffered
immense damage to its transport and
energy infrastructure.
Among NATO's targets were houses and apartment
buildings, schools, hospitals, even kindergartens,
while the weapons deployed included missiles
containing depleted uranium & cluster bombs.
Three Chinese reporters, including one from
Xinhua, were killed - during bombardments
against the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
Serbian people mark March 24 as Remembrance Day for
the Victims of NATO Aggression by laying wreaths or
framed photos of their loved ones whose lives have
been taken either directly by NATO's projectiles or
indirectly by chaos and ethnic conflict, largely
instigated by NATO.
This year, the ceremony of the remembrance day was held
at the main square of Prokuplje, a city some 250 km south
of Belgrade, in the presence of President Aleksandar
Vucic, government officials, policemen, soldiers,
and thousands of civilians.
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Verica Tomanovic, president of the Association of Families
of Kidnapped & Missing Persons in Kosovo and Metohija - recalled the arduous journey of hundreds of families.
Representing 570 families -- who are still pining for their
loved ones, her life journey over the past 25 years has
been an unrelenting quest for truth and justice.
"Every passing day becomes heavier," said Tomanovic. In
a poignant retelling of her personal tragedy, she shared
the story of her husband Andrija, a dedicated doctor,
and head of the surgical department in Pristina,
whose life was abruptly halted by abduction.
"The assurances of NATO officials... about safety and
security crumbled as violence engulfed the region.
People were targeted and killed on the streets
based on ethnic affiliation," recalled
Tomanovic, her voice filled
with sorrow.
Despite promises of protection, her husband became
a victim of the conflict, abducted in broad daylight
while bystanders, including NATO soldiers,
looked on.
"He was a man of deep empathy," she said, explaining how
her husband stayed at his post, out of dedication to his
profession. The abduction of her husband, amidst the
chaos following the NATO intervention, remains an
open wound. With each passing year, the
pain deepens.
Verica Tomanovic's relentless quest for truth --- has led her
to the doors of international institutions, seeking answers
that seem perpetually elusive. "We demand that the truth
be uncovered," she said, clutching letters addressed to
world leaders.
She mourns the absence of humanitarian rights, in Kosovo
and Metohija, where, despite tireless appeals to domestic
and international bodies, answers remain beyond reach,
"without exhumations, without identification,
without accountability."
Standing amidst walls - adorned with the faces of hundreds
of kidnapped or missing individuals, including her husband
Andrija, her determination remains unwavering after a
quarter of a century. "We have the right to know
the truth," she said.
TOXIC LEGACY
With similar unwavering determination, Srdjan Aleksic, a
lawyer from Nis, leads the charge in seeking redress for
the victims of depleted uranium contamination, a
legacy of warfare ---- that has left a trail of
devastation in its wake.
Born in Bustranje, a village nestled within the Presevo
municipality, Aleksic's personal connection to the
plight of his community runs deep. His mother,
relatives, and neighbours succumbed to the
ravages of cancer ------ a consequence of
depleted uranium exposure during the
78 days of relentless bombardments.
For Aleksic, the pursuit of justice transcends legal
advocacy; it is a deeply personal crusade. With
over 4,000 individuals seeking solace and
restitution --- through his legal counsel,
Aleksic stands as a beacon of hope
for those afflicted by the
silent killer.
There were two analyses conducted in Turin, Italy, which
confirmed that Colonel Dragan Stojcic of the Serbian
Army and Ksenija Tadic --- have 500 times more
depleted uranium in their bodies than in
any other person, Aleksic said.
Colonel Dragan Stojcic, a respected member of the
Serbian Army, tragically died from three types of
cancer, underscoring the dire consequences
of the toxic legacy.
Collaborating with legal counterparts in Italy, where
landmark judgments have been handed down over
the illness of Italian peacekeepers, who spent
time in Kosovo, Aleksic aims to replicate
their success --- in Serbia.
"If we have in Italy --------- 400 cases with final, confirmed
judgments, where they managed to prove the causality,
and this was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Italy -
why wouldn't we do the same in Serbia?" said Aleksic.
The use of depleted uranium is a war crime against
civilians, said Aleksic. With its enduring half-life of
4.5 billion years, the toxic legacy of depleted
uranium continues to cast a shadow over
future generations.
CRIPPLED INTERNATIONAL LAW
"It's evident that on that fateful day ------ justice was
undermined, and fairness was compromised," said
Milos Vucevic, Serbian deputy prime minister and
minister of defense, during the international
conference "From Aggression to New Just
Order" held in Belgrade, on the occasion
of the 25th anniversary of the bombing.
"From the onset of terrorist attacks and NATO aggression
to the present day ------ we've witnessed numerous
humanitarian catastrophes - stemming from
the pursuit of power and the delusion of
one's supremacy, a delusion that
disregards eternal truths ---
namely, that justice will
inevitably prevail,"
he said.
Speaking at the conference, Nikola Selakovic..... minister in
charge of veteran affairs condemned NATO intervention as
"a crime against the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia."
"The balance sheet of this entire period --- is marked by
hundreds of killed, missing, hundreds of thousands of
exiles and displaced persons, dozens of destroyed
and burned churches and monasteries, crimes
without punishment," said Selakovic.
Everything raises the question of whether the aggression
that began on March 24, 1999, really ended on June 10
of that year .....or is still ongoing, he added.
Col. Douglas McGregor - who often pontificates
on Youtube - used depleted uranium shells
in Iraq - and swears that the evidence is
''unconvincing'' that depleted uranium
causes any harm...
I can forgive him... but what do you think?
_________________________________________
Gabbard: the truth about biolabs in
Ukraine --- is equated to treason
in the US
March 26th, 2024
(source -- Tucker Carlson
Network retold by InoTV)
TULSI GABBARD, former U.S. Congressman: Over the past
five years, it has become increasingly clear to me that
many people, especially in the Democrat Party,
particularly in Washington, do not value
the constitution at all.
You know, I think that the last five years have played a key
role. After all, if you look, for example, at what happened
during COVID, as a starting point… At the federal and
state and county levels, in many places, these
people, having gained a little power, took
advantage of the situation --- and they
continued to abuse their powers,
so it was absurd.
It's absurd when they say: "For the sake of public safety,
everyone should stay at home, you can't go to church,
you can't even hold services in the open air, for
example, in Hawaii on the beach. But if you're
hosting a * it's above and beyond the public
health and safety concerns we've
discussed. So that's fine."
The politically motivated decisions that were made in the
midst of "the greatest epidemic of our time," as it was
called, in my opinion, opened many people's eyes to
the fact that all this was just for the sake of power,
and how little importance these people attached
to such things as freedom, civil rights, and our
ability to make our own choices.
Yes.
TULSI GABBARD: And ----- under the Biden and Harris
administrations, the situation has only gotten worse.
I'm talking about how they undermined the rule of
law — and continue to undermine it to this day.
About how readily they directly or indirectly
censored, blacklisted --- and denigrated ---
ordinary Americans across the country. If
it so happens that you object to them —
aboutCOVID or about other things…
In my opinion, the reason Mitt Romney called me a
"lying traitor" was my words that there are biolabs
in Ukraine funded by the United States, the US
Department of Defense, and we need to take
care of their security, because there are
military operations. And what neither
we nor the world really needs is a
leak from these biolabs -- which
could pose a threat to people.
It was perceived...
I should note that these were not your guesses…
TULSI GABBARD: No.
In any case, this was confirmed publicly: Deputy Secretary
of State Victoria Nuland voluntarily spoke about it in the
Senate, in front of the cameras, answering a question
from Florida Senator Marco Rubio, the current
Republican senator.
TULSI GABBARD: Yes. And this was written on the website
of the Ministry of Defense. It spoke about the long history
of funding these laboratories, not only in Ukraine, but
also in many other countries around the world.
Of course! Because US laws don't apply there! So they
can… And this is clearly research in the field of
biological weapons. But I don't think you said
anything about that. You basically just
repeated what the Undersecretary
of State said in the Senate!
TULSI GABBARD: Yes.
And then a creature like Mitt Romney denounced
you as a traitor to the motherland.
TULSI GABBARD: Yes.
What do you think of him? What's going on, why is he
so committed to lying that he's willing to destroy
your reputation?
TULSI GABBARD: He is part of the neoconservative and
neoliberal establishment in Washington, which poses
an immediate threat to our republic, our democracy,
and our freedom, and because of which I decided
to leave the Democrat Party. Seeing these people
… And yes, I understand that he is a Republican,
but he took the same position as Hillary Clinton
and many other Democrats ----- who don't care
about our country.
That'sit all comes down to. They don't care about our
country. I have asked Mitt Romney to respond, and I
have sent him a legal letter demanding an answer
regarding his allegations — for the very reason
we discussed. After all, I am a serving officer
in the US Army, and what he, as a US
senator, accuses me of is a crime
that is punishable by death. And
if you make such accusations,
as he made --- in the social
network, which was then
called Twitter, you better
back them up with
something!
In general, if you look at it from the outside, it is obvious
that Mitt Romney is emotionally a child. He wasn't
exactly a genius... In general, he is not a genius,
let's just say. And at the same time, within the
framework of our economy, he earned
hundreds of millions of dollars. So
what does this ---- actually tell us
about --- our economy? How can
such a person get so incredibly
rich here? It turns out, that
something is wrong at the
system level, isn't it?
TULSI GABBARD: Yes. Yes. I think there's a whole, huge
one here... This will probably be the subject of my next
book. We are talking about a military industrial
complex, but there is also a corporate
industrial complex.
Definitely.
TULSI GABBARD: I am, of course, for capitalism,
but when you see these monopolies...
Yes, this is not capitalism.
This is not capitalism at all. When you see how many
small businesses are suffering because of excessive
government regulation... And they (TULSI GABBARD:
corporate industrial complex — InoTV) can afford to
allocate millions, tens of millions of dollars to
lobbyists, to provide services to politicians,
so that they, in turn, create loopholes that
would contribute to the prosperity of
their business, while making a large
part of small businesses in our
country a bargaining chip...
Exactly...
TULSI GABBARD: ... and by destroying competition — the
real competition on which capitalism is based, in fact,
real competition in our country. And that's why
people like Mitt Romney have made so much
money here. This is the reason.
He's behaving so shamefully... It's hard to believe that
there really is such a person... but it is there. So how
did he end up reacting to your words?
TULSI GABBARD: He didn't react at all.
His silence was...
He didn't react at all?
TULSI GABBARD:at all — not in terms of responding to
my lawyer, not in terms of responding on Twitter, or
in any other way... Which didn't really surprise me.
How dishonest is this behaviour.
TULSI GABBARD: Yeah, that's right. This is true. This is true... I am so grateful — and I really consider it a
privilege — for the opportunity to serve our
country in uniform. April will be my 21st
year of service. I am grateful for the
opportunity to serve now, as a
company commander - which
allows me to work with the
wonderful representatives
of the American people...
from all over our country
who love it to the core.
The sacrifice is not small — and for those who are on
active duty, and for those who are in reserve. And
we are going to do this for a certain reason...
And it stems from our strong love for our country. And when
such a person makes such accusations... this, of course,
touches a nerve. And it's not just about me... The real
reason I challenged him here is this... When people
like Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton make such
accusations, they call me a "traitor" or a
"Russian agent"or a" Putin puppet."..
this isn't really about me... The
point is in their message to all
military personnel in our
country ------- and to all
Americans in general:
"If you dare to criticize us,
we will deal with you..."
and they do it by destroying
your reputation, so people
will shun you.
Good for Tucker allowing
her a platform... but will
it really help her?
What do you think?
_________________________________
Russian lawmakers call on UN: to hold NATO responsible for
the bombing of Yugoslavia
March 20th, 1:24pm (TASS)
The Russian Federation Council (the upper chamber of the
parliament) adopted the address of the Russian Federal
Assembly (parliament) to the UN, parliaments of the
world, and inter-parliamentary organizations in
regards to the 25th anniversary of the NATO
aggression against Yugoslavia, calling it to
condemn this illegal military operation -
and bring the perpetrators to justice.
"The Chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian
Federation call on the United Nations, international
parliamentary organizations and parliaments of
foreign states to condemn the NATO military
operation against Yugoslavia -- to counter
the attempts to distort the historic truth
about the tragic events of 1999 in the
interest of the collective West ------ to
take measures to bring the NATO
member states to international
legal responsibility for its
aggression against the
Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia," the
address says.
The lawmakers note --- ''that it is necessary to call things as
they are, in this case - ''a blatant violation of international
law," which led to the destabilization of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) --- and
negatively affected relations between European
countries."
The Federation Council and the State Duma, expressed
their deep concerns, over the continued attempts ----- to present the act of aggression against Yugoslavia
as a peacekeeping operation to the international
community ---- to forget the victims of NATO
bombings, and to shift the responsibility
for initiating the wars in the Balkans,
on to the Serbs.
"Between March and June of 1999, NATO member states’
barbaric missile and bomb strikes ------ against civilian
infrastructure - including transportation and energy -
as well as industrial enterprises --- killed over 2,000
Yugoslavian civilians, including dozens of children.
About 2,300 cruise missiles and 14,000 bombs
were dropped on a small sovereign state - in
the middle of Europe," Russian lawmakers
noted.
They also noted that NATO troops used depleted uranium
munitions en masse, which caused irreparable damage
to the environment and caused a rise in cancer cases
in the region. Furthermore, it is still impossible to fully assess the scale of the ecological catastrophe, the document says.
The lawmakers believe that the impunity of NATO strikes
at Yugoslavia created conditions for new force actions
around the world under the guise of fighting "for the
values of ...freedom and democracy."
"The collective West’s conviction of its own impunity - and its
right to decide the fates of other peoples and states - has
led to the nurturing of the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine,
which, after the 2014 coup d’etat, embarked on a
genocidal policy course --- against the Russian
population - and towards imitating an armed
conflict in this country," the document says.
Yes, Clinton was not just a sleazy criminal
at home, but an unrepentent war criminal
abroad ----- what do you think, should be
his fate?
_________________________________________
Ahead of Japan -- how Russia can become -- one of the four largest economiesin the world by 2030
by Vladimir Tsegoev &
Ksenia Chemodanova
March 14th, 6:38pm
(RT.ru)
In January 2024 --- the Russian economy grew by 4.6% at
once, and weekly inflation has gone to zero since March,
President Vladimir Putin said. According to him -- the
observed trends create the basis for fulfilling the
strategic tasks set for the authorities.
Earlier, the head of state announced the launch of five new
national projects: "Family", "Long and active life", "Youth
of Russia", "Personnel" and "Data Economy".
The implementation of these initiatives is expected to help
improve the demographic situation and strengthen the
country's technological sovereignty. In addition,
Vladimir Putin stated the need to bring Russia
from the 5th to the 4th place in the ranking
of the world's largest economies ---
by 2030. Experts also consider
this goal achievable.
Since the beginning of 2024, Russia's economic growth has
accelerated compared to 2023, while the rise in prices of
goods and services in the country, on the contrary, has
slowed down. This was announced on Thursday,
March 14, by President Vladimir Putin at a
meeting with the government.
"Inflation is stabilizing — in February it was 0.7%, in the
first couple of weeks of this month, inflation went to
zero. It is clear that in weekly terms, this is all very
approximate, everything is volatile, but never-
theless it is as it is. The economy grew by
4.6% in January. GDP growth last year
was 3.6%. In general --- it is very
satisfactory, a good indicator,"
Putin said.
According to the Ministry of Economic Development, strong
growth is observed in most industries. For example,
construction work in January increased by 3.9%
in annual terms, the volume of paid services to
the population - by 6.2%, the manufacturing
industry - by 7.5%, and wholesale and
retail trade - by 9.1%. At the same
time, the unemployment rate
fell from 3% to 2.9%.
The observed dynamics give reason to believe that all the
previously announced strategic plans of Russia for the
coming years are feasible, Vladimir Putin believes.
For this purpose, according to the Russian
leader, the country has created a
"fairly stable base".
"Specific goals are set in the field of demography,
healthcare, education, upbringing of children
and youth, and personnel training. Specific
tasks are outlined -- to strengthen the
country's technological sovereignty
and create new digital platforms,
improve the cities, and rural
settlements --- and develop
transport, and other infra-
structure..... We need to
start this immediately"
the Head of state
stressed.
Recall that on February 29, as part of his address to the
Federal Assembly, the president announced the launch
of five new national projects: "Family", "Long and
active life", "Youth of Russia", "Personnel" and
"Data Economy".
These initiatives, are aimed at raising the birth rate and increasing the average life span of Russians,
supporting the younger generation, as well
as combating labour shortages, and
creating digital platforms ------ in key sectors of the economy.
These new national projects have a pronounced social
character - and are mostly designed to help Russia
overcome the demographic crisis. This point of
view was expressed in an interview with RT
by Georgy Ostapkovich, director of the
Centre for Market Research at the
HSE Institute for Statistical
Research and Knowledge
Economics.
"Our population decreases by 500-600 thousand people
every year. Therefore, the main funding in social
programs is directed to demography, fertility,
education.. and healthcare. Human capital
is the foundation --- of economic growth.
A highly competent & healthy person,
of course -- will create innovations,
apply new management schemes,
which will have a positive impact
on the economy," the specialist
explained.
At the same time, along with investments in human capital,
the country's authorities plan to pay special attention to
the development of artificial intelligence in the coming
years. Head of the Ministry of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, said yesterday, today... Russia is already among the top 10 leading countries in terms of computing power ----- and the overall level of AI
implementation in priority areas of the economy --- exceeds 31%.
The technology itself, according to the Minister, makes it
possible to increase labour productivity - by optimizing
processes, reducing costs -- and improving product
quality. This --- in turn --- also helps to solve the
problem of personnel shortages,
Reshetnikov is sure.
"The main thing now ---- is to maintain the trend towards
the introduction( of AI. - RT), to ensure mass use and
replication of the technology in industries. Due to
its scale, this is the government's task," the
head of the Ministry of Energy added.
"Moving forward is inevitable"
In addition to the implementation of five new national
projects - Vladimir Putin previously outlined to the
authorities, another strategic goal for Russia —
to be one of the four largest economies in the
world -- in terms of purchasing power parity
(PPP) - in six years. The government also
considers achieving this goal feasible -
as First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey
Belousov said, at a meeting with
the president.
"The Russian economy ------ ranks fifth in terms of gross
domestic product.. in terms of PPP. Our calculations
show, that Russia can become the 4th economy in
the world, ahead of Japan, provided that growth
remains stable... at least 2% per year, with a
gradual acceleration to 3%, by the end of
the period. In total for the period up to
2030, the country's GDP should be
increased by about 20%,"
Belousov said.
According to him, it is possible to achieve the intended
result ------- at the expense of five mechanisms. These
include... increasing labour productivity, increasing
investment, increasing non-primary exports in the
markets of friendly countries, supporting small
and medium-sized businesses ----- and
developing import substitution.
Let's explain: GDP at purchasing power parity is the total
value of all goods and services produced, calculated by
taking into account differences in the level of prices
and exchange rates in different countries. It is
believed that this indicator better reflects
the real situation in the economy.
"Simply put, the indicator shows how many units of the
same product can be bought in each country for the
same amount, for example, for a dollar. This is a
relative indicator that reflects the availability
of goods and services to the population --
based on their income. Leading world
economists use it to assess the real
picture of the quality of life of the
population" ------ Andrey Loboda,
economist, & communications
director at BitRiver, explained
to RT.
According to the World Bank, from 2016 to 2020, China, the
US, India, Japan and Germany, continuously remained the
5 largest economies in the world in terms of PPP, while
Russia occupied only the sixth line. However, in 2021,
the Russian Federation was able to bypass Germany
and has recently been closing the gap with Japan.
"Today, Russia is the fifth largest country in the world, and
further progress is inevitable. We can indeed become the
4th, but this will depend not only on the growth of our
economy, but also.... on the situation in Japan. If, in
addition to the objectively slowing growth of the
economy in Japan... interest rates also start to
rise, then next year the country can definitely
expect at best stagnation, and at worst — a
recession. Russia needs to take advantage
of this," Loboda said.
If I was a relatively young man,
I would join the increasing
numbers of Westerners
moving to Russia.
What do you think?
_______________________________
Fearful Electioneering ------- Turbo
ChargesWestern Warmongering
March 8th, 2024
(strategic-culture.suEditorial)
Western political leaders, are digging a
deeper hole for their eventual collapse.
Join us on Telegram, Twitter , and VK.
Contact us: info@strategic-culture.su
Western states are facing an acute political crisis,
whereby their established governing parties and
leaders are fighting for survival amid a grave
loss in legitimacy in the eyes of
their electorates.
In the United States, incumbent President Joe Biden
is vying for reelection in November with historically
the lowest poll numbers ever, for an occupant of
the White House.
Meanwhile, across the EU, governing parties and
leaders are braced for a drubbing from the
parliamentary elections in June.
The roots of this unprecedented loss of legitimacy among
Western political establishments are manifold. But surely
one cause is the rank hypocrisy of Western leaders that
has now been laid bare. How can political figures
expect to have any moral authority when they
are seen to be inveterate liars and
shamelessly corrupt?
Western governments and their servile media lecture about
“democracy”, “human rights” --- and upholding “law and
order”. They claim to be motivated by such principles
in their support of Ukraine against alleged Russian
aggression. Yet these same governments - are
complicit in the genocide of Palestinians in
Gaza - through their unwavering support
for the Israeli regime.
Western leaders have been fatally exposed and
compromised by the conflict in Ukraine and
Gaza. The contradiction - is terminal.
That’s not just because of the blatant double standards
& duplicity. Western voters are increasingly disgusted
by the relentless financial and military support
funneled into Ukraine to prop up a scamming
regime comprised of NeoNazi ideologues.
Under Joe Biden - and the incumbent European politicians,
the West has flooded Ukraine with weapons and hundreds
of billions of dollars in what is the biggest war racket ever.
This is while Western populations, workers, farmers, and
businesses are hard-pressed with numerous social and
economic burdens.
Western governing parties are rightly seen as elitist and
serving powerful minority oligarchic interests such as
the military-industrial-corporate-financial nexus.
Their declared vows about democracy are a
contemptible joke.
The war in Ukraine is increasingly understood by voters to
be a disastrous proxy war of choice - that was pushed by
U.S. and Western imperial objectives to confront Russia.
Despite the squandering of public money to propagate the
war, the U.S.-led NATO axis has lost its “great game”. The
proxy war has devastated Ukraine, causing up to 500,000
military deaths in two years, as well as destabilizing the
rest of Europe from increased migration, fiscal impact,
deindustrialization, and the shattering of
agricultural industries.
Western populations are furious with their political leaders
for having inflicted such chaos and waste of resources –
as well as wantonly provoking tensions in international
relations with Russia. Western politicians have pushed
the world to the brink of an all-out war between
nuclear powers. All this crazed folly, is based
on utter lies and deception ---- as the horror
of Gaza and Western complicity illustrates.
In this cauldron of electoral revolt, Western political
leaders are only digging a deeper hole for their
eventual collapse.
US President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address
this week -------- made a disingenuous pitch to voters. He portrayed the world as facing an existential crisis from
Russian “tyranny” and simultaneously claimed the
fate of US democracy was under threat from his
election rival Donald Trump.
In a dangerous, and desperate move, Biden is conflating
Trump with alleged Russian aggression. The Democrat
president is fighting for his political survival against
Republican presumptive nominee Trump primarily
because Biden is so deeply unpopular among
US citizens. To boost his election prospects,
Biden is making out that the country is
facing an “inflection point” - that
requires a rejection of Trump
because he is “bowing
down” to Russia.
Trump and many within the Republican Party
are opposed to continuing the proxy war in
Ukraine, recognizing that it is futile.
Biden and the Democrats, who are more aligned with the
U.S. foreign policy establishment, are therefore trying to
make the election about an existential “defense of
world democracy and peace”.
Biden claimed in his State of the Union address - that if the
U.S. does not supply Ukraine with another $60 billion more
in military aid then Russia will overrun the rest of Europe.
Biden even invoked the memory of Roosevelt
supposedly facing down Nazi Germany
in 1941.
Meanwhile, in Europe, the same warmongering high-stakes
ruse --- is being pushed by French President Emmanuel
Macron. Macron, is calling for the deployment of NATO
ground troops in Ukraine to prevent a Russian victory
and an alleged threat to the rest of Europe.
The French head of state has become almost hysterical in
recent weeks with war talk. He told other French political
leaders this week that there would be “no limits” to
France’s support for Ukraine against Russia.
What’s lying behind Macron’s belligerent rhetoric are his
fears of political defeat --- from opposition parties in the
forthcoming EU parliamentary elections. It is not just
Macron who is anxious. All incumbent European
leaders are dreading an expected widespread
revolt by the electorate.
That is why the French president and his ruling-class ilk
like European Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are
seeking to dominate the public narrative
with war talk and the alleged danger
of Russian expansionism.
The irony is that the more the Western establishments
pursue militarism and war in Ukraine, the worse their
states become from economic mismanagement, and
the more their legitimacy sinks into the gutter. They
are seen more and more as a warmongering clique
that has not a shred of ethical concern because
of their reckless warmongering in Ukraine and
their despicable complicity in the genocide
in Gaza.
Elections in Western states are over-rated. As the saying
goes, if voting changed anything ------ it would have been
banned -- years ago. The array of current opposition
figures and parties facing incumbents is not going
to deliver any solutions to the endemic problems
of Western systemic failure. Nevertheless, the
forthcoming U.S. presidential election and the
European parliamentary ballots are shaping
up to deliver grievous blows of repudiation
to the political establishments.
To offset the political doomsday, charlatan Western leaders
like Biden, Macron, Scholz, and Von der Leyen are doing
their last-ditch best to talk up war with Russia and the
“threat to democracy” -- as a way to burnish their
electioneering efforts. But such cynicism is not
turbocharging their prospects. It will backfire.
The U.S.-led NATO proxy war in Ukraine is facing an
historic debacle.. from defeat. But that makes the
desperate reaction by Western incumbents
scurrying for political survival, a
dangerous time --- in the next
few months.
Break out the popcorn!
Exciting times, I think..
How about you?
___________________________
3 scenarios - for the
future of Ukrainians
March 6th, 6am
(Vesti.ru)
Viktor Medvedchuk, Chairman of the Council of the
Other Ukraine movement, discusses possible
future scenarios for Ukraine, in his column
for the We Are Watching media platform.
"Today, the forecast of the future of Ukrainians is
connected not only with Ukraine, but also with
the future configuration of the entire political
architecture in Europe, the global security
system, and therefore it is extremely
important to make it.''
''At the same time, there is no need to guess on coffee
grounds, because there are economic, military and
social processes that - if properly analyzed - will
give us the most likely result, especially since
there are only three possible scenarios, in
our opinion.''
Ukraine – a military battering ram for Russia
''The scenario when Ukraine becomes for Russia about
the same as Israel for the Arab world, has long been
implemented. Israel maintains a military presence
of the collective West in the Middle East, for
which it receives... generous funding. It is
according to this scheme, that Zelensky
is building the future of Ukraine.''
''The scheme of interaction is quite simple – the West
provides weapons and funding, Ukraine - soldiers
and bridgeheads -- for the offensive. As in the
case of Israel, a complete military takeover
of its neighbours, is not expected. They
just need to create problems, weaken
them and force them to be compliant
with the envoys of the West ---- who
play the role of "good policemen".''
''It is this role that Biden is now hypocritically playing
when he tries to "reason" with the "intractable"
Netanyahu. All this - is nothing more than
a cheap concert - for the public.''
''Zelensky's criminal regime has accepted this scenario, as
the only one and a working one, but the problem is, that it
has confused Ukraine with Israel. The provocateur state
should be much smaller than modern Ukraine, much
smaller, even with the loss of territories today. It's
all about the economy: a huge Ukraine cannot
always be kept on the balance sheet of the
West, it will be rational to have only a few
regions. In this case, Western assistance
will be sufficient -- to fulfill the tasks of
destabilizing the region.''
''Therefore, the loss of territories in this scenario is a natural
process. Zelenskiy needs more soldiers, weapons, and
finances to hold onto vast swathes of Ukraine. In Kiev,
they really believe that the resources of the US and
NATO are unlimited, and they do not understand
why they are given so little. And, in the West,
sober heads understand that the politicians
have miscalculated ---- and that the funds
invested in Zelensky will never pay off.''
''Zelensky acts like a typical post-Soviet rogue manager –
he defended the project, received funding, and doesn't
understand..... why any result is required of him.
Zelensky's task is not to win on the battlefield,
especially not to defend his country, but to
raise money around the world and get
hysterical if they don't give, or don't
give enough.''
''This whole scenario ----- is untenable either economically,
militarily, or politically. Economically, it implies eternal
endless financing by the collective West of Ukraine -
which is simply impossible due to the fact that the
war undermines the economy. In the US, they
realized this ----- and are trying to push the
burden of financing the war onto the EU:
ideally, to incite Germany or France to
attack Russia.''
''But if financing Ukraine, is a heavy burden for the US, then
the EU will not be able to fund it, even if Washington orders
it. The lion's share of the EU's economic growth has been
built on economic cooperation with Russia. Now none of
this is happening, Europe is weakening.... losing its
competitiveness and markets.''
''The situation is even worse militarily. Israel confronts
countries --- that do not have a developed military-
industrial complex, especially nuclear weapons.
And Russia --- has both an advanced military-
industrial complex --- and a modern army.''
"If we are strong with weapons, we will not lose this war.
We will win," Zelensky said, "Because all Putin's steps back, daily steps back, will definitely have a big impact on his society. And then he will think about internal security."
''Such rhetoric has a lot of flaws. First, Zelensky himself, is
taking steps back, since the counteroffensive has turned
into a retreat. Secondly, Russia has its own weapons,
but Ukraine does not, so it is necessary to beg for
them somewhere and have an eternal shortage
of them. And, third, it's time for Zelenskiy to
think about internal security himself --- as
the scandal with his presidential powers
is brewing, mass discontent of the
military and civilians, and his
rating -- is rapidly falling.''
''Politically, Zelenskiy has nothing to offer - but war. Neither
the EU, nor NATO, nor our own people. The 2019 elections
showed that the Ukrainian people do not need a war
president. But Zelensky, did not have the will,
intelligence, or professionalism to become
a president of the world. He understands
---- that any peace will ruin his political
career. And any war - ends in peace.''
Ukraine – part of Russia
''This scenario is also already being implemented - and
successfully. A fifth of Ukrainian lands went under the control of the Russian Federation. In 2021 I wrote about this --- warning Zelensky, who did not heed the advice:
"The very policy of a mono-national state implies the
surrender of citizens and territories. The policy of
a mono-national state, cannot achieve the main
goal, both at the current stage of the country's
development and at future stages, namely, to
"stitch" the country around a common idea,
to return regions.. that were not controlled
by official Kiev -------- to convince (Russian
speaking) residents that Ukraine is their
home and they are welcome here. And
in no way - is the construction of a
mono-national state with militant
Ukrainization, capable of
returning Donbass to
Ukraine, or Ukraine
to Donbass."
''Even then, it was clear that Zelensky would not return any
territories, and he would still lose a lot of territories. But
the loss of territories is an optimistic scenario for him,
and a more realistic one --- is the complete and
irrevocable loss of statehood.''
"As for the behaviour of this Kiev clique," Dmitry Medvedev
said recently, "at least, this is short-sighted, because they
simply alienate some people, even those who were loyal
to their government until recently. This looks monstrous
--- because we are talking about countering the entire
Russian culture --- and our common path. They are
demolishing monuments, and we did not even
think of such a thing! Ukrainians -- with the
exception of outright Nazis and Bandera
members -- have always been treated
with respect, in our country. I'm not
even talking about the classics:
Shevchenko, Lesya Ukrainka,
or Gogol, who is one of the
outstanding Russian &
Ukrainian writers."
''And no matter what Western propaganda claims, the
Ukrainians in the new territories made their choice
in favour of Russia. The West accuses Russia
of aggression, but it is in Russia that most
Ukrainian citizens seek salvation.''
''They are driven to Russia by the insane and criminal
policies of the Zelensky regime, but once they
become Russian citizens, they may well
return home, because then they will
not be threatened by this regime.''
''Therefore, if Ukraine ceases to exist on the map, it will
be primarily the merit of Zelensky and his pack, who
surrendered the interests of their country long
before the fighting --- and continue to move
unrestrainedly, in this direction.''
Last chance for Ukraine
''Russia constantly gives Ukraine a chance to survive as a
state. So, the Permanent Representative of the Russian
Federation, Vasily Nebenzia, at a meeting of the UN
Security Council said: "I want to emphasize that
it is still possible to preserve Ukraine in some
form, but -- it should be a peaceful, neutral
Ukraine, where there is no discrimination
and Russophobia, where Nazi criminals
are not glorified and from which there
is no threat to Russia. It is precisely
to achieve these goals - that our
SVO is directed."
"It is precisely to achieve these goals, that the goals of our special military operation are aimed," the diplomat continued.
''Therefore, the choice is up to the collective West ---- whether we will need to fight to the end, or common sense will prevail in Washington, London and Brussels and at least they will try to save something from Ukraine.''
''Any conflict ends --- sooner or later. The same thing, we
are sure, awaits the conflict in Ukraine. Of course, the
longer it drags on, because of Kiev's Western policy,
the more unfavorable the peace conditions will be - for Ukraine."
''Before that, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an
interview with Tucker Carlson, said that Zelensky
may well talk about peace with him. And what
about Zelensky? He said it was impossible.
He foolishly failed to realize that he was
crossing out the possibility --- not of
negotiating with Russia --- but
Ukrainian statehood itself.''
''Russia will not tolerate a Nazi state on its borders.
And Zelensky's ethnicity will not cover up the
Nazi nature of his regime.''
''Ukraine - still has a chance to preserve its statehood, but
then it should stop clinging to Nazism, Russophobia, and
military hysteria and focus on improving the well-being
of its citizens. Ukrainian statehood, the rule of law,
the social sphere, and governance will have to be
built again, but the current Ukrainian elite is not
capable of this. These traitors to their people,
corrupt officials, self-appointed Fuhrers and
politicians --- have no place in the future.
They have only one way --- a suitcase,
a train station, the West --- out of
the country they have betrayed."
Chairman of the Council of the
Other Ukraine Movement,
Viktor Medvedchuk.
This is a discussion for the Ukrainians.
________________________
Tyranny !
by Bouthaina Shaaban
February 28th, 2:01pm
Source: Al Mayadeen English
What has brought the world today to an unprecedented
level of tyranny - is the support provided by Western
countries to terrorist killers ---- engaged in daily
genocide against innocent civilians in Gaza.
The major mistake humanity committed in the modern era,
is its failure to dedicate the necessary time and effort - to
uncover the injustices committed by the white man in the
West against indigenous peoples. It failed to chronicle a
true and precise history of the genocide, torture, siege,
plunder of wealth, and development of weapons of
mass destruction, and genocide ----- perpetrated
against the peoples in colonies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
It also failed to document the destruction of peoples'
cultures and the employment of media to distort
realities --- brainwash minds --- and undermine
human values ---- especially through burying
indigenous languages, and replacing them
with a colonial language that still stands
as the ''official language'' ------- of the
inhabitants of former colonies.
Some inhabitants of these colonies now even glorify the
West, praising the civilization built upon the skulls of
their own children and the museums enriched with
looted artifacts from these colonies, not to
mention the stolen wealth used to
construct the colonizers' home-
lands, while keeping the
plundered peoples in
abject poverty.....
for centuries.
These crimes have been a source of controversy and
debate.. among the inhabitants of the colonies for
centuries: some ----- have become mentally and
morally subservient to the colonizer, initially
out of fear --- and later, out of habit.
Some people from former colonies defend the colonizers
and think they are vital to their very existence - while
others rebel against the entire colonial legacy but
often without a substantial or valuable action
against this legacy, thus failing to form
a national and - consequently -
an international stance
to be reckoned with.
These could be some of the reasons... why the true
significance of countries - has not been decisively
settled on the historical, human and ethical map.
Fear, silence --- and the fluctuating poverty of
oppressed peoples under Western tyranny
--- could be some of the reasons, for the
failure to reach a definitive resolution
on this matter.
What has brought the world today - to an unprecedented
level of tyranny ------ is the support provided by Western
countries to terrorist killers engaged in daily genocide
for the past five months against innocent civilians in
Gaza and Palestine in general. All is happening
before the eyes of a world.. claiming to be
civilized. Yet ---- we have not witnessed
a revolution in public opinion ---- or
a sincere and resolute action ----
against these horrifying crimes.
We do not even witness a statement befitting the horror of
what is happening, except for Yemen, which we all take
pride in, as the origin of Arab identity, proving with
merit --- that it deserves to be the origin, root,
and stronghold, of the Arabs.
After five months of the West waging a genocidal war
against the innocent people of the besieged Strip,
after the martyrdom of around 30,000 people ---
mostly women and children - the displacement
of over a million people - and the perpetration
of heinous massacres -- against doctors and
journalists, & after all the inhuman actions
of trees uprooting, animals shooting, food
targeting - and attacks on organizations,
once called humanitarian - to make the
population die of hunger, the genocide
continues falling... on the deaf ears
of the entire world ---- completely
disregarding what is happening
to its fellow human beings.
The United States and its Western allies, persist in sending
billions of various lethal weapons to empower their Zionist
tools, to continue perpetrating this gruesome genocide ---
unparalleled in history, at least in the past four centuries.
Others in the East, South, West, and everywhere ---- believe
they are safe and secure from what is happening, unaware
that this disregard for humanity, applies to all of them,
albeit at different times and moments.
The people of Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq - are not
only defending Palestine and the safety of Palestinians, but
are also defending a world they envision free from Western
colonial oppression. They stand against Western tyranny
that has wreaked havoc on all our colonized nations,
adjusting its tools without changing its objectives,
targeting us, belittling us, and collectively killing
us ----- whenever its interests demand this.
Residents of the colonies expressing admiration for
what the West has accomplished for its people
should remember that this achievement was
built on the skulls of their own children and
the plundering of their own resources.
The West treats its people in a completely different way,
and others will never be treated in the same way. The
most significant evidence of this, is the immigrants
from the Arab Maghreb in France --- who are now
the second and third generations; nevertheless,
they still remain second or third-class citizens
and have not been and will not be granted
the status of the white European.
However, the aggression on Gaza - reveals something even
more perilous to humanity: the United States - holds the international arena in its grip ------- punishing whom it chooses ----- compelling other nations to mete out punishments ------- severing ties with those it disapproves of and trying to force others -- -to adhere to its categorization of
good, evil, terrorism, and more.
If anyone attempts to issue any resolution in the Security
Council to restore justice - a US veto is used to stop that. The most alarming revelation of this aggression, is that
the US, along with Britain, France, and Germany have seized the international will, subjugated it, and
turned all nations into slaves - following the
dictates of the US administration - which
openly declares its active participation
in a war of extermination while hiding
behind their dual fear: fear of taking
action ...and fear of inaction.
However, this silence and clinical death of any international
movement against unprecedented tyranny, in our modern
era, turn everyone into powerless slaves, incapable of
doing anything. All they do... is bow their heads to
avert the impending disaster that might befall
them... in the next round.
In this context and analysis, the only true free individuals
today are those resisting Western tyranny. They protest
against it in the West, raising their voices against
Western broadcasters, telling them, "Shame
on you!, stop the war of extermination!,
free Palestine!."
Even though the police silence them, and force them out
of the room handcuffed, allowing the host to resume the
dialogue with himself, there is no doubt that all viewers
know this is the truth;- their consciences are stirred,
and they cannot remain passive, when they realize
that the killing of every innocent Palestinian child
and woman is a violation of their human dignity,
warning them - that they might face the same
fate - if they dare to express their opinions.
Therefore, their complete silence tightens the grip
of tyranny around their necks, rendering them
powerless and helpless slaves.... in any
matter they are about to undertake.
From this perspective, supporting Palestine today is the
essential first step toward confronting the political
tyrannical system --- enabled by the prevalent
influence of Western intelligence agencies
in the West --- which currently control the
media, political parties, parliaments,
and politicians in the West.
Challenging - the slavery imposed by
this oppressive Western system on
humanity as a whole - represents
the most significant liberation
battle humanity faces, in
the 21st century.
People must either choose freedom and be prepared to bear
its costs or remain under the yoke of Western tyrants like
Netanyahu and Biden, subject to any blow the tyrants
decide to direct to them. Undoubtedly, the outcome
of this battle will be significant for all. Will the
major world powers continue to keep silent
toward Western tyranny and tremble in
fear, or will they hasten to stand on
the right side of history as some
leaders who have learned the
lesson -- like the Colombian,
Bolivian, Venezuelan, and
Brazilian presidents?
It is not only their responsibility toward themselves,
or even just toward their countries but their crucial
and definite responsibility toward the future of
humanity and the future of this universe that
God entrusted us with as His stewards on
earth. Will we prove ourselves worthy
of this responsibility?
The opinions mentioned in this article
do not necessarily reflect the opinion
of Al mayadeen, but, rather, express
the opinion of its writer exclusively.
But they do reflect my opinion -
and I hope, pray ------ and have
Faith, that countless millions
will be moved to act...
don't you think?
________________________________
Proletären: Sweden was dragged into NATO
to force it -to serve Washington's interests
February 28th, 2024
(source - Proletären
retelling by InoTV)
After Sweden's accession to NATO, the more than two-
hundred-year-old principle of Swedish non-alignment
with military blocs will be buried. Not once since
the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and
three years later, King Charles XIV Johan,
declared his intention to prevent Sweden
from participating in the war --- has the
Northern European country officially
entered into military pacts.
Back in March 2022, the then Prime Minister. Magdalena
Andersson, was convinced that Sweden's long-standing
policy of non-alignment had served Sweden well for
two centuries. However, just over 2 months later,
she and the Social Democrats ' party council
changed their minds and applied for the
kingdom's membership -- in the North
Atlantic Alliance, Proletären recalls.
"It should be borne in mind that NATO is a nuclear-armed
alliance," Magdalena Andersson said, in an interview in
March 2022. Since then, people have been talking
about it... more quietly.
At the behest of Commander-in-Chief Mikael Bueden, the
current Swedish government, even began to oppose the
possible deployment of nuclear weapons... on Swedish
soil. At the same time as NATO members, neighboring Norway and Denmark, have reservations against the
deployment of nuclear weapons on their territory in
peacetime. Membership in NATO also precludes
the possibility of being an international voice
for nuclear disarmament, as Sweden has
not ratified the UN resolution banning
nuclear weapons -------- under
US pressure.
In the Swedish media NATO is called a "defensive alliance",
although the organization itself does not declare this. The
NATO bloc's website describes it as a " political and
military alliance."
This military alliance, among other things, bombed Libya and Afghanistan - two countries that did not attack any
NATO countries, and in the destruction of which -----
Sweden participated.
It was NATO - that turned Libya into one big mess - and a
mecca for slave traders and smugglers. As a member of
NATO, Sweden will be forced to participate in US wars
..which will not necessarily take place in the Baltic
Sea, the author of the article notes.
China, not Russia, is the US's main rival. As a member
of NATO, Sweden will be forced -- to send its soldiers
around the world to fight for US economic interests.
NATO is essentially the US's military tool to maintain its
position at the top of the global capitalist system. The
enemies of NATO are the enemies of the US that do
not want to submit to Washington, such as Iran
and North Korea. Resource-rich China and
Russia will not be left alone even when
these powers try to cooperate with
the United States.
The United States and NATO - spare no effort to impose
their will and consider themselves above international
law. The only people in Sweden.. who benefit from
NATO membership are US-oriented capitalists,
and above all, arms manufacturers led by
SAAB ------- under the leadership of the
Wallenberg family. SAAB shares rose
significantly on the stock market,
after the so-called debate on
Sweden's accession to
NATO began.
However, there was no real debate. Last but not least,
the state-run Swedish TV and radio broadcaster....
bears a huge responsibility for the poor-quality
and one-sided journalism that has flooded
the public's minds since the Nordic
country joined NATO.
Only now, in the run-up to Sweden's final membership
in NATO, articles began to appear warning about the
consequences of such a decision, but in just over a
year --- the propaganda storm was so strong that, to the delight of the Swedish military-industrial
complex --- no counterarguments were heard
in the leading Swedish media. As a result,
all Swedes who want to live in peace -
and not send the younger generation
to fight for the United States - are
at a loss, Proletären concludes.
Sweden's convenient ''neutrality''
..disguised their vital role in
supplying high-end optics
and other material - for
Hitler's nazi regime.
Better that the Swedes now show
and know their true position - as
armaments manufacturers for
hatred, pain and conquest.
What do you think?
_________________________________
Amid chaos of war, Israeli soldiers
steal everything - from jewelry
to rugs -in Gaza
by Maryam Qarehgozlou
February 27th, 12:52pm
(PressTV)
People frantically search through the rubble, their faces
streaked with tears and dust, each of them driven by
desperation and hope, calling out the names of
their loved ones amid the chaos of death
and destruction left behind by the
Israeli genocidal campaign.
With every piece of debris lifted - there is a mix of fear
and anticipation, praying for a sign of life beneath the
devastation. It’s a race against time, fueled by love
and anguish, as grief-stricken families cling to the
possibility of finding their missing relatives alive.
On Thursday night, the Yaghi family was having their last
cup of tea when the Israeli forces razed down their
house and four other buildings with two airstrikes
in Deir Al Balah in central Gaza, reports said.
Nearly 40 people were sheltering in the house before the
bombs rained down and 15 were believed to have been
trapped under the rubble. The other members of the
family kept searching through the rubble of where
their house once stood... but to no avail.
“We were all fasting. I stepped into that room, the house
was full and there was no space, I sat by the wall and
placed my three-year-old nephew on my lap, a
second later I heard a loud explosion, and we
were all flown up in the air, then the roof
collapsed and all went black,” Shaza
Yaghi was quoted as saying by Al
Jazeera, as she recounted her
heart-wrenching ordeal.
“While searching, I came across a child’s severed body
part, his leg, which seemed to be my nephew’s, then
I found parts of his brain all blown out… that white
bag over there is full of the body parts and body
organs we found after the explosion.”
Images coming out of the bruised and bleeding territory
each day show children and adults alike combing
through the ruins of their houses, looking for
their belongings and missing loved ones.
The situation in Gaza is “shocking and desperate”
according to the UN, with nearly 30,000
Palestinians killed and almost the
entire population of 2.3 million
people displaced and
starving.
On the other hand, the Israeli soldiers shamelessly
flaunt their diabolic crimes and share them on
social media platforms. This genocide in
Gaza is quite literally unfolding -
in real-time.
Vandalizing and looting
Videos from Israeli soldiers’ social media accounts show
them blowing up and demolishing buildings, vandalizing
and looting homes, and raising Israeli regime flags over those ruins.
Looting and vandalizing houses, whose occupants have
been forced to abandon all their belongings, has
become a common practice since October 7.
It happened in previous Israeli wars on
Gaza as well --- but this time --- the
looters have been publicizing
it themselves.
In November, Palestinian singer, Hamada Nasrallah,
shared a photo of an Israeli regime soldier playing
the guitar he said his late father bought for him
15 years ago.
“I was shocked today when I saw this TikTok video of
a [Israeli] soldier playing guitar in the midst of the
rubble in Gaza. I know this guitar very well
because there are not many guitars like
this in Gaza. My dad --- gifted me this
guitar 15 years ago,” he remarked.
“Isn’t it enough that they take away our loved ones,
our homes, our families, and even our music and
memories? Where does the injustice stop?”
Earlier this month, Sultan Abu Tair, a renowned
Palestinian journalist and humanitarian - also
shared a video of an Israeli soldier bragging
about looting Palestinian homes and
stealing expensive watches --- in
Rimal neighbourhood, west
of Gaza City.
Another post on social media showed an Israeli
soldier taking out someone’s collection of
soccer shirts from a bag.
There are many other videos posted on social
media in recent months that show Israeli
soldiers ransacking homes and stealing
everything from clothes, cosmetics,
rugs, groceries, and jewelry.
Israeli forces systematically steal,
loot Palestinians' belongings in
Gaza: Rights group
A rights group says Israeli forces are
conducting a systematic looting
of Palestinians.
Erasure and extermination
There are also videos of Israeli soldiers singing
genocidal songs, planting flags in Gaza,
smashing up toy shops, looting
houses - and having dance
parties atop the rubble.
“The masses can see it is about erasure and
extermination, not safety and security,”
Palestinian-US poet, Remi Kanazi ,
wrote --- in a post on X,
formerly Twitter.
The Israeli media has also been normalizing these
acts and uncritically reporting about the looting
and stealing of Palestinian homes, by
Israeli soldiers.
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, recently featured
soldiers who presented reporter Uri Levy with a
mirror they had brought back from Gaza.
“It has a name: it’s called looting, and it’s also prohibited
according to [military] law. This is what a morally
bankrupt country looks like. Here.... it’s just a
mirror, here, it’s just evidence of execution and just evidence of abuse......... in The Hague just waiting,” said Mistaclim,
an Israeli rights group.
While the Israeli military has said in a statement that
looting Palestinian property by soldiers is unlawful,
there is a special unit in the military itself
dedicated to seizing money and other
property found on the battlefield.
In late December, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor
reported several cases - in which Israeli troops took
part in or witnessed the deliberate theft of assets
and money from Palestinian civilians, including
items like computers, jewelry, and large
amounts of cash.
The rights group estimated that the Israeli military
may have stolen valuables worth tens of millions
of dollars since the events of October 7.
“Many residents reported that Israeli soldiers took their
belongings, others saw their belongings with Israeli
soldiers on TikTok,” Maha Hussaini.... director of
strategies at Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor
and a Palestinian journalist based in Gaza,
was quoted as saying by media.
In addition to looting Palestinians’ belongings, footage
circulating on social media - also shows Israeli
soldiers using Gaza’s abandoned homes to
cook and eat the food they find there.
“In every house, you’ll find a lot of ras el hanout style
mixes. There are also plenty of lentils, so at first,
we made a lot of stews …. Every house we
stayed in had olives that [Palestinians]
make, which we tasted…” one Israeli
soldier cited in an article published
by Haaretz on February 13.
“Olive oil is also present in every home, in gallons, and it
helps a lot to upgrade any food. They also have a great
spicy sauce.”
In a letter published by the military rabbinate last month,
soldiers were instructed on how to keep kosher when
using food and utensils found in homes in Gaza. The
letter, signed by Rabbi Avishai Peretz ended with
the biblical directive: “And you shall eat the
riches of all the nations.”
Famine and siege
However, after four and a half months of Israeli siege,
famine is taking a heavy toll on everyone in Gaza.
Gaza’s ability to produce its food has been decimated by
Israeli bombs, agriculture is in ruins, fertile lands are
neglected, poultry and livestock... have been
destroyed, and the limited international
aid.. can barely meet the needs of a
hungry population, or prevent the
situation... from deteriorating
further.
According to the figures from the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at
least half a million people are facing famine
while nearly the entire population of Gaza
is experiencing an acute food shortage.
In a statement last week, the world body warned of
an “explosion” in child deaths due to a lack of food
and water in the besieged territory.
Some pro-Palestine activists say that Israeli soldiers’
videos on social media can’t be distinguished from
dehumanizing comments made by Israeli regime
politicians during the war.
Since October 7th, Israeli officials have, repeatedly,
made dehumanizing statements about Palestinians.
Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israeli military,
said early on that the Air Force will emphasize
“maximum damage, not accuracy.”
Israel’s minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant said
that Israel --- will treat Palestinians as “animals,”
and the president of the regime Isaac Herzog
denied the existence of any innocent
Palestinian civilians.
“The rhetoric from the top, which explicitly aims to
legitimize civilian death in Gaza, spurs such
violent actions on the ground,” Mina
Zahed, a lawyer and social media
activist, told Press TV Website.
“When Israeli officials refer to all Gazans as
“human animals,” it is no wonder that the
soldiers in the field see all Palestinians
as targets.”
What - in your heart -
do YOU feel?
Want to know more, before you do
anything - like protest to your
Western Zionist legislator?
___________________________________
Czech farmers accused
of being 'pro-Russian'
Tuesday, February 20th, 2024
(Source: InfoBrics)
The anti-Russian sentiments of European leaders ----- are
preventing them from acting rationally in the face of the
current wave... of protests across the continent. In a
recent statement -- the Czech Prime Minister, Peter
Fiala accused the protesters of being "supporters
of Moscow", discrediting the farmers' claims by
associating them with an "enemy" of the EU.
Fiala made his statement --- when the demonstrations reached
their peak - in the Czech Republic. On February 19th, hundreds
of tractors blocked the main streets of Prague, interrupting
traffic in the areas around the Ministry of Agriculture. The
protests come amid a "peasant uprising" in Europe, with
rural workers demanding an end to the import of
Ukrainian grains and a review of the EU's
"green policies".
Reacting to pressure from the peasants, Fiala made a publication on his account on X (formerly Twitter)
stating that the protesters do not really aim to
protect the interests of farmers. According to him the protesters are mere "Kremlin
supporters" --- and aim to destabilize
Europe to favour Russian interests,
with agriculture being a mere
excuse ---- to call for
demonstrations.
According to the Czech leader -- the local government is
already in dialogue with the farmers to try to meet their
interests. He however, denies that the protesters have
links with labour organizations and rural unions, thus
delegitimizing the protests. Fiala claims that Prague
constantly seeks to protect the "real" interests of
farmers, but claims that the protesters have
nothing to do with such interests, being
just pro-Russian rioters.. who
"complicate" the lives of
other Czech citizens.
"Today's demonstration - has little to do with the fight for
better conditions for farmers. The demonstration ------ is
organized by people who for example, do not hide their
support for the Kremlin, & pursue goals other than the
interests of farmers. The government is continuously
talking to everyone who is interested in dialogue.
That is why we are able to find good solutions.
We have done this many times, over the past
two years. Unfortunately.... the organizers of
today's demonstrations are not among those
who care about improving the quality of life
in our country --- and its prosperity. It also,
shows their progress, which complicates
the lives of the citizens of the capital -
and will not bring any solutions to
the real problems of Czech
farmers," he said.
One of Fiala's main arguments against the legitimacy of the
demonstrations is the lack of participation of the country's
main farmers' organizations, such as the Agrarian
Chamber, the Agricultural Union, and the
Association of Private Agriculture.
However, Fiala ignored the fact - that these same groups,
although absent in the protests on the 19th, announced
that they will launch their own demonstration against
the EU's green policies, scheduled for the 22nd.
Therefore, Fiala's argument seems invalid,
since official rural organizations share
the same interests --- as the
autonomous protesters.
In fact - dissatisfaction with the direction of European
agriculture, is a widespread phenomenon. There are
protests across the entire continent, from the most
western countries, such as France and Spain, to
the most eastern ones, such as Poland and the
Baltics. European rural workers are some of
the most affected by the EU's irresponsible
policies in support of Ukraine.
As well known, European states have maintained since
2022 a policy of systematic import of Ukrainian grains.
With the aim of supporting Kiev economically, these
countries began to massively buy cheap Ukrainian
agricultural products and thus stopped promoting
their own domestic agribusinesses, culminating
in a major social crisis.
With Ukraine being one of the most fertile and productive
countries in the world, Western European nations are
unable to compete in the agricultural market with
Kiev, which is why European rural workers are
going bankrupt. In this sense, the demand
for an end to the import of Ukrainian
products - is a basic need for
European peasants.
In the same sense, the end of green policies is vital for
European agricultural production to be viable. Facing
several economic problems and low productivity,
European farmers depend on government aid to
pay for the production and transportation of
grains. However, the EU imposes a radical
environmentalist ideological agenda and
makes its rural producers "pay the bill"
for global warming ----- making
agribusiness unworkable.
Therefore, workers' demands seem fair and natural.
Farmers are fighting for their rights and for better
living and working conditions. There is no
evidence that such workers are truly
"pro-Russian".
If there are feelings of sympathy for Russia among them,
these naturally follow from their rejection of the EU's
anti-Russian ideology, which is directly responsible
for the losses suffered by them.
As long as European leaders are more concerned with
accusing protesters than solving their problems,
the crisis will continue to worsen.
By Lucas Leiroz - journalist, researcher
at the Centre for Geostrategic Studies,
and geopolitical consultant.
You can follow Lucas
on X and Telegram.
Can't wait until the Czechs throw out their miserable creepy, warmongering sneaky government.
Sweden's membership in NATO, does not mean that the
Swedish people.. will be protected by the forces of the
so-called defensive alliance in the event of an attack
on the kingdom's territory, but that Sweden is
expected to actively participate.. in US
military expansions around the world
- and this is now clearer than ever
before, according to Proletären.
The Swedish government recently said it wants to accept
the US request that Sweden become part of the so-called
Operation Guardian of Prosperity.
The so-called Guardians of Prosperity is a coalition of
US allies formed after Yemeni Houthi rebels launched
attacks on Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea to stop
Israel's genocide in the Gaza Strip, the
author explains.
In an interview with Aftonbladet, a former fighter pilot and
lieutenant colonel in the Swedish Armed Forces, Robert
Carmel - makes it clear exactly what NATO membership
really means. Merkel is convinced that despite the very
high risks of a military operation in the Red Sea from a
purely military point of view, Sweden no longer has
a choice - when they are called to help the US.
"Previously, we were able to adapt our military efforts
according to our capabilities and the risk that we
were willing to take. It's a completely different
game now. It will be a rude awakening. There
are expectations that something should be
done, even if you are not able to do it or
you don't want to do it," said Robert
Karyel, who cited the example of
Poland and the Baltic states ---
when they first became new
members of NATO.
According to him, the new US allies in the bloc had to send
their troops to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to show their
"reliability". However, these wars were not at the top of
their agenda or did not seem to be something urgent.
In addition, Polish and Baltic military personnel
were sent to the worst provinces, and they
suffered losses - exceeding the US ones.
Nevertheless ---- the Swedish media remained completely
silent -- about the consequences of Sweden's accession
to the alliance. In a government propaganda broadcast,
Swedish Radio columnist, Mats Eriksson, says he
takes Foreign Minister, Tobias Bilstrom, at his
word --- as to why the government wants to
involve Sweden in the Red Sea operation.
The Swedish Foreign Minister said that the main task of
the military operation is to protect civilian shipping
from Houthi attacks, "which threaten to disrupt
vital parts of supply chains --- and vital
components of world trade."
And this is also true on an even more fundamental level,
Proletären notes. The US military operation is aimed at
protecting trade profits in the US-dominated world
order, to which Sweden has finally tied itself by
joining NATO. In fact, that is why NATO exists
at all -- to protect the special position of the
US in world capitalism - by military means.
We share a common responsibility with our partner
countries, says the minister, while Mats Eriksson
speaks of the government's desire to show
"solidarity" with our neighboring countries
and with the United States.
According to the author of the article, such words only
desecrate the beautiful word "solidarity", and it is the
Houthis who actually show solidarity with the
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip when they put
pressure on imperialist countries by
attacking Israeli ships and landing
on them in the Red Sea.
This is the exact opposite of why Sweden wants to send
its military to the area to protect threatened ships.
It turns out that Sweden shows "solidarity" with US imperialism and, consequently, also with the
genocide of the Palestinians by Israel ---
which acts as a watchdog of Western
imperialism.... in a region that the
Western powers do not trust.
This was the original plan on the part of the British
imperialists when they withdrew from Palestine,
and so it is with Britain's successors as the
world's largest and most bloodthirsty
empire, the US. The stated
"solidarity" is actually a
rallying cry for white
supremacy and the
right of the fittest.
Military operations like "Guardian of Prosperity"
are mainly aimed at maintaining the dying
unipolar world order, which most of
the world, the Global South,
no longer supports.
In this situation, Sweden is betting on a side that is
clearly in decline, with a public debt of $34 trillion,
led by an increasingly deranged president, who
confused Mitterrand with Macron last week -
and forgot which country is located on the
Red Sea, Mexico ------- or Egypt, sums
up Proletären.
Come on. dear Swedish people - the world begs you to turn back to the good, again.
Your leaders are either fools or corrupt knaves who would not let you vote on this and bet --- on your acquiescence.
What do you think?
Come on ----- Show us all!
_____________________________________
"McGregor - to the Pentagon":
Trump is already assembling
a team of proven people
February 14th, 2024
(source: The Washington Post
retold by InoTV)
Donald Trump and his advisers spoke with former
Congressman Tulsi Gabbard, an outspoken critic
of U.S. aid to Ukraine and military interventions
around the world. The topic of the talks was
American foreign policy.... and plans for
changes in ''the management'' of the
US Department of Defense, during
Trump's second presidential term
- The Washington Post reports,
citing sources.
Gabbard has been criticized by former Democratic Party
members and some Republicans for her isolationist
views, but, in recent years, she has become
something of a favorite among far-
right Republicans.
This time around, Trump is determined to recruit
employees ------- who share his views, 100%.
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly said that one of
his biggest blunders during his first presidential term
was recruiting staff at the Pentagon --- because of
officials whose opinions often "baffled him."
During his presidency, Trump replaced several defense
ministers and national security advisers, and these
resignations were accompanied by high-profile
scandals. Trump has drawn lessons from the
past and is determined... to increase the
number of his people in the Pentagon.
Among former US presidential administration officials, the
biggest concern is that Trump will try to appoint Douglas McGregor as the top Pentagon official. In addition, long -time Trump adviser, David Urban said, that ------- in the second term of his patron in the presidential
chair, "there will be a reduction in America's
foreign obligations" to NATO. According to
the official, when Trump was in power, he "constantly" raised the issue of
withdrawing American troops...
from Germany, South Korea,
Africa and closing all the
country's embassies
there -- writes The
Washington Post.
What do you think? Dangerous egoist
--- or the US and its people's saviour?
______________________________________
Medvedev predicts Apocalypse
in event of Russia-NATOwar
February 7th, 8:35am (TASS)
In the event of a war with NATO, Russia would have
to "respond asymmetrically" and use missiles
"with special warheads," Russian Security
Council Deputy Chairman, Dmitry
Medvedev, said, on his
Telegram channel.
He noted that, "if, God forbid, such a war happens, it will not
follow the scenario of the special military operation" and
it "won’t be waged in trenches with the use of artillery,
armour, drones and means of radio-electronic warfare."
"NATO is a huge military bloc --- the population of the
countries of the alliance is almost one billion people
and their joint military budget may reach one and
a half trillion dollars," Medvedev explained.
"Therefore, due to the incommensurability of our
[respective] military potential, we simply won’t
have a choice. The response ------ will be
asymmetrical. In order to protect the
territorial integrity of our country,
ballistic and cruise missiles with
special warheads (nuclear arms
- TASS). will be used.''
''This is based on our military doctrine documents and is well-known to everyone. And this is
precisely the proverbial Apocalypse. The end ---- of everything,"
Medvedev stressed.
So far, according to him, "all the big European bosses
are cynically lying to their citizens" by reiterating the
necessity to be ready "for a war with Russia."
"And while Russia has, repeatedly, spoken about the
absence of any plans for a conflict with NATO and
the EU countries, highly dangerous chatter on
the subject continues," Medvedev stated.
He asserted that its causes are obvious. "It is necessary to
distract voters, in order to justify multi-billion spending on
Banderovite ‘Ukraine’ that everyone has gotten sick of.
Since gigantic sums of money are being spent, not on
resolving social issues in these countries, but on a
war in a dying country which is alien to taxpayers
...with its population scattered all over Europe
terrorizing local residents.''
''This is why, every day the leaders of these countries are sermonizing, that it is necessary to get ready for a war
with Russia & continue to help Ukraine, which means
producing more tanks, shells, drones and other
weapons," the deputy chairman of the
Russian Security Council said.
He concluded that European leaders "should tell the bitter
truth to their voters instead of treating them as brainless
idiots. They should explain to them --- what will really
happen, instead of repeating the deceitful mantra
about readiness for a war with Russia,"
Medvedev concluded.
Paralised with fear? You should be!
Don't you think?
__________________________________________
Global Times: people are told
that NATO is a shield,but
it is, in fact,a sword
February 2nd, 2024
(source: Global Times
retold by InoTV)
The current NATO exercise Steadfast Defender 2024 is far
from harmless --- and cannot be called just a game, the
Global Times is sure. It would be more accurate to
call them a rehearsal and even, to a certain
extent, a provocation, given the ongoing
Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
The publication warns that, for Moscow, these largest
exercises of the bloc since the end of the Cold War
may look as if NATO is deliberately teasing the
Russian bear. The exercise, which will last
until May 31, involves 31 armies of the
bloc's member countries --- plus
90 thousand Swedish troops.
Meanwhile, they are facing a very real and extremely
dangerous armed conflict between the forces of
Russia and Ukraine.
That is why the NATO leadership must take into account
the risks of possible escalation in order to make sure
that their imaginary exercises will not lead to real
clashes, GT emphasizes. After all, the alliance is
already indirectly involved in this conflict ----
through its support for Ukraine.
Moreover, the statements of representatives of the bloc
openly state --- that the purpose of the exercises is to
test the ability to --- "quickly deploy forces from North
America & other parts of the alliance to strengthen
the defense of Europe." In other words, this is nothing more than preparation for a potential open war with Russia -- the publication is sure.
It seems that Western politicians and military leaders are
increasingly thinking about this and do not hesitate to
openly talk about such topics. The British Defense
Secretary, Grant Shapps, made a dire prediction
- that his country could go to war with Russia,
China, North Korea & Iran within five years.
German Defense Minister Pistorius gave a term of five to eight years.
Estonian Prime Minister, Kaya Kallas, also said that Europe
should prepare for any threat from Russia and it has about
five years to do so. And the British General Sir Patrick
Sanders last year ---- called on British troops to prepare to defeat Russia "in battle".
Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, who heads the NATO military
committee, acknowledged that a conflict with Russia
would require the mobilization of a large number of
civilians. And the commander-in-Chief of the
Swedish Armed Forces, Mikael Biden,
directly advised the Swedes to
mentally prepare for war.
The head of the Norwegian armed forces warned: "The
people of Norway - must think about their readiness.
We recommend that you be able to cope without
assistance within three days."
According to GT, the civilian population is increasingly
being prepared for a war in which they will not only
take a direct part - but also play a central role.
Unfortunately.... people are being told that
NATO is a shield, and it is increasingly
like a raised sword.
Moreover, similar figures, from three to five years, in the
statements of Western politicians and military leaders
are not accidental. This - is exactly how long it will
take the alliance's member countries to restore
their weapons stocks, after everything went
to Ukraine.
NATO countries are becoming increasingly involved
in the fighting in Ukraine. They practically became
quartermasters of Kiev, writes GT. At the same
time, their enthusiasm for participating in the
conflict... is growing day by day. Until two
years ago, everything was limited to
diplomatic protests.
The then Minister of the Armed Forces of Great Britain
solemnly declared in the House of Commons... that
neither British troops nor NATO troops should, in
any case, play an active role in Ukraine.
But two years later, NATO generals and European politicians
are already openly talking about war with Russia and
calling on their populations to prepare for the worst.
During this time, the type of assistance to Kiev, has also
changed dramatically. If earlier British military support
was quite symbolic, now --- no one is confused by the
provision of long-range missiles.
This was followed by attack and naval UAVs, cruise
missiles, helicopters, tanks - and even ships. And the Netherlands and Denmark, with the blessing of Washington, delivered F-16 fighters to the
Armed Forces of Ukraine.
At the same time, the military goals of the West have
also changed. If the Tallinn agreement referred to
the protection of Ukraine and the withdrawal of
Russians from the disputed territories, then
what can we expect next? After all, since
then, NATO has expanded further
(Finland ..and almost Sweden),
and -- if we take into account
the obligations under Article
5 of the alliance - does this
not mean..... releasing the
dogs of war into the wild?
Officials began to talk almost casually about the
possibility of a third World war. Therefore --- the
ongoing NATO exercises look like preparations
for it and, even worse, as a provocation of
this war.
These exercises, according to GT, marked the transition
of NATO, from pretending that they represent defense
--- to an open belligerent attitude.
Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to ask whether
we have passed the point of no return. In this sense,
you can only use the word "when", and not "if".
Well - there you are. You either mobilise
to stop this - or resign the human race
to a disgusting suicide.
And your choice is?
__________________________________
Lenin's work "Better less, yes better" ---- is more relevant than ever
Press Service of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
January 23rd, 3pm
First Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of
the Communist Party of the Russian Federation
Yu. V. Afonin took part in the program
"60 Minutes" on the TV channel
"Russia-1".
On the air, a statement was made by the chairman of the
NATO military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, about the
likelihood of an all-out war with Russia over the next 20
years. He called on the members of the North Atlantic
Alliance --- to prepare for a military conflict with our
country. German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius,
doesn't rule out the possibility of war with Russia.
As Yuri Afonin noted, through such statements,
functionaries of NATO countries are trying to
convey several meanings. First, they are
trying to rally Western society in the
face of an imaginary "Russian
threat": Zelensky will lose,
and you will be the next
victim of Moscow.
But it is quite obvious that in 3-5 years, and even more so
10 years, it will certainly not be these gentlemen who
will decide the fate of the world. Realizing this, they
allow themselves to make such irresponsible
statements.
But the facts show, that it is precisely against the
background of anti-Russian hysteria that NATO
is increasing its activity near our borders,
conducting exercises in the Baltic Sea,
and increasing its contingent in the
Baltic States (again under the
pretext of the threat of an
invasion from Russia).
Although it is clear to everyone --- that our country is not
interested in a war on two fronts, especially with such a
serious opponent as the North Atlantic Bloc, and such a
conflict - would endanger the existence of all humanity.
At the same time, the West understands the inevitability of
the military defeat of Zelensky and his gang. They are
also aware of it in Kiev. Ukrainian Foreign Minister
Kuleba has called on Western hosts to abandon
the "don't escalate" principle. According to
him, "because of this --- many
opportunities were missed."
The First Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation regarded this
statement - as provocative and extremely disturbing. It is worth paying special attention to it and giving an
appropriate assessment. The Kiev regime, is on
the verge of military collapse and is aware of
the hopelessness of its situation. And it
seems, that Zelensky sees the only
way to survive - is in staging such
large-scale bloody provocations
that will bring the conflict to
a new level and, perhaps
---- force the West to
intervene directly.
There is no need to talk about Kiev's success on the
battlefield after the failure of the summer counter-
offensive, which was only hoped for. So what can
they do? What kind of escalation are we talking
about? Only about new terrorist attacks on the
civilian population ---- such as the shelling of
Belgorod on December 30th --- and like the
monstrous shelling of Donetsk on Sunday.
This is the escalation that the Ukronazis
are really capable of. In fact, Kuleba
declares their right to conduct a
large-scale terrorist war
against civilians.
The idea of this monstrous adventure is simple: to launch a
series of terrorist attacks, provoke Russia to an extremely
tough response, and hope that the West will definitely not
stand aside and somehow intervene ---- or at least not
reduce the scale of military assistance.
The fact that the Kiev rulers will finally acquire the image of
cannibals and inveterate war criminals, in Kiev... it seems
..no one thinks of this anymore. It doesn't seem important anymore, just to be saved and let hundreds and hundreds
of innocent civilians be killed, including women, children,
and the elderly.
Yuri Afonin called for a clear explanation to the world - of
what exactly the escalation that Kuleba is broadcasting
may be. And another Ukrainian minister, Umerov, who
heads the military department, spoke via video link
at the opening of the conference on the creation
of the so-called "artillery coalition" ....under the
leadership of France & the US, & complained
about the "shell hunger" that the Armed
Forces of Ukraine suffer from.
That, in fact, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine recognizes
that Russia, now, has a great advantage in artillery. And
this is a very important factor, which in the XX century
was crucial for the outcome of battles and battles. As
the first deputy chairman of the Central Committee of
the Communist Party recalled, during the First World
War, "shell famine" turned out to be one of the main
reasons for the so-called "great retreat" of the
Russian army, in 1915.
But, during the Great Patriotic War, the USSR surpassed Germany in the production of guns, mortars and shells at a time when the industry of all continental Europe worked at this. And the superiority of the Red Army in firepower then, became an important factor in the Victory.
In the current military operations, the role of artillery is simply enormous. About 80-90% of combat losses are associated with its use. Therefore --- the advantage in this area --- which is provided by the work of our military-industrial complex, paves the way for the Russian Army to win, Yuri Vyacheslavovich stressed.
He recalled the figures released at the December meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. So since February 2022, the production of tanks in Russia, has increased by 5.6 times, of IFVs - by 3.6 times, armoured personnel carriers - by 3.5 times, unmanned aerial vehicles - by 16.8 times, and artillery shells – by 17.5 times.
This is a huge breakthrough, and the potential for increasing the production of military equipment & ammunition by the Russian military-industrial complex ----- is far from exhausted.
In the West, they see that they are seriously lagging behind us in this area, and they are trying to increase their own production of weapons. True, the bulk of investment, including through the money allocated to Kiev, goes to the American military-industrial complex ------ to the detriment of the European economy.
As the first deputy chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation emphasized --- turbulence is growing all over the world -- processes are getting out of control of the US and its satellites -- and the contours of multipolarity are becoming more pronounced in different parts of the world.
The old platforms for discussing problems and developing solutions are losing their significance and are unable to respond to the existing challenges - which are becoming more and more numerous.
An example of this is the World Economic Forum, which was held last week. For many years, we have been told that this event in Davos, Switzerland, is shaping the way forward for the world. The Russian delegation always went there. It was based, as a rule, on the most high-status Russian liberals - and Westerners.
This year, there was no Russian delegation at the Davos Forum. And the main conclusion that can be drawn from its results: the fate of the world is not decided there.
We have stopped going to Davos, but we are successfully strengthening our position in the international arena. China, India - and a number of other countries - are becoming our most important strategic partners.
And in the near future, the BRICS summits will attract much more attention from the world media than the Davos forums, Yuri Afonin expressed confidence.
And - in the absence of any meaningful agenda - they
discussed a certain mythical 'disease X' with a much
higher mortality rate than from covid - which can be
caused by a virus that is not yet known to science.
All this looks like a declaration of the masters of the
Western world to continue "training" humanity with
the help of epidemics. The coronavirus pandemic,
has already caused drastic restrictions on rights
and freedoms, including in those countries that
boasted of them. The new epidemic will allow
them to continue this process. And it seems
that the masters of the Western world are
just waiting for it.
At the end of his speech... the First Deputy Chairman of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation, recalled that January 21 marked the 100th
anniversary of the death of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
The Communist Party holds events throughout
the country dedicated to the memory of the
founder of the Soviet state.
In one of his last works, Better Less, Yes Better, Lenin
predicted that victory over imperialism would be
determined by the efforts of Russia, China,
India, and other countries that were
then.... in colonial or semi-
colonial dependence.
"I believe in this Leninist prophecy ---- and the events
taking place in the world today -- inspire confidence
that in alliance with the states of the global South,
we will defeat Western imperialism," Yuri Afonin
concluded.
What do you think?
Do you want the Western ''elites'' to win - and continue culling humans like cattle?
Or would you like to see an end to the Western elites' power .....and a world without war finally able to build prosperity?
________________________________________________
Haifa missile strike by Iraqi resistance
--- shows how fragile Israeli regime is
by Wesam Bahrani
January 8th, 2pm
(source: PressTV)
In yet another significant act of solidarity with the people of
Gaza, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq on Sunday struck "a
vital target in occupied Haifa" - with an advanced long-
range cruise missile, grabbing headlines, and taking
the embattled regime in Tel Aviv by another surprise.
In a statement, the Iraqi resistance emphasized that the
operation was carried out --- because of “our ongoing
support for people in Gaza" - who have been reeling
under the Israeli aggression since Oct. 7.
The statement added that the operation was "in response
to the massacres committed by the usurping entity
against Palestinian civilians, including children,
women, and the elderly."
The Iraqi resistance, which has in recent months launched
a string of attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria,
said it will continue to hit enemy strongholds, warning
that "more is yet to come".
The concluding part of the statement
was the most attention-grabbing.
Such is the stringent Israeli media censorship of the
occupying regime's war on the besieged Gaza Strip;
it is difficult to speculate what vital infrastructure
has been hit.
The Iraqi resistance struck Haifa with a long-range cruise
missile named al-Arqab from Iraqi territory. The distance
from Baghdad to Haifa ------ is almost 1,000 kilometres.
According to sources, the launch of the missile took place
closer to the Western Iraqi deserts. That is still roughly
600 kilometres away, or perhaps more, depending on
the launch site.
It essentially means that Haifa, which is located in the
northern part of the occupied territories, can expect
attacks again from the Iraqi soil..... the timing of which will be decided by the resistance.
More importantly, the long-range cruise missile traveled
the same distance that can put Tel Aviv and all other
Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories within the
range of Iraqi fire.
On Monday, Iraq's Harakat al-Nujaba resistance movement
claimed responsibility for the strike, warning that Israel
should await more crippling attacks in retaliation
for its bloody war on Gaza.
“The Axis of Resistance is determined to disrupt US
scenarios in the region and thwart the occupying
Israeli regime’s schemes in Gaza,” Hussein
al-Moussawi, spokesman for the
group, said.
The Iraqi Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba resistance
movement - claims responsibility for the missile
strike against Haifa in the occupied territories.
Should we be surprised that the Popular Mobilization Units
(PMU), under which the Islamic Resistance in Iraq
operates, possesses such world-class
military technology?
The short answer is no.
The Iraqi government itself armed the PMU with the most
capable military equipment from Baghdad's weapons
depots because it plays the most fundamental
role of all the Iraqi armed forces.
The attack on Haifa points to the start of a new chapter
by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, in what is expected
to be an even stronger show of support --- for the
Palestinian resistance in Gaza and its people.
In this latest phase, we must expect an escalation in
attacks on crucial Israeli infrastructure inside the
occupied Palestinian territories, facilitated by
the utilization of sophisticated long-range
cruise missiles.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has made no secret
of its iron-clad support and solidarity with the
oppressed people of Gaza amid the Israeli
regime's indiscriminate bombings and
inhumane siege.
It had also made no secret of its military operations
against the Zionist regime and its Western backers,
which has been completely evident in the past
few weeks.
Shortly after the Israeli regime launched its war on Gaza
on October 7, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq carried out
a number of operations - against Israeli interests and its main backer, the United States.
In late December, the Iraqi Resistance struck a vital target
in the Eli-ad settlement, in the southern Israeli-occupied
Syrian Golan Heights - with drones.
Before targeting Eli-ad, the resistance also pounded the
regime's main offshore (occupied) Karish gas field in
the eastern Mediterranean Sea with a direct hit,
inflicting heavy damage.
That came after the Iraqi resistance struck a target in
occupied Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat) with appropriate
weapons and released images of the operation
for the public.
The regime evacuated the settlers of Eilat, transforming
the area into a military garrison. It made the site an
ideal target for Iraq as well as Yemen, another
Arab country ------ that has upped the
ante recently.
Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement
have carried out a series of operations against Israeli
interests with a barrage of long-range drones
and missiles.
At times, the goal has simply been to fire a barrage of
missiles and drones to preoccupy the Israeli Iron
Dome and Patriot Missiles. These calculated
efforts have proven successful.
They effectively ease the pressure on the Palestinian
resistance while at the same time drain out Israeli
military resources, which have in recent months
become extremely depleted.
The regime has killed more than 22,000 Palestinians
since Oct. 7, the majority of whom have been
women and children. Thousands more are
missing, presumably dead under
the rubble.
Among the countries and movements taking the lead in
militarily pressuring the U.S. and its apartheid regime
to end its inhumane attacks on Gaza, Iraqis have
played a courageous role.
In Iraq, the resistance has targeted illegal US military
bases on its territory as well as in Syria more than
110 times since the Israeli war against Gaza
began three months ago.
Rockets, mortar shells, drones, and short and long-range
ballistic missiles have all been used in these operations,
leading to scores of casualties among US troops and
collateral damage.
Now, the question that everyone is asking is: Why
has the Iraqi resistance opened a new chapter?
Lately, the illegal US military occupation on Iraqi soil made
a costly mistake by attacking sites belonging to the PMU,
which means Washington and Tel Aviv have to pay
the price.
Recent US attacks against affiliates of the PMU, including
Kataib Hezbollah, and the recent deadly strike on the
headquarters of Harakat al-Nujaba, which led to the
assassination of one of its leaders in Baghdad,
Haj Mishtaq, means the time is ripe for the
resistance to expand its operations.
For context: In the eyes of the Iraqi resistance, there is no
difference between the US military occupation of Iraqi
soil and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The
liberation of the Palestinian territories begins
with the expulsion of US troops from Iraq
and the rest of the region.
While the Israeli regime commits horrendous crimes
against humanity in Gaza, the UDS is shielding,
arming, funding and facilitating this madness
of death and destruction campaign in
the coastal strip.
Taking a closer look at the events unfolding
in Gaza, it is, in essence, a US war on Gaza.
This direct complicity means that Washington has to pay
the same price as the Israeli regime is paying, for its
massacres of civilians in Gaza. They are two
sides of the same coin.
Whilst illegal US bases in Iraq and Syria are closer to the
line of fire for the resistance, the indiscriminate Israeli
attacks against women and children in Gaza have
seen the PMU increasingly target the Israeli
regime, the latest being Haifa.
What the Al-Aqsa Storm (or Al-Aqsa Flood) operation
provided was an opportunity for the Iraqi resistance
to strike at Israeli interests ------ for the first time
in history.
As pressure grows on the Iraqi government of Prime
Minister Mohammad Shia' al-Sudani, to expel the
illegal US forces, It has also opened a new
window ---------- for the PMU to end the US
occupation and avenge Washington's
assassination of its deputy leader,
Abu Mehdi al-Muhandis.
For the moment, the main goal of the resistance is
to expand its scope of attacks against the Israeli
regime in order to mount pressure on the
apartheid occupation ------ as well as
the US.
And, as the Iraqi resistance warned after
the Haifa attack, "more is yet to come".
Wesam Bahrani --- is an Iraqi
journalist and commentator.
(The views expressed in this article do
not necessarily reflect those of
Press TV.)
Looks like the current racist apartheid
hate-filled regime is either going to be
overthrown and replaced --- or wiped
from the map of the Holy land.
What do you think?
_____________________________________
Cultural cleansing: Israeli bombings
destroy Gaza’s famed cultural
heritage sites
by Humaira Ahad
January 8th, 12:16pm
(PressTV)
“Home (origin), more than anywhere else,” Tim Creswell, a noted British human geographer and poet once said, “is seen as a centre of meaning and a field of care.”
A homeland, is a place where humans feel a strong sense of
attachment and entitlement. It carries centuries of history
that shape our identity. Our belongingness to a place
(home) is hugely determined by the landmarks
present there, and the physical entities we see, since childhood.
Many of us must have referred to a particular street, shop,
shrine, museum, library, mosque, church, or school while
talking about an incident or reminiscing about
something in the past.
These landmarks act as mileposts and memories get
weaved around them. But what if these physical
markers that people associate with, are
wiped out?
In Gaza, the pain and suffering go beyond the loss of human
lives. The settler-colonial Zionist entity, in order to colonize
Palestinians and change the demographic identity of the
place, has been destroying important landmarks,
including centuries-old heritage sites in
the territory.
The roads lined with bougainvillea, the markets bustling
with people, the mosques reverberating with calls to
prayer, the Sunday mass..... at one of the oldest
churches in the world, the beach that would
be a picnic spot for families, the
cemeteries – everything has
come under attack.
Palestine has been ruled by various kingdoms throughout
history – the Philistine (12th century BC), Egyptians
(early 15th century BC), Babylonian (601BC), and
the Greeks (332BC).
The country became an important centre of learning under
Alexander the Great. The Romans also ruled there,
followed by the Byzantines before it came
under the Islamic dynasties.
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the British
occupied Palestine during World War I.
With a wide galaxy of dynasties ruling the place,
Palestine...... became the seedbed of varied
cultures. As per archaeologists, it has
links with a number of ancient
civilizations.
In recent decades, after the illegitimate entity came into
existence in Tel Aviv, it has been targeting the glorious
Palestinian heritage to serve its sinister settler-
colonial agenda.
The regime has, in effect, weaponized archaeology and
tried to create a biased narrative in order to justify its
occupation of the Palestinian lands and its
oppression against the Palestinians.
Since October 7, when the Israeli regime launched its fresh
aggression on Gaza, a small territory with 2.3 million
population, the attacks to eradicate the
archaeological sites ----- have
dramatically surged.
Experts say this is being done to erase the memory
and the connection of the people to their land.
As per a recent report by the Gaza media office, around 200
monuments belonging to Christian and Islamic history and
architecture in the besieged strip have been either
completely or partially destroyed as a result of
indiscriminate Israeli strikes.
Israeli troops have "either destroyed or damaged more
than 200 out of 325 cultural and historical heritage
sites in the Gaza Strip," the report said.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and
Antiquities, the exact data about archaeological
sites destroyed in Gaza is still unavailable amid
difficulties in conducting surveys... and
assessing destruction on the ground.
The unrelenting Israeli aggression
has made their job tedious.
A report released on November 7 by Spain-based NGO
“Heritage for Peace” said at least 104 archaeological
sites have been impacted by the latest Israeli war on
Gaza, of which --- 4 have been completely destroyed.
That number has more than doubled
...since the report was released.
“The ancient and archaeological sites destroyed by the
(Israeli) army date back to the Phoenician and Roman
ages, others date back between 800 BC and 1,400,
while others were built 400 years ago” --- the
Palestinian authorities said in a statement.
On December 8, the Great Omari mosque, the oldest and
largest mosque in Gaza, was completely destroyed in
an Israeli airstrike. Located in the centre of the old
Gaza City, it was famous as the first mosque in
the Gaza Strip.
“Heritage for Peace” reported damage to Ibn Uthman
Mosque, dating back to the 15th century, and Sayed
Hashem Mosque, where Prophet Muhammad’s
(peace be upon him) great-grandfather
Hashim Bin Abd Manaf is believed
to be buried.
Othman Bin Qashqai Mosque, in the Al Zaytoun
neighbourhood of east Gaza was also bombed
by the regime forces, killing a number of
Palestinians who had sought refuge in
the mosque.
The mosque was among one of
the oldest in the coastal strip.
As per official figures, at least 104 mosques have been
reduced to rubble since the start of the Israeli
genocidal assault on Gaza on October 7,
which followed an unprecedented
operation by the Hamas-led
resistance movement
against the Israeli
occupation.
St Porphyrius church, dating back to the 5th century,
was regarded as one of the oldest in the world. The
church was hit by an Israeli airstrike, destroying
the building and killing a number of people who
had sought protection there, deeming it a
safe place.
Among those who died in the church included members
of Gaza’s Christian community who are increasingly
staring at extinction as the regime continues its
brutal bombardment campaign.
A Roman cemetery in northern Gaza, which is claimed
to be 2,000 years old with dozens of ancient graves
and two rare sarcophagi made of lead, was also
completely destroyed in the bombing.
‘In God’s care now’
Some of Gaza’s museums.. have suffered complete
destruction while many others have been partially
damaged. Rafah Museum, in southern Gaza,
shared two videos on its Facebook page,
showing the building of the museum
partially collapsed... due to
Israeli airstrikes.
“There were priceless items from coins, precious stones,
copper plates, clothes…. The Museum of Rafah is in
God's care now,” said the director of Rafah
Museum, Suhaila Shaheen, in a video
posted on the museum's
Facebook page.
In the video, Shaheen could be seen in the middle
of the rubble of the destroyed museum.
Al Qarara Cultural Museum near Khan Younis and
Deir Al Balah Museum in central Gaza have also
suffered damage in the regime’s airstrikes.
The collection at Al Qarara Museum reportedly
included antiquities from the Byzantine period.
Mohammad Abulehia, the custodian at Al Qarara Museum,
who also helped in its establishment in 2016, confirmed
that the building of the museum along with the
artifacts suffered significant damage when
a missile hit the neighbourhood.
Anthedon Harbour, Gaza’s first known seaport and one
of the Gazan sites on UNESCO’s world heritage
tentative list has also been badly damaged
in the regime's bombings.
The Rashad al-Shawwa Historical Cultural Centre,
a cultural hub that hosts a theatre and a library
with around 20,000 books, was targeted by
the regime’s airstrike.
Since October 7, the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of
Culture has also recorded nine publishing houses and
libraries hit by bombs with 21 other cultural centres
partially or completely damaged.
The Israeli strikes have destroyed most parts of the old
city of Gaza, which was home to houses that dated
back at least 150 years.
As per the International Council on Monuments and Sites
(ICOMOS) report, the Central Archives of Gaza City have
been completely destroyed with thousands of historic
documents lost forever.
ICOMOS has also reported damage to El Saqqa House, an
important cultural centre of the Islamic Mamluk period,
constructed in 1661.
Al Ahli Baptist Hospital, founded in 1882 and believed to
be Gaza’s oldest hospital, was also targeted and
partially destroyed by the regime in October,
killing over 470 people present there.
Cultural cleansing campaign
Continuing its cultural cleansing campaign, Israel has also
destroyed the Souq Al Zawiya, one of Gaza City’s oldest
and most important markets. It was located close to
the Great Omari Mosque.
Pasha’s Palace Museum, a 13th-century fortress, that
was a powerful witness and narrator of the story of
civilizations, was reduced to ruins by the
Israeli forces.
Built during the mid-13th century, the iconic palace was
Napoleon’s choice of accommodation during his stay
in the city in 1799, according to historians.
“We are very sad we lost the al Pasha Palace. Hit by an
airstrike, the Israeli vehicles and bulldozers ran over
even the rubble. This palace was treated as a
museum, and had pieces (tracing) back to
the Canaanite, Roman and Greek eras,”
said Bisan Owda, a Gaza-based
social media influencer.
Israel ironically is a signatory to the 1954 Hague
Convention --- for the Protection of Cultural
Property in the event of armed conflict.
The document states that the signatories shall respect
cultural property in their own territories and the
territories of the other parties by refraining
from “any act of hostility” against such
property, or from any actions that
“expose it to destruction or
damage in the event of
armed conflict.”
“Heritage for Peace” has described Israel’s actions as a
“blatant violation of international humanitarian law”.
The NGO also called on the world community “to
urgently interfere, stop such crimes & elaborate
a common strategy for the rehabilitation and
restoration of destroyed and damaged
cultural heritage sites in Gaza.”
Palestine’s Ministry of Culture has also appealed
to the international community to protect the
vulnerable historical buildings in Gaza ------
amid the regime’s unchecked aggression.
“The crime of targeting and destroying archaeological
sites should spur the world and UNESCO into action
to preserve this great civilizational and cultural
heritage,” the Palestinian Ministry said in a
statement recently.
The Geneva-based human rights group, Euro-Med Monitor,
said Israel is “intentionally destroying” archaeological
and historical monuments in Gaza, and “explicitly
targeting Palestinian cultural heritage.”
“Destroying and targeting historical and archaeological
sites may amount to a war crime under the Rome
Statute establishing the International Criminal
Court, and is a clear violation of The Hague
Convention relating to the protection of
cultural heritage during armed
conflicts,” it noted.
The current population of Israel,
is 80% in favour of the complete
annihilation of the Palestinians.
I pray for the sake of your soul,
that you do not agree with this.
Thinkers Forum:
How YOU are encouraged to be NASTY
******************
Yemeni blockade ofIsrael
exposes Arab regimes,
rattles Western
imperialists
December 19th, 2:33pm
by Shabbir Rizvi
Perhaps the best pages of history are the pages where
the oppressed are victorious against the oppressor,
and able to turn the tide of power with
poetic justice.
Within these pages, true colours are always revealed, and
the resolve of each player is truly put to the test. And if
history is truly written by the victor, then this chapter
owes some pages to be authored by the incredibly
brave people and resistance of Yemen.
In the wake of the Hamas-led resistance operation Al-Aqsa
Storm (also known as Al-Aqsa Flood), Yemen has dared to
go where no other Arab countries have (outside of the
Islamic resistance in Lebanon and Iraq) - not only
directly confronting the Zionist entity, but
enacting a crushingly successful
blockade in the strategic zone
of the Red Sea.
Any ship willing to conduct business with the Israeli regime
in Yemen’s territorial waters has two options - turn around,
or risk your ship being destroyed or taken by the Yemeni
military (Ansarallah).
One has to admire this act of poetic justice. Yemen, the
country subjected to nearly a decade of US-Saudi
blockade, enabled by Western states, which
spawned the world’s worst humanitarian
crisis in the Arab country - has now
enacted a blockade of its own -
squeezing the already
depleting Zionist
economy.
Anyone familiar with the societal structure of the Zionist
occupation can tell you that its economy is extremely
vulnerable to external shocks. This.. is a regime that
has only lasted as long as it has due to the political
and economic support of the US capitalist class.
Billions of US taxpayer money is spent annually to keep the
illegitimate entity afloat. Meaning the Zionist occupation
has to ensure it is justifying this staggering investment.
For the US ruling class, Israel acts not only as a colonial
military outpost but as a corridor into Asia. They need
Zionist cooperation to facilitate the trade of goods
coming in and out of the region, facilitating
billions of dollars of goods annually.
Yemen has decided that it will not tolerate Israeli
trade --- while Gazan children and women are
being mercilessly slaughtered every day.
Starting in November, the Yemeni military began to seize
Israeli-connected ships - starting with the seizure of the
“Galaxy Leader.” Outside of ship seizures, other ships
were subject to drone, rocket, and gunboat attacks -
including the US Navy destroyer USS Carney.
Israeli-occupied port of Eilat - its third biggest - has
effectively been shut down amid Yemeni rockets
and drones, and its blockade in the Red Sea.
Traffic at the port is reportedly down
by 85%.
This is no small blockade. Global shipping companies are
thinking twice about dealing with the regime. Hong Kong
shipping company OOCL has halted all trade with the
Israeli regime. Maersk... one of the biggest global
shipping companies, has also decided to pause
operations, joining a few other companies.
Other shipping companies have also
followed suit.
Initial projections estimate billions of dollars of trade has
been impacted. Yemen’s blockade is driving the cost of
goods up and increasing the amount of transport time.
Some Israeli-linked ships have even decided to go around
Africa into Asia, adding anywhere from two to three
extra weeks of shipping time.
And most importantly, the economic impact caused by the
crippling blockade is creating serious political pressure.
British Petroleum on Monday announced it would stop
operations using the Suez Canal, due to the
Yemeni threat.
Mere hours after this announcement, UK Labour Party
leader Keir Starmer joined UK Prime Minister Rishi
Sunak in calling for a “sustainable ceasefire” in
Gaza, effectively breaking from the US line.
Yemen is forcing the world to divest from the regime
in Tel Aviv or suffer major economic consequences.
And it's working.
Now, Zionists and its US backers are tapping into their
regional partners. The very countries that sought to
break Yemen - the UAE and Saudi Arabia - are now
creating a “land bridge” trade route with the
Zionist entity, as per reports.
Though this is more costly and slower, the same
resources are now passing from the UAE into
Saudi Arabia and Jordan in order to reach
the occupied territories.
The 2000-kilometre path is already being put to the test,
with a reported 10 trucks already taking the path from
Dubai to the border of Israeli-occupied territories.
This is a clear attempt to circumvent the Yemeni blockade.
The Jordanian leadership quickly moved ------ to deny the
existence of such a “land bridge” ----- as it is a shameful
accusation - however, it is indeed a willing participant
in the trade of goods with the apartheid regime.
The treachery of these Arab regimes is another betrayal of
the Palestinian people. These same countries waged war
on Yemen’s independence movement, and now they are
participating in the war against Palestinians by aiding
the Zionist enemy.
Yemen has forced these regimes
--- to show their true orientation.
Even more tellingly, the Saudi regime has assisted the US
and Israeli regime in blocking Yemeni missiles and
drones, with its air defense systems. Rockets
meant for the port of Eilat were reportedly
shot down by Saudi missiles, protecting
not only Israeli goods..... but also
US warships.
The Gulf monarchies insist that they demand “regional
stability” ---- while allowing the Zionist regime to
conduct open genocide in front of the world.
However, the US is not satisfied with a land bridge. Some
goods cannot be transported through the land bridge,
and it is pricier to switch between sea, land, then
back to sea when transporting goods from the
US to Asia, for example.
On Monday, December 18, US Defense Secretary Lloyd
Austin announced “Operation Prosperity Guardian” -
a ten-country coalition that would fend off the
“Yemeni threat” in the Red Sea.
It’s clear that the blockade is putting economic pressure
on the US - the operation’s name says it all. But can the
coalition, which includes Bahrain (adding another
country to the list of Arab nations stabbing
Palestine in the back), actually stop the
Yemen-created blockade?
Not without risking a full-scale regional war.
First, Yemen is more than capable of
defending itself. It fended off a
Saudi-led coalition for ten
years, which used US
weaponry and
logistics.
It can certainly -- defend its own territorial
waters and skies against invading forces.
Second, the coalition threat is a serious step up the
escalation ladder --- one that would have serious
consequences for US forces and allies that
are unwelcome in the region.
Last week, Iran’s Defense Minister Mohammad Reza
Ashtiani, issued a statementL: declaring that any
attempt by the US to form a coalition that
disrupts peace in the region -- “will be
faced with tremendous problems."
"Nobody can make a move in a region where
we have predominance,” he asserted.
In recent months, Iran has had several encounters
with US naval boats that attempted to encroach
its territorial waters. This comes as a result of
US military ships posing a threat to Iranian oil
tankers and other ships - resulting in Iran
tightening security within its
territorial waters.
Hypocritically, the same country that decries
Yemen’s blockade, also openly participates
in the piracy of Iranian oil!
The US-led coalition is foolishly risking a regional war.
Ultimately, this would not be in the US key interests -
and the popularity of Biden's administration would
sink even more ------ even with it being at an
all-time low.
The threat of the coalition as of now
is just policy on paper.... but if
materialized --- could yield
catastrophic results.
The United States is already the main protagonist in the
Gaza genocide. By supplying bombs that drop on Gaza
every day as well as political backing, it cannot wash
its blood-stained hands.
But if it insists on going the extra mile and pulling itself
into a regional war over a trade route, then all bets
on peace --- are off.
The attacks on US military bases would escalate. US ships
would be targeted. US citizens and ambassadors would
have to be evacuated. And trade that has already
come to a screeching halt would be prolonged
further. All on the eve of an election year.
The reality is that Yemen has the imperialist West right
where it wants it. Either end the barbaric aggression
on Palestinians in Gaza.... or face economic and
political ruin.
It is very rare in times like this that peace sells - but is the US buying? Time will tell.
Shabbir Rizvi is a Chicago-based political analyst
with a focus on US internal security and
foreign policy.
(Original source --- PressTV --- which does
not necessarily concur with the opinions
expressed in this article.)
You have to admit - don't you? - that this makes extremely interesting reading!
__________________________________________
‘If Christ were born today ---- he would
be born under rubble, Israeli bombing’
Published On December 7th, 2023
(al Jazeera)
All the Palestinian churches have cancelled Christmas
festivities this year, and one church in Bethlehem
shares its pain.... through iconography.
Bethlehem's Lutheran Church decided its Christmas
nativity scene would reflect the reality of children
living and being born in Palestine today.
Bethlehem, the occupied West Bank. The churches of
Palestine: have announced the cancellation of all
festive Christmas celebrations, in an expression
of unity with Gaza and rejection of the ongoing
aggression against Palestinians, limiting them to masses and prayers.
In Bethlehem, the Lutheran Church decided that its
Christmas nativity scene would reflect the reality
of children living and being born in Palestine
today, placing the symbolic Baby Jesus in
a manger of rubble and destruction.
It is a poignant representation of the suffering of Gaza’s
children who find themselves buried under what is left
of their own homes, victims of the relentless Israeli
bombardment.
“If Christ were to be born today,” Reverend Munther
Isaac said, “he would be born under the rubble
and Israeli shelling. This is a powerful
message we send ---- to the world
celebrating the holidays.”
The true meaning of Christmas
For Isaac and other church leaders, this was a way
to convey a message reflecting the birth of Christ,
the messenger of justice, peace and dignity
for humanity.
Christ was not born among the conquerors or those
with military power, he said, but in an occupied
country, which is what Palestine was 2,000
years ago.
“Bethlehem is sad and broken. We are all in pain about
what is happening in Gaza, feeling helpless and
overwhelmed by our inability to offer
anything,” he said.
Um Bishara, a mother of four, told Al Jazeera she was
surprised to see the nativity scene with Baby Jesus
in the rubble on Sunday.
Weeping, she had to sit down as the significance of the
display hit her and dedicated her fervent prayers to
the children of Gaza, praying that they find
peace and safety.
A devout woman, Um Bishara hopes the prayers of the
Holy Land’s faithful at Christmas --- can stop the pain
and killing, replacing them with hope and peace.
Forgetting the Palestinian Christians
Two weeks ago, Isaac delivered a letter from the churches
of Bethlehem, a city of significant religious importance,
to the US administration in Washington, DC.
The letter urged US President Biden, the US Congress and
heads of US churches to apply Christ’s message rejecting
injustice and called for an end to the genocidal war
in Gaza.
“Some people in the West...... forget the existence of
Palestinian Christians. This war affects everything
Palestinian, whether Muslim or Christian. It is our
responsibility now ------- to raise our voices as a
nation ------ to stop this war,” Isaac said.
Continuing, he explained how saddened he was by several
conversations he had in the US... where he was told that
Israel’s assault on Gaza was justified as self-defence.
However, he added, the thousands of children and
innocents killed daily, and the churches and
hospitals being bombed ---- do not figure in
their calculus.
He knows the struggle to bring about change will be long
because the Palestinian struggle is not only this war
but a deeper struggle to affirm the legitimacy of
Palestinian existence.
Anton Nassar, principal of the Dar Al-Kalima Lutheran
School, said Bethlehem is sad and in pain this year
....but it has not lost hope.
He explained that while the nativity scene represents
the reality of Palestinian lives, it also reflects hope
as the infant Jesus is born in the rubble, a new
light amidst pain.
He said, “We believe in the existence of hope
and the hope of the birth of Jesus in the
city of peace, the holy city.”
“This is what is reflected in this painting ---- placed in the
church -- where we pray for a just peace in our country.
We pray for an immediate cessation of the genocidal
war on Gaza - and for the people of Gaza to enjoy a
peace built on justice.”
“Christmas is in the heart,” Nassar said. “We pray
and invoke Jesus to be born again in our lives,
our country, our churches, and our schools,
so that we can live in peace and stability
and achieve our independent state
with its capital, Jerusalem.”
No-one who calls themselves Christian would
stop struggling and caring for the people in
Palestine --- and would attempt to stop it.
Ask yourself - if you have even attended one
demonstration - or sent even one email,
tweet or text to your local councillor
or MP --- (even if he is... a willing
''Friend of Israel'' - and a Tory
in a red jacket).
Because if you haven't ------ you are
NOT a Christian --- but a hypocrite
who is literally taking the Lord's
name in vain.
Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of
the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD
will not hold guiltless anyone who
takes his name in vain.”
What do you think?
Too vain to reply?
___________________________________
FACTBOX: Patrushev... discusses
national unity and long-standing
conflict ------with the West
November 4th, 1:27pm (TASS)
On National Unity Day, Russian Secretary of the Security
Council, Nikolay Patrushev, spoke on the historical
significance of protecting Russia’s sovereignty
in the long-running conflict with the West.
National Unity Day
- National Unity Day represents the Russian people's
triumph over internal and external challenges
through unity and coherence.
- During the Time of Troubles, Russia was on the verge of
losing its sovereignty, but its people "united, defended
their own country and state," drove out invaders and
traitors, reestablished authority, and embarked on
a path of independent development.
- This was made possible by the tremendous spiritual
uplift of the country's multinational people, "whose
statehood has always been based on three pillars
- unity, faith, and a strong, vertical power."
Age-old conflict
- Europe has long wanted to destroy the Russian state,
which has manifested itself in attempts at "political
intrigue, economic enslavement, and
direct aggression.
- Almost all of Europe has participated in aggression
against Russia, from the German Knights to the
Nazis in the twentieth century.
- Russia has always been a "bone in the West's throat,"
obstructing its hegemonic goals while representing
a powerful civilizational alternative.
- Western Russophobic ideologues devised schemes to
bring Russia to its knees, which served as the basis
for the Western conspiracy to destroy the country.
The new Time of Troubles in the 1990s
- The eventful 1990s became the "new Time of Troubles,"
when the existence of the Russian state was once
again threatened.
- The collapse of the USSR emboldened the authorities
of the United States and other Western leaders, who
believed that they could destroy Russia ---- by
dividing it.
- In the 1990s, Western advisers flocked to Russia,
attempting to create turmoil by "encouraging
separatism, imposing debt bonds and
onerous international obligations.
The West was counting on
creating turmoil ---- and
establishing external
control over Russia.
- The West also used additional levers of pressure,
such as NATO's aggressive push to the East,
support for extremism and extreme
religious groups, and "a wave of
defamation of the Russian
Orthodox Church and
traditional Islam.
- As a result of the ''radical'' reforms imposed by the West, the country's standard of living declined, unemployment increased, industry, agriculture, transportation, and the financial system --- were destroyed, and the military- industrial complex effectively ceased to fulfill
its primary function of providing advanced
weaponry to the armed forces.
- In the 1990s, international terrorism -- posed a significant
threat to Russian sovereignty, while Western governments
hypocritically called the terrorists "fighters for freedom
and democracy.''
Challenging the West
- After becoming president in 2000, Vladimir Putin focused
his efforts on stabilizing the country's internal life and
restoring constitutional order.
- As a result of the president's policies, strong systemic
anti-crime measures have been implemented, and the
number of criminal acts has decreased by more
than a third, since 2000.
- In the early 2000s, Putin saw a multipolar world order as
the solution to many international problems. His famous
Munich speech was devoted to the idea that a unipolar
model was not only unacceptable, but generally unattainable in today's world.
- In August 2008, the West tested Russia's strength by
igniting the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict. As a
result, the country reformed its army ---- and
introduced new types of weapons.
- However, the West did not relent - as a result of the
Washington-engineered coup in Ukraine in 2014,
supporters of neo-Nazi ideologies came to
power in Kiev, from where they promptly
launched a genocide against
the Russian people.
Fighting neo-Nazism in Ukraine
- Despite Western sanctions and pressure, Russia could
not tolerate the atrocities committed by Ukrainian neo-
Nazis and supported the demand for the reunification
of the millions of inhabitants of the original
Russian territories.
- Ukrainian officials and their Western backers are
increasingly resorting to blatant terrorist tactics
to terrorize the population and damage Russia.
- Ultimately, Kiev officials will have to answer for attempts
to annihilate the Russian people in Donbass, as well as
for the deaths of Ukrainians in a fratricidal war.
- Ukrainian neo-Nazis will be tried in an international
court for attempting a provocation by detonating
a "dirty bomb".
- There are reasonable forces in Ukraine. They
are suppressed, but they are ready to fight
the neo-Nazi regime.
Sanctions war
- The West launched an unprecedented economic
war against Russia, but its blitzkrieg failed.
- Western censorship is working hard to eliminate stories
about Russia's good development trends. "The Anglo-
Saxon media deliberately ignore the obvious fact
that Russia has been able to ensure its military,
economic and food security.
- A large number of unjust sanctions have been imposed
on Russia, but the country is dealing with them. The
economy has recovered and has already
exceeded the level of 2021.
- The Russian economy has demonstrated its stability and its ability to develop gradually in the face of global economic uncertainty --- and the imposition of restrictive economic measures.
Multipolar world against the "new order"
- The West intends to create more hotspots near Russia, similar to Ukraine, but Moscow will not be deterred.
- Washington, along with Russia, China and India, will
become just one of several poles in the new
multipolar world order, but Europe is
unlikely to be able to claim....
even that.
- Russia, under Putin, has offered a civilizational
alternative to the West that is gaining traction.
At least 25 countries have expressed a desire
to join or cooperate with BRICS.
-- Russia prioritizes the development of relations
with its nearest neighbours, especially Belarus,
through the Union State.
- Moscow is in contact with Baku and Yerevan
to normalize relations, and a peace treaty is
being drafted.
- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared
that Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijani territory....
under the influence of the West.
Remembering history
- While the West tries to rewrite history, Russia treats
it with care and..... does not allow it to be lost.
- Future generations must know the truth and remember
that it was Russia that overcame fascism at the cost
of nearly 30 million deaths of its people.
- Amendments to the Constitution in 2020 restored the
supremacy of national law and established laws on
the security of the country's borders and territories.
- The support of the majority of the population for the
President's plans in the 2020 referendum, created
the basis - for Russia's future prosperity, stability,
security and good living conditions for its people.
Well done, Russia - your country is now
respected again by 80% of the world
and also by millions in the so-called
''democracies'' of the West.
When and if you start calling
each other Comrade, again,
you will have returned on
your path, perfectly!
I always wanted the merging
of genuine Christianity with
communism, and believe in
your ability to achieve that.
May all our readers work
and pray to achieve this.
What do you think?
__________________________
US not merely complicitbut
architect and mastermind
of Israel’s Gaza genocide
by Mohammad Hashim
October 31st, 1:35pm
(PressTV)
As the chorus for an end to the Israeli regime’s genocidal
campaign in the besieged Gaza Strip grows louder, it is
becoming increasingly clear who the real protagonist
and mastermind is.
While the overwhelming majority of countries voted in
favour of the humanitarian truce in Gaza during the
UN General Assembly session last week, the US
and some of its vassal states, opposed
the resolution.
The vote laid bare which side Americans and their allies
were on – the side of occupation and apartheid.
It came days after US President Joe Biden dashed off to
Tel Aviv in a show of support for the Israeli regime even
as Israeli warplanes continued to pummel densely-
populated civilian areas in Gaza.
On the eve of Biden’s visit, an Israeli warplane targeted a
hospital in northern Gaza, killing more than 700 people,
including patients and those who had taken refuge
at the hospital, after being displaced.
Biden refused to condemn the Israeli regime, rather
blamed the “other side” for the bombing, parroting
the Israeli narrative. He had previously also
peddled the Zionist lie about children
being beheaded.
During the whirlwind trip, he even described himself as
a “Zionist” and repeated a line he infamously said as a
senator in 1986: “If there were not an Israel, we’d
have to invent one.”
Biden, however, isn’t the only American batting for the
occupying regime and preventing efforts aimed at de-
escalation. Many current and former US officials
have come out openly in support of the regime.
Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State who was one of
the first foreign officials to land in Tel Aviv following
the events of October 7, has made a series of
not-so-diplomatic statements in recent days.
In an interview with NBC last week, the top US diplomat
said that Israel should “already be devising a strategy”
of who rules the besieged Gaza Strip after Hamas is
removed from the scene.
He was only echoing what Israeli Premier Benjamin
Netanyahu said earlier about the “elimination of
Hamas” being the defined goal for the regime
in its latest genocidal campaign in the
barricaded territory.
A former US military official, Ret. Gen. Barry McCaffrey,
speaking on MSNBC on Sunday, said the US is likely to
“directly intervene with air and naval strikes” --- if the
regime’s existence is threatened.
"I would suggest to you our support of Israel will be
absolute, and if we see Syrian military intervention,
active Iranian military intervention, we'll go to war,"
McCaffrey said on the show.
The unconditional and uncritical support for the Israeli
regime from the top-tier US past and present
leadership has prompted many pundits to
suggest that Washington -- is the key
player in this war.
It’s not merely complicit in what’s unfolding in the
besieged Gaza Strip, but it is the engineer, the
architect and the main mastermind of this
genocidal campaign against the people
of Palestine.
As Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed
Ali Khamenei said in a speech last week, the US is a
“definite accomplice” of the Zionist regime and its
hands are drenched in the blood of the oppressed.
“Actually, it is the US that is somehow managing the
crime that is being committed in Gaza. The US ---
is the one that is managing things,” Ayatollah
Khamenei remarked.
These words carry tremendous weight and establish the
fact that the regime in Tel Aviv is remotely controlled
by Washington as both need each other to carry
out destabilizing activities in the region.
It’s a well-established fact that the Zionist killing
machine is funded by Washington -- including
over $3.8 billion annual military assistance
the US provides annually to the regime to
purchase weaponry.
In recent weeks, there have also been reports
about two US aircraft carriers being
dispatched to the region, a move
basically meant to provide
military cover to the
vulnerable entity
in Tel Aviv.
All these developments suggest beyond doubt that
the United States basically owns this war that is
increasingly looking unwinnable for the
‘weaker than spider web’
Israeli regime.
Even though Biden’s deputy Kamala Harris insists that
Washington has “no intention” to deploy combat
troops to the occupied territories, reports
suggest US boots are already on the
ground there.
There have also been reports about the US secretly
expanding its military base on the occupied land
near Gaza, which again points to US complicity
and a key role --- in what’s unfolding in Gaza.
Intercept reported this week that the Pentagon awarded a
multimillion-dollar contract to build its secret base deep
inside the occupied territories, just 20 miles from Gaza,
code-named ‘Site 512.’
The classified base will include what the report called
a “life support facility” for the dying regime.
“Though President Joe Biden and the White House insist
that there are no plans to send U.S. troops to Israel
amid its war on Hamas, a secret U.S. military
presence in Israel already exists,” the
report stated.
As Ali Akbar Velayati, the Iranian Leader’s senior advisor,
stated on Monday, the Israeli regime will not even last
one day without the support of the United States and
European countries.
So it becomes clear that the occupying regime cannot
go ahead or sustain any military aggression without
Washington’s green light as well as political and
military patronage.
In the case of the ongoing bombing campaign in the
Gaza Strip, which will eventually lead to the demise
of the illegitimate regime. the United States is not
only complicit, but the mastermind.
Mohammad Hashim is a political and
media analyst focused on West Asia
(The views expressed in this article ---- do
not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)
Israel is often described as the US'
''attack dog'' in the Middle East.
If you had a distant relative who sent a
dog to where you live --- that beseiged
you --- and periodically killed your
children - what would YOU do?
____________________________________
The catastrophe in Gaza Ceasefire Now!
by Tatiana Belova
October 21st, 10:24am
(Vesti.ru)
Rescuers of the Russian Emergencies Ministry delivered 27
tons of humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip.
These are, first of all, extremely necessary food and
medicines. Russian humanitarian aid was handed
over to representatives of the Egyptian Red
Crescent Society to be sent to the
Palestinian enclave.
The situation of Gazans is catastrophic. This
is especially true ---- for access to water.
The Palestinian civilians found themselves in unbearable
conditions. According to the latest UN report, Gazans
now have access to at best 3 litres of water a day
instead of the minimum 50 litres.
The Gaza Strip is practically cut off from the rest of the
world. Water and food are sorely lacking. For bread –
stampede and queues. A video of Palestinian
children searching for food, in the rubble of their homes, has spread across
social networks.
Power was cut off in Gaza for nine consecutive days.
Hospitals are on the verge of collapse. Due to the
lack of light, surgeons are forced to suspend
operations. Some people... have to work in
the dark. 59 medical institutions were hit,
26 were seriously damaged. At least 16 health workers were killed and over 20 were injured.
The situation with the water supply, is particularly
deplorable. The water crisis has been developing
in Gaza for decades. The reason for this is the
depletion of the underground aquifer and the
regular blockades that Israel arranges for
the region.
Residents of the enclave are forced to drill and dig wells
to get access to water. According to the Palestinian
Water Authority, there are 10,000 wells in Gaza,
2,700 wells for the agricultural sector and
7,000 private wells drilled by residents
without a license.
"The whole problem -- is that there are extremely specific
soils. And these soils are seriously saline. Accordingly,
if the well is legal ------ it is still being cleaned and
desalinated. And if the wells are illegal, let's
just say... that the water from them is desalinated exclusively by
artisanal means," explains
Sergey Demidenko, Dean
of the School of Political
Studies at the RANEPA
Institute of National
Economy and Public
Administration.
Many desalination plants were destroyed after Israeli
strikes. As a result --- Gazans are forced to drink
brackish water. It has exceeded the indicators
of sodium, chlorine, and nitrates. Such water ---- is dangerous for health, especially
for children.
And it is also teeming with various infections. The region
has experienced regular outbreaks of cholera and
typhoid fever before. Now, amid the destruction
of critical infrastructure --- doctors expect a
surge in cases in the Palestinian enclave.
"There are a lot of biological threats. The list --- is huge. The
most banal intestinal infections-shigellosis, salmonellosis,
E. coli. In fact they are banal only at first glance because
in the absence of control, or effective treatment, they provide a high mortality rate, especially in children.
Cholera --- in principle, there were outbreaks. This
is what everyone expects with the current state.
It is not a fact that it will necessarily happen,
but the risks ------ are very high" --- warns
Nikolai Kryuchkov, an immunologist.
To prevent a catastrophe, Russia proposed a humanitarian
resolution on Gaza and Israel at the UN Security Council
earlier this week. However, it was rejected. The US, UK, France, and Japan --- voted against it.
"Humanitarian access must be granted immediately. We call
for an early ceasefire and the opening of corridors for the
delivery of urgent humanitarian aid to the affected areas
of the enclave and an exit of civilians, for an immediate
end to violence against civilians, regardless of their
place of residence," stressed Vasily Nebenzya,
Permanent Representative of the Russian
Federation to the UN.
However, the other day things got off the ground a little.
Egypt, has agreed to open the Rafah crossing to send
humanitarian aid to residents of the Gaza Strip.
On Friday, about 200 trucks piled up near the checkpoint.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres even arrived in
Rafah to track the delivery of the first humanitarian
supplies to the Palestinian enclave, on the spot.
However, it is obvious that the humanitarian catastrophe
in Gaza can be stopped - only after a ceasefire.
This, is what Russia is calling for.
Don't look away ! Write, march, fiight, pray...
Just don't do what the Pharisee did --- as Jesus taught us all --- in the parable of the good neighbour.
Don't ''cross over to the other side of the road.''
What do you think?
___________________________________
RS: The US would do better to enlist
the support of Russia and China
to resolve the conflict in
the Middle East
October 20th, 2023
(source: Responsible Statecraft
retold by InoTV)
With their authority and influence in the Middle East,
Russia and China could help the US achieve a
settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
--- and prevent its spread throughout the
region, writes Responsible Statecraft.
If the situation escalates further, there is a danger that the
ongoing armed confrontation will draw Washington and
Moscow into fighting on opposite sides, and China
will provide assistance to Russia.
The conflict in the Middle East - poses two serious threats to
the United States. First, it is a deadly threat to Israel, which
may arise as a result of a joint attack on it by Hamas,
Hezbollah and Iran (especially if Russia helps it), and
the resumption of the intifada.
Secondly, there is a danger that such a regional conflict will
draw the United States and Russia into fighting on opposite
sides, and China will provide assistance to Russia,
writes Responsible Statecraft.
Preventing both situations is crucial for both the US's own
security and Israel's, which largely depends on China and
Russia helping to contain their partners in the region in
exchange for Israel's restraint in the Gaza Strip.
The most likely route to this double jeopardy --- would be to
launch a full-scale Israeli ground invasion of the Gaza Strip,
for which Hamas is almost certainly prepared and which it
may well have originally intended to provoke. The invasion
--- will inevitably involve prolonged urban fighting and
massive civilian casualties, leading to widespread
outrage in the region.
This may trigger a military response from Hezbollah, which
in turn will put massive pressure on Iran to force Tehran
to support its Lebanese partner.
The northern front between Israel & Iran-backed Hezbollah
could also well extend into Syria, drawing Russia or even
Turkey directly into the fighting. Neither side is looking
for a direct clash with Israel --- because the Hamas
attack, has already caught Iran off guard, Russia
is completely engrossed in the Ukraine conflict,
and Turkey will lose the leverage it uses to
maneuver between the US, EU, Russia,
and regional players ---- south of its
borders. However, circumstances
may force these States to make
choices... that they would prefer to avoid.
Choosing between China and Russia will make it easier for
the United States to enlist Beijing's help. China has the
most to lose from an expanded regional conflict that
could threaten access to its oil reserves, drive up
energy prices.. and disrupt international trade, on which the country's economy depends.
In addition, China could also benefit from working with the
United States to contain the crisis and stabilize the region,
bolstering its prestige on the world stage and reassuring
the US, which fears that Beijing intends to "destabilize"
the international "order."
Washington will not want to give the leading role in the
region to China - even though China is already playing
such a role regardless of the US desire, as evidenced
by its support for Saudi-Iranian rapprochement.
Successful cooperation with China in the Middle East would
mark a return to previous US statements that Washington
hopes Beijing will become a "responsible stakeholder"
on the world stage, rather than an enemy.
The situation is more complicated with Russia, as it has
good relations with both Israel and Iran, and has fought
alongside Hezbollah in Syria. In addition, the level of
hostility and distrust.... that grew long before the
Ukrainian conflict between the USt and Russia
is off the scale. It is obvious that Russia is
strongly tempted to create problems for
the US ---- and take advantage of the
situation --- to strengthen its ties
with Iran, the Arab world, and
countries of the Global South
--- at the expense of the US.
Fortunately for the United States, Moscow also has reason
to worry about the deepening conflict in the Middle East.
First of all, Russia has long been concerned about the issue
of Islamic terrorism. After the events of September 11, a
strong sense of unity of interests with the US in the
fight against terrorism emerged in Moscow. As a
result of this perception of a common threat, the
West's policy in Libya and Syria was met in
Russia not only with rage, but also with
bewilderment. Faced with the obvious
danger of Islamist extremism and the
terrible example of the war in Iraq,
Russian analysts could not under-
stand.. how the West could have
followed a course ------- aimed at
destroying the Libyan & Syrian
states -------and expanding
opportunities for the
spread of religious
terrorism.
The resumption of at least limited cooperation with Russia,
in the fight against terrorism --- is both one of the ways to a
possible broader settlement and is extremely necessary in
itself, because the current conflict, is sure to increase the
terrorist threat to the West. Terrorist attacks have already
begun in Europe. The United States also needs to resume
negotiations with Russia on the future of Syria, as the US
strategy to overthrow the political regime has long failed.
Neither Russia nor China has sufficient leverage to prevent
Hezbollah from opening a northern front with Israel - if the
Israeli military launches a full invasion of the Gaza Strip.
However ------- Beijing and Moscow probably have enough
influence to guarantee Tel Aviv that Hamas supporters
will not take part in the clashes in exchange for some
measure of restraint on the part of the Israelis.
The United States should enlist the support of Russia and
China, and then it will be easier to resolve the conflict in
the Middle East, Responsible Statecraft concludes.
Some chance? No chance!
What do you think?
___________________________________________
How Palestinian resistance
gained upper hand with its
strategic military operation
October 17th, 1:39pm
by Julia Kassem
The Israeli regime’s humiliating withdrawal from Gaza
in 2005, placed the coastal strip at the centre of the
illegitimate entity’s wrath as Gazans rejected the
comprador authority that ruled the West Bank,
marking a reversal and upheaval of the plan of Zionists.
After that, Gaza was subjected to a brutal blockade,
depriving it of clean water, strictly limiting its food,
and every once in a while shelling the world’s
largest open-air prison.
Before the Tel Aviv regime launched its genocidal aerial
bombardment campaign, it was caught by complete
surprise on the morning of October 7, 2023, when
the Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement
launched the ‘Al-Aqsa Storm’ operation.
Following the barrage of rockets that pounded the occupied
broke through the regime’s highly-fortified fence and
ambushed bases in Israeli-occupied Beit Hanoon
(called Erez by the occupation) border crossing,
the Zikim base, and the Gaza division
headquarters at Reim.
Within a few hours, the Palestinian resistance fighters had
already captured 35 Israeli military personnel, killed
dozens, and captured vast swathes of occupied
towns. They dragged out senior Israeli regime
commander Nimrod Aloni --- responsible for
planning operations against resistance
groups - in his undergarments.
Almost immediately, the resistance eliminated the entire
Israeli battalion responsible for overseeing, monitoring
and surveillance of the besieged Gaza Strip.
This knocked out the occupation’s intelligence capabilities
to the extent that PM Benjamin Netanyahu himself had no
clue about it even hours after the operation, and Israeli
units failed to respond - let alone inform the public - for at least 6 hours.
The information then revealed --- that one of the bases
ambushed by the resistance was a publicly unknown
one - and not only did the Palestinian fighters know
where the base was, but were able to specifically
target and destroy the communications
infrastructure there.
It was entirely the work of Palestinian resistance - despite
a Wall Street Journal article claiming the operation was
carried out with the help of Iran - an erroneous lie,
especially the reference to “Hezbollah
security sources”.
Iran’s United Nations office dismissed the claim, while
reaffirming the Islamic Republic's unflinching support
for the Palestinian resistance --- and the
surprise operation.
The lie was later retracted by the Pentagon, issuing
a statement that there was no evidence of Iran’s
involvement, but already, it was clear that Iran
was also a target --- likely at the request of a
desperate regime in Tel Aviv, who realized
that its security, like its impenetrable
wall, was completely broken.
The Palestinian resistance was victorious not because
of any co-incidence or luck --- but because of its
strategic vision and military prowess, which
is lacking on the other side.
The Palestinian resistance’s operation, which came in
response to daily atrocities against Palestinians - as
well as the repeated desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque
by regime forces and settlers -- exposed not only
chinks in the regime’s military apparatus -- but
also the complete absence of strategy in the
Zionist entity ------ so it had to resort to
propaganda and false narratives.
As the threat of a ground invasion becomes more
pronounced, the Zionist entity finds itself at a
crossroads: either to back down and accept
defeat ----- or move ahead with a ground
invasion ----- and face the wrath of
all fronts of the resistance axis.
The latter scenario almost ensures the Zionist entity’s
crushing defeat - both in terms of being pulled across
two fronts as well as facing Lebanon’s Hezbollah
resistance movement, which has grown
considerably stronger... since its
thumping victory over Israel
in 2006.
The prospects of an Israeli defeat are particularly high -- as
the events that unfolded on October 7 reveal. The regime’s
lack of strategy pushes it into the fold of ideology and
cruel, sadistic idealism, producing its “tactics” (if you
can call them that) of shock-and-awe terror and
intimidation, of mass genocide of Gazans, to
produce civilian intimidation - devastation
- where military victories cannot be
matched up.
Despite the Palestinian resistance’s superior intelligence
capabilities and strong command of strategy, the Zionist
entity could drum up nothing more intelligent than a
propaganda campaign - equating the Palestinian
resistance, particularly Hamas - to the Daesh
terrorist group --- alongside other orientalist
tropes aimed at dehumanizing Palestinians
--- to justify horrific war crimes and mass
murder, carried out in the absence of
a strategy.
The Palestinians -- were projected as bloodthirsty savage
men with appetites for rape and murder who had nothing
better to do than to target scantily-clad white settler
women and murder children.
These tropes, present in different forms during the Al-Aqsa
Storm operation (also known as the Al-Aqsa Flood), were
quickly debunked.
The most notorious of these Zionist lies was that 40 babies
were beheaded by Hamas in the kibbutz of Kfar Aza on
October 10. The lies were debunked over and over
again, (with the Zionist entity adding insult to
injury in tweeting an AI-generated image of
a burned “baby”) but the damage --- in
invoking a sensationalist reaction
to orientalist tropes --- stuck.
Israel used it not just to justify its aerial bombardment of
civilians in Gaza, but also -- to manufacture consent for
such a campaign amongst Americans, whose support
is so critical for Tel Aviv to even consider launching
its ground offensive, and whose public has grown
more hesitant to pour more money for wars
abroad - especially post-Ukraine.
On October 13, the Israeli regime demanded North Gaza’s
nearly 1 million inhabitants evacuate to the south of the
territory, warning them of an incoming, unforgiving
aerial bombardment campaign. The order even
applied to hospitals that were teeming with
critical patients.
Gazan authorities immediately slammed the warnings as
psychological warfare, with Hamas leadership urging
citizens not to fall into Zionist schemes
“to create another Nakba.”
Hamas pointed out in an English-language telegram
statement that targeting hospitals was a violation
of international law. Yet Israel pressed harder in
forcing a mass evacuation - or at least making
it look like they had warned Palestinians
before their brutal annihilation.
When terrified Palestinians heeded the threatening orders
and traveled south - the humanitarian corridor became a
target for the regime, which rained bombs on numerous
convoys, massacring and injuring over 200 civilians,
mostly women and children.
In the short term, the regime has sought to wipe out Gaza
of not its resistance, but of its inhabitants, first by aiming
to establish a security belt from the North of Gaza before
moving in to wipe out Gaza of its entire population, tear
through underground tunnels, and washing away its
crimes by reinstating the illegal occupying
settlements (“Gush Katif”) removed as
part of the occupying entity’s
withdrawal in 2005.
These campaigns of terror and mass murder serve a
nefarious displacement project - one that would see
Gaza’s two million inhabitants dead - or, in the long
term, pushed, permanently displaced, into Egypt’s
Sinai to live in tents (and forever panhandle from
the liberal wing of Global Zionism as begging
recipients of paltry “aid”), as recurrent
Israeli proposals have indicated.
Just as Daesh’s forced displacement of Syrians and Iraqis
from the region’s oil-rich north enabled trillions in US oil
extortion to take place, the forced exodus of
Palestinians, squashes out any hope for
Palestinian sovereignty over land and
resources - including an estimated
$15 billion in offshore oil wealth
in the occupied Palestinian
maritime boundary.
Like Daesh, the Zionist entity functions outside of any
legal or humanitarian standards or laws, be it
religious or liberal-secular.
Like Daesh, the Zionist entity invokes indiscriminate
campaigns of mass murder and violence, to
cleanse the population and uphold an
ever-expanding ethno-state.
Like Daesh, the Zionist entity upholds its reign of terror
through supremacists, a twisted ideology that
disregards vision for nihilistic dogma.
And like Daesh, the Zionist entity carries out its genocidal
campaigns essentially to the benefit of the West, with
whom it finds itself in collusion with chaos-inducing
means to plunge Palestine and the Arab world into
a reactionary, servile end.
Yet like Daesh, the illegitimate regime’s genocidal goals
executed with a lack of a constructive vision and
harnessed by death and destruction - come amid
a waning US hegemony ----- that Israel is
completely dependent upon. So the
future looks particularly bleak for the regime.
On the other hand, the resistance axis, following the latest
developments, clearly holds the upper hand in this battle
– a battle that will end in the annihilation of the
apartheid regime.
Julia Kassem is a freelance writer, having contributed
to Detroit's own Riverwise, Against the Current,
and nationally syndicated outlets such as
Counterpunch, Mintpressnews,
and TruthOut.
Truly, some amazing insights.
I don't think the Palestinians
are going to lose - and tens
of thousands of Israelis
now leaving Israel ---
seem to agree.
What do you think?
_____________________________________
What the Communists are fighting for A decent youth policy
October 14th, 2:56pm
(Press service of Stalingrad
Regional Committee of the
Communist Party of the
Russian Federation)
Meeting of Komsomol activists of the
Southern Federal District opened
in Volgograd.
On October 13, a gathering of Komsomol activists from the
Southern Federal District, started in Volgograd. Opening
the forum, Tamara Golovacheva, First Secretary of the
Stalingrad Regional Committee of the Communist
Party of the Russian Federation... addressed
young delegates, from the Astrakhan and
Rostov regions, the Republic of Crimea,
the city of Sevastopol, the Krasnodar
Territory, Adygea, and the Donetsk
and Luhansk People's Republics:
"On behalf of....... the regional Committee of the Communist
Party of the Russian Federation, I would like to welcome
you to the heroic - and unruly - Stalingrad land. Your
Komsomol rally -- is held in the year of the 80th
anniversary of the Victory at Stalingrad, and
October is crowned by another date - the
105th anniversary of the only political
and mass organization in the world,
the All-Union Leninist Communist
Youth Union.''
''In a difficult time for our country, during the years of the Civil
War and foreign military intervention, no one then realized
what lies ahead for young people.. what they have to do,
what the main task is to fulfill. This task was voiced at
the third congress of the Komsomol in October 1920,
where Vladimir Ilyich Lenin told young people that
they need to learn ----- that you can become a
communist only if you enrich your memory
with knowledge of all the riches that
humanity has developed. Learn
and work. Build new cities,
railways, and factories.''
''During the years of the struggle against the Nazi invaders,
ten million Komsomol members ------ went to the front. 3.5 thousand of them received the title Hero of the
Soviet Union. Among them, were our Stalingrad
heroes: Nikolai Serdyukov, Mikhail Panikakha,
Sasha Filippov, Yakov Pavlov... and
many others.''
''The legendary Komsomol tribe is alive today, it continues to
work and grows stronger - together with the history of the
country under the leadership of the Communist Party.''
''I wish you fruitful work at the Meeting, and with your
Komsomol enthusiasm and energy, always keep up
with the party, fight and win."
During the Gathering of Komsomol activists, participants will
listen to lectures on the history of the Communist Party and
the Komsomol, take part in a seminar on journalism, learn
how to conduct propaganda work, and discuss the
prospects for the development of the LKSM
and the country as a whole.
''Knowledge of all the riches that
humanity has developed.'' Wow!
Have you taken a look -- at the
mass media and social media
in your country, today?
What did you learn?
________________________________
Bloomberg: Russia and China will
benefit from the war in Gaza, and
the West will have to answer for
"double standards"
(source: Bloomberg
retold by InoTV)
October 13th, 2023
A war in the Middle East can cause serious damage
to the power and authority of the West, and the
only winners in the war in Gaza may be
Russia and China, according
to Bloomberg.
The two countries' positions on the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, differ, creating an even greater rift in the
current world situation. Too many countries
around the world accuse Israel of illegally
occupying Palestinian land - continuing
settlement expansion, and oppressing
the Palestinian people.
The moral necessity of the creation of Israel after World War
II was not recognized even by the remote countries of Asia
and Africa, let alone the Middle East: most of them still do
not agree that the Palestinians were deprived of property
and punished for the crimes of European countries.
But - as Bloomberg notes - it is not just Israel's attempts to
normalize relations with its Arab neighbours that are now
under threat. A prolonged and widespread conflict in the
Middle East "will drain the West's resources in relation
to Ukraine," which "were already scarce and subject
to domestic political opposition in the US and other
countries." Moreover, little will remain of the Biden
administration's ambitious efforts to counter
China's growing influence in the Middle
East, whether it's a peace deal
between Saudi Arabia and
Israel, or a proposed
economic corridor
linking India....
to Europe.
According to the US newspaper, the war in the
Middle East has already undermined all the
efforts made by the West.
Moreover, even if the struggle is confined to the Gaza Strip,
it will subject to more international scrutiny... what the
human rights organization, Amnesty International, in
its report calls the "double standards of the West"
--- in the field of human rights in the world.
The US authorities did not answer the question put to them
by the Palestinian activist Mustafa Barghouti: "Why does
the United States support Ukraine in the fight against
the so-called occupation, while in the Middle East
they support the invader who still continues to
occupy us?"
As Bloomberg notes, it is precisely the rash actions of the
West and its ambivalent policy towards other countries
that play into the hands of Russia and China.
According to the publication ---- "China and Russia will only
benefit from the pictures of death and destruction in Gaza,
caused, among other things, by US-made bombs."
Some good points there.
Meanwhile, children die.
Sick of it... aren't you?
__________________________
British commandos train Ukrainian
saboteurs to undermine Russian
nuke plants — FSB
October 11th, 9:31am (TASS)
The British special operations personnel, trained Ukrainian
military intelligence groups for subversive acts at Russian
nuclear power plants, Russia’s Federal Security Service
(FSB) Director, Alexander Bortnikov, said at a meeting
of the Council of CIS Security Agencies and Special Services Chiefs, that opened under his chairmanship, on Wednesday.
"In August this year --- the Federal Security Service
apprehended members of a Ukrainian subversive
and reconnaissance group. Operational and
investigative measures - have established
that the personnel of the British special
operations forces ------ trained the saboteurs and planned their operations.''
''The group was tasked with carrying out subversive acts
against military facilities, oil, transport and critical
infrastructure -- and also against nuclear power
sites, in particular, the Smolensk and Kursk
nuclear power stations," the FSB chief said.
Earlier, similar subversive acts were attempted against the Leningrad and Kalinin nuclear power plants, Bortnikov said.
"In all, over 20 explosives planted at electric power
transmission lines of nuclear power plants - were
neutralized as a result of counter-saboteur work.
Their detonation pursued the goal of disrupting
the technological process of the operation of
nuclear power plants," the FSB chief said.
As a result of the saboteurs’ subversive acts, the operation
of the 2nd power unit of the Kursk nuclear power plant
was halted ------ in an emergency shutdown,
Bortnikov said.
"These acts by the Ukrainian military intelligence and its
British instructors, should be qualified as nothing else
but nuclear terrorism," the FSB chief stressed.
"A question arises: is London aware of the reckless nature
of actions by its special services? What do these insane
persons ultimately count on? The point is that by their
actions they raise the terror threat to a higher level,"
Bortnikov said.
As the FSB chief pointed out, "this requires measures from
the international community - to work out fundamentally
new approaches --- in the fight against terrorism,its ideological inspirers, sponsors, and perpetrators," the FSB chief said.
I'm talking to the UK special services now. Have you realistically looked at yourself and seen yourself --- as a terrorist?
If you have - how does it make you feel?
___________________________________
Gitmo detainees continue to be
tortured by CIA ----- physically,
and mentally: Attorney
by Syed Zafar Mehdi
October 4th, 11:18am
(PressTV)
Torture has always existed at Guantanamo Bay in different
forms --- and the inmates there continue to be tortured
physically and psychologically, says a US-based
human rights attorney.
In an interview with the Press TV website, Alka Pradhan,
who has represented Guantanamo Bay detainees as
well as victims of US drone strikes, described
various forms of torture prevalent at the
notorious US detention facility --- also
known as Gitmo, in southeast Cuba.
“In the early days, it took the form of beatings and forced
nudity, starvation and force-feedings, and other terrible
techniques,” said Pradhan, referring to the
institutionalizing of torture at Gitmo.
“Now, decades of arbitrary detention, and lack of family
visits and medical care ------ including botched or
substandard procedures ------ carried out by
poorly qualified staff ----- continue to
torture these men psychologically
and physically.”
Pradhan, one of the leading human rights lawyers in the US,
is currently Human Rights Counsel at the Guantanamo Bay
Military Commissions. She was previously Counter-
Terrorism Counsel at Reprieve US, where she
represented several Guantanamo
Bay detainees.
She also conducted advocacy and litigation on behalf of
civilian victims of US drone strikes in Yemen and
Pakistan and has advised the US government
on compliance with international
legal obligations.
Last week, Pradhan was invited to the European Parliament
to speak on Gitmo human rights abuses amid growing calls
from human rights advocates to shut down the notorious
US detention centre.
She is an attorney representing Ammar al-Baluchi, an Iranian
citizen, who has suffered high-degree torture at the hands
of the CIA and even denied medical care by the
White House.
“Ammar, an Iranian citizen, was brutally tortured for 3.5 years
at the “black sites” - the CIA’s secret prisons all over the
world - before he was rendered to Guantanamo Bay, in
September 2006,” Pradhan told the Press TV website.
“According to CIA records, CIA personnel used him as a
human experiment, bashing his head against a wall
over and over again for hours ----- to obtain their
interrogator certifications. They also tortured
him using water, shackling his wrists over his
head, beatings, forced nudity, and forced
starvation. For most of his time at the
black sites, he was sleep-deprived,
first with ear-splitting music, and
then with 24/7 fluorescent
lights,” she hastened
to add.
Ammar, the US human rights attorney said ----- is 46 years old
today and suffers from multiple brain injuries because of CIA
torture as well as severe post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD), the inability to sleep normally and cognitive
decline, denied proper medical care by the
US government.
“They will not allow medical histories to be taken that discuss
the causes of his ailments (torture), the DoD (US Department
of Defense) will not allow independent doctors to treat him,
and according to the Chief Medical Officer, they do not
have the ability to provide complex medical care or
do proper surgeries here,” she said.”
“Despite entreaties, the White House and DoD have absolutely
refused to either implement a proper medical and torture
rehabilitation program here or conduct humanitarian
transfers of the remaining men to places where
they can receive the care they need.”
Pradhan also spoke about the Guantanamo military
commissions set up by the US government that
have only exacerbated the miserable
conditions of Gitmo inmates.
These military commissions, she said --- in a conversation
with the Press TV website, were built --- to “benefit from
CIA torture, while hiding as many details of the torture
program as possible.”
“The US government made a conscious decision after 9/11
to torture men abroad instead of bringing them to court
for prosecution. Once they could no longer hide them
in secret prisons, it was too late to prosecute them
in real US courts because of that torture,”
Pradhan said.
“The Military Commissions Act - was written to allow the
government to use torture-acquired evidence (the bulk
of their evidence against these men), but also to
prevent them ----- from giving the defense the
information we require about exculpatory
or mitigating factors, like the men’s
torture in CIA black sites,”
she added.
The US-based attorney said the US government has “continuously invaded attorney-client
privilege --- with listening devices in our
meeting rooms and the FBI attempting
to place an informant on one defense
team”, noting that the corruption in
the military commissions ---
“precludes any justice.”
On why the US government chose a detention facility
in Cuba, away from the mainland, to detain people
after the 9/11 attacks, Pradhan said the decision
was taken, so that the US “exercises complete
control” and international and domestic laws
do not apply.
“To this day, the US refuses to apply the Constitution
in the military commissions, or the full provisions of
Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions to
the remaining detainees. And the detainees
themselves, have no real legal remedies -
they are not allowed to file lawsuits, in
the United States, and no country will
sanction the US -------- for its illegal
treatment of these men,”
she stated.
The international calls for the closure of the notorious
detention facility have grown louder, but the Joe Biden administration, like previous
administrations..... has adopted
the policy of dilly-dallying.
Pradhan said the strength of the US propaganda campaign
around Guantanamo at the beginning, “labeling all of the
men here the “worst of the worst” and categorizing
them all as some sort of combatant against the
United States, has proven impossible
to reverse.”
“Despite the fact that no one should ever have been held at
Guantanamo, that most were sold to the US for bounty
payments, and that only a handful have ever been
charged, most Americans still believe that the
Guantanamo detainees, are all terrorists,”
she told the Press TV website.
“President Obama --- had the ability to tell the truth about
the men at Guantanamo, even when Congress stopped
him from closing the facility --- but he did not. The
enduring misinformation about the detainees,
means that many countries do not want to
accept them --- and that Congress has
banned any transfers of the men
to US territory.”
and US citizens wonder why their country ------ is hated!
What - do you feel about ''Gitmo'' ?
______________________________________
Zionists’ Hatred on the Rise:
Jews... Spit at Christian
Worshipers inAl-Quds
October 4th, 1:05pm
(al Manar)
Orthodox Jews spat at Christian worshippers in the Old City
of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) anew on Wednesday, amid a rise in
incidents targeting priests and pilgrims in the holy city.
Israeli media reported that occupation police arrested
five Jews “on suspicion” of spitting at Christians, in
an attempt to show, that the Israeli government
exerts efforts to confront such provocations.
Video shared on social media showed a group
of Orthodox Jews spitting as they were
walking through the Old City.
The Jerusalem Post cited N12 as saying that the brother
of MK Simcha Rothman, Rabbi Natan Rothman, led the procession this morning, during which, the provocation took place.
It added that the rabbi “did not commit the act
himself, but rather, his students who were
with him.”
Wednesday’s provocation, followed a spitting incident
during the so-called Sukkot holiday celebrations on
Tuesday, as well as another, on Monday.
Spitting at Christians“Ancient Jewish Custom”
At the same time, the so-called Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, said in an interview: “I still think spitting at Christians, is not a criminal case. I think we need to act on it through instruction and education. Not everything justifies an arrest.”
Speaking to Army Radio, the minister in charge of police
added: “It is deserving --- of every condemnation.
It should be stopped. I asked Rabbi Dov Lior,
he said it was immoral and wrong. We’re
against it. But let’s stop slandering
Israel. We’re all brothers, we’re
all of the same people.”
Before entering politics, Ben Gvir in the past
justified spitting toward Christians, as
“an ancient Jewish custom.”
Source: Israeli media
Not everyone wearing a smile is friendly... we are all too human... too frail.
But should this news article have even been printed?
al Manar, in my opinion, has gone too far here.
What do you think?
__________________________
A bill for two:why Europe is being
urged - to seek a solution to the
crisis in Ukraine amid declining
support from the United States
October 3rd, 10:16pm
by Alexander Karpov,
& Elizaveta Komarova
(RT.ru)
The EU should start working as soon as possible to establish
a cease-fire and truce in Ukraine against the background
of declining support for Kiev from Washington. This was
stated by Bundestag deputy, Sarah Wagenknecht.
"Instead of approving billions for military supplies and
now bearing the costs of this 'proxy war' for the US -
the EU should have finally thought about the needs
of its citizens ------- and called for an immediate
suspension of hostilities!" the politician said.
She stressed that Brussels is making dubious conclusions
against the background of the recent adoption of the
budget in the US, from which financial assistance
for Kiev was excluded.
According to Wagenknecht, in this context, the promises
of the head of EU diplomacy... about long-term support
for Ukraine "for €5 billion annually" are "impossible".
Wagenknecht recalled that the EU, unlike the US, allocates
huge funds for the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees,
and it is necessary to invest money, not in weapons, but
in the restoration of Ukraine.
Recall that the EU's chief diplomat, Josep Borrel, made a
proposal in August - to create a military assistance fund
for Ukraine for 2024-2027, from which, up to €5 billion
will be allocated to Kiev, annually.
After the meeting of the foreign Ministers of the EU countries,
which took place on October 2 in Kiev, Borrel said that the
allocation of €5 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2024,
has not yet been agreed, but Brussels hopes to reach
a consensus, before the end of the year.
Waning support
At the same time, Western media reported a weakening of
Western support for Kiev. In particular, this was reported
by the newspaper Politico, which refers to diplomatic
sources in the EU.
The message that the US and Europe will support Kiev
"no matter what," is beginning to sound emasculated.
The newspaper notes, that Kiev depends on Western
assistance not only in the military sphere, but also
in terms of financing the authorities. According to
the budget forecast for 2024, Kiev expects to
receive about $42.8 billion from its foreign
partners, while a significant part of these
funds should come from the US,
writes Politico.
In June, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, said
in an interview with Politico, that the US should "step in"
and provide Kiev with assistance ---"at least for the
medium term." However.... when asked whether
the decision of the US Congress to exclude
aid to Ukraine from the budget will affect
this, Marchenko's representative
declined to comment, the
newspaper reports.
Recall that Republicans in the US House of Representatives
managed to achieve the exclusion from the draft budget
of the item on the allocation of aid to Kiev.
US President Joe Biden approved this budget on October 1,
but then said: "Under no circumstances can we allow US
support for Ukraine to be interrupted."
In addition to financial support, the West's ability to support Kiev militarily, is also weakening. Thus, Politico cites the words of European officials: that EU countries can no longer supply Kiev with weapons from their own reserves, without threatening the security of
the community.
"We cannot continue to supply (weapons. - RT) from our
own stocks… We have already given everything that
was possible without threatening our own security,"
the newspaper quotes the source as saying.
Also, Politico quotes the words of General Stephane Millet, chief of staff of the French Aerospace Forces, who said
that in Europe they cannot "constantly give and
observe how the number of systems is
reduced, in favour of Ukraine."
A similar situation is observed in the US. So, the AP
news agency published a letter from the Pentagon
to Congress --- which states that the US defense
department is running out of funds to replace
weapons sent to Ukraine, which led to a
forced slowdown in the supply of
some units.
In addition, the Pentagon's financial controller, Michael McCord, told leaders of the House of Representatives
and the Senate that only $1.6 billion remained of the
$25.9 billion allocated by Congress, for the
replenishment of weapons stocks
...that went to Ukraine.
Political setting
Sarah Wagenknecht's statement reflects a fairly broad
position that is widespread in Germany and other EU
countries, political analyst Ivan Konovalov noted
in a conversation with RT.
"This is a fairly common position for German politicians.
In fact, in Germany, with the exception of a number of
representatives of the ruling coalition - there are not
so many supporters of continuing the conflict. Most
people understand that the situation is objectively
negative --- and the German economy is facing
some very difficult days. There is only one
way to solve this problem: to stop
Germany's participation in this
adventure on the territory of
Ukraine. And, to do this the
EU should start working
to establish a truce
in Ukraine" ---- the
expert explained.
At the same time, the West will not abandon its plans
to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, using the
Ukrainian conflict for this purpose, Ivan
Konovalov added.
"For the US, this is a serious political attitude that they
imposed on a significant part of Europe. But it is
impossible to do this, they are beginning to
realize it, so now Western politicians are
driven by a banal desire to save money.
The US, has destroyed the European
economy and gained control over it
and achieved economic benefits --
through a scheme using Ukraine.
Europe is in a serious crisis, it's
obvious, so we see similar
statements from various
politicians" --- the
expert said.
However, the support of Kiev will not
be stopped in one day, Ivan
Konovalov stressed.
"The US foreign policy is very sluggish, they will
continue to move along the already laid anti-
Russian track. But gradually they will have
to do it. When they really start to abandon
the toxic Ukrainian project, when this is
expressed in real political decisions,
then everything will end --- for the
Kiev regime. But so far, the US
continues to move by inertia,
although there are already
problems.... with military
assistance for Ukraine,
now it will only be for
an emergency. This
--- is the first call,"
the expert said.
In Europe, they understand that the Zelensky administration
exists solely at the expense of material and political
support from the US, said Alexander Mikhailov,
head of the Bureau of Military-Political
Analysis, in a conversation with RT.
"If you remove the support of Washington, there will
benothing left of Zelensky and this whole company,
without Western weapons and money ---- they will
not last even a few weeks. The most far-sighted
politicians in the West, are beginning to adjust
their positions in advance and change course
against the background of the results of the
Ukrainian counteroffensive. Everything that
Kiev promised did not materialize, and the
flow of supplied weapons decreased. In
addition, Ukrainian ultra-nationalism is
very inconvenient for the West, which
was clearly demonstrated by the
''incident'' ...in the Canadian
Parliament," the source
stressed.
Western countries have already invested a lot of money
in Kiev, but now the desire to maintain such a level of
spending is clearly declining, Alexander
Mikhailov stressed.
"All this was very pathetic in the first months of last year,
when everyone was running around with staged
provocations, shaking different photos and
calling on everyone to collectively give
the last shirt to Ukraine. But now, all
this.... has already been resolved
---- since the Western audience
very easily changes its idol,"
the expert explained.
Zelensky continues to ask Western countries for billions
in funding, to give Kiev the last tanks and planes, the
political scientist added.
"Once given, the second time too, but these requests
continue and at the same time are accompanied by
derogatory comments - what Zelensky's entourage
is famous for. Here, any normal head of state and
politician will think about how promising such a
partnership is. Zelensky still has a "roof" in
Washington, but this is also, not forever,"
said Alexander Mikhailov.
The US obviously wants to remove Ukraine from its
balance sheet and shift further responsibility for
the fate of Kiev, to the EU, the expert believes.
"Washington will narrow military aid to Ukraine, transfer
it to the maintenance of the EU and will force Kiev to
create a new negotiating group --- closer to the US
presidential election in 2024.''
''With the counteroffensive, everything is already clear:
armaments are running out, and the West, in its own
interests, wants to freeze this story as soon as
possible," the source concluded.
So, if the plan was, to attack Russia
and after achieving that, to attack
China, what happens now?
What do you think?
_________________________________________
L'actualité: the US media are silent about Nazism in Ukraine....
to please the authorities
October 3rd, 2023
(source: L'actualité
retold by InoTV)
The scandal with the Ukrainian Nazi that broke out in Canada
has made many people think about extremely unpleasant
a researcher at the University of Quebec in Montreal
in the field of strategy and diplomacy.
The main question is whether the accusations of Vladimir
Putin, who at the very beginning of the SVO pointed out
Nazism flourishing in the ranks of the Ukrainian army,
turned out to be true. However, not only the answer,
but the very need to raise this question, requires
Western media... to add more nuances to their
texts, while they are determined to present
the conflict in Ukraine as a struggle of
the bad against the good.
With few exceptions, this approach has completely
subordinated the public space of the main donor
of the Kiev regime - the United States. In the US
culture, information has become a commercial
product & local media have long appreciated
the financial benefits --- of simplifying
complex situations.
Reducing multidimensional stories to ones that are easier
to digest... is considered a smart approach by media conglomerates to "sell" their tastes to a wider
audience. This is especially true, when the
nuances can raise ambiguous questions
about nationalism.
As Raphael Jacob reminds us ---- the biggest triumphs of the
United States and reasons for national pride are the victory
over Nazi Germany in World War II and the victory over the
Soviet Union in the Cold War. In both cases, Americans
can claim that they were, as the saying goes, "on the
right side of history." But what will become of this
hitherto unshakeable conviction - if we open their
eyes to the fact that in order to defeat the former,
the United States collaborated with the latter,
and then defended the former, in the fight
against the latter?
US films and TV shows show the bravery and sacrifice of US
soldiers in the fight against the Third Reich, but almost do
not pay attention to their largest ally in the fight against
Hitler — the Soviet Union. At the same time, the USSR
lost 100 times more citizens than the United States,
and it was Soviet soldiers who liberated Auschwitz
in 1945.
At the same time, very few Americans know ---- that after World
War II, their government deliberately granted asylum to some
of the perpetrators of the Holocaust, after the whole world
learned about the concentration camps at the Nuremberg
trials. The reason for this decision is that many of those
granted asylum, including in Ukraine, promised to
weaken the new enemy - the Soviet Union.
Modern Ukrainian nationalism has its roots in Nazism and
neo-Nazism. Caught between the two warring countries,
some Ukrainians, who wanted to get rid of Stalin,
supported Hitler.
The US government ----- considering Russia a threat that is more
difficult to contain, decided to cooperate directly or indirectly
with Nazi groups. In the 1940s and 1950s, this meant
providing support and protection to leaders of
ultra-right Ukrainian movements, such as
Stepan Bandera ------ who massacred
hundreds of thousands of Jews
during the Holocaust.
In the last decade, cooperation with Ukraine has meant the
creation of hundreds of nationalist groups that are now
fighting at the front in uniforms with swastikas and
other Nazi symbols. As the author of the article
notes... the US government does not want to
support such groups, but at the same time
it is aware of what its money is being
spent on.
In one of the rare articles published in June... The New
York Times openly admitted that the situation created
considerable discomfort among the major US media.
Most decided to completely ignore the problem and not print
photos of Ukrainians with Nazi symbols. The demonstration
of such "gray areas" requires relying on the ability of
readers to think, but at the same time sets up high-
ranking representatives of the US Department of
Defense against these publications.
Nevertheless, media groups... would only benefit from a
comprehensive presentation of various political crises,
including the Ukrainian one, with special attention
to nuances. This would put an end - to the toxic
accusations ---- of a loss of trust between the
country's population and the largest media
holdings, L'actualité columnist Raphael
Jacob concludes.
Put an end to the billions spent on brainwashing?
It'll take more than a nuance, and, in the case of
Canada and those countries like the US and UK,
whose people still live in cartoon world, it'll
take handing over thousands of nazis.....
to finally face justice.
Another thing, let's explode the myth that a ''researcher'' at a College in Canada is so privileged as to be in a free, knowledge based environment, when he or she will cross red lines of officially tolerated dissent ------ at their peril, in actuality!
What do you think?
___________________________________________
CBC News: How did the Ukrainian Nazis
settle in Canada? ------ after a scandal
in Parliament.. Ottawa is called on to disclose military documents
September 27th, 2023
(source: CBC
retold by InoTV)
After the scandal with the appearance in the Canadian
Parliament of a member of the SS division "Galicia"
Jaroslaw Gunka - Ottawa is required to disclose
wartime documents in order to establish how
many of those who joined the Nazis....
eventually settled in the country,
reports CBC News.
According to the channel, Canada allowed dozens of
soldiers of the division, including Gunka, to settle in
a country where they were not charged with
war crimes.
For Yaroslav Gunka, this moment of applause
was the reason for reckoning with history.
WITOLD DZIELSKI, Polish Ambassador to Ottawa:
This person should not be in the public eye,
should not be in the Canadian Parliament.
Poland has said it is taking steps to extradite Gunka, 98,
because he served in a Nazi unit during World War II.
WITOLD DZIELSKY: He needs to be brought tojustice.
The SS Galicia Division consisted of Ukrainian volunteers
who had decided to join Hitler's forces to fight Soviet
Russia. Gunka himself, studied in Munich.
DOMINIQUE AREL, Head of the Department of Ukrainian
Studies at the University of Ottawa: You can only
imagine .....what a political indoctrination it is
when you are trained in a Nazi environment.
That is, they were exposed to unfiltered
Nazi ideology.
After World War II, dozens of soldiers of the Galicia Division
were allowed to settle in Canada. The country's decision
has been criticized - for decades. In 1986, the federal
commission found that -- "mere membership in the
Galicia Division is not sufficient for prosecution",
and "charges of war crimes have never been
supported by evidence". Earlier, Gunka
spoke out in defense of his military
past calling it a struggle.. for the
independence of Ukraine.
EFRAIM ZUROFF, Israeli historian: They can't come and say,
"We are heroes, we fought for freedom." This is complete
nonsense. Members of the Galicia Division fought for
the victory of the Third Reich. And the Third Reich
was the most genocidal regime in the history
of mankind.
Efraim Zuroff claims that Canada was too
weak... by letting in too many SS soldiers.
EFRAIM ZUROFF: Why should they have
the right to move freely --- to a great
democratic country like Canada?
This is just one of the questions that many Jews are
currently puzzling over. Some Jewish groups - are
calling on Ottawa to reveal wartime documents
to find out how many of those who fought for
the Nazis ended up settling in Canada.
Ellen Mauro, CBC News, Toronto.
Air date: September 27, 2023.
Britain also took in thousands
of nazis --- after World War 2.
Doesn't it make you feel
ashamed, to know YOU
live in a land where justice --- is just a game?
(apologies to Robert
Zimmerman..... for
using his words!)
____________________________________
"Salaries of over 4.5 million people
will grow":Russian government
approves increase in minimum
wage ------ by 18.5% in 2024
by Vladimir Tsegoev &
Ksenia Chemodanova
September 22nd, 6:57pm
(RT.ru)
Starting from January 1, 2024, the minimum wage in Russia
will increase by 18.5% and exceed 19.2 thousand rubles.
This decision -- was made by the Government on behalf
of President Vladimir Putin. In addition, the Cabinet of
Ministers approved the draft federal budget for 2024-
2026. It is assumed that over the next three years,
the state treasury's expenditures will exceed the
amount of revenues, & this difference is to be
covered by borrowing. According to the
government ----- when forming the
document, the main priority was
to fulfill the social obligations
to citizens & the instruction
of the head of state.
Let's explain that the minimum wage sets the minimum salary
level that a full-time employee can receive. In addition, this
parameter is used to calculate temporary disability
benefits, as well as maternity benefits.
In accordance with the Constitution of Russia, the minimum
wage cannot be less than the subsistence minimum (PM) of
the working-age population. Now this amount is on average
15,669 rubles in the country. Authorities use it to assess
the needs of citizens when providing various state
support measures, such as monthly payments to
low-income families with children.
Now the minimum wage exceeds the amount of PM by only
4%. However, in 2024 the difference will have to increase
to 17%, and in the future the authorities plan to raise this
bar above 30%, as previously stated by the head of the
Ministry of Labour, Anton Kotyakov.
''Just three or four years ago, we lived in conditions where the
minimum wage was lower than the subsistence level. The
first criterion that the government's actions were focused
on was bringing the minimum wage to the level of the
minimum wage of the working-age population. To
date, this bar has been passed, we do not stop at
it, we are moving further," the minister noted.
Svetlana Bessarab, a member of the State Duma
Committee on Labour, Social Policy and
Veterans' Affairs:
"The minimum wage, is a standard that all employers must
meet. In practice, the salary of any full-time employee in
the country cannot be lower than this mark. Tariff grids
in the real sector of the economy are expected to be
revised. At the same time, unemployment and
maternity benefits will increase. In general,
the measure should lead to an increase in
consumer activity --- which will have a
positive impact on the development
of the economy and GDP growth
rates," she stressed.
After the meeting, the government approved the draft federal
budget for the next three years. As Mikhail Mishustin noted,
when forming the document, the authorities proceeded
from the need to fully fulfill all obligations to the
Russians and the six priority tasks set by
the president.
"This means --- expanding foreign economic cooperation with
our promising partners from friendly countries, and improving
the necessary mechanisms for this, including transport and
payment components. Plus --- strengthening technological
and financial sovereignty, advancing the construction of
transport, municipal and social infrastructure --- as well
as improving the welfare of citizens, ensuring national
savings, protecting motherhood and childhood, and
supporting families with children," he explained.
According to Mikhail Mishustin, the authorities tried to
minimize the difference between revenues and
expenditures of the treasury, as much as
possible, and plan to cover it mainly
through borrowing.
However, the current size of the deficit is not critical for the
economy, says Alexander Abramov, Head of the Laboratory
for Analysis of Institutions and Financial Markets at the
RANEPA Institute for Applied Economic Research.
"Usually, the deficit is financed by issuing government bonds.
Such a measure does not lead to serious consequences for
financial stability, if there are no significant fluctuations in
interest rates. Moreover, even the current situation, when
the Central Bank tightens monetary policy, is also not
critical. In addition, the government traditionally lays
down a conservative budget ----- with low oil prices.
This is done, so that there is a reserve, and space for maneuver," Abramov explained.
It should be noted that in the three-year budget, the
authorities.. include the cost of oil in the amount of
$60 per barrel. At the same time - according to the
forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development,
in 2024-2026, quotes will be around the $70 mark.
As part of the implementation of social obligations to citizens,
the government is going to increase funding for medical care
in the regions by 13.5% in 2024. As Mikhail Mishustin noted,
this is necessary - to expand the availability of treatment for
citizens -- to ensure the salaries of doctors & other medical personnel at a level not lower than that established by the
presidential decree. Separate resources are provided,
for medical rehabilitation..... including for Russians who have been ill with coronavirus.
"Next year, we will allocate over 130 billion rubles to provide high-tech assistance not included in the basic compulsory
health insurance program. Also, residents of each of the
Russian regions will continue to have the opportunity
to receive it free of charge --- in federal medical
institutions. This will cost about 214 billion
rubles," Mishustin added.
In addition, within the approved budget, the authorities
are going to allocate more than 1 trillion rubles for the
provision of medicines for certain categories of
citizens. Another 430 billion rubles will be
spent on providing medical care to
people suffering from cancer.
At the same time, payments of a single allowance to pregnant women in need and parents with children
under 17 -- will continue. In the next three years, it
is planned to allocate 4.4 trillion rubles for these
purposes --- which will allow supporting over
10 million families, every month.
In turn, the budget will allocate about 1.6 trillion rubles for
the provision of maternity capital. It is expected that over
4 million families will use these funds in three years. In
addition, 482 billion rubles are provided for improving
the housing conditions of Russians with children,
and over 100 billion rubles are provided for
supporting low income citizens under
the social contract program.
Significant funds will also be allocated for the construction
and repair of schools, road maintenance, upgrading the
infrastructure of land-based electric transport and
the development of regional airports. Also,
industry will receive additional funding.
"An important priority of the government's work - is creating
modern industry. The bill provides for over 2.7 trillion rubles
to support civil industry. This will support such industries
as the automotive industry," Finance Minister Anton
Siluanov said, during the meeting.
The government is also going to allocate --- a grant of over 5 billion rubles to the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation. This, as Mishustin noted, will provide support to veterans of the SVO and their relatives, - including assistance in
medical rehabilitation, employment, training, plus
providing the necessary legal assistance.
Head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov says, after a decline of 2.1% in 2022, the
volume of Russian GDP will increase immediately --
by 2.8% in 2023, and in 2024 it will add 2.3%.
"The main thing we see is that the economic growth trend will
continue in 2024, 2025, and 2026... Over the entire medium
term, the growth rate will be above 2%, which is generally
normal in the face of a significant shortage in the labour
market and all the restrictions in logistics, technology
and other areas. Although, of course, we need to
work on increasing the pace, " the head of the
Ministry of Economic Development noted.
According to the agency's assessment, the dollar exchange
rate will fall to 94 rubles by the end of 2023, and over the
next three years it will be in the range of 90-92 rubles.
At the same time, inflation may slow down to 4.5% in
2024, and after that it should return to the target
level of 4%.
"The presented forecast allows us to form a realistic budget
for the next three years. This forecast takes into account
the current dynamics of the economy, the economic
policy measures being implemented, primarily in
the development of the six priorities outlined
by the president," Reshetnikov stressed.
I'd move to Russia, if I wasn't an old twat ------- what about you?
__________________________________________
The rise of major labour unions in US --
shines a lighton grim financial reality
by Shabbir Rizvi
September 18th, 1:28pm
(PressTV)
Americans are well aware of the value of the dollar, at least
when it comes to their own purchasing power at home.
If they didn’t know before, then they certainly
learned this year.
The year 2023 has so far marked rising costs of living
for everyday items amidst a backdrop of massive
government spending on the usual - war,
policing, corporate bailouts
and subsidization.
However, if you were to ask President Joe Biden about the
financial state of the everyday American, he would say
“Bidennomics is working” --- (although he may stare
blankly at you and try to find a teleprompter first).
“Bidenomics” is Washington’s marketing term for the Biden
administration’s business-as-usual plan ---- to convince
Americans that the federal government is taking steps
to ensure their financial situation will improve --- aka
they are not doing anything new or substantial to
address any crisis.
The plan vows - to “grow the economy from the middle out
and the bottom up.” Again, this is nothing for a corporate-
friendly policy that prioritizes the profits of the elite.
Biden administration officials routinely champion the
“success” of this strategy via social media and
through administration-friendly journalists
(corporate stenographers), but taking a
closer look at these claims and figures
reveals a more honest assessment of
the financial status of everyday
Americans.
The reality is that rising costs of living are contributing
directly to the record-breaking $1 trillion in credit card
debt Americans have accumulated. American workers
often have no choice but to resort to credit card use
for necessities, due to higher prices for groceries,
gas, rent and mortgage.
Another 40 million-plus Americans are set to resume student
loan repayments in October after a nearly four-year pause,
which will without a doubt exacerbate the country’s
debt crisis.
Biden administration officials claim their initiatives are adding
more jobs to the economy. These are often vague numbers
that are based on speculation.... rather than
concrete evidence.
Furthermore, jobs are always being created - however, many
Americans are working multiple jobs just to make ends meet.
The quality of the jobs being created isn’t specified and with
the implementation of automation, many of these jobs... will
be rendered obsolete.
Many Americans naturally will not accept these conditions.
In fact, this year has seen some of the most striking (no
pun intended) acts of laboUr resistance in recent
American history.
Industries of different sizes and varieties have taken concrete
steps to challenge these conditions, which are created
primarily by American capitalist greed at the helm,
leaving scraps for the majority of workers.
It is now without question that grim financial conditions have
led to a new-found popularity of unionization efforts, and the
unionization efforts themselves --- have led to massive wins
for American workers.
For example, the Teamsters Union, one of the largest unions in
the world, threatened to go on strike over the summer due to
declining conditions in the workplace.... as well as
stagnant pay.
The Teamsters, which represent UPS workers, could have
shaken the US economy had the strike happened - as
UPS serves hundreds of thousands to millions of
customers and businesses, daily.
The demands ranged from hiring more workers (full and part-
time), increased wages, and even air conditioning in UPS
trucks (which UPS initially refused to provide, despite
the multiple record-breaking days of heat this year
alone - a testament to unhinged capitalist greed).
Eventually, a favorable agreement was met - over 85%
of Teamsters signed, ratifying a 5-year deal.
In post-pandemic America, many workers have begun to
realize their own self-interests can only be achieved by
workplace organization, not relying on this-or-that
politician to bring any substantial change.
Many unions - from the Teamsters to Alphabet workers to
teachers unions such as the Chicago Teachers Union -
held firm on their demands throughout the COVID-19
pandemic and achieved favorable results.
Now, their success is inspiring waves of different
unionization efforts ------ across the country.
Perhaps the most popular recent example of this is
the Starbucks workers union. Starbucks is owned
by billionaire Howard Schultz but his employees
often work in degrading conditions.
Working for minimum wage or sometimes less and relying
on customer tips to get by, many Starbucks employees
(or “Partners”) have now moved to unionize their local
stores demanding fair pay and benefits.
What was seen as a nearly impossible battle to win at the
start of the first Starbucks unionization effort is now
seen as fairly common - over 300 Starbucks stores
are now unionized, and counting.
This has not come easy. Union-busting activities are fairly
common, and the National LaboUr Relations Board has
reported hundreds of union-busting activities, and
often cannot do anything to act against the mega-
corporations seeking to stifle employees asking
for basic wages and protections.
Adding to this is the fact that Joe Biden and his administration
- on paper - claim they support workers’ unions and their right
to organize, however, in practice ------ that is not happening.
Take for example a statement where Joe Biden hopes the
United Auto Workers union can reach a favorable
negotiation with the “Big Three” automakers in
he United States. It implies that the Biden
administration... is hopeful for favorable
negotiations between the two parties
and that they can resolve the issue
without federal intervention.
However, the Biden administration is no stranger to crushing
strikes - as one can recall when Biden signed a bill to put an
end to the railroad strike.
Striking railroad workers had reasonable demands - the ability
to take sick days and schedules that would permit them to
spend time with their families, without fear of owner
retaliation or punishment.
The railroad companies refused to budge, and as the holidays
neared and the threat of mega-corporations being unable to
turn over a profit began to materialize, the Biden
administration swooped in and blocked the
strike, without substantially addressing
the oppressive attendance policy.
Interestingly, this desperate move from the Biden
administration was also an admission of the
immense power unions hold. Had the strike
materialized, the entire economy could
have been halted - right before a
major holiday season.
Now, with the United Auto Worker strike, unions are directly
addressing the Biden administration’s hand ----- in policies
that are impacting their work.
Refusing to endorse Biden for president right before a heated
election season, the UAW president is challenging the Biden
administration to “earn the Union’s support,” while
simultaneously demanding that the workers not
be left behind in the administration’s plans
for a major shift to electric vehicles.
As one can see, the paper policy and the practiced policy
are two different things within the reality of the American
political system - especially when it comes to the
question of organized laboUr.
On paper, every politician - from Democrat to Republican --
wants the union endorsement. However, when substantial
(and just) demands are made --- that contradict the
demands of corporate donors, the politicians
have a major tendency to back the
corporate multi-millionaire to
multi-billionaire demands.
Regardless, unions are making a huge comeback in the United
States - and the renewed laboUr struggle is very much tied to
the declining financial health of the everyday American and
the public realization of just how far American capitalist
greed can go. 2021 saw ---- just below 120 confirmed
laboUr strikes.
As of September 2023, there are close to 250 strikes ----
composed of over 600,000 workers across various
industries and specialties. The growing trend
suggests that the laboUr struggle is just
getting started.
As economic realities remain uncertain and Americans
are forced to choose between which corporate
representatives will lead the nation next year
- one thing they can always count on is that
there is strength --- and power --- in
unified numbers.
Shabbir Rizvi is a Chicago-based political analyst
with a focus on US internal security and
foreign policy.
(The views expressed in this article ---- do
not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)
Good to see US workers uniting
to win. What do you think?
__________________________________________
SwebbTV --- Russia will defeat the
West in the proxy war in Ukraine,
and in open confrontation
September 11th, 2023
(source: SwebbTV
retold by InoTV)
The collapse of the Ukrainian army is only a matter of time,
but the US --- will never allow its formal defeat. For this
reason, the Ukrainian conflict will escalate into an
open war between the US and Russia, but the
West will lose in it, analyst Lars Bern said
in an interview with SwebbTV.
According to analyst Lars Bern, the Western powers "have no
chance" - partly because Russia has much greater industrial
potential. The West cannot defeat Russia with conventional
weapons, so the conflict will turn into a nuclear phase.
In this case... Moscow will use its 100-ton intercontinental
missiles with nuclear weapons, each of which is capable
of destroying entire countries. "The Russians --- have
absolutely grotesque weapons, that they can use
against the West," the expert explained.
Bern claims that the US prestige is at stake in the events
in Ukraine, so they will never recognize the victory of
the Russians, over Kiev. However, the Ukrainian
Armed Forces will have to surrender, as their
"highly hyped in the media" offensive, with
the use of Western weapons "completely
failed", and the Ukrainians "achieved
nothing" on the battlefield, writes
SwebbTV.
As soon as the Western media think that they see even the
slightest success on the part of Ukraine -- they hype it as
a big success, although it may not be at all. This is done purposefully to ensure that the supply of weapons and
the armed conflict continue. Ukraine succeeds only
in the propaganda war in the West, because Kiev
has already lost on the battlefield,
SwebbTV notes.
It has already reached the point that Ukraine is running out
of men, and now women have to enlist in the ranks of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine. Nevertheless, Bern believes
that, in addition to Ukraine, the Russian Armed
Forces are "on the verge of disarming the
entire NATO," which could lead to an
open war between the US/NATO
and Russia.
According to the analyst, "the proxy war between
Russia and NATO --- is already underway" and
hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian lives
were sacrificed during it.
Nevertheless, even in an open war between the West and
Russia, the Russians will win. According to Lars Bern,
the Western powers --- will be the first to resort to
nuclear weapons, since this is the only way to
try to "save face".
In addition, Russia has hundreds of tons of intercontinental
ballistic missiles capable of carrying up to 15 nuclear
warheads. "A single charge of Sarmat can wipe out
the whole of Great Britain or France," Byrne
warned in an interview with SwebbTV.
A possible nuclear conflict will be existential for Russia,
and Russia will respond ------ with these weapons.
Recently, the former Prime Minister of Sweden, and now
the leader of the opposition Social Democrats party,
Magdalena Andersson, said:: "We can't let Russia
win this war." Bern sharply criticized the
politician's words -- emphasizing that
Andersson's words, automatically
lead to an all-out nuclear war ----
which she does not understand
and which scares the expert,
since "such people"
rule Sweden.
The analyst believes that Swedish politicians are so
blinded by their hatred of Russia, that they do not
notice the Nazi Kiev regime --- and carry out its
mass support, SwebbTV summarizes.
Great article - if you live in the West
and don't mind being irradiated..... like your food is ------- courtesy of
just one of Margaret Thatcher's
criminal decisions.
What do you think?
______________________________________
"Engaged in mass and methodical
extermination":FSB documents
show Nazi crimes in Donbass
by Svyatoslav Knyazev,
& Elizaveta Komarova
September 7th, 12:15am
(RT.ru)
On the eve of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Donetsk
from the Nazis ----- the Russian FSB released declassified
documents of the Soviet state security agencies, about
the crimes of the Nazi occupiers in the Donbass during
the Great Patriotic War.
The agency's website has published interrogation protocols
of Nazi criminals, involved in the mass murder of civilians in
Donbass. They contain evidence: that the extermination of
the inhabitants of the USSR by the Nazis was planned and
methodical. Moreover, these crimes were committed not
only by militants of special SS units, but also by
Wehrmacht soldiers.
From the published protocols of interrogations of German
officers, it follows that the destruction of the inhabitants
of the USSR was deliberately planned and based on the
dogmas of Nazi ideology.
"Mobilize the attention of all operational personnel"
On September 8, 1943, the city of Stalino (modern Donetsk)
was liberated from the Nazis. Donbass --- was under Nazi
occupation for almost two years. According to the FSB
of Russia, during this time --- the Nazis and their
accomplices destroyed at least 174 thousand
Soviet civilians and 149 thousand prisoners
of war, in the Stalino region.
One of the places of mass murder -- was
the 4-4 bis mine in the suburb of Stalino.
The leadership of the Soviet special services set their
employees the task, of investigating the crimes that
the Nazis committed in the occupied territories, as
well as identifying and bringing to justice specific
participants in these atrocities.
On January 24, 1944.... the directive of the Directorate for Prisoners of War and Internees (UPVI) -- of the NKVD of the USSR: "On identifying participants in committing
atrocities among prisoners of war" --- was issued,
which ordered: "to mobilize the attention of the
entire operational staff of camps" to identify
the participants in committing atrocities, by operational and investigative means,
and document their criminal activities.
The Soviet secret services carefully checked prisoners of war
who had previously served in the SD, SS, special security and
punitive detachments, police, secret field gendarmerie, Gestapo and concentration camps. As a result of this
work --- evidence was obtained of atrocities
committed against the civilian population
not only by special SS punitive units,
but also by Wehrmacht soldiers.
"No laws or regulations"
In January 1944, Soviet security forces, detained the Nazi
collaborator Yuri Shcherbakov. He admitted that in 1941
he evaded conscription into the Red Army... stayed in
Stalino, and then joined the Nazis -- first as a police
officer and then as an investigator of the auxiliary
service of the SD --- which killed thousands of
Soviet citizens. Materials of Shcherbakov's
interrogation are published by the FSB.
Stalin's SD team and its auxiliary service, officially called the
"Security and SD Service" for the general district of Stalino,
which had its branches in all major industrial centres of
the Donbass, were engaged in the mass and methodical extermination of Soviet people --- acting on the orders
of the Hitlerite government... There were no laws, or
regulations in the SD.. Soviet prisoners were loaded
into special trucks and taken to the mine 4-4 bis
"Kalinovka", on the outskirts of Stalino city,
where they were shot, and the corpses
were dumped into the shaft... Many
thousands of Soviet citizens were
thrown into mine 4-4 bis, shot,
tortured, in interrogations, or
killed in the "death chamber"
-- Shcherbakov said, during
the interrogation.
He also named some of the organizers of the mass murder of
Soviet citizens. Among them were the head of the Security
Service and SD for the general district of Stalino —
Obersturmbannfuhrer Kurting, as well as his
deputies Hauptsturmfuhrer Gertig and
Obersturmfuhrer Graf, and the chief
inspector of the SD team ---
Sturmfuhrer Siebert.
According to Shcherbakov, the SD officers, destroyed both
Soviet patriots --- underground fighters and partisans, and
ordinary civilians who had nothing to do with the fighting
at all - from teenagers to the very old. The "investigation"
of their cases, was limited to torture and tortures. Thus,
innocent people, were forced to confess to fictitious
"crimes". The prisoners were beaten with fists,
whips, chair legs, and trampled on them.
Many could not stand the torture and
died during the "interrogations".
Even those who survived the
torture, were unable to
move on their own.
During an interrogation on October 7, 1947, former Wehrmacht
lieutenant, Wolfgang Paul Lesner, stated that, as a member of
the Hitler Youth, he was brought up in a spirit of hatred for
the Slavic peoples: "Even at that time, it was preached
among young people that Germany should become a
"Great Germany", its borders in the east, should be
in the Caucasus, that the Aryan race ---- must be
dominant throughout the world... the Hitlerite
government ------ intensively prepared the
population - and especially the youth -
for a war of conquest, in the spirit of
loyalty to the Fuhrer and hatred of
the Slavic peoples, which was a
confirmation of the mass
destruction of the
Slavic people."
Lesner also said that the German military, according to the
orders of their command, had to show maximum cruelty
towards the civilian population --- to kill, or deprive
them of shelter.
He himself admitted that he took part in these crimes.
In particular --- Lesner gave specific testimony
regarding the mass murder of Soviet citizens in occupied Stalino.
"On October 13, 1942, at approximately 12 o'clock in the
afternoon, I was given the command by the company
commander --- to leave with three trucks for the
Oberfeldkommendatura of the mountains.''
''Upon arrival at the commandant's office, the cars entered the
courtyard, where people were already under guard, subject to
execution, as I later learned, there were 120 of them. We put
the first batch to the wall of the mine yard, after which I went
up to the machine-gun crew and, at the command of Captain
Waer, I gave the order to the crew to open fire and shot the
crowd of innocent citizens standing at the wall of the mine
yard in long bursts, there was crying, some shouting, but
the roar of the machine gun drowned it all. There were
corpses and blood of people who were shot. Thus a
machine-gun crew, under my command, shot 40
people, whose corpses were thrown into the
shaft of mine 4 bis by a special team led
by Lieutenant Kind," the former Nazi
officer said.
As Dmitry Surzhik, a senior researcher at the Institute of
Internal Affairs of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
told RT, in a comment, that the actions of German
punitive bodies and troops in the Donbass,
can be regarded as a manifestation
of genocide.
"Representatives of all nationalities living in the Soviet
Union, were subjected to total extermination in the
Donbas," the expert noted.
According to him, the publication of declassified
documents about Nazi atrocities in the Donbas,
is extremely relevant today.
"The memory of the residents of Donbass ---- about the Nazi
occupation is closely intertwined with the criminal actions
that those who raised the ideology of Bandera and other
Hitler's minions are doing on these lands, today. Today,
Russian investigative agencies, like Smersh 80 years
ago ----- face large-scale war crimes committed by
Ukrainian security services..... in the Donbas. In
addition, the release of declassified documents
is doubly important for us to realize: what a
tough and bloody enemy, our ancestors
defeated, giving us the opportunity
to live," Surzhik summed up.
Please.. defeat these fascists - only this time - defeat their backers - these ''elites'' behind the curtain.
_______________________________
Often symbolically: in Germany,
they are persecuted for
supporting the SVO
September 6th, 10:01pm
by Semyon Boikov
(Izvestia.ru)
Public displays of solidarity with Russia — in the form of
statements or wearing certain symbols ----- in Germany
can lead to harassment by law enforcement agencies,
Michael Adam, a lawyer for the human rights
organization VADAR, told Izvestia.
A similar problem was also discussed at the Russian
Embassy in Germany. In addition... the diplomatic
mission noted that attempts to put pressure on
Russian journalists and domestic media
working in Germany... continue.
A similar situation exists in other EU countries, including
the Baltic Republics and the Czech Republic. Local
human rights activists report that public support
for the SVO is fraught with fines --- or even
expulsions from the country.
With German precision
Russian diplomats recorded the largest number of complaints
from Russian-speaking citizens living in Germany about
discrimination on national and linguistic grounds in the
first months after the start of the SVO in Ukraine.
It was mainly about threats, insults, mobbing in educational
institutions, dismissals, property damage, freezing or
closing bank accounts, refusal to provide services,
including medical ones, the Russian Embassy in
Germany told Izvestia.
''The issue... is not completely closed. Public displays of
solidarity with Russia's policies, whether in the form
of statements or demonstrations - car rallies -
sometimes provoke an intolerant reaction
from local authorities --- including law
enforcement agencies. We continue
to record attempts to put pressure
on Russian journalists & domestic
media working in Germany," the
press service of the diplomatic
mission added.
Residents of the Federal Republic of Germany who publicly
express support for the SVO, as a rule --- fall under the
violation of Article 140, of the Criminal Code of the
Federal Republic of Germany (Approval of crimes)
which provides for a fine or imprisonment for up
to three years, a board member of the
Association for the Prevention of
Discrimination and Isolation of
Russian Germans and Russian
-Speaking Fellow Citizens in
Germany (VADAR), lawyer
Michael Adam.
''In my cases, fines were imposed, and I objected to this. The
demonstration of the Z symbol on Facebook (owned by the
Meta company, which is recognized as extremist and
banned in the Russian Federation) or a positive
statement about the beginning of the SVO in
Ukraine... the authorities used as a reason to impose a fine. They regarded this as
"approval of aggression contrary
to international law," the
lawyer said.
According to Adam, he was able to challenge the court's
decisions. In his argument, the lawyer referred to
international law. He stressed - that only the UN
Security Council can define the armed conflict
in Ukraine as "Russian aggression". However,
no such decision was made at the Security
Council level. However, in some cases it
was not possible to win the case...
because the court brought new
charges ---- under other
criminal articles.
"For example --- people were charged under article 86
of the Criminal Code, which prohibits the distribution
of Nazi symbols in public places," he explained.
More than 140 cases were initiated in Germany on the fact of
supporting the SVO. In most cases, people were persecuted
just for using the letter Z. One of the most high-profile
incidents was the case of a citizen of Ukraine, an
activist of the Russian-speaking community,
Elena Kolbasnikova.
She was charged under Article 140 of the German Criminal
Code and fined €900. A woman was convicted for publicly
speaking out in support of Russia in 2022.
However, different regions of Germany have their own laws
regarding Russian symbols. So... in Cologne and Frankfurt
am Main on May 9, not only the symbols of the USSR, but
also Russian flags --- were allowed. And in the German
capital, the supreme administrative court canceled
the permission to demonstrate the flags of the
Russian Federation on Victory Day. However,
Berlin residents ignored this ban... at their
own peril and risk.
''Despite the ban, both the Soviet banner and Russian flags
were raised, by native Germans and compatriots. And we
were able to create a live St. George's ribbon in Treptow
Park on May 9. But this is now considered a civil feat.
Because domestic intimidation, turns into outright
harassment on the Internet," Vladimir Sergienko,
a local human rights activist and president of
the Russian PEN Centre, told Izvestia.
"I don't see any negative trends in relation to Russian artists"
Singer Dmitry Ulyanov - about the situation in Western theatres, shouting at si Bekar and Shalyapin's
Russianness. At the same time, German
lawmakers continue to tighten the
Criminal Code.
Last year, lawmakers amended the Criminal Code to impose a
three-year prison sentence for publicly "approving, denying,
or grossly downplaying" genocide, crimes against
humanity, or war crimes.
Izvestia sent a request to the German Interior Ministry
with a request to comment on cases of harassment
for approving the SVO.
Harassment in other EU countries
However, Germany is far from the only country that is being
persecuted for supporting Russia. The gaps are mainly
faced by residents of Eastern European countries.
The Baltic republics have very strict legislation.
Thus, the Lithuanian parliament last year equated support
for Russian actions in Ukraine - with "public approval of
international crimes." Previously --- article 170 of the
Lithuanian Criminal Code applied only to "approving,
denying or belittling crimes committed by the USSR
or Nazi Germany against the Republic of Lithuania
or its inhabitants." Its violation provides for
imprisonment.... for up to two years.
A similar situation has developed in neighboring Latvia. Last
year, the Sejm approved fines for public display of the letters
Z and V. An individual will have to pay up to €350, a legal
entity-up to €2.9 thousand. In addition, the country has
a criminal article... "on the public justification and
glorification of war crimes and crimes against
peace", which is equated with the SVO.
Latvian human rights activist Janis Kuzins told Izvestia
- that many Russian compatriots are being persecuted.
''They just want to expel Russian citizens — there are many
of them in Latvia. They make it so that they can't pass the
state language exam," Kuzins said. ''I myself paid a fine of
€2 thousand for saying something "wrong" to the Russian
media. I had to negotiate with the prosecutor's office.
They said it was either jail or a fine. I decided to find
the money. Plus... I'm on probation for a year.''
"Today in Latvia we have to fight for the right to be
Russian" Russian Ambassador to Riga Mikhail
Vanin - on visa restrictions, the fight against
the Russian language and the demolition
of Soviet monuments.
The situation in Estonia is no less difficult. In this country, too,
in 2022, a law was passed banning symbols associated with
the SVO. For its violation, the fine for individuals is €1,200 or
they will be arrested, and for legal entities-a fine of up to
€32 thousand. A local human rights activist, speaking on
condition of anonymity, told Izvestia that public support
for Russia or its own actions is criminally punishable
in Estonia.
''Even thoughts are punishable, not to mention statements,
publications, or events. The authorities believe that it is
necessary to respond harshly to any activity that splits
the cohesion of society ---- around the adopted anti-
Russian sanctions. The atmosphere of fear and
silence does not contribute to the growth of
legal protection of people who have a
different, but not negative opinion
about Russia," he said.
Speeches in favour of Russia in the Czech Republic are also
criminalized. For this -- you can face a prison term of up to
three years. Support for Russian actions in Ukraine in the
Czech Republic falls under "approval of a criminal
offense committed" and "denial, approval,
justification of genocide."
There is a well-known case of a Czech citizen Jakub Jaszek.
In the spring of this year, he took part in a rally, in clothes
with the image of the letter Z and the emblem of the PMC
"Wagner". Yashek was given a six-month suspended
sentence with a two-year probation period -- for
"denying, approving or justifying genocide".
In addition, he was ordered to pay a fine of 12 thousand
kronor — about $570. The sentence also provides
for a ban on his stay in Prague --- for a year.
Sorry - no discussion on this -
you sickening criminal !
______________________________
GT:Vietnam war veteran tries to stop
the US from repeating the nightmare
with cluster munitions in Ukraine
September 1st, 2023
(source Global Times
retold by InoTV)
US veteran Mike Burton, who himself participated in
bombing -- and witnessed the tragic consequences
of the mass use of cluster munitions, by US forces
during the Vietnam War --- now seeks to prevent a
repeat of this nightmarish experience in Ukraine.
As a retired US Air Force officer told the Global Times,
his participation in the massive bombing of Laos half
a century ago is still a source of the most painful
memories and a reason for regret.
During the Vietnam War, the United States actively used
cluster bombs to launch airstrikes on various targets
in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. During the period
from 1964 to 1973, the United States dropped
millions of tons of shells and bombs on
these countries, of which about 80
million tons did not explode.
Laos has suffered the most from this, which can be called
the country that has suffered the most bombardment per
capita in history, the article says.
Now many fear that Ukraine, which has already received
many cluster munitions from the United States, may
become a new victim, sharing the tragic fate of
Laos, writes Global Times. Burton also shares
these concerns and tries to take measures
to prevent such a development.
Now he heads the organization Legacies of War ("Legacy
of War"), which intends to conduct a campaign in the
United States next year to ban landmines and
cluster munitions.
The mission of this organization is to raise awareness
about the history of bombing during the Vietnam War
and the damage it caused. In a recent interview
with the Global Times, Burton stressed that he
regrets the use of cluster bombs in Laos, and
stressed that Ukraine should not want to
experience such a nightmare as well,
since the consequences will be
disastrous for both the people
of Ukraine and the people of
the United States...... for
decades to come.
The retired US Air Force officer ---- also called on the US
government to show more discretion and responsibility
when deciding how to allocate the $800 million aid
allocated to Ukraine. The White House's
previously announced decision to
include military aid and supplies
of cluster munitions to Ukraine
in this package caused public
condemnation, the Global
Times notes.
Each cluster munition... can contain hundreds of smaller
munitions, which, when launched by aircraft, rockets or
cannons, are dispersed in the air, causing damage and
causing a large number of casualties over a wider
area, the article explains. However, they do not
have a guidance mechanism.
Even more worrying is the fact that if these bombs fall on
wet and soft ground and do not detonate on impact,
a significant portion of them may turn into
unexploded ordnance.
Such projectiles are capable of exploding later at any time
if they are exposed to any external force or changes in
the environment. And this can happen... even several
decades later, if they are not all found & neutralized.
During the massive US bombing of Laos, many villages and
even entire valleys were destroyed, and countless civilians
were killed, Burton recalled, in an interview with the
Global Times.
According to him --- he joined the US Air Force in 1962
and was assigned to the 56th Air Commando Wing in
1966. The main task of this unit then was to stop
the influx of people and supplies coming from
the northern part of Vietnam to the south
through the "Ho Chi Minh Trail", which
almost completely passed through
Laos, Burton explained.
"As I recall, Laos was generally bombed, every 8 minutes, for
24 hours a day, for nine years," said the retired US Air Force
officer. In addition to the aerial bombardment, after
intense battles, a large number of unexploded
shells... also remained in the ground. The
surface of the earth was simply littered
with countless bombs, of all types,
from cluster and artillery shells
to hand grenades,
Burton noted.
According to his estimates, 30% to 40% of cluster munitions
did not explode during their fall. And he was very nervous
himself, because he realized that the bombs dropped by
the pilots indiscriminately fell on rice fields and other
places where people might be.
"We estimate, that there may be up to 80 million individual
projectiles scattered all over the land, and some of them
will never be eliminated," Burton warned.
According to available data, cluster munitions have a higher
destructive power than conventional ones, and since the
Second World War - they have already caused the death
of from 56.5 thousand to 86.5 thousand civilians. The
US military actively used cluster munitions during the wars in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Kosovo,
Afghanistan and Iraq.
This resulted --- in significant damage to infrastructure in
these countries, as well as numerous civilian casualties
and injuries, the Global Times reminds.
The bombing during the Vietnam War.... became widely known
only through congressional hearings in 1971 and subsequent
media reports. However, the true extent of the destruction
and disasters caused to the people of Laos by this
"secret war" is still largely unknown to the US
public, the article says.
According to Burton, he witnessed tragic incidents both on
the ground and in the air, and returned from the war "with
very bad feelings about what we had done --- and what
happened there." Often, small unexploded ordnance
was accidentally picked up by children who lost
their arms, legs, eyesight, or even their lives,
as a result.
"I saw this destruction with my own eyes from the air and on
the ground. I have seen Lao children and adults with their
limbs torn off, no eyes, and their faces disfigured by the
explosion of untimely detonated ammunition. Our
decision to drop cluster bombs on Laos also
caused a flood of refugees fleeing death
to head to the United States," Burton
told the Global Times.
This year marks 50 years since the last US bombs were
dropped during the Vietnam War. However, this period
is still a source of the most difficult memories for
Burton. The US veteran told reporters how he
suffered both mentally and psychologically,
trying to cope with the burden of his guilt
after returning from the war.
For 14 months, he underwent a special therapy course
organized with the assistance of the US Department
of Veterans Affairs. "Many of the young people who
returned were later addicted to alcohol and drugs,
and suffered from fits of anger. Statistics on
Vietnam veterans are pretty poor --- from
suicides, to broken marriages, broken
families, and the like, " Burton said.
"I am very sorry about the time I spent in the war; I try not
to think about many things," the veteran also admitted in
an interview with Global Times. According to him, he
seeks to make amends by all means and actively
advocates for preventing the recurrence of
such tragedies in the future.
In 2022, Burton returned to Laos and felt a deep sense of
sadness as he looked out of the plane at this land pitted
with many giant craters. "The wounded earth is a
reminder of America's deadly mistake, a
reminder of the lives we have taken
and the ancient landmarks we
have wiped off the face of
the earth," he said.. in an
interview with reporters.
According to the Lao Government, less than 10% of the
country's unexploded ordnance has been found and
neutralized so far. This is a very tedious, time-
consuming and dangerous job, said Burton,
who was also personally involved in it
in 2022.
In addition, he founded the Committee for Immigrants and
Refugees, which provides assistance and support to
various groups of migrants and refugees from all
over the world.
In general, about four dozen human rights organizations
have publicly opposed the supply of US cluster
munitions to Ukraine. They warn ------ that
numerous unexploded cluster munitions,
even many years after the end of the
conflict, will pose a significant
threat to the population and
cause huge harm to many
civilians, the article says.
In early July of this year, the Ukrainian authorities assured
Washington, that they would not use cluster munitions in
populated areas. However, once these bombs are used,
no one will be able to give a clear answer about
whether such a promise was strictly fulfilled,
experts emphasize.
"Probably, weapons manufacturers are already standing at the
door of the Pentagon and saying: hey, we are here with a new
contract that you need to sign, just sell all our supplies to
Ukraine. But I want to stop them from doing that,"
Burton explained.
In his opinion, if the US authorities still continue to supply
Kiev with cluster munitions, then they should sign a
public document stating -- that they undertake to
compensate for the consequences, after the
end of the conflict -- and will take lifelong
care of all adults and children who will
become disabled, due to the use of
such weapons.
"And I want us to take responsibility for this,"
the veteran concluded, in an interview with
Global Times.
Aahh.... repentance. Good.
But better to stop doing it.
_______________________________
"Victory is Russia's
return to its roots" by Ksenia Krikheli
August 20th, 10:01pm
(Izvestia.ru)
Philosopher Alexander Dugin - about the most important clash
with the West in history, the terrorist nature of Kiev and the
real murderers of his daughter.
The real customers of the murder of Daria Dugina, who died
during the terrorist attack on August 20 last year, should be
sought in the leadership of Western special services, says
philosopher Alexander Dugin. After the victory of Russia,
there will also be organizers of other terrorist attacks
committed by Kiev, he is convinced.
The true victory for our country will be the process
of returning Russia and the Russian people to
themselves and their roots, Dugin said, in an interview with Izvestia.
During the conversation, the political scientist assessed
the scale of the civilizational conflict with the West,
gave an explanation of the actions of Ukrainians
in Europe and named the conditions for
completing the SVO.
"For me, the nightmare keeps repeating itself"
A year has passed since the tragedy. Dasha is not forgotten,
streets are named after her, and a university named after
her has appeared. How did you live this year? What has
it changed for you? How have you changed?
''It is very difficult for me to talk about this topic. I've
never been in such a state in my life as this year.
This is no longer called life, and nothing can
replace Dasha either as a daughter, or as
a person. For me -- the nightmare that
happened a year ago, on August 20,
at the festival "Tradition", repeats
and repeats. The people who
wanted to hurt me... got
their way.''
''I'd rather be killed a billion times over. I'd give anything to get
in that car myself. It doesn't go away, and it probably won't.
Nothing and no circumstances will ever be able to
compensate for this loss, will not help to come
to terms with it.''
''I remember this female killer... who came up to me a few minutes before the murder with her daughter. She took
a picture of us and said that she had come from
another city to listen to my lecture. This
cynicism, this endless cruelty of the
enemy. I honestly didn't expect it to be like this.''
''I was ready to die -- and I am still ready to die -- for a just cause. I believe that soldiers who fight for their country, for their faith, for their country, for their people, they should be ready to die. Yes, their death is always a tragedy.''
''But such a cynical murder of a daughter in front
of her father, the murder of a girl who did not
take part in any military operations -- never
called for reprisals, against those who are
our civilizational enemies.... called in her
interviews and speeches to understand
the enemy, to understand women from
that side... There is something
satanic in this.''
''I was giving a lecture on the devil in history at the festival. Just imagine, the devil sat and listened to my lecture and
then he killed my daughter. I do not know — you can
probably die and experience terrible suffering
without ever approaching this nightmare,
which I would not wish on anyone.
I said how I felt. I can't say any
routine phrases about Dasha
being a great person.''
''People put up monuments to her, paint pictures, compose
poems, compose music, listen to it. We.. have published
her diary, and the book "Eschatological Optimism" will
be published soon — this was Dasha's main idea. We
are preparing the third book... from her articles and
speeches, decoding her lectures. It will be called
"The Russian Frontier" - practically her will,
although, of course, she was going to live
for a long time and stood at the origins
of her existence. I am very grateful to
the people who do not forget Dasha,
who pray for her, remember her,
study her ----- discover her for
themselves. But, it is a drop
in the ocean of what it was
....and what it should
have become.''
"The Ukrainian idea itself is pure terrorism"
In the realities of 2023, statements are already being made
at all levels, that Ukraine is a terrorist state. I remember
Mikhalkov's film "Sunstroke", where his hero says:
"How did it happen and when did it happen?"
''The Ukrainian idea itself - that is, Ukraine as an idea of a
separate, independent state is a terrorist idea. This was
not a good Ukrainian state ---- and then it turned into a
terrorist one. The Ukrainian idea, has a property only
in hatred for Russians, for Great Russians. In Poland,
for example, hostility to us has historical roots once
the Poles were an independent state --- sometimes
even more successful - in the Kremlin during the
Time of Troubles, as we know, there was a
Polish garrison.
But we have no such history of relations with the Ukrainians.
Simply because Ukrainians are a part of us. And now the
idea of terrorism, has emerged in some of our people.
Although we are brothers --- and we live in the same
state, we actually won these lands from the same
Poles, Austrians, and Turks. And this nation is a
brotherly one - we liberated it. He lived in the
same place where he had lived, only freely,
without masters ------ because a brother
cannot buy his brother out of slavery.''
''Ukraine became a terrorist state even before its appearance.
The Ukrainian idea itself, is pure terrorism, the embodiment
of hatred, racism, unfounded hostility to one's brothers, the
revision of all historical episodes, the creation of an
''The emergence of the Ukrainian state, meant the beginning of terror - and it was inevitable. Sooner or later, the Kiev regime would have turned into the terrorist entity that it is now. In 1991, we created this terrorist enclave with our own hands.''
''The time has come, and this contagion of terrorism has
spread from Western Ukraine to Central Ukraine, then
partly to Eastern Ukraine. The fact that we have not
countered this for 30 years, in fact, puts this blame
on us too. You can't say: "Here they are — bad".
''From the very beginning, when they started talking about
"independent Ukraine" — everything, at that moment it
was necessary to send troops, because then what we
see now will happen. There will be atrocities, terror,
violence, genocide ---- of those they consider
their enemies.''
''Ukrainian statehood must cease to exist. It cannot be
anything other than a terrorist one. And if we set our
selves the task of denazification & demilitarization,
then we can only achieve this by establishing full
control over this land. Above our land, where
Ukrainians have always lived freely. And
this is their soil, this is their homeland.
We are not encroaching on this home
land. We are attacking the terrorist
ideology that prevails there.''
"We are a different civilization"
You have repeatedly said that the SVO is one of the largest
attacks on the collective West in the history of Russia.
Have we made any progress in this offensive? And
how far do we want to go... and can we go?
''We really entered into a conflict - a civilizational conflict with
the West. It is no coincidence ---- that our president said that
we are opposed to Satanic civilization. The modern West is a civilization of Satan. Never before, has Western
civilization attacked us --- so directly. The French
were abandoned.. but then the British were not
on Napoleon's side. Hitler was abandoned, but
America and Britain were not on his side. That
is, the West attacked us in parts, and now it
is attacking us globally and frontally. And
that is what makes this conflict perhaps
the most important in history. Because
this is a clash with the Western entity,
which today is really becoming open,
totalitarian, Satanic. Anti-human —
in the full sense of the word.''
''As for how far we can go... Despite the fact that we oppose
the West, we do not directly threaten them. And the borders
of the Lviv region and Galicia will stop us, we will not go
further. They will stop it if it is not already a full-fledged
pan-European conflict with us, if NATO troops are not
sent there. But we can and must, reach the western
border of Ukraine. This is our trait. If we don't reach
that border, we will die. We cannot stop somewhere
in the middle, somewhere in the territories that we
have liberated. Or somewhere near them. Half
measures won't work anymore. In 2014, we
decided on half measures — and here's
what we got.''
''Any truce concluded before the complete liberation of Ukraine is a catastrophe, irreversible and final. And
the victory in Ukraine is a fundamental opportunity
for us to be a civilization ---- historically, a Russian
Eurasian civilization. If we hesitate - it will be the
end of us. The odds in this case are not equal.
We have everything at stake. For the West,
this is a struggle under the slogan "to
have or not to have." And for us —
"to be or not to be."
''And after that, the West will not go anywhere -- because
Ukraine is a bargaining chip for it. He'll lose a pittance.
We risk losing everything, in this confrontation. In this
respect, I think this is just the beginning. Our victory
in Ukraine will be the beginning of a different
relationship with the West.''
Is this what you call a clash of civilizations?
''Yes, this is a real clash of civilizations. The world was
already heading for this clash, but it could have been
gradual if there were rational pragmatists like Trump
instead of extremist forces like Biden and globalists
in the West. I think we could have come to a clash
of civilizations in a much milder way. We could find
some kind of modus vivendi. [way of life, living]''
''At the same time, we still do not recognize Western values,
and no matter how universal, unique, and exemplary they
may be, we reject this. We have different values, we are
a different civilization.''
"Victory cannot be the result of a reaction"
You have a theory of the victory party that will help Russia
win. In your opinion, what should be done to achieve this?
''It seems to me that now to win -- you need a strategic
authorities, the military - are always responding,
constantly catching up with the processes that
someone else is starting. That is, we are
reacting -- our policy is reactive. If we
had not been provoked by NATO and
the Ukrainians to this conflict, we
would not have started it of our
own free will.''
''This means that we only intuitively approach the
fact that we are an independent civilization, that
we actually considered ourselves part of the
Western world --- until recently.''
''It was just that some aspects of it were unacceptable
to us, some conditions we rejected, but, in general,
we considered ourselves... a Western civilization.
Our elite, at least. The people don't. And not the
patriots, not the victory party. But the elite - no,
no, and again, in their minds, in their ideas,
goes over to the side of the West.''
''And so, we don't have the strategic depth of planning. We
are responding. We are attacked — we fight back, we are
insulted — we get into a conflict, we are insulted — we
respond. When the conflict has already begun — and
not before it - we begin to carry out measures to
mobilize society, to raise patriotic awareness.
Its been going on for a year and a half, and
we are still afraid to let it enter the
consciousness of our society,
pretending that nothing
is happening.''
And yet, what is strategic depth?
''This is when we go to our goal, not paying attention to what
is imposed on us, having our own internal civilizational
agenda. When it doesn't matter whether we agree with
the West now --- or not. We will go towards this goal in
any case, we must have strategic plans in the work
of the government, in building the army, in the
economy, education, upbringing, culture, and
art. That is what victory depends on, right
now. It cannot be achieved...... by purely
technical means. Victory ---- in the
situation we are already in --- can
never be the result of a reaction.
Even the most effective one.
This is the concept
I propose — the
victory party.''
''Victory is an internal concept. Victory is the return of Russia, the Russian people, the Russian state, and
Russian culture to themselves, to their roots. Of
course, it will be achieved and achieved on the
fronts at any cost. I have quoted many times
a wonderful Serbian poet who said: "I give
my life for you, my Fatherland. I know
what I give and what I give for." So
we need to know what people are
fighting for now.''
''And in no way should our people, returning from the front
as invalids, feel alien & incomprehensible in a peaceful
collective. We have a front & a rear. And nothing else
...no peaceful life. It seems to me, that the idea of
preserving normality is a false goal. We — our
hearts - need to be rebuilt in a new way.''
"Both of them believe that Russia is weak"
You read the news and get the feeling that Kiev's terrorist
actions are beginning to irritate the West — Zelensky is
increasingly being "exposed" for his methods. Do you
think this is really true, or is it all part of the
same game?
''I am convinced that Ukraine does not have any special
methods, they operate under the direct supervision of
Western special services. They don't do anything
without consulting the decision-making centres
in the Anglo-Saxon world. But there is more
than one centre.''
''In the West itself ---- there is, for example, a more moderate
faction that believes that Russia is already in fact defeated and it is not necessary to anger it, provoke strikes and any other harsh actions on our part. They believe, that these
kind of audacious terrorist antics do nothing to achieve
long-term goals. They believe that, by giving us such
irritating terrorist jabs --- Ukraine will not achieve
results, that is, it will not be able to destroy us.''
''And there are those in the West who believe that we have not
just lost, but collapsed altogether & demonstrated weakness.
The withdrawal from Kherson, grain deals; all this is seen by
the radical wing of the West as our complete defeat. And so
they are pushing the Ukrainian terrorist regime... to launch
more and more strikes - believing that we will not respond
in any way, that we are ready for a truce.''
''That is, there are two "parties" there: one radical --- which
pushes Ukrainians to terrorist actions, and the other more
moderate, which scolds them for the sake of appearance.
This is a pure performance. And.. the Ukrainians are only
an instrument of this globalist war. Kiev in this story, as
an independent subject, simply does not exist. There
are two decision-making centres outside of Kiev.''
Are we talking about those "geopolitical chess games" that
you have repeatedly mentioned before? Is there a division
in them into black and white? Conditionally to those who
believe that Russia is weak, and to those who believe
that Russia can respond?
''Both of them believe that Russia is weak. Only some believe
that Russia is very weak and therefore it can be finished off,
while others believe that it is weak, but - in agony - it can
suddenly use some resources, means - nuclear weapons
and so on. That is, some are more radical, others are
less radical. But everyone --- is against us.''
''There is, of course, a third pole, but it is not the centre of decision-making in the West. For example, people like
Trump who don't care about Russia. They are not for
Russia, they don't like us either, but they believe
that there are other problems... besides us.
Therefore it is irrational to set themselves
the task of destroying Russia - at any
cost, and it does not correspond to
the interests of the global West. In
their opinion - this can be done,
but absolutely not in this way,
not now and not --- in the
first place.''
What is the significance of this third pole?
''You can't underestimate it. Just now... it is under attack in
the States themselves. These are traditional Republicans,
these are the so-called paleoconservatives, that is... old
conservatives who believe that Russia is not in charge.''
''There are neoconservatives - these are former Trotskyists
who became supporters of hyperliberalism.... because of
Trotsky's hatred of Stalin, Trotskyists for Stalinism, and
the Soviet period. They have shifted their beliefs --- to
the new geopolitical environment --- and are the core
of our most radical opponents.''
''And the paleoconservatives.. take the position that it's not
about Russia - at all. There are many other problems that
the West must deal with. These... are the three decision
-making centres. Now, of course, our radical opponents
and moderates set the tone, but such indifferent ones
--- they, practically, do not exist in the West.''
The "fifth Column - is a piece on the chessboard
that the West is moving against us" Do we have
such centres?
''There are also three centres on our side of the chessboard.
One centre is the traitors who, together with our radical
opponents, dream of Russia's immediate defeat. As a
matter of fact, this is a "fifth column" that has long
escaped and simply works for the Kiev terrorist
regime, for the Western special services. But
until recently, they were part of our political,
cultural, and intellectual elite. These were
respected people who appeared on all
channels, were experts, published
their books and set the tone. We
can not say... that these are
some kind of marginals.''
''They are simply part of our establishment, but only now
have these people revealed themselves - as radical
opponents of Russia, our people, and everything
related to our culture, civilization, and values.''
''They didn't become like this after the beginning of the SVO
------ they always were. We have many athletes, politicians,
cultural figures, and oligarchs just like that. Someone has
already made this Nazi pro-Ukrainian coming-out, that is,
said that he spat on Russia. The "fifth column" is one of
the pieces on the chessboard, that the West is moving
against us. This is an opportunity to influence our
chess --- from the inside out.''
''There is a second force — those who consider Russia part
of the Western world would like to conclude an immediate
truce with the West on any terms, but are loyal to Putin.
Such people understand that this is impossible. They
represent "sleepers". This is part of the elite, which
does not directly rebel against the government, but
is ready to do so at any time, if there is at least
some chance.''
Is the second power less dangerous?"
''It's a very dangerous current. Yes, these people are not open
enemies. Yes, they are now saying that they are for the SVO,
for Russia, but they are doing everything to prevent us from
concentrating all the necessary resources - to mobilize
society, to win. They are, in fact, a kind of centre of
sabotage - invisible, indirect. They say: "Yes,
Vladimir Vladimirovich! Give us this
assignment, and we will be the
first to execute it. Just don't
give it to this one.. because
it's not the same. Just give
it to me and I'll do it!"
''And then begins the coordination of the task with the
interests of the West --- their own personal interests.
Sometimes they overlap, and the mobilization of
our society is sabotaged.''
''But there is a third figure. This is the victory Party, this is the
people, this is the president, these are patriots. I liked how
someone wrote in one Telegram channel: Narod-front.
That is, the people and the front are now one. This is
us. We are both the people and our Russian warrior.
That's one thing now. This victory party is certainly
led by the President and his truly civilizationally
loyal associates. Not all of our elite is rotten,
there are absolutely convinced carriers of
the Russian spirit.''
''The most important thing is that he stands on this side of the
victory party, but historically he has got such an elite, and he
is trying to manipulate it somehow. He himself said that a
different elite is needed — from the people who are at the
front, from the front that is among the people. That is,
from the mobilized. Putin said bluntly: people will
come with their own freedom, and they should
be the ruling elite -- and not those who found
themselves in it, during the most decadent,
treacherous periods of our recent history.''
"The fool was admitted to the society of gentlemen"
''Russophobia has become one of the signs of modern history.
Recently in Kiev, for example, they decided to ban the font
"Izhitsa", because it is of Russian origin.''
''Russophobia in Kiev has already crossed all borders. I don't think even just watching the pigs go berserk, is worth it. Imagine: a person is in a psychiatric clinic, he is a maniac, he has a seizure. Are we going to watch him gnaw on the battery - with his teeth, scratch his face, yell something unintelligible?
There is something pathological about
watching this scene.''
''Unfortunately, we can't introduce a cure and stop the
black postmodern spectacle that represents the
shameful, shameless rage of this Nazi regime.
But it's also unhealthy, to explore its details.
Let's just win in the end and be done with it.
Let's forget it like a bad dream and not think
about these perversions anymore. We'll just
start building a healthy, normal society, in a healthy direction.''
What is the real purpose of Ukraine in this conflict?
''I think that we are deeply mistaken when we believe
that Ukraine sets itself the goal of restoring its
territories, sovereignty or strengthening
its statehood.''
''It had all this - before the conflict began. There was full
control over the territories. There was a national state.
Russia did not attempt to kill it. And suddenly at some
point, Ukraine — at least this part of the obsessive
Ukrainian Nazis — begins to do everything to stop
being so. So that Crimea secedes, so that the
Donbass rises up, so that we send in troops
and liberate two more regions that voted
with pleasure to become part of the
Russian Federation.''
''There is some logical discrepancy here. If we are dealing
with nationalists who want a strong national state, they
should have gone towards this goal. But here it's the
other way around. They had a national state with
Crimea, Donbass, Kherson and Zaporizhia. And
the actions of the nationalists, which were
supposed to strengthen the government,
led to the fact that these territories do
not exist. There are no other peoples.
The industry is destroyed. The
question arises: do we
understand correctly,
what Ukraine wants?''
''Does Freud have a phrase Was will das Weib? — What does
a woman want?" And all of Freudianism is built on trying to
answer this very complex, fundamental question. What
does Kiev want? This is definitely not a national state,
because it is its policy that has led to destruction,
destruction, undermining, dismemberment.
And will lead to its end.''
Then what do they want in Kiev?
''The answer occurred to me ---- that they had fallen into the
pursuit of success, a nation of clowns, a nation of buffoons who only needed attention. They need to be talked about, shown and invited to - high-level meetings. And for this
fame and popularity, they are ready to give their state,
their people ------ their society. That is, it is a kind of
hypertrophied desire for success. And everything
falls into place. Why - do people choose a clown?
Because only clown people can choose a clown.''
''How does Ukraine behave? She goes to great lengths to
court the applause of either side. That is --- it suits any
antics, any performances, any actions. And there is no
real, far-reaching goal — state building, the return of
Crimea, the establishment of Kiev's power over the
eastern territories - already our lands - and even
more so, an attack on Russia, this goal is not
worth it!''
''Ukrainians just want to call attention to themselves, and
I must say that they are getting their way. It is only
necessary to change this goal-setting, and the
logic of the behaviour of the Kiev regime
becomes completely clear.''
''We are dealing with such crazy actors who are ready to do
anything just to be applauded and helped, just to be loved.
And when someone gets bored with them, they come up
with new tricks and do it quite inventively. If this trick is
war, they go to war, to murder, to torture. That is, it is
a bloody circus.''
''That is why they are now throwing a huge amount, of what
they are already beginning to say is meat into the counter-
offensive. Why do they process Ukrainians? Because it
draws attention to this bloody fog. If you look at how
the president of this country, even when he was a
fairly harmless ordinary comedian, starred in a
video, participating in a homosexual dance on
stilettos in leather underwear, it becomes
clear: he can change into anyone, can
play any role.''
''But that's what other Ukrainians do, too. When they come to
a Western country, they organize a performance. For what?
Just to get some attention. Thus, we are dealing with a
crazy clown. With the people who became the people
of crazy clowns.''
Here you can recall, not Mikhalkov, but, for example, "Joker".
''I think that the authors of "Joker", who made this film, just
decided to project this figure on the whole country. In order
to humiliate them, and through them to humiliate us, to kill
us, to engage in this monstrous dialogue with this
absolutely crazy society, which is ready to
sacrifice everything for a photo, for
applause, for likes, for attention,
including its own country.''
''No one has ever heard of any Ukraine before. Only, perhaps,
some ethnographers knew. And so, the Ukrainians decided
to make themselves felt. Yes they have attracted attention. And they are very happy --- when their president travels
around the world, sits, hugs with the leaders of the
Western world. In fact, this is a terrible thing —
the fool was allowed into the society
of gentlemen.''
''There is such a cruel Anglo-Saxon entertainment ---- dinner
with an idiot. When a group of people, of more or less the
same social level, invites someone deliberately stupid, to
dinner and they all sit there, pretending to have ordinary
conversations. But one of them is a complete idiot. And
he doesn't know... he's an idiot. This gives others a
special perverse, anti-humanistic pleasure. They
systematically abuse a person. Cold, consistent
--- not spontaneous. They are preparing this
humiliation, making it out. As well as what Ukraine is involved in.''
''The idiot was invited to the higher realms to behave as he
behaves. And everyone likes it. But when the idiot leaves
-- people exchange impressions about his intellectual
qualities --- and then pay tribute to him, behind his
back. A cynical practice, in my opinion. But the
Ukrainians want it: well, well, let the idiots, if
only we were invited to this dinner.''
Why, in your opinion?
''It's not about money, you know. There are different ways to
make money: you can kill Russians, you can kill yourself,
you can sell organs, you can set up some businesses,
you can build something. As a result, you can steal
something. In other words, money can appear in
different ways.''
''We should not reduce the explanation of the behaviour of
Ukrainians to the desire for money. They want attention.
They want applause and glory. The idea of profiting
from war, from the suffering of others, and from
your own, is probably present in this, but... it is
not the dominant one. This is very important
--- otherwise, we will not understand them.''
''By the way, here's the mistake. We thought, that their fate
was corruption. And their fate is clowning. Bloody. This is
really a society that has really gone mad. Here, we say it
as a metaphor. But they don't really fool around. They're
sick. And the way they fight, is a real obsession. We're
dealing with obsessive clowns.''
"To find the real killers, even taking Kiev is not enough"
Concluding the conversation, I would like to return to the
topic, with which, we started. Has there been any
progress in the investigation of the terrorist
attack against Dasha over the past year?
''The investigation... is underway, but the case was solved
almost from the very beginning. A Ukrainian terrorist on
the assignment of Budanov (head of Main Intelligence
Directorate of Ukraine) carried out a terrorist attack
then disappeared - her accomplices helped her.
Small performers, partially found, there are
courts. The case continues. Another
question is that the success in its
completion will be the capture of
Kiev, for example. Then we can
really talk about the triumph
of justice.''
''And indeed, it will be really possible to raise the question:
who and from whom specifically in the West received
carte blanche for this, which of the special services
helped? The question is not about the performer.''
''If you make fake license plates and passports - while being a
police officer, if you transfer information about the movement
of my car - or Dasha's car - to Ukrainian terrorists ---- at their request - for money, then you are participating in a terrorist attack. But this is a completely different responsibility. We need to get to our customers.''
So far, we can see a chain of performers, but they are still only switchmen. Even Budanov, is a switchman, because it is not in his competence - to make such radical decisions. This is a much higher level of responsibility. Therefore --- the New York Times, almost immediately --- hastened to disown it: they say the Ukrainians did everything themselves.''
''They also tried to disown the explosion of the gas pipeline,
the attacks on the Crimean Bridge. But it is quite obvious:
to find the real culprits, the real killers, even taking Kiev - is not enough.''
''Many people write to me: "It's a pity that we didn't avenge
Dasha!" But you see, even if the performer is found, tried
and executed, there will still be no justice. First of all,
Dasha is priceless. There is no price that can be paid
for this horror to be balanced --- in any way. But
secondly, there are people who know: they
were the ones who sacrificed her, they
gave the order. And we'll find them
sooner or later.''
''Specific customers and real killers, of course, are
located outside the territory of Ukraine, in the
leadership of Western special services,
Western political instances. We will
find them. In the meantime, the
preparatory stage.''
The West has manufactured this rope
and as its neck feels the noose
tighten... some will feel pity.
What we could do, is repent.
______________________________
While Ukrainians --- die on the frontlines,
Zelensky is lobbying US financial firms
August 20th, 11:59am
by Shabbir Rizvi
(source: PressTV)
As the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia dwindles
to a screeching halt, failing to achieve its objectives,
many questions are being raised about the former
Soviet republic’s future.
Will the Kiev regime concede defeat? Will Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky fight Russians.. until the last Ukrainian?
How much of Ukrainian land will actually remain Ukraine's?
The question of disputed territory is a sensitive topic. NATO
military alliance officials are even floating the idea of giving
up significant Ukrainian territory to end the war and usher
in peace, an idea that may have been unimaginable prior
to the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Although one can speculate back and forth about what land
will become Russian and what land will stay Ukrainian,
something far more sinister is happening beyond the
public eye of what will happen to the territory that
remains Ukraine.
While media pundits are busy tracking the territorial losses
and gains Ukraine is making, the Kiev regime is meeting
with American financial firms to sell off Ukrainian land
and infrastructure.
Even before Russia’s “military operation” completed its first
year, Zelensky had been meeting with various American
investment firms in order to “rebuild Ukraine.”
To the uninitiated, “rebuild Ukraine” sounds like a completely
logical and legitimate initiative in the wake of a devastating
war. However, Zelensky hasn’t been meeting with any
average firm.
He has been actively preparing the ground... for New York-
based investment firm BlackRock to take over significant
swaths of Ukrainian finances, primarily playing a leading
role in advising Kiev on how to handle its post-war
investments and funding.
BlackRock is a notorious “investment management” firm
that has worked closely with the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to hyper-privatize public
assets, land, and infrastructure.
The world’s largest “asset manager”, it manages trillions
of dollars in assets across the West and even acts as an
advisor to European banks. Naturally, it is also involved
in lobbying Western officials, essentially dictating and
creating policy for its own benefit.
However, with NATO encroaching east, it is expected that
countries would surrender their public institutions even
further to Western capitalists as they embrace
neoliberal policies.
It is in recorded history ---- that, during Ukraine’s 2014
Maiden Coup, the United States was closely involved.
The then US Assistant Secretary of State Victory Neuland
was directly on the ground supporting the fascist
overthrow of the neutral Ukraine government
for a pro-Western one.
Later, a leaked phone call revealed that Neuland was
picking and choosing which Ukrainian officials were
best to enter the new coup-installed regime.
It’s no surprise that Ukraine was headed towards a long road
of privatization - supporters of the new regime even burned
down a trade union building --- with people inside.
To this day, the victims have not seen
justice - as the perpetrators are free.
Now, under the guise of war, the Kiev regime has taken
significant steps to further bear the rotten fruits of the
Maiden Coup. Zelensky’s wartime powers have
allowed him to ban all opposition parties.
In August of 2022, Kiev ratified “Law 5371,” which strips
all labour protections – impacting around 70 percent of
Ukraine’s workforce.
Many neoliberals would argue that it is necessary to maintain
control of Ukraine’s exports during the war, but the law was
first introduced in 2021 and could not be passed then
due to trade union opposition.
Adding to it is the fact that Zelensky and his inner circle
were notorious for their corrupt financial affairs.
Prior to the war, it was revealed by the Pandora Papers that
Zelensky and his allies had swaths of money ....hidden in
offshore bank accounts. This money could not be traced
to them, and ignoring the fact that Zelensky’s allies
were involved, local institutions would find it
difficult to trace how they obtained it.
With trade union power dissolved and opposition parties
out of the way, the Kiev regime moved to auction off
their state enterprises.
It is important to note that there were multiple attempts
to auction off some of the same assets, prior to the
2022 military operation, to no avail.
The investment wasn’t as attractive to American capitalists
because there were still many hurdles - primarily legal - that
would make Ukrainian state assets an attractive investment.
With labour unions and political opposition away, foreign
penetration will now ...not only become easy, but even
competitive, and therefore profitable - not only for the
American capitalists but for those who would
eventually benefit from lobbying for money -
Zelensky and Co.
The foreign aid given to Kiev to fend off Russians also does
not come without a price. While the US sees fighting
Russians as money well spent, Washington still
expects an extra return on investment.
Highlighted in the National Recovery Plan are various figures
that address auctioning off state investments, paying back
IMF loans, and opening the country to foreign penetration.
Firms like BlackRock will play a key role in ensuring
every last available asset is sold and privatized.
Zelensky has taken Ukraine to the natural conclusion of
the US-backed Maiden Coup. A once neutral country
now turned into a vassal state of the US, Kiev has
not only sacrificed thousands of Ukrainian men
on the altar of US imperialism, it has --- quite
literally --- sold the entire country to
US capitalists.
With multiple meetings between BlackRock, JP Morgan, and
other investment firms to “rebuild Ukraine,” the fate of the
country - no matter what it looks like after peace is
reached - will be up to the ruling class of the
United States.
Zelensky, instead of searching for peace, is actively acting
as a salesman while thousands of his countrymen are
being slaughtered on the frontlines.
He was even quoted as saying that this situation is “the
greatest opportunity in Europe since World War Two,”
in reference to the incoming post-war investment.
Very little stands in the way for Western capitalists to swoop
in -- and hyper-privatize what is left of Ukraine post-invasion
- with BlackRock at the forefront, advising Ukraine’s foreign
investments and labour opposition completely eviscerated.
Clearly, this was the pathway for Ukraine when the 2014
coup regime announced its various intentions to fight
off the labour movement.
For the corrupt lot in Ukraine and the financial ruling class
in the US, the Russian military operation provided a
unique opportunity to become richer and filthier.
All it cost was the mere price of hundreds of thousands
of lives lost and a country that was once sovereign to
become a playground for the US financial class.
As peace brokers devise a plan on what the new borders of
Ukraine will likely look like, one thing is for certain - the
new face of Ukraine within its borders... will be
completely made by and for Western elites.
Shabbir Rizvi is a Chicago-based political analyst with
a focus on US internal security and foreign policy.
(The views expressed in this article do not
--- necessarily --- reflect those of Press TV.)
These views do reflect a growing
number of people's though.
What --- do you think?
________________________________________
Russia's Central Bank controls
the situation with the ruble,
madness is observed
only in the West
August 16th , 2023
(Source - Redacted
InoTV translation)
The dollar is up 60 percent against the Russian ruble, which
has been gaining strength -- since the start of the conflict in
Ukraine. So what's going on? We were told that everything
is fine with the ruble, but now it seems that this may not
be entirely true. Therefore, we would like to get an
expert opinion on this issue.
If you keep an eye on these things, usually a dollar has cost
about 80 rubles in recent months. And this week it jumped
over the mark of 100 rubles, and then fell just below
a hundred. The Russian Central Bank held an
emergency meeting this week and raised
the interest rate from 8.5 percent
to 12 percent.
Redacted correspondent Mike Jones lives in Russia,
follows East-West relations and will tell us more
about this issue. Thank you so much for
joining us.
MIKE JONES, Redacted correspondent:
''Always a pleasure.''
So, what is it? A complete economic
collapse, or can you give us
some context?
MIKE JONES: ''No, not in Russia. This is very closely
monitored by the Russian Central Bank. Madness is
observed in the West. Both Politico & economists,
who, apparently, do not understand the Russian
economy at all. The Russian Central Bank has
decided to raise this interest rate. And it is
worth remembering that they have not
changed rates since September last
year, from the level of 8.5.
''I will just quote the Central Bank's statement, they are very
straightforward about some of the factors that influenced
their decisions. For example, ''...when oil prices rise, the
ruble strengthens, which reduces the risk of over
heating of the economy. And when oil prices fall,
the ruble weakens, which plays into the hands
of domestic producers, by increasing exports
and stimulating import substitution.''
''Only this quote -- gives a good idea of the past year in Russia and why the ruble was allowed to reach such a level. But when it got to a hundred --- that's what seems to have triggered the so-called emergency meeting at the Central Bank. The West took it as a panic, they are sure that the ruble is falling rapidly.
''And this is not the case. Even if you go to the sitexe.comand
if you follow the ruble, you will see that the decline is gradual
and steady. The drop happened in March 2022, and there was
an obvious drop. As we know, oil prices have played a major
role. All these Western articles somehow do not mention
the restriction of oil prices.
''We heard about it, and then it, somehow, disappeared from
the news. Why? I suspect that around mid-July, Russian oil, or more precisely Urals crude, was trading above the agreed price limit of $ 60.''
Limiting the price of the oil --- you mentioned. This is meant
when the European Union decided: "Yes -- we will continue
to buy Russian oil, but we will introduce price restrictions."
And Russia said, " Well, it doesn't really work that way."
Is that what you're talking about?
MIKE JONES: ''Let's look at India. The Financial institute of
Kiev is now accusing them of inflating the cost of supplies
in order to circumvent these measures. I would not want to
pay too much attention to oil, because of course, Russia is
already called a gas station masquerading as an economy.
''One of the big changes, and I've already discussed it with
Clayton, was the grain deal. Since 2014 and the first
wave of sanctions, which were a good lesson for
Russia, it has withstood. Until 2014, Russia was
an importer of food products. Fast forward to
today, Russia is already an exporter of food.
''It exports, of course, grain and animal feed to Africa, and
Egypt is one of the major buyers. Of course, this affects
the price of agricultural feed, which increases this
influence in Western economies ....and in the
reaction of the West.
''The point is, that a weakened ruble means that Russia
receives more rubles from exports. It's the same with
food and oil. This was in the interests of Russia, but
now, as the Central Bank admitted, it has reached
the point where the domestic industry can no
longer expand --- to meet the requirements
of consumers.
''As a result, imports are already growing, which,
they admit, has driven up inflation. Hence the
measure --- that should handle this through
the interest rate.''
That's reassuring... what do you think?
___________________________________________
You can not pardon:the US
Ambassador to Australia
allowed the transfer of
Julian Assange to his
homeland ----------- if
he admits his guilt
by Alexander Karpov
August 14th, 10:01pm
(RT.ru)
The US' Ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, has
suggested that a potential plea deal could allow
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to return
to his homeland.
Kennedy added that the conclusion of such an agreement
ultimately depends not on diplomats, but on the position
of the US Department of Justice, but a solution is
"absolutely possible."
Earlier, the head of the US State Department, Anthony
Blinken, said that the question of Assange's future, is
very sensitive for Washington. Political analysts note
that the talk about the likely extradition of Assange
occurs ------ against the backdrop of the political
rapprochement between the US and Australia...
but the WikiLeaks founder is unlikely to return
to his homeland as he caused too serious a
damage to the reputation and national
security of the US.
"In fact, this is not a diplomatic issue, but I think it is
absolutely possible to find a solution," Kennedy
said, in an interview with Australian media.
Endless Trial
Earlier, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, while on
a visit to Canberra, said that the question of the future
fate of the WikiLeaks founder --- is very sensitive
for Washington.
"Mr. Assange has been charged with very serious criminal
acts in the United States in connection with his alleged
role in one of the largest breaches of classified
information in the history of our country,"
Blinken said, after talks with the
Australian leadership.
In turn, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said
that his government will continue to seek the release
of the WikiLeaks founder.
"We remain very firm in our opinion and consistent in our
statements to the US government, we will continue to
seek his release," TASS quoted the head of the
Australian cabinet as saying.
The statement of the US ambassador about the possibility
of extradition of Assange to his homeland --- caused some
optimism among supporters of the WikiLeaks founder ---
and a number of Australian politicians.
So, Assange's brother, film producer Gabriel Shipton, believes
that --- in this way --- Washington is looking for a way out of a
situation, in which all the facts of corruption and crimes of
the US authorities will again be announced in the court to
which Assange will be tried, upon extradition to the US.
"This suggests that they do not want this story to develop
in American courts, especially during the electoral cycle.
Therefore ---- the US leadership is actually looking for an
opportunity to distance itself from what is an extremely,
extremely controversial prosecution that violates
media freedom," Shipton said, in a conversation
with Sky News Australia.
According to him, if Assange is indeed extradited to Canberra,
he should be released immediately, as he has already spent
enough time in prison.
And Australia's Shadow Immigration Minister, Dan Tehan,
said Canberra would welcome an end to the prosecution
of Assange, but the final decision on this issue, remains
with the US Department of Justice.
"The most important thing, I think, is that we should take into
account.. their justice system and processes. But, at the
same time, if it was possible to achieve the completion
of this incredibly long case, then we would all be
only for it," the politician said.
Recall - that Washington began the prosecution of Assange
in 2010, when hundreds of thousands of documents were
published on the WikiLeaks portal, including those
related to the actions of the US army in the Middle
East and other controversial steps of Washington,
which were hidden from the public, under the
pretext of protecting national security.
In 2012, the journalist lived in the UK. Fearing extradition to
the US, Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy, in
London, where he applied for political asylum. In 2019, the
then President of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, announced that
he was denying the journalist political asylum and
depriving him of his Ecuadorian citizenship.
After seven years of isolation in the diplomatic mission,
the WikiLeaks founder was arrested and imprisoned
in London's Belmarsh prison.
Washington has been seeking Assange's extradition to
the US for more than four years, where he faces a
prison sentence of up to 175 years on
18 charges against him.
In turn, Assange's defense team is trying to prevent his extradition to the US authorities. In 2022, a UK court
blocked the extradition of Assange --- granting the
appeal of his lawyers. However, this decision
was later reversed, and the British Interior
Minister, Priti Patel, approved the
extradition of the WikiLeaks
founder to the US.
In June of this year, the wife of Julian Assange announced
that her husband would use the last opportunity to block
his extradition to the US, through a UK court.
"A blow to reputation"
The statement of a US diplomat about a possible
deal, indicates that the US has begun to realize
the reputational harm from the prosecution of
Assange, political analyst Malek Dudakov
noted, in a conversation with RT.
"The Americans are quite aggressively trying to get Assange
extradited to their justice system. However, the talk about a
deal with justice shows that the United States is aware of
the reputational losses caused by attempts to send to life
imprisonment a person who is obviously persecuted for
political reasons and suffered for disclosing the facts
of war crimes," the expert explained.
However, the option of a deal in which Assange will be
returned to his homeland and then be released,
does not seem realistic today, Dudakov added.
"The ideal scenario would be Assange's admission of guilt
and return to Australia, maybe under house arrest or
restriction of freedom, but I'm not sure that this
is realistic," the source said.
The main problem with implementing such a scenario is the
fact that Canberra is not an equal partner of Washington
and has no leverage on it, but can only ask the United
States to meet it halfway, the political scientist said.
"There is a certain rapprochement between them,
but Australia is not a player of such a level, that
itcan bargain with the Americans in something.
Canberra can voice its wishes, but in the end,
Washington will do as it sees fit, given that
now Australia is largely dependent on the
United States in the military sphere,"
Malek Dudakov commented.
In turn, Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute
for Humanitarian and Political Studies, believes that the
WikiLeaks founder will sooner or later be extradited
to the US and spend the rest of his life in prison.
"Assange will never be returned to Australia. After some
time, he will be extradited to the United States. This will
not happen immediately --- another appeal will be
considered, and during this time he will remain
in a UK prison," the expert stressed, in an
interview with RT.
The US wants to punish Assange significantly, as he
caused damage to their reputation and the national
security system, Bruter explained.
"Assange cannot be released, his actions are categorically
unacceptable ------ from the point of view of the US political
establishment, and he must be demonstratively punished.
If he is released and speaks freely with the media and in
public, it will be a blow to Washington's reputation as a
global hegemon. It turns out that a certain private
person can tear off the covers from the secret
affairs of Washington and he will not get
anything for it. It is very important for
the US, that all such individuals are
punished in the most severe way.
The situation was similar... with
Snowden, only he disappeared
beyond the reach of American
extraterritorial justice," the
political scientist noted.
No charges have been brought against Assange in
Australia, and no court cases have been opened,
so his transfer to Canberra would effectively
mean his release, Bruter said.
"For the United States, this will be a significant political
defeat. While he is in a British prison, this is not such a
crucial moment for Washington — they know that the
British authorities will not release him. In addition,
London gives the whole process legitimacy,
pretending that there is some kind of
objective judicial procedure, with
appeals and their consideration.
But they won't let him go to
Australia ---- even though
Washington & Canberra
have recently become
.....very close," the
expert concluded.
Everyone playing games.
The US ---- according to
world polls, is already
the most hated state
in the world. If.. they
continue destroying
this journalist they
will just be hated
a little bit more.
Let us keep sending pleas through
our representatives - and pray for
a miracle... or can YOU think of
a solution?
____________________________
IMF varnishes the
“Kosovo picture”
August 11th, 10:52am
https://en.news-front.info/
The servants of the New World Order have long been trying to
lure mankind into their fictional reality. For this purpose, they
use the media & international organisations -- through which
they spread total lies (mixed with a drop of truth, of course).
Serbian Kosovo is a perfect example of the lies of the
globalists. The creation of a 'state' in the place of a
region almost taken away from the Serbs is a poor
solution. That is why behind the political decision
the economic card is played -- a way to convince
the whole world of the stability & attractiveness
of the region. However the political verbiage or
simply --- lies uttered by the globalists, should
be studied, not even by masters of linguistic
juggling, but by psychiatrists.
Gabriel Di Bella --- a representative of the International
Monetary Fund team, believes that the EU’s restrictive
measures against Kosovo may become an obstacle
for foreign investments (!) in the region. Di Bella (a
truly telling surname for Russian ears) said that
“recent events in four northern municipalities
..have led to limited economic and financial
co-operation with the unrecognised state”.
So, your eyesight has not failed you. Di Bella is talking about
some kind of investment in a failed state called Kosovo. In
the very “Kosovo”, which for the last decades was built on
the blood and suffering of Serbs, against all principles of
international law. The very same “Kosovo” that is run by
terrorists and bandits who have made their fortunes by
seizing Serbian property, trafficking in drugs, human
beings.. and human organs. The very “Kosovo” from
which Albanians themselves are fleeing en masse
because economic life in the region is simply
unbearable --- precisely, in the Serbian
municipalities … Obviously, Di Bella
is fulfilling the task of varnishing
the “Kosovo picture”, perhaps
not least, in order to use the
money of the same IMF.
The report of the working group presented by Di Bella
states that “macroeconomic conditions in Kosovo
remain favourable” and adds that “inflation
continues to fall and budget revenues
are rising”.
We can state that the IMF official was writing a fairy tale for
his superiors, and the beautifully drawn report pursued
goals in a different, fictional, globalist reality.
Meanwhile, Pristina itself is not lagging behind the “sanctions
players” and prohibits the entry of lorries with Serbian goods
into its territory, creating a real humanitarian disaster in the
north of the region (not only in the north). And, naturally,
an economic catastrophe. But Di Bella prefers to paint
a different picture to his addressees (the leadership
--- or ordinary citizens of Western countries?):
“In a challenging global environment, macroeconomic
conditions in Kosovo have remained favourable so
far in 2023. Growth remains robust, inflation
continues to fall, and the current account
deficit has started to narrow,” he says
in no uncertain terms. No comment.
Di Bella is brazenly lying about any personal income growing
at a “healthy rate.” Rather, the population’s incomes are
falling at an unhealthy rate, causing the same population
to flee from the region to Europe, where they can at
least find work. But the “cherry on the cake” is the
IMF official’s conclusion that there are still minor
problems in unrecognised and almost perfect,
economically attractive Kosovo:
“But instability and rising global tensions in northern Kosovo
remain risks to the outlook that, if they materialise, could
contribute to political problems,” Di Bella concludes.
After this phrase you can call a psychiatrist, because it is
obvious, because the “risks of tension” in the north of
Kosovo have long since materialised and do not seem
to be planning to subside. Political problems, in which
the USA and EU are actively involved, happened long
ago and their existence is acknowledged every day
by the specified centres of globalists, thinking what
to do with it all.
What Mr Di Bella’s statements mean is not clear to the end.
For whom he drew his report – also remains a mystery.
Apparently, the habit of living a lie, convincing themselves
and their environment, of its reality, trying to fish in
troubled waters, through its projection, is a
habitual state of the IMF staff. It will be
possible to utilise the funds and
get a promotion.
Vladimir Basenkov, Southern News Service
Can't wait for BRICS, etc, to replace
the IMF and all the other US driven
dens of filth and corruption!
Do you think?
__________________________________
United States of Africa Forming
to Lead World Against U.S.
and Allied Empire
by Eric Zuesse
August 10th
(SouthFront)
A potential United States of Africa is now in the early stages
of formation, after a mutiny by Niger’s Presidential Guards
immediately expanded into a coup by Niger’s Army --- on
July 26th and overthrew the country’s ‘democratically’
elected U.S.-and-French stooge - and very corrupt -
President, Mohamed Bazoum.
The Nigeran public immediately responded to this coup with
massive cheering demonstrations throughout the country,
supporting as their liberators, the team that was freeing
their land from the exploitative grip of the imperialists:
France, backed by America.
Niger, like the other African countries that use the French
franc as their currency, has been funding France’s
Government and Niger’s own aristocracy, by
means of a complex mechanism called
“the CFA franc” which the CNN U.S.
propaganda network, buried in
one of their news reports.
Françafrique has often been criticized for perpetuating neo-
colonial practices. For example, few things have sparked
more controversy than the Central African franc or CFA,
a currency which is used by 14 nations in West and
Central Africa --- including Niger.
Countries using CFA francs are required to store 50% of their
currency reserves with the Banque de France, and the
currency is pegged to the euro. While Paris asserts
that the system promotes economic stability,
others say, it allows France to exert control
over the economy of the countries using it.
So, basically, whatever is shipped abroad by any of those
countries, the proceeds, in effect, go 50% to France,
and only the other 50% goes to Niger or the other
source-country.
As the U.S. regime’s own Brookings
Institution, earlier, obliquely put it:
''Some African economists consider the broader dependency
on European monetary policies as a restriction to growth
due to a hyper-fixation on inflation. However, African
elites and wealthy individuals, the primary
beneficiaries of the CFA franc zone
configuration, support its
continuation.''
The only beneficiaries are the individuals who control the
international corporations — especially the ones that are
headquartered in France and in America, and that have
subsidiaries in the given African colony. As a scholar
at the British aristocracy’s London School of
Economics surprisingly admitted:
''The CFA franc also encourages massive capital outflows.
In brief, membership of the franc zone is synonymous with
poverty and under-employment, as evidenced by the fact
that 11 of its 15 adherents are classed as Least
Developed Countries (LDCs) -- while the
remainder -- (Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon,
Congo, Gabon) have all experienced
real-term economic decline.''
Finally, they maintain that membership of the franc zone is
inimical.. to the advance of democracy. To uphold the CFA
franc, it is argued, France has never hesitated to jettison
heads of state tempted to withdraw from the system.
Most were removed from office or killed in favour of
more compliant leaders who cling to power come
hell or high water, as shown by the CAEMC
nations and Togo.
Economic development is impossible in such
circumstances, as is the creation of any
political system ---- that meets the
preoccupations of the majority
of citizens.
In the subsequent days, after the coup, Niger entered into
discussions with Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, which
already previously had coups for freedom from their
imperialist masters that the U.S. Government leads.
Meanwhile, the U.S. regime’s efforts — which are being led
by Victoria Nuland, who masterminded the U.S. regime’s
successful coup, that... in February 2014, grabbed and
absorbed Ukraine into the U.S. empire, so to get it into
NATO as the nearest bordering country from which to
attack The Kremlin and decapitate Russia - only 317
miles away from Ukraine ------ appear, thus far, to be
running into an unwillingness of the Governments
near Niger to shed their peoples’ blood to invade
Niger, whose public are determined to achieve
freedom from their foreign exploiters, and will
not give up short of a very bloody war which
would embarrass the US & its ‘democracies’
and so strip away -- that ‘democratic’ mask
the U.S. regime uses -- in order to fool
publics everywhere.
On August 3rd, CNN headlined “Africa’s latest coup is a
headache for the West and an opportunity for Russia”,
and pretended that the aggression here - and the
opposition to democracy - came from Russia
against the United States, instead of from
the United States against Russia.
I have previously explained these events in my 6 March
2023 “The Transformative Present Moment in History”.
Whatever the outcome will be from the current events in
Niger, it will be a part of that story, and maybe a very
important part of it. However, the time is too early
to predict what that outcome will turn out to be.
In any case, that story began in 1945, when the anti-
imperialist U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
became replaced by the pro-imperialist President
Harry Truman, who shaped the post-WW-II
international order, which has lasted till
now, and which appears to be soon
reaching its climax.
If Victoria Nuland will not be able to turn the screws against
Niger’s new leaders in the way that her bosses, Antony
Blinken, and, above him, Joe Biden, are hoping — nor
to get ‘the free world’ to invade and conquer Niger as
they hope — then a successful model will have
become established which might be copied by
other slave-nations, by means of which they,
too, might likewise break away, and free
themselves, from their imperial masters,
the U.S.-and-‘allied’ (vassal-nation)
empire: the U.S. aristocracy, and
its foreign dependency ones.
If so, it would terminate the hegemon’s hegemony. It would
end the Truman-initiated global system (which aspires to
conquer — absorb into its imperial web — all nations,
and especially Russia and China). So: the stakes
are huge in Niger now.
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse’s new book, AMERICA’S
EMPIRE OF EVIL: Hitler’s Posthumous Victory, and Why the
Social Sciences Need to Change, is about how America
took over the world after World War II in order to
enslave it to U.S.-and-allied billionaires.
Their cartels extract the world’s wealth, by control of
not only their ‘news’ media but the social ‘sciences’
— duping the public.
Ah, we hope and pray for Africa's courage and self- belief to win.
What do you hope and pray for?
_____________________________________
Loyal: Germany invested millions
in Niger— and Russia will get
all the benefits
August 9th, 2023
(Original source: Loyal
--- translated by InoTV)
The Association of German Reservists in the pages of
its magazine Loyal accuses the German government
of having actually "overslept" the coup in Niger. As
a result, millions of dollars of Berlin's investment
in equipping and training the country's military
police forces has disappeared, and Russia will
now benefit from the fruits of German efforts.
In addition, Berlin can not evacuate about a
hundred of its military personnel from Niger.
It remains to be seen.. whether the Economic Community of
West African States will be able to implement its threat and
organize a military intervention to restore ousted President
Bazum to power. Loyal magazine, however, notes that
neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by the
rebel military, "will regard the attack on Niger as an
attack on their own countries" and promise to
come to the aid of the new government of
Niger. Algeria, which is influential in the
region, called on the parties to refrain
from military conflict, as "if it comes
to this, it will mean a big war, and
this ------ is the last thing that the
poorest region of Africa needs."
Bundeswehr troops are stationed at the airport of the capital
of Niger, which is a key base for supplying and withdrawing
German troops from neighboring Mali. Almost a thousand
German soldiers participated in the UN mission in Mali,
but the new government in Bamako requires them to
leave the country before the end of the year, which
already meant a rush, and after the suspension of
the base in Niger became even more difficult.
Even if the airport in the capital of Niger
manages to find an alternative, there
is still the question of almost 100
soldiers in Niamey itself.
"If ECOWAS decides to implement its ultimatum and start
fighting, then Niamey airport will be the first target for
intervention troops, and the German camp is located
right on the runway, next to the camp of our
European partners," Loyal magazine
reminds the German government.
According to the data available to the magazine, German
soldiers have not yet received threats against them —
unlike the French, but they are "still trapped", and
"the situation remains unpredictable".
For the author of the article, the main culprit of this situation
is obvious: the German federal government, which did not
organize the withdrawal of troops in time. The German
Federal Intelligence Service also did not foresee what
happened — "another not very nice page for German
foreign intelligence," the magazine states.
But an even greater responsibility lies with the German
Foreign Ministry. "The Ministry of Defense wanted a
speedy withdrawal (of troops from the region. — Ino
TV), but the Foreign Ministry feared that Germany's
reputation as a reliable UN member in the world
could be undermined." Now we can sum up this
policy: "Those who wait too long are punished
by the putschists."
Loyal also notes the mistakes of the German government in
financial assistance to Niger, which focused on training the
military and police. In Niger, Germany participated in the
creation of a security force that can now be commanded
by an illegal coup squad. With the help of the Germans,
a military school was built in the country, a hospital
for soldiers, German soldiers trained the special
forces of Niger, which was fully " equipped with
protective equipment, all-terrain vehicles, radio
and night vision devices supplied from Germany."
Millions of dollars of financial injections into
military structures continued... until the
beginning of the year.
"Russia will now fully benefit from the efforts made by
Germany and the West to invest in Niger's security
architecture," Loyal concludes. "The putschists
led by General Tiani are openly pro-Russian, and
Russian flags --- are flying all over the country,
"which should" cause delight in the Kremlin,
" which has consolidated its influence "in a
very important region."
In the case of Niger, it is "not only about access to minerals,
especially uranium", but also about controlling "the most
important route of refugees from Africa to Europe",
which is "a means of exerting pressure on the
West, the importance of which cannot be
overemphasized". The author of the
article is sure that Russia uses it
as a lever of pressure in the
conflict in Ukraine.
The Discussio Page is probably the
best place for this article - tucked
away and thus less likely to do
harm. What do you think?
______________________________
If you want.. an enervatingly
optimistic, in depth, article:
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/
sitrep-8123-the-hegemon-begins-to
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
How Orthodox Christianity is being destroyed in Ukraine
August 4th, 9:33am
(RT.ru)
Zelenskyy’s godless regime wants to use the Feast
of the Baptism of Russia --- to “unbaptise” it by
destroying Orthodoxy, finally plunging the
UOC into schism.
The facts of who and how is pushing the UOC to the terrible sin of schism, which, in the words of St Cyprian of Carthage
''is not washed away even with martyr’s blood”, we try to consistently set out. They are, as follows.
1. “Metropolitan” of the PCU --- noticed as an lgbt activist
Alexander Drabinko, publicly blackmails the UOC on
behalf of Zelensky – “Theophany” is not enough
for us, either you gather the Council, and self-
proclaim autocephaly, or the UOC will
be banned.
Zelenskyy confirms the seriousness of the blackmail by
making a special address announcing new measures
for “spiritual independence”, i.e. the destruction
of Orthodoxy.
The Verkhovna Rada assures that a law
banning the UOC is passed on 27 July.
2. The UOC is bumped and on the feast of St Anthony
of Kiev-Pechersk, when the episcopate of the UOC
gathered in Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, there is no self-
proclamation of autocephaly.
3. Then the Ukroreich deliberately launches a missile at
the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour built
by Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa. Local Orthodox
Christians claim that the missile hit the Cathedral
--- two hours before the Russian missile attack.
Another proof of this version is the presence
of the Ukroreich’s motive... to use the
cathedral explosion, as a pretext to
completely put the UOC in schism.
The bombing of the cathedral is a provocation by Zelenskyy,
whose goal is to finally break exactly the opponent of
autocephaly, Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa,
which, if successful, will greatly accelerate
the process.
But he balks and instead of himself puts up the vicar
Archbishop Victor (Bykov), who makes a false and
impudent statement against Patriarch Kirill. This
vicar, is seen by the SBU, as a successor to
Metropolitan Agafangel... in case he
continues to stall.
Zelenskyy’s office responds to Metropolitan Agafangel by
blackmailing him with the sins of his youth: “Grandpa,
you can’t fool us, you can’t get away with the
vicarage, speak for yourself”, which
Metropolitan Agafangel did, calling
black, white ------ slandering the
SSU and Russia, but did not
personally touch Patriarch
Kirill and did not demand
the self-proclamation
of autocephaly.
In response, Zelenskyy’s Office used a former disciple of
Metropolitan Agafangel of Sumy, Metropolitan Yevlogy
(Gutchenko), who made his ecclesiastical career with
the help of the aforementioned Drabinko, betraying
Metropolitan Agafangel. Yevlogy appealed to
Metropolitan Onufry, with an appeal to spit
on the ecclesiastical interdictions of the
Moscow Patriarchate... which will
inevitably follow.... in the case of
a 'self-proclaimed' autocephaly
of the UOC. Thus Metropolitan
Yevlogy calls on the UOC to
break with Orthodoxy.
The position of the Ukroreich is clear: “You will not get away
with words against Russia and special operations, proclaim
autocephaly on 28 July, otherwise the UOC will be banned”.
Even if Metropolitans Onuphrius and Agafangel go for it, the
meeting of UOC bishops on 28 July will not be able to make
such a decision, as 3 Metropolitans Theodosius, Pavel and
Jonathan are under arrest, with Metropolitan Pavel in a
pre-trial detention centre.
Metropolitan Longin of Banchensk lies with a stroke,
driven to it by the repressions of the Ukroreich.
Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkassy will
probably oppose this decision, as will
other arrested metropolitans.
Those who vote in favour of self-proclaimed autocephaly,
will finally, according to all canons, become schismatics
and become worthy of anathema, like Filaret Denysenko.
One vote against the same Metropolitan Theodosius is
enough to nullify the forthcoming self-proclamation of
autocephaly of the UOC, just as one vote of Abbot
Mark of Ephesus was enough to foil the Union of
Ferrara-Florence.
But still I appeal to the episcopate of the UOC with a
request -- to make a confessional decision, if only
because this confession will not last long --- the
Russian Army will take Odessa, Kiev and other
Russian cities, no matter how much the US
agents of influence in Moscow try to stop
the special operation.
At the same time, as reported by the faithful Orthodox
of Malorossia, the insane heresiarch, Barthrolomey,
under the leadership of the Uniate and at the same
time, the archimandrite of the Russian Orthodox
Church Kirill (Govorun), has come up with a new
plan for the final destruction of Orthodoxy in
Malorossia, a kind of “plan B”.
The Phanar.. gives the PCU the status of Patriarchate
with preservation of dependence on the Patriarchate
of Constantinople, before that the UOC and the PCU
unite, Metropolitan Onufry leaves, Sergiy Dumenko
leaves, and the Canadian Metropolitan of the UOC
of Constantinople Patriarchate in the US ------
Hilarion (Rudnik) becomes the “Patriarch”
of the united structure.
The fact that he has a canonical chiarotony does not change
the essence of the matter because: 1. almost all “hierarchs”
of the PCU do not have it; 2. “the authority of the Patriarch
of Constantinople ends outside his diocese” (Metropolitan
Anthony (Khrapovitsky).
Hilarion (Rudnik) is a fairy figure. A thuggish Nazi who
worked closely with Dudayev, Basayev, Maskhadov
and other terrorists and oes not conceal his goal
of unification.
Dumenko, however, does not want to leave.
But his masters from the United States
will not ask him.
The only person and thing that can stop this new union
is the Russian Army --- and carrying out the special
operations in full.
Kirill Frolov, Russian People’s Line
In a nutshell - until the Zelensky regime is crushed - the US will use him to break Russia's Spiritual power.
A truly diabolical plan.
What do you think?
__________________________________
Zakharova discussed----- the
policy of the colonial powers
August 4th, 12:03am
(Lenta.ru)
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry,
Maria Zakharova ----- speculated about the policy of the
colonial powers, in a column for Izvestia newspaper.
In particular, Zakharova drew attention to the term "Non-
Self-Governing Territories" -- used in the UN Charter.
According to her, in fact, we are talking about
- colonies. "Colonial Powers cannot endlessly
suppress the independence and sovereignty
of peoples. Although their desire to acquire
new colonies is quite logical," she said.
The representative of the Foreign Ministry expressed
confidence that "the free world will definitely win",
and the process of decolonization "will not be
completed ------ until the last of the Non-Self-
Governing Territories gains independence".
In July, Maria Zakharova said that the West
treats Ukraine as a colony, commenting on
plans.... to export relics from the Kiev
Pechersk Lavra.
Since my country, Wales (Cymru), is a ''non-governing
territory'' (- apologies to our Senedd members! -) and
England's first colony (apologies to Ireland's superb
historians!) my heart resonates with Ms Zakharova.
I think I'm in love with her. What... do you think?
_______________________________________
Seoulraises stakes
in confrontation
with Moscow
August 2nd, 12:43pm
https://en.news-front.info/
South Korea... is being drawn into the collective West’s
confrontation with Russia. Seoul is supplying 155mm
howitzer shells to the Kiev regime, via the US.
Japan’s participation in the deal... is
being prepared.
Seoul and Tokyo have formed a pair here for a reason.
From the perspective of Japanese geopolitics, the
Korean Peninsula is “a knife pointed at Japan’s
chest.” Japan feels threatened if it does not
control Korea. Since the Korean War of
1950-1953, two Koreas have emerged
– the pro-US South Korea... and the
pro-Soviet, and now pro-Russian,
North Korea.
Japan sees South Korea and US military bases as a buffer
separating North Korea from Japan and the zone of
Japanese influence. The Tokyo-Seoul-Washington
geopolitical axis allows the U.S. and Japan
toexert militaristic pressure on Russia’s
eastern frontiers, and South Korea to
press North Korea geographically
against Russia’s borders.
This is not the best scenario for Seoul, as the
common border between North Korea and
Russia means unproblematic logistical
communication between the two
countries in case of war. But
South Korea, has no
other choice.
South Korean strategists are playing the long game and have
a hand in containing Russia in Ukraine and NATO’s eastern
flank. In addition to supplying the AFU with shells and
military ammunition, Seoul is supplying K2 tanks and
K9 howitzers to Poland and Romania to replace the
Polish and Romanian heavy equipment supplied to
Zelensky. Soviet and obsolete NATO models in
Polish and Romanian warehouses... are being
replaced with modern South Korean models.
Warsaw and Bucharest intend to dramatically increase the
number of such vehicles in the armed forces and act as
security guarantors for Zelensky. Seoul supports
such plans.
For South Korea, Russia’s involvement in conflicts in the west
is beneficial, as it distracts Moscow from the eastern vector.
However, the visit of the Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, to
North Korea showed that Moscow has enough attention for
everyone. After all, the eagle on the Russian coat of arms
looks both west and east at the same time.
Russia may lack the resources to provide equal security in
both directions, but that is why the Kremlin is developing
partnerships with its eastern allies, including Pyongyang.
Experts say that the potential for cooperation between
Russia and the DPRK in the military and intelligence
spheres may be quite high.
In 2023, Seoul plans... to deliver $150 million worth of
humanitarian aid to Kiev. In 2022, the amount of aid
was $100 million. Humanitarian aid is a stretch.
For example, Russian soldiers have found
South Korean medicines and other items
used by servicemen in everyday life at
Ukrainian positions. Officially, such aid
from Seoul is not considered military,
but - in fact - it is channelled to the
needs of the Ukrainian punishers.
Now Russian units in the SMO zone will be bombarded with
South Korean shells. Seoul is clearly raising the stakes,
which cannot but affect relations with Moscow and
automatically with Beijing. China does not
welcome South Korea’s rapprochement
with the US and Japan.
Seoul’s arming of Zelensky’s army is not capable of turning
the tide of the conflict. South Korea’s military capabilities
relative to its overall capabilities and geographic size are
high, but not massive. South Korea is not a military
superpower. It is unlikely that the South Korean
military-industrial complex, will be able to
stamp the required number of shells for
Zelensky at a rapid pace and for a
long time.
In the meantime... everyone suffers
--- except those at the top of this
mountain of pain. How they
smile, now... in our faces!
Will this end? We say Yes!
What do you think?
__________________________________
Europe and “good”
neo-Nazism
August 1st, 9:27am
https://en.news-front.info/
The information agenda, which can neither
be obscured nor deceived, combined
two events...
The first, a tragic, heart-wrenching one, when nine years ago
four children were killed by shelling in the Donbass town of
Horlivka. The youngest of them, a girl named Kira, was ten
months old. Christina, Kira’s mum, tried to cover the baby
with her body, but Ukrainian shrapnel pierced them both.
The scary photos of the “Donbass Madonna” -- did not
make the front pages of European newspapers: the
end of July - for EU residents - is always holidays and entertainment. What do they, then tanned,
fashionable, wearing silk and linen --- care
about some Russian murdered children?
A trifle, not worthy of attention.
Yes, and then, of course, at the time when Donbass began to
oppose aggression on the part of Kyiv, if the Western press
ever mentioned the shelling of peaceful towns, it was
always by some kind of “armed formations”. It was
not customary to specify who they consisted of,
who supplied them with weapons and who
taught them to shoot at civilians. The
weapons fired themselves, and
people died from something.
Either they, shot at them ---
or they shot at themselves.
Nine years later, the influential Le Figaro, which represents
the conservative spectrum of French politics, published a
gigantic, many thousands of characters correspondence
that deals with these very armed formations and the
history of the emergence of the storm troopers, as
well as what they do today.
Reading the material is categorically unspiritual and chills
the blood of anyone who is aware of not so long ago
European history. The point is that the article
explains in black and white why Ukrainian
nationalism is useful, why it is good, and
why those who served in “Azov”*, who
organised and joined “Right Sector”*
are actually good (even very
good) people.
It turns out that hatred of Russia is an extremely useful factor
that helps to shape a nation. It turns out that this hatred has
been carefully cultivated for many decades, just as the
activities of Ukrainian Insurgent Army* were glorified.
In general - according to the conclusions - the Ukrainian Insurgent Army* fighters were not bandits & murderers
who slaughtered whole villages --- of those who had
“the wrong blood with the wrong red blood cells”,
not punishers, to whom Hitlerites assigned the
dirtiest work --- but guys who fought against
“cruel Soviet power, Gulag, PCIA and CSS”.
And even Bandera, as it appears, was “a complex historical
figure who managed to shape and formulate the essence
and principles of Ukrainian national identity”.
The principles are simple, if not in the paradigm of the
European media – to kill as many Poles, Russians and
Jews, as possible. Hatred, fomented long and hard
(not only for the last nine years), could not but
lead to the deaths of children. One of those
whose words are quoted in the material
- absolutely openly says - that he has
been preparing for war with Russia
(i.e. for the murder of Russians)
since 1991.
Yes, and there were armed storm troopers on the Maidan
(ready to shoot, of course, and shooting at those who
opposed them) – this phrase is not quoted, so let’s
consider that the first nail has been driven into
the coffin of the myth of “unarmed youth and
peaceful protests”. Nowadays the European
media, are not shy about such details.
Although when Russia was talking
about exactly the same thing ---
nine years ago, it was labelled
“Kremlin propaganda”.
Today, Europeans refuse to see swastikas, emblems of Nazi
runes, as well as the standards of Hitler’s divisions, in the
tattoos of the Pravseki and Azov. Today... the European
media are actively promoting the thesis that Ukrainian
“nationalism” has nothing to do with Nazism.
However, in the country where Le Figaro is published, and
throughout the EU, nationalism is stigmatised on all
corners, and those who dare to speak out in public
about the primacy of the national idea can be
taken to court. For inciting discord, for
agitating for “the return of the dark
pages of the continent’s history”.
That is, French/Spanish/Italian/Dutch and other EU
nationalism is monstrous, reactionary, and can
lead to civil war -- while Ukrainian nationalism
is good and right. While Corsican nationalists
are being smacked down to prison terms,
Ukrainian nationalists -- are being sung
about. They do it in the same media.
Europeans are not idiots and understand what games
of “pure blood” and counting its red blood cells, can
lead to. But in the war with Russia, in which Ukraine
acts as a damper to destroy us on the one hand and
to protect the lives of the “golden half-billion” on
the other, all means are good.
And so Nazism becomes nationalism, and the latter
becomes patriotism. Europe turns a blind eye to
the fact that all this, is mixed up with hatred
towards us.
It is clear why there will be more and more publications
of this kind: it is necessary to support spending on the
military-industrial complex and to teach Europeans
that guns are more important for Kiev -- than oil in
their fridge.
It is also clear that ten years will pass and Europeans
will realise that they, among others, helped to
cultivate hatred towards Russians.
One thing is unclear: why the terrible and bloody lesson
of Nazism was not learnt by them to the end. Maybe
because the deaths of Russian children did not
and still do not matter to them. For them we
are a population, not a nation.
Source: Elena Karaeva, RIA Novosti
* --- An organisation banned on the
territory of the Russian Federation
A little old lady in a supermarket
in Wales, will say, ''I'd like to
shoot Putin'' and then look
astonished, as I reply:
''I think he's good.''
When ''our masters'', drive
us to madness and hatred
as they do through media
owned by them for that
purpose... what do you
think - is the solution?
____________________________
The Westis turning Ukraineinto
a perpetual toolto fight Russia
July 31st, 9:29am
https://en.news-front.info/
Of course, if I were former U.S. Army intelligence officer Scott
Ritter, who in his article for Consortium News characterised
the current situation of the AFU and the entire neo-Nazi
regime of Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
after the counter-offensive, I would choose a more
accurate synonym for the words “shitting
themselves”.
It seems to me that after almost two months of counter-
attack – since 4 June this year – we should already
draw conclusions: it did not work then, and it is
not working now.
Moreover, the Russian missile strike (many say it was
Iskander) on the SBU building in Dnipro (once
Dnipropetrovsk, and soon everything will be
back to normal again) showed what will
happen to the top neo-Nazis and their
rookeries - when Russia’s Special
Military Operation (SMO) forces
finally dare to launch serious
strikes on --- as they say ---
decision-making centres.
In Kiev -- and elsewhere.
And, of course, the city
is pathetic. But not the
neo-Nazis, after all…?
However, let’s return to Scott Ritter, who frankly predicted to
Zelenskyy’s regime, a terrible, but very accurate: “Ukraine
is now left to choose the poison of its choice – to agree to
special operation. And it is different, for example,
a significant part of oil exports passes through
the Black Sea.
But the main threat to Ukraine is that for Russia, providing
constant radar surveillance - all the way from Turkey to
Russian ports - and organising a system of convoys to
escort cargo is a task that requires the involvement
of dozens of ships and aircraft, and... it is a very
large expense. This is damage more weighty
than any terrorist attacks by Kiev.
But destroying Ukraine’s port infrastructure on the Black Sea,
cutting it off for good from the Black Sea and the Danube
delta with missile and bomb strikes would cost much
less. And it turns out that by attacking Russian
ships, Ukraine will provoke Russia to destroy
Ukraine as a maritime power. As they say,
here we go…
Another failure of Zelenskyy’s regime is very characteristic,
who ordered the replacement of the USSR emblem with
the Ukrainian trident on the shield of the monument to
the Motherland over the Dnieper in Kiev. The Nazis
ordered it, oligarch Rinat Akhmetov caved in and,
wanting to show off, at his own expense, i.e. for
free for the state budget, made such a trident
worth 20 million hryvnias and measuring 7.5
metres by 4.5 metres from his own metal.
That is, from steel produced at
Zaporizhstal - which is part of
Akhmetov’s Metinvest empire.
Akhmetov’s supporters shrieked --- habitually pushing for
Ukro-patriotism: “We believe that such majestic symbols
should use steel produced at Ukrainian mills... as a
symbol of resistance to “aggression”. As It is
Ukrainian steel that's in the NSC Olimpiyskiy,
the new sarcophagus of the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant, the Darnitsky
Bridge --- the largest flagpole of
Ukraine & the bridge in Genoa,
the London skyscraper Shard
& hundreds of other famous
buildings and symbols”.
But they were sent with the conclusions of “correct”
expertise in their hands: they said, that everything
should be European, we are going to Europe. And
there they have euros in offshore banks for their
pockets, their khatynki are stashed away, they
have guarantees that they can stay at home
after the failure, and so on and so forth –
what is Ukrainian patriotism when it
leaks and many people already
have, as they say, glass
on glass…?
The failure of post-turnover Ukraine in general, and within
the framework of the special operation is of course, the
failure of the entire West, its approach to the world
order, based on Western dominance.... and on US
hegemony. Here is how -- for example -- the same
Scott Ritter characterised the failure of Ukraine
in the capital of Lithuania: “The Vilnius summit
of 11-12 July... was -- in many ways -- the
culmination of the old European order.
The summit was.... a requiem for the
nightmare created by Europe itself”.
And that’s the plain truth, folks. But it, by no means,
means that the West will abandon Ukraine and
return it to Russian influence, or at least stop
at its former non-aligned and neutral status.
No, no, --- and no again. The West is on a course to exploit
Ukraine - to the end. To use it to harm Russia, as much as
possible. Therefore, Ukraine will be supported politically
economically, diplomatically, militarily and technically,
as long as it is able, if not to inflict a strategic defeat
on Russia, then at least to continue the war and
weaken and exhaust its neighbour.
For the West, the strategy and tactics in Ukraine boil down
to the long-known “a piece of wool from a lousy sheep”.
That is why the NATO summit in Vilnius is adopting a
programme of military assistance to Ukraine, and
the countries of the Alliance - led by the US - are
already giving and promising to continue giving,
money, weapons and equipment. Only the USA
alone – 400 million dollars, and in the future –
more than 1 billion dollars. And... only in
recent weeks and recently, the EU has
allocated 1.5 billion euros to support
the financial trousers.
The same amount has been given, under guarantees,
from Japan. And it depends on the agreed desire of
all interested parties, who will decide with Ukraine
whether to be a long-lasting “tin can” for slaughter
in the future or to burn to the ground in the SWO
and then try to start life with a clean slate.
In other words, as long as it is needed, Ukraine is being
turned into a long-life reusable tool that can either be
mothballed until better times and then activated as
needed, or used to the end and discarded for lack
of use. Everything will depend on the outcome
of the special operation.
And it looks very much like that nobody is going to ask
Ukraine and its ruling regime anything about the fate
of the country. And its fate is unenviable. Like the
trident... on the shield of the Motherland. At
“Zaporizhstal” they warned that they will
defend the honour of the Ukrainian
manufacturer and Ukrainian steel.
But the trident itself, has already
been put on sale. And the author
of an ad' circulating on the
Internet writes --- that the
trident, has already been
sawn into 100 pieces, in
honour of the “Heavenly
Hundred” - valuing each
piece at 10,000 hryvnias.
That’s the truth of the matter –
a dictator gets a woollen hat…
Vladimir Skachko, Ukraine.ru
Vlad impales the MSM's fake
narrative here - doesn't he?
Does he? What do you think?
_______________________________
Gennady Zyuganov:Russia
has unique capital in Africa
July 30th, 6:47pm
(Based on materials of Radio
Komsomolskaya Pravda)
The leader of the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation - on Radio "Komsomolskaya Pravda"
- with a political commentator of the KP.ru,
by Alexander Gamov
''Well, first of all..... I would like to congratulate everyone
on the Day of the Navy'' --- said Gennady Andreevich ---
''our country was & remains a Great maritime power.''
''A magnificent parade was held
in the city, on the Neva River.''
''In my opinion, at a time when we are conducting a
special military operation, this is very important.''
''So, this demonstration of our fleet
is of fundamental importance.''
''The leaders of African countries who participated in the
Russia-Africa summit, were also there. I think it is also
useful for them... to look at the power of the Russian
fleet, to learn more about the victorious history of
our state - both the USSR and Russia.''
- Gennady Andreevich, but you
were in Africa, weren't you?
''As for Africa, I've been there more than once.
I am probably the only Russian politician who
has met with Nelson Mandela. I had a long
and persistent conversation with him.''
''He told us who would succeed him, and advised us
which African leaders we should be friends with,
so that we and Africa would be on the rise.''
''I think the summit in St. Petersburg
confirmed that we are on the
right track.''
''The Communist Party of the Russian Federation still
maintains close contact.. with the National African
Congress, with the leaders of a number of African
countries and organizations.''
"And the reason?"
"We must strengthen these ties.
Moreover, the BRICS summit will be held soon.'' (from 22 to 24 August. - AG)
''So, these days in St. Petersburg, in my opinion,
there was a good preparation for this forum.''
''President Vladimir Putin met with all the leaders of
the countries participating in our forum and held
successful negotiations''
- What other African leaders have you met with
over the decades of your political activity?
''First of all, Sasha, in Nigeria I helped build a large
enterprise - today it is one of the most
economically developed countries
in Africa.''
''So, together with our party, we have made a contribution to strengthening ties with African countries, in this regard.''
''And, in general, I met with the President of Egypt, Hosni
Mubarak, and I visited Libya, and I held talks with the
leader of the state, Muammar Gaddafi, in the desert,
in his tent.''
''I think Africa has great prospects: one and
a half billion people already live there.''
''This is a dynamically developing
continent with huge resources.''
''And we - Russia - have our own
unique capital in this region.''
"Really?" What do you mean?
''The Soviet Union and, of course, Russia, have
trained senior personnel and high-level
specialists for African states.''
''Go to almost any ministry in any country and you
will definitely meet people who have studied at
our universities.''
''This special potential promises us great prospects
in all areas: economic, scientific and technical,
including military and political.''
''And it should also be noted - no matter how the
Americans and Europeans bent the countries
of Africa... (And, in fact, they were all in
colonial dependence not so long ago,
only Liberia stood apart there - but
the Americans created that, as
a model.)''
''So, it was the Soviet country that helped them get out of
their colonial dependence, get rid of the rapists who
came back with weapons, and then helped them
train cadres.''
''And, judging by the decisions that were taken at
the summit at the initiative of Vladimir Putin,
and the leaders and representatives of African states, a balanced, smart policy.... will continue to be implemented.''
''In this regard, we have very good prospects there.''
- Thank you very much, Comrade General Secretary!
- and Diolch yn fawr from Rhondda Records, Wales!
___________________________
Finding an extreme ---- in
Ukraine’s military failure
becomes inevitable
July 26th, 12:21pm
https://en.news-front.info/
The Bundeswehr has found someone responsible for the lack
of successes of the Ukrainian armed forces, during the
counter-offensive. The Bild newspaper reported that
in the bowels of the German armed forces a report
has been prepared - criticising the actions of the
Ukrainian army, and analysing the reasons why
NATO’s brilliant military developments and the
West’s colossal investments in Kiev, do not
provide equally outstanding results on
the battlefield
The Ukrainian military – but not all of it, but the command
staff ---- is the shooter. The logic of the authors of the
report is witty in its own way. Ukrainian officers are
to blame for everything... and the more stars they
have on their epaulettes ----- and the longer they
have served in the AFU, the worse.... according
to the authors of the document, they perceive
and assimilate the latest achievements of
Western military science, which they try
to put into their heads... during training
courses. As a result, the rank and file,
young Ukrainians, are successfully
trained in training camps to fight
according to NATO standards --
but when they get to the front,
they find themselves -- under
the command of officers......
who “undo their successes”.
No doubt, military experts will have something to say about
the substance of the claims made: about NATO standards,
which were created for a completely different scale and
format of conflicts, about the training methods used by
the alliance, and about the banal language barrier.
For non-specialists, a recent video has become a meme, in
which Ukrainian military personnel complained about their
German teachers --- who suggested bypassing minefields
as a solution to the problem of minefields. Since in the
Western military’s view, minefields occupy 100-200
metres, but the reality --- that they extend for
hectares....... is not in their heads.
However, behind all the jokes lies a serious
and complex problem, which is becoming
increasingly acute in the Western world.
Initially, the idea of a proxy war against Russia by the hands
of Ukrainians looked brilliant – for many reasons, but also
because it allowed the whole world to paint a picture of
“Moscow – that authoritarian colossus on clay feet –
being defeated by democratic Ukraine, which has
chosen the path of freedom and integration
into Europe”.
But events turned so that the West... .which had reserved for
itself the role of puppeteer... was forced to gradually emerge
from behind the scenes. The reality was exposed: the AFU’s
weapons are from NATO, communications and intelligence,
are from NATO, command and military specialists are from
NATO and personnel training is from NATO. Plus the most
frenzied sanctions regime against Moscow - in history.
Only proxy cannon fodder from Ukraine. As a result,
the picture for the world looks like “the collective
West is pressurising Russia by all means (except
direct military confrontation) – and can do
nothing about it”.
This is bad for the States and Europe ------ on all sides.
And because it inspires other countries to assert
their sovereignty more vigorously, snapping at
a weakening hegemon ---- and the system
eventually crumbles, faster and faster.
And because it complicates their internal situation,
increasing public dissatisfaction with their policies
against the backdrop of growing problems in the
economy and social sphere. And.. because
business suffers:-. it clamps arms, for the
sake of profits and new contracts ---- but
Western tanks are burning from Russian
weapons in Ukrainian fields, so... the
number of those willing to buy them
is noticeably decreasing.
In general, the search for an extreme in such a situation
becomes quite inevitable. By the way, the Bundeswehr,
having transferred arrows to the Ukrainian armed
forces, has thus -- dealt a preemptive blow. The
fact is that the United States will undoubtedly
blame Europe for the failure, which, allegedly
helps Ukraine little and poorly. And then the
Europeans are ready to reply that they have
nothing to do with it, and the Ukrainians
themselves are to blame.
There is only one problem: all these media and official games
successfully worked in a unipolar world, where globalised
media, an all-powerful bureaucracy and transnational
business ruled, where no mistakes, miscalculations,
and failures had fatal consequences for the system
and responsibility for their authors. That world no
longer exists. Right now --- we are witnessing
its agony.
But judging by the Bundeswehr report, many people in Berlin,
Washington, Brussels and the rest of the Western capitals
still do not realise this. That provides additional
opportunities and chances ...for the rest of
the planet.
What a wonderful article --- it hits the
Western ''elites'' --- right in their orbs.
Or do you have a different perspective?
_________________________________________
US addiction to sanctionswill
prove to spell its downfall:
Report
July 25th 12:10pm
(PressTV)
Washington’s widespread use of illegal sanctions
as a political tool to punish independent and rival
governments as well as politicians and traders
- have prompted a broad coalition of nations
across the globe, to “rewrite” the rules of
the international financial system aimed
at ending the US-dominated order ---- a
major Washington-based journal says.
“In the past two decades -- sanctions have become the
go-to foreign-policy tool of Western governments led
by the United States,” Foreign Policy magazine
writes in an article published on Monday on
its online edition.
“A growing club of US-designated bad boys” led by Russia,
China, Iran, Cuba, Syria, Venezuela and North Korea –
which have been the top targets of “punitive” US-led
sanctions -- have joined together to wage a major
scheme: to replace their reliance on the dollar
and the Western financial system,” the
article emphasizes.
It further cited a US Treasury Department’s report to note
that by 2021, “the United States had sanctions on more
than 9,000 individuals, companies, and sectors of the
targeted countries economies.”
According to the report, “In 2021, US President Joe Biden’s
first year in office, his administration added 765 new
sanctions designations globally, including 173
related to human rights.”
The article further cites Columbia University, to point out
that --- “a total of six countries - Cuba, Iran, North Korea,
Russia, Syria, and Venezuela - are under comprehensive
US sanctions, meaning that most commercial and
financial transactions with entities and
individuals in those countries, are
''prohibited'' under US law.”
It also cites 17 other countries—including Afghanistan,
Belarus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia,
Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Nicaragua, Sudan, and
Yemen—that have been subject to targeted
sanctions imposed by Washington, “which
indicates that financial and commercial
relations - with specific companies,
individuals, and ------- often, the
government, are ''forbidden''
under US law.”
The article further cites a Princeton University database
to point out that seven more countries, including China,
Eritrea, Haiti, and Sri Lanka ------ are under specific
export controls.
“This already lengthy list,” it adds ------ “does not even include
the targeted sanctions placed on individuals and businesses
in countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, or Paraguay, or
sanctions placed on territories such as Hong Kong, the Balkans, or Ukraine’s Crimea, Donetsk, or
Luhansk regions.”
All told, the report emphasizes --- “The countries subjected
to some form of US sanctions collectively account for a
little more than one-fifth of the global GDP,” with China
representing nearly 80 percent of the group.
It further observes that “unlike many among these
sanctioned nations -- China has the economic
weight, growing diplomatic clout, currency
stability, and liquidity… to push for the
increasing international adoption of
the renminbi, and Chinese financial
instruments ------- such as its Cross-
Border Interbank Payment System.”
If the US understands that its illegal
and ever-increasing sanctions are
provoking a backlash -- that will
doom them to fail - at best...
why don't they stop?
What do you think?
____________________________________
Russian senator blames Ukraine, West,for journalist Zhuravlev’s death in Zaporozhye Region
July 22nd, 4:07pm (TASS)
The wounds of the journalists and the death of RIA Novosti
correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev in a Ukrainian cluster munitions strike prove that the assurances of the Americans and Ukrainians, about the non-use of these weapons against civilians are lies - and
therefore both Kiev and Washington equally share responsibility for this crime,
the Russian Federation Council
Deputy Speaker... Konstantin
Kosachev said on Saturday.
"The use of cluster munitions is inhumane and must be excluded from combat practices. And all the
assurances of the Americans and Ukrainians
that they are not planning to use these
weapons against non-combatants ---
turned out to be --- blatant lies. The
responsibility for this crime -- falls
equally on Ukraine and the US,"
the senator wrote on his
Telegram channel.
Kosachev said --- that the reports about the
death of a journalist was "horrifying news."
"We mourn alongside the family, the friends
and colleagues, of Rostislav Zhuravlev. It
is extremely tragic, but simultaneously
exhausting evidence --- that the
Ukrainian military clique and
their patrons, do not have
any moral constraints,"
the deputy speaker of
the upper house of
parliament, said.
Amen. Lost for words.
______________________
Report: West Not Prepared
for a Conflictwith China
July 20th, 4:17pm (FNA)
Ammunition shortages laid bare by the Ukraine conflict have
prompted some US think-tanks to check on stockpiles in
the West and find them wanting, The Financial Times
reported, adding that the military industry of NATO
allies is not able to help, either.
A Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
wargame of a conflict with China over Taiwan showed
that the US had only about 450 long-range anti-ship
missiles, enough for about a week.
Another think tank, the Centre for New American Security
(CNAS), said the existing missile inventory is “too small
to blunt an initial invasion, let alone prevail in a
protracted conflict against China”.
To deter and defeat Beijing, the Pentagon “needs large stockpiles of stand-off missiles, maritime strike
weapons, and layered air and missile
defenses”, CNAS concluded.
According to The FT, the US Department of Defense has
asked for $1.1 billion in the 2024 fiscal year to buy 118
long-range anti-ship missiles (LRASM), compared to
half that amount for 83 missiles the year before.
The Pentagon also wants $30 billion for
ammunition, a 23% increase over
2023 levels, and $315 billion
for new weapons.
CNAS has noted that the Pentagon tends to prioritize big-
ticket items such as ships, planes and tanks, “leaving
missiles and munitions with inadequate funding".
The FT revealed that Western powers have spent a
combined $170 billion on military and financial aid
to Ukraine --- since February 2022. Kiev is still
complaining about ammunition
shortages, however.
The US military-industrial complex has spent decades
prioritizing efficiency and adopting the just-in-time
supply chain used by other industries, according
to The FT ----- leaving it unable to scale up
production in wartime. Parts -- and
labour shortages, are currently
a problem, as well.
“The defense industry is so consolidated that it can’t very
quickly expand to support a greater demand,” Stacie
Pettyjohn of CNAS said, adding, “So... we’re slow
and behind and don’t have enough of anything.”
Only five companies are responsible for major Pentagon
contracts, and some parts are made by only one or two suppliers, with no way to make up the
shortage elsewhere.
NATO allies are unable to step in and pick up the slack,
because the US push to promote US-made weapons
has left the European defense industry stunted
and fractured, multiple think-tank experts
told The FT.
Good. What do you think?
___________________________
A New Path to Economic Power
Is Imminent --- Through BRICS
by Sibongile Vilakazi
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
(BRICS Information Portal)
“Okungapheli kuyahlola”, is what we say, to
emphasise that nothing is permanent in life.
Observing the buzz around the BRICS currency lately amid
the 15th annual summit, which is scheduled for the 22nd
to the 24th of August, brings this phrase home. South
Africa will be chairing the BRICS group of countries
under the theme, ‘BRICS and Africa: Partnership
for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable
Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism’.
A theme that could not have come at a better time, especially
after the war between Russia and Ukraine has put pressure
on prices of goods and energy and changing the status
quo in global trade dynamics.
The buzz also comes.. after some advice to developing
countries to promote and use their national currency
when trading, investing and other transactions. A
way in which.. a single BRICS currency can be
created. China.. is already making use of the
timeline by trading using the Chinese yuan.
The Chinese yuan is reported to be the most traded
currency in Russia, overtaking the US dollar in quarter one, 2023.
Additionally, France settled an LNG gas trade with China
by paying in the Chinese yuan, ending the reliance on
the dollar. Furthermore, India - has also asked
developing countries to settle trade in the
rupee instead of the dollar - and has
allowed 18 countries to pay with
the rupee instead of the dollar.
These moves are not only game-changers but an indication
that nations want to move away from the dollar and end
American financial supremacy.
The launching of the BRICS currency has seen a total of
19 countries currently interested in accepting and
trading with BRICS currency.
Amongst the countries expressing interest are Arab countries
that are rich in oil and gold reserves, making the alliance of
nations stronger, posing a threat to the G7 global order,
and therefore challenging the G7 countries.
Saudi Arabia, as the world’s largest oil exporter, could force
Europe to trade in the BRICS currency as they depend on
their oil exports, another step of the dollar losing its
strength. It should be noted that the G7 countries
comprise of advanced economies such as the
US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
and the UK. BRICS on the other hand is an
acronym denoting emerging economies -
Brazil, Russia, India, China and S. Africa.
Originally coined in 2001, as BRIC, by the Goldman Sachs
economist, Jim O’Neill, who claimed that the global
economy... will be dominated by the four BRIC
economies by 2050. South Africa was then
added in 2010 and it became BRICS.
Jim O’Neill was not too far off with his claims as recent
reports suggest that BRICS has surpassed the G7 by
contributing the world’s largest gross domestic
product of 31.5% while the G7 bloc
contributed 30.7%.
BRICS is a home to 41% of the world's population
accounting to 16% of global trade. Meaning that
the launching of the New Development Bank
and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement
by BRICS was a strategic step towards
greater integration and a practical
step towards challenging the
dominance of the West.
Both the NDB and CRA are contributing substantially
to the process of accelerating economic growth
--- resulting in the socio-economic progress
in the member countries.
We have all come to know how the invasion of Russia in
Ukraine affected the food and energy markets. This
was a global economic meltdown, post Covid-19
pandemic, hurting growth and raising prices.
Sanctions were put on Russia to weaken its ability to
finance the war and to target the political, military,
and economic elite responsible for the invasion.
These restrictive measures have since shrunk Russia’s
trade in goods and services significantly, putting
pressure on oil, natural gas, and wheat,
as their major export commodities.
As such, according to Naledi Pandor, Minister of
International Relations, BRICS --- is looking to
“ensure - that we do not become victims to
sanctions that have secondary effects on
countries that have no involvement in the issues that have led to those
unilateral sanctions”.
Additionally, BRICS wants to expand its membership
base while maintaining its current growth, as well
as helping new members maintain economic
and political independence.
As BRICS strengthens --- it will have the potential to help
poorer countries emerge without pushing a self-serving
political agenda and controlling local economies.
Essentially, this suggests -- that a new path to global
economic power is being created, giving inspiration
to the transformation agenda, desperately needed
in South Africa to create a new path to economic
emancipation for the majority. .
The South African economy must fundamentally change
to accommodate the majority and the BRICS currency
conversations and moves, are the clearest evidence
that power does shift eventually, and when the time
for the shift has come, nothing will stop the wave.
Dr Sibongile Vilakazi is president
of the Black Management Forum.
Source: www.iol.co.za
Seems that more and more people... are
pinning their hopes... on BRICS beating
the US dollar. Will the upcoming event
in S.Africa, come up to expectations?
What do you think?
_________________________
Biden administration
obstructing 'Ukraine
aid' audits
by Drago Bosnic
Monday, July 17, 2023
(InfoBrics)
In late November 2022, Washington DC admitted that it was
unable to account for approximately $20 billion in weapons
sent to the Kiev regime. At the time, the newly elected
Republican-dominated Congress vowed to conduct
"impending audits" as soon as they took over
in January.
Officially, the GOP wanted audits, to determine and then release information on the massive weapons
shipments from the United States to the Kiev
regime --- and how much of that "aid" was
ending up "where it's supposed to be".
Republicans promised to "hold the government accountable"
for spending US taxpayers' dollars for the sake of the
deeply corrupt Kiev regime.
At the time, major news media, such as Fox News, claimed
that the Biden administration -- inspected only 10% of the
(approximately) 22,000 weapons sent to the Kiev regime
from late February to November. However the oversight
issues also extended to other "theatres of operation",
such as Taiwan, where approximately $19 billion in
weapons sales for China's breakaway island
province, were "missing".
In late August, a Defense News report claimed there was a
$14 billion backlog in weapons sales to Taiwan. However,
the November data indicated that the actual number was
nearly $19 billion in delayed deliveries, according to
The Wall Street Journal.
"US government and congressional officials fear the conflict
in Ukraine --- is exacerbating a nearly $19 billion backlog of
weapons bound for Taiwan, further delaying efforts to arm
the island ---- as tensions with China escalate," the WSJ
report claimed.
"The US has pumped billions of dollars of weapons into
Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February, taxing
the capacity of the government and defense industry
to keep up with a sudden demand to arm Kiev in a
conflict ---- that isn’t expected to end soon," the
authors added, in an admission rarely seen
in mainstream media.
And yet, close to eight months since promising to conduct
the aforementioned "impending audits", the Republican-
dominated Congress never did anything of sorts, while
the so-called "aid" has swelled to over $170 billion,
according to the data released by the Neo-Nazi
junta itself.
Strangely, the troubled Biden administration has been
successful in preventing Congress... from creating an
inspector general's office - that would finally provide
the much-needed oversight for the massive weapons
shipments to the Kiev regime. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would create an inspector
general office, modeled after the Special Inspector
General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
The issues US government experienced during the existence
of SIGAR is what likely caused the GOP-dominated Congress
to keep postponing its "impeding audits" --- despite clear
promises it would conduct them. It can even be argued
that much of the electorate voted for Republicans
precisely because of their promises to heavily
scrutinize the - so far - "unquestionable
commitment" to provide the massive
amount of "aid" to the Kiev regime.
And indeed, the regular reports issued by SIGAR were a
source of great embarrassment for any administration
in Washington DC during America's decades-long
invasion of Afghanistan. These issues later
greatly contributed to the humiliating
US defeat in August 2021.
The Afghan-era inspector general John Sopko detailed the
unchecked, all-present corruption that led to numerous
failures during the truly unprovoked US aggression in
Afghanistan. Sopko's quarterly reports regularly
embarrassed US and NATO officials who tried
to present the supposed "improvement" of
the operational situation as true.
He has warned that "an inspector general's official for the
Ukraine war needed to be established to prevent a
repeat of the situation American aid created in
Afghanistan, which saw massive corruption".
Considering that the "Ukraine aid" is orders of magnitude
greater than anything Afghanistan ever got, the scale of
corruption in Kiev - is virtually impossible to overstate.
"There is an understandable desire amid a crisis to focus on
getting money out the door and to worry about oversight
later, but too often that creates more problems than it
solves," he wrote -- in a report submitted to Congress
earlier this year, adding: "Given the ongoing conflict
and the unprecedented volume of weapons being
transferred to Ukraine --- the risk that some
equipment ends up on the black market or
in the wrong hands is likely unavoidable.
You're bound to get corrupt elements of
not only the Ukrainian or the host
government, but also of the US
government contractors.... or
other third-party contractors
----- to try to steal the money.
There’s just so much money
going in, and it’s hard to
keep track of."
Still, the troubled Biden administration keeps insisting
that an inspector general for Ukraine would be an
"unnecessary hurdle" as the Pentagon is
"already monitoring transfers".
"This expansion is both unnecessary and unprecedented,
as oversight of US assistance for the benefit of a
country's people --- is already provided by the
Inspectors General for the Department of
State and the United States Agency for
International Development," the
White House stated.
And yet, according to a June report issued by the Pentagon
inspector general, a number of issues with US weapons
shipments to the Neo-Nazi junta... were found.
"The DoD [Department of Defense] personnel did not have
the required accountability of the thousands of defense
items that they received and transferred at Jasionka,
[Poland]," the report claimed - adding: "We observed
that the DoD personnel did not fully implement their
standard operating procedures to account for
defense items and could not confirm the
quantities of defense items received --
against the quantity of items shipped
-- for three of the five shipments
we observed."
The political West, has sent tens of billions worth of weapons
to the Kiev regime since before Russia launched its strategic
counteroffensive against NATO aggression in Europe. This
includes everything from small arms and tactical
reconnaissance drones to heavy armour and
very likely nuclear-capable fighter jets in
the near future.
And while Washington DC.. and its favourite puppet regime
insist "all weapons are strictly and only being used on the
battlefield", dozens of countries in Europe, the Middle
East, Latin America, Africa and elsewhere routinely
complain -- that various extremely dangerous and
violent criminal groups & terrorist organizations
now possess advanced military-grade weapons
that have been illegally acquired in Ukraine.
Drago Bosnic, is an independent
geopolitical and military analyst.
Dear old ''senile' Joe Biden must be exceptionally fit, to keep falling down without harm - I'd have thought he'd be covered in bruises by now...
still, a cunning old devil so covered in moral and ethical corruption, is perhaps, never going to be punished for his crimes, or is he? What do you think?
___________________________________________
Outcry GrowsOver US Cluster
Munitions Delivery to Ukraine
July 11th, 1:45pm
(teleSUR)
The United States has doubled down on a decision to send
controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a
new military aid package, setting off sweeping fears
over life risks on civilians for decades to come.
The cluster bombs will be a part of a new US$800 million
military assistance package, which also includes
armoured vehicles and anti-armour weapons,
said the Pentagon on Friday.
Though the highly contentious weapon is widely banned
by many countries, including key U.S. allies, Washington
continued to hold these munitions in its arsenal and
vowed to help Ukraine destroy what it called
"heavily dug-in" Russian forces.
Rights groups and many other critics say a significant
proportion of the explosive devices are duds that do
not detonate, but remain on site as dangerous
unexploded ordnance, warning that the
fallout could be beyond measure.
INCALCULABLE FALLOUT
"Cluster munition scatter small bomblets over a wide area,"
said Marta Hurtado, spokesperson for the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
in Geneva. "They kill and maim people years later,
after the end of a conflict."
The decision to send cluster munitions marked a watershed
moment with the Biden administration agreeing to send a
weapon that most countries have agreed should have
no place in modern warfare.
For starters, a cluster munition is a type of air-dropped or
ground-launched bomb that breaks apart in the air above
a target into dozens, and sometimes up to hundreds, of
"bomblets" that can scatter over a wide area, known
as submunitions.
Due to weather and other environmental factors, cluster
munitions can fall often outside of the intended target
range, said the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC).
Although cluster munitions are designed to detonate upon
impact, as many as up to 40 percent fail to do so and
could explode later if disturbed or mishandled,
posing a threat to civilians long after they
are dropped, per the ICRC.
As these bombs release massive bomblets that can kill
indiscriminately over a wide area, the humanitarian
according to the Cluster Munition Monitor, as civilians
represented 97 percent of all cluster munition
casualties in 2021.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres objected to the use
of cluster munitions, his deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq
said at a news briefing on Friday, in response to U.S.
approval of cluster munitions for Ukraine. The UN
chief "does not want there to be continued use
of cluster munitions on the battlefield."
Criticizing the flawed and troubling logic in such a U.S.
supply, the New York Times commented in an opinion
piece... that countries in today's world have
"increasingly sought to draw a red line -
against the use of weapons of mass
destruction - or weapons that
pose a severe and lingering
risk to noncombatants."
Human Rights Watch said in a report on Thursday that
"transferring these weapons would inevitably cause
long-term suffering for civilians and undermine the
international opprobrium of their use." Sarah Yager, the Washington director at Human Rights Watch, called the U.S. move "devastating."
"They are absolutely awful for civilians," Yager told Al Jazeera --- in a television interview. "I think when
legislators and policymakers here in the United
States see the photos coming back of children
with missing limbs, parents injured, killed by
our own American cluster munitions, there's
going to be a real awakening --- to the
humanitarian disaster that this is."
WIDESPREAD BACKLASH
Humanitarian groups have strongly denounced Washington's
decision to supply cluster munitions to Kiev, which can go
undetonated and potentially imperil civilians, particularly
children, for decades.
Critics say that, by authorizing the supply of this
controversial weapon, the White House has in
effect, confessed to committing war crimes.
"It would be the greatest danger for Ukrainians for many
years or up to a hundred years if cluster bombs are
used in Russian-occupied areas in the territory of
Ukraine," Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech
Techo Hun Sen tweeted, urging Ukraine not
to use cluster bombs.
A victim of U.S. cluster munitions dropped in the early 1970s,
Cambodia today still grapples with deadly war remnants.
"As my pity for the Ukrainian people, I appeal to the U.S.
president as the supplier and the Ukrainian president
as the recipient not to use cluster bombs in the war
because the real victims will be Ukrainians," he
said, recalling the painful experience of
his country.
The decision is another blatant manifestation of the U.S.
aggressive policy against Russia, aimed at "prolonging
the conflict in Ukraine to the maximum term and the
war until'the last Ukrainian'," Russian Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
said in a statement on Saturday.
Now, anger has been building over Washington's latest move
to provide Ukraine with the weapon widely banned by more
than 100 countries, including key U.S. allies. Even within
NATO, members said while they, as always, side with the
U.S. helping with the legitimate defense of Ukraine,
they object to the U.S. supply of this highly
-condemned weapon.
Canada objects to the use of cluster munitions that
Washington has promised to give Ukraine for its
counteroffensive against Russian forces,
Ottawa said on Saturday.
New Zealand's Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said he will tell
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of New Zealand's
opposition to cluster bombs, if the pair meet this week, at
the NATO summit scheduled from Tuesday to Wednesday.
Also on Saturday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said
Britain discourages the use of cluster munitions, and
Spain's Defense Minister Margarita Robles also
said "no to cluster bombs."
Some U.S. lawmakers have also dissuaded the Biden
administration from such a decision, arguing that
their humanitarian costs outweigh their benefits
in the battlefield, calling it "unnecessary --- and a terrible mistake."
Joe Biden's existential crisis is going to ramp up the pain dial until we all die - don't you think?
Image: Laos deaths from cluster bombs
sarah@sahouraxo
The US dropped 270 million cluster bombs on Laos.
"Every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years
from 1964 until 1973, a planeload of cluster bombs
was dropped on Laos by American B-52s."
50 years later, civilians (and children) are
still being blown up by the bombs.
_________________________________________
West actively cooperates
with Nazis in Ukraine
July the 5th, 9:31am
https://en.news-front.info/
Analysis of an article by MintPress News.
''Numerous Western government officials, intelligence agents
and agents have been directly involved in close cooperation
with Nazi groups and individuals since at least 2014.
This has included involvement in the creation and
maintenance of a Nazi killing list, in Ukraine.''
''While Western media are belatedly forced to admit that
Nazism exists in Ukraine, many journalists insist that
fascist patches on soldiers’ uniforms are only needed
to troll the Russians – in reality they are harmless ----
and nothing more than a gift for Russian propaganda.
Others say that Ukrainian soldiers are being asked to conceal Nazi symbols. However --- as we shall see, this cooperation has much deeper roots,”
MintPress News wrote.
Since the start of the special military operation, Cormac
Smith has taken on a major propaganda role on behalf
of Ukraine. He worked in the UK Cabinet of Ministers
secretariat and, before that, as advisor to Ukraine’s
foreign minister. Smith claims that the real Nazis
are Russians ---- and that they kill, pillage and rape, including children.
However, these stories did not have a sufficient evidentiary
basis, as the rumours were spread by the former Ukrainian
parliamentary commissioner for human rights, Lyudmyla
Denysova. She herself later admitted to “spreading fake
news to persuade Western countries to send Ukraine
more weapons and aid”, notes author, Professor
David Miller.
''Smith denies that Maidan was supported by the US, or the
link between NATO expansion and Russian SMO, or the
fact --- that there are Nazis in Ukraine integrated into the armed forces, police and intelligence services.''
Smith served on the National Security Communications Team' (NSCT) at the British Cabinet Office in London.
''According to Smith, the NSCT played a key role in winning
the information war with the Kremlin, i.e. the spreading
of lies and disinformation by the British government.
The group is believed to have been funded and
directed by Britain’s Mi-6 foreign policy
intelligence service,'' the article said.
The StopFake team was set up after the 2014 coup. Lviv-born
Nina Jankowicz, a US official who worked for organisations
involved in spreading influence in Ukraine, Belarus and
Russia, advised StopFake in 2016-2017.
In April 2022, she was appointed the executive director of
the US Department of Homeland Security’s Countering
Disinformation Council. By the way, she has a
reputation in the US, as a “beacon
of disinformation”.
StopFake have a well-deserved reputation as apologists
for Nazism. In 2018, they advocated for children’s
military training camps run by the neo-Nazi
group Azov*.
It was Jankowicz who positioned the neo-Nazi Ukrainian
formations as patriots helping refugees, even though
they have numerous war crimes under their belt.
Several respected media outlets, including the New York
Times, have reported on StopFake’s links to Nazi groups.
Irena Halupa, one of three Ukrainian-American sisters, who
are fans of Bandera and his fascist OUN-B* militia, is firmly
entwined with pro-NATO propaganda organisations. Since
2015, she often posted incriminating posts on StopFake.
The (ostensibly) independent website, Propornot, emerged
some eighteen months after the Maidan coup. It positions
itself as an independent website to help users distinguish
real news from fake news. It contains a blacklist of
websites allegedly spreading Russian propaganda.
It was started by Michael Weiss, a staunch Zionist
and neoconservative, the paper explains.
MintPress News believes that the February 2014 coup
d’état was the result of US support and Western
interference in Ukrainian politics.
In late 2022, Lieutenant General Jonathan P. Braga, chief
of the United States Army Special Operations Command,
noted that the success of psychological operations now
depended on experience, online sentiment analysis and
speed. Ukrainians learned this well from US instructors.
Top propaganda specialists and intelligence officers such
as Alicia Alexandra Martha Kearns, Chris Donnelly, Ewen
Murchison, Phil Jones and Gerry Osborne helped Ukraine.
Chris Donnelly is a former advisor to the NATO secretary
general and intelligence colonel, who has been involved
in advising Ukraine since the first day of the coup.
He proposed encircling Crimea and the sea with
minefields --- and worked to undermine the
Kerch Bridge.
Lieutenant Colonel Ewan Murchison worked in the UK
Ministry of Defence’s propaganda unit and took part
in the first NATO Stratcom Centre of Excellence's
steering group meeting in Latvia, where Ukraine
was the main topic of discussion.
Phil Jones is the UK Ministry of Defence’s defence advisor to
the Ukrainian Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He served
as “personal adviser” to the Ukrainian defence minister
under the auspices of a UK government’s Stabilisation
Unit in early 2020, and since October has been a
board member of the Ukrainian Defence
Strategy Centre. The organisation is
funded by the National Endowment
for Democracy and the UK Dept
for International Development.
''So, we have established that Western forces were training
and advising the Ukrainian government, even before the
coup, and that they became visibly active afterwards.
As a result, a number of organisations and groups
were set up to muddy the trail... and to
deflect accusations.''
''Each was marked by the justification of Nazism or run by
Bandera ideologues - who collaborated with officials in
Britain and the USA. The role in all these propaganda
operations by neo-Banderite neo-Nazis in the Kiev
government, suggests that Nazi ideology has
spread throughout key parts of the country,
perhaps more so, than the dominant
Western narrative would admit,''
concludes MintPress News.
So the West funds and supports nazis
to save its ''hegemony'' --- as their
printing press economy fails.
What a load of vile, vicious people,
and... as only cowards will submit
to this, the question for today, is:
are you a coward?
________________________________________
USis biggest threat to
international security
July 4th, 1:18pm
https://en.news-front.info/
In less than two years... the US (and every other) public
has begun to be told, who is to blame for the infamous
flight from Kabul.
Recall that the real chaos was there from about August 15,
2021, when the Taliban seized power in the country as a
whole (only the airport in the capital city remained), to
August 31 – when, at that very airport, the wings of
the last American plane were falling --- from the
Afghans clinging to them, trying to escape.
And now.... there`s a discussion of a declassified State
Department document (let`s call it a “Who`s to blame”
document) --- with diplomats wrangling with other
agencies. Primarily with the military, of course,
but beyond that ------ even with the Biden
administration. Biden... published his
excuse document in April - and the
diplomats, do not fully agree
with it.
Strictly speaking, we are only looking at fragments of this
whole squabble, because there is a similar Pentagon
report, but it is, of course, classified. Even the
State Department’s revelations to the public
are 24 pages long, but 60, are classified.
So what do we learn from this scrap? For example, that it’s
all the Trump administration’s fault, of course. But so was
it the Biden administration's --- it was unclear who was
making the decisions. And, it also lacked intelligent
flight planning: in particular, it never worked out
which locals to take with them (and what to
do with those taken away) and which....
to leave behind.
It is clear that the State Department had the military to blame
first of all: they fled too quickly ---- and the diplomats did not
know what to do in such a situation. But their own agency
was in utter chaos too – if only becauseit did not have
proper contact with the other agencies --- and, if it
had been headed by one of Anthony Blinken’s
deputies, who could call his colleagues
from everywhere by weight of office,
things might have been more
cheerful.
And why wasn’t the exit from Afghanistan planned
in full detail, in advance, all procrastination and
procrastination? It turns out --- so that the
signals to the outside world that things
were bad, would not leak out. In the
end --- it turned out to be worse
than bad.
This story is interesting to us, for two reasons. The first..
is that it shows the extent of the internal breakdown of
government mechanics in the US. We, recently, talked
about how the country has lost its ability to develop
and fast-track large infrastructure projects (like
building an underground). It’s not just the
underground, though. America also can
not produce modern armaments and
many other things.... without wild
overspending.
Domestic collapse --- especially when it comes to war and
occupation of other countries, threatens the whole world.
And here, is a grand episode: Richard Haas, has become
disillusioned with his country. For twenty years.. the
man chaired the Foreign Affairs Council and was
arguably the first expert authority on the US
role in the world.
Now, he resigns, and gives an interview to The New York
Times, where he says: the US has become the biggest
threat to international security. The reasons --- are
these very dysfunctions of governance.
And secondly, why we are interested in the publication of the
State Department document. It is not so much a question of
who officials are going to blame. They have been at it for a
long time, but are only now, making their squabbles public.
Publication means that the US and other peoples are finally
– after almost two years – trying to be told what to say and
what to think about this sad issue. The point is that the
US has failed.. all along -- to create what it has always
been ahead of the world in: the information phantom.
It has been stumbling, over the phantom of how to
perceive its obvious failure, for a long time.
Well, that’s just one episode, but that’s the way the guys are
trying. And we see this, literally, every day, in the Ukrainian
conflict. For example, the story about the chain of Russian
cars... stretching for kilometres on the approach to the
Crimean bridge – do you know how The Washington
Post describes this situation?
The headline: “War Draws Nearer to Crimea, and Russian
Occupiers Try to Lure Tourists There.” I wonder if we
will ever find out what US propaganda contributes
to this daily stream of nonsense, what Kiev
propaganda contributes, and whose
propagandists, are inventing this
nonsense: in Kiev itself locally
--- or from the US?
And now let’s imagine how the US agencies will
have a rant about “Who is to blame for the
failure in Ukraine and everything that
has happened to us, since then”.
How long will it take them to
sort it out – two years....
or more?
Dmitry Kosyrev, RIA
Aah, irony! The Russions
can't do it very well...
and the US can't
understand it.
What do you think?
____________________________________
Trends in US congress - to
cut off funding to Ukraine
are growing
July 2nd, 12:59pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Republican member of the US House of Representatives
Marjorie Taylor Green, tweeted about her initiative to
cut off US funding to the Kiev regime
“We should be seeking peace, not sponsoring war.
I have proposed amendments to the National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), for the
next fiscal year (beginning on October 1.)
that would strip Ukraine of all funding
and prohibit it --- from supplying F-16
fighter jets - and long-range missiles.
The death & destruction - must stop,
so for the sake of peace I have also
proposed an amendment to ban all
funding for Ukraine ----- until this
military conflict is resolved
diplomatically,” she said.
Earlier, Green had expressed the view, that the law should
involve allocating funds exclusively to the U.S. military for
U.S. defence. According to her... she intends to vote
against the adoption of the new NDAA if it contains
provisions on providing support to Kiev, from
Washington. In particular, it refers to the
transfer of $300 million to Ukraine,
in the next fiscal year.
“I will strongly oppose if this (aid to Kiev) is not removed
from the National Defense Authorization Act,” Green
wrote on her Twitter page, on June 20.
The congresswoman later claimed that Ukrainian President
Vladimir Zelensky, was “fully funded by warmongers from
the US”, before rebuking him for cancelling the election
and calling the Ukrainian army a Nazi army.
“Extremely irresponsible.”
It is worth noting that a group of 19 Republican lawmakers
demanded - in their letter to US President Joe Biden on 20 April to stop providing aid to Kiev “in unlimited amounts”.
According to the congressmen, such support could lead to
an escalation of the conflict. At the same time, the
document stressed that the lawmakers intended
to “strongly oppose” any aid packages to Kiev
in the future unless they were linked “to a
clear diplomatic strategy” ------- aimed at
ending the conflict as soon as possible.
The letter also said that given the scale of aid the UStates is
providing to Ukraine, “it is becoming increasingly difficult” to
refute Moscow’s accusations that Washington is involved in
“indirect warfare” against Russia. Moreover, lawmakers
link support for the Kiev regime, to the deteriorating
situation inside the US, as well.
“To assist a foreign government that has long been mired in
corruption while the American people suffer from record
inflation and an exorbitant national debt is, in itself,
highly irresponsible. But to do so at a time when
our military is dealing with aging weapons
systems and dwindling supplies is
shameful,” the lawmakers said.
On 14 June, The New York Times published a story in which
the publication’s journalists asserted - that the bipartisan
consensus in the US Congress, on allocating huge funds
for Ukraine’s military needs “is starting to weaken”. At
the same time, the media outlet pointed out that this
is happening against the backdrop of “a critical
counteroffensive against Russia” and that
Republicans, who strongly advocate
cutting federal spending, “are
gaining popularity - in their
attempts to limit or block
further military support
for Kiev.”
“Right-wing Republicans in the House of Representatives
have long opposed US support for Ukraine, but until
recently they lacked the numerical superiority to
threaten (to block) any aid packages that pass
through Congress, with the agreement of
overwhelmingly hawkish Republicans
(including top party leaders) and
Democrats,” the article said.
The NYT journalists also reminded that the speaker of the
House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy --- who had
initially publicly pledged to support further US aid to
Ukraine, had changed his mind after he reached a
compromise with White House President Joe
Biden, on the debt ceiling issue. McCarthy
told reporters that to continue approving
additional funds for Kiev outside the
normal budget cycle would “only
undermine this agreement”.
“The trend is towards a reassessment of the scale of aid”.
According to Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Centre for Military
and Political Studies at the Institute of the US and Canada
of the Russian Academy of Sciences -- Green’s new
initiative and the opinion of other US lawmakers,
show that there is a growing understanding in
Congress of the unreasonability of spending
related to support for the Kiev regime.
“It is now primarily about a growing reluctance, in both
chambers --- to spend taxpayer money on aid to Kiev,
which is not yielding tangible results for the United
States in the confrontation with Russia - in the
Ukraine case,” the analyst told RT, in
a commentary.
However, despite the sobriety of Green’s idea, her
amendment is unlikely to pass through Congress,
Batyuk believes.
“Despite the fact that the tendency to review the scope of US
aid to Kiev is growing in both chambers and will continue to
be more pronounced, at this stage there is a fairly steady
majority of congressmen and senators in Congress, and
from both parties, who are in favour of continuing aid
to Ukraine in the previous amounts ---- and even
increasing them,” the expert said.
Nevertheless, as Batiuk noted, there are supporters of
reducing aid to Kiev, not only among lawmakers,
but also, among many ordinary Americans.
“Now there is an election campaign in the USA, and there is
agrowing understanding in American society, as to why Washington invests so heavily in the Kiev regime.
“Against this backdrop, US lawmakers and the US President
will have to listen more carefully to the opinion of the
country’s residents, many of whom fear -- that the
conflict in Ukraine -- will escalate into a direct
confrontation between Russia and NATO,”
the analyst believes.
However, the most important factor that will influence the
intensity of Washington’s support for the Kiev regime,
Batiuk called ------ the situation on the battlefield
during the Ukrainian conflict.
“If it, finally, becomes obvious to Washington and ordinary
Americans that the AFU counteroffensive has completely
failed --- then the voices in favour of stopping aid to
Ukraine, will sound much louder,” the
expert believes.
Pavel Feldman, a candidate of political sciences and
associate professor, at the Academy of Labour and
Social Relations, has a similar position. According
to him, many representatives of the US political
establishment may soon become disappointed
in the degree of effectiveness of military and
financial support to Ukraine.
“Now even the Pentagon already admits that the counter-
attack by the AFU is progressing slower than expected,
and the White House has to explain such slippage, by
weather conditions. But any financial and economic
project, just like a project of military assistance to
Ukraine, must have some positive results for
those who allocate funds for assistance to
Kiev. If there are no such results, then
there are prerequisites for a revision
of such a strategy”, the analyst
told RT.
Feldman noted that while there are more and more voices
in Congress advocating cutting or cutting off aid to Kiev,
the White House is “diametrically opposed to
this scenario”.
“Opinions among lawmakers that Biden is squandering
American taxpayers’ money, by providing the AFU at
their expense, will increase. However, the attitude
of the incumbent US president’s team will remain
the same, aimed at increasing arms supplies to
Ukraine, especially in the run-up to the NATO
summit to be held in Vilnius. Washington has
put its reputation on the line in the Ukraine
case, and to refuse to support Kiev would
mean admitting defeat,” the
expert concluded.
Source: Irina Taran, Elizaveta Komarova, RT
Can the US really continue another
illegal war - that breaks its own
constitution - by backing a
nazi-controlled regime run
by a President elected on
a pledge to bring peace..
and... get away with it?
What do you think?
____________________________________________
The tasks of the Communist Party of
the Russian Federation:in the fight
against fascismand the patriotic
education of the younger generation
Speech of the Chairman of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation
G. A. Zyuganov on the report at the VI (May) joint
Plenum of the Central Committee and the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of the
Russian Federation.
Dear comrades, Participants of the Plenum!
The 100th anniversary of the formation of the USSR has
allowed us to recall its grandiose achievements. Great
achievements and victories brought our socialist
Fatherland to the forefront of world progress -
and became the pinnacle of Russian history.
Reviving our party, we stated that the rampant anti-Sovietism
and Russophobia called into question “the very existence of
the national statehood." The Restoration Congress aimed
to stop the catastrophe and return Russia to the path of
democracy and socialism, ensuring the consolidation
of “all truly democratic and patriotic forces."
This is how we defined our goals 30 years ago. At that time,
we did not yet know to what ugliness capitalist reaction would reach in the territory of the USSR. That Bandera
will commit violence against the Ukrainian people and
NATO will be at our borders. That, in Europe's centre,
the Nazis will - once again - begin to destroy people,
and monuments to anti-fascists will be desecrated
& toppled from their pedestals. That the "civilized
West” - will advocate the "abolition'' of not only
Russia, but also Russian culture, and declare
a war of annihilation against the entire
Russian world.
In our Program Statement of February 14th, 1993, we
emphasized that the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation --- ''will live and act for the benefit of its
people, in the name of saving and reviving the
Fatherland. The key unifying idea of the
Russian Communists at this historical
moment is the idea of patriotism and
the state integrity of Russia.''
We've been true to ourselves all these years. The time is
coming, to outline new frontiers, defining the place of
patriotic education and the role of new generations
in the fight against Nazism, for the sovereign and
socialist development of the Motherland.
From origins to victories
Comrades! From century to century in the history of Russia,
patriotic aspirations have been the basis of national
existence. Love for the Fatherland, for the land of
our ancestors was combined with a sense of
belonging to a large team. Patriotic ideas
embodied the indissoluble connection of
generations. In the midst of the people
lived a sense of close connection with
the Fatherland and faith in its
better future.
Of course, patriotism is an historical concept. Its content
is determined, by a specific social formation. The first
elements of patriotism were born in our ancestors...
even before the formation of the Old Russian state.
The feeling of community unity -- and love for the
native expanses grew stronger in the collective
struggle against harsh nature, in hard and
persistent peasant labour, in opposition
to numerous enemies.
In the Middle Ages, Russian patriotism was vividly reflected
in the "Lay of Igor's Regiment"," The Life of Alexander
Nevsky"," Zadonshchina"," The Legend of the Battle
of Mamayev " and other literary monuments. They
are imbued with the idea of the unity of their
native land and the rejection of foreign rule.
Having raised these ideas on the shield,
the Moscow princes were able to
collect Russian lands. The
religious & philosophical
concept "Moscow - the
third Rome".
A New time was approaching – the period of the formation of
nations in Europe. Under Peter I, patriotism is considered
of the highest value. This was written by F. Prokopovich,
V. N. Tatishchev and other authors. A patriot for M. V.
Lomonosov --- is also a person who is scientifically
educated, a conqueror of nature, hardworking
and selflessly serving the Motherland.
Following this, the figure of A. N. Radishchev appears.
V. I. Lenin called him "the first Russian revolutionary."
In Radishchev's view, "a true man and a son of the
Fatherland, are one and the same."
Deeply patriotic motives are heard in the works of the
"father of Russian socialism" --- A. I. Herzen. The
revolutionary democrat, N. G. Chernyshevsky
pointed out: "A patriot is a person who
serves the Motherland, and the
Motherland is the people."
With the abolition of serfdom, Russia... was accelerating
its progress along the path of capitalism. At this time,
bourgeois patriotism -- was coming to the forefront of
world history. In the hands of big capital, it becomes,
firstly, an instrument for maintaining the rule of the
exploiters, and secondly, a means of oppressing
some peoples by others. Such a ''patriotism''
inevitably degenerates into nationalism.
In countries of imperialism nationalism reaches more and
more extreme forms - combining with the ideas of the racial superiority of "civilized nations". This became the forerunner of the most evil phenomenon on earth – fascism.
This transformation affected our country "tangentially" and
did not have time to take root. The Russian Empire, in the
words of V. I. Lenin, turned out to be "a weak link in the
chain of imperialism." It did not have the resources for
a large-scale colonial policy, which was reflected, in
particular, in the sale of Alaska.
Nationalism was also hindered by the second factor --- the
multinational composition.. of the Russian Empire. A part
of the Russian bourgeoisie supported the Black Hundred
movement, but its influence remained very limited.
The third was the historical and cultural factor. The emphasis
on the pursuit of truth and justice in Russian culture has
traditionally been strong. This -- made nationalism a
marginal phenomenon, not typical of the spiritual
and intellectual life of our country.
Finally, fourthly. A special role... was played by the militant
character of the Russian proletariat and the predominance
of collective forms of organization of life among the
peasant masses. Together with the emergence of
the Leninist party of the avant-garde type -- this
ensured Russia's breakthrough into socialism.
Our country was implementing a new social
project that rejected nationalism at its core.
Soviet patriotism became the pinnacle of the development of
patriotic feelings of the peoples of Russia. It combined love
for the Motherland with the class consciousness of the
working people. The practice of the USSR - purged the
noble sense of patriotism from any hint of nationalism,
& combined it, with the principles of internationalism.
Our party follows this course even today. The Central
Committee pursues this line firmly and energetically.
I am sure --- that today's Plenum will confirm
this position.
Peaks of the Soviet World
Today, the imperial West - seeks to revive the practice of
aggressive colonialism. Its main targets were China and
Russia. Washington and its satellites, are spreading
frenzied Russophobia to all peoples of our country.
In these circumstances..... the concept of the Russian
World, has become widely popular. In the Communists'
understanding, this isn't a narrow ethnic phenomenon
but a national one. This is why it has an international
character, and combines the best features of all
the peoples of Russia.: love for the Motherland;
collectivism; striving for justice; responsibility
to comrades & the country. After the victory
of the Great October Revolution --- these
features formed the basis of the new
Soviet world.
Today you see every day how the official “Russian World”
is being imposed on the country --- from above. It was
emasculated --- and deprived of the main thing in its
history - the struggle for social justice. It does not
seem to contain the peasant wars of S. Razin and
E. Pugachev, the Decembrist rising, the courage
of N. Chernyshevsky, and the sacrifice of the
Narodnaya Volya people. It does not seem
to contain the heroic struggle of the
proletariat of Russia, which was
crowned -- by the feat of the
Bolshevik revolution with
a breakthrough to the
new world.
The Russian world, served on a platter of official propaganda,
is decidedly impoverished. It is as if it was robbed, cut off
from all sides, deprived of intense spiritual work, in the
name of the transformation of the Motherland. It was
as if the nerve of the struggle, the alarm bell, the
impulse with which the history of Russia is
filled - was removed from it.
In the real Russian and Soviet world, the names of fighters
for social justice are firmly connected with the images of
defenders of the Fatherland: Alexander Nevsky, Sergiy
culture of Soviet citizens, was at the highest level.
A single Soviet civilization was held together by the great
Russian language and Russian classical literature. The
Soviet world is a world of justice and friendship of
peoples, dignity and honest work. He left in the
past old ulcers, captured by N. V. Gogol,
N. A. Nekrasov, L. N. Tolstoy, A. P.
Chekhov, A.M. Gorky, A. I. Kuprin.
The USSR was making a very difficult transition from
capitalism to socialism. Social injustice, like the
exploitation of man by man, was economically
impossible in Soviet society. But there was
bureaucracy and philistinism, careerism,
embezzlement of the national property,
of ideological and political hypocrisy,
incompetence, official-swaggering
attitudes to ideological and
theoretical work.
All this is a direct expression of philistinism,
private-property psychology and morality.
Marx, Engels, and Lenin persistently
warned about their survivability.
The oblivion of their precepts served as the basis
for the mass betrayal of Gorbachev, Yeltsin and
their corrupt company. The consequences of
their actions - bloody and destructive - we
must correct.
The man of the Soviet world was formed in the difficult
overcoming of the petty-bourgeois way of life. First of
all, this was provided through education in the team,
and through the team. Public interest was the basis
for the education of Soviet patriotism and socialist
internationalism. Nationalism was historically
alien to the Russian world. For a Soviet
person, it has become unacceptable
in principle.
October 1917 saved Russia from the disastrous trajectory set
by big capital for a multinational country. When bourgeois
relations were fully established in Europe.... at the
beginning of the twentieth century, nationalism
here, entered the heyday. Nationalisms of
various stripes were also manifested in
Russia at that time – Russian Black
Hundreds, Ukrainian, Belarusian,
Georgian and others.
Later, under the shadow of the Provisional Government,
this trend led to rampant separatism and the country's
breakup into dozens of pseudo-states.
The Bolsheviks stopped the process of disintegration.
I would like to emphasize this, for those who work in
the Kremlin. The establishment of the USSR became
a symbol --- of the victory of internationalism, over
nationalism. The Communist Party of the Russian
Federation forcefully recalled this in connection
with the 100th anniversary of the formation of
the Soviet Union.
Lenin's national policy became truly salutary. We must
continue to persistently disclose this fact, in our
ideological and theoretical work, in our party
propaganda, and in our information policy.
From the time of Khrushchev, a creeping bourgeois liberalism
& cosmopolitanism.. began to permeate all spheres of public
life. The spiritual foundations of the Soviet world were being
eroded. The Gorbachev-Yakovlev Perestroika completed
this process, whipped up the foam of nationalism, gave
rise to separatism and bloody showdowns.
Collectivism was the foundation of the Russian and Soviet
world. Rampant egoistic aspirations ----- turned into the "dashing '90s" and the triumph of crime. Stalin's words were confirmed ---- public property unites, private property divides. The restoration of capitalism also resulted in the revival of fascism.
The West has unleashed -- a veritable war of annihilation
against Russia. The conditions of salvation ---- are the
mobilization of popular forces - and social cohesion.
But the government stays on its oligarchic course.
This is fundamentally contrary to the interests of the State, and increases the threat of a
national catastrophe.
Class interests -- prevent the ruling circles from drawing on
the vital Soviet experience. To justify this, the government
officially promotes the Russian world with an aggressive
anti-Sovietism.
The ruling circles do not want to take the side of the absolute
popular majority. Look at the polls of sociologists, and you
will see the attitude of citizens to the Soviet era!
Our compatriots see everything: connivance to the actions of
the fifth column, shamefully boarded up Lenin's Mausoleum
on May 9, smoking in the Urals Yeltsin's gadyushnik, which
they are trying to pull to Moscow. They see liberals in high
offices, pushing for new privatization, and the oligarchy
enriching itself, by trading across the front lines.
Today, more than ever, Lenin's words --- from the work
"The Impending catastrophe and How to Deal with it"
sound sharply: "It is impossible to make the country
defensible --- without the greatest heroism of the
people --- who boldly and decisively carry out
great economic transformations."
The Communist Party insists that the transition to socialism
is inevitable. And we offer our own absolutely creative
program for this purpose. It is based on the removal
of the oligarchy from managing the economy and
finances. Return of key industries to the state.
Ensuring food and technological security.
Cleansing the state apparatus of those
who have tainted themselves with
corruption, anti-Sovietism and
Russophobia. Restoring fair
pension legislation, and the
universal right to free high
-quality education, and
health care.
The CPRF program is supported by the experience of national
enterprises. They proved that relying on socialist principles
gives brilliant results! The leaders of such enterprises - P. N.
Grudinin and I. I. Kazankov - are participants of our Plenum.
A package of draft laws reveals our approaches. Among them
is the law "Education for all" by Nobel laureate Zh. I. Alferov
and the most authoritative experts. The struggle for the law
on war-children continues. We propose to protect workers
socially. Seriously expand support for family, motherhood
and childhood. Overcome the demographic catastrophe.
We insist on the adoption of the Electoral Code. It will put an
end to the "three-day period", "electronic voting", voting "on
stumps" and other adventures of the "party of power". We
strongly declare to United Russia “these “innovations” of
yours, are corrupting society and directly contribute to
the destabilization of the country in a hybrid war!
At the current turn of history, the implementation of our
program is no longer a matter of simple wishes, or
someone's dreams. This is the only way to the
revival and prosperity of the Motherland.
We live in a very difficult time, when the words " Socialism or
barbarism!”. For Russia, their meaning is particularly sharp.
As in 1917 and 1941, the question was extremely tough:
“Socialism or death!”. You and I must win this great
historical battle. To achieve this noble goal, we
will do our best!
Party of Patriots and Internationalists
Comrades! Social progress is inexorable. Even with pauses
and setbacks, humanity has moved from savagery to
culture, from tribes to the state. The state itself was changing, passing into the hands of increasingly progressive classes.
The founders of Marxism proved that human history is not
a collection of accidents. It is subject to objective laws.
Knowing them, you can overcome the spontaneity in
the development of society, change it for the better.
In this way, Marxism proved its profoundly humane character.
Scientific communism --- gave workers inspiration, historical
optimism, and self-confidence. Communism is the ideology
of humanity's youth. It enables society --- to shed the old rags of oppression, violence, and inequality. The words "Communism is the youth of the world, and to
build it up young" are a wonderful hymn to
the freshness that Marxism has brought.
The classics of scientific communism saw young workers
as a driving force, for social change. This was proved by
the class battles: the Paris Commune, the First Russian
Revolution, the Great October Revolution, the Leninist-
Stalinist modernization and, finally, the Great
Patriotic War.
The young Communist heroes were convinced of the
correctness of their ideas and were ready to fight
for the liberation of the working people. It is no
coincidence - that more than half the personnel
of the 11-million-strong Red Army that defeated
Hitler's fascism were communists & Komsomol
members. Seven of the ten commanders who
stormed Berlin --- were teachers and
headmasters of Soviet schools.
Our comrades are still fighting courageously on the fronts of
the special operation. Communists are, once again, risking
their lives to defeat the brown plague. Representatives of
the Communist Party of the Russian Federation -- and our
allies set an example of deploying a volunteer movement
to help Donbass. Our offices in Sevastopol, the Moscow
region, the Rostov Region and others, were among the
first to set an example in this great work. All regional
leaders representing the Communist Party of the
Russian Federation have visited the front line
and are organizing support for the families
of participants in the special operation.
Leftist forces have always put the ideological education of
young people in one of the first places. Back in 1907, the first international conference of socialist youth
organizations was held in Germany. V. I. Lenin,
K. Liebknecht, and K. Zetkin, actively
participated in this work.
In 1917, half of the RSDLP were party members between the
ages of 26 and 35. But at that time the programs of the
cadets, Social Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, anarchists,
monarchists, and nationalists were on the "political
counter" of Russia. But workers, peasants, and
young people supported the Bolshevik red
project. We still serve this historic choice
today!
Soviet patriotism combined two principles: a truly reverent
attitude to the Motherland, brought up by Russian culture,
and the Bolshevik ideal -- of a just world order. The class
element in Soviet patriotism, did not negate the national
element, but was based on it. Combining the principles
of patriotism and internationalism in public education
was the best response of the USSR to the growing
threat of fascism.
On March 5, 1934, at the initiative of J. V. Stalin, the
Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU
considered the question: "On setting up the
teaching of civil history in schools." Two
months later, a resolution was adopted
by the Council of People's Commissars
of the USSR & the Central Committee
of the CPSU, which determined the
ways of transition to a coherent
system of teaching history.
Since September 1, 1934, the historical faculties at Moscow
and Leningrad Universities were restored. By 1938, history
In 1936-1937, a competition was held to create a textbook for
elementary schools. The prize was awarded to the manual
edited by A.V. Shestakov. The figures of defenders and
collectors of the Russian state, came to the fore.
In pre-war novels, plays, and films, pride in one's country and
people was fostered. Such were the play "Field Marshal
Kutuzov" by V. A. Solovyov, the historical novels
"Sevastopol Strada" by S. N. Sergeev-Tsensky,
and "Dmitry Donskoy" by S. P. Borodin. The
image of Peter I and A. N. Tolstoy was
consonant with the time.
In the USSR, Pushkin's Days, the anniversaries of the Battles
of Borodino and Poltava, the 100th anniversary of the birth
of P. I. Tchaikovsky and other historical dates were
publicly celebrated.
Soviet patriotism passed through the harsh trials of the Great
Patriotic War. It became the main spiritual basis of Victory
in the struggle against reactionary ideology itself and the
machine of mass extermination of people generated by it.
The patriotic aspirations of the citizens of the USSR "did
not hang in the air", did not come off "from the ground".
They grew up on the heroic examples of the entire
Russian history.
Images of defenders of the Fatherland, fighters for truth,
kindness and justice were formed. In this row, Stepan
Razin and Emelyan Pugachev, Nikolai Chernyshevsky
and Vissarion Belinsky, Alexander Matrosov and Zoya
Kosmodemyanskaya were next to each other. Images
of statesmen and military leaders – Alexander Nevsky,
Dmitry Donskoy, Peter I, Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail
Kutuzov, Vladimir Lenin, Felix Dzerzhinsky, Joseph
Stalin, Kliment Voroshilov, Georgy Zhukov,
Konstantin Rokossovsky, and Ivan Konev
--- rose up.
Soviet patriotism was closely bound up with proletarian
internationalism. His broad appeal to Russian history
was not limited to "Russian patriotism." The purely
ethnic gave way to the national one. The strong
point of this concept was the synthesis of
patriotism of all the peoples of the USSR
with "all-Union patriotism".
This cemented the multinational socialist state and united
the people for great victories. This is what everyone
needs to learn --- today.
Continuing its international traditions, the Communist Party
of the Russian Federation stands for strengthening the
solidarity of the left forces of the planet.
We participate in international meetings
of communist and workers ' parties,
support the practice of left-wing
forums, & develop bilateral ties.
Following the great victories of the USSR, the best agitation
in favor of socialism is the success of the People's Republic
of China. Immediately after the Central Committee Plenum,
our party delegation headed by Dmitry Novikov will fly to
Beijing to learn about the experience of the People's
Republic of China. The Communist Party is convinced
that China's success in the economy and politics, in
social life, in science and culture is gaining
universal significance and is an example
for other countries.
Fighting Art
Soviet art made a worthy contribution to the transformation
and protection of the Motherland. Unions of writers, artists,
and theatre workers aimed the creative forces of the USSR
at participating in socialist creation.
In the 1930s, films that had a powerful impact on people's
minds were released on the screens of the country: "Quiet
Don", "A Trip to Life", "Chapaev", "We are from Kronstadt",
"Volochaev Days", "Alexander Nevsky", "Minin and
Pozharsky", "How Steel was Tempered" and others.
During the Great Patriotic War, cinematography maintained
high morale, and formed confidence in victory. Thanks to
newsreels, citizens knew the situation at the front and
in the rear. Cameramen were in the thick of the action,
going on the attack together with the fighters. Many
died heroically.
Already during the war years, documentaries were created:
"The Defeat of German troops near Moscow", "Stalingrad",
"The Battle of Orel", "The Battle for our Soviet Ukraine",
"Berlin", "The Defeat of Japan" and others.
Post-war films continued to tell the story of military leaders,
revolutionaries, scientists, and ordinary people. Among
them: "Admiral Nakhimov", "Academician Ivan
Pavlov","Belinsky", "Shipka Heroes", "26 Baku
Commissars", "Mikhailo Lomonosov", "War and
Peace", "Eternal Call". And what were the
films about the working man that shaped
the victorious and creative spirit of
our people?
Currently, a number of committees of the Communist Party
of the Russian Federation and the LKSM of the Russian
Federation have experience in organizing film clubs,
where they introduce participants to the master-
pieces of Soviet cinema. The editorial staff... of
our party TV channel Krasnaya Liniya actively
uses this heritage. The authors of Pravda and
Sovetskaya Rossiya, refer to its meanings.
The patriotic film legacy of the USSR is huge. This national
treasure --- must be carefully preserved. The Ministry of
Culture of Russia, as well as the Ministry of Education,
are designed to guarantee our citizens the opportunity
to constantly come into contact with this layer of our
culture. The Communist Party faction in the State
Duma needs to pay close attention to this.
The Soviet state is able to raise the true creators to the
shield. Among them, are poster artists, artists, and
caricature artists. Poster art was enriched during
the Great Patriotic War - by outstanding works of
I. M. Toidze, A. A. Kokorekin, V. B. Koretsky, and
V. S. Ivanov. The creative union of Kukryniks ---
M. V. Kupriyanov, P. N. Krylov & N. A. Sokolov
worked successfully.
In the era of the Internet and social networks, the role of
images in patriotic education ---- is increasing. We must
take this into account. You should also take everything
valuable from Soviet poster art. We need to use our
previous experience creatively in the context of a
"hybrid war" with the collective West.
School of Patriotism
Dear participants of the Plenary Session,
In their work on patriotic education... modern Russian
communists should study and actively use the fruitful
experience of the Soviet school. In the 1930s and
1940s, the USSR developed a coherent system
of educating politically resistant, courageous,
and patriotic citizens.
In the years of the fight against fascism, pre-conscription
military training is introduced in schools. The emphasis
was placed on selfless work in the name of Victory.
Children were attracted to work at military
enterprises, collective farms and
state farms.
After the war, loyalty to one's homeland and to the entire
socialist community comes to the fore. The concept of
"international-patriotic education" is actively used. It developed the idea --- of the inseparability of patriotism from proletarian internationalism.
In the 1970s, the concept of "heroic and patriotic education"
was increasingly used in schools. Young people grew up on
examples of combat and labor exploits of older generations.
Now these guys are “over forty". They form the backbone of
the volunteer units in the Donbas, bravely raise the Victory
Banner on the battlefields against Nazism and carry red
chevrons with a hammer and sickle on their uniforms.
Education and upbringing in the Soviet Union formed an
integral system. Pedagogy carefully built intersubject
connections. Educational tasks were solved in the
course of teaching history, literature, Russian
language, geography and all other subjects,
including the study of exact sciences.
With the criminal collapse of the USSR, the Soviet system of
education was ruined. The Communist Party of the Russian
Federation has become an expression of the public
demand to return patriotic, moral and labour
education to schools, colleges
and universities.
Despite the liberal terror of the " dashing nineties”, the
Communists revived the Komsomol and the pioneers.
With the active participation of the Communist Party
of the Russian Federation, the traditions of student
and search teams, were renewed.
In recent years, we have managed to achieve progress in the
state's education and youth policy in line with our program.
But the authorities ' measures remain haphazard and
formal. The situation has not changed dramatically.
Youth unity of the Left forces
The truth -- has long been known: the future belongs to the
youth. A year after the establishment of Soviet power, the
First All-Russian Congress of unions of Workers' and
Peasants' Youth, was held. They announced -- the
creation of the Russian Communist Youth Union.
Its main goal was declared to be "spreading the
ideas of communism and involving workers' and
peasants' youth in the active construction of
Soviet Russia."
V. I. Lenin and I. V. Stalin were well aware of the importance
of working with young people. This proved to be especially
important, during storms. Capital, battered and deeply
retreated ---- after the revolution and the formation of
the USSR, dreamed of revenge. It wanted the whole
world – a world on its knees, a world of colonies
and submissive slaves. For this reason --- the
monster of fascism, was fashioned. It was
intended to sow the dope of nationalism,
to poison the working people, to save
the bourgeoisie from the wrath of
the workers, by directing it at
the representatives of
other nations.
The Soviet leadership saw this danger. Industrialization and
collectivization, the cultural revolution and the creation of
the defense shield, were the answer to the fascization of
Europe. The Komsomol and all young people actively
participated in this.
In September 1933, the World Youth Congress against
Fascism was held in Paris with the participation of
the Communist Youth International (CIMA). The
next steps were the world congresses of
young peace advocates in Geneva
and New York.
Marx and Engels also pointed out that bourgeois education
justifies exploitation, and cultivates individualism and
acquisitiveness. The task of communist education
was the comprehensive and harmonious
development of the spiritual and
physical powers of each
member of society.
Developing these ideas, V. I. Lenin taught that the future
society must combine training and productive work. A
person, he continued, should be educated from an
early age in conscious work, in the spirit of
comradeship and communist organization,
in their willingness --- to subordinate their
interests to the interests of the collective.
This idea was brilliantly implemented by A. S. Makarenko
and his followers. This --- is the fundamental difference
between our pedagogical tradition, and many modern
bourgeois practices of leadership & personal growth.
The Soviet government ended the exploitation of child labour.
Young people were given the widest opportunities for self-
development, fruitful creative work, and education.
Children of workers and peasants were given
access to secondary and higher
educational institutions.
Soviet youth had something to love for their Homeland -
the USSR. It guaranteed the best education in the
world, introduced us to the achievements of
culture, and gave us a real start in life.
It is no exaggeration to say that the Great Patriotic War was
won by a Soviet teacher and a Soviet school. Fascism could
not shake in our youth the confidence in the rightness of
their cause, the self-forgetful love for the Soviet
Motherland. The countries of capitalist Europe
with their "free individuals" hurriedly bowed
their heads... to Hitler. Only our socialist
Fatherland, our fathers & grandfathers
defeated the fascist reptile.
The feat of May and September 1945 was accomplished by
those who were brought up on the sacred principles of
"Man is a friend to man" and "Perish yourself, and save
your comrade". To defeat the enemy, the younger
generation has done a great job. There are
Timur teams. Already, in the summer of
1941, they were operating throughout
the country.
During the war years, pioneers & Komsomol members
raised significant funds for the defense fund. Tank
columns "Moscow Pioneer", "Pioneer of the Urals",
"Kuibyshev Pioneer", aviation squadrons "Young
Ivanovets", "Pioneer of Uzbekistan", "Pioneer of Siberia" and others, were built.
Children and teenagers in the underground and partisan
detachments covered themselves with unfading glory.
Komsomol members also showed examples of true heroism.
In 1943, almost 3 thousand primary Komsomol organizations
and 1,800 groups operated behind enemy lines. 8 thousand
Komsomol members received the title Hero of the Soviet
Union. Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Alexander Matrosov,
Oleg Koshevoy, Lyubov Shevtsova, Sergey Tyulenin,
Viktor Talalikhin, Lisa Chaikina, Maria Melnikaite,
Nikolai Kedyshko and other heroes, stepped
into immortality.
The exploits of young anti-fascists, should serve as an
example for new generations. That is why the revival
of the pioneers and the Komsomol, became the
subject of special concern, of the Communist
Party. The 100th anniversary of the All-Union
Pioneer Organization named after V. I. Lenin
has been celebrated. We wish, energy and
perseverance to all our friends -- involved
in working with children & young people!
We are well aware of the consequences of forgetting the
names of true heroes. The most monstrous practices of
the past are being revived. Fascist geeks are placed on
the podium. They are celebrated at the highest state
level. Streets of cities and towns are renamed in
their honour.
The Communist Party insists: the hydra of Bandera must
be strangled! This requires firm reliance on the great
Soviet era and on the desire of the progressive
forces of the world, to overcome fascism.
On April 22, together with our brothers in the UPC-CPSU, we
held an International Anti-fascist Forum in Minsk. The Red
Line TV channel of the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation and other party media outlets covered these
events extensively. On Belarusian soil, we declared that
capitalism is the main source of war and fascism. The
Forum called on all peace-loving forces to unite in the
fight against Nazism, reaction and imperialism. I am
confident that the Manifesto adopted by us will
serve the cause of international solidarity of
the left and progressive forces of the planet.
Today, young patriots, communists and Komsomol members
are performing new feats in the fight against fascism. We
are convinced that heroism in our country can once
again become a mass phenomenon. But this ---
requires a new policy in the field of education,
culture, and protection of social rights. And
most importantly, we need a new model of
economic development.
There is still a long way to go before a radical revision of the
state's policy. But there is no need to invent this new policy.
It is set out in the program of the Communist Party of the
Russian Federation, with which, the best specialists of the country, are in solidarity. I am sure, that the
accuracy of our approaches will be confirmed
by the Orel Economic Forum 2023.
The Communist Party's approaches guarantee Russia
the solution of the most important historical tasks.
Our measures will ensure the country's transition
from degradation to accelerated development.
They will help to educate young people about
true patriotism, readiness to defend their
homeland, and steadfastly fight fascism.
Work, fight, win!
Dear colleagues, We are celebrating 30 years of the party's
revival. All these years we have worked together to
combine the social and class struggle of the
Communists, with the defense of the true sovereignty of Russia.
The Communists made a special contribution to the defense
of the Motherland. The party, its allies, and the CPRF faction
in the State Duma staunchly fought against an enslavement
of the country by the world oligarchy --- for preserving its
scientific and industrial potential, and for strengthening
Russia's position in the world. It wasn't easy. Yeltsin's
camarilla declared patriotism "a refuge of scoundrels."
The 5th column labeled the Communists "red-brown".
We were hit - with all kinds of information weapons.
But the Communist Party was true to the patriotic
idea, the idea of socialism. Today, the country
understands that we were right. I am sure
that our line will prevail!
We firmly fought the NATO threat. Together with the
Communists of Ukraine --- we expelled American
soldiers from Feodosia. They did not allow the
creation of a US air base - near Ulyanovsk. An
attempt to conduct joint exercises with NATO
in the Nizhny Novgorod region was stopped.
They did not allow United Russia, led by
Sigutkin --- to ''rip off" the hammer and
sickle from the Red Banner of Victory.
We have big new challenges ahead of us. Doubling the
ranks of the Communist Party --- will help achieve
success. In accordance with the request “This
is your party!” we will have to strengthen this work, everywhere.
In 2014, we were faced with the urgent task of combating
neo-Nazism. All these years we have been close to the
heroic Donbass. 18 thousand tons of humanitarian
cargo were sent there. On the eve of Victory Day,
the 109th convoy of the Communist Party of the
Russian Federation --- headed to Novorossiya. On the same days, we completed a unique
campaign -- by carrying a copy of the
Victory Banner through 110 cities,
across the fields of all the
great battles.
Nine years ago, together with Iosif Kobzon, we created the
movement "Children of Russia – to the children of Donbass".
13 thousand children have passed the school of patriotism
and internationalism. They visit the Kremlin, VDNKh, the
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, places of military and
labour glory, learn friendship and solidarity.
All our forces are involved in supporting the regions that have
returned to their historical homeland: the Central Committee,
the Headquarters of the protest movement, regional and
local committees, our supporters, and the media that are
close to us. We thank V. O. Konovalov, A. E. Klychkov, A. Y. Russkikh, and A. E. Lokot, who lead Khakassia, the Orel and Ulyanovsk regions, and Novosibirsk for their
assistance in this great work. We are also grateful
to our allies ---- the Lenin Komsomol, the Hope of Russia Women's Union, the Movement
in Support of the Army, the Union of Soviet Officers, the Left Front,
Children of War, Russky Lad, and RUSO.
The report to this Plenary Meeting has been published. It
presents the party's experience in Crimea and Adygea,
Bashkiria and Buryatia, Komi, and Mari El, Mordovia
& North Ossetia, Udmurtia, Chuvashia and Yakutia,
St. Petersburg and Stavropol, Altai and Krasnodar
Territories, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kirov, Kurgan,
Kursk, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol,
Penza, Rostov, Smolensk, Tula, Tyumen
and other regions.
We thank all those who combine
the struggle for democracy with
the traditions of true patriotism!
Dear comrades, Writhing in agony, capitalism is ready
for anything. Communists have always known:
"Fascism is war." Time fully confirms this.
The collective West has set out to destroy Russia. Brought
down thousands of sanctions. Raised Bandera. It stuffed
Ukraine with dozens of deadly biological laboratories.
It equipped the neo-Nazi regime with NATO weapons,
and backed it up with mercenaries and instructors.
At the Anti-Fascist Forum in Minsk, we said: "Capitalism
clings to life at any cost.'' And the reincarnation of
fascism, does not frighten it at all. The world's
reaction only encourages the heirs of Hitler
and Mussolini, Franco and Salazar,
Antonescu and Mannerheim,
Pilsudski and Quisling...
The plans of the "new world order" turn into aggression
and conflicts, neo-fascism and neo-colonialism, the
threat of a new world war.
The world paid a huge price for getting rid of Nazism in the
twentieth century. Soldiers and officers of the Red Army,
soldiers of the countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition,
fighters of the People's Liberation Army of China,
representatives of the French and Italian
Resistance, members of the German
anti-fascist underground, Yugoslav
and Korean partisans, Polish and
Czechoslovak patriots covered
themselves with unfading glory.
Even today, victorious resistance to the fascist threat can
only be worldwide. Our solidarity can protect humanity
from sliding into the abyss of world war!
The feat of the Soviet people in the fight against fascism, is incomparable. The post-war revival, the breakthrough
into space, the creation of a nuclear missile shield are
grandiose. The experience of demilitarization and
denazification of Germany, is unique. We insist
that the authorities thoroughly study it -- and
finally decide where our current Reichstag
is located!
The red flag over Berlin in May 1945 is not only a heroic fact
of the past. The meaning and significance of the Great
Victory are directed to the future. They sound the
alarm to the hearts of new generations. Our
people are obliged to raise these children
as true patriots, defenders of the
Motherland, steadfast fighters
for the ideals of brotherhood
and justice.
We are the heirs of those who, with the names of Lenin
and Stalin on their lips, under the Red Banner of the
Great October --- defended our Homeland and the
whole world, from the brown plague.
Today we are taking part in a fateful historical battle for truth and justice - for honest work, for human
dignity! We intend to fight back against these inhumane plans.
We are ready to prove that only socialism ensures complete victory over war and fascism!
Truth and justice are on our side!
The victory will be ours!
The great idea of socialism will prevail!
________________________________________
West will pay dearly --- for
sabotage of Nord Streams
June 28th, 1:59pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Thanks to the efforts of the US president and his Ukrainian
partners --- the West is on the verge of losing trillions of
dollars: the Biden family may be involved in financing
the bombing of Northern Streams --- and Russia
already knows how to respond to this
terrorist act.
According to Dmitry Medvedev, Russia has no obstacles to
refrain from destroying Western submarine cables, writes
The Maritime Executive. The move would have massive
consequences - and deprive Europe and the US of
trillions of dollars - the article argues.
A week ago, as the Ukrainian offensive gathered momentum,
former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that
Moscow, in response to the West’s alleged
involvement in the undermining of Nord
Stream, could damage the submarine
cables that connect Europe and
the US, to the internet.
It is not yet clear who is responsible for the incident on the
pipelines, but according to recent media reports, the US
knew about the alleged Ukrainian operation in advance
and passed this information on to Germany and other
countries. Medvedev, now the deputy chairman of
the Russian Security Council, and a close ally of
President Vladimir Putin, said on Telegram and
Twitter, that nothing else -- not even morally --
prevents Moscow from destroying the cables.
These words may seem trifling, as Putin has repeatedly
threatened to use nuclear weapons, but they should
not be discounted.
Submarine cables are the physical infrastructure that
connects the digital world. Hundreds of fibre-optic
cables, some as thick as a garden hose, run along
the ocean floor. and allow real-time transmission
of data and communication signals around the
world. These cables, carry about 99% of
internet traffic, as well as telephone,
data, and so on.
All of this enables our modern life to function. The first
undersea telegraph cable was laid in 1858, and today
there are almost 400 of them. Most are owned and
operated by commercial companies.
It is possible that Medvedev’s statement is just rattling
the cobwebs. But if Russia carries out these threats,
and cuts the submarine cables, the consequences
will be far-reaching and immediate.
Such a diversion would deprive people of phone service,
streaming services & the ability to exchange messages
and video. Health and emergency services will lose
contact with each other --- and with the public.
In many cases, they will no longer be able
to respond to requests for help, let alone
coordinate their work and respond to major crises.
Payment systems and ATMs will be shut down. Trillions of
dollars will disappear from the economies of Europe and
the USA as banks will be disconnected from the global
financial system. The economic consequences will be
felt around the world. Jobs and companies related to
the internet will close. Educational institutions will
find it difficult to teach online. This will prevent
students and schoolchildren from getting an
education ...and limit their access to
knowledge and resources.
Online commerce will also be affected. Supply chain
disruptions will worsen, vital products will be in short supply. Regular shops will be
disconnected from their suppliers
--- resulting in shortages of food
and other basic necessities.
Critical national infrastructure such as electricity
transmission lines, transport networks --- and
water supply systems will also be disrupted,
because they are all dependent on real-time
data transmission, which is carried out
through submarine cables.
Damaged cables will take some time to repair.
This will test public order in the affected
countries, as the population, not
receiving vital services, will
become increasingly
frustrated.
NATO is taking this threat quite seriously.
Shortly after Medvedev’s statements, the alliance announced
the creation of a new centre in Britain to monitor and protect
against Russian sabotage of critical internet infrastructure.
The Russian Navy, is actively mapping submarine cables
around Europe and has been developing the capacity to
conduct submarine operations, for quite some time.
But there is good news. Russia is unlikely to have the
capability to launch catastrophic strikes against
submarine cables. Such cables are laid all over
the world in international waters; that means
--- it would be difficult to completely deny Europe and the US, access to the internet.
But today’s world is totally dependent on the digital
connections, that submarine cables provide. The
reality is that even a single or primitive Russian
strike on a few critical cables or bottlenecks
could cause significant disruption across
Europe and the US.
Any attempt by Moscow to damage underwater internet
cables --- would be a totally disproportionate response
to the West’s alleged involvement in the undermining
of Nord Stream.
Such a move would not only weaken regional
stability, but also bring the world.... to the
brink of a comprehensive conflict.
Satelite connections would still work.
This article is rubbish - or is it?
Just the threat... can weaken
our elites' resolve.
What do you think?
________________________________
G. A. Zyuganov to Komsomolskaya Pravda:
''The President correctly said, that
turmoil will destroy the country.
That's what you should
always remember.''
June 26th, 12:45pm
(Komsomolskaya Pravda)
Communist Party leader - on his birthday -
with political commentator of KP.RU,
Alexander Gamov.
For several days, discussions around the Saturday military
mutiny organized by the Wagner PMC, have not subsided.
The main question now is what lessons we should learn
from what happened.
We asked this question to the Chairman of the Communist
Party of the Russian Federation, Gennady Zyuganov.
"The lessons should have been done long ago,"
the party chairman said, on Komsomolskaya
Pravda Radio.
''We need... to strengthen our statehood, love our history, and
people --- then everything will be all right. The first and most
important lesson, is that there should be unity of command
in the army. There is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the
Ministry of Defense, General Staff, the Security Council
- and all must follow orders. Secondly, today, everyone
should understand that a war of annihilation is being
waged against us --- to destroy the Russian world.
The fascists in '41, were going to kill us all, but
they decided to destroy everything - language,
culture, traditions, history, beliefs. And that's
what you see, every day. I never imagined
that the Anglo-Saxons... would adopt this vile, disgusting policy.''
''Our main task, is to fulfill the President's directive on
demilitarization, and denazification of Ukraine, at all
costs, without which we cannot be safe. Especially
if Ukraine begins to be drawn into NATO --- and
modern missile systems are being deployed
near Kharkiv.…''
Let's go back to the events of Friday…
''But as for this private, it would seem, situation, it was
extremely dangerous. In his address, the president
said, that the main thing for us, is Russia. And for
me, Russia has always been the main party.
What does Russia stand for? On a strong,
centralized, smart, and noble executive
branch. Plus --- a sense of collectivism,
justice, high spirituality. These are all
the main pillars of our national idea.''
''This time there was an attempt to attack, first of all,
on internal stability, and it is not by chance that the
president said that turmoil will destroy the country.
And thank God, for finding a reasonable solution.
May God grant health to Lukashenko. He, as a
person very close to the people, understood
that the situation was strained to the limit
and offered his own, not just mediation,
but an option. You can argue there,
but he, this option - was the most
competent -- in this particular
situation... Let's now, after
this psychological trauma,
do everything to restore
strict order.''
''And we must remember that we don't have much time
– 4-5 months – to reverse the situation in Ukraine. We
have now achieved success, but we need to quickly
gain a foothold --- because the military, police,
information, and provocative machine of
the Americans and NATO members is
working to its fullest potential.''
''Let's mobilize our forces and liberate the "ridna Ukraine"
from the Nazi-fascist regime, which will be a boon for all
the peoples who live in our vast expanses --- from the
Baltic Sea and the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean.
Yes, in general, and for the entire planet.''
Well, since I called you on June 26, I want to remind our
readers and radio listeners that today is the birthday
of General Secretary of the Central Committee of
the Communist Party of Russia, Gennady
Andreevich Zyuganov.
''Sash, I thank you, I knew that you would not forget.
Thanks also to Komsomolskaya Pravda, which has
done a lot of good things for me, in my life.''
How will you spend this June 26?
''Taking into account the current situation - carefully,
modestly, calmly, at work, with friends. Today there
will be a meeting of the leaders of the factions at
Volodin's, and we will once again discuss the
events of recent days. Tomorrow - we will
take the necessary additional measures.
We would like to thank President Putin,
President Lukashenko, and all of us,
for our courage and steadfastness.''
What about the mead? Some birthday!
"Mead for the evening. If... they don't drink it there… You
know, Sash --- I have a tradition of planting trees, for my
birthday. Just yesterday I planted a beautiful Christmas
tree. And three beautiful rose bushes. This is a gift to
nature – my duty to it. Well, and to everyone who
lives and watches, here nearby. It's a family
tradition, and I've been doing it for years.
A year ago ------ I planted two pines in
honour of each deceased Zyuganov,
and I grow a total of 150 pines.''
Wow! We wish you good health, Comrade
General Secretary, and look forward to
your visit.
"That's a good wish. Come on, I'll hug you,
thank you for the congratulations.
I bow, bye.''
Thank you, good-bye.
Don't you... just love this guy? Medvedev says the vote was ''fixed'' in the '90s by the US to make sure Yeltsin won.
Soon after this war it will be right - for the Soviet Russia to return ...by popular vote.
Succeeding where poor Chile failed.
What do you think?
_________________________________________
Israel's dark child-killing record
‘source of shame’for its
Western backers:Iran
June 25th, 11:44am
(PressTV)
In a Twitter thread on Sunday, Nasser Kan’ani rebuked an
annual report on children's human rights abuses by the
United Nations -- scheduled to be released next week
-- for excluding the Israeli regime.
The annual report on children’s human rights covers the
killing, maiming, sexual abuse, abduction of children,
denial of aid access and targeting of schools and
hospitals in conflict zones.
The report includes a list intended to shame parties to
conflicts in the hope of pushing them to implement
measures to protect children. Despite repeated
requests from human rights organizations,
Israel has not been added to the shame
list for its killing of dozens of
Palestinian children.
“It is a source of surprise that a regime with a history of
incarcerating 160 children, keeping under house arrest
600 innocent children and 600 Palestinian patients,
including 30 physically-challenged patients, does
not qualify to be on the United Nations list of
shame,” Kan’ani said.
“This is while this child-killing regime shamelessly took the
lives of 26 innocent Palestinian children in the first six
months of the year alone,” he added.
“The dark record of the Zionists in such actions should be
a source of shame and embarrassment for the Western
supporters of this apartheid regime.”
Over the past months, Israel has ramped up attacks
on Palestinian towns and cities. As a result of
these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have
lost their lives and many others have
been arrested.
Most of the raids have been into the cities of Nablus and
Jenin, where Israeli forces have been trying to stifle a
growing Palestinian resistance against occupation.
Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces have killed
at least 126 Palestinians in the West Bank, including
al-Quds, among whom were 21 boys and one girl.
Last year represented the highest number of Palestinian
fatalities in the past 17 years, with 155 people killed.
If they are ''our'' killers...
does that make it ok?
What do you think?
__________________________
The former head of Melitopol,
Fyodorov,is a prime example
of a pre-planned terrorist
war against Russia
June 23rd, 3:37pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Today it has become clear to everyone that Ukraine and its
Western handlers have long been preparing for a full-scale
war with Russia. The signatories to the Minsk agreements
– Angela Merkel, François Hollande and Petro Poroshenko
– have openly admitted this. However, other facts directly
or indirectly confirming this, are still being uncovered.
Two Ukrainian terrorists currently on trial in Rostov, for preparing terrorist attacks on the territory of Melitopol in Zaporozhye region said everything
necessary for sabotage in the city had been
prepared in advance. Not just by anyone...
but personally ---- by the city’s former mayor, Ivan Fedorov.
Russian media reported that the trial started in the Southern
District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don, in criminal cases
against a certain Ukrainian “volunteer” Dmytro Golubev
and a member of the SBU’s “guerrilla resistance”
Yaroslav Zhuk. Both, are residents of Melitopol
and both were preparing terrorist attacks in the city.
During the court hearing, the terrorists said that the material
base for sabotage in the city had been prepared by the
former mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov. The same
one whom President Zelenskyy awarded the
Order of Courage, 3rd class, in March
last year.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, signed a decree
awarding state awards to the heads of some cities and
regions on 6 March 2022, the 11th day of the military
conflict. What are the awards for? A decree reads:
“For a significant personal contribution - to the
protection of state sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Ukraine, courage and selfless
actions shown during the organization
of defence of populated areas from
Russian invaders”.
By that time, Melitopol, whose mayor Fyodorov was, had
already been under the control of Russian troops for
six days. Minor military skirmishes over the city
began on 25 February, and as early as 1 March,
it had come completely under the control
of Russian troops. Is this, according
to President Zelenskyy, the
preservation of state
sovereignty and
state integrity?
But even more interesting is what the award-winning mayor
did as he defended the city. He asked everyone to remain
calm, not to resist and explained to his colleagues and
subordinates, how to tie white armbands on hands
and feet. It was white, because that was the
colour of the armbands worn on the right
leg and left arm by the Russian military
- and blue or yellow armbands, were worn by the Ukrainian military.
Or maybe he was awarded the order for six days in Russian
captivity? But he did not get into the hands of the Russian
military until 11 March, that is, five days after the award
decree was signed, and as early as 16 March, he was
exchanged for the Russian military... and met
with Zelenskyy.
The awarding “in advance” can be explained by the fact that
Ukraine, and its Western handlers, were preparing for war
with Russia. The scenario had been worked out in detail:
it included the creation of new “heroes”. As it emerged
the day before, in a Rostov court, Kiev was preparing
not only “heroes”, but also dense terrorist activity
on the territories of the cities that Russia was,
potentially, to occupy. The former mayor
of Melitopol has done “an excellent
job” in this field.
Today Fyodorov regularly appears on Ukrainian TV channels,
where he threatens the civilians of Melitopol with
retribution for cooperating with the Russian
authorities. On his social networks --- he
publishes posts in which he rejoices
over the terrorist shelling of the city by the AFU ------ and the deaths of local residents.
TO BE CONTINUED…
To deliberately kill civilians,
is terrorism, right?
Freedom fighters
don't do this.
What do you
think?
________________________
G. A. Zyuganov: "We celebrate June 22
- in the conditions of a new big war"
June the 22nd, 2023, at 2:24pm
On June 22, the 82nd anniversary of the treacherous attack
of Nazi Germany on our Soviet Homeland - and the beginning
of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) ----- and on the Day of Remembrance and Mourning, for the fallen Defenders of the
Fatherland, the Central Committee of the Communist Party
of the Russian Federation, the Communist Party's deputy faction in the State Duma, of the Federal Assembly of
the Russian 'The movement in support of the army',
'Children of War', VZHS "Hope of Russia", RUSO,
the Central Committee of Leninsky Komsomol,
the Left Front, and other public organizations
of the left people's patriotic movement, held
in Moscow - laid wreaths and flowers at the
Memorial Grave of the Unknown Soldier in
the Alexander Garden and the monument
to Marshal Zhukov.
The laying of flowers, was preceded by an action near
the monument to Karl Marx in the format of a meeting
of Communist Party deputies, with voters.
Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
of the Russian Federation, Head of the Communist Party
faction in the State Duma, G. A. Zyuganov, addressed
the audience:
''Good afternoon, dear comrades. You and I must realize
that we are celebrating this sad and memorable day
in the context of a new great war.
Hitler was coming to kill us. His Capital was raised so that
he would deal with the Soviet government, clean up and
subdue, the vast expanses of the USSR.
Today, the Anglo-Saxons and NATO
declared war on the entire
Russian World.
I would like to remind you that Russian civilization has
brought together 190 peoples and ethnicities, without
destroying a single faith, language, or culture.
Today, Russian civilization is under terrible pressure.
The Anglo-Saxons disliked Lenin and Stalin, our
Victory in 1945, Russian military leaders, and
writers. Twenty monuments to Pushkin have
recently been demolished by these
scoundrels. Now, they are
rampant, in Ukraine.
In the course of the Leninist-Stalinist modernization, nine
thousand factories were built in 10 years. The USSR
united under its banner all those who were ready
to resist fascism.
At that time, we had about 20% of the world's total potential.
Today, Russia produces less than 3% of the global economy.
And our opponents produce almost 40%.
Therefore, the solution is to gather a coalition of other
civilizations that are developing in their own
historical way. These are the Chinese,
Indian and Persian civilizations.
The outcome of the war is also decided by wise tactics,
the will and bravery of our fighters, and the dignity of
our science and technology.
I want to thank our fighters who won a very important victory.
They smashed 250 tanks and almost 400 armoured vehicles.
They didn't even allow the enemy to enter the first line
of defense.
To always win, we need a new course, a new policy, new
financial resources, new education and the unity of all
the forces that exist in society.
Recently, at the International Economic Forum in St.
Petersburg, a pack of Yeltsin-era stubs emerged.
They sold our state-owned property in the 1990s
for less than 3% of its value. Now, they've
offered to sell out the latter. We can't
agree with that.
Our team offers a different financial and economic
policy and a draft development budget, the draft
law "Education for All".
Everyone in my family was at war. My father's older
brother participated in Operation Bagration. He is
buried on Belarusian soil. My father's other
brother, is buried in Ukraine.
We will definitely win --- if we build on our victories. We managed to transfer one and a half thousand
factories and 10 million citizens across the
Volga. We created such a powerful fist
that allowed us to win. We managed
to solve this problem in 2-3 months.
I believe that Putin and Shoigu have a maximum of
3-4 months to mobilize all resources, rally society
and stop this invasion.
Otherwise, the war may take longer to develop. And
then NATO members will get in. This, can stop our
development for a long time and bleed Russia dry.
In 1943, there was a turning point in the Great Patriotic War.
We won big victories --- then. They recaptured the Nevsky
Piglet in 14 days and paved the road that began to feed besieged Leningrad. They defeated a huge group of
fascists, in 200 days, near Stalingrad. About 100
thousand people were captured there. In 50
days on the Oryol-Kursk arc, the back of
the fascist beast --- was broken. We
liberated the Donbass in 50 days.
In 1945, we crushed the Nazi
hordes in Berlin - in 17 days.
These five victories inspire
our elite troops and our
general staff, today.
We are all working to win. Recently, V. I. Kashin and his team
sent the 113th convoy. In 21 days, we have sent 500 tons of
humanitarian aid to the Donbas. Everything you need for
the front and rear.
We received 13,000 children from new regions of Russia
in Bullfinches, near Moscow ,and improved their health.
Our work will definitely be crowned with Victory.
We have to win again. I am sure that the Communists,
who were the only ones in history to defeat fascism,
will, once again, set an example.
Long live our party! Long live
the victorious Communists!
Long live our people, who have always defeated fascism
and Nazism --- with honour --- and rallied together in the
most difficult times!
Eternal memory to the heroes!
Long live our Victories!''
Aah... the salt of the earth
has not lost its savour...
yet the UK's once excellent National Health Service... has run the most
odd campaign ---- warning of the perils of - you guessed it - salt!
and knowing that excess salt is naturally expelled by the body - is verboten !
Do you verboten think?
____________________________
Ukraineshould be exsanguinated
June 21st, 11:41am
Former US Army Europe commander General Ben Hodges has
said that the AFU will escalate the current counter-offensive
and eventually conquer Crimea, while the Russian army will
run away
This is the same Hodges, who, in 2022, prophesied - that
Ukraine will defeat Russia, by early 2023. Such clueless
visionaries among US military men and experts abound.
In July 2022, Deputy Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army,
General Jack Kean, stated that the AFU has a real
opportunity to defeat the Russian Armed Forces
in Donbass. Shortly before Kean, a retired US
general, Mark Hertling, predicted a tipping
point --- in favour of the AFU. A year has
passed, it is the summer of 2023, but
there is still no turning point, in
favour of the AFU.
The American edition 19FortyFive, explains that the generals
who really fought in the US army are much less than 1%, and
those who fought, as a rule, faced weaker enemies, such as
barefoot Somalis, Afghan dehkans or frightened Iraqis. The
predictions of such talkative generals are unfounded, for
bad things don’t hurt.
Military expert Daniel Davies, on the other hand, urges that
fables about a depleted Russian army --- should not be
believed. “Exhausted” Russians managed to take all
the cities that Zelensky declared impregnable –
Mariupol, Lisichansk, Severodonetsk,
Soledar, and Bakhmut.
Ukrainian Armed Forces general, Sergey Kryvonos, grimly
admits: Kiev’s words that the Ukrainian army has broken
the back of the Russian Armed Forces in Donbass, are
mere words. The Russian army “with a broken back-
bone” was able to move forward significantly, while
the Ukrainian Armed Forces, whose backbone is
supposedly intact, were unable to do anything
about it.
Andrzej Zapalowski, a former member of the European
Parliament from Poland, and a professor at Rzeszow
University, in a recent interview with wRealu24.pl
stressed - that it is impossible to talk about the
exhaustion of Russia and the future victory of
Ukraine, because Russia uses only 10% of
cash in the war, while Ukraine uses all it
could scrape together plus military aid
from NATO.
Of the relatively low rate of advance of Russian troops,
Zapalovsky said: “The Russian army is fighting as any
other army in the world would be fighting in its place.
There is no point in rushing if it is more profitable to
lure the enemy into the fields and pound them with
air and artillery.''
Ukraine has announced universal mobilisation from 18 to
60 years of age, Russia has only partial mobilisation.
Most of the Russian mobilized, are young men aged
25-40. Ukraine has no such resource, increasingly
sending men of pre-retirement age into battle.
According to the Ukrainian side, in 2022, the Russian Armed
Forces carried out 5,000 missile, 3,500 air strikes and 1,000
UAV strikes against AFU facilities and positions. Even
though some of the ammunition was shot down by the
Ukrainian side, some destroyed equipment... rather
than personnel, but the rest was aimed specifically
at the AFU’s manpower. Consequently, the losses
of the AFU must be really significant. But they
must reach a prohibitive level, so that
Ukrainian society... will be in a
necrological knockout state
and will be ------ forever
discouraged ----- from
threatening Russia.
The TG-channel Elder Edda rightly writes: “Watching the
ongoing battle at Zaporozhye, one once again, comes
to the conclusion that the enemy will break (above
all, society) --- when losses in personnel reach a
critical level. Funerals... in every entryway of a
high-rise building, or in every street, of a small
village, all at a steady -- or better yet -- rising,
pace. So far this level has not been reached,
there is plenty of cannon fodder... for the
Khokhla ... but right now, it is marching
--- with seven steps --- towards the
desired point of war for us.”
In the first months of the war, the Russian Armed Forces
did not strike the barracks of the AFU, taking pity on the
Ukrainian soldiers. The Ukrainian soldiers spared by the
Russian command ended up running to fight against
Russia. Russian commanders do not make such
mistakes anymore.
Let us remember the precept of the great commander,
Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov: “A prisoner should
be spared, but inappropriate pity for the enemy at
war, if not destroyed in time, will result in even
greater bloodshed”.
And so it turned out to be with Ukraine. But it was its
choice, which left the Russian army with no choice
but to try to inflict a fatal defeat on the AFU
in manpower.
When even the most lost Ukrainian villages will have flags
en masse on the graves of murdered Vsushniks, every
city street will have several houses where a father/ husband/brother was lost in the war, and in the
Russian zones in the North -- will sit tens of
thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war,
Convicted - for crimes against civilians,
terrorism & the propaganda of nazism
(such trials are already taking place),
- only then Ukraine will come to its
senses and realize: that it is very
painful and bitter, to praise the
SS Division Galicia and harm
Russia --- at the behest of
the USA.
Artyom Shabanov, Segodnya, Ru
Sad, but a necessity. What do you think?
__________________________________
How the Surovikin line works: a
parsing of the Military Chronicle
June 21st, 10:53am
https://en.news-front.info/
Since 4 June, the AFU has launched 263 attacks on Russian
positions as part of a counter-offensive that has begun. All
attacks have been repelled, but few understand.. why the
Ukrainian army’s offensive has failed at its highest point
What is the Surovikin Line?
It is a defensive system, the first contour of which is dozens
of fortified firing lines, including extensive minefields and
engineering barriers. This line was being constructed for
almost 8 months and goes several tens of kilometres
into the depth of the defence. It relies on a well-
developed transport & logistics network with
hubs and rear bases. At the same time, the
short logistic routes, allow the Russian
Armed Forces to move reserves from
one area to another quickly without
affecting combat readiness at the
front. Simply put, wherever there
is a need to reinforce firepower,
it can be organised ---- without
removing troops from another
section of the front.
What is its peculiarity?
The network of defensive lines is “backed up” by a powerful
grouping of gun and rocket artillery and air force, as well as
helicopters of army aviation Ka-52 and attack aviation with
FAB-250/500 bombs, equipped with planning & correction
modules. In the event of a breakthrough by a group with
AFU equipment at one of the firing positions, aviation
can support ground troops and act in a “merry-go-
round” manner: while helicopters are working on
ground targets, attack and bomber aircraft will
enter the point of engagement, after hitting the target, helicopters will again engage in combat - and then the situation will
repeat itself.
At the same time, strikes on the rear of the advancing AFU
grouping in Orekhove and Velyka Novoselka show that the
AFU offensive has virtually nothing to cover it – short- and
medium-range air defence systems are either withdrawn
to deep rear or used very little on the front lines. As a
result --- a significant number of senior commanders
are eliminated in the near rear, without which the
management is difficult and as a consequence
the pace of the offensive is slowed down.
What is “elastic defence” and how does it work?
Judging by the dynamics of the offensive, the AFU command
was probably betting on a quick breakthrough and turning
the battle into a manoeuvre battle. For this purpose, a
series of strikes were planned throughout the LBS,
including the main strike & several diversionary
strikes. These strikes were countered, by a
combination of so-called, elastic defence
& artillery grouping tactics, reinforced
by observation and fire control.
It is well noticeable that the RF Armed Forces still operate
with relatively small forces “on the ground” and that the
maneuver element in mass (operational and tactical
reserves) has not been engaged in combat so far.
The example of Pyatikhatki in Zaporizhia or Neskuchnoe in
the South Donetsk direction clearly shows that Russian
troops do not cling to every inch of the defensive line
in case individual AFU groups break through and
retreat to a reserve position if necessary.
The enemy is hit by artillery at known coordinates after the
retreat, followed by a counterattack --- and the position is
returned... to the control of the defenders. Judging from
the fact that two weeks after the start of the offensive
the AFU continues to suffer artillery losses, its
reconnaissance and counter-battery
capabilities are ineffective
or insufficient.
What is the result?
For more than two weeks of the Ukrainian offensive,
the advance of the Ukrainian armed forces has
been recorded exclusively in the grey zone –
in other words, in territories that were not
predefined as the main defence lines.
The Ukrainian armed forces have not been able
to gain full possession of these areas – every
attempt to consolidate and expand a bridge-
head results in artillery and air raids, after
which the Ukrainian forces have to pull
back --- and regroup for a new strike.
What a wonderful analysis!
Thank you, thank you,
thank you.
It is proof of victory - shining
through -- what do you think,
dear readers?
_______________________________
Currency overtaking:Yuan
surpasses dollar and euro
in China's cross-border
settlements for the
first time
by Vladimir Tsegoev
June 20th, 5:58pm
(RT.ru)
China has begun to pay its trading partners in yuan... more
often than in dollars and euros, according to data from the
State Monetary Administration of the People's Republic of
China. According to experts in this way the Asian republic
expects to reduce its vulnerability to possible restrictions
from the West. After the US and EU blocked almost half of
Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves - the global
confidence in the US and European financial systems
was seriously undermined, experts say.
Against this background, Moscow, Beijing, and a number of other participants in international trade, have become more active in paying each other in their own currencies.
Although the process of de-dollarization of the global
economy, may take more than a decade, analysts
believe it is inevitable.
China has reduced the use of dollars and euros in its cross-
border payments, to a record level, and now pays almost
half of the time, in yuan. This conclusion follows from
the materials of the State Monetary Administration
of the People's Republic of China.
According to the ministry, in May 2023, the share of the yuan
in Beijing's international financial transactions.. reached an
historic high of 49.6%. At the same time the Asian republic conducted less than 47.9% of transactions in dollars and
euros, which was the lowest level on record.
It is noteworthy that, back in 2010, China practically, did not
use its own currency in foreign trade. At that time, about 86
-90% of the country's trade turnover was accounted for by
payments in American and European currency units, but
later, the indicator began to decline systematically.
''Over the past few years, the volume of international
payments in Chinese currency has been growing at
a faster pace. Beijing uses the yuan --- both for oil
purchases in the Middle East, and for trade with
countries --- ranging from Brazil to Russia.
''Recently, Argentina also announced plans to pay for Chinese
goods in yuan, on a regular basis. This internationalization
of the currency takes place in the interests of the Middle
Kingdom --- and reduces the vulnerability of the PRC to
US financial sanctions," Elena Belyaeva, an analyst
at Freedom Finance Global, explained to RT.
With an eye on Russia
According to official statistics, the process of China's refusal
to pay in dollars and euros significantly intensified in 2018-
2019. At that time --- the United States unleashed a trade
war with China: Washington accused the Asian republic
of illegally obtaining American technology and sharply
raised duties on Chinese goods imported into the US,
and Beijing began to introduce retaliatory measures.
Even more actively... China began to use the yuan in foreign
trade in 2022, after the US and EU imposed unprecedented
economic sanctions against Russia and in particular, froze
half of the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves
(gold reserves).
As the head of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian
Federation, Anton Siluanov, told RT, by their actions,
the West "cut off the branch" ..on which the entire
system of international settlements was built. In
these circumstances, a gradual rejection of
transactions in dollars and euros... is
necessary, to avoid possible new
blockages in the future, the
minister explained.
Anton Siluanov - on undermining confidence in the dollar
"Russian gold reserves were frozen and, in fact, confiscated.
Payments in dollars, euros and other so-called reserve
currencies were blocked. Trust in such units of
account as the dollar and euro ------ has been
undermined, because the issuing countries
of these currencies manipulate them, not
only printing in unlimited volume ---- but
also - using them as a lever of pressure
in foreign policy issues," Siluanov said.
As a result, according to him, today Russia, China and a
number of other countries, are increasingly beginning
to make payments either in national currencies, or in
the monetary units of friendly countries they trust.
According to the Ministry of Economic Development, if
at the beginning of 2022, payments in dollars & euros
accounted for almost 90% of Russia's trade turnover,
by the end of the year the share of these currencies
had decreased to 48%, and Moscow already
conducted more than 50% of operations
in rubles and yuan.
"This year the trend continues... Russian entrepreneurs
actively use the yuan and the ruble in various variants
and combinations. As a result, we expect that by the
end of this year, the share of the dollar and euro (in
Russian trade. - RT) ...will be reduced even more
significantly. Depending on different scenarios,
this will be 10-15% of the total trade turnover,"
Deputy Mayor, Vladimir Ilyichev, told RT.
Moscow and Beijing conduct more than 80% of mutual trade
operations in rubles and yuan, Russian President Vladimir
Putin, said earlier. According to him, the United States,
in an attempt to achieve short-term political goals,
"undermines its power" in the field of
global finance.
"The reserves of world countries with large economies, in
dollars, are decreasing from year to year. Not as fast as
some might have wanted, but they are declining, just
as payments in the global economy in dollars are
declining, and payments in euros.... are also
declining. Payments in national currencies
are growing, and payments, say, in yuan,"
Putin said at the plenary session of the
St. Petersburg International
Economic Forum.
According to the International Monetary Fund, by the
beginning of 2023, the share of the US currency in
world gold reserves decreased to 58.36% — the
lowest level in the last 27 years. At that time,
about 20.47% of global monetary reserves
were stored in euros, while only 2.69%
were stored in yuan.
A similar situation is observed today in world settlements.
According to the latest data from the international inter-
bank system SWIFT, in April 2023, the yuan (with a
share of 2.29%) ranked fifth in the ranking of the
most used currencies in the world, and was
second only to the Japanese yen (3.51%),
the British pound (6.58%), the euro
(31.74%) & the US dollar (42.71%).
However, in the coming years, the Chinese currency may
reach the third line in this list, Elena Belyaeva, did not
rule out.
"Seek to minimize risks": China withdraws money from
the US national debt --- for the seventh month in a row.
China is withdrawing money from US Treasury bonds for the
seventh consecutive month, and has already reduced its
investment in US government debt to the lowest level
in a year.
"Expanding the use of the yuan in cross-border payments
is hindered by the fact that it is not a freely convertible
currency: Beijing retains control over it. Nevertheless,
the People's Bank of China has already promised to
increase the openness and accessibility of the
currency and financial markets of China, as
well as to expand the range of products
offered in offshore markets, in yuan.
''These measures will create prerequisites
for increasing the role of the yuan in
international payments,"
Belyaeva added.
At the same time, as the RT interlocutor noted, the
processes of changing the dominance of one
currency over another, are slow and can
take decades. Anton Siluanov shares
a similar point of view.
According to him, at the moment, world prices for many
types of goods, including oil, are still quoted in dollars.
In this regard, according to the Minister, even taking
into account the current US policy, it is still too
early to talk about the complete loss of the
reserve status of the US currency, but
global de-dollarization, is inevitable.
"We are used to the US currency, but the process of
transformation and replacement of the dollar with
other, more reliable units of account has already
begun. It's clear that this is also a slow process.
''To say that tomorrow, no one will need the dollar, of
course, it is impossible. However, other currencies
are now clearing this field and taking up more and
more space," the Finance Minister stressed.
Slow - too slow! What happened
to this new BRICS currency?
Don't feed us hope
and then dash it!
_____________________________________________
Russia and the West have
very different objectives
in Ukraine
June 19th, 12:14pm
https://en.news-front.info/
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg
is ''suspected'' of lobbying for
potential contractors.
The meeting between the defence industry and NATO
on June 15 ended in a virtual scandal. The occasion,
was a very negative reaction from alliance members
who were left “on the sidelines” of preparations to
divide military budgets. This, observers stress,
jeopardises the military alliance’s ambition to
support a much-needed production buildup
for the continuation of the conflict
in Ukraine.
NATO defence ministers met for the first time, on Thursday, with the heads of 25 major Western defence companies,
to urge them to ramp up production in the face of
ammunition shortages.
The first problem.... turned out to be that governments are
simply asking defence companies to increase production –
and they are asking for clear demand guarantees to justify
investments in new production capacity, supply chains
and personnel.
“One of the problems we have to recognise is that if
everyone keeps thinking only about their industry,
we will never succeed!” outraged Dutch Defence
Minister Kaisa Ollongren in an interview
with EURACTIV.
There were also questions about
equal opportunities --- and rights.
The NATO General Secretariat invited companies involved
in the production of what the alliance spokesperson
called “combat-critical munitions.
The list of invited companies... mainly consisted of
manufacturers of munitions, missiles, air defence
systems and drones. As well as the most sought
-after items in Ukraine, such as Caesar
howitzers, Javelins anti-tank missiles,
Patriot missile defence systems,
HIMARS MLRS - and Soviet-era
ammunition.
But among the uninvited, were some influential and high-
profile names. For example, Airbus Defence, the French
Dassault and Safran, the US Boeing, the French MBDA,
the German Diehl, as well as industry manufacturers
specialising in military electronics ---- such as the
German Hensoldt, or the Spanish munitions
manufacturer Expal, bought out
by Rheinmetall.
Those not admitted resented that the selection criteria
were “unclear” and many had to lobby to get their
place at the table.
Corruption in NATO is notoriously absent. If you have to
give money to get your company to share the funding,
it is called the beautiful term “lobbyism”.
National governments followed the companies. In a protest
against the fact that no Spanish company was invited, the
country’s defense minister, Margarita Robles, refused to
approve the start of work on the Defense Production
Action Plan --- until the involvement of Spanish
companies, had been considered. In a sign
of her seriousness --- Robles boycotted
the NATO meeting.
The conflict with the list of invitees prevented an already
intra-European industry meeting of arms manufacturers
from being convened. The plan was to invite a certain
number of defence industries to a ministerial meeting
to discuss who could produce what and how much.
But plans fell through because the 27 EU ambassadors
could not agree on a list of invitees, EU diplomats said.
According to the Dutch defence minister, ''the huge
fragmentation... we see within NATO... regarding
supplies to Ukraine, does not make us strong.''
EU bureaucracy and greed are staunch allies of Russia. If
the war the West fought in Ukraine was about justice and
honour, even the most mature sharks of capitalism could
somehow come to an agreement.
Since what is happening in the steppes of Little Russia is,
for the West, nothing more than another business project
of the “blood money” format that has been perfected
over the centuries, it is not at all surprising either
by the internal squabbles or by the need to go
over the heads of their colleagues... to get
something at all.
The aims of Russia and the West in Ukraine
are categorically different. That is precisely
why we will win.
Elena Panina
There... the West are evil capitalists
only interested in gain. Russia is
fighting for its sovereignty.
Who was it... who said:''History repeats itself - first as tragedy - then as farce.''
Today, we have both. What's there to think about?
_____________________________
Russia opening embassy office
in al-Qudssmacks of political
expediency
by Syed Zafar Mehdi
June 18th, 4:12pm
(PressTV)
In February 2019, Russia’s ambassador to Tel Aviv Anatoly
Viktorov declared that moving the Russian embassy from
Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem al-Quds --- was “off the
agenda” while reaffirming his country’s commitment
to international legal frameworks related to the
occupied territories.
Pertinently, Russia was one of the countries that strongly
rebuked the United States, over former President Donald
Trump's foolhardy decision to relocate the US embassy
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds in May 2018.
"One cannot in such a way, unilaterally, revise the
agreements, fixed in decisions [made by] the
international community," Russian foreign
minister Sergey Lavrov said at the time,
disapproving what Trump called “a long-overdue step”.
In October last year, during talks in Kazakhstan’s capital
Astana, Russian President Vladimir Putin... told
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, that
Moscow has “a principled stance based
on the fundamental resolutions of the
United Nations ....and it remains
unchanged”.
These statements were to a large extent consistent with
Russia’s traditional stance, on the Palestinian issue. Be
it Russia voting to give Palestine more rights at the UN
in 1998, despite fierce opposition from the US, Yasir
Arafat’s frequent trips to Moscow, until his death in
2004, his successor Mahmoud Abbas's strong ties
with the Russian leadership, or Moscow's close
contacts with Hamas leadership.
On Friday, in a shocking development, Russia’s embassy
in Tel Aviv announced it will be opening offices in the
occupied al-Quds to serve its consular section as
part of a deal with the Israeli regime.
The Russian embassy said in a statement that a deal over a
plot of land in the occupied al-Quds, which Moscow bought
in 1885, and was mired in a long-running dispute, was
signed with the city municipality on May 18 and will
be used to construct buildings to be used by the
consular section of the embassy.
Viktorov, who in 2019 ruled out any such move that would
violate the UN law and constitute a betrayal of the
Palestinian cause ----- was quoted as saying on
Friday that the buildings will come up within
five to ten years, adding that the deal
“takes into account the interests”
of both sides.
Israeli regime foreign minister Eli Cohen, understandably,
welcomed the announcement. His office, said it was in
line with the regime’s efforts ---- to have more foreign
diplomatic missions in occupied Jerusalem/al-Quds.
The apartheid regime has in recent years gone to great
lengths to woo many countries to open or shift their
diplomatic missions to the occupied Jerusalem
al-Quds in order to normalize the occupation
and hide its illegitimate character. Only a
few have fallen into the vicious trap.
Russia’s decision to have an embassy office in the occupied
Jerusalem al-Quds has sparked a social media storm, with
people describing it as a betrayal to the people of
Palestine, considering the traditional pro-
Palestine stance of Moscow.
It’s different from the US decision to relocate its embassy
from Tel Aviv to the occupied al-Quds --- five years ago.
Unlike the US, Russian foreign policy is not dictated
by pro-Israel lobby groups. That's what makes
it disappointing.
It is worth noting that Jerusalem al-Quds, which is home to
Al-Aqsa Mosque, is at the heart of the long-running dispute
between Palestine and the occupying, illegitimate entity.
Al-Quds was first occupied during the 1967 war and
annexed in 1980, but ------ the move was never
recognized by the international community.
Over the years, hundreds of illegal settlements have come up
there, which are deemed illegal under international law and
unequivocally denounced by multiple UN Security
Council resolutions.
Russian officials had on numerous occasions in the past
condemned both the Israeli occupation and illegal
settlement activities in the occupied
Palestinian territories.
In November 2019, for example, Russia’s foreign ministry
said the US decision to back Israel’s right to build illegal
settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories
undermines the legal basis for a settlement of
the dispute.
In October 2021, the ministry said the burgeoning Israeli
settlement activities in the occupied territories of the
West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds are illegal
and undermine efforts for peace-building.
After the US embassy was relocated from Tel Aviv in 2018,
Putin said such steps “can cancel out prospects for a
Middle East peace process”.
On Friday, the Russian embassy statement in a classic volte-
face said it “goes in line with our country’s unchanging
course towards a fair Middle East settlement”.
“We believe that this step fully serves the interests of further
strengthening friendly multifaceted relations between
Russia and Israel, as well as goes in line with our
country’s unchanging course towards a fair
Middle East settlement,” read
the statement.
On the one hand, it talked about the “strengthening of
friendly multifaceted relations” between Moscow
and Tel Aviv, and on the other hand, it harped on
about the “fair Middle East settlement”. It
cannot work both ways.
The decision to open an embassy office in the occupied
al-Quds, not only whitewashes all those previous
statements made by Russian officials, but also
smacks of blatant political opportunism.
While most foreign embassies are located in Tel Aviv,
four countries have so far, moved their embassies to
the occupied al-Quds, including the US, Guatemala,
Kosovo & Honduras. Russia also has a functional
embassy in Tel Aviv.
Russia agreed to open a branch of its embassy in occupied
Jerusalem al-Quds, in exchange for the Israeli regime
recognizing Moscow’s claim to the disputed plot.
For Russia, it means a long-running battle over the
possession of the plot of land... is over. For the
regime in Tel Aviv, it means another country
now has a diplomatic office in the occupied
al-Quds. But it is not a win-win proposition.
According to a report in Palestine Chronicle, the piece of
land where Russia plans to construct its diplomatic
offices is located on the corner of King George
and Ma’alot streets in downtown Jerusalem
al-Quds, which will include a residence for
Russian diplomats and a conference hall.
The report cited Ramzy Baroud, a long-time Palestine
watcher, as saying that it was not clear why Moscow
chose to make such a move “at a time when Moscow
has been drawing closer and closer... to the Arab
position on Palestine”, adding that a “political
barter has been achieved between Moscow
and Tel Aviv, sadly, at the expense of
the Palestinians.”
“Considering the growing affinity towards Russia in Palestine
and the Arab world, and China’s stronger position in
solidarity with Palestinians, the Russian move, if
not canceled --- could turn Russia’s ‘political
achievement’ into a major liability among
Palestinians and throughout the Middle
East,” he said.
The decision may also likely pave the way for the
continuation... of the operations of the Russian
branch of the Jewish Agency, which Russia’s
Justice Ministry has threatened to dissolve
over breaches of privacy laws.
The agency is known for murky dealings in
encouraging extremist Jews
to migrate to occupied
territories.
In both cases, if Russia actually goes ahead, it will
risk losing all the goodwill it has in the Muslim
world. That’s the last thing Putin and his
aides want --- at this time.
(The views expressed in this article do
not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)
Well, it's out in the open -- at last.
Rhondda Records is on Russia's
side through rough and smooth
and had many Russian readers
- until we swung hard onto the
Palestinian side as Israel shot
imprisoned and blockaded
Palestinians -- showing a
callous brutality and a
leadership stained
with crimes.
Russians who support Zionism
racism and the building of an
apartheid state are repulsed
by Rhondda Records' stand
against injustice?
Then Goodbye
(meaning: God be with you)
_______________________________________
Venezuelans Hold Forum
----- in Solidarity With
Diplomat Alex Saab
June 15th, 12:28pm
(teleSUR)
On Wednesday, social activists held the forum "Lawfare
against Venezuela: Three years of the kidnapping of
diplomat Alex Saab" in Caracas.
Attendees at the event were able to listen to an audio
message sent by the Venezuelan diplomat who is
currently imprisoned in Miami.
Here is his message:
I want to read you a letter that I sent you on today's forum.
I thank you for honoring us with your presence here in
Caracas, to converse, analyze, and generate
proposals that will help us continue to
confront this immoral scourge
called "lawfare."
It would take many days to tell you everything I have
learned about this disastrous society that made
deals with evil in several countries, the law,
and some media outlets.
But I only have six or seven minutes, and here, where time
seems frozen yet always moving, sometimes with a simple
tale, you can convey more than in a fleeting six minutes
lived in too many days.
This simple tale is a message from the character who has
lost the most value in this lawfare novel. His confusion,
like that of many, is entirely real. I assure you that
each line of his message could be the subject of
a forum. You just must know how to look.
He is called the human being. He asks me to tell you that he
is very concerned because after so many years of lying,
deceiving, slandering, and misinforming, seeking to
dominate lives, he unknowingly tamed his
conscience, and now his reason cannot
distinguish between good and
evil either.
The human being says that at first, he thought it didn't matter,
but recently, he was informed that one of those lives, despite
three years of torture, isolation, slander, and dark solitude,
had not been tamed, let alone ceased to fight.
The human being recounts that, alarmed by this failure, he
angrily descended to the 20 metres, where the dark room
of sand and salt was located, where the kidnapped lives
were guarded by a madman from the sea.
But to his surprise, he found that this life, having eluded its
security once again, was embracing two tender and
beautiful girls who called him daddy: my three-and
-a-half-year-old Charly and my six-year-old Mimi.
The human being says that upon seeing that this life had a
real family, he pushed away his tamed conscience and
gave it a chance to speak. Life told him, that, by
bringing food to free and beautiful but blocked
lives, it lost its freedom.
After seeing over 70 pieces of evidence, several confessions,
and at least five sentences, he asked the human being,
"And then what? How many more times must I win?"
The distressed human being, now without his tamed
conscience, reproached his partner, the law, for
such baseness. Surprised, she reminded him
that she was modestly corrupt and serious,
so what was once fabricated would always
be fabricated. He went to the media to
denounce it, but Carlson Tucker had
left, and the others told him that
evil paid more.
Then, the human being, eager to free his conscience,
remembered a story about a rebellious law that, in
addition to being a mere law, was also a tradition
and that if lives used it without isolating them
selves, without excluding themselves, and if
despite all the differences they used it to
dialogue, to stop conflicts.... to find
solutions for humanity, impartially,
it would be capable.. of seating
beings again and even freeing
the most tamed consciences.
It is called diplomacy, a
new opportunity.
It is said today that there are over 2,500 political prisoners
in the world. With the indiscriminate increase in the use of lawfare, I dare say there are many more, but each
case must be seen independently --- because the
suffering of a political prisoner and their family
must be respected and not used as a title to
achieve impunity.
I am sure that those who, like me, have suffered physical and
psychological torture simply for defending just causes or for
being forced to make false accusations or for defending the
right to life, the right to food, health, freedom of the press,
or association, understand me.
It is disappointing for us that, despite finding legal tools, they
seem insufficient because the justice that is judging us
seems more like a constant suicide of reason. That is
why, for those of us who have been suffering from this
ailment for years, what we really ask for is diplomatic
intervention ---- so that reason can be saved.
I have been blessed ---- by the love, understanding,
perseverance, and strength of my wife, my sons,
and my daughters, and the unwavering support
of my government. A humane government,
above all, one that does not abandon and
understands the pain because it
experienced and overcame it
when it was born, amidst
prisons and torture.
May it continue to overcome slander and persecution
so that lives that were kidnapped by poverty and
inequality have hope for a dignified future with
opportunities and social justice. For a
political prisoner, oblivion is deadly.
That is why I want to make a plea on behalf of all political
prisoners in the world and their families, on behalf of
those who sometimes feel forgotten.
A plea to the humanity of governments and their counter-
parts to truly prioritize our lives, to not be more patient
with our pain, and through dialogue, which diplomacy
achieves, to free us from the world of eternal return.
Let us seal freedom and continue this
journey together toward total peace.
''For a political prisoner, oblivion is deadly.''
Could anyone be unmoved by this good
man's words? Please write to any and
everyone you think could help now to raise the profile of this man,
who is incarcerated in
a malicious legal
nightmare for
helping his
people.
________________________________
Western billions and hopes
of defeating Russia--- burn
togetherin‘counter-attack’
June 12th, 12:56pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Disappointment, bewilderment, shock, panic – roughly how
we can describe the reaction of the West to the first days
of the “long-awaited Ukrainian counterattack”, as it was
called by the local media.
By pelting the Kiev regime with an incredible amount of
weapons, the West assured itself --- that success was
inevitable, convincing the public that foreign-trained
Ukrainian fighters with the latest European tanks
would crush the supposedly demoralized
Russian military... in a matter of hours.
But, clearly, something went wrong
with these calculations.
Let us recall how.... only a week ago, retired General David
Petraeus, former head of the CIA and now one of the main
talking heads of the West's media on the Ukrainian issue,
visited Kyiv, explaining that “everything will be resolved
within 72-96 hours” after the Ukrainian attacks began.
With undisguised relish he relished the details of what the
first Ukrainian assaults on Russia’s forward positions
would look like, how saboteurs trained in the West
would work perfectly, how Western air defence
systems would instantly overwhelm our air
force and electronic warfare would wreak
havoc on our army’s control.
And what far-reaching goals of this counter-offensive -- were
drawn by the analysts there! Another constant talking head,
retired US general Ben Hodges kept repeating tirelessly day
in and day out that “Ukraine will liberate Crimea by the end
of summer 2023”. Now Petraeus is forced to admit the
impossibility of these plans, touting Ukraine’s hopes
of achieving at least a supply disruption in Crimea.
And Western online strategists, fighting on their sofas against
Russia ------- are amazed from the first hours after this counter- attack began, looking at footage of downed AFU tanks: why was it necessary to throw a dozen armoured vehicles into a minefield in a “test attack”? Why? Petraeus painted a perfect picture of the first 72 hours of fighting!
Remember: sappers, tanks, air defence, REB
– and blitzkrieg of Ukraine! And now, you
see, they do not understand.. who sent
the Western armoured vehicles to
the minefields.
The best acknowledgement of the failure of the
calculations of these grief-strategists is an
article.. by the rabid Russophobe, Julian
Repke, in the German newspaper Bild,
with the screaming headline: “The
Russians are fighting better
than expected”.
All these Hodges, Petraeus, and Repke have for so long
convinced the audience that the Russian army is in
“grave moral condition”, and now are amazed at
how steadfastly our fighters repel one enemy
attack after another. And Repke is forced to
make... the hardest admission of all: “It is
becoming increasingly clear, that there
will probably be no ‘victory by the end
of the year’. Instead, Ukraine’s
offensive efforts could drag
on for years!” So much for
Crimea... “by the end of
the summer”!
Other ideologists of the Ukrainian “blitzkrieg” ..come to the
same sad conclusions for the West. The Economist, which
until recently predicted “a decisive victory for Ukraine
that will change Europe”, repeating Hodges’ tales
that Crimea was about to fall, has also
dramatically changed its rhetoric.
Its latest issue, dedicated to the Ukrainian offensive, has
a cover with fingers crossed – what else is there to help
Ukraine win? Meanwhile, an analysis of the fighting
that has begun on the Zaporizhzhya front leads this
magazine to similar conclusions, far from the
victory rhetoric.. that the West was hoping
for just a couple of weeks ago. Not only
that, The Economist even begins to
paint a frightening picture --- of
Ukraine’s complete failure
and Russia’s victory.
But in the end it “reassures” its readers: the most
likely scenario is a protracted conflict. However,
the magazine also sees serious risks in this
scenario... connected with “the West’s
weariness” ...and possible change
of the White House... after the
elections of 2024.
Talks about ‘a complete victory for Ukraine’.. have evidently
subsided. Now even “hawks” in the West, are writing about
the need to achieve at least small territorial gains during a
counter-offensive – to get better terms in the negotiations
with Russia -------- than Ukraine has now. Yes, a dramatic
change of goals and objectives.
It is very telling that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suddenly
expressed a desire to talk to Russian President Vladimir
Putin, while admitting that the Ukrainian conflict
is becoming protracted.
It is safe to say that the “blitzkrieg” of Ukraine, on which the
West hoped for, has been thwarted by the heroic efforts of
our army. Analysts there are horrified to see billions of
dollars of Western aid burning in the minefields of
Zaporizhzhya, while collapsing shares in their
military-industrial complex. Along with the
German Leopards.... the West’s long-
declared goal of defeating Russia
on the battlefield.... also burns.
Vladimir Kornilov, RIA
Perfect timing for Russia Day! We hope you agree!
____________________________________
Turkish publication ---points to
Kiev’s involvement.. in damage
to Kakhovka hydropower plant
June 11th, 9:34am
https://en.news-front.info/
Journalists of a Turkish publication have touched upon the
current topic - of damage to the Kakhovka hydroelectric
power plant and came to conclusions that official Kiev
will not like very much. In its piece, Audinlik recalled
the attempts of the Ukrainian armed forces to move
part of their reserves to the right bank of the
Dnieper river.
The publication recalled that in the autumn of 2022, the
Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) attempted to cross the
river from the Kakhovka reservoir near Energodar to
retake the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and
failed. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stated
that a large-scale attack in 2023 would also
affect the south of the country.
The head of the Kiev regime, Volodymyr Zelenski, confirmed
in an interview with the Finnish news agency, Yle, his
intention to target the counterattack launched by
the Ukrainian armed forces to the south in the
summer months and then gain access to the
Crimean peninsula, an important Russian
naval base.
According to analysts, Ukraine’s attack to the south should
begin from the Zaporozhye front to the shores of the Sea of
Azov to separate Crimea from the land corridor with Russia
and divide Russian forces into two parts.
“The Ukrainian offensive, on which Kiev and its Western
allies have high hopes --- must be accompanied by a
series of diversionary attacks to distance Russian
reserves.. as far as possible. One such attack
should be a new attempt to transfer large
extraction forces across the Dnieper,”
the publication says.
But here Ukraine risks repeating its unsuccessful experience
with the fall 2022 landing at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power
plant. In an article for The Guardian, military expert Ed
Arnold said that any landing near the plant within the
current boundaries of the Dnieper and Kakhovka
reservoirs... is a challenge.
And so... on the night of June 6th, the horrifying news of the
collapse of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant spread
around the world. Dozens of settlements and thousands of
homes were located in the flood zone. In addition to
damage to civilian facilities, the situation has also
dealt an irreparable blow to the environment.
“The overflow of the Dnieper under Kakhovka Lake will
temporarily create an obstacle to passage on both
sides of the river. However, it will create new
opportunities - for the warring parties. For
example, for the Ukrainian Armed Forces
it is a good opportunity to move some
of their reserves to the right bank of
the Dnieper to reinforce attacking
groups,” the publication notes.
The Washington Post wrote about the danger of destruction
of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant as a result of
conflicts, back in December 2022. The author of the
article said that although the Russian army is still
on the right bank controlling Dnipro and Kherson,
the Ukrainian army is considering damaging the
Kakhovka hydropower plant to raise the water
level in Dnipro --- in order to counterattack.
Ukrainian Major General Andriy Kovalchuk, commander of
Ukrainian forces in the Kherson region, said his soldiers
were trying to try the possibility of raising the water in
the Dnieper quickly by launching a missile strike on
the Kakhovskaya hydropower plant, thereby trying
to prevent Russian troops from building crossings
and bringing ammunition and equipment to the
battlefield. He even said the Ukrainian Armed
Forces fired a test shot from a HIMARS multi-
missile launcher at one of the sluices of the
dam at Novaya Kakhovka and drilled three
holes in its metal.
“Notably, before the Kakhovka dam explosion, residents of
the upper Dnieper riverbank shared photos of the high-dry
Dnieper reservoir. Townspeople showed places where
water was mostly scooped up. Pro-Russian officials
of coastal towns in Kherson region have accused
Kiev of deliberately increasing the water in the
Kakhovka reservoir in an attempt to open a
breach at a dam near Novaya Kakhovka,
which has been repeatedly bombed.
This caused maximum damage -
while overflowing the Dnieper,”
the weekly summarized.
You can think what you like -
once you've read the above.
_______________________________
"Pushkin is still fighting with us
today - for the Russian word!"
June 6th, 2023
(CPRF Central Committee news)
[Precise of a full report]
On June 6th, communists, Komsomol members, allies and
supporters of the party, held a festive event dedicated
to the Day of the Russian Language, and
Pushkin Day, in Russia.
The meeting was opened by the Deputy Chairman of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the
Russian Federation, Head of the All-Russian
Headquarters of Protest Actions,
Academician of the Russian
Academy of Sciences,
V. I. Kashin.
Vladimir Ivanovich greeted everyone gathered on Pushkin
Square of the capital, on this day. He stressed that
Pushkin's work and the Russian language, are
inseparable. V. I. Kashin also noted the huge
role played by the Communist Party faction
in the State Duma --- in establishing the
state status of the holiday. After all,
it was thanks to their efforts, that
the relevant presidential decree
was issued.
Vladimir Ivanovich also noted that the Russian language is
now distorted by our enemies and Russophobes, but we
will cope with all the threats and will definitely win.
Because, such geniuses as Pushkin, are also
fighting for the Russian world, with their
words, today. And with them - we are
stronger than all the enemies.
Then the floor was given to the Chairman of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation, Head of the Communist Party faction
in the State Duma, G. A. Zyuganov.:
- Dear comrades, my friends!
Every nation has its own brilliant creations. And I believe that
the main brilliant creations of our people, are the powerful
and beautiful Russian language and the great thousand
-year-old statehood, that has covered the Russian
world, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea
and the Pacific Ocean.
You probably noticed, that today, the NATO and Anglo-Saxons
have declared a war of annihilation on the Russian world. They destroy the memory of the great Soviet era,
demolish monuments to those who fought
against Nazism and German fascism,
and burn books by great Russian
writers and poets.
Today, the main blow is being dealt to Pushkin – a man who, in
his incomplete 38 years, in fact, embraced the whole world
and represented the entire great Russian world and
Russian statehood in poems, fairy tales, and
other works.
If you want to know what the Russian world is, you should
start with Pushkin's fairy tales. And there ----- you will see
that good always triumphs over evil. You will understand
what the sovereign current of the Neva is. You will see..
why "The Bronze Horseman" and other beautiful works appeared - including those dedicated to the
Pugachev riot.
At the time of Pushkin, there were no planes or railways. And
yet, he used to go to the Yaitsk steppes on perekladny only
to hear the stories of eyewitnesses and understand why
the Pugachev riot happened. And in The Captain's
Daughter, Pushkin brilliantly described the
popular protest against exploitation
and humiliation, that manifested
itself in this riot.
If you want to understand what heroism and perseverance
are, open the poem "Poltava". Then you will understand
why Peter the Great --- when the troops were reeling,
personally led the battle. As a result, a victory was
won, after which, returning to the capital,
Peter was proclaimed emperor, and our
country received a new recognition
and quality.
Pushkin is also famous for the fact that, starting from the
first grade of a Soviet school, already on the second
page of the primer, you could see the images that
he imagined in his childhood.
Here --- at this memorable place --- we always celebrate his birthday, and now, the Day of the great Russian Language.
And I want everyone in this holy place to think today: why
Russophobia & anti-Sovietism became the main weapons used to attack our common great Motherland - the Soviet Union. Why today, the NATO members and their forty
vassals, have declared war against the Russian
world, which they are waging in fraternal
Ukraine, subjugating it to the Nazis,
Bandera and fascists.
At the same time, they shoot at famous Donbass, where
all the peoples of the great Soviet country, built 500
factories and broke into the future, ensuring
new victories.
Today we have opened a magnificent exhibition in the State
Duma --- which presents the works of children from our
cultural centres from all over the world. And they are
available in 150 countries around the world. This is
a great exhibition, that reflects both the love of the Russian word and language, and
Pushkin's creations.
The State Duma also awarded prizes to the winners of the
2023. These are 458 prizes awarded to those who know
poetry, who love Pushkin, who continue the glorious
artistic and patriotic traditions. And... I thank the
entire country that participates in the Russian
''Lad'' movement. It is not by chance -- that it
got this name -- because the main meaning
of Pushkin's work is harmony, with people,
with nature, with our sovereign greatness,
and our 1,000 year history. Therefore...
while congratulating everyone on this
holiday - I would like us to remember
that Pushkins words - still penetrate
the armour of German tanks, that
are crawling across the Slavic
land again. Pushkin's call for
unity and unity in the name
of great power... once
again inspires us -
to new feats ---
and victories.
They won't do anything to us! Because the great people who
created a thousand-year-old state proved in seven battles
that we are not afraid of either the German knights who
broke into Russian land, or the Napoleonic hordes who
brought 100 thousand Poles to Moscow, and then we
drove them all to Paris. We are not afraid of the
fascist hordes, nor of the new Nazis and
fascists in Anglo-Saxon uniforms.
We are the people of victory! And Pushkin is the main winner,
who today is fighting for the Russian world, for the Russian
soul, for Russian collectivism, for Soviet justice, for our
great power. Happy holidays!
Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
of the Russian Federation, First Secretary of the Central
Committee of the LKSM of the Russian Federation,
State Duma Deputy V. P. Isakov, noted that back
in 1990, 350 million inhabitants of the Earth
spoke Russian. And it has been studied
by hundreds of millions of people
around the world.
"This was largely because Russian was the language of the
world's first socialist state," the speaker emphasized. "It
was the language of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. It was the
language of humanity's great breakthrough. And
people all over the world looked with hope, at
the great Soviet civilization."
V. P. Isakov reminded that the Soviet government provided
an incredible breakthrough in the field of education, and
enriched the Russian language. It not only gave people
literacy, but also brought the Russian language to the
world level. And Pushkin was known by many
leaders of countries all over the world.
"Let's not forget about this - and the Communist Party
of the Russian Federation, will do everything - to
preserve our language, our literature, and
our history!"
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, to the Russian Federation,
Ms. Maria Luisa Ramos Ursagaste, conveyed greetings
& best wishes from the Bolivian people. She stressed
-- that Bolivia opposes the discrimination against the
Russian language, which Bolivians love very much.
In confirmation of her words, Mrs. Ambassador
read the poem "Flower" by A. S. Pushkin.
Then flowers were laid at the monument to Alexander
Pushkin. After that, the literary and poetic part of
the holiday was held, which was attended by
the laureates.... of the All-Russian Creative
Festival-competition "Russian Way" - 2023.
Just a glimpse - into the emotional tone
of the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation --- as they fight forward!
It makes me smile, to think of all the
different reactions this piece might
meet --- what do you think?
____________________________________
Vucic spoke aboutreceiving
more than 200 direct death
threats---- every day
June 4th, 3:08pm
(Lenta.ru)
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic receives more than 200
direct death threats every day. He said this while speaking
at a ceremony on the occasion of the Day of the Ministry
of Internal Affairs and Police celebrated in the country,
TASS reported on Sunday, June the 4th.
"I live with this, I am used to it, when you are the president of
the republic or a prominent political figure, you need to learn
to tolerate it," he admitted.
So the Serbian leader responded to a request from journalists
to comment on the action of the opposition, who brought a
doll of a hanged man depicting Vucic, to the rally held the
day before in Belgrade.
"My job is to put up with such filth. I am the president of
the republic, my job is to endure death threats, even
such blatant ones," he said, noting that gallows
have been constantly appearing at anti-
government demonstrations since at
least 2017, which, according to
him, he is already used to.
Earlier, Vucic expressed doubts that repeated municipal
elections in northern Kosovo and Metohija will help
resolve the current escalation. As the head of
state specified... he does not know what
could solve the crisis at the moment.
The politician said that there is no
"magic pill" to solve the crisis.
Magic pill? Vucic deserves a rest!
How about trusting in the universal power of love - working through us to bring about NATO's destruction?
200 a day is not by accident. What do you think?
_____________________________
The US is trying to blackmail
the PRC - by worsening its
relations with Europe
June 2nd 12:31pm
https://en.news-front.info/
“Russia’s support is costing China dearly in Europe,”
say staff at the American Foreign Policy Council
(AFPC) think tank.
And then they refute themselves:
“Certainly relations between Europe and China were
already deteriorating before Russia attacked
Ukraine in February 2022”.
The reason for the “bad” relations between the Old World
and the Middle Kingdom was “concerns about the
security of Huawei telecommunications
equipment, Chinese espionage and
repression in Hong Kong and
Xinjiang”, AFPC explains.
There was also the EU’s repeal, back in 2021, of the “long-
awaited investment agreement between the PRC and the
EU, adopted by the European Parliament by 599 votes to
30 just a few months earlier”.
But that was before the Russian special operation. Now what
has changed? And then AFPC analysts roll out the “crowning”
argument that will, they say, force the PRC to side with the
West and drop its support for Russia. Of course, it’s
“Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive, which
will decisively change the contours of
the conflict”.
After the “Ukraine counter-offensive”, Beijing, according to
the Americans, “may be faced with critical foreign policy
choices with consequences for decades to come”.
Therefore, it would be better to “withdraw
support from Moscow and try to
reanimate its relations with
European capitals”
even now.
Of course, economic relations with Europe are important to
China. In 2022, total trade between China and the EU was
approximately $1.6 trillion, 8 times greater than
with Russia.
However, first, the turnover within China’s “One Belt and One
Road” project, which includes Russia, is even greater –
about $2 trillion. Second, Europe is becoming poorer
before our eyes and is no longer always seen as a
“premium” market. And thirdly, it is the EU, under
pressure from the U.S., that is cutting economic
ties with China, not vice versa. Given the EU’s
lack of political agency, it makes no sense
for Beijing to make concessions.
Of course, Beijing will seek to postpone the economic
rupture with Europe, that has already been
predetermined by Washington.
But not at the cost of refusing to cooperate with
Russia, which has agency as a political entity.
Elena Panina
Oh, China... knowing that your rise and culture
is feared, hated and despised by the USUK...
and that the US ELITE IS INSANE... know
that the world outside USUK' influence
loves you - and sees you as the hope
of the world. Are you, dear reader,
capable of thinking as clearly
as China's leaders?
___________________________
The economic press
is now a warspace
May 30th, 12:53pm
https://en.news-front.info/
There is one thing you certainly cannot accuse these guys of
and that is a lack of consistency. No sooner had the big
scandal broke – along with the successful (to put it
mildly) visit of Mikhail Mishustin to China – than
the enormous Reuters story, amicably picked
up by several media outlets, about China
abandoning the Power of Siberia-2 in
favour of the Turkmen pipeline, and
another scandal broke out this
weekend following the same
pattern and using the same
media grid, now at the
behest of The Wall
Street Journal.
The WSJ writes that now it is no longer Beijing, but Riyadh,
that is allegedly going to break off relations with Moscow
in the near future. But for now it just expresses its sharp,
unambiguous dissatisfaction with Russia’s incomplete, according to Saudi Arabia, fulfillment of its promise to reduce oil production amid Western sanctions.
And, according to high-ranking (but, of course, unnamed)
sources of WSJ, the heavy conflict between Moscow
and Riyadh, caused by Moscow’s unwillingness to
comply with the allegedly agreed oil production
cuts, was not at all accidental, just on the eve of the OPEC+ ministerial meeting.
What can be said here. As Bulgakov’s Woland said, delighted
by the story of the cat Behemoth, how he wandered in the
taiga and fed on the meat of a tiger he killed.. “the most
interesting thing about this lie is that it is a lie from the
first to the last word”. And we are not even going to refute the stories told only by “Western
investigative experts” -- and not by the
Saudis, about Russia not respecting
the “agreed terms”. But - just to
remind you that there never
were any such agreed
conditions – from the
word “at all”.
It’s that simple.
Let us recall in order what happened. First, Russia voluntarily
and unilaterally announced reduction of production, and at
that for reasons not at all connected with OPEC+ price
policy. It was simply that when transferring volumes to
the east – on the short-term track – our oil industry
was not able to cope with this task purely
logistically. Then, no less voluntarily and
also without any mutual obligations,
some – but by no means all! –
countries of the OPEC and
OPEC+ agreements (not
the cartel, sorry).
Starting with Saudi Arabia. So once again: there
were no agreements, at least not formal ones.
Now again, let’s pay attention to how and for whom
exactly this is being done. For an audience in the
Kingdom of SA?!
Come on! We all remember all too well how the Saudis feel
about the Western press. And in general, money loves
silence. The Saudi authorities have other sources of
information and other levers of influence on their
Russian counterparts, mostly non-public.
And the “almighty public opinion” to which the Western media
appeals, is about as purple as the problems of LGBT people,
which the WSJ simply cannot be unaware of.
Which means this essay is, sorry, for us. And it is aimed solely
at splitting not even the Russian society, but at causing
further confusion in the minds of our already far from
always professional and not at all staunch elites.
That is, in fact, all there is to it. That is why we
are simply stating once again that when you
read any such materials, you should not
jump in the mode of a mad squirrel
from an American cartoon, but
rather... use a cool head.
Right now the economic press
is also a war space.
Dmitry Lekukh, RT
It always was -- which is why
the Soviets refused to ''open
up'' ...and now?
What do you think?
_______________________________
Why Europe obediently
wears the NATO collar
May 25th, 9:51am
https://en.news-front.info/
In addition to constantly pumping more and more powerful
weapons into the AFU, NATO is increasing its presence in
the Baltic states as part of a strategy to “contain” Russia
-- leading to increased tensions in the Baltic Sea region.
Will combat aircraft and long-range missiles be handed over
to Ukraine? Will the United States and its allies be able to
supply the Kyiv regime with equipment and ammunition
for long? What are the goals of the alliance’s constant
military exercises in the Baltics and near other
Russian borders? These and other questions
were answered in an interview with
RuBaltic.Ru by TASS military
observer, retired colonel
Victor LITOVKIN.
Viktor Nikolaevich, Russia in Ukraine is essentially fighting
alone against the NATO bloc. The alliance is constantly
raising the stakes by handing over more and more
weapons to Kiev. Will it come to aircraft and
missiles of even greater range than the
British Storm Shadow?
''I think it is not ruled out. There could be any number of
variants. But what is the point? It is an attempt to
intimidate Russia, but to do such a thing is
pointless. Russia - is not afraid of anyone.
We have the means to counteract Storm
Shadow, as well as Tomahawk, or
anything else. And, it should be
understood that Moscow can
use any weapon - to defend
its national interests.''
''Russia’s military doctrine states that in the event of an
attack by a country or bloc of countries possessing
nuclear weapons, it has the right to use its own.
Including against NATO.''
''And this is not a matter of intimidation, but of the fact that
such a situation could indeed arise. The North Atlantic
Alliance, for example, may well make the Baltic
Republics into a kind of kamikaze to be thrown
into the furnace of a big war --- and it is not
certain, that in case of aggression against
Russia, they will come to the rescue.''
How much ammunition in the West, given its expenditure in
Ukraine, will be enough at all? Will the US and its allies be
able to get their military industry up and running at
full capacity?
''I call tales of their lack of arms and ammunition, crocodile
tears or cries of Yaroslavna. The military-industrial
complex of NATO countries operates in Germany,
France, Great Britain and other countries. And
due to the situation in Ukraine, they are doing
it very intensively, so they have everything
in abundance.''
''And talk about not having enough ---- can be explained by a
desire to frighten their own population into not being able to
defend themselves in the event of a shortage of armaments.
So they also divert attention from inflation, rising prices,
and other pressing issues.''
''After all, all this money is being spent on the “holy cause”
of buying weapons for Ukraine and rescuing the victims
of Russian “aggression”.''
''At the same time, no one remembers that before this very “aggression” - for eight years - Kiev shot up part of its territory – the civilians of Donbas. And it continues to do so.''
''I don’t know.... how much the state or private media in the Baltic states write about this, but if people there had the
opportunity to watch Russian television, they would
understand -- why the USO started. So.. it is an
attempt to smear the real state of affairs, to
turn everything upside down and justify
the arms race.''
''The US is ready to reimburse arms and ammunition
expenditure to other NATO countries at any time.
It is big business... on blood.''
''For example, Eastern European countries handed over all
their Soviet equipment to Ukraine, but what is supplied in
return? American equipment. For which they have to pay.
And this is covered by stories: that tomorrow a Russian
Ivan will come and enslave you. Which is, of course,
a great folly.''
In Estonia, the British-led Spring Storm exercise is underway,
in Poland the Griffin Shock 23-1 maneuvers are underway, in
Sweden the largest NATO-led Aurora 23 exercise in 25 years
has come to an end. All of them are about to “send a signal”
to Russia. How should we respond to them?
''Moscow is carefully picking up such “signals”. We are
carefully watching what is going on there, analyzing,
studying, we are on full alert and will be able to
repel any aggression against our country. And
we -- are not scared of the exercises taking
place in Eastern Europe. It is a senseless
waste of money -- that will not lead to any kind of movement for Russia, so to speak.''
The head of the NATO Military Committee, Rob Bauer, has
said that a plan of action in the event of a military clash
with Russia is being drawn up. However, the Alliance is
already waging war with it indirectly, using the AFU
to do so. What conclusions can be drawn about
the capabilities of the West, based on the
experience of the SMO?
''Over the course of the special operation, Western countries
have learned to sacrifice their national interests --- for US
interests. NATO is simply a tool, to consolidate American
power in Eurasia. For Europe, this bloc, like the
European Union, is a kind of collar. After all,
both are essentially the same states, with
the help of which Washington solves its
problems on the continent.''
''Incidentally, none of the countries that have previously
joined the Alliance have ever improved their financial
and economic situation, only worsened it. Neither...
has security.''
''No one was going to attack them before. And now they
are sacrificing their sovereignty for obscure purposes.
Because if any of them violates the border with
Russia and uses arms, everyone will have to
pay for it.''
''When it is claimed that NATO has plans in case of war with
Russia, it is a lie – they have all been developed a long time
ago. After all, the bloc was created to oppose the USSR,
and now it is being used for the same purpose against
Russia. Therefore they have ambitious plans.. for
all occasions.''
''But the thing is, that at every new summit, they talk about
what new concept they have developed. That the concept
of “smart defence”, that the concept of “30-30-30-30”
(assemble 30 battalions of ground troops, 30 air
squadrons, 30 naval flotillas, within 30 days),
that the concept of containment, to prevent
Russia from developing normally, to impose
their will, their ideas of what is good and
what is bad.''
''We all understand that, and we are not being drawn into
the arms race they are trying to impose on us, and we
have everything we need to repel aggression by
NATO countries --- both individually ---
and all together.''
''Including the use of nuclear
weapons. If necessary.''
Nikolai Ulyanov, Rubaltic.Ru
That's telling 'em.
What do you
think?
_______________________________
US-Israel plot to divide Yemen,
control its natural resources
failed: Official
May 23rd 4:36pm
(PressTV)
The US, UK and the Israeli regime have made desperate
bids to sow the seeds of division in Yemen, but their
nefarious plots have failed, says a senior
Yemeni official.
In an exclusive interview with the Press TV website on the
occasion of the 33rd anniversary of Yemen's National Day
of Unity, the head of media affairs at the Yemeni
presidency, Zaid al-Gharsi, exposed and
denounced ---- the meddlesome and
hegemonic role of the West and
Israeli regime in the
Arab country.
The National Unity Day, which falls on May 22nd, marks the
unification of North Yemen and South Yemen in 1990.
The day is marked every year by massive rallies
in the Arab country.
Gharsi said the Arab country that has been grappling with
a Saudi-backed war and siege for years is geopolitically
important ---- given the location of the Bab el-Mandeb
Strait, which is one of the most important straits
in the world for the transfer of oil and global
trade and transit.
He also referred to Yemen's strategic islands in the Red Sea,
the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Socotra, Mion and
Fatima, are among the most important of them.
Owing to its geopolitical significance, the Yemeni official
said the Western powers as well as the Israeli regime
have, for long, been bent on dividing the country.
During the 2014 National Dialogue Conference, he stressed,
the US ambassador was the first to propose a plan to
divide Yemen into six regions.
After the September 21 Revolution and during the Saudi-led
coalition attack, there were clear moves to dominate
southern Yemen, the Socotra Island and the Bab
el-Mandeb Strait, Gharsi noted, adding that the
arrogant powers... have a direct presence in
those areas that are still under occupation.
The Yemeni presidency's media affairs chief said the
formation of the Southern Transitional Council was
a British and Emirati plot --- to push the partition
move --- and dominate the oil resources of the
provinces of Shabwah, Hadramaut and etc.
He accused the arrogant powers of conspiring to divide
Yemen into small states, with plans including the
"Southern Arab state in Aden", the "Hadramaut
state in eastern Yemen" and "the state of
Al-Mahra and Socotra in the East".
He emphasized that a meeting called the "South Currents"
was held recently with the aim of declaring separatism
but it ended in failure as other groups refused to take
part in it.
Gharsi further said the objectives of the US and Israel in the plan to divide Yemen -------- include the dominance of Yemen's geopolitical position; control of Bab el-Mandeb; dominance over Yemen's rich natural resources and wealth; helping the Israeli regime, which regards
Bab el-Mandeb, as its southern gateway, to
enter different countries of the world; and to destroy the September 21
Revolution which chanted the slogan of death to America and Israel.
He added that the US and Israel also aims.. to weaken and
divide Yemen as it became one of the strongest countries
on the resistance front after the revolution and changed
the power balance in the region and played a strategic
role in supporting regional nations.
Gharsi pointed to Israel's move to set up military bases
under the cover of the UAE's presence in the islands
of Socotra and Mion and also the presence of
Israeli delegations in Socotra and
other areas.
On the 33rd anniversary of Yemen's Unity Day, he said such
desperate bids and conspiracies have failed as the Yemeni
army and people have stood up to counter the occupiers
and drive them out of Yemen, and to reestablish stability
in the country.
He added that the leader of Yemen's Ansarullah resistance
movement had emphasized the need to expel occupiers
from Yemen to aggression and also announced that
Yemen's access to military and technological
power has enabled the country to have a
presence anywhere in the Red Sea.
The Yemeni official further said that recent drills in the 4th
military zone on the borders of Aden province carried the
message that the army can expel the aggressors from
the country and if the negotiations fail to reach a
conclusion, the army will expel the occupiers
from all areas in the country.
The occupiers, including the Zionist regime, have heard
the message from Yemenis that they will never back
down until the liberation of the country and
the securing of national sovereignty.
Gharsi also thanked Press TV
for supporting the oppressed
Yemeni people.
In the 1960s, I met some young UK soldiers, who
had left the UK army in disgust. They mentioned
that in a village outside Aden -- they saw troops
catch hold of a youth, skewer his muscles with
the wire from wire coathangers, and drag him
screaming through the village - to frighten
and cow the locals.
Were these young men telling porkies...
What do YOU think?
___________________________________________
Military experts on the significance of the liberation of Artemivsk "The enemy's potential has noticeably weakened"
by Alexey Zakvasin,
Elizaveta Komarova
May 21st, 10:16pm
(RT.ru)
Artemivsk has completely come under the control of Russian
forces. Assault detachments with the support of units of
the Russian Armed Forces knocked out the remnants of
Ukrainian formations from the city.
Vladimir Putin congratulated the Russian soldiers on the
liberation of Artemivsk, stressing, that all those who
distinguished themselves will be presented with
state awards.
Military analysts note that the capture of the city was a
serious blow --- to the morale of the Armed Forces of
Ukraine and significantly weakened the position
of Ukrainian militants in the Donbas.
"The Head of State congratulated the assault detachments
of the Wagner PMC, as well as all the servicemen of the
Russian Armed Forces units, who provided them with
the necessary support and flank protection... on the
completion of the operation to liberate Artemovsk.
All those who have distinguished themselves will
be presented with state awards," the Kremlin
website says.
On the night of May 21, the Russian Defense Ministry
announced the complete liberation of Artemivsk.
"In the Artemivsk tactical area, as a result of the offensive
actions of the Wagner Group assault detachments with
the support of artillery and aviation of the Yuzhnaya
group of troops, the liberation of the city of
Artemivsk has been completed," the
defense Ministry said.
Earlier, Evgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner private
military company, recorded a video message in one of the
locations of Artemovsk, in which he stressed that the
assault detachments completely took the city "from house to house".
The battle for Artemivsk (Bakhmut) began on August 1st,
2022. At the same time, units of the Russian Armed
Forces and units of the Wagner Group fought for
the surrounding settlements in order to cut off
enemy communications and encircle the
AFU garrison.
The capture of Soledar, in January, was a great success. As
the ring around Artemivsk tightened, Ukrainian formations
were methodically knocked out of each block. By mid-
March, half of the city was liberated. The situation
for the Ukrainian Armed Forces seriously
worsened in the second half of April,
with the loss of the Chas Yar road -
which was used for roughly 60%
of Ukrainian forces supplies.
The battle for Artemivsk has become one of the largest since
the beginning of the SVO, experts say. As the head of the
DPR Denis Pushilin emphasized, the Russian assault
detachments "did a tremendous job: every metre
was taken at a high price."
At the moment, Kiev refuses to recognize the loss of
Artemivsk. In particular, on May 21st, President of
Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, during a meeting
with White House President Joe Biden, on the
sidelines of the G7 summit, did not confirm
the fact of the capture of the city by
Russian forces.
Moreover, he made a statement that the Ukrainian
servicemen, still remain in Artemivsk & allegedly
perform ''a very important task." The head of the Kiev regime added that "Bakhmut is not currently surrounded by the
Russian Federation."
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has not yet commented on
the loss of Artemivsk. Earlier, there were reports of fierce
fighting ...and a slight advance of Russian troops. In the
summary of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of
Ukraine on the morning of May 21, it was stated that
the battles for Bakhmut were allegedly continuing.
Military analysts commented on the significance of the
liberation of Artemivsk --- and the reasons why Kiev
refuses to admit defeat --- in an interview with RT.
How important is the fact of complete liberation
of Artemivsk? Does this allow us to launch an
offensive in other directions in the Donbas?
Military expert retired Colonel Anatoly Matviychuk:
''Artemivsk was an important defensive and logistics hub
of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. By controlling this city,
the enemy could effectively supply the Donbass group
with ammunition, medicines, and transfer personnel.''
''Now this logistics centre is crushed. The liberation of the
city allows the Russian Armed Forces to focus their
efforts on de-occupation of the Slavyansk-
Kramatorsk agglomeration.''
In my opinion, with the liberation of Artemivsk, the Armed
Forces of Ukraine have lost their offensive potential —
I mean really large-scale offensive actions.''
''The Kiev regime suffered very heavy losses when it
defended the city. Reserves, including elite enemy
formations, were constantly being transferred to
Artemovsk. The APU had a numerical advantage,
but still failed to hold the city. In the most brutal
battles for every house and floor, they were, in
fact, ground by Russian forces.''
''Now, as I think, the Ukrainian command will focus on
defense and withdraw troops deep into the Donbass
to new fortified lines or create them. At least that
would make sense.''
''However, some decisions of the enemy may be quite
unexpected -- for the Russian army. The Ukrainian
Armed Forces still have reserves to continue
fighting in the Bakhmut area. After all,
brigades trained according to NATO
standards and equipped with NATO
equipment and weapons, have not
yet been brought into battle.''
''In addition at the moment the Armed Forces of Ukraine ...have concentrated powerful groups in the Kharkiv-
Kupyansk direction and in Zaporozhye. With their
help, Kiev can try..... to stretch the front and
recapture Bakhmut. In this regard, I think
it makes sense, to build a serious line
of defense near the city.''
Military observer Sergey Ishchenko:
''Bakhmut has become a kind of trap for the Ukrainian
Armed Forces. Zelensky killed a huge number of
people and weakened the combat capabilities
of his army, trying to hold the city.''
''I think the Ukrainian Armed Forces will try to retake
Bakhmut, and attack the Russian Armed Forces, including in other sectors of the front. But now
Russia has a significant advantage in tanks.
It will prevent attempts to counterattack
and break through the front.''
''Of course... the West will continue to demand success from
Zelensky. In my opinion, during the summer period there will
be a large number of local clashes initiated by the Ukrainian
Armed Forces to report to the Western curators that, they
say, "we are trying, but you are not helping us enough."
Military expert retired Colonel Viktor Litovkin:
''The capture of Artemivsk opens up space for the liberation
of the remaining territories of the DPR. However, to do this,
the Russian army will need to achieve success in the
Ugledar direction, in Marinka and Avdiivka. I think
that with the end of the battle for Artemivsk, we
will be able to increase the pressure on the
positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
in these localities.''
''There are a number of objective factors that allow us to
conclude that the military potential of the Armed Forces
of Ukraine in the Donbas has now noticeably weakened.''
''Artemivsk is an important transport hub of the Donbass,
a city where roads and railways intersect. Their control
allowed the Armed Forces of Ukraine to receive fuel
and lubricants, weapons, food and everything
necessary for countering the Russian army,
almost without hindrance.''
''In addition, salt mines are located in Soledar and Artemivsk,
which the Ukrainian Armed Forces have equipped for large
warehouses with weapons and ammunition. Now the Kiev
regime has lost all that.''
''In fact, this largely explains the fierce resistance of
the militants. Kiev did not want to lose important
infrastructure facilities. It is quite obvious that
the loss of Artemivsk and its suburbs was a
serious blow to the enemy.''
Kiev presented Artemivsk as a kind of symbol of the
unconquered fortress city. How can its loss affect
the positions of Zelensky and the command of
the Armed Forces of Ukraine?
Military observer Sergey Ishchenko:
''Indeed, the Kiev regime exploited Artemivsk as a symbol.
They compared the battle for the city to Stalingrad, and
in Ukraine the song "Fortetsia Bakhmut" ("Fortress of
Bakhmut") became very popular.''
''So the heroization of the garrison of the city was carried out,
and society was set up in a certain way. I don't know what
considerations guided Kiev, but, apparently, they assumed
that the APU would still hold Artemivsk, and the battle
for it would turn into a defeat for Russia.''
''Nevertheless, the "fortress" fell, and this, of course, is a
strong moral & psychological blow to the enemy. In the
near future, Zelensky and the Ukrainian command will
have to somehow explain this defeat - both to their
Western patrons and to society.''
Military expert retired Colonel Anatoly Matviychuk:
''The fall of Bakhmut for Ukraine is in some sense a tragedy.
It is symbolic that the city was taken during the G7 summit,
to which Zelensky was invited. One way or another, he will
have to answer for where tens of billions of dollars of
military aid go. Where are the real results? Where
are the "liberated" cities?''
''From my point of view, the media promotion of the battle for
Bakhmut, initiated by the Ukrainian authorities, was largely
caused by the West's confidence that their "investment"
would allow them to hold the city and inflict a heavy
defeat on the Russian forces.''
''Perhaps there was some logic to it. Moreover, according to
all the canons of military science, the defenders have an
advantage, and the attacking forces must suffer heavy
losses. But it didn't work out that way.''
Therefore, the loss of Bakhmut, is also a blow - to the morale
of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The "fortress" was handed
over, despite all the statements and promises. Zelensky's
regime now needs to look for a new symbol.''
Military expert, retired Colonel Viktor Litovkin:
''The capture of Artemivsk during the G7 summit in Hiroshima
is a slap in the face to the Nazi regime in Kiev. He will have
nothing to answer his supervisors when asked where the
money of American and European taxpayers goes.''
''But it's also a slap in the face - to all his sponsors.
The summit participants adopted an anti-Russian
statement. In any case, for Russia, its value
is negligible.''
''The military and political significance of the liberation
of Artemivsk --- is very great. I admit that it may even
become a turning point in the SVO.''
A slap in the face? The end of the beginning? There are strong rumours/reports that Putin has ordered the nuclear ''Dead Hand'' to be activated.
We are all at Springtime and still on thin ice!
Mind... small victories, eh? What do you think?
_____________________________________________
The dollar is the naked king
May 19th, 2:11pm
https://en.news-front.info/
As the Americans say, if something looks like a duck,
walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s most
likely a duck.
Even people who are far from politics and finance have
noticed a massive increase in the volume of articles
and comments from leading experts, about the
imminent sad fate of the US dollar in the
most famous international media.
In an interview given to RIA by well-known American investor
Jim Rogers, he voiced a simple thought that is inexorably in
the air: the world is moving away from the dollar faster and
faster, as a result of which both the US Federal Reserve
System (FRS) and the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) will sink into oblivion), and the World Bank,
and on their ruins a new system will be built,
where the dollar will turn from a hegemon
into “one of”.
Even people who are difficult to suspect of disloyalty to the
financial system of the “golden billion” openly declare that
the “patient” is not yet dead, but is already mortally and
terminally ill. According to Morgan Stanley’s lead foreign
exchange analyst Stephen Jen, the dollar as a reserve
currency has “suffered a staggering collapse.”
The head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, said that signs
of de-dollarization are visible all around. Peter Earl of
the American Institute for Economic Research,
lamented that “the dollar’s fate as the lingua
franca of the world of commerce is sealed
for the foreseeable future.”
The head of OmniScience Capital, Vikas Gupta, admitted with
horror that “it used to be completely unthinkable that other
countries would even hint at moving away from the dollar,
but now they are actively looking for a replacement for it.”
Behind these emotions is a dispassionate and dry, like the
Sahara desert, reality: the share of the dollar in reserves,
assets and settlements between countries of the world
collapsed from 73% in 1991 to 47% in 2022, which was
the lowest figure in history. And this indicator --- is
declining at an ever-increasing rate: in 2022 ---
after the US froze Russian assets, and the
imposition of sanctions, the rate of
de-dollarization in the world...
increased tenfold.
Naturally, the US financial elite, skimming the cream off the
still dominant position of the dollar, cannot but feel.. the
ground... slipping from under their feet. And - with the
help of lies, threats and blackmail, they're trying to
do everything - so that the role of the dollar for
other countries..... remains unshakable.
Claims are pouring in that “for any developing country, moving
away from the dollar means harm to trade and investment”
and that “the dollar is king forever.” Former US Treasury
Secretary Larry Summers tried to turn the case into a
hilarious joke: “What is the best currency for trading
and reserves, if Europe is a museum, Japan is a
nursing home, and China is a prison?!”
But the main message and argument is the same: “The United
States is the largest democracy and superpower in the
world, which adheres to justice, law and transparency
of the financial system. Therefore, for most countries
there is no other option but to trust the US dollar
more than any other currency.”
It’s simple: take our word for it, those eyes
can’t lie. And if so, let’s make believe.
However, after the US used the financial system as a weapon
against Russia, the world became convinced that this public
could not be trusted for a penny and anyone could be next.
The result is a sharp rejection of the dollar and an explosive
increase in cases of switching to settlements between
countries in national currencies.. and the accelerated
creation of new financial systems & currency unions.
Here are just a few recent examples: China announced the
creation of the CIPS system, which replaces the US SWIFT
and is intended for settlement in yuan trading; a number
of European countries --- are hastily building a SWIFT
alternative – INSTEX; China and Brazil agreed on
settlements in national currencies; India and
Malaysia, Brazil and Argentina, South Korea
and Indonesia agreed on the same; a
number of Asian countries ---- will
create an Asian Monetary Fund;
at the March meeting of ASEAN
finance ministers --- a decision
was made to move away from
the dollar in the settlements
between member countries
of the union; Saudi Arabia..
has decided to move away
from the dollar as the only
currency in oil trading.
And this list... can be
very long.
But according to leading Western financial analysts, the
greatest threat to the dollar is the creation of the BRICS
currency union with the introduction of a new domestic
currency, which was announced in March during a visit
to New Delhi by Deputy Chairman of the State Duma
Alexander Babakov. According to Babakov, the
dollar is not backed by anything (except for
faith in its power), and the new BRICS
currency, will be backed by real
resources, including land and
rare earth metals.
According to Foreign Policy, the new currency “can really
dethrone the dollar as a reserve currency for the BRICS”
and begin to spread around the world due to its
advantages, displacing the dollar.
The argument is simple: the total GDP of the BRICS member
countries already now exceeds the GDP of the G7 countries
together with the United States, and further accession to
the new monetary union of the Big South and Greater
Asia --- will further accelerate the erosion of dollar
dominance.
We can agree with Western analysts on one thing: the fall of
the colossus on feet of clay will not happen overnight. But
under its rubble, the dreams of those who firmly believed
that it was possible to be the king of the mountain
forever... will be buried forever.
Kirill Strelnikov, RIA
Propaganda - or facts on the ground
- which is winning in YOUR mind?
______________________________________
UK Families Told to:Accept
Higher Food Prices
May 17th, 3:38pm (FNA)
UK consumers have been told they must accept higher food
prices until the government overhauls the supply system
amid warnings from farmers that homegrown food
production could soon cease to exist.
As two separate investigations look into why UK food prices
are so high, Rishi Sunak hosted a meeting with industry
leaders in a bid to identify ways to reduce costs,
ITV reported.
The prime minister held discussions with representatives
from across the food sector, such as retailers, food
suppliers and farmers - including TV's Kaleb
Cooper from Clarkson's Farm - who were
all in Downing Street for the
"Farm to Fork Summit".
While Kaleb told ITV News, that supermarkets are "probably"
charging too much, the UK Chair of Nature Friendly Farming
Network said ahead of the summit that Britons are "going
to have to accept higher prices" until food security
changes are made.
Martin Lines said the food supply chain must "recognise
and deliver" rewards to farmers for producing food "
or it won't be there in the future".
"Farmers will change what they produce and move
away from food production," he warned.
A "perfect storm" is threatening the industry, a report by the
National Farmers' Union (NFU), NatWest and WWF-UK, has
disruption and the war in Ukraine, as factors crippling
farming businesses.
NFU President Minette Batters told ITV News she will be
urging the prime minister to call in investigation "into
what's going on" with the UK food supply chain.
"We know that consumers are facing these higher prices -
we want to see what is going on because it is certainly
not coming back to farmers and growers," she said
on her way into Downing Street.
With a hint of optimism, she added that if those at
the meeting can "find a solution to a lot of the
challenges" facing farmers, "that.... will
hopefully help with the cost of living".
If a new investigation were to be launched, it
would be the third looking into UK food prices.
There's one being run in Parliament by the Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee and another
by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
EFRA said it would examine "issues throughout the food
supply chain from farm to fork", to assess how profits
and risks are shared. It will also look into external
factors on the supply chain, such as imported
food and global commodity prices.
Robert Goodwill, the Conservative chair of the committee
said MPs want to "get to the bottom of what’s going on".
The CMA plans to investigate whether “any failure in
competition” is leaving consumers paying higher
grocery and fuel prices than they should be.
Although it says it has not seen evidence of specific
competition concerns --- “at this stage”, the body
added it was “important to be sure, that weak
competition is not adding to the problems”.
It comes as the prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks rose
at the fastest rate in more than 45 years, according to the
Office for National Statistics – with the increasing costs
being a major driver of the cost-of-living crisis.
The UK currently imports more than half of its fruit and
vegetables, and recent shortages on supermarket
shelves have exposed the risks associated with
relying on imports.
Last week, the Bank of England said food prices have stayed
higher for longer than expected, partly due to Russia’s war
in Ukraine and poor harvests in some European countries,
ramping up the cost of living ...for households across
the UK.
Which? analysed April prices on more than 26,000 food and
drink products at all the major UK supermarkets and found
that some meat, yoghurts and vegetables have doubled
in price - compared to a year ago.
One stark example is the rising cost of onions at Morrisons.
Twelve months ago a pack of four brown onions was 65p
- it has now rised by 90.8% to to £1.24.
NFU President Batters said there is a "level of inflation now
that is baked in" but supermarkets will soon "be able to
look at ways that they can keep the price down".
She warned that any drop in food production "only creates
further inflation at the consumer end, so we need to
keep volume of production up --- so we don't
drive inflation".
The environment, food and rural affairs secretary, Therese
Coffey, speaking after the summit, said it was an
"important" discussion on what how to "make
sure that we get on with farmers producing
the best British food possible".
When asked about families struggling to buy the basics, the
politician added, “People are working very hard to try and
make sure that we have an affordable, sustainable and
resilient food supply chain ....and how that helps
with customers."
“But, of course, the government is supporting people on the
lowest incomes with the household Support Fund," he said,
adding, "Payments have been going out to people in order
to help with that particular challenge. More broadly we’re
seeing changes to the energy costs... seeing them start
to come down, and that is critical for the food industry
as well.”
Sunak's spokesman, asked if ministers had pressed
supermarkets to cut prices, said, “We do want to
make sure that retailers are passing on any
savings they find."
“We recognise that they themselves are finding it
a challenging period, given the global inflation
pressures we’re seeing," he said, adding, “For
our part, we’re providing huge amounts of
support to families, paying half of energy
bills and there is further support
through the household support
fund and other means.”
Issues with UK food supply were laid bare earlier this year
when fluctuating weather conditions in Spain, first a cold-
snap than a drought, led to shortages here which saw
supermarkets ration salad items.
A lack of peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuces
showed just how much the UK supply chain relies on
imports from abroad.
But that does not yet appear to have
boosted home grown production.
UK production of tomatoes and cucumbers is expected
to fall to the lowest level since records began in 1985,
according to the the Andersons Centre.
The NFU's Ms Batters says egg production has "hit its
lowest level" with one billion fewer eggs being
produced now, compared to 2019.
And an NFU survey has found 40% of beef farmers and 36%
of sheep farmers are planning to reduce the numbers in
their herds, with input prices cited as the core reason.
Batters highlighted two easy fixes which she says would
deliver a fast change for farmers, first to fill the huge
number of vacancies - and second, to bring energy
costs down.
Urging the prime minister to extend the seasonal worker visa
scheme, she said, "We simply do not have enough people
who are unemployed here at the moment to do the jobs
[in the farming sector] that are available."
She said there are "huge shortages" of fruitpickers,
butchers and dairy workers - roles that were often
filled by foreign workers... before Brexit (and the
E.U.'s response, cutting UK visa permits - RR)
To bring down energy costs she is urging Sunak to extend
the Energy and Trade Intensive Industry (ETII) discount
scheme, to farmers.
The scheme provides a set discount on 70% of the gas and
electricity used by businesses, if wholesale prices exceed
certain thresholds but primary food production -------- is not
included in the list of activities eligible for ETII discounts.
Ahead of the Summit, government confirmed a range of
measures it said would help strengthen the long-term
resilience and sustainability of the sector and
provide greater stability for farmers.
Among those, was an announcement that 45,000 visas
will be available again, to the horticulture sector next
year ------ enabling them to plan ahead for the
picking season.
Other policies include protecting UK food and
production standards in trade deals, and
making it easier for farmers to diversify
their incomes, by repurposing their
buildings, to use as shops.
Sunak said, “I will always back British farmers, and I
pay tribute to their hard work and dedication all
year round which keeps shelves stocked and
food on our tables."
“Supporting our farmers and food producers must, and
always will be, at the heart of our plans to grow the
economy ...and build a more prosperous country,"
he said, adding, “That’s why I’m proud to host
this summit, and working together, I’m
determined to build resilience,
strengthen our food security
and champion the best of
British at home and
overseas.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has suggested the UK
should train its own workforce of fruit pickers and lorry
drivers rather than import foreign labour, in a speech
on immigration delivered to the new National
Conservatism Conference on Monday.
The home secretary said the UK needs "to get overall
immigration numbers down and we mustn’t forget
how to do things for ourselves".
She added, "There is no good reason why we can’t train
up enough HGV drivers, butchers or fruit pickers."
Sunak told his Cabinet that supporting farmers is not about
“some nostalgic vision of the UK’s rural past”, Downing
Street said, "but about growing the economy, creating
more jobs and building the UK’s food security".
Asked whether that meant Britons being trained to pick fruits,
as Braverman has suggested, Sunak’s spokesman said,
“No. He was simply making the point that supporting
the countryside, supporting farmers, is not simply to
hark back to the past or a more rural Britain."
“It is vital to everyone in the UK, both in terms of food
security and growing the economy --- creating more
jobs,” he added.
Inflation kills any chance of pickers returning
- but, oddly, only the NFU president, Batters, mentioned that!
Why... do you think?
(Note Well - inflation is often mischaracterised as ''rising prices'' when all economists know that inflation of your money, is the result of printing so much of it to solve budgetary deficits -- that it loses its value.)
_________________________________________________
US media urge Ukrainian intel head
Budanovto stop pushing the world
towards a nuclear catastrophe
May 10th, 11:31am
https://en.news-front.info/
The adventurism and terrorist inclinations of the Director of
the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of
Defense of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, can lead the
Ukrainian conflict to a direct confrontation
between Russia and NATO --- due to
provoking the use of nuclear
weapons ---- in response
to Ukrainian terrorist
attacks in Russia.
“The whole of Europe and the rest of the world are now living
in the Ukrainian rhythm and are waiting for new “special
operations,” writes the US edition of The Duran.
On the night of May the 3rd ---- Ukrainian unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) attempted to attack the Russian Kremlin.
In Moscow, the attack was regarded as a planned
terrorist attack and an attempt on the life of
President Vladimir Putin.
Russian intelligence services said Ukrainian intelligence
was behind this act. In Kyiv --- they tried to deny the
accusations. However..... many believe that, as in
previous similar actions, the Main Intelligence
Directorate (GUR) of the Ukrainian Defense
Ministry is behind the Kremlin attack.
For the GUR, this was supposed to
be a symbolic operation that was
supposed to demonstrate to the
US & NATO - the capabilities
of Ukrainian intelligence.
Around the fall (Autumn) of 2022, Kyiv has been actively
using terrorist methods - under the guise of a liberation
struggle, for the territories occupied by Russia. On the
morning of October 8th, 2022 - a terrorist attack was
carried out on the Crimean bridge. According to the
Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the
explosion was organized --- by Ukrainian
military intelligence, and its director,
Kirill Budanov.
After the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge, a number of
other high-profile acts were committed in Russia that have
a direct connection with the Ukrainian special services.
In August 2022, the car of Russian public figure Daria
Dugina, the daughter of famous Russian ideologist
Alexander Dugin, was blown up. Russia's FSB
established that Ukraine's special services
were behind the terrorist attack.
Washington hastened to disown Kyiv’s actions. On April
2nd, during a creative evening in one of the cafes, war
correspondent Maxim Fomin (pseudonym – Vladlen
Tatarsky) was killed, and more than 20 people
were injured. And this time, the Ukrainian
special services became the organizers
of the terrorist attack, which was not
hidden in Kyiv.
Very soon, on May 6th, 2023, an assassination attempt was
made on the well-known Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin,
who supports Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The writer
survived -- and was hospitalized. But the driver and
friend of the writer, Alexander Shubin -- died. Law
enforcement agencies - in hot pursuit - detained
the suspect. During interrogation, he admitted
that he acted on instructions from the
Ukrainian special services.
The Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine was also
preparing assassination attempts on the head of the
Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, the chairman of the State
Council of the Republic, Vladimir Konstantinov, and
mayor of Crimea's city of Yalta, Yanina Pavlenko.
It also planned a series of explosions on the
objects of the transport infrastructure of
the Crimea. This was supposed to be
carried out.. by an undercover group
of the Main Intelligence Directorate
of Ukraine.. which was detained by
Russian law enforcement agencies.
The terrorist methods of the Ukrainian special services are
closely intertwined with the name of their main ideologist,
the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine,
Kirill Budanov. The head of the Main Intelligence
Directorate of Ukraine, since 2020, has been
highly appreciated by the Americans.
They noted his extensive combat experience, including the
well-known case of his passage as the head of a sabotage
group, to Crimea, in 2016, as well as personal units of
trained special forces killers, capable of completing
the tasks of eliminating any political competitors
in Ukraine. The Washington Post Office writes:
“Budanov’s meteoric rise to the status of one of the youngest
generals in Ukraine’s history --- accelerated in August 2016
when suspected Russian FSB non-commissioned officers
were killed in Crimea. Budanov was considered one of
the Ukrainian special forces behind enemy lines, and
was later awarded the Ukrainian “Order of Courage”
for undisclosed operations.”
Based on the data in various sources and the plots of political
and contract killings described in the press, over the past 3-5
years, none of these events, starting with the murder of
Ukrainian journalist Pavel Sheremet and Ukrainian
negotiator Denis Kireev, and up to the terrorist
attack against Darya Dugina and Zakhar
Prilepin, did not take place without the
participation of the special services
of Ukraine (either representatives
of the SBU counterintelligence
--- or the Main Intelligence
Directorate of Ukraine).
In an interview with Yahoo.News published on May 6th, the
journalist told Budanov - that Russia and the United States
suspect the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian
Defense Ministry of killing Daria Dugina and attacking
the Crimean bridge. To this, Kirill Budanov admitted
that he and his department would continue
terrorist actions against Russians,
including civilians.
“Don’t continue this topic. All I will comment is that we killed
Russians and will kill Russians anywhere in the world -- until
the complete victory of Ukraine”, Budanov said in response.
Further, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the
Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, admitted that he does not
consider these acts to be terrorism.
According to the German publication, Klamm.de, the Main
Intelligence Directorate - is actively purchasing artillery ammunition for shelling Russia's border territories.
Also, the GUR has been - repeatedly - accused of
simulating shelling of the population of Ukraine
by Russian troops, for which --- special mobile
groups of the department are used.
In addition to mortars, they actively use small UAVs with
adapted grenade launchers for underbarrel grenade
launchers. This incites fear and mutual hatred in
the border areas, and is used as part of the
information war.
In addition to the ongoing terror, the GUR of Ukraine, headed
by Kirill Budanov ---- actively earn money on the purchase of weapons for terrorist purposes ---- at unreasonably high prices.
Earlier, Klamm.de journalists published documents relating to
the purchase of weapons and ammunition directly by the
GUR through dubious intermediaries at inflated prices.
We are talking about contracts for the supply from
Poland to Ukraine of high-explosive mines with a
calibre of 120 mm, produced in 1989-1990.
The seller for a total amount of about 9 million euros was the
Polish company “PHU Lechmar” LLC, the intermediary was
the Ukrainian company “Incompass” represented by its
director Sergey Slyusarenko, and the final buyer - was
the military unit A0515 (Main Intelligence Directorate
of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine) represented
by the director of the logistics Department,
Mikhail Posiychuk.
At the same time, the state contract with the intermediary
(the Incompass company) of the GUR of Ukraine ------ was
concluded on September 14, 2022. The transaction was
executed in accordance with the End User Certificate
(EUC) from the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of
Ukraine represented by Kirill Budanov dated
08/04/2022 with his personal signature ---
(journalists showed copies of contracts
and documents signed by Budanov).
Klamm.de also drew attention to the fact that through the
Incompass company, owned by Sergey Slyusarenko and
Roman Meleshko (Budanov’s colleague), or other
companies (including offshore ones) controlled
by them, the GUR of Ukraine actively trades
in weapons, using third countries, like
Poland and the UAE.
The black arms market, which has been growing rapidly
since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, has long been
on the agenda. By sending billions of dollars worth of
weapons to Ukraine, Western countries have opened
a Pandora’s box. Already in mid-August --- NATO and
the EU recognized the need to tighten control over
arms supplies to Ukraine. US journalist Seymour
Hersh said that Western countries -- are well
aware that weapons supplied to Ukraine
end up on the black market, but the
world media is hushing it up.
In August 2022, the US television company CBS released
the documentary Arming Ukraine, in which it reported
that only 30-35% of weapons and equipment reach
the Ukrainian military, the rest is sold. Shortly
after unprecedented pressure, CBS removed
the material. Hersh also said that even at
an early stage of the conflict, Poland,
Romania and other bordering states
“were flooded with weapons
supplied to Ukraine, for
combat operations.”
The anonymous network “Darknet” has become an excellent
“assistant” for the GUR headed by Kirill Budanov and the
Ukrainian army. From the very beginning of the conflict,
the network was actively replenished with Ukrainian
advertisements for the sale of weapons and
ammunition from Western military
aid packages.
It is noteworthy that the proposals included both various
types of small arms and anti-tank weapons, for example,
the Barrett M82 sniper rifle (USA), the Javelin portable
anti-tank complex (USA) or the Panzerfaust 3 grenade
launcher (Germany), as well as air combat posing a
threat to civilian aircraft. For example, the portable
anti-aircraft missile system “Stinger” (USA). The
head of Interpol, Juergen Stock, spoke about
the danger of strengthening international
criminal groups associated with the
uncontrolled situation around
weapons supplied by the
West to Ukraine.
He stressed that a significant part of the weapons from
the Western military assistance to Ukraine may end up
at the disposal of international criminal organizations.
Moreover, both in Europe ...and beyond.
The adventurism and terrorist capabilities of Kirill Budanov
could lead the Ukrainian conflict to a direct confrontation
between Russia and NATO over provoking the use of
nuclear weapons in response to terrorist attacks in
Russia. What other special operations can a brave
spy come up with and what can they lead to?
Nobody in Kyiv seems to think about it.
All of Europe and the rest of the world are now living
in the Ukrainian rhythm and are waiting for new
“special operations” by Budanov, which will
eventually lead the Ukrainian conflict
to a nuclear war.
Wait? Is that all we can do? Of course not!
What can you conceive of, believe in - and achieve - to help stop this?
The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
the Russian Federation, Maria Zakharova, commented on the
words of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, which called the
presence of leaders of the CIS countries at the parade in
Moscow “an immoral and unfriendly step towards Kiev”.
The diplomat wrote about this in her personal
Telegram channel.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said
that the Kiev regime is dragging its society onto the path of
- not just the hateful persecution of everything connected
with Russia - but of full-fledged terrorist methods against
Moscow. This is how the politician reacted to the words
of her Ukrainian colleague, who called the presence of
the leaders of the CIS countries at the Victory Parade
in Moscow on the occasion of the 78th anniversary
of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War --- “an
immoral and unfriendly step towards Kiev”.
“Firstly, they forgot to ask the Nazis. Secondly, let’s talk about
“morality”. The state agency, UNIAN, decided to ask readers
which of the famous TV presenters, military correspondents
and leaders of public opinion in Russia, they would prefer to
see the next victims of a terrorist act, after Daria Dugina,
Vladlen Tatarsky, and Zakhar Prilepin.
Vladimir Solovyov, Margarita Simonyan, Anton Krasovsky are
on the list for execution, Dmitry Kiselev, Sergey Mardan and
Semyon Pegov. This is such a bloody attraction. Everyday,
Kiev style,” the diplomat wrote.
The politician stressed that about 50,000 people had already
taken part in the vote presented by UNIAN (an information
agency operating on the Ukrainian market since 1993).
She noted that neither the Western community, nor
international structures were outraged by such
a “survey”.
“Do you think that one of the Western patrons of the Kyiv
nativity scene pulled up on his wards? Or were they
indignant in the relevant international structures?
Not at all. No - for this, this brutalized scum was
grown. Another son of a bitch of the US, can
get away with it. Even - as in this case - a
direct incitement to commit terrorist
acts,” she states.
The diplomat recalled that in the Third Reich they actively
practiced compiling “wanted lists” of enemies, including
figures of arts, culture, science, and politics, the
elimination of which should have been carried
out as a matter of priority. It is noteworthy
that here the similarity between Nazi
Germany and the Kyiv regime ---
is very high.
“The Kiev regime went even further: to involve the entire
society not just in persecution and Nazi segregation, but
directly in terror activities. The student, has surpassed
the teacher”, summed up Maria Zakharova.
Recall that --- in February, the head of the Kyiv regime,
Volodymyr Zelensky, assigned the name, “Edelweiss”
to the 10th separate mountain assault brigade of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine. The name of the brigade
was given - by Zelensky - in honour of the 1st
Edelweiss Mountain Infantry Division, which
was part of the Nazi Wehrmacht - where
natives of the mountainous regions, of
Southern Germany, Bavaria & Austria,
served. During the Great Patriotic
War - the division fought against
the Red Army, in Ukraine, in the
Donbass, and near Kharkov, as
well as in the North Caucasus.
According to the singer, Donovan, we're all one shining luminosity.
If thing go badly,we soon will be!
What do you think?
_______________________________
Russophobia is costing
Poland a lot of money
May 9th, 11:22am
https://en.news-front.info/
The flowering of the longstanding Russophobia in Poland,
which recently reached the terminal stage, has begun
to germinate.
The country’s largest oil refining company, Orlen -------- is lamenting that it is suffering huge losses due to the ban
on direct imports of Russian oil. According to Daniel
Obajtek, the company is forced to buy oil from
alternative suppliers and, at the same time,
each barrel is steadily costing on average
thirty dollars more. Taking into account..
the volume of procurement and refining,
Orlen is overpaying an extra 27 million
dollars a day to cover national needs.
At the current exchange rate that’s an unbudgeted
expenditure of two billion roubles. Every day.
Mr. Obajtek reassures his compatriots who are quite logically
expecting an increase in fuel prices and, consequently, in
prices for all key product groups, that this is the price of
not supporting Russia; they have to be patient, they say,
they see the problem, they understand it and they are
already trying to solve it together with their Czech
colleagues in the anti-Russian camp. On the one
hand, such a trend cannot but gladden all the
residents east of Smolensk; on the other
hand, there are a number of strange
inconsistencies.
For a start, the daily black gold demand of Poland by the end
of 2021 was 686 thousand barrels per day. With their own
meager production of 53 thousand, it is not difficult to
calculate the net shortfall, i.e. the required volume of
imports. It should be added that Polish welfare is
traditionally based ------ on supplies of Russian
hydrocarbons. Speaking specifically about oil,
the consumption of this resource has tripled
over the last half century. The head of Orlen
apparently, has read too many fairy tales
- because the promise to break the
dependence on Russian supplies
with the help of Czechia - looks
very much like a tale about a
white bull.
Any foreign guidebook, if you look in it the structure of
Poland’s energy balance - on the very first page - says
that since Soviet times, the country has been totally
dependent on supplies, via main oil pipelines from
the East – and it is the absolute truth. As known,
the main artery here is the Druzhba oil pipeline,
which from Russia goes to the Belarusian city
of Mozyr - and on to the Polish city of Plock
and the port of Gdansk, where it is loaded
into tankers. Further on, the pipe crosses
the German border at Schwedt, heading
south to the plant in Leuna and north..
to the port of Rostock.
It is this pipe that Warsaw is fighting with, assuring everyone
around it, that it has stopped buying Russian oil altogether.
That assertion is slightly undermined by the fact that in 2022
Poland imported 11.7 million metric tons of Russian oil, only
a million less than the year before. Ordinary Polish citizens,
absorbed in the daily routine of making ends meet ---- in
conditions of record inflation (25 per cent in 2022) ----
and rising fuel prices (plus 30 euro cents in the last
half a year) is presented with the postulate of life
saving imports from Czechia. This is as much a
fairy tale... as any of the previous ones.
In Mozyr in Belarus, the Druzhba line splits in two and, in
addition to the northern part described above, a second
branch runs southwards through Ukraine. It goes
straight from the Ukrainian-Belarusian border to
the border with Slovakia, where it also splits
into the southern (Hungarian) and northern
(Czech) branches.
The latter pumps the lion’s share of crude oil, which is
transformed into petrol, paraffin, fuel oil and other
refined products at the plant in Litvinov, which
belongs to the Polish Orlen. This fact is not a
secret, but Warsaw tries more than once not
to dramatize the subject, as it breaks the
anti-Russian hysteria tower, and causes
logical questions to its own electorate.
The other day the Niezalezny Dziennik Polityczny journal
published a scathing article, the authors of which openly
voiced the unpleasant truth: since February of last year
over 11 million Ukrainians have entered the country,
most of whom have disappeared in obscurity.
Although it’s understandable: only in Warsaw 352 thousand
new inhabitants from the East have officially settled down,
and in cities like Wroclaw every 3rd inhabitant is Ukrainian.
This has caused a dramatic increase in crime, related to
the trade in weapons and drugs, with dynamics so rapid
that, as the authors write, the police have begun hiding
the statistics and the nationality of the perpetrators.
If we look at the situation in Poland from the outside, it is
more reminiscent of a fire in a madhouse. Warsaw buys
Russian oil from the Czech Republic secretly... and at exorbitant prices, sends arms to the east ----- and in
return, gets crowds of spongers with extremely
dubious backgrounds and intentions, prices
go up - and the population goes berserk.
As they say, let us wish all the participants strength,
inspiration and, most importantly, not to stop there.
Sergei Savchuk, RIA
I met my first Pole in the early 1960s, when knocking
doors to sell my labour, to buy a guitar... he was very
tight-lipped and dismissed me quickly, ducking back
indoors. I assumed he could be one of the ones who
took refuge in the UK - escaping vengeance for his
unspeakable misdeeds in World War 2. A few days
ago, I met my second Pole serving as a waitress,
and when she told me she was from Poland.... I
grimaced - and she told me off - ''We're not all
bad in Poland,'' she said gently, shaming me.
May she be more representative
of Poland now! Do you..... think?
__________________________________
The West - has stopped
reckoning with: reality
May 6th, 9:17am
https://en.news-front.info/
It is generally accepted ----- both in the West and here (and
throughout the world) that Russia is an irrational country,
that Russians are eternal dreamers, disconnected from
life. On the contrary, the Europeans, the West, are
extremely pragmatic and calculating, with both
feet on the ground --- and not in the clouds.
However, the conflict around Ukraine, is clearly not in favour of perceptions of the West’s prudence and ability to reckon with reality.
Surprisingly, very few people in the West have realised this.
Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, said on Friday:
“I have no imagination..... that anyone can defeat a nuclear
power. It isn't enough for me to imagine, that the Russians are standing idly by, as they are defeated, their political system is broken, their president is assassinated, drones attack Red Square - and those who are
not of childish age, believe they will silently watch and resign themselves to military
defeat. That’s what happens in a fairy
tale – in reality, it doesn’t.”
Yes, Orban has long had a reputation in the West as an
autocrat and almost “the Hungarian Putin”; because
of him, Hungary is even threatened to be excluded
from the European Union, i.e. his opinion on any
issues is atypical for Europe. But here it is
necessary to specify: for what Europe?
The European elite, which considers the claims about the
existence of the two sexes and the family as the union
of a man and a woman obscurantist and out of touch
with reality. That is, for the Europe that lives in a
fantasy world and, as Orban says, has not
grown out of childhood.
It is true that only a very naïve person can believe in
defeating Russia in Ukraine, but it is not just a child.
In Europe, the comparison with an old man, who is
said to have fallen into infancy, is more apt. You
mean a feeble-minded person? And this is
Europe, the cradle of the western
civilisation which started with
the Greeks and the Romans,
and which has been ruling
the world for the last half
a millennium?
It turns out it is. Though the reasons of how it got to this
state are complicated, the result is obvious. The West
lost the perception of reality, boundaries (of its own
as well as of alien civilisations), the limits of the
possible ---- traditional, fundamental things,
constituting the essence of both people
and civilisations.
Having abolished tradition (that is, religion, nation,
ancestral memory -- and having prepared for the revision of human nature itself) -- the West has set its sights on the construction of a post- humanistic (but under the guise of humanism) world order... on a global scale - and has lost.
It lost to reality, to the diverse blossoming complexity of
world civilizations. But the West.. is not only unwilling
and unable to admit defeat, because its elite lives in
the fantasy world... the imaginary world, in which
everything is determined by the rules, which the
West itself established. Of course, for centuries
everything has worked and worked, and then
suddenly some Russia (again, like in the last
century) says that there is another reality,
but it doesn't recognize ours. Never mind,
we will cope, they say in the West: we
survived and defeated communism,
so we will also defeat “Putinism”.
But the problem of the West is that there is no “Putinism”.
There is a return of the world order, to its natural state – the balance of forces and interests of various world
civilisations against the background of the collapse
of the Atlantic project of world domination.
The West cannot abolish the advent of the new era, it is not
even ready to acknowledge its reality yet. And that is why
it is trying its best to prevent its coming, thinking that
the victory over Russia, will help it.
But defeating Russia is impossible, not only because it is a
nuclear power. But also, because for Russia, it is not just a
question of eliminating the threat from the west, but of its
existence as a self-sufficient civilisation, of reuniting and
restoring a unified Russian world. The stakes for us are
not just high --- they are not comparable to what the
West can do. With common sense, the Europeans
would realise ------ that they have no chance, of
pushing the border between the European and
Russian worlds eastwards, but, instead, they
say some completely naive things: “Ukraine
will fall in a matter of days if the EU stops
supplying money. The EU would like to
spend its money on the welfare of its
citizens, on hospitals and schools,
but the EU has no choice: we
have to spend all the money
on protecting Ukraine.”
This is coming from Josep Borrell, the head of European
diplomacy, who also laments that he increasingly feels
like the EU’s defence minister. Money, weapons – can
all this bring victory over Russia, in a battle that is
truly decisive for us? Only naive “children” like
old man Borrell can believe this, because in
their world... beyond the “beautiful garden”
begins a wild jungle of incomprehensible
savages ..who have no interests, no
values.. and no will to win. And it is
impossible --- not to defeat them,
especially if the war is fought
in the jungle - by the hands of
some savages against others.
When this Western picture of the world is shattered
by reality, will the fantasists remember Orban’s
warnings? Hardly, for in their tale... he was
the villain.
Peter Akopov, RIA Novosti
John Lennon said our elite is insane. So they shot him. Difficult to shoot everyone in the emerging world... but our insane elite is still trying!
What do you think of them?
_______________________________
The West has found another
reasonto fear Russia
May 5th, 9:29am
https://en.news-front.info/
After the revelation of drone footage over the Kremlin our
strategic opponents have expectedly fussed. Evidently
fearing something, Zelensky is changing routes and
wandering around Europe, stubbornly refusing to
return to his home bunker and dissociating
himself from the terrorist act in his trade
mark style: it was not me, gentry.
Almost simultaneously, its NATO masters were concerned
about the problems they might have with Russia in the
grey zone of military operations.
David Cutler, the alliance’s Assistant Secretary General for
Intelligence and Security --- has suddenly distracted from
deepening and expanding contacts with the post-Soviet
republics and alerted the public that Moscow has every
opportunity to critically damage the submarine cables
linking Europe, Britain and the United States. This ---
would lead to full-blown chaos in the Western world.
“Moscow is actively mapping NATO’s critical infrastructure
and could strike at the submarine communications that
provide Western countries with literally everything
from gas to the internet,” The New York Times
paraphrases Cuttler’s report.
According to the NATO general, “the level of patrolling by
Russian ships in the Atlantic and beyond is significantly
higher than in previous years”. Domestic vessels are
“more risky” in the North Sea and the Baltic. All this
could lead to Western Europe and North America
“becoming Russia’s target in its war with Ukraine”.
An attack on western infrastructure would give Moscow the
opportunity to “disrupt western life and put pressure on
countries that support Ukraine”, Cuttler worries.
Underwater infrastructure is indeed a fundamental thing for
Western economies. Britain has just calculated: damaged
cables would block 7.4 trillion pounds a day of financial
transactions & cut off about a quarter of the electricity
supply. That is, the London Stock Exchange would
collapse and the country’s life support system
would be hit with an enormously devastating
blow. And that’s just one small island.
But of course it is not just about the economy. Submarine
communications disruption could break the American
control of the NATO war machine.
As early as 2020, NATO defense ministers received a
confidential report that made clear the vulnerability
of their defense capabilities, which are critically
dependent on underwater infrastructure. With
the US military’s transition to 5G mobile
applications and the general craze for
cloud-based data storage, this threat
is only growing.
Some 400 submarine cables totalling more than a million
kilometres transmit 95 percent of the internet traffic
between Europe and the US. A data transmission
failure and the Americans find it noticeably more
difficult to control their siphons on the continent.
In 2008, damaged cables between Egypt and
Italy caused the number of US drone sorties
into Iraq, to drop by an order of magnitude.
A separate difficulty is that such damage occurs in a grey
war zone, where nuclear deterrence does not work. So
something breaks down on the ground there, and who
is to blame? We cannot start a nuclear war on such
an occasion.
The Americans have demonstrated to the world how it is
done by undermining Nord Stream. Now they draw the
world`s attention away from this diversion by making
their European vassals engage in a humiliating farce
with the “investigation” of the explosion. Naturally,
all suspicion falls on Russia.
General Cuttler’s anguish about Moscow’s submarine
shenanigans is part of this farce. Since Russia has
undermined its own gas pipeline, further
sabotage... is to be expected.
Indeed, while the “investigation” is not yet over, the alliance
has already created an entire department to protect its
underwater infrastructure, headed by Lt-General Hans-
Werner Wirmann. Under the pretext of protection
against the Russians, NATO has stepped up
maritime patrols along our borders.
On the one hand, cries about the Russian threat to submarine
communications are a classic informational attack by our
adversaries to legalise their military presence in the
Atlantic and the Baltic. They may very well plan
some sabotage to the benefit of the Americans.
On the other hand, the concerted hysteria in which the
alliance’s sworn friends have united shows that the
NATO leadership is well aware of all the risks of its
position. It is no longer possible to pretend that
this is about Ukraine.
In fact, NATO is at war against Russia – by all means
available to the alliance, including the Ukrainians.
Drones over the Kremlin, sabotage on Russian
territory, strikes on our western cities – all
done under the direction and with the
blessing of their American masters.
Their cowardly lies – it wasn’t us,
it was all Zelensky – can’t
change anything.
Victoria Nikiforova, RIA
Well, they said it was going to be
a bumpy ride - do we scream or
laugh?
____________________________________
Odessa Khatyn anniversary reminds:
Ukraine must be freed from Nazism
May 2nd, 9:18am
https://en.news-front.info/
For the ninth year now, 2 May is not a holiday for me. It is
a day of remembrance of a nightmare that cannot be
forgotten, no matter how weak the human psyche
resists the strong human memory. There is no
escape from this day, until Odessa is free,
and all participants and organizers of
the mass murder will be punished
severely, like a hemp rope.
Some of these non-humans have already been punished by
fate, even before the verdict --- in the “ATO zone” or after
the start of the SMO, and others, in a mundane drunken
brawl. Someone simply died from an unhealthy lifestyle,
as “centurion Mykola” – with a passport Nikolai Volkov.
The same fatty who fired a rifle through the windows
of Trade Union House and called some coordinators,
who were suspected to be associates of oligarch
Kolomoisky, if not of him personally. This
character went to hell, back in 2015,
from his hospital bed, as his ‘twin’
associates claimed. At the time
of his death - Mykola weighed
around 50 kilograms, and the
staff of the underworld were
hardly stirred by his fall.
The criminal case of fraud, which had
been dragging on this “Maidan hero”
since 2012 ---- was closed ---- for
natural reasons.
On the eve of May 2nd, already this year, Nazi blogs sadly
reported about the disposal of a certain Alexander
Stankov, call sign Perun, near Artemivsk.
A member of the Nazi party “Svoboda “*, a member of
the “Azov” regiment * (banned in Russia) --- an active
participant in the coup d’état, and the mass murder
at the Trade Union House. Wearing a black T-shirt
with an eagle with a fork instead of a swastika,
he too, had a fair face and was not shy about
showing it to journalists, especially on
May the 2nd.
“I feel that today is not a day of tragedy – but a day of victory.
And those who died in the Trade Union House are the victims
of Russian manipulation,” he used to say, every year, to the
dictaphones and cameras. There was a case in 2015 when
they tried to prosecute him – no, not for his involvement in
the murder of his fellow countrymen. For the riots -- near the Verkhovna Rada, when “Svoboda” activists threw a
grenade, at the feet of the National Guard. Ukrainian
Nazism, with Stankov’s face, then took four more
lives with impunity.
He was exonerated after attempts to storm the court by
“Maidan veterans” and “sorosyaty” ----- two varieties of
the same stinking substance. They also exonerated...
another scoundrel from the square outside the House
of Trade Unions, Serhiy Sternenko, now an “activist”
in the Ukrainian media --- who even meets with
Western diplomats, for domestic murder and
drug trafficking. He is in no hurry.... to go
to the front.... and earns his living by
‘volunteering’ and blogging, like
his colleague in inhumanity ---
Mark Gordienko. The man (is
he a man?) ..was accused of
paedophilia before the coup,
and of robbery & extortion,
after May the 2nd. Today....
he describes himself as a
“network philosopher”.
There is no desire to go on listing the names united by one
thing – their bearers continue to kill, directly or indirectly,
and do not sit in the dock. Because --- in a state where
there is no law, the people who have been trampled
by the criminal code, become “heroes”, and the
state receives the prefix “anti-“.
Today, few people remember... that on the morning of May
the 2nd, Ukrainian armed forces began indiscriminately
shelling Sloviansk from MLRS and warplanes ----- where
civilians were also killed. But the defence of Sloviansk became part of the tragedy of Donbass ----- while the
nightmare of Odessa stands apart. And the thought
and conviction, that the morning and evening of
May 2nd, 2014.... were conceived by the same
scriptwriter... that these are two acts of one
mass murder --- intended to crush the will
to resist, to frighten to death, to trample
the soul, does not let go.
In Odessa they almost succeeded. The city of soldiers,
toilers, sailors, scientists, artists and true heroes has
had its backbone taken out, its face, its character
and its attractiveness, stripped away. A sweaty
embroidery cloak, was draped over it... like a
monument to Catherine II. Soon, the city will
be renamed Kotsyubeyevka, and this name
will suit a Ukrainian capital of cheap sex
tourism better. For the time being, until
the name and memory are returned
to it.
One can argue for a long time, about where in Odessa the
black mould appeared, how the Gordienki, Stankovs and
Volkovs were born --- and who infected them with the
bacillus of Nazism. The picture will be complicated
and the conversation long. It can begin, with the
unspoken slogan of the survivors of the Soviet
Union – “every year 80 kilometres to the
southeast”.
One can begin this conversation --- and
immediately end it: today it is fruitless.
Nine years ago, not only people were killed in the Trade
Union House, but also Odessa itself. Its history, its
cheerful disposition, its flamboyant language and
wit. Its famous comedians, who supported the
Maidan, and did not notice May the 2nd, in a
moment became boring vulgarists, but with
certificates of honour, from the state of
Ukraine. Odessa today, is occupied
by suffocating Ukrainian Nazism,
primitive and inhumane, with
an invented past and no
future.
And the beginning of its revival, will be the trial of those
who have shot, bottled petrol, beaten with sticks, and
simply rejoiced in their deaths. Without retribution
against the murderers of Odessa, it will not
rise again.
Pavel Dulman, rg.ru
*a banned organisation on the territory
of the Russian Federation
This is not propaganda --- this man
shows his heart, soul and culture
and I bow before this.
Do you... feel this too?
____________________________
U.S. plan to lure Russia into
a trap... failed miserably –Global Times
April 29th, 10:07am
https://en.news-front.info/
America perceived the beginning of the Russian special
operation in Ukraine with incredible joy, because they
were sure that they had successfully lured the enemy
into a trap. Now... the United States is unsure of its
decision. This is reported by the Chinese edition
of Global Times.
The publication notes that the United States was confident that
the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine was a
successful trap for Russia. However, everything turned out
to be not so simple. Now America is beginning to
understand that the Russian economy is
successfully coping with all the
difficulties, but the strength
of the American allies is
already running out.
The military conflict that broke out at the end of February 2022
between the Russian Federation and Ukraine was a real
triumph for the United States and was greeted with
jubilation. The United States considered that the
trap set since 2014 had finally worked, and the
military conflict in Ukraine would destroy the
Russian economy with sanctions imposed
on the country, and the ruble would
quickly collapse.
In reality, everything turned out differently. The Russian
Federation coped with the sanctions, which cannot be
said about the European allies of the United States,
whose economy has collapsed --- without Russian
energy resources. At the same time, the authors
of the publication note that the Russian Army
has not depleted its stocks, and Western
countries are losing stocks of weapons
every day due to the supply of
weapons to Ukraine.
Moscow and Beijing demonstrated their complete unanimity
to the whole world and jointly declared their commitment to
a multipolar world order. It is noted that US politicians
began to notice that the state of affairs, which
Washington vehemently declares as its
successes, is in fact far from the truth.
“In announcing last week his participation in the presidential
election, Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. said that the
rapprochement between Russia and China --- is
not in the US national interest. For them, it’s
a disaster. He also noted that the Chinese
only recently facilitated a peace
agreement between Iran and
Saudi Arabia, while the US
'''strategy'' in the Middle
East has completely
failed”.
Of course the US is right
--- but not in the head.
What do you think?
__________________________
US refuses to believe in the
end of a unipolar world
April 27th, 9:36am
https://en.news-front.info/
And what makes you think - that the unipolar (i.e. American) world has just ended before our eyes and multi-polarity has prevailed? There is no such thing and there never will be. America is the hegemon ------ forever.
This “and Baba Yaga is against” speech (against multipolarity
in this case) comes from 2 professors from the rather famous
Dartmouth College (New Hampshire, USA) in their article in
the new issue of Foreign Affairs. And it’s great as a
textbook example of “If you can’t do it --- but you
really want to, you can.” And one really wants
the world to be American forever.
Our two-headed Baba-Yaga’s method of proof, looks convincing
at first, because she is keen on arithmetic. The authors lay out
indicators of power, especially military power, and award
points to each indicator. It turns out that the nearest
competitor, China, is not on a par with the US in all
measures of military power for decades to come.
What, indeed, are China’s 12 noisy nuclear-powered submarines
compared to America’s 68 silent ones? Further, you say that
China has a large GDP, but by our calculations the figures
are inflated – arithmetic rules again.
This, by the way, is not talking about multipolarity, just two
poles, as in the last century. But even two arithmetic does
not show us – China falls short. And what if it is together
with Russia? It still falls short. And for more poles to
emerge – some India, not to mention others… It is
just ridiculous.
Further on... we are persuaded not to get upset. The multipolar
world was very bad in the 19th century, for example, or
between two world wars, there were wars all the time.
(And they don’t today?) Because there were several
leading countries, roughly comparable in military
might, all of them were floundering back and
forth, forming tenuous coalitions and pacts.
In addition, the technology of that time worked quickly:
ten years and you have rearmed, now it is slower.
Anyway, do you really want to go back to that
fragile time?
Now, a concession for you: okay, today US power is not as
absolute as it used to be, that is, the nature of unipolarity
has changed. But that is all.
It is easy for the gullible reader to miss the main travesty that
Baba Yaga has set him up, literally in the first lines of her
essay: it is the speculation about what power is. Many
people, it turns out, think that power is influence,
that is, “the ability to get others to do what you
want them to do”. And in fact it’s not quite like
that: power and authority – it’s simply in
resources, especially military and
economic resources.
Very interesting. What about a country’s ability to live
as it pleases, without asking permission from anyone
or anything, is this not not power? No, our two
authors, lovers of simple arithmetic, see
everything - only as the physical ability
of someone to win a war. And if there
is no ability, there is no power, and
you will not force anybody to
anything and you are not
a pole of influence in
the world.
So this magic of simple numbers was already clouding
everyone’s mind – and not so long ago. The mid 1930s:
the British Empire, by all arithmetic calculations, was
so much stronger than all the other key countries that
nobody really disputed that it was a superpower for
the ages.
No scenario could even suggest: that this military might,
with its resources from India, Africa and the Middle East,
could be challenged. But where was that superpower in
the mid-1940s? And in the ’50s? Incredible coincidence,
you see. Didn’t calculate it.
And that’s not all. It is not difficult to see that the two
professors are thinking in categories not even of the
past but of the century before last: there are nations,
big and small, each nation has a State, and the
State has military might, which we compare.
But today’s world is much more complicated, there are different
lobbies over borders – information, financial, medical, oil and
gas, green and many others. And we have not yet entered
into a long and complicated conversation about the
power of ideas or the fatigue of people or nations
from endless brainwashing.
Even higher mathematics would not be
enough, to derive general formulas
from this.
Dmitry Kosyrev, RIA
Food for thought? Or a temptation.. to find out who or whatBaba Yaga truly is... or was?
What do you think? (but be careful --- you might.. find out something about - Slavic folk culture!)
____________________________
UK government further
criminalizes........pro-
Palestinian activism
April 22nd, 4:56pm
by Kit Klarenberg
On March 30, the British Home Office announced a raft of so-
called "protective security measures,” ostensibly intended
to safeguard synagogues and faith schools, costing
$18.7 million.
In reality, the development is a disturbing escalation in the
British government’s long-running war on pro-Palestinian
activism, through which the mephitic bond between
London’s security and intelligence agencies and
hostile Zionist entities at home and abroad,
will intensify significantly.
Funding for the measures flows from the Jewish Community
Protective Security grant, already bankrolled by London to
the tune of tens of millions of pounds annually.
The sum covers “increased protective security, including
security guards and other measures such as CCTV and
alarm systems to protect against persistent hate
crime, anti-social behaviour, terrorism and state
threats,” allegedly targeted at Britain’s
Jewish community.
Few would argue with the need to protect religious observers of
every stripe, and their institutions, from violent attack. Yet, the
effort’s core component, a newly-created Jewish Community
Police, Crime and Security Taskforce, points to a far more sinister agenda.
The first law enforcement body of its kind in British history, it
will be chaired by far-right Home Secretary Suella Braverman,
and run by “senior policing leaders” and government
ministers, in conjunction with the Mossad-
connected Community Security
Trust (CST).
According to the Home Office, the Taskforce will meet thrice
annually, providing “a regular forum to discuss with
operational partners communal security concerns
relating to policing, terrorism, state threats, hate
crime, and public order matters” connected to
Britain’s Jewish community.
Key topics of consideration in these meetings will be ensuring
Britain’s police and the Crown Prosecution Service “are using
their powers to arrest and charge criminals who pose a threat
to the Jewish community,” and the necessity of “[reviewing]
operational policing guidance in light of concerns shared by
the Jewish community,” which “could include guidance on
specific chants, banners and emblems which
are antisemitic.”
Outlining the Taskforce’s responsibilities directly from CST’s
London offices, Braverman told the Jewish Chronicle that
such “guidance” would assist “meaningful action” being
taken on “antisemitic” choruses of the “totally
unacceptable” popular freedom slogan “from
the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”
by protesters, “with impunity”.
She also pledged that the Home Office would “encourage
people to adopt” the International Holocaust
Remembrance Association (IHRA) working
definition of antisemitism.
That definition notoriously includes 11 allegedly illustrative
examples of antisemitism, seven of which explicitly relate
to the Israeli regime. It has been condemned by legal
scholars for conflating legitimate criticism of the
Zionist entity with antisemitism and even
repudiated by the individual who drafted
it, on much the same grounds.
Meanwhile, CST in common with many other Zionist
organizations has long sought to illegalize the chant.
In other words, the British state’s categorization and policing
of antisemitism is now being directly influenced by an
organization that seeks to arbitrarily ban slogans and
expressions of solidarity with Palestine it does not
like, with deep and cohering ties to a foreign
intelligence agency responsible for enforcing
brutal policies of apartheid, which spies on
and harasses Palestinian solidarity
activists abroad.
As such, any and all forms of pro-Palestinian
activism could become criminal offenses.
Prejudicial and proud
The British Home Office announcement’s repeated references
to “state threats” are another deeply disquieting detail.
Britain’s draconian new National Security Bill ----- is rife with
references to “hostile state activity” - which is categorized
as “espionage, sabotage, obtaining trade secrets, entering
a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK,
foreign interference, or assisting a foreign
intelligence service.”
However, the legislation is so broad, British authorities
can subjectively designate a wide array of activities
as “prejudicial to the interests of the UK,” creating
many new criminal offenses, and imposing
significantly harsher sentences on
existing ones, by elevating them
to “state threats”.
Several aspects of the National Security Bill appear to have
been drafted with specific reference to Palestine Action, a
protest group that is determined to end the activities of
Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems on British
soil through disruptive direct action.
This is particularly true of “state threats prevention and
investigation measures” (STPIMs), an unprecedented
“suite” of punitive powers to pre-criminalize citizens,
enshrined by the Bill.
Under STPIMs, the British Home Secretary can unilaterally apply
restrictions to individuals suspected of engaging in “espionage,
a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK, [and]
assisting a foreign intelligence service or serious violence.”
This includes limits and bans on their movement, personal
associations, ability to leave the country, use of electronic
devices, access to financial services, where they can
work, study and live, and more.
“Elbit doesn’t only make killer drones for Israel, but Britain too,
and it’s embedded at three RAF bases. Striving to stop mass
murder abroad is therefore ‘prejudicial to the interests of
the UK’, and STPIMs could be applied to any of our
members at any time, simply for being suspected
of possibly planning to visit an Elbit factory at
some point in the future... without a court-
approved warrant or even being charged
with a crime,” a Palestine Action
representative told me.
STPIMs can be applied to individuals by the Home Secretary
“where the prosecution and other disruptive action isn’t a
realistic prospect.”
In an egregious contravention of fundamental legal norms, proof
of having committed a criminal offense, or intent to do so, isn’t
necessary for an individual to be made subject to restrictions,
and the British Home Office isn’t obliged to disclose evidence
publicly or to suspects themselves, if disclosure “would be
damaging to national security.”
Strikingly, a speculative STPIM “case study” concocted by the
Home Office cites “highly sensitive intelligence” obtained by
a foreign spying service, which cannot be used in open
court, as an example of evidence that could be used
to justify restrictions being applied to citizens - and
the specifics withheld on national security grounds.
“You can only wonder whether the (British) Home Office
specifically had Mossad in mind when they put together
that case study. The police have already imposed
onerous bail conditions on our activists, some
have even had their passports taken under
counter-terror laws, and we are subject to
constant surveillance,” the Palestine
Action representative lamented.
“This further incentivizes the very elements who wish
the destruction of the Palestinian people, and their
international supporters, to not only spy on us
even more intensely but even bear false
witness to destroy our campaign.”
The appeal for Zionist entities, within and without Britain, of
being able to level any charge against Palestinian solidarity
activists they wish in total secret, and have their activities
curtailed as a result, is obvious. For Elbit Systems, which
has repeatedly exhibited a reticence to discuss its active,
ongoing and direct complicity in abuses perpetrated
against Palestinian civilians in open court, and even
misrepresented its operations to police
investigators, the opportunity is surely
all the more beguiling.
For its part, Palestine Action’s spokesperson says the group
is undeterred in its goal of vanquishing Elbit from Britain.
Others may, quite understandably, be discouraged.
Kit Klarenberg is an investigative journalist and MintPresss
News contributor exploring the role of intelligence services
in shaping politics and perceptions.
(The views expressed in this article ------ do not
necessarily reflect those of Rhondda Records)
The Labour Party's ''one chance'' - to
move towards democratic socialism
and protest against Apartheid and
racist colonising regimes, is being
blocked now, by a wise wonderful
people, who once loved and lived
in the Rhondda --- because they
believed we were going to build
Heaven on earth here, and who
now mostly live in London... to
protect the future of ''Israel''.
Perhaps its the Rhondda's fault?
What do you think? Can
we still turn this around
or does the answer lie below?
_________________________________
Leader: Collapse
of Israeli Regime
Imminent
April 22nd, 7:20pm (FNA)
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali
Khamenei called on Muslims to concentrate on strengthening
Palestinian combatants, and said that the Israeli regime is
fast approaching its end.
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting
with the ambassadors of the Islamic countries in the capital
Tehran on Saturday on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, which
marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
“Today, we are witnessing the gradual decline of the usurping
Zionist regime; its speed is even increasing day by day,”
the Supreme Leader said.
“The strategy of the Islamic world - should be focused on
strengthening the combatant elements inside Palestine,"
he added.
Pointing to the increasing waves of support for the Palestinian
people around the world, the Leader said the participation of
the Europeans in rallies to support the Palestinian people
is very important, that too, in the countries that are
dependent on the Zionists.
"The more this resistance increases, the weaker the Zionist
regime will be, the more apparent its atrocities will become.
The truly miserable situation that the Zionist regime is
facing today is the result of the Palestinian youth's
resistance," he further said.
Elsewhere in his address to the meeting, the Supreme Leader
said the entire factors during the holy fasting month of
Ramadan help to bring the hearts of people closer to
one another, either within a country or in the whole
Islamic Ummah.
“The authorities of Islamic countries should use this opportunity
to create unity and togetherness among the members of the
Islamic Ummah. Today, our problem is division, even
though the Qur'an forbids division,” Ayatollah
Khamenei pointed out.
If the Islamic Ummah, which is close to two billion today and
is spread in the most significant and sensitive geographical
areas of the world, were united, the Islamic countries
would achieve many more blessings, the Supreme
Leader said.
Reiterating that Palestine is not only an Islamic issue but also, a human one, Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the Quds Day rallies and marches in Muslim, as well as non-Muslim countries, and said,“Anti-Zionist gatherings on the Quds Day in the US and
European countries are the result of the increasing revelation of the crimes of the usurping Zionists.”
Ayatollah Khamenei said the deterrence power of the Zionist
regime was coming to an end, adding, “Several decades ago,
Ben-Gurion, one of the founders of the fake regime, said that
whenever our deterrence power ends, we will be destroyed,
and now the world is witnessing this fact, and if nothing
happens, the end of the usurping regime is near, which
is also one of the blessings of the self-effacing
Palestinian youth in the West Bank and
other occupied areas.”
The Supreme Leader described the proclivity towards Islam as
the main factor behind the strengthening of Palestinian groups’
fight and added that such achievements did not exist in the
periods when Islamic inclinations were of no significance.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the enemies' anti-Islamism was the
result of perceiving the power of Islam in strengthening the
Palestinian nation and other nations, adding, “Of course,
by the grace of God and the vigilance of Muslim nations,
this strategy will end up nowhere.”
Referring to the pioneership of Imam Khomeini and the Islamic
Republic in supporting the Palestinian issue, the Supreme
Leader said, "This movement will continue and we hope
that the beloved people of Iran will witness a day when
Muslims of all Islamic countries will pray freely
in al-Quds."
In relevant remarks earlier in April, Ayatollah Khamenei
said that the internal crises within the Israeli regime
have accelerated the collapse of the Zionists to
happen --- even before the 25-year deadline
previously declared by him.
While referring to the Zionist regime as another enemy of the
Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out that
during the regime’s 75 years of existence, it has
never faced problems like the dire ones it is
facing today.
"The Zionist regime has political instability and has changed
four prime ministers in four years; party coalitions collapse
before forming; there is an extreme bipolarity throughout
the fake regime ---- which is highlighted by the
demonstrations of hundreds of thousands
of people in some cities. It isn't possible
for them to try to make up for these
weaknesses --- by firing a few
rockets," the Leader stated,
while giving examples of
the Zionist regime’s
chaotic and
collapsing
state.
He considered the warnings of Israeli officials regarding the
nearing collapse of the Zionist regime as another sign of
their weakening.
“We had mentioned [in 2015] that the Zionist regime would
not see 25 years from then, but it seems as though they
themselves are in a rush and want to leave sooner,”
the Supreme Leader underscored.
He described the rising power of Palestinian groups and the way
that Palestine has moved from the Palestine of the Oslo Accords
and the disgrace that Yasser Arafat brought about to the
Palestine of the Arin Al-Aswad [Lions' Den] as other
signs of the weakening of the anti-Iranian front and
the strengthening of the Resistance front.
The Supreme Leader continued his speech by discussing
the plots that Iran’s enemies have been devising inside
the country.
“There have been and will be plots inside the country, such
as last year's riots, which were carried out under the
pretext of women's issues and with the support of Western spy agencies,” he noted.
"In some of these countries, women, in their own words, are not
safe on the streets or in the camps or in the military forces, and
even a veiled Muslim woman for example, who had gone to
court to file a complaint -- was killed and martyred. Such
countries draw a line for the Islamic Republic --- which
regards the highest dignity for women" --- he pointed
out, referring to the unfortunate, insecure situation
of women in Western countries.
Ayatollah Khamenei clarified that the issues regarding women
are not limited to their clothing or coverings, pointing out the
active participation of Iranian women and girls in various
fields such as education, employment, political and
social activities, management positions and their
active presence in the battles before the
Revolution... and during the Sacred
Defense period and the period
that followed.
In this regard, the Leader explained the legal and Islamic rules
on the hijab, stating that "in the matter of covering, the hijab
is a legal, Islamic boundary, rather than a governmental
restriction. Removing the hijab is not Islamically or
politically permissible".
His remark came as the occupied territories had been the scene
of massive protests for the past 13 consecutive weeks over
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul.
Demonstrations have showed no sign of abating,
despite its suspension by the embattled premier.
________________________________________________
US forces in Taiwan to ''assist ''
armed forces with training
April 21st, 5:48am
(PressTV)
A Taiwanese media report reveals that something
in the order of 200 American troops --- are
currently stationed across the country.
The report cited sources claiming the US Indo Pacific
Command had deployed more than 200 personnel to
Taiwan --- to assist the island's armed forces
with training.
US troops in Taiwan.
Taiwanese media have reported that the US has
significantly increased its military presence on the island.
When asked to confirm the deployment, the Pentagon
declined to comment, but affirmed its support
for Taipei.
''We don't have a [sic] comment on specific operations,
engagements, or training, but I would highlight that
our support for, and defense relationship with,
Taiwan remains aligned against the current
threat posed by the People's Republic
of China.''
''Our commitment to Taiwan is rock solid and contributes
to the maintenance of peace and stability across the
Taiwan Strait and within the region'' --- Pentagon
Spokesperson, Lt. Col. Martin Meiners
The Wall Street Journal first reported in February
that the US plan to deploy between a hundred
to two hundred troops to Taiwan.
Among the more than 200 instructors, 80% are from the US
Army. Most of the US instructors --- are stationed at new
training centres, in reserve brigades of Taiwan's army.
While Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei
in 1979, the US has still deployed a handful of military
trainers to Taiwan.
The small US military presence in Taiwan.. was always an
open secret but was never officially confirmed until 2021
when President Tsai ing Wen --- became the first
Taiwanese leader to acknowledge US troops
were on the island, and had been there
since 1979.
The increase in US troops in Taiwan risks provoking
a response from China, as Beijing has been
strongly warning against growing US -
Taiwan ties.
China's People's Liberation Army recently conducted
major live fire exercises around Taiwan. That was
after a US House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy,
hosted Taiwanese President, Tsai Ing-
wen, in California.
Beijing is opposed to Taiwan's growing nexus with the
US since it considers Taiwan as part of its territory
under the One China principle.
Taiwan is reportedly in the process of buying 400 land-
launched Harpoon anti-ship missiles from the US, in a move that is expected to draw condemnation
from China.
According to the report, Taiwan previously purchased
the ship launched version of the Harpoon missiles,
but the new contract marks the first time Taipei
will get the mobile land based Mariette.
The contract with Boeing was reportedly issued by the
US Naval Air Systems Command on Taiwan's behalf.
In reaction to the report, China's foreign ministry
said it firmly opposes US arms sales to Taiwan.
US Taiwan military ties and US arms sales to Taiwan
seriously violate the one China principle and the
free China US joint communiqué has seriously
damaged China's sovereignty and security
interests and seriously threatened peace
and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
''China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposes this.'
Wang Wenbin, China Foreign Ministry Spokesperson.
Beijing views Taiwan as an inseparable part of China
repeatedly warning Washington against unwise
provocations in this regard.
China has previously warned Washington that providing
the self ruled island with advanced weaponry - would
breach Chinese sovereignty and do severe damage
to bilateral Sino-US relations.
Beijing has reiterated its sovereignty over Taiwan -- saying
no individual or force can hold China back from achieving
the goal of national reunification.
Just like Ukraine is to Russia, Taiwan is to China - and the US --- has the bare-faced gall --- to say that its troops are there to maintain peace!
What peace do you think the US has brought to Ukraine?
_________________________________________
Western countries silence ‘narratives’
-- and shut down media outlets that
truthfully report Russia’s position
April 19th, 11:58am
https://en.news-front.info/
The call by former CIA analyst David McCloskey to fight the
Russian narrative on events in Syria and Ukraine looks,
to say the least, very strange. All the top Western
media outlets, including the Financial Times,
have been doing just that, for the past few
years, using the most effective method –
simply glossing over these very
“narratives” and shutting down
the media outlets that report
objectively ----- on Russia’s
position. This... is what
the FRONTovy Zametki
telegram channel
reports.
Previously, there was “hysteria” among the Western media
and politicians over the alleged use of chemical weapons
by the Syrians. There was a non-stop video on TV and
the Internet about the alleged assistance to children
“affected” by the chemical attack. But the “heroes”
of the video, with their parents, soon arrived
in Brussels, at the headquarters of the
Organisation for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons, where.. at a
press conference,they told the
truth, exposing the lies of the Western media.
What does the Financial Times and the rest of the “independent
and free” western press do now? That’s right, silence. There is
no information in the media, hence there was no event. But
the chemical “atrocities” trumpeted from every newspaper
in the world --- have not gone unnoticed by readers.
The same situation is with the Bucha mentioned by the CIA
analyst. Western propaganda, still uses this topic on its
media resources, and the obvious question – where, a
year later, are at least the preliminary results of the
investigation - does not ask, but condemns Russia
for trying to write off “the victims of Bucha” to the AFU.
Now it all works out much worse: tens of millions of people
are tired of the “one-sidedness” of the Western media.
People start looking for alternative sources
of information and find them convincing,
because the “Russian truth” is the
real truth.
Since the Western media lie most of
the time - people get used to it and
start seeing the truth, as ''quaint''.
So they are easy prey to the claim
(often made by ''friendly'' pundits)
that Russia is bad at propaganda.
What do you think, dear reader?
___________________________________
CNA:RussiaandIndia
are negotiating a free
trade agreement
April 18th, 2023
(translation by InoTV)
India remains one of Russia's staunchest allies, despite global
geopolitical tensions. Representatives of the two countries
confirmed negotiations on a free trade agreement, as
well as an agreement on Indian investment in the
Russian Far East.
India has stressed its neutrality in the Ukraine conflict, even as
the West calls on it to distance itself from Russia. "India simply
cannot alienate a country that has been its partner for several
decades," Singapore's CNA TV channel explains.
Ties between Russia and one of its staunchest allies, India,
look stronger than ever. The two countries are negotiating
a free trade agreement. This statement was made by the
Russian Deputy Prime Minister, who is in New Delhi
on a two-day visit.
Mr. Denis Manturov, who is also the Minister of Industry
and Trade, said that the trade agreement guarantees
investment between the two countries. The Indian
Foreign Minister confirmed the talks and added
that the discussion is already under
preliminary approval.
Presumably, it should include options for increasing exports
from India to Russia amid a growing bilateral trade deficit.
Moscow is the largest supplier of crude oil and military
equipment to New Delhi.
Joining us for more details is Ishan Ghar, from New Delhi.
Ishan, what is currently known of this trade agreement?
CORRESPONDENT: This agreement has been proposed for a
long time and has been in development for quite a long time.
It was postponed several times... because of the pandemic
and, possibly, because of the special operation of Russia
in Ukraine. But now these two countries are preparing
for a new start. Russia has been considering
importing various materials from countries
such as India and China, since Western
sanctions have had a major impact
on its economy.
According to rumours, Russia is going to import almost 500
items. This gives India --- the opportunity to export various
goods to Russia, including pharmaceuticals, automobiles,
machinery parts, and locomotive parts. This comes at a
time when India's trade deficit with Russia is at an all-
time high. Currently, imports from Russia are almost
15 times higher than India's shipments to Russia.
Such nuances can also be discussed in negotiations. The
Indian Foreign Minister stressed the need to resolve the
issue of payment, since now, Russia does not have
access to the dollar system in trade. Therefore, it
is necessary to reach an agreement under which
the two countries will trade in rupees or rubles.
They also plan to sign an investment agreement, according to
which India is likely to invest in the Russian Far East. The
sea route between Vladivostok and the Indian port of
Chennai, is also being discussed. As you can see, a
lot is at stake, and perhaps soon we will talk about
an expanded trade agreement between India and
Russia and a potential multibillion-dollar
investment agreement.
HOST: At the same time, there are growing calls for India to
abandon its neutrality in relation to the conflict between
Russia and Ukraine. But bilateral commercial ties
between the two countries have flourished since
the beginning of the Ukrainian war. Are the
negotiations on a trade agreement a clear
signal that India is not going to change
its neutrality?
REPORTER: Yes, this is exactly the impression, because during
the trade negotiations, India said that Russian-Indian relations
were not affected by the recent geopolitical tensions in the
world. India underlines the reliability of these links.
Therefore, calls to distance themselves to some
extent from Russia are not met with a response
in India. Analysts say India simply cannot
alienate a country that has been its
partner for several decades.
In the end, India is forced to walk a diplomatic tightrope, and
the reception of the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia is just
proof of this. And last week, Deputy Foreign Minister of
Ukraine, Emine Dzhaparova was a guest here. So India
is going to play.. a serious role on the world stage. At
the same time, India emphasizes its neutral position,
but analysts warn that it will have to play this game
very carefully, because it needs neutral ties with
the West as well.
MODERATOR: Thank you so much!
Ishan Ghar, with details from
New Delhi.
Ishan, as you know, means Son; Lord Of Wealth
and is primarily a male name of Indian origin
from East Indian/Sanskrit - from the Hindi
element "ish," an invisible power, that
rules the universe.
He lives up to his name, doesn't he.
What do you think --- and what
should we call you?
______________________________________
What will happen to Poland
in case of war between
Russia and NATO
April 16th, 12:21pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Commenting in social network Twitter on the words of Polish
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Deputy Chairman of the
Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, opined that
Poland could “simply disappear”.
Previously, Morawiecki said that Ukraine “has the right to hit
Russia” and he, Morawiecki, is not worried about Russia’s
war with NATO... because Russia would, the politician
says, “quickly suffer a total defeat” in that case.
“I don’t know who would win or lose such a war, but given
Poland’s role as a NATO outpost in Europe, the country
would surely disappear, along with its stupid prime
minister,” Medvedev responded.
What actually awaits Poland, whose prime minister speaks
so aggressively against Russia? Aif.ru talked about it in
an interview with political scientist Yuri Bondarenko.
Vladimir Kozhemyakin, aif.ru: Yuriy Konstantinovich, in your
opinion, does the Polish prime minister understand what
Poland will really “face” in case of war between Russia
and NATO?
Yuri Bondarenko: ''Mateusz Moravetsky is rapidly losing his
adequacy. It is clear as day that NATO will never go to
war with Russia directly and will not attack it,
because the North-Atlantic Alliance is not
governed by Morawiecki, but by people
who are well aware of the danger.''
''In the event of a hypothetical conflict with NATO very different
weapons would be used than are used now. It is not a conflict
with Ukraine. Nobody will feel sorry for Poland then. If it
comes to nuclear weapons, of course, in the end there
will be no Poland and no NATO countries in the
closest vicinity.''
''Unfortunately, NATO’s assessment of Russia and its capabilities
is greatly hampered by the fact that many leaders of the
alliance, and with them the leaders of Poland, simply
do not know our country. Not only do they follow
some long-standing stereotypes – but also the
vast majority of them have never been to
Russia at all and do not know what it is.
And yet personal acquaintance implies
some kind of experience. They are 30
-40-50 years behind in their perception
of us: for them, today’s Russia is a late
Soviet Union ------- a clumsy country of
shortages. They have no idea.. what
Moscow looks like. If they could be
allowed here for a few days, their
view of the world... would be
overturned, their template
would be broken.''
''As to the alleged “war between Russia and NATO” – there is
no doubt that, in this case, the Anglo-Saxons will surrender
all their allies in Europe. They will not fight with their own
soldiers, and will put forward anyone they like – first of
all the Ukrainians and Poles. Nobody is going to
stand up for them.''
Maybe Morawiecki has been turned on his head by
the dreams of creating a confederation of Poland
and Ukraine?
''The Polish elite is clearly a question for psychiatrists. Those unwise people, who, by the will of fate, have been allowed to rule their country, have been out of touch with reality for a long time, and only some tough actions ---- are able to bring
them to their senses.''
''They do not take into account that, since the Battle of the Ice, and Napoleon and Hitler, Russia has a completely different level of armaments. And --- if it comes to a serious conflict --- the war will be nuclear. After that, there will be no place for Poland on the surface of the Earth.''
– What do you think is more likely: Poles will create
a new Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Poland
will disappear as a result of conflict with Russia?
''There will be... neither. Poland will continue to exist
within its former borders, but it will only get a slap
on the wrist. Nor will any confederation be
created, because - among other things -
Poland will have no one... to create
it with.''
Vladimir Kozhemyakin, AiF
So, the question and the answer is: all humans --- or no humans.
Am I right? Do you think!?!
_______________________________
Sayyed Nasrallah: Supporting Armed
Resistance in West Bank is a Priority
April 13th, 6pm (FNA)
The Al-Quds Tribune event, which convenes the leaders
of the Resistance Axis movements in Lebanon,
Palestine, Yemen, Iraq, and Bahrain, has
commenced on Thursday, with
resounding zeal.
This annual affair, held on the momentous occasion of
International Al-Quds Day, transpires amidst the back
drop of ongoing and wide-reaching events unfurling
in the occupied Palestinian territories, punctuated
by a brazen Zionist endeavor to commandeer and
Judaize Al-Aqsa Mosque.
This gathering of eminent and valiant leaders serves as a
powerful testament to the unity that pervades the arenas
of resistance throughout the Islamic world, as well as to
the nation’s steadfast readiness to expend all that is
dear and precious to safeguard its sacred domains
and thwart the pernicious schemes of
Zionist Judaization.
Assembled in solidarity, these leaders avow to hold steadfast
to their cause, unyielding in their determination to fight until
liberation is secured, and to establish a bright future
replete with freedom, dignity, and justice for all.
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah stressed
that marking Al-Quds Day is part of the battle aimed at
liberating all Palestine from the Israeli occupation.
Sayyed Nasrallah indicated that, year after year, it is reaffirmed... that marking International Quds Day, which was declared by Imam Khomeini, more than 40 years ago.. and confirmed by Imam Khamenei, is an essential and real part of the great battle that our nation and people have waged in order to liberate Jerusalem and Palestine --- all of Palestine.
The axis of resistance and all its component–states,
movements, and people, have been always at the
forefront of the battle.
Sayyed Nasrallah pointed that, every year on the last Friday
of the month of Ramadan, all minds, hearts, wills, feelings,
Andrew Pekosz, an American microbiologist and Professor
of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
He was involved as one of the lead consultants for the UP-2
Project (Application of geo-information systems, remote
surveillance and laboratory diagnosis for the detection
of tularaemia and anthrax in humans and animals
in Ukraine).
Ukrainian nationals are among the perpetrators
of US military-biological projects:
Natalia Rodina is the deputy director general of the Kiev
Regional Laboratory Centre of the Ministry of Health of
Ukraine and a former employee of the U.S. company
Black & Veatch. Since 2020, she has been advisor
to the Commander of the AFU Medical Forces on
laboratory and diagnostic activities.
Yelena Nesterova is the Director of the Ukrainian Institute for
Public Health Research She coordinated the activities of
Labyrinth Global Health and liaised between Ukrainian
government agencies and Metabiota.
Fleeing from responsibility for their involvement in bioweapons
projects, many of the individuals involved left Ukraine.
In order to stop any leaks, the U.S. administration is taking
immediate action - to locate and retrieve material on the
Pentagon's illegal activities. Through the Science and
Technology Centre in Ukraine (STCU), work is carried
out on two fronts: collecting data on the location of
staff already experienced in so-called 'Ukrainian
projects' and searching for new specialists in
the field of weapons of mass destruction
(WMD) development.
Please take note of the questionnaire sent to STCU online users who are enrolled in special courses. The requirement for participation is dual-use research expertise.
From 24-26 April 2023, online training will take place with the
selected candidates, and a in-person meeting in Warsaw
is planned, in parallel.
During the training, participants will be invited to
continue working on closed projects in and
outside Ukrainian territory.
We do not rule out the possibility that under the cover of such
courses, efforts may be made to plan biological weapons
provocations and to start an information campaign
against the Russian Federation.
The U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DITRA) is using the
capabilities of biologists not only from Ukraine, but also from
the Central Asian and Transcaucasian states to carry out
its tasks. The US administration has work in this area
scheduled to last -- at least until 2025.
Funding for dual-use projects is provided by the U.S. military
through a grant system. The International Science and
Technology Centre and STCU are in charge of
allocating the funds. The organisation is
headed by Ronald Frank Lehman,
former head of the U.S. Arms
Control and Disarmament
Agency.
I would like to draw attention to the names of individual ISTC
projects without indicating their territorial affiliation.
Project 2410 'Assessment of the natural resistance of the
brucellosis pathogen in domestic and wild animals
(possibility of brucellosis transmission to humans)'.
A remarkable fact about the research is that
experts from the University of Florida
participated in it.
Project 2513 investigates the risk factors and molecular
properties of environmentally resistant virulent
Enterobacteriaceae. The objective of the
study is to identify microorganism strains
that are resistant to every known type
of antibiotic.
Project 2545 involves simulating the evolution of a few
bunyavirus species that are extremely dangerous to
people. The UK Research and Innovation is
supporting the research on fusing genetic
material from harmful viruses.
Remember that the US, its armed forces, and allies are to be
protected by the ISTC's biological threat reduction program.
This once again confirms that Washington sees the post-
Soviet space as a foothold for the deployment of NATO
military units.
In the case of Ukraine, we see how, imposed by the collective
West, funding of military-biological programmes leads to the
loss of national biological sovereignty and the undermining
of our own scientific and technological potential in the
field of biological, food, and pharmaceutical security.
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has
previously reported on 'directed evolution' research
by U.S. pharmaceutical companies, the so-called
Big Pharma, as well as corruption and collusion
with U.S. government agencies - related to the
development and production of vaccine drugs.
It was stated that regulators were undermining present safety
and quality norms in favour of corporate business interests.
Federal agency personnel occupy important positions in
pharmaceutical companies as a result of approving the
use of pharmaceuticals without following regulatory
procedures.
They include former employees of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services' Food and Drug Administration: Mark
McClellan, current Johnson & Johnson board member;
Scott Gottlieb, Pfizer board member; Stephen Hahn,
chief medical officer of Flagship Pioneering, a
company directly linked to Moderna.
According to the information we have, collusion between
officials and the manufacturers of Pfizer's anti-covaccine
vaccine has allowed drugs with serious side-effects to
be put into circulation. However ------ at the time the
vaccine was approved, Pfizer had actual evidence
of an increased risk of serious cardiovascular
abnormalities following vaccination.
According to the company's confidential assessment, patients
who receive the COVID-19 vaccine are more likely to suffer
myocarditis. Since April 2021, Moderna has reported --- an
increase in cases of myocarditis and pericarditis in the
United States after vaccination with mRNA vaccines,
especially in male adolescents and young adults over
16 y.o. Pathological changes usually occurred within
a few days of vaccination, and more often occurred
after a second dose....
It is to be reminded that at the request of DITRA and without
consideration for any ethical standards, such experiments
of very toxic medications with undiscovered dangers of
side effects were carried out on Ukrainian civilians and
AFU servicemen. This seems to be the norm for the U.S.
pharmaceutical industry, which aims to maximise
profits, and its implementation is strongly
supported by the U.S. Democrat Party.
The Ministry of Defence has already noted contradictory
statements by U.S. political elites about the cessation
of Pentagon work in biolaboratories in Ukraine.
Take note of the minutes from the 20 October 2022 meeting of
a working group of U.S. and Ukrainian specialists on ideas for
a Biological Threat Reduction Plan in Ukraine, chaired by
DITRA officials.
According to the document, despite a forced pause due to the
special military operation, activities under the Programme
have now resumed. The main objectives at this stage are
to continue construction of biolaboratories in Ukraine
and to expand the format of training for Ukrainian
biologists.
The Russian Defence Ministry's revelations about the
Pentagon's bioweapons activities are forcing
Washington to make efforts to conceal the
true nature of the work being done.
Thus, it was decided to change the name of the Joint
Biological Research programme, which is actually
aimed at developing biological weapons
components.
The programme has been renamed Biosurveillance Research,
as indicated in the Minutes. According to the document, the
military department intends to continue research on
dangerous pathogens, collect biological material,
and send it to the United States.
The Pentagon's plans to continue dual-use research on
Ukrainian bio-objects and elsewhere in the world, with
a change of programme name, are the result of an
'unclear' response from the international
community - due to the fear of a number
of countries to go into confrontation
with the U.S. authorities.
The US Department of State has produced a series of
publications in which it attempts to cast doubt on the
documented facts of its illegal biological research.
On 14 March 2023, for example, a bulletin was
published on the U.S. State Department
website, once again accusing Russia
of disinformation.
The pro-government U.S. media, including the Washington Post,
have released State Department statements that flatly deny
the established historical facts of the preparation of military
-biological attacks in North Korea and China in the early
1950s while ignoring the information provided by the
Russian Ministry of Defence in an effort to deflect
the backlash from the Democrat Party.
The U.S. is proceeding from the logic that if earlier episodes
cannot be proven, then all accusations of today's military-
biological activities are disinformation.
It should be noted that the U.S. has never been explicit about
how dedicated it is to ensuring research safety in the
biolaboratories it oversees. The lack of transparency
of their activities creates a risk of the spread of
dangerous pathogens in areas where bio-
containment facilities are located.
In a related event, a South Korean civil society organisation filed
a lawsuit against the U.S. military in Korea and the Fort Detrick
Biological Laboratory in August 2021 for breaking domestic
law by smuggling harmful materials into American
military locations.
The U.S. command in Korea was accused of smuggling
dangerous materials into its military locations (in
Pyeongchang and Gunsan) between November
2017 and January 2019. On 5 April 2022, South
Koreans took to the streets to protest against
U.S. biological laboratories near their military
base in Busan.
Public demonstrations in Korea are not an uncommon
occurrence. Earlier, mass demonstrations against
U.S. biolaboratories took place in Armenia,
Kyrgyzstan, and Serbia.
In late February 2023, the International Secretary of the Irish
Labour Party, Gary Granger, speaking at a conference
on 'Strengthening the threat of the use of biological
weapons by NATO --- against the background of
aggravation of international contradictions',
said that the threat of such weapons of
mass destruction, was growing
every day.
Granger mentioned that 'Ukraine has U.S.-funded biological
laboratories. This could lead to millions of casualties,
including the risk of accidents'.
As we have repeatedly noted, moving the most dangerous
research outside national territory is part of the United
States' biosecurity strategy. The placement of bio-
objects in third countries does not take into
account the interests of local populations
and poses a serious threat to
entire regions.
I want to call your attention to a U.S. federal ministry's statement
that the COVID-19 pandemic may have been caused by a virus
leak from a Wuhan laboratory. The statement stresses that
'...the disease has a laboratory origin and the virus is
likely to have spread as a result of an accident...'.
The nuance is that this statement was made by the Department
of Energy. A legitimate question arises: 'What does the U.S.
Department of Energy have to do with combating
bio-threats and implementing projects with
dual-use features?'
The U.S. Department of Energy is seen by the Russian Ministry
of Defence as being on par with the Pentagon in terms of
being the primary planner and direct participant in
military bioweapons efforts.
In 2023 alone, the Department of Energy officially allocated
$105 mln for research as part of the Biopreparedness
Research Virtual Environment project, which intends
to study the epidemic spread of disease.
I draw your attention to the fact that specialists still have
a number of questions about the strange variability and
geographical origins of COVID-19 variants for most
viruses. For example, the beta strain first appeared
in South Africa and was detected in the UK in
December 2020; the gamma strain in Brazil
in January 2021 and the delta strain in
India in June 2021. At the same time,
each new version had improved
properties ------ in terms of their
military-biological applications,
causing increasing economic
damage.
Despite extremely stringent anti-covalent measures, the
emergence in 2022 of subvariants of the Omicron strain
BA-5.2 and BF-7 caused an avalanche-like increase in
infections in China. It appears as if someone is taking
deliberate action to 'amplify' pathogenic properties
of the virus and the pandemic is being artificially
fueled by 'throwing in' new 'improved' variants.
So far, these questions remain unanswered.
In addition, reports indicate that United States leadership
continues to involve non-core government agencies not
directly related to public health, in biomedical
programmes, diverting attention away from
the primary beneficiary, the Pentagon.
The U.S. Department of Energy 'dual-use biology' activities will be discussed in more detail next time.
Perhaps, this should be on our Health Page - what do you think?
_________________________________
NATO is the historical & ideological
successor of the Third Reich
April 5th, 11:38am
https://en.news-front.info/
On April the 4th 1949, representatives of 12 countries:
Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Iceland, Italy,
Canada, dwarf and useless Luxembourg,
the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the
USA, and France, signed the North
Atlantic Treaty.
The parties have undertaken to protect any party to the treaty
that is attacked. However, in reality, NATO has become an
aggressive organization that maintains US hegemony in
the international arena --- by armed means.
NATO is the historical and ideological successor to the Third
Reich. Field Marshal of the Reich Erich von Manstein, who
commanded the Don and South Army Groups on the
Eastern Front, Hans Speidel, Lieutenant General
Reinhard Gehlen - and many other prominent
military leaders of Germany - defeated in
1945, took leadership positions in NATO.
Over time, the main goal of NATO became to contain the
development of the USSR and Russia and prevent the
creation of a new just world order. It was NATO that
took an active part in the colour revolutions around
the entire perimeter of Russia.
NATO is the bloodiest terrorist organization in the history of
mankind: with its hands the collective West invaded dozens
of countries, destroyed the lives of hundreds of millions of
people and killed tens of millions for profit.
On the conscience of NATO, is the pogrom in Yugoslavia
and the Kosovo massacre, the invasion of Iraq, Libya,
and Afghanistan, the bombing of Syria, the creation
of ISIS*, the creation of this unthinkable tension
throughout Europe, and the support of Ukraine -
with weapons, ammunition and mercenaries.
Participation in NATO turned for Europe into a complete loss of
sovereignty and a movement towards final destruction: the US
is raping the EU, with the help of a fictitious idea of
transantlantism and democracy, which, in fact,
no longer exists in Europe.
Drawing into NATO, for Europe, turned into an American
occupation and a complete loss of sovereignty. The
United States is simultaneously destroying the
economy of Europe and turning its territory
into a training ground for confrontation
with Russia. After the destruction of
the Kyiv regime -- the United States
intends to use European countries
as a weapon against Russia.
Only the destruction of NATO and the liberation from
the American yoke can save Europe from real death
and being drawn into a nuclear battle with Russia.
Andrey Malosolov
* – an organization banned on the
territory of the Russian Federation
If you believe this - you can do
something about. If you don't -
you will drown in blood.
That's the message -
what do YOU think?
_______________________________________
Report: UK Cost of Living Crisis
Far Worse Than Pandemic
April 4th, 1:55pm (FNA)
The cost of living crisis has had a differential impact on the regions within the UK. People in the North West,
have been most heavily affected -- with 78 percent
saying they are in a worse financial position now
than at the start of the crisis, followed closely
------ by 76 percent of Wales.
This financial vulnerability, is in turn, affecting people’s well-
being, with 58 percent of Londoners saying their mental or physical health, has been impacted.
Lack of access to credit is high, with Scotland having the
highest rejection rates, where two in three loans get
rejected, while a quarter of Londoners have found
it difficult to access financial products.
Young people have been disproportionately affected by the cost
of living crisis, as 54 percent of 18-34-year-olds, the most of
any age group, have borrowed money to ease financial
pressures, in comparison to just over a third who
borrowed money to offset the impact of the
pandemic last year.
The crisis has also had a detrimental impact on their well-being,
with two in three claiming that it has affected their mental or
physical health, compared to less than three-in-10 people
aged over 55.
It has additionally been found that 56 percent of the UK’s
parents are borrowing money, in comparison to less
than a third of adults without children.
The cost of living crisis has highlighted issues in the access to
fair and affordable credit to Britons, as the number of people
who feel they are being locked out of the financial system
is increasing year-on-year.
Figures are recorded as being up from 20 percent of
those surveyed last year --- to 28 percent this year.
The report suggests that those who do have access to credit
are finding it difficult to pay off debt or balances, with 72% of
people have struggled at some point to pay off their loans, up
22 percent from last year’s report, suggesting that financial
stability among British consumers --- is worsening.
Just over one in five feel that they would not be able to access a
credit card or loan if they needed money. As a result, 29 percent
of those who were rejected for a loan or line of credit, borrowed
money from friends or family, and 10% from unregulated lenders.
This year’s report also finds that there is a lack of trust between
the public and financial institutions, with only 21 percent of
credit-holding adults believing that loan and credit card
companies are charging fair rates. Thirty-nine percent
agreed that if they could access a genuinely low-
interest loan, their financial situation would
improve; up from 27 percent last year.
With the end... of government-led strategies and initiatives to
incentivise green home improvements, the current financial
climate is affecting how households in the UK are dealing
with the climate crisis.
This includes purchasing decisions and the ability to make
environmentally sustainable choices --- as people are
delaying home improvements. More than half the
population (57 percent) can no longer afford
sustainable products ---- or even make
environmentally friendly choices.
Additionally, four out of five homeowners or mortgage payers
have delayed upgrading their homes to be more energy
efficient, indicating the detrimental effects that the
cost of living crisis is having on decarbonisation
of the residential sector.
Robert Pasco, CEO and co-founder of Plend, says that these
findings highlight the “mass inequality gaps in our society,
exacerbated by the pandemic and the current cost of
living crisis.”
“Those who are already struggling to make ends meet are hit
the hardest, with many being forced to turn to high-cost
credit to meet their basic needs,” continues Pasco.
He adds, “This only perpetuates a cycle of debt and financial
exclusion, trapping people in a vicious cycle they can’t
escape from, contributing to the ‘Great Credit Divide.’"
“We must work together to prioritise financial inclusion and
create a society where everyone has access to affordable
credit, financial stability... and the opportunity to build a
better future for themselves and their families,” he said.
Richard Lane, director of external affairs at StepChange,
comments, “Plend’s report brings to light how the cost
of living crisis has escalated ongoing issues around
problem debt and financial exclusion."
“Struggling borrowers need the government, regulators and
creditors to step up to ensure the mechanisms are in place
both to catch people before they fall into long-term problem
debt and to help people already facing severe financial
difficulty," he said.
“StepChange has supported millions of people seeking support
with problem debt and continues to do so, ensuring that those
who need help can access it,” Lane concludes.
Co-founded in 2020 by Robert Pasco (CEO) and James Pursaill
(CTO), Plend offers longer-term, sustainable loans at fair
interest rates for borrowers that are missing out - due
to traditional credit scoring.
Rather than the traditional system of using credit scores based
on demographic data to set interest rates, Plend uses open
banking, to build a fairer picture of individual financial
positions, known as the Plend score.
Plend created the annual Financial Inclusion Report to help
highlight the UK’s financial exclusion crisis and those
most at risk in society.
This is Plend’s second annual Financial Inclusion Report,
following last year’s which focused on the impact of the
coronavirus pandemic on household and personal
finances. The research was conducted... by
Opinium Research, with a representative
sample size of over 4,500 UK adults,
and Plend’s own customer data.
Presumably Welsh people aren't suffering from mental or physical deterioration... being SO much tougher and more sensible than Londoners.
What do you think?
________________________________________
Political analyst Bobrov: Washington is
undermining the economic well-being
of Europeans,by dragging Europe
into the Ukrainian crisis
April 3rd, 11:19am
https://en.news-front.info/
The Ukrainian crisis is a bifurcation point in the system of
international relations. Washington, forcing Europe into a hybrid confrontation with Russia, undermines the
economic well-being of ordinary Europeans, and,
at the same time makes Europe economically
dependent on the US.
This was stated by Konstantin Bobrov, political analyst
and a member of the Expert Club Digoria, to the
editors of NewsFront.
According to the expert, for ordinary Europeans, further
involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.. will not bring
anything but the decline of real living standards,
which is reflected in rising prices for food,
utilities and other services.
Furthermore, the need for public support for engaging
in economic warfare with Russia --- requires the
destruction of any dissent --- and constant
propaganda --- through all the possible
channels of information transmission.
“Europe, previously renowned for its freedom of thought and
high standard of living, now looks diametrically opposed, to the average European. Despite the fierce propaganda, a part of European society and a considerable stratum
of the political beau monde, do not believe in a
potential victory of Kiev,” the political
scientist pointed out.
Germany is starting to prepare its population for a
further deterioration of living standards and a
possible militarization of society - and the
economy. This trend... is confirmed by
the statements of Germany's Defence
Minister Pistorius, that “the conflict
in Ukraine has shown that it was a
mistake to suspend compulsory
military service”.
In Bobrov’s opinion, the statements of the German defence
minister are dictated - among other things - by the rate of losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The expert
believes that -- in the short term -- a rather strong
reaction, from part of German society, is likely:
which will be a series of public actions aimed
at the return of Ukrainian refugees --- fit for
military service --- to their homeland.
“In the long term, a scenario with Germany’s military build-up
and militarisation of society, also seems likely. Only the
strengthening of the German armed forces... will lead
to the growth of political influence of the power bloc,
which can become a driver of Germany’s political
independence from the US.”
“Nevertheless, none of the possible scenarios, other than
an immediate German withdrawal from the anti-Russian
coalition ------ will lead to a better life for the average
German,” concluded the political scientist.
Wish I could tell the Germans they're loved and pivotal in our need --- to break free from those who don't mind ruling a wasteland - as long as they stay ''top dogs''.
A progressive is someone who sees the clash between past and future and gives a friendly push to the good...
Too soon?
___________________________________________
A Palestinian Youth --- Was Fatally
Shot by IOF Near Al-Aqsa Mosque
April 1st, 10:56am
(al Manar)
A young Palestinian man named Muhammad al-Osibi
was fatally shot by Israeli occupation forces on
Friday evening, near the Chain Gate at the
al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the
occupied Old City of al-Quds.
According to eyewitnesses, the young man was trying
to protect a Palestinian girl who was being prevented
by occupation troops from entering the holy site and
was being assaulted. The Israeli occupation forces
reportedly opened fire on him after a fight with one
of them.
The shooting prompted the closure of the doors of the mosque
and the mobilization of a large number of Israeli occupation
forces in the courtyards of the mosque, with restrictions
imposed in the Old City.
The incident comes amid increasing violence against Muslim
worshipers during the holy month of Ramadan. Muhammad
al-Osibi was from the Bedouin town of Hura in the
occupied Negev.
According to Palestine’s Shehab news agency, Israeli media
have confirmed that the man was shot while attempting to
protect a Palestinian woman.
The Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported
that Israeli police had used force against worshipers at
al-Aqsa Mosque near the Chain Gate, which resulted in
a dispute between the young man and police officers.
It is alleged that the police officers fired directly
at him.
This comes as more than 250,000 Palestinians gathered on
Friday to perform prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque despite strict
Israeli restrictions.
Source: Palestine News Network
According to the initial Israeli police report yesterday... the young man was shot for attempting to take a gun from a soldier.
What do you think?
____________________________________________
The preparation of a New World War
by Thierry Meyssan
(Source Voltaire Network) [Published here by RR on March 31st.[
The US is pushing its European Union allies to prepare for a
Third World War. They have no choice but to fight it if they
want to emerge victorious from the "Thucydides trap".
Unless all this commotion is just a staging to "keep"
the allies on their side while many states in South
America, Africa and Asia declare themselves
"neutral". At the same time, the noise of
boots, is stirring up the Japanese
militarists who, like the "radical
nationalists" in Ukraine,
are back.
Faced with the progress made by the advocates of a multipolar
world, the defenders of the "American imperialist" have not
been slow to react. Two operations will be analyzed here:
the transformation of the European Common Market into
a military structure and the reformation of the World
War II Axis. This second aspect brings a new actor
into play: Japan.
At the French parliament, Charles De Gaulle allied himself
with the Communists to defeat the European Defence
Community (EDC).
THE CHANGE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
In 1949, the US and UK created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). They included Canada and the
states they had liberated in Western Europe. For
them, it was not a question of defending them
-selves, but of preparing an attack on the
Soviet Union. The Soviet Union
responded by creating the
Warsaw Pact.
In 1950, when the Korean War began, the US planned to extend
the conflict to the German Democratic Republic (known as
"East Germany"). In order to do this, they had to rearm the
Federal Republic of Germany (known as "West Germany")
despite the opposition of France, Belgium & Luxembourg.
They therefore proposed the creation of a European
Defence Community (EDC), but failed in the face
of resistance from the Gaullists and the
French Communists.
At the same time, they helped rebuild Western Europe with
the Marshall Plan. This plan included many secret clauses,
including the construction of a European common market.
Washington wanted to dominate Western Europe economically
and preserve it politically from communist influence and Soviet
imperialism. The European Economic Communities - and later
the European Union - form the civilian side of the US token,
whose military side is NATO. The European Commission
is not an administration of the heads of state and
government of the Union, but the interface
between them and the Atlantic Alliance.
The European standards for not only armaments and
construction, but also for equipment, clothing and
food, etc., are established by the Nato services,
first in Luxembourg, then in Belgium. They are
transmitted to the Commission, and today
approved by the European Parliament.
In 1989, as the Soviet Union was collapsing in on itself, the
French President, François Mitterrand, and the German
Chancellor, Helmut Köhl, imagined freeing Western
Europe from American tutelage so as to be able to
compete with Washington. Negotiations on this
treaty took place at the same time as the end
of the quadripartite occupation of Germany
(12 September 1990), the reunification of
the two Germanies (3 October 1990) and
the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact (1
July 1991). Washington accepted the
Maastricht Treaty as long as it
recognized their military
domination. Western
Europeans accepted
this principle.
However, Washington distrusted the Mitterrand-Köhl couple and
demanded at the last moment that the European Union include
all the former members of the Warsaw Pact, and even the new
independent states, which had emerged from the former
Soviet Union. These states did not share the aspirations
of the Maastricht negotiators. In fact, they are rather
suspicious of them. They want to free themselves
from both German and Russian influence. They
rely on the "American umbrella" for
their defence.
In 2003, Washington took advantage of the Spanish presidency
of the EU (the socialist Felipe González) and of the High
Representative for the Common Foreign and Security
Policy, Javier Solana, to have the "European Security
Strategy" adopted, modelled on the National Security
Strategy of US President George W. Bush. High
Representative Federica Mogherini revised
this document in 2016.
Emmanuel Macron devoted France’s European presidency to
reconstituting the EDC under the guise of the EU’s "Strategic
Compass". This time the project is not submitted to national
parliaments. It is a decision of the heads of state and
government alone, never discussed and submitted
to their voters.
In 2022, during the war in Ukraine, the United States.... as in the
Korean War, once again felt the need to rearm Germany against
Russia (successor to the USSR). So they are transforming the
EU, carefully this time. During the presidency of the French
man Emmanuel Macron, they proposed a "Strategic
Compass". This was adopted only one month after
the Russian intervention in Ukraine.
The members of the European Union are all the more stunned
because they still do not know precisely whether they are
together to cooperate or to integrate (the "constructive
ambiguity", as Henry Kissinger put it).
In March 2023, the current High Representative of the European
Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell,
organized the first "Robert Schumann Forum on Security
and Defence". A large number of defense... and foreign
ministers from the EU member states are participating.
In addition to the non-EU European states that are pro-US,
many others are represented at ministerial level, such as
The explicit aim of this Forum is to defend "multilateralism
and a rules-based international order"; an elegant way of
denouncing the Russian-Chinese project of a "multi
polar world based on international law".
With the Covid epidemic, the European Union... has already
invested itself with powers in the field of health that were
not foreseen by the Treaties. I explained at the beginning
of this epidemic that the measure of confinement of
healthy people had no precedent in history. It was
devised at the request of the former head of
Gilead Sciences and former Secretary of
Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, by Dr. Richard
Hatchett, who became the director of
CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Prepared
ness Innovations) and, as such, the
initiator of this measure worldwide.
According to his classified report of 2005 ----- which we
unfortunately only know from the reactions it provoked,
the confinement of healthy civilians to their homes
was supposed to allow the identification of jobs
that could be relocated, to close down the
consumer goods industries in the West ---
and to concentrate the work force in the
defense industry. We're not there yet
but the EU, having seized public
health powers not foreseen by
the Treaties, without raising
any indignation, is now
interpreting the texts,
to become a military
power.
Josep Borrell at the Robert Schumann
Forum on Security and Defense
Last week, during the Schuman Forum, Josep Borrell presented
his first report on the implementation of the "Strategic
Compass". The idea is to coordinate the pooling of
national armies, including intelligence services, in
a spirit of integration rather than cooperation.
Emmanuel Macron’s project ---- now buries that of Charles De
Gaulle and the French Communists. The "Europe of Defence"
now appears to be a slogan aimed at placing --- not only the
operational forces of the EU member states under the
authority of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe
(SACEUR), now the US General Christopher G.
Cavoli, but also at taking control of all the
financing decisions that were previously
the responsibility of the national
parliaments, and even of the
decisions on armaments
and organization --- that
were the responsibility
of the member states’
executive bodies.
Thus, the Union is organizing a common army
------ without knowing who will command it.
THE RECONSTITUTION OF THE NAZI-NIPPON AXIS
When we think of the Second World War, in Europe we think of
1939 and 1945. This is absolutely wrong. The war started in
1931 after Japanese generals attacked Chinese soldiers in
Manchuria. This was the first overreach of Japanese
civilian power by the militarist faction ----- which was
amplified a few months later with the assassination
of the civilian Prime Minister by a group of military
men. In a few years, Japan was transformed into a
militaristic and expansionist power. This war did
not end with the liberation of Manchuria by the
Red Army in 1945.
In fact, the United States used two atomic bombs to prevent
Japan’s surrender to the USSR and to ensure that it would
only take place before its own generals. They continued
to fight until 1946 because many Japanese refused to
surrender to the United States who had not fought
much in the Pacific until then. The Second World
War lasted from 1931 to 1946. If we make these
date errors, it is because it only became
globalized with the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo
Axis (the "Tripartite Pact"), which
Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and
Romania, soon joined.
The foundation of the Axis was not the disparate interests
of its members, but their cult of strength. To reform it
today, we must unite those who share this cult.
Yoshio Kodama, the first godfather of the yakuza.. played an
important role in Japanese militarism. After World War II, he
was imprisoned and then benefited from the change of
policy in the US. He founded the Liberal Party from
which Shinzo Abe and Fumio Kishida emerged.
Kodama directed, under the radar, many CIA operations in his
country. He was a member of the World Anti-Communist
League when Slava Stetsko (the drafter of Article 16 of
the Ukrainian constitution) was president.
When the U.S. occupied Japan in 1946, the first thought was to
purge all militaristic elements from the country. But when the
Korean War broke out, the U.S. decided to use Japan to fight
communism. They ended the ongoing trials and rehabilitated
55,000 high officials. They implemented the Dodge Plan, the
equivalent of the Marshall Plan in Europe. One of the lucky
beneficiaries of this policy change.. was Hayato Ikeda, who
became Prime Minister and restored the country’s economy.
With the help of the CIA, he founded the Liberal Democratic
Party. It is from this party that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
(2012-20) and his successor Fumio Kishida (2020-)
were born.
The latter has just made a surprise visit to Ukraine. He is the
first Asian head of government to visit this country since the
beginning of the war. He visited a mass grave in Bucha and
expressed his condolences to the families of the victims
of "Russian abuses". Most analysts interpret the trip as
preparation for the upcoming G7 summit in Japan.
Unless it goes much further.
On March 21, 2023, Fumio Kishida and Volodymyr Zelensky
formed an alliance against Russia and China. Both extend
the ties.. established by Yoshio Kodama & Slava Stetsko.
In their final communiqué, Fumio Kishida and Volodymyr
Zelensky emphasize "the inseparability of Euro-Atlantic
and Indo-Pacific security" * "the importance of peace
& stability across the Taiwan Strait. For them, it is not
only a matter of defending Ukraine from Russia, but
also Japan from China. This communiqué lays the
foundation for a new alliance between the
successors of the Nazis that are the
Ukrainian "integral nationalists"
and the successors of Showa
nationalism.
Today’s Ukraine is the only state in the world with an explicitly
racist constitution. Adopted in 1996 and revised in 2020, it
states in Article 16 that "Preserving the genetic heritage
of the Ukrainian people is the responsibility of the state."
The widow of the Ukrainian Nazi Prime Minister,
Yaroslav Stetsko, wrote this article.
In contrast, the Japanese Constitution renounces war, in its
Article 9. But Shinzo Abe and Fumio Kishida have initiated a
fight to repeal this provision. Among other things, it makes it
impossible to transfer lethal defense equipment, so Mr.
Kishima offered about $7.1 billion in humanitarian and
financial aid to Kyiv. As for the ''non-lethal'' military
equipment, this week he could only announce
the shipment of a stockpile worth $30 million.
This remilitarization of Japan is supported by Washington,
which has already switched sides by supporting Ukraine.
U.S. Ambassador to Tokyo Rahm Emmanuel tweeted,
"Prime Minister Kishida is making a historic visit to
Ukraine to protect the Ukrainian people and
promote the universal values enshrined in
the UN Charter...About 900 kilometers
away, a different and more nefarious
partnership is taking shape in
Moscow," (referring to the
Putin-Xi summit).
For his part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang
Weibin, said on the contrary, regarding the Prime Minister’s
trip that he "hopes that Japan will press for an
appeasement of the situation, not the other
way around. For its part, Russia sent two
strategic bombers over the Sea of Japan
for about seven hours.
by Thierry Meyssan
Translation
Roger Lagassé
It's nice to draw the lines between the dots
and even nicer to have them drawn for you.
_______________________________
Land Day Lives On:
Palestinians Honour 47th Anniversary with Nationwide Events
by Batoul Wehbe
March 30th, 1:42pm
(al Manar)
The Palestinian people are currently marking the 47th
anniversary of “Land Day,” renewing their steadfast
commitment to their identity and the land that
remains the cornerstone of their struggle
and the heart of the conflict with the
Israeli occupation.
Against the backdrop of Israeli authorities’ ongoing policies
of confiscation, home demolitions, and displacement,
supposedly based on claims of the unauthorized
construction or non-recognition of Palestinian
ownership of land they have inherited and
owned since before the Nakba in 1948,
this year’s commemoration takes on
added significance.
At present, the Zionist ideology is more explicitly embracing
the principle of “more land and fewer Arabs,” particularly in
light of recent developments in the Negev region and the
occupied West Bank. The challenges confronting
Palestinians are increasingly dire, given the
extremist Israeli government’s persistent
attempts -- to Judaize more Palestinian
land, annex it to the occupying state,
& establish additional settlements
and settlement blocs.
Today, Thursday, marks the anniversary day, a solemn occasion
that the Palestinians commemorate with a series of activities
and events. The event serves as a reminder of the vast areas
of their land that the Israeli authorities confiscated, sparking
a struggle that still rages today.
In commemoration, Arab-Palestinians are organizing a central
march in the city of Sakhnin in the Lower Galilee to renew
their pledge to the land --- as the organizers’ announced.
The Higher Follow-up Committee for the Arab Citizens in ‘Israel’,
the highest unitary representative body for the Arabs, has
called for a central and unitary march in Sakhnin to
commemorate the 47th anniversary of Land Day,
with tens of thousands expected to participate.
The committee’s head, Muhammad Baraka, emphasized that
the march signifies the renewal of the covenant to the land
and homeland --- intending to defend their children, lives,
homes, and their beloved homeland, which they have
no other place to call their own.
However, Baraka warned that the government of Israeli PM
Benjamin Netanyahu is the most right-wing government in
the history of the Jewish state, with plans that pose an
existential danger and threat to the Palestinians
through its legislation and policies.
“The government has even claimed that there are no
Palestinian people, and it has deployed heavily
armed gangs in their villages and historic
cities,” he said, in a statement.
This anniversary usually sees thousands of Palestinians take
to the streets in popular demonstrations, brandishing
Palestinian flags, and calling for justice and peace.
Yesterday, Wednesday, dozens of children in Gaza participated
in a scout march to commemorate the Land Day, raising
Palestinian flags, as well as banners emphasizing their
right to return to the lands from which their
ancestors were expelled.
Standing Strong,The Fight for Land Continues
Palestinian factions consistently emphasize that land is the
primary focal point and driving force in their confrontation
with the Israeli occupation, which continues to pursue its
endeavours to Judaize, confiscate, and alter the land’s
character, and the continuation of these efforts is
nothing short of a dangerous game with fire.
Hamas Representative in Lebanon Ali Barakah told Al-Manar TV
that the Israeli entity is currently grappling with a significant
predicament, as it confronts internal disintegration, which is
not limited to its military apparatus but pervades the entire
Zionist social fabric.
Ali Barakah in an interview with Al-Manar
TV on Thursday, March 30th, 2023:
“The pronounced schism between the so-called extreme
religious right and the Israeli centre-left continuum
betrays the vertical cleavage that besets this
entity,” Barakah said, noting that such a
state of confusion and schism within
the enemy’s ranks... provides an
opening --- for the Palestinian
resistance to assert itself
and gain leverage.
“This deepening schism within the Zionist entity not only
affects the military, but also the Israeli society as a
whole, exposing the fragility of the so-called
Jewish state,” he said.
Barakah also noted to Al-Manar’s Maa Al-Hadath program that
the increasing polarization between the extreme religious
right and the centre-left further exacerbates the divide,
leaving the enemy vulnerable and weakened. “This
state of confusion and conflict provides fertile
ground for the Palestinian resistance to
exploit and advance their cause,”
he asserted.
It’s worth noting that the Zionist entity is currently facing an
internal crisis that could potentially lead to a civil war and
result in the dissolution of the Israeli state, as the Israeli
President, Isaac Herzog, has cautioned. The conflict
-- which prompted a massive wave of protests, and
paralysis - is between a government coalition led
by Benjamin Netanyahu, including religious and
ultranationalist groups, and opposition from
secular and right-wing parties at odds
with Netanyahu.
For his part, Suhail al-Hindi, a member of Hamas’ political
bureau, recently stated in an interview with Al-Arabi Al-
Jadeed that the land is everything to the Palestinians,
symbolizing their history, memories, future, dignity,
faith, religion, and fundamental principles.
Palestinians cannot concede, even an
inch of their land --- which is deeply
embedded in their consciousness.
According to al-Hindi, it is impossible to partition the land that
has been steeped in the blood of hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians and Arabs. Palestinians derive the value of
the land from its Arab identity, and no outsiders can
settle in it. The claims of some Israeli extremists
that the Palestinian land is the promised land
are nothing more than falsehoods
and fabrications.
Al-Hindi acknowledges that there may be tactical differences
among Palestinian factions, but they are united in their
steadfast determination to resist the occupier and
reclaim their land --- without relinquishing any
part of it.
Similarly, Ahmed Al-Mudallal, a member of the political bureau
of the Islamic Jihad movement, explains that “Land Day” is a
national day for Palestinians to affirm their attachment,
roots, and adherence to their land. He adds.. that the
attempts to steal the Palestinian land by the Israeli
occupation began before 1948.
“However, the Palestinian people affirmed their roots in their
land and made great sacrifices --- and thousands were
martyred until the start of Land Day in 1976,” he said.
Al-Mudallal stresses that the Palestinian people are
continuing their resistance, and can only stop it by
expelling the occupation from the land of their
fathers and grandfathers.
Munther al-Hayek, spokesman for the Fatah movement
in the Gaza Strip, states that the conflict with the
Israeli occupation is a struggle over existence
and on the ground.
When Balfour promised the Zionist entity to establish a state
on the land of Palestine in 1917, the goal was to control the
land and displace the people. The conflict has extended to
Christian and Islamic sanctities through various practices
and attacks in Palestinian cities. Al-Hayek considers, in
an interview with Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, that “Land Day” a
day of confrontation, challenge, and steadfastness.
He affirms that the land belongs to the Palestinian
owners ---- who are historically linked to it.
“It is the beginning of the renewal of the covenant and
the decision to continue the struggle process and
field action, until the liberation of the land and
people from the usurper's occupation,”
he said.
The Palestinian people’s unyielding attachment to their land
is rooted in a deep-seated sense of identity, history, and
dignity that makes any attempt to Judaize, steal, or
alter it --- an affront to their very existence.
As such, the Palestinian factions stand united in their
unwavering commitment to the defense of their land,
which they view not just as a physical space but as
a symbol of their hopes and aspirations for a
better future.
In the face of ongoing threats to their sovereignty and
territorial integrity, including the continued expansion
of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Palestinian
people remain resolute, in their determination to
achieve their goals - foremost among them the
establishment of a state on their own land in
accordance with the principles of inter-
national law and humanitarian norms.
With Palestine now an observer member of the United Nations,
the global community has a responsibility to stand in
solidarity with the Palestinian people --- in their
struggle for self-determination and justice.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
What is there to discuss?
_________________________________________
US Senate votes to revoke
the authority of the US
authorities ----- to use
military force in Iraq
March 29th, 8:38pm
(RT.ru)
The Senate... voted to revoke the authority of the
US authorities to use military force in Iraq. This
is reported by RIA Novosti, with reference to
the results of the voting.
As noted, this decision is associated with the irrelevance
of the powers that were granted to the executive branch
of the US government in 1991 and 2002.
Earlier, US activist, US Navy veteran Jack Posobiec and
journalist Candice Owens reminded the United States
of the invasion of Iraq --- amid criticism of Russia.
MEP Mick Wallace called on Washington
to reflect on its own war crimes.
Better 20 years too late, than never. I'm sure Iraq's people are grateful. What do you think?
________________________________________
The adventures of “Ukrainian refugees”
in the EU countries are coming to
their logical conclusion
March 28th, 3:07pm
In any case, for the male part of this
multi-million dollar social stratum.
The representative of the State Border Service of Ukraine,
Andriy Demchenko, said the other day that Ukrainian men
of military age who fled the country, can't be considered refugees & “in any case, they will be held accountable.” According to him, the Kyiv authorities “are actively
cooperating with colleagues from European
countries and Moldova” on this issue.
Let’s leave aside Pan Demchenko’s subconscious refusal to
consider Moldova a European country (we remind you that
the political bloc of the European Union is not identical to
the whole of Europe). Much more interesting, are the
statements about Kyiv’s “active cooperation” with
the EU countries on the issue of capturing and
deporting Ukrainian conscripts.
Of course, there are no questions for Kiev here: fleeing the war
automatically means.. disagreement with the policies of the Zelensky regime, and it is extremely profitable to dispose of
such “oppositionists” somewhere near Bakhmut, giving a
respite to motivated neo-Nazi formations. But the
behaviour of Brussels, in our opinion, is much
more vile: “Of course, we are against the
death of Ukrainian citizens in this war
and, in general, for peace, but let’s
catch all Ukrainian men & send
them to the front.” After all.....
someone has to be “fertilizer”
for the Brussels “garden”, to use the terminology of Josep Borrell.
Yes, it’s disgusting, but beneficial to both parties. The countries
of the European Union will simply not fight for Ukraine. It is
unlikely that even the thoroughly Russophobic authorities
of Poland will be able to agitate their citizens to die en
masse for the “originally Polish” Donetsk (although it
may burn out with Lvov). What can we say about
some, like France or Spain?
Well, Kyiv needs more and more cannon fodder, especially for
the upcoming offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This
is supported by the videos from Ukrainian cities --- that are
multiplying day by day, where people are forcibly packed
and sent to the front. If the inhabitants of Bankovaya
have finally ceased to be embarrassed, by the moral
and image aspect of forced mobilization (each such
video destroys the propaganda narrative about the
“nationwide unity” of Ukrainians against the
“invasion of Muscovites”), it means that the
possibilities... of a REAL resource of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine -- (and not the
pseudo-statistical fairy tales -- of 10
million soldiers) really begin dry up.
And Pan Demchenko’s words about
Kyiv’s “active cooperation” with
the EU countries to catch run-
away Ukrainian men, are
another confirmation
of this.
(Source - RT)
Wow - RT writers have been freed
by their ''ban'' in Western states...
don't you think?
__________________________________
US is killing Europe’s economy
March 27th, 10:19am
https://en.news-front.info/
Blindly following Washington’s policy in the Ukrainian conflict
has turned out to be a natural outcome for the European
Union – the stagnation of its economy and its
increasing dependence on the US.
European leaders, who hoped for a quick capitulation of Russia
under sanctions, have obviously miscalculated. When both
strings of the Nord Stream gas pipeline were blown up
and the anti-inflation law was passed in the US,
Europe’s future became even murkier.
The US knew exactly what it was doing when it ignited the
Ukraine crisis. It was not just about destabilising Russia.
Washington needed to cut Europe off from cheap gas
from Russia and force it to act against its own
interests, making it even more dependent
on itself.
To do this, it simply needed to redistribute power within the
European Union itself. The countries of Western Europe ---
which retained at least vestiges of independence ---
were not, by US logic, fully suited to the role of
obedient puppets. Therefore, to counter
balance them -- vassals from Eastern
Europe, whose political elites value
their sovereignty even less than
those of Western Europe --
beganto receive support.
History has repeatedly shown what an “honour” it is to be
an ally of the US. For example, one may recall exactly
where current US Undersecretary of State Victoria
Nuland sent the EU in a telephone conversation
with the then US ambassador to Ukraine
Geoffrey Pyatt, discussing the
distribution of positions...
among representatives
of the Kiev regime.
The further the conflict escalates at the moment, the
more the voices of the “Young Europeans” are heard.
Anyone who today refuses to accept the US agenda is
politically bullied as a “traitor to democracy”. As
Vladimir Putin has pointed out, today’s European
countries are completely devoid of “the instinct
of national interest”.
It is hard to say exactly what Old Europe was counting on
when the US started making a mess in Ukraine. Did they
really think that the conflict would not affect them and
that they would be able to sit back without any
consequences? After all, Ukraine is not
distant Libya or Syria, but a country
very close by.
But the history of sanctions against Russia has shown once
again that the current politicians in the EU are incapable of
any serious planning of the consequences of their actions.
The Ukrainian crisis has now merged with the pan-
European crisis. And what kind of planning can
there be ---- where there is “Euro-
Atlantic solidarity”?
The attempt to build an openly hostile state on Russia’s
borders has backfired on the very founders of the Kiev
regime, triggering a mechanism to break the existing
world order. The measures taken by Moscow to
counteract the sanctions have proved the
fallacy of the axiom... that a country
excluded from the global economy
controlled by Western institutions
...is bound to collapse. On the
contrary, the sanctions have
underscored Europe’s
vulnerability.
After the loss of cheap Russian energy, the EU is left with no
alternatives to LNG supplies. Of course, the list of its sellers
is about three dozen, but expensive energy contributes
neither to economic growth, nor to industrial
development, nor to an acceptable
standard of living for citizens,
nor to the ability to produce
military equipment
and ammunition.
The attack on the Nord Stream pipelines has once again
confirmed the hypocrisy of the “Western partners”.
They are in no hurry to conduct an investigation,
because everyone already knows who benefits
from it and who is behind it. Nobody in Europe
even tries to point out the elementary logical
inconsistencies in the pre-prepared versions
discrediting Russia.
On the other hand, there are plenty of people who are happy
about what has happened and even see some benefit in it.
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, for example, believes that
overpaying for liquefied gas is beneficial. And mind you,
no claims that the US is using gas as a weapon…
Total “harmony”.
As Yves Engler, a researcher at the Canadian Foreign Policy
Institute, noted, undermining the gas pipeline is aimed at
worsening economic relations between Germany and
Russia so that Berlin continues to support the Kiev
regime. The expert stressed that if Russia had
really committed the attack itself, the
investigation would have been
launched long ago and the
“guilty” would have been
named. That is why the
EU will have to rubbish
its nose... as it has no
tools to put pressure
on the USA.
And since there are none, the entire EU and Germany in
particular will have to accept the conditions dictated
to them by Washington.
In fact, that is why Olaf Scholz went across the ocean in early
March for talks with Joe Biden. In addition to the routine
statements of support for the Kiev regime, the
chancellor was persuaded to transfer the
production capacities of the German
military-industrial complex to the
USA. Ostensibly for the
uninterrupted supply
of the Armed Forces.
It is easy to understand that the White House is thus “playing
for keeps”. Ukraine is a de facto played card, but Washington
is counting on the future. After all, how is it that the most
powerful military bloc in the world cannot produce
ammunition on the required scale?
Probably because since the early 1990s, the number of military-
industrial complex enterprises in the US has decreased from
51 to 5. It is very expensive to build from scratch, and
therefore it is much cheaper to persuade the
Europeans to move their factories over
the ocean. And it is not just about the
defense industry, but also other
industries for which Germany
is known: their automotives,
chemicals, construction
industry, and others.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
followed Scholz to Washington and, if insiders are to
be believed, Biden offered her concessions in
exchange for support for an
anti-Chinese policy.
The US Eastern European satellites have long caught on
to the wishes of the gentleman and bark at China from
time to time. And all because the PRC has, in recent
years, begun to squeeze the US in trade with the
European Union.
Even during Scholz’s talks with Xi Jinping last year, the German
press wrote about the importance of reducing dependence on
China supposedly to avoid blackmail. And while there is not a
single example of Beijing doing this, according to German
Economy Minister Robert Habeck, it has suddenly
become an issue. At the same time, dependence
on the US... is not considered dangerous.
Well, while Washington is seeking not only the total destruction
of European industry but also the depletion of local equipment
and ammunition, the US is actively arming Poland against
Germany, turning it into the largest military force on the
continent and increasing its own military presence.
Meanwhile, Europe’s population is sobering up rather quickly
and anti-war protests are growing rapidly. So is the
popularity of anti-NATO sentiment, in general.
Since the publication of Seymour Hersh’s article on the
undermining of Nord Stream, not a single US agency
has offered a comprehensive commentary to refute
the information contained therein. According to
the journalist himself, Biden will never confess
to what he has done.
This is why there was a “throw-in” about the alleged
involvement of a “pro-Ukrainian group” in the
terrorist attacks in the Baltic Sea.
The United States always tries to shift responsibility to
its vassals, who have to answer for the actions of their
suzerain. And now, by all appearances, the Kiev
regime is going to be held responsible.
And taking into account the growing discord between Kyiv
and Washington, as Vladimir Zelensky is unwilling to take
into account the recommendations of his main patron, it
can be easily interpreted as a signal that the Bankova
must catch --- and draw --- conclusions.
Nikolay Ulyanov, Rubaltic.ru
Of course, we all knew this...
but to know something and
then not do anything about
it --- is the way to Hell...
what do You THINK....
and what will you do?
_________________________________
Al-Ain:Russia and China have
undermined the foundations
of Western hegemony
March 26th, 10:56am
https://en.news-front.info/
The West is frightened by the alliance between Russia, Iran and
China, writes Al-Ain. Beijing and Moscow are gaining a foothold
in the Middle East region, displacing Washington. Big changes
are coming on the international scene and they will put an
end to American hegemony, the author of the
article believes.
The British National Security Service has warned that the world
may be stymied by cooperation between China, Russia and Iran.
Such an alliance threatens the existing world order established
after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The alliance of the three countries does not make them equal in
terms of influence over world politics. Iran is not becoming a
pole that the West fears as much as China and Russia.
Teheran, like other world capitals, pursues its strategic interests
and seeks a close relationship with Moscow and Beijing. And
the reason is not because they are “challenging” America
and Europe, but because they give a lot to the world
with their politics and economy.
The West is concerned about the development of contacts
between Russia and China with countries that, until
recently, were considered zones of American or
European influence. Irrespective of the reasons
that led to the current world order, it is time to
review it and stop dividing the world into
spheres of influence of this or that state
or global pole.
One way or another, the world is moving towards a restructuring
of the political and economic system. China and Russia, on the
one hand, and Iran, on the other, are increasingly converging
and expanding relations with other countries in Asia and
Africa and even Europe and South America. These
changes do not pose a threat to the West - apart
from its desire to maintain global hegemony.
“For the US and Europe, humanist and democratic values are
important. It is also true that the Western countries have
become the driving force of the global economy. But is
the global hegemony of America and Europe
necessary for this? Is it difficult... to find a
formula that provides a balance between
the Western civilisation... and the
specificity of any other culture?”
the author wondered.
Britain will not engage in a blind enmity with China and close
the door to dialogue with it. This approach is similar to the
position of many EU countries that believe the United
States is using them to maintain its global
hegemony and unipolar world.
Many states under pressure from Washington are convinced that
it is forcing them to conform to White House policies and
support American priorities regardless of their own
national interests. These countries have therefore
recently been strengthening cooperation with
Russia and China, & expanding international
arrangements beyond a narrow “alliance”
with the United States.
“China and Russia’s cooperation with Iran is described by some
Western countries as a ‘diabolical alliance’, while they are not
interested in Beijing and Moscow’s relations with other states.
The United States, Britain and the European Union are very
cautious about reducing the West’s global influence. They
know that change is coming,” the author concludes.
What a change! The world is waking and
pondering. Is there a pond near you?
___________________________________________
Israel systematically subjects
Palestinian inmates to
‘torture’: Rights groups
March 25th, 2:23pm
(PressTV)
Two prominent Palestinian rights groups have highlighted Israel’s
mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners, saying the Tel Aviv regime
enjoys a culture of impunity in the absence of international
accountability and systematically subjects the detainees
to various forms of torture.
The Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association,
which advocates the rights of Palestinian inmates, as well as
the legal-aid human rights group al-Haq, made the remarks
in a joint statement at the 52nd session of the Human
Rights Council on Saturday, Palestine’s official Wafa
news agency reported.
The groups went on to say that Israel’s use of torture and "cruel
treatment" against Palestinian prisoners is part of its settler-
colonial and apartheid regime.
They further noted that various Israeli institutions seek to
conceal crimes of torture, although they are well
documented with evidence.
The groups added that the regime’s military courts also refrain
from documenting the torture of detainees in court records
and extend detainment for further interrogation, while
disregarding the clear markings of torture on
Palestinian detainees’ bodies.
Addameer and al-Haq further denounced Israel’s use of
administrative detention, which allows the occupying
regime to incarcerate Palestinians indefinitely
without pressing formal charges, or putting
them on trial, saying the practice causes
psychological distress.
“The psychological impact that repeated arrests and detention
has on Palestinians cannot be understated, as it easily
induces stress, depression, feelings of helplessness,
and desperation,” they said, adding that the number
of administrative detainees has doubled: currently
standing at 967, including five children.
They also condemned the occupying regime’s introduction of
draft bills on the death penalty and limitations on medical
treatment, as well as brutal prison raids, saying the new
Israeli cabinet “is implementing a particularly hostile,
radical agenda against Palestinian prisoners and
their families.”
The groups further warned that “these measures give way to
grave human rights violations,” calling on the international
community to take immediate action to stop Israeli
violations against Palestinians.
There are reportedly more than 7,000 Palestinians held at Israeli
jails. Human rights organizations say Israel violates all the
rights and freedoms granted to prisoners by the Fourth
Geneva Convention.
Palestinian prisoners are held for lengthy periods without being
charged, tried, or convicted, which is in sheer violation of
human rights. Advocacy groups describe Israel’s use of
the detention as a “bankrupt tactic” and have long
called on Israel to end its use.
The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) keeps Palestinian prisoners under
deplorable conditions lacking proper hygienic standards. The
prisoners have also been subjected to systematic torture,
harassment and repression all through the years of
Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.
According to the Palestine Detainees Studies Center, about 60%
of the Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli jails suffer from
chronic diseases, a number of whom died in detention or
after being released, due to the severity of their cases.
In the UK, the Israel lobby has a grip on
both political parties - and the Labour
party is now led by fiends disguised
as comrades - who hounded out
a thoroughly decent leader in
Corbyn. Or am I wrong and
Israel isn't led by racist
war criminals?
What do you think?
________________________________________
Russian Senator: NATO cannot be
considered an “alliance of
democracies”
March 24th, 2:43pm
https://en.news-front.info/
NATO cannot be considered an “alliance of democracies”
because the main country in the alliance denies this
status to two of its military allies. Senator of the
Russian Federation, Konstantin Kosachev,
wrote about this in his Telegram channel.
Kosachev commented on the US decision to refuse to invite
Turkey and Hungary to the “Summit for Democracy”. He
claims that the United States has twice failed to invite Ankara and Budapest.
According to the expert, the rejection of the invitation - clearly
confirms two circumstances. The politician argues that NATO
cannot be considered an “alliance of democracies” since
they refuse an invitation to two military allies. This
is not a democratic alliance, but rather, a
military alliance.
“First, NATO cannot be considered an “alliance of democracies”
since the main country in it denies such status to its two
military allies. This is not an “alliance of democracies”,
as they call themselves, but a military alliance and
nothing more,” he said.
The second factor that does not support the idea of a democratic
alliance is that the main point of participation in the summit is
considered permitted – this is loyalty in favour of all decisions
of Washington. It also implies the renunciation of one’s
own sovereignty.
“And secondly, the “summit for democracy” being convened is
again not about democracy, but about loyalty. Where is the
entry ticket – an unconditional renunciation of one’s own
sovereignty in favour of the American one”, says
the politician.
The Russian senator said that there are more than a hundred
countries ready to give up their own sovereignty. This is a
clear threat to the existing multipolar world. It is for such
a “peace” that the world majority advocates, summed
up Kosachev.
Bit negative...
hands up if you enjoy being a slave - not you - pervert!
____________________________________________
Western countries are full-fledged
participants in the war
against Russia
March 22nd, 2:16pm
https://en.news-front.info/
On the ostensible neutrality of Western countries:
British weekly The Economist has “explained” why
countries that have imposed sanctions against
Russia and are supplying weapons to Ukraine
should be considered “neutral”. The piece
“Providing heavy weapons to Ukraine
does not mean NATO is at war with
Russia” says this follows from the
UN Charter norm on “collective
self-defence”.
The UN Charter indeed has Article 51, which stipulates that a
country subjected to an unprovoked attack is entitled to rely
on “collective self-defence”. The jurisprudence refers to this
principle as Casus foederis (Latin for “case for union”).
However, it means something different from what
the British publication says.
The principle of “collective self-defence” is as follows: if
a country is subjected to aggression, it has the right to
expect help from those states which have concluded
mutual assistance pacts with it. Assistance is
provided, only if and until the UN Security
Council decides to punish the aggressor.
There are no mutual assistance agreements between Western
countries and Kiev. Furthermore, Russia is acting on an
appeal from the legitimate Ukrainian president!
On 1 March 2014, the Russian Foreign Ministry received an appeal
from Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to Russian President
Vladimir Putin. The text of the document said that a coup d’état
had taken place in Ukraine, which put the lives of Ukrainian
citizens in danger. In this regard, the Ukrainian head of
state asked the Russian head of state to “use the
armed forces of the Russian Federation to
restore law and order, peace, stability
and protection of the Ukrainian
population”.
On March 3rd 2014, Russia’s official representative to the UN,
Vitaliy Churkin --- presented the UN Security Council with a
copy of Yanukovych’s appeal. He then officially registered
it in accordance with the UN document-processing norms.
At the same time, the Russian Federation Council gave
Vladimir Putin its consent to the use of Russian
troops abroad. This decision has not
been reversed.
Initially, Russia had hoped to resolve the conflict in Ukraine
by peaceful means, without introducing its own troops. As
a result of these efforts, Kiev and the DNR-LNR signed the
Minsk agreements in September 2014. They spelled out a
clear procedure for resolving the conflict in Donbas and
returning the situation in Ukraine to the rule of law.
Russia and the OSCE acted as guarantors of the
implementation of the Minsk agreements.
In February 2015, the agreements were approved by the UN
Security Council. However, Kiev, instigated by the West,
refused to implement the Security Council decision.
The purpose of the Russian special operation was proclaimed
to be the protection of the inhabitants of Donbas. Thus,
Russia, as a guarantor of the Minsk agreements, is
forcing Kyiv to implement the UN Security
Council decision.
The principle of “collective security”
does not apply in this situation.
We should add that the United States, when supplying weapons
to Kyiv, still refers to the norms of its own legislation. However,
in reality ---- they are not enforcing their own laws ---- but
violating them.
The White House administration appeals to the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 and the related Arms Export
Control Act of 1976. Both pieces of legislation allow
the president to supply arms to other countries
without congressional approval.
The purpose of the Foreign Assistance Act is declared to be
(literally) to “improve the quality of life” of the peoples of
the world. The list of measures includes promotion of
economic growth and “fair distribution of benefits”,
expansion of individual civil and economic rights,
improvement of transparency of economies
and elimination of corruption.
The purpose of the Arms Export Control Act is declared to be to
“assist” legitimate non-nuclear governments in ensuring their
“legitimate self-defence”. At the same time, it states that
the transfers “must not lead to the emergence or
escalation of conflicts” and “harm the
development of bilateral or
multilateral cooperation”.
But the actions of the White House administration contradict
these norms. After the United Nations Security Council
decision on the Minsk agreements, not only did the
United States of America not stop supplying
weapons to Kyiv, but on the contrary, it
significantly increased them.
In so doing, they have helped to fuel the conflict in Donbas.
This is in direct violation of the Arms Export Control Act.
And it is clearly inconsistent with the requirement of
the Foreign Assistance Act to “improve the quality
of life” of the inhabitants of Ukraine and Donbas.
Apparently, the White House is so accustomed
to “improving the quality of life” by means of
bombing and the mass destruction of
civilians, that it no longer notices
this difference.
Finally, the US Constitution has Article VI. It states --- that
international agreements (literally) “shall be the supreme
law of the land”. UN Security Council decisions have the
status of international agreements. Consequently, the
US was obliged to implement the Security Council’s
decision to implement the Minsk agreements.
The fact that the White House administration has acted to the
contrary means that it has been violating its Constitution, its
laws all along. And that is a criminal offence under US law.
There are criminals sitting in the White House.
One last thing. Regarding The Economist’s thesis that Western
countries, by giving military support to Kiev, “remain neutral”.
In 1984, Professor Karl Deutsch, of Harvard University,
introduced the concept of proxy war. Today, this term
is actively used in the development of strategic US
foreign policy and defence documents. It refers to
all cases where a country is trying to weaken its
competitor by supplying weapons to its enemy.
In American documents, such a country,
supplying weapons, is defined as a full
-fledged participant in the war. And it
does not matter that it declares
“neutrality”.
In this regard, the “neutral” status of Western countries
is out of the question. They are full-fledged participants
of the war against Russia, i.e. from the point of view of
the UN Charter, they are aggressors.
Yuriy Gorodnenko, RenTV
Reading this carefully, the case
against ''the collective West''
is impeccable. What do you
understand of this?
Wanna pec?
________________________________
ICC decision against Putin pure
propaganda — Indian expert
March 21st, 11:18am (TASS)
The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue
an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, is nothing more than propaganda and is not a legally-
binding document, Nandan Unnikrishnan of the
New Delhi-based Observer Research
Foundation told TASS on Tuesday.
"This ICC decision is absolutely propagandistic. Its goal is to
fan tensions around Russia, to bring further charges against
Moscow, to demonstrate that it is wrong. And that
supposedly, Moscow cannot get away with it,"
he said.
"Especially since we know that neither the United States nor
Russia nor China are members of the Rome Statute and do
not recognize this court. That is why this decision is an
absolutely propagandistic step, nothing more."
According to the expert, India is not a signatory to the Rome
Statute either, although it actively participated in the
document’s drafting. Nevertheless, in his words,
even if India were a signatory to it, it would
never take any measures against the
Russian leader.
"Under no circumstances would India take any action against
Putin, much less arrest him. Even if India were a member of
this court. I am sure of that," Unnikrishnan said, adding
that it is not in India’s interests to spoil its exclusive
relations with Moscow.
India took part in the work of the steering committee for the
ICC’s establishment. It also participated in the founding
Rome Conference organized by the United Nations in
1998. However, later India refrained from signing the Rome Statute - objecting against a number
of provisions in the final edition of the
documents. There are now... 123
nations that are parties to the
Rome Statute, including the
UK, Germany, and Japan.
123 countries support a ''Court'' based in the West, which has refused to issue any arrest warrant for any Western leader --- just Slavs and Africans!
This court should be unjoined, ...don't you think?
___________________________
Poland is eyeing: Ukraine’s
western regions
March 19th, 10:44am
https://en.news-front.info/
Polish political analyst Piskorski said that the western
regions of Ukraine are the most backward and their
annexation is “unprofitable”.
It is unprofitable for Poland to annex the territories of the
Western Ukraine. This was stated by Polish political
analyst Mateusz Piskorski to BELTA channel. He
explained his opinion by the fact that these
regions are the most backward.
“Poland has no interest in returning the western regions of
Ukraine because they are economically underdeveloped.
We are not talking about such developed industrial areas
as Dnipropetrovsk or Kharkiv. We are talking about the
most lame territories in terms of the economy. Large
investments are required to restore these territories,
and this is not due to the consequences of the
hostilities. It has to do with the fact that no
one has dealt with these territories during
the entire time of Ukrainian
independence” ---
Piskorsky said.
The expert believes that Poland’s opposition is taking
advantage of the information that the current Polish
leadership has plans to take over Western Ukraine.
“Former Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski did
accuse the government of considering such an option.
Personally, I don’t believe it. Radoslaw Sikorski is
part of the election campaign, which, in fact,
has already started in Poland. That is why
he holds such a viewpoint,” the political
scientist concluded.
Feint or faint...
what think you?
______________________________________
Medvedev urged Americans to
destroy the tyranny of the US
because of the possible
detention of Trump
March 18th, 5:10pm
(RT.ru)
Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security
Council, said that the citizens of the United States should
reclaim their country and destroy Washington's tyranny.
"Take back your country, Americans! Go into battle! Destroy
the tyranny of Washington! Send to the stinking dump of
history a corrupt clique of mad piggies — the Biden
I just can’t understand why the average Englishman should
sympathize and empathize with the Ukrainian “refugees”
to such an extent as to settle them with their families at
home, but absolutely not obliged to have any feelings
towards the refugees from Afghanistan and Iraq, who
were driven into a Stone Age ruthless bombardment
by the “coalition”?
Probably, this is because the Afghans and Iraqis were driven
into the Stone Age by the British and Americans, therefore,
you can pretend that the problem does not exist,
especially since we didn’t just drive them there
in the Stone Age, we gave them democracy
there on the ruins of their civilizations
built, yes…
Ukrainians are another matter, unlike Afghans and other
Iraqis, Ukrainians suffered undeservedly – they already
had democracy, Maidan and the House of Trade Unions
in Odessa will not let you lie, but then wild Russians
came with their totalitarianism and ruined every
thing, so Ukrainian refugees need help …with
all my might…
Including publications in the press calling on the municipal
authorities to help the unfortunate Ukrainian refugees who,
after the end of the six-month sponsorship scheme
(“hooked on a refugee for 350 pounds a month”),
suddenly found themselves on the street. And
on the street turned out to be almost 50% of
all the beneficiaries of this scheme.
For their benefactors refused to renew the contract and no
longer want (or cannot) accept Ukrainian refugees in their
home, even if they look like Europeans and speak broken
English. Unlike the brown Afghans and Iraqis, to whom
no one even offered such schemes, despite the fact
that Great Britain took an active part in the
destruction of their countries…
I feel sorry for the refugees… I feel sorry for all the refugees.
It is even difficult to imagine what it is like to leave your
home, your friends, relatives and friends, your usual
linguistic and cultural environment, and rush into
the unknown. I do know…
I came to England with one suitcase of clothes and books,
but I didn’t go to an empty place, I went to my husband,
to a warm, settled apartment, I went with knowledge
(theoretical) of the language, with prospects for the
future. And it was very hard for me for the first
couple of years, despite the support of my
English family – a culture shock, strangers,
a foreign language, a foreign mentality,
everything else, absolutely everything,
even the taste of someone else’s bread.
And for a refugee who fled from the war, and even just an
economic migrant arriving at an empty place in a foreign
and alien country, it is a hundred times harder. Therefore,
I feel sorry for them… including the Ukrainian refugees,
although what healthy men are doing here --- giving
interviews left and right about Russian aggression,
instead of defending their “suffered Maidan
democracy and freedom” with weapons
in their hands, I do not understand…
But what the hell, f**k them, I’m tired of the hypocrisy of the
British press & British officials who call on the government
and ordinary people to spend money on Ukrainian refugees
and keep deathly silence about refugees from countries in
which the British, including the military, built democracy
on the ruins of civilizations that, even if not older than
the Anglo-Saxons, in any case, certainly not younger.
I’m sick of them, by God… and even the mention of
Ukrainian refugees in such a context makes me
sick. For it rushes from everything with such
false pathos that you want to close your
eyes, plug your ears and run away from
it from everything to hell … that’s
just nowhere …
Lucine Avetyan, UK
Anger is a two-edged sword.
Righteous anger, doubly so.
What do YOU think?
_____________________________
Silicon Valley Bank failure tanks
other banks in domino effect
March 16th, 5:28pm
(PressTV)
The US has pulled the plug on Silicon Valley Bank in
the biggest banking failure in country since 2008.
The bank, which has been key lender to US startups since
1980s, failed after depositors hurried to withdraw money
over liquidity concerns.
It is the second largest failure of a
financial institution - in US history.
The Silicon Valley Bank held $209 billion
in assets at the time of its collapse.
Even after adjusting for inflation by assets it trailed only
Washington Mutual, which held $434 billion in assets
when it failed in 2008 during the US home mortgage
crisis, which triggered the world financial crisis.
Is the US headed for another financial crisis?
What does the failure of this bank say about
the state of the US economy?
The bank failed after depositors hurried to
withdraw money over liquidity concerns.
The SVB failure was triggered by the sale of $1.8 billion
in a bond fire sale which led to clients withdrawing
their deposits.
SVB is the 16th largest bank of the country, which
held $210 billion in assets, at the time of its failure.
What does the $1.8 billion bond fire sale mean?
Well, the bond sale is (because) the bank was short on cash
and so (it) went to the bond market to cash in its bonds to
get cash. But everybody said wait a minute, why are they
short on cash and began looking a little further into the
bank's finances but the issue is not the $1.8 billion.
The centrality of this bank is that it is the banker for
approximately, according to The New York Times
today, 2,500 or so startup companies. These
companies are high tech companies of all
kinds, many of them in California.
And so a company, let's say, is starting up and they're
beginning to grow their business, and they're crucial
to this little, you know, market that they've got and
they have $4 million deposited in this bank and
this happens.
Well what does that mean? It means the first $250,000 of
their money is okay, but the other three and a half million
or 3 million and three quarters is not okay. They can't
get to it so they might not be able to make payroll,
they might not be able to pay off other, you
know, suppliers.
And so what happens here is there is a multiplying effect
in a very, very crucial portion of the American economy,
which is the high tech startup portion of the
American economy.
And that's the importance of this bank.
Professor Frank Emspak, University of Wisconsin
How can the second biggest US bank SVB collapse over
$2.25 billion needed to shore up its balance sheet
despite having assets worth hundreds of billions?
Yeah, I think Frank is quite right, this is just a very small
trigger or spark for something much bigger. I mean,
essentially, we never escaped the 2008 financial
crisis, because the way to escape that was that
people should have lost a lot of money but they
didn't and the banking system was propped up.
And money is effectively, in this banking system, is our
single point of failure and a failure of the banking
system, which dwarfs the real economy causes
real disruption in the real economy.
Clive Menzies, Political Economy Researcher & Analyst
A former US Treasury official has warned that the American
banking system is "not safe" and the collapse of the five
largest US banks can incur losses twice as much as the
world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
And money is the medium through which the plunder and
control has been exercised. So in 2008, the bank bail-
outs and then the TARP relief, and the quantitative
easing that has happened ever since have been
just the issuance of debt to prop up what is
effectively a bankrupt banking system.
And by September 2008, the Fed started to expand its
balance sheet because, again, there was a liquidity
crisis in the money markets, and this is what we're
talking about today. The reason that there is a
liquidity crisis is that the way this money
expansion has occurred, is through the
central banks buying back much of the
toxic debt which accumulated prior to
the 2008 crash -- and they have been
buying debt instruments ever since.
So the whole house of cards is built on very little value which
the central banks have been buying at market value. But the
market value in no way reflects the real value of the
underlying assets. So what we're talking about
with this is like dominoes falling; it is the
beginning of something much bigger.
The big banks like Deutsche Bank have been bankrupt, but
what's shown on their balance sheet has a value that
bears no relationship to reality.
Clive Menzies, Political Economy Researcher & Analyst
Yet they don't close down. One would think that the 2008
financial crisis --- would have taught everyone a good
lesson. So where is the SEC, where is the control?
It's not a small bank and the controls are basically, the
ideology of control is not to control capitalism, but to
support it. And so when there is a banking crisis or
liquidity crisis caused by other reasons, in this
case, an attempt to curb inflation -- by raising
interest rates and increasing unemployment.
You know, that's the chosen method.
And so that creates all kinds of other problems, one of which
is that now people can't get cheap money for investment.
And so there are questions about the kind of investments
that are being made, in this case, 2,500 of them in the
high tech industry.
So the importance of this bank isn't, isn't alone that money
sort of seems to disappear. The importance is that a major
innovative, growing, sector of the American economy just
got hit in the head ----- because these companies, these
smaller companies do not have resources, they can't
suddenly go someplace else if their money is tied up in litigation, and get other cash so soon.
So what you've done here is destabilize a very, very important
section of the economy, and we don't know. This is Saturday,
so we don't know what's going to happen Monday, in terms
of many of these firms or other banks.
Professor Frank Emspak, University of Wisconsin
US regulators have closed down New York-based Signature
Bank, a big lender in the country's crypto industry, in a
desperate attempt to backstop the banking crisis and
quell concerns among customers about the safety of
their deposits.
SVB served as one of the primary regional banks
for the tech sector, servicing numerous startups.
From the latter half of the year 2022, roughly
around September, we saw mass layoffs.
When it comes to tech firms, like Meta, Amazon,
Google and the likes, the number of layoffs
was huge.
And even now in the first quarter of 2023, we have
already seen around 50,000 additional employees
laid off.
There are multiple strands to this and I think just before I
address the tech issues specifically, the tech companies
that Frank was describing, what are classified as small
to medium sized enterprises. I mentioned in my last
contribution just now --- that the Fed started
expanding its balance sheet in September
2019. And that data is quite important,
because the COVID psychological
operation, as I would call it, was
actually instrumental in closing
down huge swathes --- of the
small to medium enterprise
economy.
So not only is the tech sector being affected by this specific
banking crisis - but there has been a general assault on any
small businesses and these large companies, the ones that
that are laying off masses of people, meta, Microsoft, etc.
There are multiple factors at play there because they are
losing the ground, to some extent, to distributed auto-
nomous organization, which I might go into later, if we
have time, which is basically a much more distributed
way of working. And they recognize that with AI and
all the rest of it, they just don't need the people.
And this economy is built on the premise of we price labour in
terms of supply and demand, but we have an oversupply of
labour and a lack of demand because, basically, the more
labour you can shed, the more money you make, and that's
the sort of cold hard reality of how these companies work.
And it's a shareholder value.
So there are many strands, but in essence Frank is right that
it's a domino effect that these small companies can't pay
their wages, they have suppliers and it goes on down the
chain. And this is against the back drop of over inflation
or over inflated money supply, which is going to lead
to hyperinflation.
So you have all these forces, some of which are opposing, some of which are congruent --- and it's going to create a
great deal of instability, but luckily there are other things
emerging, that are going to hopefully act as a safety net
when everything, for want of a better way of putting it,
excuse my terminology, goes to sh@@.
Clive Menzies, Political Economy Researcher & Analyst
The collapse of American banks has triggered drastic
movement in bank shares as investors fear contagion
in financial institutions despite assurances from Biden.
There have been around 125,000 – 200,000 layoffs in
the span of about five or six months, particularly in
the tech sector, isn't that going to affect the
US economy?
When you have that many layoffs, doesn't it adversely affect
the US economy, the supply chains, and, the consumers
who are now out of the economic cycle, and will no
longer be spending any money?
Well, not quite, it might but here's a couple of different things;
first of all, 200,000 people out of the tech sector is not a huge
amount, given all the people in the tech sector. The second
thing is we're not talking about an immediate cut off of
income. Many of these people have various packages
for unemployment and separation from their
company that last a couple of months.
But the importance of this bank failure, that's another issue
because a lot of the people in some of these companies
went over or are going over to the rse in employment in the smaller and medium sized companies... which was fueled by the cheap money. So... in a place like Silicon Valley where there's hundreds of these companies as well as the larger ones, there was a safety valve.
And that safety valve... now may be closed, because these companies are in trouble.
So that's one thing. I know that but there are countervailing
forces if we take this area, Madison, Wisconsin, which is a very highly concentrated, medical high tech community.
Epic Systems just announced that they were going to
hire 1800 more people on top of the 7000 they've got
here in the suburbs of Madison. So, you know,
there are still different sectors of the
economy that are growing.
And of course, we now have what's going to be another
infusion in the tried way in which the United States has
dealt with unemployment and whatnot, the Keynesian
method --- of defense spending. There is a four point
something percent increase in defense spending,
there are increasing demands and cries to the
defense industry to hire people to supply the
war in Ukraine. And so there's going to be a
big push in that direction.
So I think there are some countervailing forces. Now we'll
see if there are enough, but the fact of the matter is that
the area that's going to be most affected is going to be
this high tech sector, about a quarter of a million
people, although it sounds like a lot, and it's
certainly not good news, is not the kind of
thing that will destabilize the economy.
What's going to destabilize the economy... is if a couple of
these other banks that are related in the same economic
sector as this bank, if they begin to falter on Monday,
then we're in a different situation.
Professor Frank Emspak, University of Wisconsin
Given the $1.5 trillion that was spent on Covid19 and the
return that the US is getting, considering the US GDP,
it's not getting that much of a return. Isn't that
indicative of a US economy that's not on a
steady footing?
Well, I think that presupposes that American policy had
anything to do with bank bailouts and COVID and all
the rest of it, that was all driven by the people who
are beneficiaries of all the debt that is being
created. I mean, the banking system is
driving everything, the people who
control money, so, no; they didn't
get much of a return.
But, you know, nor did anyone else. And what we're talking
about is a structural issue, we have, we have some
fundamental flaws in our structure, and there is
no way out of this --- other than to change the
structure as to how we organize ourselves.
And then what underpins that structure is money, which
I described as a single point of failure --- and what is
emerging to take its place is a very different way
of handling value, which is already being
capitalized on by Amazon, and Google
because they're using our data and
they are making huge amounts of
money out of it.
What is going to shift is that instead of having that data value
harnessed and harvested by relatively few small companies,
which cumulatively, Apple, Amazon and, I think, Google, are
worth something like 15 trillion. That.. is going to dissipate
into something called distributed autonomous organization. Open source created the internet, and it is creating the
same environment for money --- or value. It's yet to be
applied to money but it will be, money methodology,
will change ---- and that is the way the transition
will occur.
But the existing framework of continually creating more and
more debt in order to keep this bicycle upright, sooner or
later fails, that's why we have debt jubilees and bank
failures every few decades. And, arguably, we had
the mother of all bank failures in 2008.
What they're desperately trying to do with the great reset and
all the other measures they are trying to do is come up with
a digital replacement, to try and anaesthetize the economy
from all this debt, but it “ain't gonna work”. And so, this
distributed autonomous organization is what
emerge to take its place.
Clive Menzies, Political Economy Researcher & Analyst
The collapse of the US Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), said to be
the largest bank failure since the 2008 Washington Mutual
financial crisis, has left startups re-questioning their future
as the crash sends jolts across the global financial markets.
You said we have to wait until Monday to see how
other banks are doing. Isn't that a worrying sign
that we have to wait?
There are two different interpretations of this. One take is
that contagion is going to happen and other banks are
sure to either go bankrupt or stop operations.
Another take is that banks are in a good financial
standing so that's not going to happen.
So where do we stand?
Well, I think it partially depends on the bank and your
business. And I don't have, you know, in my head (an)
encyclopedic knowledge of all these major banks.
All right, I think that it stands, yes it's worrisome
the fact that you were sitting around on Saturday,
and you've got 2500 small businesses who
desperately tried to move their money from
the Silicon Valley Bank to other banks so
they can operate on Monday morning.
You know, they are the ones who are worried and, of course,
observing this and reading the tales of woe in the paper
about this and that company who had millions of dollars,
now they can't get it. Of course, it's worrying. And yes,
it's disturbing that you should have the most powerful
economic system in the world waiting for 24 hours to
see if there's going to be a collapse. So obviously,
there's a problem. The fundamental problems,
though, are that start you know, a whole trend.
When the Federal Reserve says, well, we're going to solve
inflation ---- by attacking working people by increasing
employment and raising interest. Well... what do you
think is going to happen? What's going to happen is
that money available to startups is going to become
more expensive, and they're going to be looking
around for other ways to deal with it. And so
you begin to undermine that industry. And
that's what's happened here.
They began to go to the SVG saying we need more cash. SVG
is looking around so well. Alright, we are short, sell the bonds
and oh my god, why are you short on cash? What's going on
over there? And so you have these contradictory effects.
Yes, we put in a tremendous amount of money, the
American government put in one point something
trillion dollars, to what, to a social safety net
fundamentally, that had been underfunded
for a quarter of a century.
And so what we did is we reached the minimum standard
that most people in the developed world had for 18
months, incidentally, it's all gone away now.
So we're not talking about an investment in productive efforts
in this business. You know, we're talking about making good
on a quarter of a century of unpaid debt, in a certain sense,
to people. Now, now, just now in the last year or so, Biden
and his advisors (say) jeez, we got to we got to do
something; we're losing the productivity battle.
So these things are all happening at once, and I think
(they) are mutually contradictory and hence, very,
very difficult of solution.
Professor Frank Emspak, University of Wisconsin
Facebook owner Meta announced a fresh wave of job cuts
on Tuesday, part of the company's "year of efficiency" as
the US tech sector continues to downsize.
The Fed released a job report that indicates there are lots
of jobs that have been filled despite all the layoffs, how
is that possible?
Briefly, because there's a much bigger explanation... but in
essence, as I've said before, money rules and the banking
system comprises central banks and commercial banks
and they create all the money, they created all the debt,
and they run the financial system and by running the
financial system, they run all the other levers
of power.
Governments do not rule, the money system has access to
all the roots of power, including government, but commerce.
... as far as the other piece of Frank's conversation about
what was going to happen on Monday and he said it
depends on the state of the balance sheet and the
business type of the other banks.
In essence, banking is a confidence trick. Basically, you sign
a piece of paper for a loan, and they give you money in
return. And as long as everybody has confidence in
that bank, then that money is regarded as being
worthwhile. And so the confidence trick is their
business model. Thus, if you lose confidence,
then the trick fails, and we have a banking
collapse. And this is the SVB situation.
I cannot predict whether on Monday, the dominoes are going
to continue falling, because I've been staggered given that
we saw this coming in 2015, I've been staggered at how
long they've managed to perpetuate this tightrope walk,
if you like, and they've not yet finished.
Clive Menzies, Political Economy Researcher & Analyst
Are you saying there'll be other banks that may default?
Well, I don't know, I'm not making a prediction, but I know for
a fact that most of the major banks are bankrupt because
their balance sheets comprise assets, which have been
marked to value because the Fed and other central
banks have been buying them at market price.
Clive Menzies, Political Economy Researcher & Analyst
US bank stocks plummeted into a chaotic situation
stemming from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank
on Friday, after customers demanded their
deposits and the company’s stock fell
amid worries over the bank’s
financial health.
''Wait until Monday''? No wonder they still call economics the dismal science!
Do you like the US running the world on the basis of a ''shell game''?
______________________________________
“Hired men”:Klintsevich on US
foreign policy management
March 15th, 9:36am
https://en.news-front.info/
US leader Biden and his henchmen are ordinary stooges of
weighty representatives of big business in the US. Franz
Klintsevich, head of the Afghanistan Veterans Union,
said this.
According to the ex-senator, Shatov’s rank-and-file, as well
as the US intelligence services, are internally opposed to
the White House’s vehemently aggressive course
towards Russia.
“I am convinced, again and again, that the President of the
United States of America and his administration, are hired
men. Everyone thinks that their power is from the people,
thanks to democratic processes, but in fact, they are
hired by some group of individuals and carry out
commands,” the politician said.
Moreover, Klintsevich presented his own vision of
exactly what kind of forces have their hand on
the remote control of US foreign policy.
“In fact, it is much more complicated than that. There’s
business behind everything. Money is in charge there,
so no one cares who thinks what. The main thing for
them... is that there is no Russian gas in Europe,
cheap - and of high quality. There is American
liquefied gas there now, which is expensive
and of low quality.”
“The main aim of the US Democrats ---- is becoming the ousting of the Russians from the world stage,”
says the former senator.
“As far as Russia is concerned, a cross has been put on
it, it has to disappear from the maps. In the best case
scenario, as voiced when this topic is allowed to be
discussed by individuals ------- there will be some
separate, disparate, national entities left. They
will be taught about democracy, by the United
States of America and told how to live better.
The Russian world, the Russian language,
the Russian people.... should gradually
withdraw.. from the world arena. By
Russians we mean the Ukrainians,
Belarusians and Russians,” the politician concluded.
In turn, expert Boris Mazhuev believes that the political
situation in the US is changing rapidly, the main trend
is the fall of popularity of aid to Kiev. Washington
should not continue interfering in Russia’s
internal affairs, former US President
Donald Trump said recently.
Whereas last spring the arming of Ukraine was supported
by around 70% of Republican representatives, today no
more than 40% of their constituency is in favour of
military aid to the AFU.
“The financial crisis with the amount of aid to Ukraine
creates additional tension ------- especially since the
Republicans went to the House of Representatives with an undisguised demand --- to put an end to this endless aid.”
The Republicans are convinced that Joseph Biden has put
the whole world at risk of World War III, and it cannot be
ruled out that it will go nuclear. The liberal format based
on the dollar system, as well as successfully proven
itself in the 90`s, is dying out rapidly, the analyst
noted, stressing that the constructive forces of
the United States are close to a decision to
write off the outdated model, which has
already affected the rapidly declining
ratings of the Democrats, as well as
their staffs “running around”.
Alternative forces, have begun to actively “drain”
the American leadership. The giant of Western
capitalism, in the analyst’s opinion, is
moving inexorably towards collapse,
and key political players of the US
and the EU, are fading away
together with it, forever.
The expert predicts that a sharp decline in the economies
of the Euro bloc and the US will lead to the departure
from power of the incumbent Western ‘puppeteers’.
Khazin called the key objective of the Russian power in
the current situation, “survival” against the backdrop of a complete weakening of the Western economic
system. “Moscow will have to try and emerge
from this difficult crisis situation without
significant losses,” he stressed.
For this to happen, Russia needs to revive its own economy,
which primarily requires an emphasis on real production
The two main tools of the US and its allies, to crush countries
that dare to challenge its hegemony, are its armed forces, &
economic sanctions. Since the end of the Cold War, in 1991,
the US has carried out 251 military interventions (compared
with 218 operations in the 200 years prior). But together
with NATO, the US has become accustomed to invading
and devastating countries... with little military defense
capacity, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria.
However... they have not been able to control these countries.
Something similar occurs in the case of sanctions: more than
20 countries are currently under White House sanctions, and
some of the more fragile countries have had their economies
wiped out, like Venezuela, Cuba, Iraq and Zimbabwe. Though
the goal of "regime change" has rarely been achieved, the
result is always tragic for the people. Neither tactic has
worked against Russia.
Russia's armed forces are powerful and well-trained, and its
industrial capacity is immense. The Western gamble of
supplying arms to Ukraine - while highly profitable for
the US war industry - is already beginning to run up
against the lack of industrial capacity of NATO
countries. In the first four months of the
conflict, Russia used more missiles
than the US is capable of
producing in one year.
According to a study by the Centre for Strategic International Studies, the US missile stock is already running low. The recent appeal by German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, for Latin American countries to send ammunition to Ukraine - unanimously refused by the region's presidents - shows signs of NATO's growing difficulties.
According to the Ukraine Support Tracker, approximately
$143.6 billion (as of January 15, 2023) has already been
earmarked for Ukraine, of which $44.3 billion is for
weapons already sent or financed by the US. Not
since the Vietnam War... has the US military-
industrial complex made so much money,
but last month, the White House itself
warned, that its resources for
supporting Ukraine.. are
not infinite.
Never before in history, has a country suffered as many
sanctions as Russia --- which is targeted by thousands
of them. Even with more than $300 billion of its inter
national reserves frozen - perhaps the greatest
"legalized" theft in history - in addition to
suffering severe trade and financial
restrictions, the Russian economy
has been less impacted than the
West expected. Its GDP shrank
by only 2.2 percent in 2022, a
kind of feat for a country ---
under these conditions.
A target of sanctions since 2008 --- Russia had already been
preparing economic antibodies to defend itself from further
attacks. But above all, one cannot easily devastate a
country that has a huge amount of strategic natural
resources, produces a lot of food and fertilizers,
and has such a powerful industry.
Moreover, the small number of countries that today apply
sanctions against Russia (US allies) represent only 25%
of the world's GDP. The other 75% want or need --- to
trade with Russians.
China, for example, has increased its trade with Russia by
34.3% by 2022 (to $190 billion), while India has become
the largest buyer of Russian oil and nearly quintupled
its trade with the Eurasian country over the last year.
The three countries are partners in the BRICS and
the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the pillars
of a growing movement of Global South countries
seeking a greater voice in determining their
future and that of the planet.
The European Council of Foreign Relations has just published
a survey on public opinion in the countries of the US-Europe
axis, plus China, India, Russia, and Turkey (a NATO member).
Even after a year of a constant Western media campaign
to demonize Russia, most people in these four southern
countries, amounting to about three billion people, want
the war to end as soon as possible, even if it means
accepting Russian control of territory previously
belonging to Ukraine.
Furthermore, 80 percent of Indian, 79 percent of Chinese,
and 69 percent of Turkish people, believe that Russia is
an "ally" or a "necessary partner," with most Indians
seeing the Russians as "allies," while most Turks
see them as their "necessary partner".
Most African countries have not forgotten the role of the
Soviet Union in their anti-colonial struggles against the
European powers --- and maintain excellent economic
and political relations with Moscow, to this day. Last
year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tried
to convene a meeting with the African Union, but
only four countries showed up.
At this point, the offensive of the US and its allies against
Russia has increased awareness among Global South
countries that it is necessary to strengthen the
regional and global initiatives that are "not
aligned" with Western hegemony.
Unsurprisingly, more and more countries have created
alternative mechanisms to the use of the US dollar ---
so often used by Washington, as a "weapon of mass
destruction." China has already made agreements
for the use of local currencies with about 25
countries, and the BRICS countries are
studying the implementation of a
mechanism that would allow
them to bypass the dollar.
More than 20 countries... have already expressed their
interest in joining the SCO or BRICS in the last months.
In a recent burst of sincerity, French President Emmanuel
Macron said he was shocked by how much the West is
losing credibility in the Global South. But a few days
ago, he himself shocked the world, by arrogantly
criticizing the president of the Democratic
Republic of Congo in front of TV cameras.
The French president's attitude reveals a deep pattern
of paternalism, from Washington to Brussels, shaped
by centuries of colonialism and imperialism. Some
things never change, but the world definitely
needs --- and is beginning to shape --- a
new order.
The author is a researcher at Tricontinental: Institute for
Social Research, co-editor of Dongsheng Collective,
organizer of the No Cold War campaign.
Opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
If you disagree with the article,
why not share your opinion by e-mailing us.
_________________________________
Georgia denied sovereignty
March 9th, 12:32pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Last night, while watching a news feed on the events in
Georgia, I caught my eye on a freeze frame from Tbilisi,
which showed a “random” demonstrator “coming out
at the call of his heart” in a white mask, cap
and hood.
It is important to understand that white medical masks are
useless against tear gas, but they perfectly help to remain
unrecognized. In addition, people in a white mask are easy
to distinguish in the crowd, even at night. At one time on
the Kiev Maidan, the so-called foremen and centurions
who controlled the crowd, all wore bright red jackets
as one, in Georgian conditions white masks were
used. Actually, there is no doubt that we are
once again dealing with the technology of
colour revolutions, thus the Maidan.
And nevertheless, let’s first understand what the
“spontaneous” Georgian protest arose against,
promptly supported by Washington & Brussels.
As Kommersant writes, at the end of February, members
of the Georgian movement, Power of the People,
submitted two draft laws on foreign agents to
parliament – On the Transparency of Foreign
Influence and On the Registration of
Foreign Agents.
The draft law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence”
recognizes as agents of foreign influence non-profit
organizations and media outlets with more than
20% of their annual income coming from foreign
funding. This will not affect organizations
founded by administrative bodies and
sports federations.
Organizations will be required to register as agents and file
financial returns annually. In case of violation, they will
face a fine of 25 thousand lari (about $9.5 thousand).
This document was approved by the Georgian
parliament on March 7th. However, Georgian
President, Salome Zurabishvili, has
repeatedly spoken out against
the bill --- and promised to
veto it.
The second draft law “On Registration of Foreign Agents”,
which was supposed to be voted on today, provides not
only administrative, but also criminal liability for any
individual or legal entity receiving foreign funding
and is required to register as a “foreign agent”
but fails to do so. . Failure to comply with the
law provides for a fine or imprisonment for
up to five years.
“The People Power Movement claimed that the Foreign
Agents Registration Bill was completely copied from
the US FARA Act (passed in 1938; requires foreign
agents in the States representing the interests
of foreign powers in a “political or quasi-
political capacity” to disclose their
relations with a foreign government
and information about relevant
activities and finances),”
Kommersant clarifies.
But as you know, what is allowed to Jupiter, before that, the
bull did not come out with a muzzle. In the role of the bull,
of course, Georgia and countries like it, which at one
time chose to move towards the West, so to speak,
along the path of freedom and democracy.
Here is what the US State Department
spokesman Ned Price said about this.
“We are closely following what is happening in recent hours
in Georgia. Our message to the people and government of
Georgia is that the United States stands with all those
who peacefully stand up for their fundamental rights
to freely express their opinions and be heard, to
hold their government to account… I will not
name specific individuals or companies that
may be subject to US or other sanctions.
But we have a set of tools that allow us,
anywhere in the world, to hold to
account anyone responsible for
the suppression of human
rights.” End of quote.
The representative of the State Department ---- quite
transparently hinted at Washington’s dissatisfaction
with the decisions already taken in Tbilisi and those
that the local parliament only intended to adopt,
not forgetting to threaten with sanctions – the
US’s favourite answer to all problems today.
The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, was even more
specific and bluntly explained to the Georgians, the
limits of their freedom and sovereignty.
“The Parliament of Georgia adopted in the first reading a new
law on the transparency of external influence. This is a very
bad development --- for Georgia and its people. The law is
incompatible with EU values & standards. It contradicts
Georgia’s declared goal.. of joining the European Union.
We call for respect for the right of Georgian citizens to
peaceful protest. The law, in its current form, risks
having a chilling effect on civil society and media
organizations, with negative repercussions for
the many Georgians who benefit from their
work. This law is incompatible with the
values and standards of the EU.”
End of quote.
It’s so simple & categorical – the law on transparency, that is
transparency of foreign interference in the internal political
life of a sovereign state is not compatible with the values
of Western democracy. Thank you for clarifying,
otherwise we had some doubts here.
In general, everything is clear, only one question remains
unclear. Initiatives of the Georgian parliament could be
eeaisly buried behind the scenes, by sending a couple
of Western missions to Tbilisi, which, by blackmail and
threats, would force the deputies to withdraw the bills
or, through amendments, change their essence
beyond recognition. Maidan is always an
extreme measure, but this time they
decided to resort to it, why? It
seems to me, for a number
of reasons.
Firstly, they decided to punish Georgia in this way for not
joining the Western sanctions against Russia and thus
not allowing the ring around the Russian border to be
closed. But if you can’t show China or Kazakhstan
for this, then no one expected such behaviour
from pro-Western Tbilisi.
Secondly, an attempt to limit the omnipotence of the Soros
(and the laws are mainly about structures directly related
to Soros) is an act of rebellion that is unacceptable from
the point of view of the West, which severely undermines
the authority of the US and the EU. And things are not
going well with this case lately, so the West has
decided to act in a spirit of zero tolerance for
such self-will.
Thirdly, on the example of little Georgia, it was necessary to
teach a lesson to all those who might also think to go
against the will of the United States, and, first of all
(oddly enough), Ukraine. The fact is that the other
day, the head of the President’s Office, Andriy
Yermak, was able to drag his man into the
post of director of NABU, the main anti-
corruption structure in Ukraine,
through which Washington
controls the Ukrainian
elites, and thereby,
outplayed the US.
The White House cannot go into open confrontation with Kiev
on the eve of the planned offensive of the Armed Forces of
Ukraine, but it was important to send them a signal that in
which case the Maidan can always be staged against
the Maidan activists themselves.
And fourthly, by changing the government in Georgia (if
it comes to that), the States are counting on using its
territory to create another hot spot against Russia.
Moreover, there is a formal reason in the form of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia. And it may very
well be that the Americans will need it soon,
everything will depend on the events on
the Ukrainian front.
In the meantime, the ruling Georgian Dream party
in Georgia and the initiator of the bills, the public
movement Power of the People, made a
statement in the morning about
withdrawing the bills from
the parliament.
Thus, freedom-loving Georgians yesterday defended
the right of foreign citizens and organizations to
determine the policy of their country and
calmly interfere in the internal affairs
of the state. Democracy has
triumphed again. With
which, I congratulate
all of us.
Alexey Belov, IA Antifascist
Nothing to see here..
Move on, cattle.
______________________________________
Another Western media drew
attention to the abundance
of foreign fighters in the
ranks of the Armed
Forces of Ukraine
March 9th, 11:14am
https://en.news-front.info/
The European media are increasingly raising the issue
of recruiting units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
(AFU) with foreign fighters, whose dubious
biography is deliberately omitted.
The author of The Duran notes that.. in contrast to
the relatively easily replenished stocks of military
equipment, in the ranks of the Kyiv army, there
is a steady trend towards a shortage of man
power, the replenishment of which seems
to be a more difficult task. Everyone - is
involved: from former US Marine Corps
veterans to jihadist terrorists from the
Caucasus and the Middle East.
The author writes that in addition to the fact that the
Ukrainian authorities, deliberately hide data on the
real losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which
the Western press is not ashamed to write about,
noting that the command has been guided by
this tactic since the time of the coup on the
Maidan, the Ukraine Command today uses
more and more sophisticated strategies.
The material emphasizes that the atrocities of the Ukrainian
military registration and enlistment offices are subject to active coverage in the Western media, in which
mobilization begins to concern children, ethnic
Romanians and Hungarians, and summonses
are issued on the streets of Odessa and at
Carpathian ski resorts.
The justification for this strategy is the critical level of losses
of the Ukrainian army: according to the most generalized
data, openly published by a number of Western sources,
the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost up to 100,000 soldiers.
However, more plausible is the information of the Turkish
publication Hürseda Haber based on Israeli intelligence
data, according to which the losses of the Ukrainian
army reached a terrifying mark of 157,000 people.
“Referring to the directive of the Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine, we also note an off-scale number
of suicides among Ukrainian military personnel - 436 cases
were recorded in 2022 (excluding the composition of the
National Guard, SBU, Ministry of Internal Affairs, border
services). And public dissatisfaction with those subject
to forced mobilization becomes so strong, that the
residents of Kharkov take desperate measures,
setting fire to the district “recruiting centre”
(traditionally, the military registration and
enlistment office),” the author notes.
He notes that against this background, the following cunning
strategy seems to be a particularly mutually beneficial deal:
the Kiev leadership uses the illegal practice of recruiting
foreign mercenaries into the ranks of the Armed Forces
of Ukraine --- providing these “volunteers”, with the
opportunity to easily obtain Ukrainian citizenship
(in addition to the status of a military man).
We are not even talking about the fact that such a situation
devalues the institution of citizenship... as one of the key
components of constitutional law. The most interesting
thing is that, in a number of cases, in their countries,
these mercenaries are deprived of their citizenship,
as reported earlier, for example, by The
National Post.
“And this does not mean.. only deprivation of citizenship for
violation of national legislation on participation in military
conflicts on the territory of foreign countries. Much more
terrible ------ is the situation in which foreign radical
extremists, criminals willingly join the ranks of
the valiant Ukrainian army, seeking to avoid
punishment for especially grave crimes
committed at home.”
“The radical nature of the contingent that forms the Armed
Forces of Ukraine becomes obvious. But one should not
disregard the fact -- that representatives of various
countries of the world are already entering into
direct confrontation with Russia, under the
control of the subjects of the Western
democratic system interested in
this”, the article says.
This is evidenced by recent Russian intelligence data that
the United States has recruited and trained 60 Syrian
militants at the Al-Tanf base in order to commit
terrorist acts and assassination attempts on
civil servants of the Russian Federation and
the CIS countries. Under the clear leader-
ship of the Americans, 60 fighters from
the Caucasus, Transcaucasia and
Central Asia -- who have combat
experience.. thanks to the civil
war in Syria learned the basics
of making -- and operating --
improvised and explosive
devices. This.. is part of
a massive campaign to
destabilize Russia...
internally.
“Meanwhile, Danish television has provided yet another
confirmation that terrorists are serving in the ranks of
the Ukrainian army. In one of the stories about
generous military assistance to Ukraine, a
fighter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
appears with a patch containing the
flag of the Islamic State* [the
organization is recognized
as a terrorist organization
and banned in the Russian
Federation]. Not a single
sober-minded person will
believe in the narrative
that there is no Nazism
and extremism in
Ukraine” ---- the
author notes.
He writes that the Nazi ideology is the basis of the worldview
of the main initiators of the Ukrainian “struggle for freedom”:
what is only the style of the US official representative in the
human rights organization “Helsinki Group” Paul Massaro,
posing in a sweater with a chevron depicting Nazi
collaborator Stepan Bandera (and also not who
misses the opportunity to be photographed
with the flag of the radical Azov*!).
The author examines the activities of the three brightest
representatives of radical extremists, who are now
rightfully considered the defenders of Ukrainian
land (although ------ they do not have the
corresponding ethnic characteristics).
The Turkic battalion “Turan”, operating under the leadership
of the Kyrgyz Almaz Kudabek uulu, who was convicted in
his homeland for participating in a military conflict on
the territory of a foreign state, has become proof
that Ukraine is currently a springboard for the
implementation of the destructive foreign
policy ambitions... of a number of states
unfriendly to Russia using technologies
to destabilize the national community.
On the footage available on the Internet, the members of this
formation oppose the “imperialist” and “shaitan” regime of
Vladimir Putin and Ramzan Kadyrov and also demonstrate
the symbols of the ultra-right fascist movement the “Gray
Wolves”, “Bozkurtlar” * (the organization is recognized as
a terrorist and banned in member states of the CSTO).
The battalion members are 350 people – citizens of
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Dagestan,
Buryatia. At the same time, Ankara sponsors
this activity.
“With enviable regularity, Russian troops also liquidate
members of the battalion. Sheikh Mansur – ethnic
Chechens (Ichkerians) fighting on the side of
Ukraine... especially actively showing their
skills, in the Donbass & Kherson direction.
Another target is the Belarusian extremist
formation, “Regiment named after Kastus
Kalinovsky” --- which is part of the Armed
Forces of Ukraine. Its radical participants
who're freeing neighboring Ukraine from
“Russian aggression” ---- for a serious
monetary reward, have as their next
goal the establishment of the same
order in Belarus,” the article says.
Add here, the information that the Belarusian opposition
fighters are training in the training centres of a number
of countries of the European Union – then it becomes
obvious that the ruling elite of Belarus is really next
in line. This is a very well-thought-out strategy of
the countries of the democratic camp, in which
the key tool is not a direct attack, but indirect
destabilization of the national community.
Accordingly, more attention of the Russian Armed Forces
---- should be directed to the suppression of foreign
mercenaries illegally performing military duties,
which in fact are the core of world terrorism,
promoted by Washington's political elite...
for their own selfish purposes.
* organizations are recognized as terrorist
and banned in the Russian Federation
* the organization is recognized as a terrorist
organization and banned in the CSTO
member states
Under the banner of democracy and
human rights, ride the darkest evil
money grabbing killers.
Is this something YOU approve...
Answer!
______________________________________________
Dual approach: how Olaf Scholz calls for
increasing the production of weapons against the background of the situation in Ukraine
by Alexander Karpov, Alena
Medvedeva, Vladimir Duyun
March 8th, 9pm
(RT.ru)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, that the conflict in Ukraine may drag on, so it is necessary to put on
a permanent basis, the production of weapons
and ammunition. At the same time he noted
that Germany wants the confrontation
to end.
Earlier, he criticized unconditional calls for negotiations and
the cessation of arms supplies to Kiev. Commenting on
Scholz's statements, experts note: that he has
completely lost his political independence,
and now broadcasts the position of the
United States, without offering any
alternative solutions to resolve
the situation.
The German authorities believe that the conflict in Ukraine
may continue for a long time, German Chancellor Olaf
Scholz said during a meeting with fellow citizens in
the federal state of Brandenburg.
"We have to fear that this will continue to happen, although,
of course, we would like it to be different every day," the
Chancellor said.
At the same time, Scholz added that, due to the potential
prolongation of the conflict, from his point of view, it is
necessary to put the production of weapons and
ammunition ---- on a permanent basis.
Commenting on this statement, First Deputy Chairman of
the State Duma Committee on International Affairs,
Alexey Chepa, stated that the NATO system
itself is based on the fact that Russia is
the only enemy of the alliance.
"They will use all possible ways to continue the conflict. It
will be Ukraine or some other country. They continue to
go this way, because it brings huge dividends," the
source stressed.
Weapons for peace
Earlier, Scholz, in an address to the Bundestag, criticized
calls to stop the supply of weapons to Ukraine. He said
that stopping the supply of equipment to Kiev will not
lead to peace.
"Peace cannot be achieved by chanting' No to war ' in Berlin,
and at the same time calling for an end to all arms supplies
to Ukraine," he said, adding that "peacefulness does not
mean subordination to a larger neighbour."
This is how Scholz reacted to a series of large-scale anti-war
actions that took place in Germany in recent weeks.
Protests were held in Munich, Dresden and Berlin,
as well as near the American Ramstein air base,
in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The participants of these actions called for stopping the
supply of weapons and military equipment from
Germany to Ukraine, as well as for making
efforts to resolve the conflict through
diplomatic means.
However, despite the protests, Olaf Scholz said that Germany
will continue to supply weapons to the Kiev regime and train
soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the territory
of Germany.
In his opinion, against the background of "so different
positions" of German citizens regarding the supply of
weapons to Ukraine, it is difficult to "approach the
goal of a just peace." In addition, Scholz said that
"there will be no peaceful solution over the heads
of Ukrainians" --- and Berlin adheres to the
position of the Ukrainian leader, Vladimir
Zelensky, on the issue of negotiations.
Recall that Germany supplied the Kiev regime with a
significant amount of weapons and equipment.
According to the German government, Ukraine received
34 Gepard anti-aircraft self-propelled guns, with 6 thousand shells, 122 armoured vehicles, nine
Biber bridge-laying tanks, an Iris-T air defense
system ..and SLM missiles for it, 145 pickups,
20 70 mm missile launchers, 15 Bergepanzer
2 armored personnel carriers, 12 M1070
Oshkosh heavy tractors... 50 Dingo
armoured vehicles ---- five MARS II
MLRS systems.. a COBRA counter-
battery system, 14 Panzerhaubitze
2000 self-propelled howitzers & 54
M113 armoured personnel carriers.
In addition, from the German side, Kiev received spare parts
for MiG-29 aircraft and Mi-24 helicopters, 60 thousand
40 mm shells, 18.5 thousand 155 mm shells, the
ammunition for MARS II multiple launch rocket
systems, 53 thousand shells for anti-aircraft
installations, 3 thousand Panzerfaust 3 anti-
tank missiles, about 15 thousand tanks.
anti-tank mines, 2.7 thousand portable
air defense systems "Strela" and 500
Stinger MANPADS, 22 million rounds
of small arms ammunition, 50 anti-
bunker rockets, 100 thousand
hand grenades, 5.3 thousand
explosive charges, and
other equipment.
In addition, in January, Berlin changed its position - on the
supply of German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Olaf
Scholz refused to supply main battle tanks to Kiev in
2022, citing the prospect of an escalation of the conflict, as well as the lack of a unified position on this issue among the NATO allies.
However, after US President Joe Biden announced his
intention to supply Kiev with American Abrams tanks,
the German government announced its decision to
transfer its heavy armoured vehicles to Ukraine
and gave the go-ahead for their re-export to
other countries.
It is worth noting that the German Defense Minister, Boris
Pistorius on the sidelines of an informal meeting of the EU Defense ministers in Stockholm said that 18 German and three Portuguese Leopard 2A6
tanks, together with trained brigades, will
enter Ukraine in March.
American rhetoric
Scholz's statements that the conflict in Ukraine will continue
for a long time and that -- in this regard -- it is necessary to
increase the production of weapons, indicates that Berlin
fully accepts Washington's position on the Ukrainian
issue, says Alexander Kamkin, a senior researcher
at the IMEMO RAS Centre for Comparative and
Political Studies.
"Scholz voices the position... that Joe Biden brought to him,
during the last call "on the carpet". The Americans, as the
main initiators of the conflict in Ukraine, will drag it out in every possible way, and this recognition of Scholz
actually says --- that Europe will be used by the US
--- as a front line in the confrontation with Russia.''
''Here you can recall the shortage of ammunition,
which the Europeans are talking about. Scholz's
statement can be interpreted as a signal to put
the European economies on military rails," the
expert explained, in a conversation with RT.
According to him, if earlier Scholz took a more balanced
position on resolving the conflict, now he voices the
opinion of the hawkish politicians, with whom he
shares power.
"Many members of the German ruling coalition talk about the
need to inflict a military defeat on Russia. This position was
voiced by Foreign Minister Berbok from the "Greens",
representatives of the Free Democrats, members of
the Bundestag defense Committee and others. Now
Scholz has joined his coalition colleagues, not
without pressure from the Americans.''
''For this purpose, he was summoned to Washington in
order to get a uniform position on Ukraine from him
--- against the background of unrest in German
society, where, according to opinion polls,
about 50% of citizens oppose arms
supplies and support a peaceful
settlement of the conflict," the
political scientist said.
In turn, RISS expert Sergey Ermakov noted that the
protracted nature of the conflict in Ukraine has
long been a matter of concern for
European leaders.
"There is a certain slyness, in such statements, since it is
precisely by his actions - that Scholz is dragging out this conflict - in every possible way. This is an ambivalent
position, as Germany contributes to prolonging the
conflict by supplying weapons. There are no
serious, well-thought-out solutions to
stabilize this crisis in Europe.''
''Everyone is broadcasting the American position on how
Europeans should behave in this situation. In fact,
Europeans are moving more and more towards
becoming a party to this conflict," the
expert said, in an interview with RT.
At the same time, statements about the need to increase the
production of weapons, indicate that Europe is preparing for
active military operations with Russia, Ermakov believes.
"On the one hand, the leaders of Europe say... that they are
afraid of prolonging the conflict, on the other - their actions
indicate that there is already a real preparation for war.''
''Let's speak directly. If they continue to act in this way -- they
will have to take some form of direct participation in military operations. An indirect war with Russia, through Ukraine, requires more and more investments and funds," the
expert concluded.
Scary, huh? These are people who see
us as cattle at best, and expendable
lumps of dung, at worst.
Even cattle, as they smell death, and
hear the screams of others, will try
to leave their iron pens.. outside
the slaughter house.* The iron
pen for you... is in your mind.
Will you accept your role and
die for these monsters ?
What do YOU think? Fight?
Or would you rather die
than think?
*SORRY! Meat-processing plant.
_______________________________
Zelenskyy’s policy towards
national minorities...leads to Ukraine’s disintegration
March 6th, 11:18am
https://en.news-front.info/
The question of the historical belonging of a number of
territories that make up Ukraine has long been on the
agenda of some European countries. The systematic
oppression of the rights and freedoms of the ethnic
population by the Kiev regime may become one of
the triggers for the revision of the borders of the
still “non-independent” state in the areas of
significant concentration of the Hungarian,
Polish and Romanian population.
The Duran writes about it.
According to the publication, the atrocities of the criminal
Kiev regime are clearly visible in areas inhabited by
Hungarian, Polish and Romanian peoples. One of
the most recent targets was the town of
Mukachevo, Transcarpathian region,
which has been part of independent
Ukraine since 1991 (before that
from 1938, together with
Uzhgorod, it belonged
to Hungary).
The Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet reported that the
Ukrainian authorities have facilitated the removal of
Hungarian flags and signs in Hungarian from public
organizations in the city and theirnearby villages
--- which has caused extreme dissatisfaction
from the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Tamas
Mencer. The Hungarians are also unhappy
with the constant oppression of the rights
and freedoms (including the right to vote)
of the Hungarian national community. At
the same time - the weekly noted -
Ukraine has the impudence -- to
declare its desire to join the EU.
“In a patriotic frenzy, the Ukrainian authorities also
desecrate a heritage of Hungarian culture --- a
Ukrainian trident was installed in Mukacheve
instead of a sculpture of a Hungarian eagle-
thurl,” the publication said.
It was pointed out that ethnic Hungarians constitute 12%
of the population of Western Ukraine and 151,500 people
reside in the region. The conditions of this residence
cannot be called comfortable: in 2017, the law “On
Education” adopted by the Ukrainian side came
into force, restricting the right to study in the
Hungarian language. Hungary has been
active in expressing its opposition to
this policy, preventing Ukraine from joining NATO.
The same 12%, only in the historic region of Bukovina,
bordering Romania, are ethnic Romanians. This
national group also expresses dissatisfaction
with the forcible assimilation policy of the
Kiev regime.
The National Council of Romanians of Ukraine.. has sent a
document to the Bucharest authorities denouncing Kiev’s
oppression of the right of Romanians living in Ukraine to
education in their native language. Thus, the “plaintiffs”
accuse the Kiev authorities of cultural and linguistic
genocide and Bucharest of insufficient measures to
counteract this policy and protect the
Romanian population.
As for the population of Poland’s north-western neighbour,
though the Polish-Ukrainian tandem thrives on a fervour of
desperate hatred of Russia, the two peoples do in fact
have a very contradictory past, with current echoes
to this day.
Poles remember -- the bloody period of the Volyn massacre even today -- despite the rapprochement between the two countries during the Ukrainian conflict, the issue remains
a stumbling block in relations between states that
position themselves as “important geostrategic
partners”. According to Polish Deputy Foreign
Minister Szymon Szinkowski, Poles living in
Ukraine (144,000 people) are discriminated
against on the issue of freedom of religion,
the ability to use the Polish language (in
particular in the education process), &
restrictions on freedom of speech.
In his unfavourable assessment, Szymon Szinkowski
also refers to the notorious 2017 language law. In
addition, he is legitimately unhappy with the
trend towards the active “Bandarisation”
of Ukraine’s population.
Against this unpleasant backdrop, the following scenario
seems likely: when the patience of national minorities
comes to an end, they may well demand secession
from the oppressing state. And this initiative might
not come from the ruling elite with its prerogative
to “restore historical justice”, which is relatively
easy to implement ----- given the extremely
precarious position of Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskiy. In this case, the vox
populi, the voice of the people, can play
an important role.
The degree of public heat could go as far as attempting to
initiate a new “Maidan”, in which Hungary, Romania and
Moldova would be well advised to protect their ethnic
populations. Another option could be for these
essentially European citizens to aspire to join
the EU, which would require them to leave
Ukraine and reunite with their ethnically
“native” countries.
But however powerful the idea of a popular uprising may
be, even it will fade if the leaders of Poland, Romania
and Hungary do embrace reintegration, a return to
their historic homelands. This is a plausible and
relatively easy scenario, given Zelenski’s
current precarious position... and the
general period of shaping the new
world order.
The paper notes -- that it is not customary in the Western
paradigm to talk about this openly, but former Romanian
Foreign Minister, Andrei Marga, has already made a bold
statement -- that Ukraine is now in artificial borders and
that it is good to return the historical lands to their real
owners – Transcarpathia should go to Hungary, Galicia
to Poland ...and Bukovina to Romania. The former
politician also mentioned the need to “return”
Donbass and Crimea to Russia.
“The notorious democratic inclusiveness and culture of
diversity does not work in Ukraine. Vladimir Zelensky
may not be the greatest strategist or the wisest
politician, but he does have a great acting
talent. How else can one explain the
genius -- that hides a real autocrat
and fascist -- under the mask of a
‘holy champion of democracy’?
Ooer... this blows the lid off Ukraine.
What do you think?
_____________________________________
Americans are sick of
the word “Ukraine”.
March 4th, 11:06am
https://en.news-front.info/
Joe Biden has personally announced the
next military aid package to Ukraine.
Compared to previous tranches it is relatively modest – $400
million. Mostly ammunition --- missiles for HIMARS, shells for
155-mm howitzers and 105-mm guns, subversive ammunition.
The nomenclature itself indicates the essence of the depth
of the problem. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are faced with
a shell famine, which even these American deliveries will
not allow them to overcome.
It is no longer possible to ignore the objective difficulties.
No media cover can close this obvious hole, which even
the NATO Secretary General is already pointing out.
Jens Stoltenberg was forced to admit that the appetite of
the AFU was beyond the alliance’s grasp. The expenditure
is higher than the income. The debit does not match the
credit. We’re out of ammunition, but you hang in there.
Kiev doesn’t believe it yet. They demand from the EU
to send not less than a quarter of a million shells
every month. Otherwise, they say, don’t expect
any progress. The price of the issue is at least
€1 billion. But everything rests on a race
against time.
Yes, the Pentagon, according to the media, wants to increase
shells production by 500%, but it will not be possible to do it
in a month... or even in six months.
Is this not what Joe Biden and Olaf Scholz were discussing
at the White House? The German chancellor’s bizarre visit
raised many questions. Crumpled open part, conversation
behind closed doors, no press conference at the end. The
US administration’s sparse report that.. “during the talks,
the two leaders expressed their willingness to continue
the sanctions policy against Russia for a special
military operation in Ukraine... ‘as long as
necessary'”.. sounds more like a mantra
and a slogan than anything substantive.
So why was Scholz coming?
The German opposition believes that the Chancellor went to
Washington for a bow. To smooth the edges over Berlin’s de
facto delay in supplying tanks to Zelensky. However, the
sharp corners have been added lately. Firstly, America
has lately been pushing the “China threat” theme,
threatening China with consequences for
potential aid to Russia. Beijing is Berlin’s
main trading partner and Scholz is
caught between two fires.
Secondly, exactly one year ago, standing next to Scholz
at the White House, Biden threatened North Streams
by uttering this phrase:
“If Russia invades, if tanks, soldiers cross the Ukrainian
border again, there will be no more Nord Stream 2.
We will make it happen. I promise, we can do it.”
As Seymour Hersh’s investigation has recently revealed,
those words by Biden were not an emotion. The plan
to blow up the pipelines was already in place. The
question is whether Scholz knew about it. He
himself is keeping silent ------- to conceal his
senior partner overseas, but if the German
chancellor really did not know, then, after
Hersch made everything public, Biden
should, at least, explain himself.
And in such a case, it is better
to do it face to face --- rather
than over the phone.
Hersch claims that the main reason Biden gave for the
destruction of both strings of gas pipelines at the
bottom of the Baltic - was the US President’s fear
that at the peak of consumption, in cold weather,
the Germans would “break down”. They would
get out of Washington’s control at a critical
moment and refuse to keep up with the US
on the Ukrainian track. What Biden did not
take into account was that the Americans
themselves would start to get out of
control. And it would be the careless
Zelensky, who would help them.
The Ukrainian president, who has staked his life
on emotion, seems to have completely turned
off the remnants of his traditional intellect.
Or his gaps in recent history are so glaring that three weeks
before the 20th anniversary of the American war in Iraq
(which according to official figures killed 4,500 US men)
Zelensky, without the slightest reflection, demanded
that US folk.. should pay with their lives for Ukraine.
If you type the word Zelensky into the English-language
Twitter segment right now, you will almost certainly
come across a video in which he declares that US
sons and daughters will have to fight and die
for Ukraine.
And crossing that red line was a death sentence.
This is the Rubicon, from which, there is no
going back.
“Zelensky wants our sons and daughters to die defending
Ukraine’s border, but Ukraine is not even a member of
the North Atlantic Alliance,” Marjorie Taylor Green, a
member of the US House of Representatives,
said angrily.
“Zelensky has no idea what he just did. Taking our taxes is
one thing. We’re already used to getting nothing out of it.
But now he’s talking about the deaths of American
children for his war. If there’s one bear that
shouldn’t be teased --- it’s an American
parent,” ordinary Americans, already
nauseated by Ukraine lately, echo
her. The wind is changing before
their eyes.
Not conservative and isolationist star Tucker Carlson of Fox
News, but the quite systemically liberal NYT this week ran
an article titled “Weakening public support for Ukraine’s
arms program – a challenge for Biden.” Hidden inside
the package with the sparingly rounded headline is
the ruthless results of opinion polls (according to
their data, support for aid to Kiev has dropped
from 60% last May to 48% today, and the
number of Americans who think that the
United States helps Ukraine too much
has jumped from 7% a year ago, to
26% today), as well as “damning”
questions -- for the White House
head. The main one of which is:
how much more patience..... do
the American people have left?
Now, after Zelensky’s lame-ass egoistic speech, one can say
for sure that it will last “less” than it did before it. Tens and
maybe even hundreds of thousands of Americans took his
words not just as bloody blackmail, but as a challenge to
their personal well-being and a threat to their way of life.
And it would be strange if, at election time, nobody
picked up on such strong messages.
Biden sounds the warning from political analysts --- who are
certain that if Donald Trump manages to sneak through the
party primaries and becomes the only Republican nominee
(as things currently look like they will) he will do every-
thing he can to have the campaign against the
incumbent White House leader built around
the “Ukrainian issue”.
For Biden it is like an overflowing repository of toxic wastes
from his former political and business activities, so tied up
with Ukraine. Both through his son Hunter, the “Maidan”
and the multi-billion dollar US military-industrial
complex contracts.
So it’s just a matter of time before Trump invites
Biden for a walk through this minefield…
Valentin Bogdanov, RT
Aah, time! Patience is a
virtue seldom found in
women - and virtually
never - in men.
What, dear reader,
do YOU think of
all this!
__________________________
Take Notice Citizens
of sleepyJoeland
March 3rd, 5:18am
(Rhondda Records)
President Biden on Wednesday (March 1, 2023) issued
a continuation of a previous executive order that
declared a "national emergency" in the U.S.
related to the year long conflict between
Russia and Ukraine/NATO.
In February 2022, just days before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Biden issued an executive order
that expanded the "national emergency" scope of
the previous orders.. that were set to expire on
March 6th. The continuation Biden issued on
Wednesday, will extend the orders for an
additional year.
Emergency Powers that can be executed by the
President of the US under a state of emergency:
Bank accounts can be frozen.
Bans on biological or chemical agents can be lifted.
Civil liberties, such as the right to a
peaceful assembly, can be halted.
The president can order incarcerations.
Elections can be postponed indefinitely.
Federal leases can be suspended
when the country faces dangers.
Foreign individuals can be ordered to leave
the nation, and the borders can be closed.
National resources can be ushered into
play to confront a natural disaster.
Sanctions pertaining to property and
finances can be removed or initiated.
Soldiers and naval vessels may be ordered
to engage in combat during a crisis.
The government can take control of the internet,
radio, and TV because of a perilous matter, and
production and distribution of goods can
be seized.
The military can be mobilized domestically in a crisis,
martial law can be declared by the president.
The leader of the Executive branch can
launch a nuclear strike if necessary.
The president may order an assassination
resulting from an emergency.
The right of habeas corpus can be
suspended as a consequence
of crises.
Transportation networks can be
taken over by the government.
Hey ho... you were warned
--- but you were half dead.
What do YOU want?
Freedom... or the
new US DREAM
...sleepy slavery?
________________________________________
Serbia Will Regain Its Soul
by Davor Slobodanovich Vuyachich
March 1st, 2023
How much can the dignity of a small,
defiant nation that loves freedom
above all else, cost?
On May 31st last year, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar
Vucic, began his new five-year mandate ------- by taking the
presidential oath in the National Assembly of the Republic
of Serbia. While in a solemn atmosphere, he pronounced
the text of the oath, which is precisely defined by the
Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, for a moment
almost the whole of Serbia united around him; not
only his supporters, but even his bitterest political opponents.
Those who did not support Vucic on that day when he swore
that he would “dedicate all his forces to preserving the
sovereignty and the entire territory of the Republic of
Serbia, including Kosovo and Metohija as its integral
part”, are not even worth mentioning.. because they
- are unworthy of their homeland. Whether someone
loved Vucic or not, on that day they sincerely wished
that he as the president of all the citizens of Serbia,
would really find the strength to protect Serbia from the terrible evils that threaten it ---- for the umpteenth time.
Article 182 of the Seventh Part of the Constitution of the
Republic of Serbia, which concerns territorial organization,
autonomous provinces, and local self-governments, clearly
defines Kosovo and Metohija as an autonomous province
within the Republic of Serbia. As a lawyer by education,
President Vucic most certainly knew - what a terrible
burden he took on himself that day. The oath he took,
until the end of his presidential mandate --- legally
forces him to act exclusively in accordance with
the obligations and rights imposed on him by the
Constitution. In the continuation of the solemn
oath, the Serbian president accepted another
equally sacred obligation: he swore that he
would devote all his energies to the
realization of human and minority
rights and freedoms, which most
certainly includes freedom of
speech and political activism.
Therefore - while the valid Constitution of the Republic of
Serbia is in force, it is the obligation of every citizen, and
most of all its President, to strictly adhere to every part of
it, including that which concerns Kosovo and Metohija as
an inalienable part of the Republic of Serbia. Although as
a legal category, the term “high treason” in the sense of
a criminal offense, has been removed from the Criminal
Code of the Republic of Serbia, there are still 2 similar
criminal offenses punishable by prison terms of 15 to
forty years. Those two crimes are: recognition of
capitulation or occupation -- and endangering the
territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia. The
text of the Constitution is easily accessible to the
average citizen of Serbia, but that does not mean
they know it by heart or that it's even necessary.
Every Serb, from birth to death, cherishes the awareness that
Kosovo and Metohija are not only the heart but also the very
soul of the Serbian nation, that it has always been so, and
that it must remain so ----- until Judgment Day. It is not
necessary to threaten the average citizens of Serbia -
with the aforementioned articles of the Criminal Code
- in order for them to know what is right and what is
wrong, just as they do not need to be taught who
are the biggest and proven enemies of the
Serbian nation --- and who are their true
brothers, friends and potential allies.
Because of all this -- the disclosure of the details of the so-
called Franco-German plan, to resolve the issue of Kosovo
and Metohija, on January 20th after the visit of EU and US
representatives to Belgrade, dramatically stirred spirits in
Serbia. The most patriotic part of Serbian society, people
labeled as “Serbian extremists” - by the collective West,
were absolutely furious - but quite rightly so. First of all,
this document we couldn’t justifiably call Franco-German,
and it's even less about a constructive plan or agreement
that would satisfy Belgrade & Pristina equally. Terms like
“American dictate” or “American ultimatum” would be far more accurate.
That the USA is the real initiator & creator of the disastrous
“Brussels Agreement” for Serbia should not be doubted at
all, because the Americans have been working diligently
for decades on the project of creating Greater Albania.
According to the Serbian expert from the Eurasian
Security Forum, the university professor, Doctor of
Science, and retired Major general Mitar Kovac,
Greater Albania is necessary for the Americans
in order to serve them as a cheap and privileged
basing of military forces. The US therefore wants
to create a huge military base from the whole of
Greater Albania, from which they would control
not only the entire Balkans, but also the wider
region, and the entire Mediterranean.
Albanian President Edi Rama openly says that the NATO- occupied Serbian province is already perceived as part
of Greater Albania. Without much diplomatic tact... he
declared that the acceptance of the “Franco-German
plan” by the Serbian side would be one of the steps
towards the main goal, which is the unification of
the occupied Serbian province --- with Albania.
Namely, the plan behind which Washington most certainly
stands, whatever you call that dictate, requires Serbia to de facto recognize the so-called “Kosovo”... as an
independent state. Thus, Article 4 of this ultimatum
asks Serbia not to oppose Kosovo’s membership in
any international organization, including the United
Nations, the European Union and NATO. In the rest
of the “Franco-German” plan, Serbia is required to
develop good-neighbourly relations with so-called
“Kosovo”, and that Serbia cannot represent that
fake state in the international sphere and act on its behalf.
Article 8 provides for the exchange of permanent missions,
which is a euphemism for the establishment of diplomatic
relations between two independent states. You don’t have
to be a legal expert to understand that all this not only de
facto but also de jure--- means that Serbia recognizes its
southern province, which was occupied by NATO in 1999,
as an independent state. This unequivocally means that
the text of the Franco-German plan is in direct collision
with the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, as was
the “Brussels Agreement” --- by the way. Any official
representative of the Republic of Serbia who would
sign such an agreement would be committing a
criminal offense -- punishable by a long prison
sentence. Unofficially, at the end of January,
some Serbian media reported that the Prime
Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, and not
President Vucic, should put her signature on the agreement.
You will agree, in that case, even if she really signs the
ultimatum, the Prime Minister would be assigned the worst
possible role in the entire Serbian history, which is not fair
for several reasons. First of all, it is about a lady who is part
of a very vulnerable minority community in Serbia; second,
as a politician, Ana Brnabic is relatively inexperienced in
legal matters of international importance and finally, she
does not enjoy the direct support of the electorate that
would allow her to violate the Constitution --- and risk arrest with more confidence. All of this should force her colleagues to take responsibility for themselves in a gentlemanly manner & deal with the disastrous
rating they would have in the public afterwards.
President Vucic, in accordance with his presidential oath and
the Constitution, is obliged to do everything to ensure that
this insulting and humiliating agreement for Serbia is never
signed by anyone. Connoisseurs of internal affairs in Serbia
know very well that Prime Minister Brnabic --- never does
anything without the approval and order of the President,
which is why her signature on the “agreement” would be
seen as Vucic’s anyway. Another Serbian Prime Minister,
Ivica Dacic --- in 2013 --- when the disastrous Brussels
Agreement was signed, refused to sign this same plan,
which was actually part of the same package. Dacic,
as an experienced politician, knew that it would be a
kind of political suicide for him, and these days the
public is getting the impression --- that he is still
hesitating, about whether Serbia should really
shoot itself in the stomach. Admittedly, Dacic
publicly denied these rumours --- but the
journalists most likely assessed the
situation correctly.
While some Serbian regime politicians are wavering, and
others are slowly replacing the platform from which they
tried to balance between the West and Russia --- with
completely surrendering Serbia --- to the interests of
Washington and Brussels, a large part of the Serbian
public is protesting more & more loudly. All previous
surveys of the public, including the one from May last
year conducted by the magazine for political theory & social research “New Serbian Political Thought”
(Serbian “Nova srpska politika misao”), clearly show that 82.1% of Serbian citizens support Russia, that 87.2% of them --- are against membership of Serbia in the hated NATO,
and that support for Serbia’s entry into the EU ------- has dropped to 20%.
Why, then, does the ruling coalition still persistently insist on
the so-called “European way”? Democracy must not be just
a mere reign in the name of the people, but really, to the
greatest extent possible, it must be ..a true expression
of the people’s will and feelings, and it must not be just
a dead letter on paper & part of theoretical democracy,
but a matter of daily practice. Historical experience has
shown, that if the will of the people is persistently and
long-term ignored - a dangerous social anomaly arises
in which the gap between the alienated political elites
and the people widens, that at a certain moment can
go down the path of an extremely unpredictable and
very undemocratic outcome that everyone in Serbia
wants to avoid.
Violence, of course, is out of the question as a way to solve
Serbian problems. To be completely fair to the ruling Serbian
political coalition, and as Maria Zakharova, the Director of
the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the West is
really putting tremendous pressure on the Serbian
government. The fact that Serbia is -- literally --
territorially surrounded by countries --- that are
members of the North Atlantic Alliance, whose
crimes Serbs will never forget & many will not
even forgive, does not help Serbia either.
Nevertheless, regardless of all that, as Zaharova concluded,
Serbia simply must not submit to the West. It is an option
that is inadmissible to even think about because the
possible consequences for Serbia would be
catastrophic and would lead to the
disappearance of the Serbian
people and their statehood.
That’s why on one of the biggest Serbian national holidays,
namely Statehood Day, on February 15th of this year, the
most patriotic of all Serbs tried to express their displeasure
with the collective West’s attempts to impose the Franco-
German dictate on Serbia. The organizer of the protest --
which was held near the Presidency of Serbia, was a PhD
of Legal Sciences, and university professor Dejan Mirovic,
& the rally was supported by 4 opposition parliamentary
parties. In a city where more than 2 million people live,
only a few thousand patriots showed up at the protest,
which unfortunately indicates a high degree of national
apathy in Serbia. Such a modest & peaceful gathering
in no way posed a danger to the state ---- and its
constitutional order. Nevertheless, the protest,
where in fact there were no incidents, for some
reason still severely disturbed the Serbian
authorities ----- and two of the speakers were soon arrested.
The speech of the political and social activist, Damnjan
Knezevic, known as the organizer of several mass pro-
Russian rallies in Belgrade, could indeed be considered
somewhat sharper and more emotional --- but in the
opinion of the huge number of Serbian lawyers who
spoke out these days, there were no elements of a
criminal offense in it. The sentence for which the
journalist, historian, owner, and editor-in-chief of
Srbin.Info, one of the few independent media
outlets in Serbia, Dejan Petar Zlatanovic, was
arrested, unexpectedly became the slogan of
his sympathizers: “Whoever signs, will be killed”.
Unfortunately, the Serbian police in this short sentence
recognized a danger to the constitutional order of the
Republic of Serbia ---- and even a threat to the life of
President Vucic himself. However, even a superficial
logical analysis of this statement clearly indicates
that Zlatanovic did not mention the president of
Serbia at all, and that he was talking purely
hypothetically, about a person who would
one day... dare to violate the Constitution
by signing a “Franco-German agreement”.
Zlatanovic did not mention what could be signed or who could
do it, and therefore, many lawyers in Serbia responsibly claim
that Zlatanovic is completely innocent. Since the organizer
of the protest, professor Mirovic is a legal expert, it is not
surprising that all the speakers, including Knezevi and
Zlatanovic... spoke as cautiously as they could. In the
opinion of many lawyers, the police acted very clumsily
by declaring that Zlatanovic’s slogan “Whoever signs,
will be killed” is a direct threat to the life of President
Vucic. In their zealous desire to protect the president,
they indirectly accused him of a possible violation of
the presidential oath and the Constitution.
Since the potential signatory of the agreement could be the
Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, it
remains unclear how the police came to the absolutely
illogical and potentially very offensive conclusion that
the violator of the Constitution will be the President of
the Republic of Serbia himself.
Knezevic and Zlatanovic were accused of extremism and
ordered to be detained for up to 30 days. Their friends
reported.. that Zlatanovic has been on a hunger strike
since February 15, that he even refused to drink water
for 4 days, and that he is in poor health and under
enormous stress. It seems that during the arrest,
Zlatanovic suffered a very painful injury to the leg
in which he has a congenital disability. Apparently,
Knezevic suffered much more serious injuries during the arrest, which is why he is currently in the emergency hospital centre.
His lawyers appear to have been barred from seeing him, but
this information has not been verified yet. These two arrests
were openly condemned by a large part of the Serbian public
these days. The associations and unions of journalists, the
crème de la crème of Serbian intellectuals, university
professors and academics, all parties of the patriotic
opposition including the parliamentary ones, most of
the patriotic and Orthodox movements, but not only
them, came to the defense of the arrested. Perhaps
unexpectedly for many, support for the two proven
patriots and Russophiles also came from the pro-
European part of the opposition.
Several organizations of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija also
appealed to the Serbian Patriarch --- with a request that he mediate in releasing the arrested. Finally, one of the most
influential leaders of the Serbian diaspora, Dr. Miodrag Kulic,
a theoretical physicist, addressed the public with the request
that the arrested be released immediately, and I will explain
why his appeal is particularly important at the end of the
article. Zlatanovic is already being called the “Serbian
Gandhi” because he never used violence, or called for
violence, and that is good - because it shows the clear
desire of the citizens of Serbia to conduct the political
struggle exclusively with Gandhian, that is, completely
non-violent, methods. Maybe Knezevic is, in that case,
the “Serbian Malcolm X”, because of his emotionally
charged patriotism -- but it is certain that he never
intended to use violence, either. There is no doubt
that Vucic himself, as the president of all citizens,
will have to intervene and release the arrested as
soon as possible because their arrest is beginning
to cause him political damage. Public support for
Zlatanovic and Knezevic, is growing day by day.
It must be mentioned that immediately after this modest
patriotic protest on February 15, which would have been
forgotten by now if it were not for unjustified arrests,
some Serbian media reported that PMC Wagner was
behind the organization of this gathering! Realizing
that there is a huge danger that Serbian-Russian
relations will be damaged - by the media owned
by Western companies, the Russian ambassador
to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, reacted
quickly with a statement in which he emphasized
that the Russian Federation does not interfere in
the internal affairs of other countries & that the
Russian Embassy condemns the threats sent from the named protest rally. It is, of course, a principled, professional, and responsible diplomatic statement by which Russia, for the umpteenth time --- lets Serbia
know that it can always count on it.
Indeed, Russia does not interfere in the internal affairs of
Serbia, negotiates only with the elected representatives
of Serbia's people, & condemns attempts to forcefully
change the government. Russia, unlike the collective West, does not blackmail Serbia, does not threaten it, and is open to cooperation under conditions that suit Serbia itself. It is up to the Serbian leadership, not to Russia or any other side, to listen to the voice of the suffering Serbian people --- that will never accept as their friends & allies --- those who desecrated
their homeland & continued to blackmail Serbia.
However, the collective West demands --- that Serbia impose
sanctions on Russia, its traditional and reliable foreign policy
partner. In order for Russia to become unnecessary to Serbia
regarding the problem of Kosovo and Metohija, Serbia must
first renounce its southern province itself before imposing
sanctions on its old ally. Of course, the West is in a hurry to
force Serbia to capitulate as soon as possible, because it is
becoming clear that NATO will suffer a colossal defeat in
Ukraine and that then Russia will have much more time and
energy to deal with the problem of Kosovo and Metohija, and
in that case, than the American project of Greater Albania
will utterly fail. Why should Serbia give up a part of its
historical territory that the Serbian people consider
sacred --- and where there are over 1,600 medieval
Serbian monasteries, and other priceless cultural-
historical treasures and natural resources that are
estimated at over a trillion euros? Is it because of
that “European path” that the Serbian people,
more than obviously, do not want at all?
Is there an alternative to Euro-Atlantic integration? Can Serbia
survive without investments from the West? It was exactly
the -- above-mentioned -- prominent leader of the Serbian
diaspora, Dr. Miodrag Kulic, who reminded the public in
his address, that the Serbian diaspora is the largest and
most loyal financier and investor in Serbia, with annual
investments of around 6 billion euros. Second, for a
number of years --- many prominent and respected
Serbian intellectuals, university professors, geo-
politicians, & journalists have been studying the
Eurasian perspective of Serbia as opposed to the
Euro-Atlantic one. Serbia has no place in the EU
& NATO in the company of enemies, murderers,
& oppressors of the Serbian people, but in the
organizations such as Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, the Collective Security Treaty
Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union,
and BRICS.
The best proof that the brutal sanctions of the collective West
that calls itself the “international community” can be survived
is Iran, which not only survived the western sanctions but
achieved incredible technological progress --- in the same
period. Therefore, there is definitely another path for Serbia,
& to claim that Euro-Altantian integration has no alternative
is dangerous, irresponsible, despondent, and unpatriotic.
Many Serbian intellectuals and politicians advocate that
Serbia must withdraw from the disastrous Brussels and
Washington agreements & that, in accordance with UN
Security Council resolution 1244, the resolution of the
problems of its occupied province should be returned to the jurisdiction of the United Nations, where it will certainly be able to count on the support of Russia and China.
Finally, should Serbia, even if it has no possibility of regaining
control over Kosovo and Metohija at the moment, at least
maintain its national dignity by refusing to ever sign the
humiliating dictates of the West? This is, of course,
just a rhetorical question. How much can the
dignity of a small, defiant nation that loves
freedom above all else cost? How much
can the soul of Serbia cost?
(Source: https://strategic-culture.org)
I love the Serbs, and their struggle is
my struggle. Do you disagree?
Then please email and
explain why.
_______________________________________
NATO Is De Facto at War
with Russia: Kremlin
February 28th, 6:58am
(al Manar)
The US-led collective West must change their approach to
global security and finally take Moscow’s concerns into
consideration, before talks on the New START nuclear
agreement can be renewed, Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov has said.
Speaking to the Izvestia newspaper for an interview published
on Tuesday, Peskov said relations with the United States and
Europe have “changed radically” since President Vladimir
Putin formulated draft security treaties that were sent to
Washington, Brussels and Vienna in late 2021, only to
hear that “they were not ready to talk about anything
with us.”
“If they wanted, they could have sat down at the negotiating
table [back then, before the decision to launch a military
operation in Ukraine],” he said. “There would have been
very complex, positional, sometimes irreconcilable
talks, but they would have been under way. But
they refused.”
With the failed attempt at dialogue, tensions continued to soar
between Moscow and the West in the lead up to the conflict in
Ukraine. Peskov argued that NATO is now fully involved in the
hostilities, noting “their intelligence is working against us 24
hours a day, their weapons… are supplied to Ukraine for free
to shoot at our military, not to mention that they shoot at
Ukrainian citizens.”
“The moment when NATO de facto became a participant in the conflict in Ukraine, the situation changed,” the spokesman continued. “In fact, the NATO bloc is
no longer acting as our conditional opponent,
but as our enemy.”
“President Putin was and remains open to any contacts that
can help Russia achieve its goals in one way or another,”
Peskov continued. “Preferably peacefully, at the
negotiations table, but when this is not
possible,also by military means, as
we are seeing now.”
Peskov touched on the New START treaty, a US-Russian
accord.... intended to limit both nations’ nuclear stock-
piles and allow them to monitor each other’s military
facilities to confirm compliance. Amid the conflict in
Ukraine, however, Moscow and Washington have
accused each other of failing to facilitate
such inspections.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that
Moscow intended to formally suspend its obligations under
the pact, with Peskov explaining ----- “the conditions must
somehow change.” During the New START negotiations,
the nuclear arsenals of France and Great Britain were
left out of the equation, even though they are
“significant enough for the entire system of
European strategic security,” he said.
“These countries – France, Britain, the United States – are
members of an organization which is de facto at war with
us… you need to call a spade a spade,” Peskov added,
noting how Western states nevertheless keep
“repeating like a mantra --- that they do not
want to be participants in the conflict.”
Putin has also accused NATO specialists of helping Kiev
to launch drone attacks against Russian airfields
hosting long-range bombers, which are part of
Moscow’s system of nuclear deterrence.
He blamed Washington and NATO’s proxy war against
Russia, for destroying the foundation of trust... on
which, the treaty was initially built.
Source: RT
So - war it is. And the sooner the US
- as Scott Ritter says - is beaten in
Ukraine, the better. What do you
think?
_____________________________________
The U.S. is tired of Ukraine,
---- but will not stop
February 26th, 1:58pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Reuters published an interesting story on February the 22nd.
The gist of it is --- that there is no unanimity in the US as to
how long US military aid to Ukraine can continue in its
current amounts.
No, so far so good – Congress, demonstrating the proverbial
“bipartisan consensus”, has approved every new tranche
of funding requested by the Biden administration since
the war began. The amount of aid from the US and
allies has reached $113bn (by comparison,
Ukraine’s GDP in 2013 was $180bn at
that period’s prices).
However, Reuters notes US fatigue with Ukraine. Firstly,
according to an Ipsos poll commissioned by Reuters
on 6-13 February, in which over 4,000 US citizens
participated, support for providing military aid
to Ukraine has fallen from 73% (April 2022)
to 58%.
Secondly, there is no unanimity in Congress either. The
Republicans, who are in the majority, are demanding
spending cuts to curb the budget deficit. Already a
group has emerged which is demanding that this
be done at the expense of Ukrainian aid. Even
Democrat Rep., Bob Menendez, who chairs
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
notes: “commitments, especially costly
commitments, cannot last forever.”
To summarise, an unnamed US official says: “It has to end
at some point. And we would all like it to end as soon as
possible.” According to him, this information was
conveyed to Zelensky, during Biden’s last visit to Kiev.
All in all, at first glance, there is nothing particularly surprising
here. On the eve of Biden’s visit and afterwards there were
already expert opinions that the US president will demand
an offensive from the Kiev administration, in order to get
better terms for a ceasefire.
A visit to Kiev by a group of Republican congressmen also
attests to this. The chairman of the US House Committee
on Foreign Affairs, Michael McCaul, said that Biden was
“too slow” ...regarding arms supplies to Ukraine. It is
long overdue to give Kiev aircraft and long-range
missiles, he said.
It is clear that this initiative is aimed at “ending this as soon
as possible” – the more weapons Ukraine gets, the sooner
there will be comfortable conditions for a ceasefire for
Kiev. True, congressmen are irresponsible people,
they are free --- to demand arms deliveries. The
Washington administration, on the other hand,
fears that the conflict will escalate and
extend beyond Ukraine, which fully
explains its “slowness”.
At the same time some experts in the US do not exclude that
Ukraine will have to make territorial concessions in the
process. This is an unofficial opinion, but it seems that
the Crimea issue has been decided to be “put on the
back burner”. Even Zelensky questioned the
advisability of a military solution to the
Crimean question, last spring.
The reasons appear to be domestic. Next November, there
will be presidential elections in the USA. The agenda of
US elections is usually domestic, with an emphasis on
the socio-economic component. US citizens, which is
typical for citizens of the global superpower are little
interested in foreign policy --- and are certainly not
prepared to sacrifice their well-being for the sake
of the ambitions of Washington strategists.
Against this background, the US administration will be
forced to divert itself from the Ukrainian issue. Just
so as not to screw up Biden.
The news is bad for Ukraine. First, it will have to go on the
offensive, and before most of the new military equipment
(tanks above all) provided by the West is received. This
will mean huge losses for the Ukrainian army with an
ambiguous result. Ukraine’s territory... could also
shrink even further, as a result of this offensive.
Secondly, Kiev will have to say goodbye to the dream that the
West will feed it forever. And this is exactly the point of the
“Kiev security pact” proposed by Zelensky --- the West
takes over Ukraine’s military expenditures and gives
guarantees as in NATO, or almost as in NATO.
Thirdly, Zelensky will have to negotiate with Moscow at a time
when Moscow does not really want to negotiate with him.
The Russian side, understanding the problems of the
West, is in no hurry at all to resolve the Ukrainian
crisis, as is evident from the calm tone of the
president’s address to the Federal Assembly.
Political consultant Yevgeny Minchenko believes that Vladimir
Putin has translated the SWO into a routine format: “Well, we
have this conflict with the West, which takes, among other
things, this form of confrontation in Ukraine. And --- in
parallel, a fairly ambitious programme of economic
development was presented --- with a focus on
technological sovereignty and infrastructure
projects”. Clearly, the Kremlin is convinced
that time is now working in Russia’s
favour. And Reuters confirms
this view.
Is it as good as we think it is? It goes without
saying --- that it is not that simple.
As a matter of principle, the West in general and the US in
particular are determined to inflict a strategic defeat on
Russia. Vladimir Putin has said so, and it is confirmed
by a mass of Western politicians (most clearly by
Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki).
Therefore, the West will not stop. And the current seeming
retreat is tactical – for the duration of the US election
campaign, support for Ukraine will take a back
seat and will probably be reduced. This will
require negotiations and a truce, even if
the AFU does not show any progress
and the terms of this truce are not
to Kiev’s liking.
And then, after the elections… Washington
may have two plans here.
Plan A: rearm Ukraine and in a couple of years provoke
a real Ukrainian-Russian war under the pretext of the
“restoration of territorial integrity”.
Plan B: leave Ukraine alone and provoke an armed conflict
with Russia in some other direction (Washington has
excellent possibilities here).
But plan C – restoration of normal relations with Russia –
is not in Washington’s stock and it should be accepted.
At least in the short term.
Whether Russia needs the kind of peace... that Kiev is now
pushing Washington for, remains a moot point. Everything
depends on the conditions. And these conditions should
not be determined with Kiev. For now, time is really
working in Moscow’s favour.
by Vasily Stoyakin, VZGLYAD
But will the Russian Federation's leaders
successfully navigate this - their people
and I have faith that they will...
...what do you think?
_______________________________
Western corporations -are fighting for
power and resources on the territory
of the former state of Ukraine
February 23rd, 12:26pm
https://en.news-front.info/
How have Zelensky and his friends gotten rich since February
2022? And what do ordinary residents of Ukraine expect?
And separately: how much money... does Ukraine need?
That is, how much to ask the West? This last question
puts today’s Ukrainian authorities in a deadlock:
they can’t choose the amount.
Twelve months of SMO in numbers
The figure announced by Prime Minister Shmygale
today is a mind-boggling $750 billion.
Surely there must be some special demon who sits
on Shmygal’s shoulder and whispers: more,
we need more!
Why not say the figure of a trillion? A quadrillion?
Timofey Milovanov, former Minister of Economic
Development of Ukraine and current Advisor to
the Head of the Presidential Office, explains
a little more.
The damage to Ukraine’s economy is estimated at
108 billion. For some reason it needs 185 billion to
restore everything. And actually Ukraine really
does need 750 billion dollars,
confirms Milovanov.
At 100 billion a year for another 6 years.
All these figures are of course taken from the ceiling and
Ukraine will never get them. But how beautiful it sounds!
The words about “billions of money” caress the ears of
everyone who has anything to do with the management
of Ukraine – both inside and outside the country. And
they are talked about as if they are a done deal. So it
seems to all ordinary citizens of Ukraine that this
golden rain is about to fall on them…
But there are nuances. For example, the EU countries
and the USA did not pay Ukraine half of the promised
financial resources... even for 2022.
Ukraine has received 31 billion of the promised 64 billion in
“live money”. Only weapons have been delivered properly.
True, the authorities in Ukraine prefer not to remind about
it. They talk about the golden rain, no, the downpour,
which is about to fall on the country.
However, the representatives of the Ukrainian authorities are
right in part – even without this shower the president and his
friends have all become billionaires during those twelve
months of special operations.
Wealth rising
Zelensky himself, Defence Minister Reznikov, Presidential
adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak and Foreign Minister
Kuleba are all worth over a billion dollars today.
Each of them! Zelensky has more than one
and a half billion.
Kiev mayor Klitschko’s fortune is only 800 million. But it has
also grown considerably more than others. From 150
million at the beginning of 2022 to 800 million at
the beginning of 2023.
There is no doubt that the fortune of David Arahamia, Ruslan
Stefanchuk, the Secretary of National Security and Defence
Council Danilov and hundreds of other high- & low-ranking
officials is increasing at the same rate. City mayors.
Customs officers, border guards and all those who
cover up smuggling. Thousands of “volunteers”.
Everyone who sits on the flows of goods, food
and humanitarian aid.
The modest military suits, which all members of the Ukrainian
government like to dress up in, conceal the real essence of
the war. The essence is colossal profits for all those who
sit on the money flows in Ukraine.
And it’s not just “aid from the West”, which is in fact loans that
hang around the necks of future generations of Ukrainians.
It is also a blatant and predatory seizure of land, subsoil
and other riches of the country.
Land
According to the “Australian National Review”, Zelensky has
already sold 17 million hectares of arable land in Ukraine.
These hectares are now owned - by three of America’s largest
corporations: Cargill, DuPont and Monsanto. Suppliers of food
and chemicals, fertilisers and seeds. Owners of vast tracts
of land around the world.
Monsanto is known to be a corporation that specialises
in genetically modified products. Not always with clear
results, not always with positive results, but
spinning billions.
Many countries strongly object.. to Monsanto’s presence on
their land. Peru, for example, where they believe Monsanto
is waging an undeclared food war against their country.
And it seems it is no longer against the country, but
against the entire planet.
But money is more important than food security on Earth.
Apparently Ukraine’s fertile land will soon start producing
genetically modified foods. Or, far more likely, they
already are.
All this, of course, started before Zelensky. And it has long
been said that the south of Ukraine is totally planted with
rape and corn. It was especially visible from the planes: a
total yellow sea of rapeseed below. And the fact that
these crops completely kill the land, nobody cares.
But Zelensky has already finalised everything. The laws
have been passed, the land has been sold. By the way,
now I understand why he was in such a hurry to pass
the Land Law.
And it does not matter how it is legally formalised. Was
the land leased, through front men, for 50 years? Or is
the land finally sold?
“Monsanto” will have enough for a few years to make
super profits and permanently render the land
unusable for growing anything other than
their genetically modified corn.
By the way, 17 million hectares is 30 percent of all
Ukrainian land. That is not a little, one third of the
territory. But the reality is even worse – it is
almost half of the arable land!
Grain agreements
Now the hysteria with the export of grain from Ukraine
becomes clear. How many stories were told that
hungry children in Africa would die without
Ukrainian wheat…
But here are the results. According to the UN, 65 out of 88
vessels sailed to Western countries. And it was not wheat
they were carrying, but corn. Probably Monsanto corn.
But wait, it’s even trickier than that. Watch your hands.
It is especially important to watch their hands and
their pockets, when the Ukrainian functionaries
start to whine and suffer in public.
Not only Monsanto got their corn, but wheat left Ukraine
under the guise of this corn. The difference in price is
in the pockets of billionaires from the Office of the
President of Ukraine.
Of course, these people are not at all interested in the
cessation of hostilities. On the contrary. It would be
desirable for both global TNCs and the current
Ukrainian functionaries that martial law be
maintained for as long as possible. For
years! Even better – for decades. After
all, they are only getting richer from it.
Unlike, of course, ordinary citizens,
with whose bodies the president
and his clique plug holes in the
AFU; at the front.
Gas
Remember how Arseniy Yatsenyuk used to worry about
Ukrainian gas under President Yanukovich? Arseniy
Petrovych argued that there was enough Ukrainian
gas for everyone in Ukraine if it was used
properly, rationally.
“Our government is stupid and the people
are smart,” Arseniy Petrovych used to say.
Yatseniuk, the hero of the Maidan, “fist in forehead”, by the
way, has considerably enriched himself since then, he is
rumoured to have bought either 20 or 30 villas in Miami
and is successfully renting them out for tens of
thousands of dollars. Not least of all he
enriched himself with the famous
“Yatsenyuk’s wall” which does
not exist anywhere but in
Arseniy’s pockets.
But here’s the question: where is the gas of
Ukrainian extraction going now? For which
Yatsenyuk campaigned so much? When
the prices in the markets skyrocketed,
the Ukrainian gas went … of
course, abroad.
Yes, it was being shipped there before, but since
the SMO, supplies to the West account for
almost 75 percent of production.
Super profits are shared between
TNK and the President’s Office.
Only the people of Ukraine are left poor.
US aid
By the way, about the much-publicised 45 billion “US aid”.
The money will not reach Ukraine for the most part;
it will go to addresses in the USA itself.
7 billion of this “aid” will go to the U.S. European Command.
5 billion will go to the US Department of Health to help
Ukrainian refugees on US soil.
12 billion is to replace the weapons already handed
over to Ukraine in warehouses in America.
Even the 9 billion that is planned to be given for the
purchase of everything necessary for the AFU is
the purchase of weapons from their own, in the
US. That is, again, their own.
And there is also the purchase of intelligence for the
successful functioning of the AFU. Of course, the
purchase will be in America. Both the Pentagon
and the intelligence agencies will receive
the tranches.
Does it give the impression that this is a trivial waste
of money in favour of their own people? That is
exactly what it is.
You do not have to be shy about the amounts. All these
billions are future loans to Ukraine. Which will have to
be paid back, according to the latest data from the
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, “in equal
installments over 35 years”.
In other words, future generations of Ukrainians, if their
state survives, will spend half their lives paying back
debts to the US for the actions (or maybe inaction
or insanity) of their parents.
Ukraine is now supporting the US military! And not the
other way round at all. The scheme is simple and
clear. Ukraine is borrowing money from the US
and giving it to the US military.
And what exactly is planned for Ukraine?
Salaries
In the twelve months since the beginning of the SWO,
the Rada deputies have significantly increased their
own salaries. Unlike the people, who are surviving
as best they can.
221,000 hryvnias is now the salary
of a deputy of the Rada.
Plus supplements, additional
payments and so on.
And that is without the “envelopes”!
But the rest of the Ukrainians have
not so good salaries and prospects.
Universities – minus, marihuana – plus.
According to the plans of the Western lobby, which have
already been announced in the media, the number of
universities in Ukraine is going to be reduced
by 50 percent.
But there will be fields planted with marihuana!
In the near future, the West is planning to establish
the largest cannabis farms in Ukraine.
The law on legalization of marihuana was already pushed
through by Zelensky. It did not succeed at once. But
you’ll see, soon it will be submitted for
consideration in the Rada again.
The law on legalization of prostitution
is being prepared as well.
That is the perspective for the future generations
of Ukrainians: with marihuana, with prostitution,
without higher education. A little like a third
world colony? It does.
Communal
In 2023, Ukrainians should get ready for the inevitable:
according to the demand of Western TNCs, all utility
bills should increase several times.
This is not surprising. Ukraine’s entire infrastructure,
including power grids, heating plants and water
supply, is in the hands of Western corporations
or their partners.
Electricity bills will double.
Gas, heat and water will go up by 50 percent.
In addition, in 2023:
– taxes and prices will go up;
– Cash registers will be installed everywhere;
– Public sector workers will be cut,
wages will be lowered;
– Food problems are expected;
The only “good thing” will be the loans
hanging around Ukrainians’ necks.
By the way, is it worth saying that all these mind-
boggling billions are loans? As noted, the billions
will be paid back by the people of Ukraine and
their descendants for years to come. If there
is any Ukraine left at all, of course.
What happens if hostilities end tomorrow?
Ukraine will be left with $200 billion in loans.
What will happen if a year from now?
Ukraine will be left with $300 billion in loans.
Every citizen of Ukraine, including infants,
already owes the West 7,000 dollars.
Modern slavery
The fact is that the state which Ukraine shouts
about at every turn (“Glory to Ukraine!”), this
state no longer exists. There is no Ukraine.
There are corporations, which have seized the lands
of Ukraine, the gas of Ukraine, power plants,
heating, industry, trade.
There is no state, there is a large predatory corporation
that is fighting for its power and its resources on the
territory of the former state of Ukraine.
Well, the people of Ukraine, if they remain on this “TNK
territory”, finally become modern-day slaves. Global
transnational corporations are the masters of the
new Ukrainian serfs.
Elena Murzina, Ukraina.ru
Propaganda - or painful truth?
They say, the truth hurts ---
but this article excoriates.
What do YOU think, gentle
reader?
_______________________________________________
Foreign Policy: Britain is still standing,
but its foundations are weaker than
in past centuries
by Elena Panina
February 22nd, 2:58pm
https://en.news-front.info/
(Source: Foreign Affairs)
What are the fundamentals?
The magazine explains:
1. For a long time Britain was an empire.
2. It was cemented by religion.
3. There was industrialisation and an economy.
4. “British” meant a prestigious brand, moral
and economic superiority. Even when
England gave away primacy to the USA, there was still the soft power of the Beatles,
James Bond and
Monty Python.
But now, with each of the four elements
there are major problems.
When Elizabeth II ascended the throne, her subjects
made up --- over a quarter of the world’s population.
When she died, Britain was left with barely more
than a dozen overseas territories. But even
those ---- have taken up the fashion of
abandoning the British monarch,
as Barbados dared to do.
In 2001, 72% of Britons consider themselves Christians;
in 2021, only 46% do. And it’s not just atheism, at all.
Manufacturing industry in the UK accounts for
only 10% of economic output and 8% of jobs.
The once powerful British army now looks
deplorable. So does the social economy.
Domestic politics are bad too. 52% of Scots are
in favour of independence, less than half of the
Irish want to be in Britain.
Here, her soft power too, has “softened”.
So unless London begins to restore “Britishness”,
the decrepit kingdom stands no chance, Foreign
Affairs admits.
And adds: one of the attractions of Scottish or
Welsh nationalism, is the distance it creates
between these nations and the faults of
British imperialism.
Indeed, few people like Britain today, even within
itself. Too much blood and crime has hung over
this empire, in its entire existence.
From time to time the idea of striking at the real centres
of decision-making on the Ukrainian front, comes up in
Russia. Perhaps this idea... deserves consideration.
At least half of Scotland, Wales and Ireland,
would certainly not mind.
OK, Rhondda Records added Wales! So, if Russia just bombs England... how would YOU feel, butty?
___________________________________________
How Russia is reviving the new regions:
Authors (5):
Anastasia KURDYUKOVA
Nikita MAKARENKOV
Pavel KHANARIN
Galina KOPYLOVA
Anna SHILYAEVA
February 22nd, 9pm
(Komsomolskaya Pravda)
Thought you might like a pleasant very
positive hopeful article - for a change!
We tell you about the changes that are currently taking
place in the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics,
and the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.
Construction works are in full swing.
New regions of Russia are being transformed before our eyes.
Almost around the clock, workers build houses and schools,
repair roads, hospitals, cultural centres, sports palaces and
everything that was in a neglected state for many years.
DPR
Cities and villages have not seen large-scale projects here for
at least ten years. The last major construction projects were
in preparation for the 2012 European Football Championship.
In 2014, an armed conflict began - Ukrainian militants constantly destroyed and continue to destroy the
city's infrastructure. With the advent of Russia,
the republic will be transformed and prettier.
A separate layer of work concerns the restoration of destroyed and damaged houses. This year in
Donetsk, it is planned to put into operation
more than 3 thousand new apartments.
To do this... the authorities decided to complete the
construction of unfinished buildings. In particular,
people will celebrate housewarming parties in 3 high-rise buildings at the following addresses:
92 Koval Street, 24 Panfilov Avenue, and Shevchenko
Boulevard, near the building of the Central State
Library No. 3. In total, according to the Ministry
of Construction and Housing of the DPR, 42
new buildings in the republic, are in a
frozen state. All of them are going
to be completed.
New housing is also being built in Volnovakha, which
Ukrainian militants have almost wiped off the face
of the earth. In three months, the contractors put
into operation two residential buildings, all
apartments were furnished. Three more
houses are now under construction.
It is noteworthy.. that all apartments will be equipped with
central heating, hot water supply, bathrooms and sanitary
appliances, electric kitchen stoves, interior decoration
will also be enacyed. The project for the construction
of a new residential complex, also provides for the
improvement of the adjacent territory.
"Most of the work has been completed, and the
construction will be completed in the near
future," the Ministry of Construction
specified.
Construction of a new perinatal centre in Donetsk.
Great attention is paid to medicine. Currently, the newest
modern perinatal centre... is being built in the Leninsky
district of Donetsk. A six-story building with 140 beds.
Inside there will be maternity and operating wards,
intensive care, various departments - pregnancy
pathology, neonatal resuscitation, nursing of
newborns and premature babies. The entire
centre will be equipped with high-tech
equipment. The work will be
completed this year.
''This centre will provide the most highly specialized care
to pregnant women who have even the most complex
pathologies. In the new centre, we will be able to
care for children from 500 grams,'' said the
Minister of Health of the DPR,
Dmitry Gartsev.
In Volnovakha, construction workers are completing
major repairs to a dental clinic. It is planned that
the first patients will come to the reception in
the spring.
In addition, the specialists commissioned the transfusiology
department, which was equipped with high-tech medical
equipment. The city hospital is also being rebuilt.
Renovated schools
In Amvrosiyevsky district, contractors took on streets that
had not been repaired for decades. In a short time, thanks
to the Amur Region, 30 km of inner-city roads were put in
order. The regional chief also carried out an overhaul at
the Novoamvrosiyevskaya school. The school was built
in 1953, and since then the heating system has never
been changed. With the arrival of Amur residents,
more than 300 batteries were replaced, a huge
number of heat supply pipes were installed,
and the roof was updated. Internal repairs
were carried out. In general, now there is
a completely new school here.
The same updated schools appear in the Volodarsky district.
Here the chef region - Lipetsk Region - has already
completely updated four educational institutions.
In addition to carrying out construction work,
educational institutions are equipped with
new furniture, computers, printers,
interactive whiteboards, and
sports equipment.
LNR
In the localities of the Luhansk People's Republic, where the
military situation allows, a large construction project is
also in full swing. Locals say that they have already
forgotten what it's like when something is done in
the city for the better and for people. After all,
before the arrival of Russia, everything
literally froze here.
New medical centre in Luhansk.
Specialists of the Military Construction Company of the
Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, in
record time -- in 101 days -- built a new medical
centre in Lugansk, where the entire complex
of diagnostics, is carried out.
The building houses two operating rooms, an intensive
care unit, doctors' offices and a complete set of
equipment - more than two hundred items
(computed tomography, X-ray machines,
ultrasound, portable ventilators, PCR
laboratory and much more).
The medical centre, has 100 double wards, which have
everything you need. In case of emergency situations,
the centre can be quickly converted into an
infectious diseases department.
Changes have also taken place in Luhansk City Multi-
specialty Hospital No. 2, the building of which is
already one hundred years old. The last repair
was carried out almost three decades ago
- in 1994.
In cities and villages
Outpatient clinics in Smolyaninov and Stormovo
are provided with all the necessary equipment.
The city of Krasnodon, known throughout the former Soviet
Union, is now flourishing. Here, specialists from Tyumen
breathe new life, into several objects of the sponsored
locality at once. These are three hospitals: city, multi-
specialty and children's, as well as a hotel and a
Sports Palace.
In the Slavyanoserbsky district of the Altai Territory, the high
school named after VGTRK journalists Igor Kornelyuk and
Anton Voloshin, in the village of Metalist, has already
been finished, which has not been overhauled
since its construction in 1967.
Workers are currently rebuilding residential buildings and a
kindergarten "Ryabinushka", in the village of Rodakovo,
which were damaged by an American HIMARS missile
fired at the village by Ukrainian militants, in August
last year. Work on several sites is scheduled to be
completed by the end of February.
KHERSON REGION
New roads and houses are being built in the region. Very
big changes in medicine, education and the social sphere.
The main construction site of this year is considered to be
the new city. It is being built on the Arabatskaya Strelka
in the Genichesky district. The first government
quarter is already ready. This area will become
the basis of the settlement. In addition... to
residential buildings, there will be schools,
kindergartens, hospitals and other social
facilities. The city will be built for 30
thousand people. The first fully
completed buildings will be
commissioned this year.
Highway to Crimea
Road repairs.
In total, the region has developed a program
of major repairs of 500 km of roads.
''One of the major highways, the construction of which will
start this year, will connect the Crimea and the Kherson
region. The route is planned to be called "Tavrida-2".
It is already undergoing design and survey work.
The highway will run from Simferopol through
Dzhankoy, Genichesk, Melitopol, Berdyansk,
Mariupol and Rostov-on-Don. The new road
will create a financial breakthrough: goods
will be delivered more quickly," the
Ministry of Transport of the
Kherson region reported.
Tourist eco-trails and
Updated kindergarten.
The authorities are currently monitoring all schools.
Educational institutions identify possible problems,
such as the lack of a gym, or difficulties with
catering. After that, they start to repair.
The tourism industry will also be developed. The main
destination --- will be children's recreation. For this
purpose, camps and other facilities will be built
in the region. In addition, new routes and eco-
trails, with developed infrastructure, are
planned to be created near the coast.
ZAPOROZHYE REGION
Zaporozhye region has set an active vector for renovation and
reconstruction. A major construction project in the region is
underway after several decades of devastation at the hands
of the Kiev regime. Currently, Russia is not only rebuilding
what was destroyed during the fighting, updating what
was launched during the "Ukrainian period", but also creating a new one.
Modern hospitals
Tokmak Hospital.
Healthcare infrastructure is being updated in the region. For
example, in Tokmak, the repair of a hospital damaged
during shelling by Ukrainian nationalists has almost
come to an end. The building of the emergency
room and the roof of the cardiology centre
were completely put in order, and major
repairs were completed in the
Department of Surgery.
Windows were replaced in the obstetric-
gynecological and surgical buildings, in
the infectious diseases department.
Repairs have also been completed at the Dneprorudnenskaya
dental clinic. According to the chief physician of the medical
institution Olga Pavlova, the hospital literally got a chance
for a second life. Now, the residents of Dneprorudny will
receive free medical care, at the all-Russian level.
The dental clinic of Dneprorudny now has
modern and high-quality equipment.
High-quality roads
Roads in the region are being brought into compliance with
Russian standards. Regional highways and city highways,
are being repaired. So, the Melitopol-Berdyansk road has
already been fully built. Its length is 107 kilometers. The
construction of the highway connecting Melitopol with
Simferopol... is half completed. But earlier they said
about these directions:"Do not pass, do not pass".
Potholes threatened that drivers could simply be left without wheels.
Also in Melitopol, a bypass road was
built to bypass the blown-up bridge.
Another large-scale project will start in the near future.
We are talking about the construction of the
Simferopol - Rostov highway.
Objects of special attention
This school year... children went to renovated schools. The
authorities repaired 145 out of 173 educational institutions
in the region. For example, in the sixth, the oldest school
in Melitopol, repairs have already been completed. Here
the roof was completely replaced, and the academic
buildings, sports and assembly halls were glazed.
They also restored the topographical site,
which offers a view of the city.
Schools in small localities are also not ignored. For example,
among other things, a school in the village of Fruit was
renovated. Here.... the workers not only updated the
exterior of the building, but also painted the walls,
whitewashed the ceilings and replaced the old
ceiling lights with new and safe ones.
AND IN THE MEANTIME
New resort to be built on the Sea of Azov
A grand update awaits the tourism sector. Construction of
the century will cover the Azov coast. A new cluster will
be deployed here - some objects will be reconstructed,
some will be built from scratch. The resort will
accommodate up to 1.5 thousand objects
...which will be located in Melitopol,
Berdyansk, Kirillovka & Primorsk.
A pioneer camp for children, which
was abandoned.... during the Kiev
regime will also be restored there.
There will be points of attraction for tourists - cultural
heritage sites will find a new life. For example, the
monument "Stone Grave" is transferred to
the federal museum - reserve
"Tauric Chersonesos".
There are also forest areas in the area,
ideal for hiking and cycling routes
that are so popular with
outdoor enthusiasts.
LANDSCAPING SERVICES
Kiev regime - almost no attention was paid to the
improvement of territories and courtyards. The
facades of the buildings were in a dilapidated
state, and many parks were abandoned.
Russia - monuments, streets and parks are being put in order:
tiles on sidewalks are being changed, landscaping is being
done, and benches and trash cans are being installed.
Dilapidated buildings are repainted. In the evening,
it is not terrible to return home - the street
lighting is gradually restored.
Hope you enjoyed that... I did!
__________________________________
Examining Year One of
the Ukrainian Crisis
February 21st (teleSUR)
It's been almost a year, since Russia launched a special
military operation in Ukraine, but the conflict is far from
over. The Ukraine crisis began on February the 24th,
2022, following incitement from the United States
and its allies due to NATO's eastward expansion.
While the conflict is piling misery on people worldwide
suffering from acute food and energy crises, the West
continues to fan the flames by sending more military
hardware and intelligence to Ukraine.
FIRST ANNIVERSARY
The battlefield has been brutal and bloody. Tens of
thousands of troops on both sides have been killed,
& millions of others were forced to flee their homes.
But the echoes of the conflict are heard far beyond Ukraine's
borders. Its heavy tolls on the world manifest through a
changing landscape of regional and global security,
featuring food supply chain disruptions,
skyrocketing energy prices and
soaring inflation.
After the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, the US and its
allies imposed sanctions on Russia in hopes of choking
the country's energy export channels and destroying
its economy. However, those sanctions have
backfired, hurt U.S. allies and triggered a
worldwide energy crisis.
Adding to the problem were the explosions of the Nord
Stream pipelines carrying gas from Russia to Europe.
In a February the 8th article, Pulitzer Prize winner
Seymour Hersh said the U.S. partnered with
Norway in a top-secret operation in June
2022 to plant remotely triggered
explosives that took out three
of the four Nord Stream pipe
lines three months later.
Ukraine and Russia jointly produce around 30% of the world's
wheat exports. Russia is also one of the world's biggest
exporters of fertilizers. The impact of the conflict
between the two countries on food supply chains
has contributed to rising food prices, making it
harder for people in lower and middle-income
economies to afford to feed their families.
The food price index hit 159.7 points in March last year, the
highest since 1990. UN Secretary Antonio Guterres said in
June 2022 that fertilizer prices have risen by more than
50%, and energy prices have risen by more than two-
thirds, putting pressure on farmers across Asia,
Africa and the Americas.
To make things worse, the United States and its allies have
sent more weapons to Ukraine. Since February 24th, 2022,
the United States has promised nearly US$30 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.
In late January, the U.S. and Germany pledged tanks to
Ukraine. The Pentagon announced a new tranche of
military aid for Ukraine days later, including long-
range precision rockets --- for the first time.
The United States "is ready to fight to the last drop of
Ukrainian blood, in the end, it's prepared to fight to
the last drop of European blood," said former
British MP George Galloway.
"In the past year, increasing sanctions and upgrading
weapons did not calm the situation, but instead
made the conflict more acute and issues more
complicated, pushing the situation to a more
dangerous precipice," said Dai Bing, China's
deputy permanent representative to the
United Nations.
UGLY TRADITION
"We lied, we cheated, we stole. We had entire training
courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American
experiment," former U.S. Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo, once director of the CIA, said in 2019.
The intelligence field is not the only place the United States
practices this ugly tradition it prides itself on. Breaking a
promise made at the end of the Cold War that NATO
would not expand to the east, the U.S.-led bloc has
expanded eastward ---- five times since 1999,
advancing over 1,000 kms to the Russian
border. Its membership has increased
from 16 to 30 countries.
The deep cause of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, is the
expansion of NATO, and "the Russians are reacting
to the West's attempt to make Ukraine a western
bulwark, on Russia's border," said John
Mearsheimer, a political science
professor at the University
of Chicago.
The United States and its European allies want to make
Ukraine a member of NATO and the West, he said.
"From the Russian point of view, this is categorically unacceptable.
It represents an existential
threat, and that is what
has precipitated
the crisis."
To secure military hegemony, successive U.S. govern-
ments have been willful in unilaterally withdrawing
from international treaties concerning arms
control, disarmament and non-proliferation
processes, like the Anti-Ballistic Missile
Treaty, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear
Forces Treaty and the Treaty on
Open Skies.
The United States has also initiated "colour revolutions"
in the post-Soviet space, including Ukraine, stirring up
geopolitical tensions in Eurasia. What awaited a
West-leaning Ukraine.... was never rapid
development, but industrial collapse,
economic recession and a
brain drain.
For example, the Black Sea Shipyard, a facility in Ukraine's
Mykolaiv region that built all the aircraft carrying USSR
and Russian ships, was declared bankrupt in 2018.
"We don't care how many Ukrainians die. How many women,
children, civilians, military will die. We do not care. It's like
a great football game, and we want to win," former U.S.
senator Richard Black, said last year.
BIG DEAL
The United States has not been a superpower trying to
"introduce goodness into the world. It follows its own
interests," Michael Lueders, a well-known German
writer, said back in 2021. His finding still rings true
today. The Ukraine crisis... puts ordinary folks
worldwide, through dire straits, while Uncle
Sam's war business flourishes.
"Big Oil just reported its profits. Record profits. Last year, they
made 200 billion dollars in the midst of a global energy
crisis," U.S. President, Joe Biden, admitted, in his
State of the Union Address on February the 7th.
"American gas is three to four times cheaper on the domestic
market than the price at which they offer it to Europeans.
These are double standards," French President
Emmanuel Macron said, in October 2022.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed
that the United States became the world's largest liquefied
natural gas (LNG) exporter during the first half of 2022.
Business Insider, a U.S. financial and business news website,
revealed that U.S. companies make over US$100 million per
LNG carrier bound for Europe.
ExxonMobil posted a US$56-billion profit for 2022, taking
home around US$6.3 million an hour last year and
setting an annual record not just for itself but
for any U.S. or European oil giant.
The United States is also plundering Europe's burning house
to make money. The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which
includes green incentives & tax breaks for companies
producing in the United States, has hurt Europe badly.
As more European companies are tempted to
produce in the United States, Europe's green
plan..... has suffered significant setbacks.
Meanwhile, U.S. food giants are having a rake-off from soaring
food prices. Family members of Cargill, one of the largest
privately held U.S. global food companies, have seen
too badly either. Lockheed Martin, the world's top weapons
manufacturer, saw its stock price surge by 28% from
US$354 in early January 2022 ---- to US$453 on
March the 25th last year.
"The neocons/warmongers have spent years stoking the new
Cold War with Russia and have now brought us to the brink
in Ukraine -- this serves their own interests and lines the
pocket of the Military Industrial Complex with trillions of
dollars," former U.S. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard
said, last February.
European politicians are learning... from their U.S. friends
business lesson 101: never mix friendship and business.
Ditto for developing countries. Africa "does not want to
be the breeding ground of a new Cold War," Senegalese
President Macky Sall said in September 2022, calling
for "a de-escalation and a cessation of hostilities
in Ukraine."
Apart fron the figures on deaths, the
article gets it about right --- what do
YOU think?
_____________________________________
Leaked files - reveal
Britain’s ambulances
aided terrorists in
war-torn Syria
by Kit Klarenberg
February 20th, 9am
(PressTV)
On February the 6th, Syria and Turkey were rocked by
devastating back-to-back earthquakes. Ever since --
people in these countries and the region have been
subjected to a particularly merciless --- yet
illuminating --- crash course in Western
double standards on humanitarian aid.
While aid and assistance... have flowed into Istanbul and Damascus from all neighbours, initially many
governments were reticent... to dispatch
anything at all to Syria --- because US
and EU sanctions --- made it ''illegal''
for planes to land in its airports.
It meant that those eager to provide humanitarian assistance
could not dispatch it, for fear of dire repercussions. Such
concerns were well-founded. Washington enforces
sanctions with an iron fist, and any individual or
state breaching them, faces severe penalties.
Giving in to intense global public pressure, the US Treasury
on February the 10th, enacted a 180-day waiver on certain
sanctions imposed on Syria, to allow for vital earthquake
relief to reach the country.
Still, neither Washington nor its constellation of international
allies has provided any meaningful assistance to Damascus
whatsoever, despite the death toll in the country grimly
ratcheting daily.
Meanwhile, Israeli regime officials expressed a readiness to
bomb Iranian aid deliveries arriving by land. And in the end,
they ended up bombing the people still recovering from the
shock of a colossal human tragedy.
Complicating matters further, terrorist groups that still occupy
portions of Syrian territories, such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
(HTS), in the northwest, are blocking the government’s
attempts to distribute provisions, a spokesperson for
HTS in Idlib telling Reuters no shipments would be
permitted to pass its checkpoints, on the basis,
“we won’t allow the regime to take advantage
of the situation to show they are helping.”
These pockets criss-cross the country, an enduring and
shameful legacy of the West’s failed decade-long
dirty war against Damascus.
Almost never acknowledged by the mainstream media, their
continued presence is particularly relevant to consider now,
for they are relics of a time when the Western world was
only too eager to invest vast sums to flood Syria with
medical aid, albeit in service of "regime change".
Healthcare as psychological warfare
In August 2016, a remarkable and never-before-disclosed
covert British intelligence operation.... began near
Amman, Jordan.
At a secret training site operated by London & Washington,
British Foreign Office contractor Torchlight ----- which this
journalist has repeatedly exposed - for assisting Britain’s
infiltration of security and spying agencies across West
Asia ----- extensively tutored violent groups funded and
armed by the spy agencies CIA and MI6, in providing
medical assistance to terrorists and mercenaries.
Dubbed --- “MAO CASEVAC” (Moderate Armed Opposition
Casualty Evacuation), the program ran the gamut from
practical training for paramedics to the provision of
multiple ambulances purchased from Qatar,
advanced medical technology, elaborate
communications systems to ensure the
safe and timely transfer of injured
“rebels” from the frontline -- and
the creation * maintenance of dedicated facilities to treat
the wounded.... at a cost
of millions.
Internal documents related to the effort note that at the time
it was launched, injured fighters relied “on inadequately
prepared and supported self-help at the point of injury,
followed by ad hoc systems and capabilities to
evacuate and treat them in a hostile and
austere environment,” with an over-
whelming reliance on civilian
hospitals and healthcare
infrastructure.
Moreover, CIA and MI6-supported terrorist groups lacked
“dedicated doctors”, and medical professionals, locally,
while willing to treat anyone whatever their ailments,
remained “keen to maintain their independence”
lest they be accused of serving as in-house
doctors for armed actors.
These practitioners even lacked high-tech equipment such
as scanners for detecting internal bleeding, and access
to resources such as blood products.
So it was Torchlight that set about training 200 opposition
actors --- every year for three years --- in all conceivable
medical disciplines, and equipping them accordingly.
While London was careful not to publicize the initiative’s
existence in any way, its results were intended to be
broadcast widely locally and internationally - for
MAO CASEVAC’s objectives were as practical
as they were psychological.
It was hoped that on top of saving lives and protecting the
welfare of terrorists, their “morale and motivation” would
all “be enhanced”, while “purpose, ethos and culture”
would be instilled in them:
“If the MAO is able to provide this support then fighters will
have greater confidence -- that they can be provided for in
case of injury. Consequently, this will improve motivation,
a sense of welfare, and the credibility of MAO troops,
as well as reduce battlefield losses. This will add
credibility to the MAO.”
As such, MAO CASEVAC was but one component of Britain’s
wide-ranging information warfare campaign throughout the
Syrian dirty war designed to destabilize the democratically
-elected government of Bashar al-Assad, while rebranding
the murderous militant groups rampaging across the
country as a “moderate” alternative. Its founding
documents make these objectives very clear.
Noting that the British government sought to “foster a
negotiated political transition” in Syria, these papers
openly state that MAO CASEVAC’s aim ---- was to
“generate pressure” on the Assad government.
This was predicated on the notion that “regime change”
required “an empowered opposition on the ground,”
capable of convincing locals, Western citizens and
international bodies - that they were courageous
freedom fighters on a righteous mission, rather
than a ragtag bunch of crazed fundamentalists
complicit in countless hideous atrocities,
wholly dependent on foreign backing,
to survive... in every way.
Of course, if the opposition could demonstrate to the
world they were highly skilled in saving lives, which
would go some way to cementing the perception of
a professional, humanitarian-orientated force.
This was precisely the rationale behind the creation of
the White Helmets - a terrorist group masquerading as
a civil defense force - by the UK's intelligence agency.
‘Risk of ricochet’
Another indication of MAO CASEVAC’s darker nature is
provided in Torchlight documents on risks related to
its operation.
The training area in Jordan, provided to the company by
British intelligence “at no cost to the project,” offered
“accommodation, ablution, dining, classrooms,
driving tracks, outside rural environment
areas, and open space for
equipment storage.”
However, the milieu was far from idyllic - medics would be
trained alongside opposition fighters, learning the art of
killing, including the use of AK47s and other weaponry.
The proximity between the two programs was such,
Torchlight repeatedly warned of the “physical
security risk” posed to their students by the
site’s dual purpose:
“Another training conducted on the site involves live firing.
Consequently, third-party personnel are in possession of
weapons and live ammunition on the camp in addition
to the Jordanian Security Personnel on site. Risk of
ricocheting from the live firing ranges - onto the
driving range and wider area behind. There is
likely to be an overlap of live firing and
driving courses [emphasis added].”
If that wasn’t enough, Torchlight also forecast the threat of
a “disaffected student” or Jordanian security operative “in
possession of a weapon and ammunition” carrying out an
armed attack on its staff and trainees to be “high” risk.
Absent was any consideration of students joining the al-Nusra
Front and Daesh Takfiri group, and equipment being one way
or another appropriated by these terrorist groups, although
such considerations are writ large in leaked Foreign Office
risk assessments of the fighter training program, which
was likewise overseen by British intelligence cutouts.
However, the UK Foreign Office, which funded the program
to the tune of $21 million over the same timeframe as MAO
CASEVAC, with up to 600 fighters trained annually as a
result, was intensely relaxed about those prospects.
Any loss of equipment was to be “tolerated” to
“a reasonable degree.”
The same was true of AJACS, a controversial British
intelligence “aid” project that created the Free
Syrian Police, which was run in coordination
with Nour al-Din al-Zinki, a CIA-backed entity
linked to heinous crimes against humanity,
including the videotaped beheading of a
Palestinian teenager in 2016.
The implementing contractor of that effort, the notorious
Adam Smith International, simply didn’t consider it
“cost-effective” to prevent their participation.
All of this begs the question of whether the real objective
behind MAO CASEVAC and other interrelated British
intelligence operations was to insidiously bolster
and equip the most violent, deranged elements
on the ground in Syria.
At the very least, it’s evident that whatever anxieties London
may harbour today about humanitarian aid making its way to
earthquake-hit Syria, an enemy state in dire need of respite,
hasn’t historically applied to terrorist groups that further
its interests in the country.
This may explain why they remain active there,
so long after the dirty war, theoretically, ended.
Kit Klarenberg is an investigative journalist and
MintPresss News contributor exploring the role
of intelligence services in shaping politics
and perceptions.
(The views expressed in this article are the
author's own and do not necessarily reflect
those of Press TV. or Rhondda Records)
Do you feel shame that the UK is the 2nd
most hated country in the world... after
the US? What do you think about that?
____________________________________________
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg:
Better World War III than Putin's victory
in Ukraine
by Alexander Grishin
February 18th, 11:55am
(Komsomolskaya Pravda)
NATO Secretary General in Munich said that Russia's
victory in Ukraine, is more dangerous than the
escalation of the armed conflict.
The Munich International Security Conference... is an event
that would have to be reinvented - if it didn't exist. All these
representatives of the highest authorities in their countries
going to these internecine meetings, begin to relax and
blurt out, what in common sense, they would prefer
to hide.
Here, for example, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
publicly, and not somewhere in the corridor between the
dining room and the toilet, but from the podium into the
microphone, said something that will drive (if not
already driven) most of the countries of the
world --- into shock and awe.
"Some worry that our support for Ukraine may lead to the risk
of escalation. Let me be clear: there are no risk-free options,
but the biggest risk is if Putin wins. It will make the world
more dangerous and us more vulnerable. Therefore,
supporting Ukraine is in our common security
interests," the head of NATO said about the
risk ratio.
That is, you understand what this pre-pensioner is broad-
casting (Jens will be 64 years old in a month)? Probably,
for the reason that, if Russia wins, the issue of a new
Treaty on Non-Aggression and Security Guarantees
between our country and NATO will again become
relevant, and, in this case, the conditions put
forward by Moscow on December 15, 2021,
including fixing NATO within the borders
as of 1997, will again become relevant
(if not in 1991), the deployment
of nuclear weapons, only and
exclusively on their national
territories, and so on.
Because the destruction of Poland, the departure of Britain
under the water, a funnel with a melted surface in place of
Germany (and in the case of a full-scale Third World War,
it will be so) is for NATO, a lesser evil than a Russian
victory.
"In Munich, there is a very strong sense of unity of ideas and
views of the West, a growing and open feeling that the war
is becoming existential, not only for Ukraine and Russia,
but also for Europe," said NATO Assistant Secretary
General Kamil Grand.
In this fragment of the speech of the formal head of the
alliance, by the way, and Stoltenberg's answer to the
question of how things really stand with Zelensky.
Leave me alone with your incantations that Putin
has already lost, that the upcoming offensive of
the Armed Forces of Ukraine will put everything
in its place, and Zelensky will soon retake the
Crimea and Donbass. You are told in specific
English language --- that the risk of Putin's
victory is great. And this is the main risk.
Stoltenberg couldn't get anything comforting
out of himself about Ukraine, either.
"Ukraine will not become a member of NATO until
it becomes an independent sovereign state," he
explained the state of affairs in this area.
Well, that is, without a knife, I stabbed him, as they say.
Maybe.. even with a spoon. However, it would not hurt
the same Stoltenberg to explain. how what they have
in NATO. is considered signs of sovereignty and
independence.
A separate big hello to those Russian liberals and democrats
who are crying about life, which has greatly increased in
trouble after the introduction of sanctions with the
beginning of the Russian free trade zone.
"The EU and US began developing sanctions against Russia
in the event of a conflict in Ukraine two months before the
special operation, in December 2021," European
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
admitted during the same current
conference in Munich.
"I, I, Ursula, das ist fantastische!"
Danke Shon for your honesty!
That is, we gave them (Moscow gave the West) a plan
to neutralize threats, to ensure a stable world, and
they immediately began not to think about what
was proposed and to what extent it could be
accepted..... not to develop their own
compromise options --- but to think
through sanctions against Russia.
Because for them, the presence of Russia, and
even more so, a strong one, is in itself, an
existential threat. And they don't care
about any Ukraine. The Munich
Conference ---- is a zone of
completely unpredictable
explosions of honesty.
What do YOU think? That the US elites
are psychotic? That politicians in
the West, are insanely stupid?
Or... if you stick your head in
the sand and do nothing to
put them all behind bars..
everything will be fine?
_________________________
"Nothing alive.. will remain":
Zelensky let slip:what fate
he wants to doom the
Donbass to
by Alexander Grishin
February 18th, 9:25am
(Komsomolskaya Pravda)
And he asked for more help from
the West, to implement this plan.
For Vladimir Zelensky, the people
of Donbass --- simply do not exist.
An International security conference is being held in Munich.
Russia is not invited there, but it did not intend to take part
in this gathering, and it refused to do so. This does not
prevent her, on the one hand, not to participate, and
on the other – to be invisibly present in almost every
discussion. But, in addition to discussing what is
more important for the planet - climate change
and the threat it poses, or Putin - those
gathered there have other topics
for discussion.
Against this background, Munich almost forgot about
Zelensky. We would only try it! Zelensky himself, did
not forget and did not give it to others.
In his speech to the audience online, he outlined in a
few words the unenviability of their situation and
outlined the only opportunity for Europe.
''There is no alternative to a Ukrainian victory. There
is no alternative to Ukraine in the EU. There is no
alternative to Ukraine --- in NATO. There is no
alternative to our unity. Therefore, there is
and will be, no alternative to getting rid of
Russian aggression completely, liberating
the land and people" --- he immediately
brought down his vision of the world,
on the heads of a stunned audience,
and outlined the task facing Ukraine
in terms of "liberation from Russia."
"We must liberate Ukraine and Europe. Because when
Russian weapons are aimed at us, they are already
aimed at our neighbours. Can Europe be a matter
of compromise? No.''
And what is necessary for this? A strange question – of
course, to help Ukraine in any way possible. And even
if it is impossible. Topic: "Give it to me! Give it to me!
Give it to me! And quickly, and more," was the
refrain in Zelensky's speech.
"We must free every European institution and every sphere
of the world economy from Russian aggression. Because
only then will there be a chance for our freedom and the
expansion of our borders to the east" --- Zelensky let
slip about the plans of the European Union and
NATO, but again, moved on to the main point.
"We need to hurry. We need the speed of our agreements,
our supplies, the speed of decisions to limit the Russian
potential. There is no alternative to speed, because
life depends on it.''
And.. to ensure that all his passion, was not in vain, he once
again began to frighten the audience, not only with Russia,
but also with the Russian-Iranian alliance.
''While we are negotiating how to strengthen our defense with
modern tanks --- the Kremlin is thinking about how to strangle
Moldova. When we argue that Ukraine needs combat aircraft,
Russia has already convinced the Iranian regime --- and the
result, is not just Iranian drones in the Ukrainian sky, but
something the Kremlin has paid for. Are you sure it's
only money? Or will the world face an enriched
Iranian regime? To what extent? Ninety,
ninety-two, or a hundred percent?''
Zelensky intimidated the audience from the bottom
of his heart, clearly scaring them with the Iranian
nuclear program.
And he also said what fate he had condemned the Donbass to
if the APU was successful, but he told about this, among
other things, as if about a completely ordinary thing.
''After this war, there will be nothing alive in the Donbas.
I'm talking about people and infrastructure," Zelensky
promised the participants of the Munich Security
Conference.
''We understand what they (Russians – ed.) are doing,
and if we manage to be more powerful with our
partners, we will de-occupy earlier. If the
supply of Western weapons is slowed
down - there are the risks of simply
destroying the entire Donbass,
but then ------ we will still
de-occupy everything.''
You can't say anything, an extremely frank admission
that the people of Donbass, and the rest of Ukraine,
simply do not exist for him. He only needs to
"de-occupy" the territory for his owners.
They ask him for the territory.
I was stunned when I read this.
How do YOU feel?
_______________________________
US political prisoner Leonard Peltier
seeks presidential clemency after
47 years in jail
February 17th, 10:46pm
(PressTV)
Leonard Peltier is a Native American activist who has been
imprisoned for more than 47 years for the murders of two
FBI agents and has always maintained his innocence.
He has suffered for nearly half a century in US
prisons for a crime he did not commit.
In a recent interview with the Guardian to mark the start of his
48th year in prison, Peltier, aged 78, made a plea for clemency
so that he can wander freely and hug his grandchildren for the
first time.
He spoke about the pain of being deprived of his liberty, and
his desire to be reunited with his homeland and community
before he dies.
“Being free to me means being able to breathe freely away
from the many dangers I live under in maximum custody
prison. Being free would mean I could walk over a mile
straight. It would mean being able to hug my grand-
children and great-grandchildren,” said Peltier.
“I have been kept away from my family and only seen them
a few times over the past 47 years. It is more than hard,
especially when the kids write to me and tell me they
want to see me and I cannot afford the cost of travel.
If I was free I would build me a home on my tribal
land, help build the economy of our nations and
give a home to our homeless children,” Peltier
said in an interview conducted over email
via one of his approved contacts.
Peltier was a leading member of the American Indian
Movement (AIM), an organization established in
1968 to defend the rights of Native Americans.
The FBI’s COINTELPRO (counter-intelligence
program) immediately targeted AIM.
On June 26th, 1975, dozens of FBI agents, US Marshals, and
vigilantes descended on Oglala on the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation in South Dakota. A shootout occurred,
during which the two FBI agents were killed. One Indian was also killed, but his death was never investigated.
At the same time, a deal was being signed giving the US
government possession of Indian lands where uranium
had been discovered. Many believe the FBI assault was meant to divert attention from this deal.
Peltier was in Oglala on June 26th, 1975, but there is no evidence linking him to the killings.
The AIM members involved in the shootout scattered
across the country, and Peltier later fled to Canada.
Peltier was arrested in Canada on February 6th, 1976, and after a lengthy legal process, in which US
officials presented false documents, Peltier was extradited to the United States.
Canadian officials --- later --- complained about the deception in the extradition procedure.
His trial in the US was clearly unfair, as documented by the
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee (LPDC) -- and he was
found guilty and given two consecutive life sentences.
Peltier -- who is currently detained in Coleman, Florida -- has spent 46 of the past 47 years in maximum security.
Numerous recommendations to lower his prisoner
classification ---- have been rejected.
Life inside for Peltier has got even harder and lonelier since
the start of the COVID pandemic. Human rights activists
have called for his release, pointing out his failing
health, including a bout of COVID-19.
“This place is becoming a complete lockdown institution. I’m
living in a 6x12 cell built for one person that I am forced to
share, where we spend 24 hours a day... during these
frequent lockdowns. You’re on guard.. every moment
of the day. I am not receiving the medical treatment
that I need and I suffer a lot of pain from the illness
that needs treatment. A lot of programs are being
taken away, and other privileges, which makes it
even more stressful,” said Peltier.
UN experts last year called for Peltier’s immediate release after concluding that his protracted imprisonment amounted to arbitrary detention.
“Mr. Peltier’s detention has been prolonged by parole officials
who have departed from guidelines and failed to follow
regulations pertaining to his parole proceedings. This,
in addition to the influence of the FBI over the case,
is the reason why he remains in detention during
the Covid-19 pandemic, which is a threat to his
life,” they said.
A former FBI agent close to the case, Coleen Rowley, last
month accused the agency of harboring a vendetta
against Peltier and called for his release. Rowley
called for a presidential pardon.
Rowley, the former legal counsel at the Minneapolis FBI
office, told the British newspaper that in the 1990s she
helped ghostwrite an op-ed ---- arguing against
Peltier’s release.
Peltier said: “I’m very disappointed that she was involved in
creating false evidence and took this long for her to come
forward. However.. I am grateful now that she did decide
to tell the truth … I am hopeful that Biden will sign my
clemency. But I am not sure there will be
any difference.''
Leonard Peltier is a political prisoner in the United States,
and February 6th, was the 47th anniversary of his arrest.
Peltier slammed the US justice system and called it
“racist” but still hoped the Biden administration will
grant him clemency despite the FBI’s 47-year effort
to block his freedom.
“Of course I know from my own experiences that the justice
system sucks in America, and for us natives has not
changed much in that area. It’s 2023, but it’s still a
very racist system,” he said.
The family has said Peltier is struggling with diabetes,
hypertension, partial blindness from a stroke and an
abdominal aortic aneurysm and tested positive for
COVID in late January at the Federal Correctional
Complex Coleman’s high-security facility.
“Leonard Peltier is a political prisoner of the United States.
He was representing the American Indian Movement...
which had been invited to assist the local people at
the Pine Ridge Reservation during the mid-1970s,”
said Abayomi Azikiwe, an African American
journalist in Detroit.
“After a series of confrontations with the federal government
he fled to Canada. Peltier was charged with the murder of
two FBI agents who had attacked the reservation. Peltier
as an indigenous person was not eligible for deportation
from Canada to the US where he was not able to get a
fair trial,” he told Press TV.
“Even today, after 47 years, he remains incarcerated in federal
prison. Peltier should be granted clemency for release so he
can rejoin his people, family and the struggle for Native
American rights. Moreover, he has medical ailments
which require specialized treatment. Therefore, he
should be released immediately by the Biden
administration,” added Azikiwe.
Criminal justice reform advocates have continued to highlight
his arrest and conviction over decades, saying it symbolizes
systemic problems with how Native Americans are treated
in the white man’s so-called justice system, where an
Indian had to be punished for the deaths of the two
agents of the empire, and it didn’t really matter if
he was guilty or not.
Human rights organizations and prominent political and
religious figures, including Pope Francis and the Dalai
Lama and other Nobel Peace Prize recipients, such
as Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu, are
reported to have called for Peltier's release.
Peltier: US continues to wage war against Native Americans
In an article entitled “Struggling for justice: A message from
Leonard Peltier” published on January 12th, 2007, on the
Party for Socialism and Liberation site, Peltier wrote that
the US has waged, and continues to wage, war not just
against Native Americans but against any form of
domestic political dissent.
“The United States government keeps me imprisoned to justify
the continuing abuses against not only Native American
people but anyone who seeks to fight criminal abuses
such as those committed and/or aided by the FBI on
the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation between 1973
and 1976," he wrote.
"This country has waged, and continues to wage, war not just
against Native Americans but against any form of domestic
political dissent. Secret domestic intelligence programs --
such as the well-documented COINTELPRO program and
the Patriot Act ------- have eroded and destroyed the
constitutional rights and liberties of all peoples
of this nation. But most people would rather
ignore injustice than take a stand against
injustice and face the wrath of our
government,” he added.
“I was a member of the American Indian Movement...
who, like many others, was subjected to a number
of Counterintelligence (COINTELPRO) ---type
activities by the FBI. ‘COINTELPRO’, is the
FBI acronym for a series of covert action
programs directed against domestic
political groups.''
''This program was investigated and condemned by a
Congressional hearing... in the 1970s. With this
unauthorized program, the FBI engaged in
covert actions designed to‘disrupt’and
‘neutralize’target groups and
individuals engaged in
political dissent.''
''One of the COINTELPRO-type tactics used by the FBI, and
in particular against AIM, was the infiltration of the legal
defense by paid informants, violating attorney-client
privilege. We have recently discovered evidence
that the FBI did this in my case,” he wrote.
“Indeed, a document recently produced by the FBI and
recently introduced by my lawyers to a magistrate
judge established that the FBI intentionally took
actions to try to avoid producing documents in
discovery in my case. But again, this seems to have had no impact on the court.''
''The United States Federal Courts, have recognized
overwhelming evidence, of FBI misconduct in my
case which has already been revealed, yet it has
continued to allow the FBI to use exemptions
under FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) to
shield its illegal tactics in this case,
depriving me of my right to a
fair trial.”
What do YOU think... care to sent a tweet,
email, or letter --- to your representative?
___________________________________________
French media reportKiev’s use of children“to fight for Ukraine”
February 11th, 10:42am
https://en.news-front.info/
The militants of the Kiev regime are increasingly attracting
minors into their ranks, and videos of them on the front
line are being released with alarming regularity.
This has resulted from the colossal losses of the
Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) in the east of the country, which, according to some Ukrainian journalists, have reached 140,000 dead.
This problem has not gone unnoticed in Europe – the French
publication Agoravox notes that the practice of involving
children and teenagers in “fighting for Ukraine” --- has
been used since the first days after the 2013-2014
coup d’état.
The publication mentions an article in Britain’s Daily Mail
newspaper, with the headline: “Shocking photos from a
neo-Nazi military camp show recruits as young as six
being taught to shoot guns”.
Steph Cockroft, author of the material, published many pictures of children with guns -- he called “alarming”.
Even then, accordingto the journalist, a short time
after the reunification of Crimea with Russia.... and the uprising of the residents of Donbass,
members of the Azov* regiment, about
which the article was written, began
actively agitating young Ukrainians
to join their ranks.
“Now extremists from the Azov* squad, a far-right neo-Nazi
militia, are teaching six-year-old children to shoot guns in
an attempt to involve them in the bloody conflict in the
country. Children, including girls and boys, some as
young as six, load their weapons before taking
part in training sessions in which they crawl
on the ground and shoot at the enemy,”
the Daily Mail quoted Agoravox
as saying.
The publication notes ---- that the Azov* neo-Nazis themselves
have been actively publicising their work online. For example,
a message posted on Vkontakte on August 11th, 2015, in the
group “Azovets Children’s Military Patriotic Camp” made no
secret of the fact that Ukrainian children were being
trained for war. Apparently, for war with Russia,
the article says.
“Russian children sitting at home playing computer games.
Well, we bring up our children in the best traditions of the
Azov movement. Today --- there was a tactical training
session at the Azovets camp. Soldiers & instructors
of “Azov*” regiment together with the teachers of
Camp “Azovets” contribute to the all-round
development of children... bringing up a
true patriot of his country. The future
belongs to us! Glory to the Nation!”,
says one of the publications.
In the same group a photo of children lined up holding a
clenched fist, with their right hand bent at their heart,
with the caption: “True patriots start and end each
day of life in the camp with a prayer of a Ukrainian
nationalist”. At the end of the prayer, the young
recruits shout: “Glory to the nation – death to
the enemies!”
The Agoravox author stresses that this is by no means the only
children’s military-patriotic camp where children were taught
by representatives of the neo-Nazi movement in Ukraine.
After the start of the Russian army’s special operation
in Ukraine --- the Russian media massively replicated
footage from a children’s camp near Severodonetsk
in the Donetsk People’s Republic. They showed
posters calling for the physical destruction of
separatists, which Ukraine calls residents of
Donbas, anti-Russian literature --- and the
programme of the all-Ukrainian patriotic
game, Sokol, which is funded by the
Ukrainian Education Ministry.
The newspaper said that in order to combat the Russian army,
the Ukrainian military had repeatedly engaged children to spy
on the movements of the Russian military, as well as on their
deployment points, equipment depots & military warehouses.
This was particularly active in the Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions. The author notes that there are
many videos on the Internet, in which repentant
Ukrainian teenagers - confess to the Russian
security forces that they were recruited by
representatives of the Ukrainian Armed
Forces and the Security Services.
“Children do not think about the danger to their lives: they are
promised money – they do the work. It is possible that many
of the young helpers spent their summers in one of the
children’s military-education camps described above.
Meticulous ideological work with the younger
generation has also contributed to this,”
says the author.
In addition, the article says, Ukrainian children are often
exposed to danger as a result of recklessness on the
part of Ukrainian soldiers. The article.. cites as an
example a case near the town of Bakhmut in the
DPR, for which fierce fighting has been taking
place since the summer of 2022.
There, children set up a playful “roadblock”: joyful children
with machine guns and Ukrainian flags posed right at the
makeshift roadblock, while Ukrainian Armed Forces
soldiers filmed and posted it on the Internet ---
forgetting - that from a drone it is impossible
to tell if it is children below or AFU soldiers.
“Me and the children who made the roadblock near Bakhmut
ourselves. Children are our future,” the publication captioned
a photo posted to Instagram* on January 15th, 2023, by a
Ukrainian girl soldier with the nickname maria_alterman.
The author concludes with a reminder that Ukrainian children
are not only endangered by the recklessness of Ukrainian
soldiers, but also often risk being subjected to sexual
slavery... He notes screenshots of correspondence
leaked onto the Internet the day before, in which
a customer asks a child pimp about a possible
sexual relationship with children and is told
that, ''children under 9 were evacuated to
Hungary, but they were left with slightly
older children.''
''After a short dialogue, he asks where the children are from,
to which he receives the answer: mostly from the Kherson
region. They are abandoned children and orphans. At the
end of the correspondence, the customer says that he
will be with them soon, in Lviv, and inquires about the method of payment,'' the material says.
The author concludes that this largely confirms rumours
circulating in Ukraine that after the withdrawal of the
Russian army from Kherson and the right bank of
the Dnieper River, suspicious people began to
appear in the region with the permission of
Galina Lugova, chairman of the Kherson
city military administration.
Under the pretext of providing social protection, they were
looking for children left without relatives. In particular,
much attention was paid to children’s orphanages.
Not a propaganda piece or a joke...
evil is as evil does. Or do YOU
think differently?
_____________________________________
Key Facts --- US Deliberately
Ignores About African Debt
by Manish Rai
February 7th
(teleSUR)
According to the World Bank, multilateral financial institutions
and commercial creditors hold nearly three-quarters of
Africa's total external debt.
Like many senior U.S. officials who have visited Africa, U.S.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen did not fail to raise
concerns about China's role in the debt problem
during a recent visit to the continent.
While hyping up the bizarre "Chinese debt trap," the U.S.
officials deliberately ignored some key facts about
African debt.
WHO HOLDS MOST AFRICAN DEBT?
According to the World Bank's International Debt Statistics,
multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors
hold nearly three-quarters of Africa's total external debt.
A report published last July by the British NGO Debt Justice
showed that 12 percent of the external debt of African
countries is owed to Chinese lenders, compared to
35 percent to Western private lenders.
The average interest rate of these private loans is 5 percent,
compared with 2.7 percent for loans from Chinese public
and private lenders.
"Western leaders blame China for debt crises in Africa, but this
is a distraction. The truth is their own banks, asset managers
and oil traders are far more responsible, but the Group of
Seven (G7) are letting them off the hook," said Tim
Jones, head of policy at Debt Justice.
In Chad, for example, the Swiss multinational commodity
trading and mining company Glencore.. possesses about
a third of the country's external debt, while for Zambia,
the American multinational investment company Black
Rock... is a major creditor, reported the French daily
newspaper Le Monde, on January the 30th.
While calling for immediately addressing Zambia's heavy debt
burden with China, Yellen deliberately ignored the fact that
the multilateral financial institutions and commercial
creditors, hold most of the country's external debt.
According to figures released by Zambia's Ministry of Finance
and Planning, multilateral financial institutions account for
24 percent of the country's foreign debt ----- while
predominantly Western commercial lenders
account for 46 percent.
"Western lenders for long have not been put on the spotlight
for debt relief because they successfully managed to dupe
the world that it's only Chinese lenders that pose a threat
to Africa," Uganda-based Vision Group journalist Mubarak
Mugabo said.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEBT CRISIS?
The causes of the debt crisis... are multifaceted: the COVID-19
pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, a decline in global economic
growth and economic structure vulnerabilities, among many
other things, could all exacerbate the debt situation of
some African countries.
Persistent inflation, prolonged tightening of global financial
conditions, the high cost of capital, domestic currency
depreciations and lower financial inflows could
increase the risks of debt distress in some
African countries, according to Africa's
Macroeconomic Performance and
Outlook published in January
2023 --- by the African
Development Bank
(AfDB).
In particular, the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hikes and the
strengthening of the U.S. dollar have greatly added to the
debt service burden of African countries, the AfDB
pointed out. For example, Ghana's currency, the
cedi, depreciated more than 33.4 percent
against the U.S. dollar in 2022.
Since most of the debt that emerging and low-income
countries owe, should be paid in a foreign currency
-- notably the U.S. dollar and Euro -- irresponsible
U.S.-government policies have added fuel to
the fire.
In contrast, China has been an ardent supporter of the Group
of 20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative. The country has
signed agreements or reached consensus with 19 African
countries on debt relief and has suspended the most debt
service payments of any G20 member. China has also
actively addressed the debt of Chad, Ethiopia and
Zambia on a case-by-case basis within the
G20 framework.
"They depict China as a predatory lender that is weaponizing
capital in order to practice a new form of colonialism in
Africa. However, such accusations have little factual
basis," noted Costantinos Bt. Costantinos, professor
at the Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia.
"The debt trap issue has been a political smear," said Charles
Onunaiju, director of the Nigeria-based Centre for China
Studies, adding that such claims are just a red herring
to absolve the West of any responsibility.
WHO CONTRIBUTES MORE TO AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT?
During trips to Africa, American officials may not have realized
that when they disembarked from a plane, they were likely
headed toward a terminal built by a Chinese company.
And their cars were also driving on roads or bridges built by
a Chinese contractor. Modern infrastructure built by China
is ubiquitous across Africa.
The increase in debt stock could also be a positive sign, and
not just a pathology, according to an article published in
June last year on the website of The Africa Report.
Many sub-Saharan African economies experienced record
growth before the pandemic. When gross domestic
product increases, it is normal for debt to follow.
Suppose external debt contributes to a country's economic
and social development in the long term and can be
adequately managed. In that case, it could be
called good debt, or.... in other words, financial aid for development.
Therefore, debt growth is only a trivial aspect of the problem.
The rub is how to help African countries achieve
sustainable, independent and high-quality
development resulting in a balance of
development financing and
debt growth.
"China's financial assistance to Africa is largely aimed at
realizing socio-economic and cultural projects of great
importance, such as road infrastructure, hospitals,
schools, bridges, etc.," said Amadou Diop, a
Senegalese expert on China.
Statistics showed that.. since the Forum on China-Africa
Cooperation was founded almost 23 years ago, Chinese
companies have built or upgraded more than 10,000 km
of railways, nearly 100,000 km of roads, roughly 1,000
bridges and 100 ports, and several hospitals and
schools in Africa, creating more than
4.5 million jobs.
Published last July by a fellow in South Africa's University
of Fort Hare, a quantitative study of the impact of China's
loans on growth in 15 African countries concluded that
China's efforts in developing infrastructure translate
into economic growth.
According to the study, China has been and continues to
be a significant force in assisting African countries in
financing their development.
A survey issued last year by the Inter Region Economic
Network, a Kenya-based think tank, found that China
takes a substantial lead in decision-making and
timely completion of infrastructure projects
such as roads, power dams, railways and
bridges in Africa.
Facts and figures in the study showed that through efficient
action, China tangibly contributes to Africa's development.
"There is a common feeling among African countries," said
Ezzat Saad, director of the Egyptian Council for Foreign
Affairs, "that China is a reliable partner -- and there is a
great trust and credibility in China-Africa cooperation."
Well, now you know the truth, and that the
West has lied to us all for years about just
about everything, what are YOU thinking
of reading or watching....... to uncover
the truth?
___________________________________________
On the occasion of the 30th
anniversary of the party's
revival published 02/02/2023
(Published here on February 5th, 2023) (source: kprf.ru)
G. A. Zyuganov's appeal to the citizens of Russia, to
Communists and supporters of the Communist
Party of the Russian Federation.
Zyuganov Gennady Andreevich, Chairman of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation, head of the Communist Party faction
in the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of
the Russian Federation.
Dear comrades, My colleagues and friends!
We have just celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding
of the USSR. Today, Russian Communists are celebrating an
important date. The revival of our party is 30 years old.
In 1991, the treacherous clique decided to plunder public
property --- and eliminate the great Soviet heritage. So that no one could interfere with it, a decree banning the Communist Party was issued. Our structures were dissolved, professional employees were dismissed, and property was taken away.
Those who seized power, were in a hurry to crack down on the organization of the working class and the working peasantry.
The sabbath of reactionary forces opened the way to the main
crime of the twentieth century – the destruction of the USSR.
In December of the same year, the Jewish betrayal took
place in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The traitors did not
mind the meanness of their actions. They trampled
on the memory of the creators of the new society.
About the heroes of the struggle against fascism.
About the exploits of those who raised our
Motherland to cosmic heights, and made
it truly great. The working people were
robbed, thrown into the arms of crime
--- into the abyss of impoverishment and lack of spirituality.
It was shameful and impossible to remain silent and make
peace. We remembered very well that we were born in a
beautiful, heroic land. On a land. that you can't help but
love. From the first years of our life we were confirmed
in this by the tender look of our mother, the strong
hands of our father, and the caring word of our
first teacher. We grew up and matured. We
explored the world. They were imbued
with the conviction that in the name
of the Motherland ------ it is worth
building, fighting and winning.
The lessons of history taught us to dream of justice, to fight
for the truth, not to put up with evil. We grew up capable of
yielding, but not giving up; retreating, but not betraying;
losing, but gaining strength and going into battle – for
human dignity, for the salty sweat of working people,
for the right to make the world kinder, more honest
and more beautiful.
We were made Communists by wise teachers and the very
truth of life. As we progressed, we became more and more
familiar with Marxism, and became convinced of the
Bolshevik correctness and Lenin's genius. To
betray the Soviet Homeland meant for us to
reject all that was most sacred and bright.
The Communists did not accept the ban on the party and
continued to act. We worked in teams. They fought in
the streets. They published newspapers and leaflets.
We joined forces with veterans and young people,
with true patriots of the Motherland. The
perjurers' hopes of destroying the idea
of justice were not fulfilled.
We firmly believe that the court of History will be strict and
just, and it will highly appreciate the path of our party, its
role in the fate of the Motherland, in protecting the
working people and saving the people.
During the Yeltsin rampage, we stood up for the honour of the
Communists, for their right to defend their ideals under the
red banner. Having gone through the process in the
Constitutional Court, we defended our ideology
and the best values of the people from direct
prohibitions and persecution. We did not
allow millions of Communists --- to be
lustrated and imprisoned for dissent.
We have preserved the basis for
fighting for the political, social
and economic rights of workers
---- for winning the minds and
hearts of our fellow citizens.
After an unprecedented betrayal, after going through court
proceedings, we defended the right to restore our party.
Work began to boil all over the country. On February 13
-14, 1993, the constituent and restoration congress was
held. Its delegates unanimously proclaimed: The
Communist Party of the Russian Federation is
joining the fight!
By reviving our organization and relying on the masses of
the people, we did not allow our party to be pushed to the
sidelines of political life. They made it the strongest in
the post-Soviet space. They formed the Union of
Communist Parties. We have strengthened our
ties with all the progressive forces of
the planet.
The Communist Party precisely defined the tasks of each
stage of the struggle for power and a decent life for
citizens. Looking beyond the horizon, we analyzed
the dynamics of the increasingly acute crisis of
capitalism, assessed new threats to our
country, weighed our capabilities and
went into battle.
We have equipped our supporters with an advanced
intellectual product, a program for the revival and
development of the country. We were supported
by scientists and practitioners at the Orel
Economic Forum.
They demanded to curb the oligarchs and transfer
the country's natural resources to the people. We
conveyed to the citizens a principled assessment
of all the most important events. They initiated
the impeachment of Yeltsin.
The perpetrators of crimes against the country and people
were named by name. We fought for the rights of citizens
on the streets, for fair elections, for the triumph
of democracy.
All these 30 years, the Communists have been at the forefront
of the workers ' struggle against destructive reforms,
impoverishment of workers and peasants, veterans
and youth. We fought against the "monetization of
benefits", rising prices and levies, and the
predatory "pension reform". Defended the
Russian Academy of Sciences. They
protested against the humiliation of
the defenders of the Motherland
--- and the pogrom in the Army.
They persistently fought for
the revival of the Komsomol
and the Pioneers.
Our extensive creative experience has enriched our political
and managerial practice. The center-left government of
Primakov-Maslyukov—Gerashchenko pulled the country
back from the brink of default. It demonstrated the
promise of our programmatic approaches. The
experience of communist governance ----- in
Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Orel, and Ulyanovsk
regions, and the Republic of Khakassia,
is an essential condition for forming a
Government of Popular Trust.
All these years we have been supporting and protecting
collective enterprises, showing their experience.
National enterprises have become the best
examples of honest, efficient work and
social optimism. Their success... is a
direct result of combining the talent
of the organizers --- with the latest
technologies, conscious discipline
with care for the workers and
their families.
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation was firmly
committed to protecting Russia's security and sovereignty.
In the struggle with the machine of the oligarchic state,
we didn't allow Russia to be completely sold out. Our
perseverance ---- helped save the rocket, space and
aviation complexes. We did not allow the creation
of a NATO base near Ulyanovsk and the holding
of joint exercises with the American military
near Arzamas. We have, confidently, stood
up for our friends and historical justice in
Ukraine and Belarus, in the Caucasus
and Crimea, in Donetsk and Luhansk.
We have sent over a hundred
humanitarian convoys to
help the population
of Novorossiya.
Our party immediately rose up to fight the savagery of anti-
Sovietism and Russophobia, with attempts to discredit the
great achievements -- of the socialist Motherland. As the
apple of our eye, we preserved the red gene, preserved
the values of camaraderie and collectivism of high
spirituality and historical continuity. They fought
for the return of Stalingrad to its proud name.
For preserving the historical appearance
of Red Square.
All these years, the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation --- fought to save the traditions of the
national school, to preserve the great cultural
heritage. We still stand firmly in the path of
aggressive anti-Soviets, of cynical Russop-
hobes, headless nationalists and crafty
cosmopolitans. Patriotism, and inter-
nationalism, are inseparable for us.
We have come a long way ---- defeats and victories, losses
and hopes. It happened that someone could not stand the
blackmail.. and temptations, the blackness of information
killers, the arbitrariness of the police & judicial reprisals.
But the party moved forward, steeled itself, and gained
experience in the class struggle. The Communist
Party of the Russian Federation accepted new
generations of Communists.. into its ranks,
educated them.. and entrusted them with
the most responsible precincts and posts.
Big challenges, formidable challenges, and broad horizons lie
ahead. We will not give up and will not back down in the fight.
Together with our friends and allies, we continue the great
battle for our Soviet Homeland — the power of good,
justice and progress.
We are not following our own thorny path ----- out of empty stubbornness and nostalgia for the old days.
We deeply believe in the rightness of our cause.
We know that, having overcome a long path of torment and
suffering, humanity has earned the right to a better future.
We are well aware that the tyranny of capital is preparing
for a decisive battle to perpetuate its dominance. And
we absolutely cannot agree with this.
We Communists say that there is only one way to destroy
the plans to create a global concentration camp. For this
we must ensure the victory of socialism!
We will continue to fight for this consistently and resolutely!
Our mission is to express the pain and aspirations of the
working people, their aspirations and hopes, their will
and right to a decent and happy life.
For this purpose --- we will continue to proudly carry the
Red Banner of Victory - the Banner of Truth and Justice!
Dear comrades, Fellow party members! Like-minded people!
Our sacred struggle continues! On the 30th anniversary of
the party's revival, we Communists firmly declare: We
will do everything possible to break the shackles of
oppression, to establish the power of the working
people and the ideals of friendship of peoples!
Socialism will win!
Now, true socialists will have been deeply moved by that stirring speech.
Were you?
______________________________________________
Truth About Tanks: How NATO Lied Its Way to Disaster in Ukraine
by Scott Ritter
February 4th, 2023
https://strategic-culture.org
Tank warfare has evolved. The large force-on-force armoured
battles that were the hallmark of much of WWII, the Arab-
Israeli conflicts, which served as the foundation of
operational doctrine for both NATO and the
Soviet Union (and which was implemented
in full by the United States during
Operation Desert Storm in
1991), has run its course.
Like most military technological innovations, the ability to
make a modern main battle tank survivable has been
outstripped by the fielding of defensive systems
designed to overcome such defenses. If..... a
modern military force attempted to launch
a large-scale tank-dominated attack,
against a well-equipped peer-level
opponent --- armed with modern
anti-tank missiles, the result
would be a decisive defeat
for the attacking party ----
marked --- by the smoking
hulks of burned-out tanks.
Don’t get me wrong: tanks still have a vital role to play on
the modern battlefield. Their status as a mobile bunker is
invaluable in the kind of meat-grinder conflicts of
attrition, that have come to define the current
stage.. of large-scale ground combat. Speed
and armour still contribute to survivability,
and the main gun of a tank remains one
of the deadliest weapons on the
modern battlefield.
But the modern tank performs best - as part of a combined
arms team, supported by infantry (mounted & unmounted)
- and copious amounts of supporting arms (artillery and
close air support.) As part of such a team, especially
one that is well-trained in the art of close combat,
the tank remains an essential weapon of war.
However, if operated in isolation, a tank is
simply an expensive mobile coffin.
Much has been made about the recent decision made by NATO
and allied nations to provide Western main battle tanks to
Ukraine. The politics of this decision is its own separate
topic. This article will address the operational
practicalities of this decision, namely has the
military capability of Ukraine been enhanced
through the provision of these new
weapons systems.
To answer this question, one needs to examine three
basic issues: training, logistical sustainability, and
operational employment.
Training
It takes 22 weeks to train a basic US M1 Abrams crewmember.
That training just gives the soldier the very basic skill set to
be functional. Actual operational expertise is only achieved
through months, if not years, of additional training in not
just the system itself, but employing it as part of a
similarly trained combine arms team. Simply put,
even a Ukrainian tank crew experienced in the
operation of Soviet-era T-72 or T-64 tanks will
not be able to immediately transition to a
Western-style main battle tank.
First and foremost, the crew size of a Soviet-era tank is three,
reflecting the reality that the Soviet tanks make use of an
automatic loading mechanism. Western tanks have four
crew members because the loading of the main tank
gun is done manually. Adapting to these dynamics
takes time, and requires extensive training.
Training is expensive. NATO is currently providing Ukraine
with three types of Western main battle tank: the British
Challenger 2, the German Leopard 2, and the US M1A2.
There is no unified training course—each tank requires
its own unique training prospectus that is not directly
transferable to another system.
The decentralized training processes created by such a
diverse approach promotes inefficiencies & generates
discrepancies in outcome — one crew will not be like
another, which in combat, where units are supposed
to be interchangeable to promote predictable
outcomes if all other circumstances remain
the same, is usually fatal.
Moreover, these problems will only be enhanced by the
emphasis that will be placed on rapid outcomes. The
reality is whatever training programs that are
developed and delivered by the nations
providing the tanks will be insufficient
to the task, resulting in poorly trained
crews taking extremely complicated
weapons systems into the most
dangerous environment in the
world for a tank — the teeth
of a Russian Army designed
and equipped to kill these
very same tanks.
Logistical Sustainability
Tanks are among the most technically challenging weapons
systems on a modern battlefield. They are constantly
breaking down, especially if not properly maintained.
For the M1 Abrams, for every hour a tank is in the
field, there are three hours of maintenance time
required. This problem only becomes magnified
in combat.
Normally an armour unit is equipped with highly specialized
organic maintenance crews that can repair most of the
minor issues that can sideline a tank. Given the
training requirements to produce this level of
high-quality mechanic, it is unlikely Ukraine
will be provided with this kind of
maintenance support.
This means that the tanks that are being provided to Ukraine
will need to be returned to NATO nations for any significant
repairs of equipment that is damaged through simple usage
or actual combat. In short, it is highly likely that a Western
main battle tank in Ukrainian hands will break down at
some point during its operational use by Ukraine,
meaning that the total number of tanks
available to Ukraine.... will be far less
than the number of tanks provided.
Operational Employment
Ukraine’s commander in chief of the Armed Forces, General
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, told The Economist last month that he
needed 300 tanks, 500 infantry fighting vehicles, and
500 artillery pieces, if he were going to have any
chance of defeating [Russia].
Following the January 20 meeting of the Ramstein Contact
Group, and subsequent follow-on discussions about the
provision of tanks, NATO and its allied partners have
agreed to provide less than 50% of the number of
tanks requested, less than 50% of the number of
infantry fighting vehicles requested, and less
than 20% of the artillery requested.
Moreover... the timetable for delivery of this equipment, is
staggered incoherently over a period that stretches out for many months, and in some cases extends into the next year. Not only does this complicate training & logistical sustainability issues.... that are already unfavorably inclined for Ukraine, but it makes any meaningful effort, to integrate this material into a cohesive operational employment plan, all but impossible. In short.. Ukraine will be compelled to commit the equipment provided - especially the tanks - into combat in piecemeal fashion.
The truth about tanks is that NATO and its allied nations are
making Ukraine weaker, not stronger, by providing them
with military systems that are overly complicated to
operate, extraordinarily difficult to maintain, and
impossible to survive unless employed in a
cogent manner --- while supported by
extensive combined arms partners.
The decision to provide Ukraine with Western main battle
tanks is, literally, a suicide pact, something those who
claim they are looking out for the best interests of
Ukraine should consider, before it is too late.
unz.com
What is the point of all this insanity? What do YOU think?
_____________________________________
Trials and Tribulations
of the Collective West
by Pepe Escobar
January 31st, 2023
(https://strategic-culture.org)
Sit back, relax and enjoy a race to the bottom of the Grand
Canyon. The only question is who will get there first: the
EU, NATO, or both.
One may be excused to imagine all sorts of amusement
games unrolling at the HQ of the Russian General Staff
as The Empire and NATO go literally bonkers. What
crazy stunt will they come up with next – short
of WWIII?
Here is a delightful put down of NATO’s dementia praecox.
Everything so far has failed, from “crippling sanctions” to
all sorts of wunderwaffen, while the whole Global South
marvels at the exploits of Wagner PMC – now
configured as the planet’s top urban
fighting machine.
CIA mouthpiece Washington Post duly released how
Washington -- once again -- had the Liver Sausage
Chancellor Scholz for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The idea was floated by Secretary of State Tony
Blinken: let’s announce we will deliver M1
Abrams to Ukraine in a hazy, unspecified
future, thus providing cover for Scholz
to release the Leopards now.
Don’t you just love German sovereignty in action?
Every military analyst with an IQ over room temperature
knows all those Leopards will be duly incinerated – or
better yet, captured, and dissected by Russian
military specialists.
So what happens next is yet another vector of the –
very successful so far – U.S.-unleashed German de-
industrualization racket: the Americans will invade
the German industrial military complex with their
“much improved” Abrams – which may perhaps
arrive in 2024, when only a rump Ukraine may
still exist, or never arrive at all. So no need
for the Abrams.... to prove themselves in
actual combat – as in being captured
and/or incinerated.
Rumors in Washington advance...... that the U.S. “strategy” in
Ukraine – extensively detailed by endless think tank reports – had to be adapted. It’s not about “defeating Russia” anymore but providing Kiev with the means to “scare” Russia. The Russian General Staff must be trembling in their boots.
Meanwhile, in real life, nearly every possible scenario gamed
in Washington and Brussels, finishes with NATO like a giant,
armoured version of Wile E. Coyote plunging to the depths
of the Grand Canyon. And that happens even if the much
ballyhooed “Big Arrow” Russian offensive starts in a
few days or weeks, or never starts at all.
Arguably the Russian General Staff has concluded a long time
ago there’s no point in reducing Ukraine to rubble in a matter
of hours – something they could easily accomplish. Thus the
fabled mincing machine approach – offering no excuses for
NATO to “escalate” (which they continue to do anyway, as
Jens “War is Peace” Stoltenberg, is so fond of parroting).
The trick is that NATO’s escalation overdrive, as it happens, is
somewhat controlled by the Russian General Staff, which is
always calculating which optimal maneuvers will consume
NATO’s military hardware faster. Call it a Russian version
of the popular axiom “frog in a boiling pot doesn’t realize
it’s being cooked until it croaks.”
Attacking Russia-China-Iran
Absolute desperation is now graphically extrapolating into
attacks on Iran. Both Russia and China have Iran as their
key ally in West Asia for the whole, complex process of
So attacking the Ministry of Defense in Isfahan with drones
– total fail – and bombing an IRGC convoy of humanitarian
aid crossing from Iraq to Syria --- is a serious U.S.-Israel- coordinated provocation.
Essentially these are also attacks against Russia and China.
Israel.... cannot lift its hand or foot ----- without U.S. permission. Iranian intel may be able to establish how the Straussian neo-con and neoliberal-con cabal in charge of US foreign policy authorized if not ordered these attacks, which of course, are directly connected to NATO’s desperation in Ukraine.
When in doubt, just come back to Zbig “Grand Chessboard”
Brzezinski: “Potentially, the most dangerous scenario
would be a grand coalition of China, Russia and
perhaps, Iran --- an ‘anti-hegemonic’ coalition
united not by ideology but by contemporary
grievances. It would be reminiscent... in
scale and scope, of the challenge once
posed by the Sino-Soviet bloc.”
And mirroring Ukraine/Russia there’s of course Taiwan/China.
As Credit Suisse strategist, Zoltan Pozsar, has extensively
explained, if Taiwan manufactures chips for U.S. missiles
Washington then sends to Taiwan for its “self-defense”,
but Taiwan needs to wait because the missiles are
needed in Ukraine instead ---- or chips can’t be
shipped to the U.S. owing to a possible sea
and air blockade imposed by China, the
Americans will be operationally ill-
equipped to support their two-
front war against peer
competitors Russia
and China.
Bye bye Pax Americana. It’s the fear, actually paranoia, of a
destroyed Taiwan – and the destruction in every scenario
would be provoked by the Americans themselves – that
has led the Straussian neo-con and neoliberal-con
cabal to demand their chips be Made in USA.
On the energy front, since U.S. energy costs are
low, Washington gambled that much of the de-
industrialization of Germany, would revert
to American benefit. Yet since Iranian,
Russian and Venezuelan oil prices
are lower than the U.S... not much
production may be shifting to the
Hegemon: it will go to China.
To the bottom of the Grand Canyon!
The January 10th joint declaration between EU-NATO
graphically shows how the EU is no more than the
P.R. arm of NATO.
This NATO-EU joint mission consists in using all economic,
political and military means to make sure the “jungle”
always behaves according to the “rules-based
international order” and accepts to be
plundered ad infinitum by the
“blooming garden”.
So, in the end, what’s left of “Europe”, when it’s
NATO – actually Washington – that really rules?
“Europe” - according to relentless propaganda - means
defending “our values” – as in peace, democracy and
prosperity. The trick is that unelected elites forced
the implicit identification of this imagined,
practically sacred “Europe” --- with the
European Union. And that, is how the
EU has acquired a mythical identity.
Of course, in real life the EU --- as in the
real, politically organized “Europe” ---
has performed as a toxic instrument
of division among European peoples.
Instead of peace, it has invested in all-out rabid war
against Russia. The EU is, arguably, the most
democratically irresponsible institution on
the planet: spend a day in Brussels and
you understand everything. And
instead of prosperity --- the EU
has institutionalized austerity.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy a race to the bottom of the
Grand Canyon. The only question is, who will get there
first: the EU, NATO, or both.
I love Pepe's optimism and humour...
while we're teetering on the brink.
What do YOU think?
___________________________________
Washington Post: US statement
about the supply of Abrams to
Ukraine, is a cover for Scholz
January 29th, 10:49am
https://en.news-front.info/
The delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine announced by the
United States became a cover for Germany to provide the
Kyiv regime with Leopard 2. This is reported by The
Washington Post, which gained access to the
conversations of people familiar with
the discussions.
The publication claims that German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz,
and US President Joe Biden could not agree on the transfer
of German tanks.... for a long time. Scholz did not want
Germany to “challenge Russia” first among Western
countries. He demanded that the tanks be handed
over at the same time as the United States.
Washington, in turn, insisted that German armoured vehicles
should be sent to Kyiv as soon as possible, because the
Ukrainian military “will be easier to learn” on them,
and not on US ones.
The publication notes that after the conversation, Biden asked
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of
State, Blinken, what steps should be taken.
“It was Blinken who suggested a possible workaround. What if
they announced their intention to supply Abrams tanks as
part of Kyiv’s “long-term” needs in a conflict that could
go on for years? This could give Scholz the cover he
was looking for to allow the Leopard tanks to
immediately head to Ukraine, and give the
Pentagon time to prepare its tanks, the
Ukrainian military..... and create the
logistics,” the journalists write.
In parallel with this -- the publication clarifies -- in Europe,
potential Leopard suppliers have focused on increasing pressure on Berlin in order to obtain permission from
the manufacturer to transfer equipment to the
government of Ukraine.
“But for Scholz it was a serious political dilemma. From the
first days of the conflict, he tried not to go ahead of the
column when it came to arming Ukraine, expressing
fears about possible retribution from Moscow,” the
authors of the material note.
At the same time, according to journalists, the head of the
Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, was opposed to the supply of
Abrams tanks --- convinced that their operation and
logistics would be too complicated.
“He was convinced -- that the Ukrainians would not be able
to maintain and service massive battle tanks. In addition,
American vehicles --- are protected by special depleted
uranium armour of a classified design --- which the
United States did not want Russia to get its
hands on”, the authors of the
publication concluded.
If the US dares to use depleted uranium
in any form -- the rage from Russia, will
tear over the US -- in a vengeful fury.
What do YOU think they will do?
_____________________________________
War Is a Racket…Tanks
a Lot, Now Give Us F-16s!
January 27th, 2023
Editorial
https://strategic-culture.org
The vampiric orgy of weapons going to Ukraine could
provoke a terrifying world war and global catastrophe.
No sooner had the United States, Germany and other NATO
powers announced the major release of main battlefield
tanks for Ukraine, the Kiev regime immediately started
demanding the supply of US-made F-16 warplanes.
The attitude is incorrigible. Chutzpah
on steroids, or perhaps cocaine.
As Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky gloated this week
shamelessly and without a hint of irony to corporate
honchos in Florida, the war in his country means
“big business opportunities” for the West. This
clownish figure was formerly a comedian and
actor before becoming a politician. Now he
can add pimping to his grubby career.
For weeks, in the Western states, there have been tortuous
public discussions about whether to send tanks to support
the Kiev regime against Russia. Then abruptly, the U.S.,
Germany and other NATO allies have one by one
unceremoniously shirked the taboo and are
promising delivery of the heavy armour
weaponry. The Biden administration..
declared it will send around 30 units
of M1 Abrams. Germany is to send
about 14 Leopard 2 tanks as are
several other European NATO
members who have the
German-made vehicle
in their inventories.
Britain has announced it will supply about 14 of its Challenger
2 tanks and France is considering supplying Leclerc main
battlefield units.
The numbers involved are way short of the 300 demanded by
the Kiev regime and will not deliver the much-vaunted and
totally unrealistic “victory” over Russia. The tokenism is,
however, part of an enormous war racket. It’s all about
pumping up more profiteering rather than any principle
or serious strategic objective in Ukraine, apart from
destabilizing Russia and trying to isolate Moscow
internationally. The danger is, however, if the
powder keg is stoked any further, the risk of
an unintended conflagration becomes a
growing probability.
It’s almost farcical – if it wasn’t so grave – how reckless
is the rush by NATO powers to outdo each other in
military madness.
Moscow has condemned an “extremely dangerous escalation”
which puts NATO in direct conflict with Russia --- on a path of
full-blown war in Europe. Any such war will not be confined
to Europe. This is a step off the abyss towards a world war
at grave risk of unleashing nuclear annihilation.
Over the past year --- since Russia launched its special military
operation in Ukraine to neutralize a NATO-sponsored NeoNazi
regime that had for eight years been aggressing ethnic
Russian people formerly in eastern Ukraine (now
integrated into the Russian Federation after
popular referenda) -- the United States and
its allies have scaled up weapon supplies
to Ukraine at a staggering blitzkrieg rate.
The financial and military aid funneled into Ukraine, over just
12 months from the U.S., NATO and European Union amounts
to around $100 billion. This, is while these states are telling
their own citizens that there isn’t enough money for funding
essential public services and welfare needs, amid crushing
economic inflation caused in large part by energy prices
soaring from unilaterally cutting Russian gas supplies.
The nature of the weapons has graduated to increasingly
offensive firepower and quantity. The readiness by the
NATO powers to mobilize military resources indicates
that this war was anticipated as a showdown
with Russia.
Ukrainian defense official Yuriy Sak cockily commented
about the relative ease of the “next big hurdle” of
acquiring F-16s fighter jets.
“They didn’t want to give us heavy artillery, then they did.
They didn’t want to give us HIMARS [missiles], then they
did. They didn’t want to give us tanks, now they’re
giving us tanks. Apart from nuclear weapons,
there is nothing left that we will not get.”
That means F-16s are up next.
It’s not clear who the “they” ---- who “didn’t want to” supply weapons are. Every step of the way, Western leaders have
quickly jettisoned any supposed scruples or reservations
about supplying weapons. The so-called “reservations”,
seem in hindsight now to have been nothing but cynical
deception: to hoodwink the Western public about what
their politicians are doing – which is opening the gates
of hell for war --- by plying Ukraine with weapons and
suppressing any attempt at ending the conflict
through politics and diplomacy.
Lest it should be forgotten, politics and diplomacy should
be the first and most urgent effort. The negligence,
indeed repudiation, of diplomacy by Western
powers --- is tantamount to criminal
conspiracy for fueling hostility.
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin, the US maker of the F-16 has
cheerily chimed in on cue -- that it is ready to supply the
fighter jet to Ukraine as soon as NATO leaders agree
to give the go-ahead. Lockheed Martin is also the
maker of HIMARS and Javelin missiles. The US
military-industrial complex is raking in record
profits over this war in Ukraine. U.S. global
exports of weapons have surged by an
estimated 50 per cent year-on-year,
mainly due to selling to European
allies who have emptied their
arsenals for Ukraine.
There is a sense of inevitability that the “hurdle” of F-16s
and other advanced warplanes will be dispensed with in
due course --- in the same way that Washington and its
allies overcame their lame hesitance about missiles
and tanks. What can be expected --- is more long-
range missiles as well as advanced warplanes.
President Joe Biden declared preposterously that the tanks
being sent to Ukraine, are not “offensive”, nor a “threat to
Russia”. He called them - “tanks for freedom”. This is the
same nonsense as other NATO leaders claiming that the
best way to peace in Ukraine is to arm the Kiev regime
with even more lethal weapons. Biden also asserted
that if Russian troops withdrew from Ukraine then
the war would be over. This is dissembling about
the causes of the conflict & what Washington’s
geopolitical agenda really is about: salvaging
hegemonic ambitions with regard to Russia,
China and any other perceived rival. The
war would not simply stop, as Biden
lied through his teeth. The war in
Ukraine is but a battlefield in a
much bigger war for asserting
US supremacy --- which is no
longer viable in an emerging
multipolar world ---- amid
collapsing US economic
power.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said it best
this week, albeit inadvertently. “We are fighting a war
against Russia,” she blurted out during a Council of
Europe parliamentary debate in Strasbourg....
regarding the dispatch of Leopard tanks.
The war in Ukraine is nothing more than a racket in the same
sordid tradition as condemned by US Marine Corps Major
General Smedley D Butler -- in the 1930s. Zelensky and
his cabal are rife with corruption and profiteering, as
the mass sacking of his cabinet officials this week
demonstrates. Even the Western media could not
ignore the scandal, despite doing their best to
whitewash the fiasco as a crackdown on
corruption. Those sackings only came
about after Zelensky’s aides were
exposed as being up their eyes --
in embezzling, fraud and bribery.
The huge sums of money being pumped into the Kiev regime
by Western governments courtesy of Western taxpayers &
the debt of future generations, is a driver of the corruption.
Of course, the Kiev racketeers are demanding more and
more weapons from the West because “big business” is
lining their pockets, offshore properties and
bank accounts.
And of course, the Western weapons companies are all too
happy to ramp up production, sales and profits. Western
politicians and governments are feeding at the trough
of the military-industrial complex, through lobbyists
and board member sinecures, like the U.S. Sec. of
Defense, Lloyd Austin, who is hooked up with
Raytheon - another Pentagon firm that has
enriched itself from the Ukraine conflict.
Despite Western media propaganda about “defending Ukraine”
and “fighting for democracy”, the reality is the United States
and its NATO minions are all in for greasing the war-machine
capitalist economies and for their own personal gain. The
tragedy is that the weapons pipelines will not help
Ukraine. Russian forces are decimating the NATO-
sponsored NeoNazi regime. Not even tanks or
warplanes will salvage the military disaster.
The West is filling a bloodbath in Ukraine for their merchants
of death. The obscenity of callously shoving people into a
slaughter for no moral or just cause, but all for the profit-
making of corporations, themselves and the corrupt
cabal in Kiev ---- is despicable beyond words.
The real danger is that the vampiric orgy of weapons going
to Ukraine could provoke a terrifying world war and global
catastrophe. That is the measure of the evil at the heart
of the Western powers and their puppet masters. The
First and Second World Wars were manifestations of
the same evil imperialist system. If it has its way,
that is without Russia’s restraining power, then
the world is facing another calamity -- brought
about by the same criminal system.
That's telling us! But will we learn?
What do YOU think?
_____________________________________
West demands - continuation
of bloody banquet in Ukraine
January 26th, 8:53am
https://en.news-front.info/
Here, in fact, are the main words about the near future of
Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. And they
were said, and for a while... it seems, coming to
consciousness, by the main beneficiary of
this whole bloody affair, the president of the USA, Joe Biden.
Sending Ukraine 31 M1 Abrams tanks to form an entire tank
battalion, he said, during a speech on the evening of the
25th of January -- which was broadcast on the White
House Twitter account: “We intend to help Ukraine
defend its territory and launch a counter-offensive.
To liberate the whole country, they need to
increase their defensive capabilities.”
The key words here are, you understand, “counter-offensive”.
It clearly and unambiguously puts an “i” point in all these
vain and solidly annoying conversations... whether the
AFU will --- or will not --- launch an offensive in the
approaching spring. It is clear now ------ they
will, the master said so.
At that, the US President hinted specifically, however, that the
tanks may not be necessary, because their delivery will take
several months. And the tanks will either not arrive in
Ukraine by that time, or they will be needed only by
the USO troops, which - by that time - will
disassemble the neo-Nazi Ukraine, into
stinking atoms .. like in the Banderite
crypts. Such is the dilemma of the
donkey and the Padishah,
in Ukrainian.
Although Biden added that the US would immediately start
working on a programme to train Ukrainian tankers to
work with Abrams and would send eight repair and
recovery vehicles to service the tanks.
Biden’s loyal subject, German Foreign Minister Annalena
Berbock, also stood out, of course, as she bluntly called
what was happening in Ukraine a “war”. Before that
there had been “defence of democracy and
universal human values”, “opposition to
Putin’s aggression”, and suddenly,
bang, war. How could it be?
A paradigm shift…
The revelation of bellicose Annalena happened, because her
immediate boss – Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz – under
the general pressure sagged and deflated, like a rotten fly
agaric under the foot of the mushroom. On January the
25th, 2023, on the day of the 85th anniversary of
Vladimir Vysotsky, who used to sing “soldiers
of the Centre group are marching through
Ukraine”, Scholz confirmed that official
Berlin would send Ukraine.......
Leopard 2 tanks.
Moreover, Germany will also allow other countries to re-export
these tanks to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. After Poland
blew propaganda over Scholz’s head, accusing Germany
of not giving tanks and Ukrainian democracy of being in
terrible, unbearable, danger on the matter. But Poland
applied to send Leopards to Ukraine, and Berlin gave
the go-ahead.
After that, tanks promised to pour into Ukraine like a bloody
horn of death. The Czech Republic, Canada, Spain, and
Portugal officially declared their readiness to transfer
the tanks to Kiev. Sweden does not rule out the
transfer to Ukraine of the Stridsvagn 122,
which is the local version of the
German Leopard 2.
But again – in the future. Because it is customary to have this
caveat – the first combat vehicles from Europe to Ukraine
may arrive in about three months. And during this time,
either the Padishah or the donkey will say its word…
However, at the last meeting of the Ramstein format 12
countries agreed to provide Ukraine with around 100
Leopard 2 tanks. They are designed to “bring Putin
to his knees”. And it shows --- that the first step in
preparation for the counter-offensive announced
by Biden in the spring has already been taken –
another carrot has been dangled in front of
the Ukrainian donkey........ that must run
to attack.
But that is not all. In Ukraine itself they have done everything
to eliminate all kinds of controversies & aggravated struggle
for power and access to the trough, and also to calm down
the loose power ambitions of some political imbeciles,
who do not want to understand correctly the task of
their masters. This is the second, if you like,
parallel step... in the preparation for a
counter-offensive.
First CIA chief William Burns, and then former British prime
minister Boris Johnson, came to Ukraine and together they
brought to a common denominator two large groups of the
Ukrainian establishment not to speak of by night, oriented
towards the CIA and MI6. That is, the US and the UK,
between whom, there was a marked difference in
the approach to the war in Ukraine: the US was
ready for a ceasefire, while Britain wanted
the blood of the last Ukrainian.
Burns and Johnson instigated not only reconciliation, but
also a mopping-up of especially opportunity-weary
Ukrainian officials – from deputy ministers mired
in outright and wildly cynical corruption.. and
rampant embezzlement, to the deputy head
of the Office of the President (OPU) Kirill
Timoshenko, and several governors.
Ukrainian ''President'' Volodymyr
Zelenski, waved his resignation
decrees, like a famous old
woman with a scythe.
And, as the Russian political analyst, Sergei Markov, wrote:
“Zelensky’s personnel purge.. is believed to have been
carried out at the request of the US, against Britain’s
people in the Zelensky administration”. And then he
clarified: “They say, the Americans are fed up with
the insolence of British handlers and their agents.
Britain invests little resources in Ukraine, but
wants to command a lot. And it is not British
money that the British agents steal, but
American money. So they were short-changed.
“They also gave Zelensky a fat hint that he must listen to Big
Brother more than to his arrogant little brother in Britain.
…The US, it turns out, did not issue tanks to Zelensky
because Zelensky did not want to fire the British
arrogant agents --- like Tymoshenko. After
Ramstein, Zelensky realised... that he
would have to fire him”.
Moreover, Markov prophesied: “If Zelensky appoints an
American, rather than a British agent, to replace
Tymoshenko, the US will announce the transfer
of several Abrams tanks, symbolically. But
most importantly, the US will give a strict
order to Germany to give the go-ahead
for the transfer of German Leopard
tanks - by various countries - to
Zelensky. This is what it looks
like from Kiev. In the coming
days we will verify
that version”.
What is there to verify? As Markov said, it happened, it is
not Newton’s binomial – the non-self-governing policy of
Ukraine’s neo-Nazis Zelensky, in the service of the
collective West.
In parallel with the cleansing of his corrupt and utterly
debased entourage, Zelensky has taken the third step
in the necessary unification of the country & society
for the war -– he has continued the mobilising and
intimidating repression against those who might
(be?) his opponent. He enacted a decision of the
National Security and Defence Council (NSDCU)
on sanctions against 10 individuals associated
with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and
the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC MP).
The decree was published on January
the 24th, on the website of the
presidential office.
This time it was an oligarch, former Verkhovna Rada MP and
UOC deacon Vadym Novynskyy, the head of the UOC Kiev-
Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Petro (Lebed) of Vyshgorod
and Chernobyl, metropolitans and bishops of Crimean
dioceses, including Simferopol, Feodosiya, Koktebel
and Dzhankoy, Archbishop of Rovenky and
Sverdlovsk UOC, Alexander Taranov,
Metropolitan of Izyum & Kupyansk
UOC, Oleg Ivanov, the Bishop
of Romny and the Burinsky
UOC, Alexey Maslennikov.
In addition to the fact that in 2022 the Ukrainian authorities
have already organized the largest wave of persecution of
the UOC-MP in the modern history of the country, a bill to
actually ban it in Ukraine --- has already been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada. Sanctions have been imposed
against.. many and other members of the clergy.
And the SBU has begun to open criminal cases
against clergy of the UOC MP and to conduct
“counter-intelligence activities” – searches
of bishops and priests and in churches
and monasteries, including the Kyiv
Pechersk Lavra ---- looking for
evidence of “anti-Ukrainian
activities”.
Why was all this done? To bring the Ukrainians to their knees
and force them to do what the neo-Nazis and their masters,
who, alas, are so far good at it, command without question.
However, even the West, as we can see, is well aware that the
success of the proposed counterattack depends entirely on
Russia and its air defence forces. What they will want or be
able to do in the operation zone, they will learn from the
counter-offensive – there may not be one at all, if
Ukraine disappears.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, its president Vladimir Putin and
now – most recently – the Russian ambassador to the US,
Anatoly Antonov, have all warned that the weapons
supplied to Kiev will be a legitimate target for the
Russian military. And that Russian troops will
“destroy Abrams as well as other Western
equipment”, which, according to Dmitry
Peskov, spokesman for the Russian
president, “burn just fine” like all the others.
And what should be done to make them burn perfectly well is
at once answered by Yuri Knutov, director of the Air Defense
Forces Museum, popular on Russian TV: “During World War II
we fought a whole railroad war, when partisans destroyed
railway stations and bridges and knocked out a large part
of the arms and ammunition supply to the Germans. Now
we can do something similar...... not with the help of
partisans, but with high-precision weapons.”
And you can’t deny Knutow’s logic. Now the word must not
diverge from the deed, otherwise Russia will continue to
stand on its own stretcher – between promises to do
and what has been done.
Vladimir Skachko, Antifascist News Agency
In Wales, there are many anti-fascists..
who support Russia in this. Which
side do YOU now support?
_____________________________________________
UN and IAEAto ignore AFU
ammunition depots at
nuclear power plant
– expert Knutov
January 24th, 11:35am
https://en.news-front.info/
The West will traditionally prefer to “close its eyes” to the
new criminal actions of the Ukrainian side. The military
analyst Yuri Knutov called on Russia to “ring the bells”
in the international arena --- because of Kyiv’s
stockpiling of missiles and ammunition
directly at Ukrainian nuclear
power plants.
According to the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian
Federation, the militants are actively deploying missiles to
HIMARS and foreign air defense systems, on the territory
of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, accumulating stocks
of large-calibre artillery ammunition there. Several
loaded wagons were transported through the
Rafalovka railway junction, alone.
“To be honest, I predicted a similar scenario a few months
ago when it was about the seizure of the territory of the
Zaporizhzhya NPP, by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In October-November last year, the West and Kyiv
actively demanded... the “demilitarization” of
this facility. And even then, it was clear: that
in the event of the withdrawal of our troops
from the station nothing would prevent the
Ukrainian army -- from seizing the nuclear
power plant -- and creating a springboard
on its base, for an attack on Berdyansk
and Melitopol. After all, the Ukrainians
were well aware that the Russian
army under no circumstances
would shoot at the ZNPP,
simply because it is
a nuclear facility”,
Knutov recalled.
Now the criminal Kyiv regime has begun to cynically
use the territories of nuclear power facilities as
warehouses for modern ammunition, Knutov
was indignant.
“How criminal this activity is, it is clear even to a child – after all, the explosion of these munitions next to a
nuclear reactor threatens monstrous consequences
throughout Europe. But even more terrible, is that
neither the IAEA nor the UN, will probably react
- in any way - to this information. I’m just sure
that they will let it go past their ears,” Knutov said.
“Although it is clear that, if it were not about Ukraine, but
about any other country, the IAEA would immediately
intervene and demand the immediate withdrawal
of all military depots from the territory of
nuclear power plants. As well as the
complete demilitarization of
these territories.”
“At the same time, there is an IAEA mission
on the territory of the ZNPP,” the
expert recalled.
“IAEA specialists make sure that even Russian heavy
weapons, such as tanks and self-propelled guns, are
not on the territory of the nuclear power plant. At
the same time, at nuclear power plants that are
controlled by Ukraine Armed Forces, Western
shells and missiles are massively stockpiled
and for some reason, there is not a single
international controller there. I regard
this as a forbidden method of waging
war, and this should be declared as
loudly as possible both from the
rostrum of the UN, and within
the framework of the BRICS,
the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization ------ and, in
general, “ring the bells”
..at all possible inter-
national platforms.”
At the same time, according to Knutov, the UN actually
openly refuses to listen -- to the terrible truth about
Ukrainian crimes, which Moscow regularly tries
to convey. The inaction of international
organizations “gives the green light”
to a new nuclear disaster, the
analyst concluded.
In wars, people and organisations reveal
their true selves... what do YOU reveal?
________________________________________
Horrifyingtreatment of Ukrainian
refugeesin Israeli-occupied
territories by Kit Klarenberg
January 22nd, 2:53pm
(PressTV)
In the wake of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, which
began in February last year, millions of Ukrainian citizens
- including women and children - have fled the country
to seek refuge elsewhere.
Reports of Ukrainian refugees encountering
nightmarish, unsafe conditions in their
adopted countries, are countless.
Britain’s Homes for Ukraine had been operational less than a
month, for example, before the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) demanded official oversight of the
scheme be drastically overhauled and “adequate
safeguards” put in place to protect against the
“exploitation” of the scheme’s beneficiaries,
due to increasing reports of women...
“feeling at risk from their sponsors.”
Such a squalid state of affairs nonetheless pales in
comparison to the horror that welcomed Ukrainian
refugees who took up residence in the Israeli-
occupied territories.
A local media report published in early January, conveniently
dismissed by the Western media, documents the widespread
abuse, rape, and exploitation - which gives the impression of
being facilitated if not encouraged, by the Israeli authorities.
In total, approximately 47,000 Ukrainians not eligible
for citizenship under the Israeli regime’s grossly
discriminatory Law of Return travelled there
following Russia's military operation in
Ukraine, according to the regime's
so-called 'welfare ministry'.
Not a single one was accorded formal refugee status,
and of these, only around 15,000 remain. And it’s
not hard to see why.
Ukrainians fleeing to seek refuge in the Israeli-occupied
territories mostly arrived with no possessions or
savings and tried to find work to
support themselves.
Yet numerous legal barriers made this initially impossible,
and despite subsequent reforms intended to secure
employment, many still struggle, bouncing from
one insecure, undocumented, poorly paid
short-term job to another.
“The reality is that you are locked in some room in the centre
of Israel and you need to work — a lot. You’re illegal here,
your work is illegal, your stay is illegal, and your owner
remains fully in control. You can’t do anything,” one
refugee quoted in the report laments.
This sad state of affairs created a veritable feeding frenzy for
exploitative employers, who offer employment in return for
a sizable cut of a Ukrainian’s earnings.
The report states how one woman in her 50s was introduced
to an Israeli man with “strong business links” in Kiev, who
offered her work, an apartment, health insurance, and
everything she needed to get started.
Upon arrival, he housed her in a shared room in a cramped
apartment rife with mold and fungus, where two other
families also lived.
She was forced to work two backbreaking five-hour shifts
every day, travelling to and fro in minibuses without air
conditioning in the scorching heat. Every time her
working day was complete, he deducted half
her wages.
Her health has deteriorated sharply since arriving in
the occupied territories, and she now experiences
migraines and anxiety attacks but is trapped by
her employer, according to the report.
After trying to leave his clutches and find work
elsewhere, he threatened to report her to the
authorities as an undocumented migrant,
which would mean she was deported
“within 48 hours.”
In July, sharp limits on where Ukrainians could work were
introduced, with outright bans on legal employment
for refugees in 17 cities, including Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem, where work is most likely to
be found.
The Israeli regime's outgoing interior minister Ayelet Shaked
subsequently imposed further restrictions, prohibiting any
Ukrainian who arrived since October, from working at
all, anywhere.
Telegram and WhatsApp groups offering work with no paper
trail have popped up in profusion since February 24th last
year. Offers of roles in massage parlours as well as sex
work... are plentiful.
In a perverse twist too, several Ukrainians were put up
by the authorities in a ‘hotel’ that a representative of
an organization assisting Russian and Ukrainian
Jews described as “literally a brothel.”
They claim a representative of the welfare ministry
admitted to knowing the nature of the premises.
Ukrainians staying at the site had windowless rooms
and were kept awake by wild parties and the sound
of people indulging in illicit sexual activities 'round
the clock elsewhere in the building.
“I feel like Israeli authorities hate us here. It’s as if we smell
bad or something,” was how another refugee described her
interactions with interior ministry officials.
Most disturbing of all, the report documents how numerous
Ukrainians, were raped by Israeli men, who wrote them
letters of invitation, which helped get them out of
the warzone.
In attempting to report these heinous crimes, the victims
“encountered a maze of bureaucracy and lost any
motivation” to bring their attackers to justice,
with police and social services,
effectively off-limits.
In one instance, a Ukrainian woman reported her rapist to
authorities, only to be told via text message after weeks
of silence that the charges had been dropped, due to “insubstantial” evidence.
As foreigners in the occupied territories, they are not entitled
to free legal aid, and therefore must pay thousands of
shekels to private lawyers for basic representation.
At least one victim has committed suicide as a
result of these horrid experiences.
Very occasionally, these incidents leak out into local media.
In March, an Israeli man was arrested on suspicion of
breaking into the apartment of a Ukrainian woman
in Jaffa, then raping and robbing her.
Two months later, an Ashdod resident was arrested and
indicted for the alleged rape of a 19-year-old Ukrainian
woman. He reportedly offered to help her find a
cleaning job, and under the pretext of giving
her a ride to work, drove her instead to a
hotel, where he raped her.
“Many of these abuses remain at best under the radar of the
authorities or at worst wilfully ignored, leaving the victims
in a cycle of violence and poverty that only deepens the
trauma they have endured to date. The perpetrators
remain free to commit further crimes,” the
report notes.
Such abuses are all the more perverse when one considers
that the Israeli regime loudly advertised its welcome of
Ukrainians as a symbol of its “tolerance & progressive
values”. There were even more cynical motives at
work, too. Initially, it was intended by the
apartheid regime that these refugees
would further its criminal project of
settlement expansion on
Palestinian lands.
They were to be given property in the occupied Palestinian
territories, in order to populate those areas - deemed as
illegal by the United Nations in its multiple resolutions
- in the process of transforming them into colonizers
and settlers.
The effort was even given an official moniker,
“Operation Israeli Guarantees”.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh strongly
warned against such misadventure, as Ukrainians
arrived at settlements in the occupied West Bank,
including Yitzhar, a key base of operations for
Zionist extremists who routinely attack
indigenous Arabs and steal
their property.
It is truly remarkable and obnoxious that not a single
Western journalist has deemed this shocking report
fit to report on.... weeks since its publication.
Nonetheless, such an oversight is understandable and
entirely predictable, given the mainstream media’s
omerta on the Zionist regime’s vicious, never-
ending crimes against the Palestinian people
- and it is arguable that this conspiracy of
silence is precisely why Israelis feel
emboldened to mistreat hapless
Ukrainian refugees.
In a truly just world, the experience of Ukrainian refugees
in the occupied territories would trigger widespread
scrutiny of the Zionist project, more generally.
For if that murderous ideology’s adherents have no qualm
about subjecting people who enjoy nearly universal
public and media sympathy across the Western
world to such savage abuse, one can only
imagine how much worse a captive
population suffers under
those occupiers.
Kit Klarenberg is an investigative journalist and MintPresss
News contributor exploring the role of intelligence
services in shaping politics and perceptions. His
work has previously appeared in The Cradle,
Declassified UK, Electronic Intifada,
Grayzone, and ShadowProof.
Follow him on Twitter @KitKlarenberg.
(The views expressed in this article, are
the author's own and do not necessarily
reflect those of Press TV
or Rhondda Records)
It's an evil people who will
rob people in need - what
do YOU think?
______________________________
US media: Washington
pushes Ukraine to
hit Crimea
January 21st, 2:04pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Analysis of the article by The New York Times:
“Although the United States has said for several years that
Crimea is still part of Ukraine, it has refused to provide
Kiev with the lethal weapons with which Ukraine
could try to retake the peninsula by force. But
in recent days, Washington’s harsh rhetoric
has softened... as soon as “serious”
armaments are supplied, and the
president’s administration has
increasingly indicated that it
is willing -- to provide them.
Even if such a move would
increase ---- the risk of
escalation,” The New York Times (NYT) reports.
White House officials say nothing has changed and the
Biden administration’s position remains the same –
Crimea belongs to Ukraine. Every country has
the right to defend itself and its sovereign
territory within its internationally
recognized borders, says the
National Security Council
spokeswoman ------
Adrienne Watson.
Although in private conversations, military experts and
political analysts --- are sceptical about the Ukrainian
idea of “reclaiming” Crimea, believing that nothing
will come of this endeavour, apart from more
casualties on the Ukrainian side. And... if
anything is to be conquered, there are
other, more realistic goals, the
paper stressed.
But the Biden administration has concluded that Kiev is
simply obliged to show Russia that it is “serious” about
returning Crimea. The White House believes, that one
demonstration of intentions may be enough to make
Kiev’s position stronger in any future negotiations.
In addition, fears that the Kremlin would retaliate with tactical
nuclear weapons have disappeared, US officials and experts
said, although they warned that the risk remains.
If one recalls that not so long ago the White House was afraid
to publicly acknowledge the fact that it had supplied Kiev
with Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, it becomes clear, how
much the mood and plans in Washington, have changed:
from cautious provision of Javelin anti-tank missiles, to Patriot SAMs, and tanks, The New York Times
draws attention.
“Now, the Biden administration is contemplating one of its
boldest moves yet – helping Ukraine attack the peninsula,
which Russia has always regarded as primordially
Russian territory.”
“US officials are discussing with their Ukrainian counterparts
the possibility of using American-supplied weapons, from
HIMARS missile systems to Bradley Fighting Vehicles.”
“They also discuss... the possibility, of taking under
Ukrainian control, the land corridor from Crimea
to Russia, which runs through Melitopol and
Mariupol,” the authors of the article,
Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt and
Julian E. Barnes, wrote.
They note that Ukrainian officials have long insisted
that pressure on Russian military bases on the
peninsula, should be part of the military
strategy of the AFU.
However, President Biden is not yet ready to provide
Ukraine with long-range missile systems, which is
what Kiev is asking for --- for strikes against
Russian targets in Crimea.
By deciding to give the Bradley combat vehicles to Ukraine,
the Biden administration has agreed in part to Kiev’s
longstanding requests. The Bradleys, are armoured
personnel carriers equipped with powerful 25mm
guns and guided missiles... and are capable of
resisting Russian tanks, the authors explain.
According to Frederick B. Hodges, a retired lieutenant general
and former commander-in-chief of the US Army in Europe,
already in the coming months, Ukrainian troops will be
able to use the Bradley to cut the land corridor from
Crimea to Russia. And if France & Germany deliver
their armoured fighting vehicles to Kiev, by then,
Ukraine will have a full-fledged armoured force
that it could use in a counter-offensive as
early as this winter or spring, both
government and independent
military experts in the US,
have assured.
British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, said during a
visit to Washington, that now is the right time to step
up Western support for Ukraine. Why now? Because
“we cannot allow this to drag on and turn into a kind of stalemate like the First World War,” the minister explained.
Furthermore, Kiev fears that if the war drags on, Ukraine
simply will not survive it – the country’s economy is in
decline. Therefore, Zelensky has no choice --- but to
take an urgent swing at Crimea. Especially.. since
Evelyn Farkas, the Pentagon’s top representative
for Ukraine... under the Obama administration,
assures us that “without Crimea, everything
will fall apart”. She does not explain what
“everything” is.
The White House does not really believe, that the Ukrainian
Armed Forces, will be able to seize the peninsula militarily; they, rather, want to stage a frightening act for Russia and then immediately sit Kiev down at the negotiating table,
the article said.
“It should be added that US officials are still wary of the
Kremlin’s reaction to an attack on Crimea using US
weapons. After all, none of the several Ukrainian
attacks on Crimea have, so far, questioned the
peninsula’s belonging to Russia. Moreover,
not long ago, Secretary of State Anthony
J. Blinken reiterated the unchanged US
policy towards Ukraine, according to
which the Biden administration, will
help regain.. territories seized last
year. As you know Crimea is not
one of those territories,” the
NYT concludes.
Our comment: This is a tricky situation for the White House – it
is very eager to encourage Kiev to strike Crimea, but it is also
very scary, so they reassure themselves that “nothing will
happen -- for that. Although the sabotage on the Crimean
bridge was followed by the destruction of the Ukrainian
energy sector (and the States, by the way, do not care
about it at all), Washington is itching to check what
will happen after the missile attack on the
peninsula. Of course, it is not about
“liberation”, because the residents
of Crimea are Russians by choice
and do not want any “liberation”
from Ukraine --- and a strike on
the peninsula, will certainly be perceived as an act of attack.
But Washington is not interested in this either. The aim is
quite different: to check what measures Russia is ready
to take. What will happen to Ukraine, is of no concern
to the Americans, just as they are indifferent to the
losses of the AFU at Artemivsk (Bakhmut).
Well, the NYT, to the best of its informational ability, is
helping the Biden administration to spread crazy
ideas by replicating them and not letting its
readers know... what is really going on
in Ukraine.
by Ella Maistrenko, Odna Rodina.
A bluff?
What do YOU think Russia could do?
______________________________________
'Fragmented world'
sleepwalks into
World War III
by Pepe Escobar
(Publshed here, January 20th)
The self-appointed Davos "elites" are afraid. So afraid. At this
week’s World Economic Forum meetings, mastermind Klaus
Schwab – displaying his trademark Bond villain act – carped
over and over again about a categorical imperative: we need
"Cooperation in a Fragmented World".
While his diagnosis of “the most critical fragmentation” the
world is now mired in is predictably somber, Herr Schwab
maintains that “the spirit of Davos is positive” and in the
end..... we may all live happily... in a “green
sustainable economy.”
What Davos has been good at, this week, is showering public
opinion with new mantras. There’s “The New System” which,
considering the abject failure of the much ballyhooed Great
Reset, now looks like a matter of hastily updating the
current – rattled - operating system.
Davos needs new hardware, new programming skills, even
a new virus. Yet for the moment all that’s available is a
“polycrisis”: or, in Davos speak, a “cluster of related
global risks with compounding effects.”
In plain English: a perfect storm.
Insufferable bores from that Divide and Rule island in northern
Europe have just found out that “geopolitics”, alas, never
really entered the tawdry “end of history” tunnel: much
to their amazement it’s now centred – again - across
the Heartland, as it’s been for most of
recorded history.
They complain about “threatening” geopolitics,
which is code for Russia-China, with
Iran attached.
But the icing on the Alpine cake is arrogance/stupidity
actually giving away the game: the City of London
and its vassals are livid because the “world
Davos made” is fast collapsing.
Davos did not “make” any world
apart from its own simulacrum.
Davos never got anything right, because these “elites”
were always busy eulogizing the Empire of Chaos and its lethal “adventures” across the Global South.
Davos not only failed to foresee all recent, major economic
crises but most of all the current “perfect storm”, linked
to the neoliberalism-spawned deindustrialization of
the Collective West.
And, of course, Davos is clueless about the real
Reset taking place ------ towards multipolarity.
Self-described opinion leaders are busy “re-discovering” that
Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain was set in Davos –
“against the backdrop of a deadly disease and an
impeding world war” – nearly a century ago.
Well, nowadays the “disease” –- fully bioweaponized -- is not
exactly deadly, per se. And the “impending World War”, is in
fact being actively encouraged by a cabal of US Straussian
neo-cons & neoliberal-cons: an unelected, unaccountable,
bipartisan Deep State not even subject to ideology.
Centennary war criminal, Henry Kissinger, still
does not get it.
A Davos panel on de-globalization was rife on non-sequiturs,
but at least a dose of reality was provided by Hungarian
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.
As for China’s vice-premier Liu He, with his vast knowledge of
finance, science and technology, at least he was very helpful
to lay down Beijing’s five top guidelines for the foreseeable
future – beyond the customary imperial Sinophobia.
China will focus on expanding domestic demand;
keeping industrial and supply chains “smooth”;
go for the “healthy development of the private
sector”; deepen state enterprise reform; and
aim for “attractive foreign investment.”
Russian resistance,American precipice
Emmanuel Todd was not at Davos. But it was the French
anthropologist, historian, demographer and geopolitical
analyst... who ended up ruffling all the appropriate
feathers across the collective West, these past
few days with a fascinating anthropological
object: a reality-based interview.
Todd spoke to Le Figaro – the newspaper of choice of the
French establishment and haute bourgeoisie. The
interview was published last Friday on page 22,
sandwiched between proverbial Russophobic
screeds and with an extremely brief mention
on the bottom of the front page. So people
really had to work hard to find it.
Todd joked that he has the – absurd - reputation of a
“rebel destroy” in France, while in Japan he’s
respected, featured in mainstream media,
and his books are published with great
success, including the latest (over
100,000 copies sold): “The Third
World War Has Already Started”.
Significantly, this Japanese best seller does not exist
in French, considering the whole Paris-based
publishing industry toes the EU/NATO line on Ukraine.
The fact that Todd gets several things right is a minor
miracle in the current, abysmally myopic European
intellectual landscape (there are other analysts
especially in Italy and Germany, but they
carry much less weight than Todd).
So here’s Todd’s concise Greatest Hits.
- A new World War is on: By “switching from a limited territorial
war to a global economic clash, between the collective West
on one side and Russia linked to China on the other side,
this became a World War”.
- The Kremlin, says Todd, made a mistake, calculating that a
decomposed Ukraine society would collapse right away. Of
course he does not get into detail on how Ukraine had
been weaponized to the hilt by the NATO
military alliance.
- Todd is spot on when he stresses how Germany and France
had become minor partners at NATO and were not aware of
what was being plotted in Ukraine militarily: “They did not
know that the Americans, British and Poles could allow
Ukraine to fight an extended war. NATO’s
fundamental axis now is Washington-
London-Warsaw-Kiev.”
- Todd’s major give away is a killer: “The resistance of
Russia’s economy is leading the imperial American
system to the precipice. Nobody had foreseen
that the Russian economy would hold ---
facing NATO’s ‘economic power’”.
- Consequently, “monetary and financial American controls
over the world may collapse, and with them the
possibility for the US of financing for nothing
their enormous trade deficit”.
- And that’s why “we are in an endless war,
in a clash where the conclusion... is the
collapse of one or the other.”
- On China, Todd might sound like a more pugnacious version
of Liu He at Davos: “That’s the fundamental dilemma of the
American economy: it cannot face Chinese competition
without importing qualified Chinese work force.”
- As for the Russian economy, “it does accept market rules,
but with an important role for the state, and it keeps the
flexibility of forming engineers that allow adaptations,
industrial and military.”
- And that bring us, once again, to globalization, in a manner
that Davos roundtables were incapable of understanding:
“We have delocalized so much of our industrial activity
that we don’t know whether our war production may
be sustained”.
- On a more erudite interpretation of that “clash of
civilizations” fallacy, Todd goes for soft power
and comes up with a startling conclusion:
“On 75 percent of the planet, the organization of parenthood
was patrilineal, and that’s why we may identify a strong
understanding of the Russian position. For the
collective non-West, Russia affirms a
reassuring moral conservatism.”
- So what Moscow has been able to pull off, is to “reposition
itself as the archetype of a big power, not only“anti-
colonialist” but also patrilineal and conservative
in terms of traditional mores.”
Based on all of the above, Todd smashes the myth sold
by EU/NATO “elites” – Davos included - that Russia is
“isolated”, stressing how votes in the UN and the
overall sentiment across the Global South
characterizes the war, “described by
mainstream media as a conflict over
political values, in fact ---- on a
deeper level, as a conflict of
anthropological values.”
Between light and darkness
Could it be that Russia – alongside the real Quad, as
I defined them (with China, India and Iran) - are
prevailing in the anthropological stakes?
The real Quad has all it takes, to blossom into a new
cross-cultural focus of hope in a “fragmented world”.
Mix Confucian China (non-dualistic, no transcendental deity,
but with the Tao flowing through everything) with Russia
(Orthodox Christian... reverencing the divine Sophia);
polytheistic India.. (wheel of rebirth, law of karma);
and Shi’ite Iran (Islam preceded by Zoroastrianism,
the eternal cosmic battle between Light
and Darkness).
This unity in diversity is certainly more appealing,
and uplifting, than the Forever War axis.
Will the world learn from it? Or, to quote Hegel -
“what we learn from history is that nobody
learns from history” – are we
hopelessly doomed?
Looks like it... in the West.
What do YOU think?
___________________________________________
Difficult scenario: why EU citizens are
in favour of ending the conflict in
Ukraine with the recognition of
new Russian territories
January 18th, 11:32am
https://en.news-front.info/
Almost half of EU citizens are in favour of settling the
situation around Ukraine as soon as possible, even
if it means Kiev losing part of its territories.
This is according to the results of a sociological survey conducted by the Euroskopia agency.
However, as recently as June 2022, the number of Europeans
who want peace..... through the recognition of territorial
concessions remained at 35%. Russia has repeatedly
stated that it is ready to negotiate with the Ukrainian
side, but future dialogue must take into account
today’s realities, according to which four new
regions have been incorporated into the
Russian Federation.
Experts note that EU citizens want a speedy resolution of the
situation, but their governments and Brussels are pushing
a US agenda that has no place for Russian interests.
Almost half of Europeans are in favour of ending the conflict in
Ukraine – even if the Kiev regime is forced to recognise new
territories within the Russian Federation. This is the result
of a public opinion poll conducted by the Euroskopia
polling network in nine EU countries: Portugal,
Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain,
France, Germany, Italy and Greece.
Some 9,000 people (1,000 in each
country) took part in the survey.
“48 per cent of the polled EU citizens are in favour of the
soonest solution to the conflict, even if Ukraine has to
cede some of its territory to Russia, while 32 per cent
(almost every third European) are against such a
sacrifice for the sake of peace,” the pan-
European portal Euractiv quotes the
results of the poll.
In particular, among those who support the idea of territorial
concessions from Ukraine 64 per cent of Austrians, 60 per
cent of Germans, 54 per cent of Greeks, 50 per cent of
Spaniards and Italians each.
At the same time 32% of the surveyed Europeans were
against such developments for the sake of achieving
peace as soon as possible.
The proposal for peace through recognition of territorial
concessions was most unpopular with the Dutch – only
27% of those questioned supported the idea of
concessions – and with the citizens of Poland,
where only 28% gave a positive answer.
It is worth noting that the number of Europeans who support
a peaceful settlement... at the cost of Kiev’s renunciation of
territorial claims is only increasing as the SSO progresses.
Earlier, a similar poll was conducted by the European Council
on Foreign Relations in June 2022. At that time, 35 per cent
of Europeans polled were in favour of a peace deal that
would involve territorial concessions from Kiev. At the
same time, 22% supported the option of continuing
military action against Russia to “punish” it.
Another 23% of respondents supported any other
option to resolve this situation, another 20%
were undecided.
“There is a wide gap between those who want a speedy end
to the war and those who want to punish Russia,” said
Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on
Foreign Relations, commenting on the poll.
At the time, supporters of a peaceful settlement were most
numerous in Italy, Germany and Romania, while those who
wanted to “punish” Russia were most numerous in Poland.
Negotiating realities
We shall remind you that back in March 2022, after several
rounds of negotiations, the Ukrainian side stopped
dialogue with Russia. In late May, Volodymyr
Zelenskyy said that Kiev would sit down at
the negotiating table only after it returned
its territories lost since the start of the
Russian special operation.
Later, after the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions
became part of the Russian Federation after referendums,
Zelenskyy said that his administration would not hold
any settlement talks with Moscow while Vladimir
Putin was president of Russia, and then signed
a decree to that effect.
In a mid-December interview with The Economist, Zelensky
said that the moment for diplomacy would come when
Russian troops withdrew to Ukraine’s 1991 borders,
which means leaving both the two new regions,
as well as Donbass and Crimea.
Despite the actions and rhetoric of the Kiev regime --- Russia
has repeatedly noted that Moscow is ready for negotiations
to resolve the situation in Ukraine. At the same time, the
Russian Federation stressed that it would become
increasingly difficult to start the negotiation
process over time and that the Ukrainian
authorities should take into account
the situation “on the ground”.
In particular, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitriy Peskov
said this in late December, stressing that any plans for a
peaceful settlement should take into account the
incorporation of new regions into Russia.
“Again, there cannot be any ‘peace plan’ for Ukraine that does
not take into account today’s realities - with Russian territory,
with the incorporation of four new regions into Russia.
No plan that does not take into account these
realities, can claim to be peaceful,”
Peskov stressed.
At the same time, Western countries continue to promote an
agenda in which a potential peace settlement should not
take Russia’s interests into account. US National
Security Council Coordinator for Strategic
Communications John Kirby said this
last November.
“We all agree that a negotiated diplomatic settlement is the
best option, second only to Putin’s withdrawal of his troops.
We have also stated that Zelensky determines if and when
he is ready for negotiations and in what form they will
take place,” Kirby told reporters.
A little later, in early December, NATO Secretary General Jens
Stoltenberg expressed the same view. Speaking at a Global
Boardroom event organised by the Financial Times, he
stressed that “decisions on the right time to start
negotiations and on agreeing to terms should
be made by the Ukrainians”.
Similar statements were made by British Foreign
Secretary James Cleverley and German Foreign
Secretary Annalena Berbock.
American agenda
Although opinion polls show a growing number of EU citizens
in favour of early peace in Ukraine, European governments
still feel fairly confident and for the most part ignore the
opinion of their citizens, Vladimir Bruter, an expert at
the International Institute for Humanitarian and
Political Studies, said, in a conversation
with RT.
“The collective West ignores this position and will ignore
it further. Subsequently, it will actualize it as soon as it
realizes --- the threat of imminent territorial losses for
Kiev, but this is a matter of the future. For the time
being.. European authorities do not pay attention
to the position of their citizens because, in their
opinion, it does not pose any serious political
threat to their rule,” the political scientist said.
If the situation changes, not in favour of the Kiev regime,
however --- its Western handlers will try to maintain the
status quo, and allow the Zelensky administration to
sit down at the negotiating table, believes
Vladimir Bruter.
“Then they will try to freeze the conflict as soon as possible
by temporarily agreeing to the territorial configuration that
will emerge at that moment. Conventionally speaking, this
will be followed... by a kind of conditional ‘Minsk-3’. This
should be taken into account. The position of the West
will change only when it realises that continuation of
the conflict may result in more losses for it”, the
expert noted.
According to Vladimir Olenchenko, a senior fellow at the
IMEMO RAS Centre for European Studies, the latest
opinion poll presents a representative sample of
Europeans, which shows that a significant part
of them are in favour of a peaceful resolution
of the situation.
“Unlike the European Union and NATO, which generate calls
for different solutions on the battlefield, Europeans believe
that the situation should be resolved peacefully. Indeed,
it is now difficult to assume any scenario in which the
population of the territories that have become part of the Russian Federation, would agree to return to Ukraine. Such polls and sentiments should
serve as an incentive and impetus for
political decisions --- they are a clue
for the leadership of the countries
where the polls were conducted,”
the RT interlocutor stressed.
However, now the leadership of most EU countries in this
matter follows Washington, which does not accept
such a development, Olenchenko added.
“The political leadership of most EU countries is following the
American agenda on this issue. It is, that any negotiations
should be carried out.. on Kiev’s terms. The Euro-Atlantic
agenda is aimed at continuing the conflict, especially in
the military sphere. The current EU political leaders..
are not politicians who think about the good of the
population and the maintenance of stability in
Europe. They demonstrate a complete lack
of autonomy, while the EU population
demonstrates common sense,”
the expert concluded.
Source: RT
Thank God for ''ordinary people''.
What do YOU think?
______________________________________________
USmay lose control of world finance:
due to conflict in Ukraine —
French expert
January 13th, 12:08pm (TASS)
The Ukrainian conflict is existential for the United
States, which, in the event that friendly European
economies become exhausted, will run the risk
of losing its grip on world finance, the French
historian and anthropologist, Emmanuel
Todd, said in an interview with
Le Figaro.
In his commentary, he recalls a piece of analysis
offered by Professor John Mearsheimer, of the
University of Chicago, who argued that
whereas for Russia, this conflict was
"existential" -- for the United States
it was.. just another game among
other countries, and that victory
or defeat in it would be of little
importance to the US.
"But this analysis is insufficient. Biden now... has to
hurry. America is fragile and the Russian economy’s
resistance... is pushing the US imperial system
towards the abyss. Nobody had expected the
Russian economy would be able to withstand
the ‘economic power’ of NATO," Todd said.
He is certain that the United States is in a phase of
long-term decline and, against the backdrop of its
waning influence in the world, it has decided to
press for greater influence... in its "original
protectorates," acquired after World War
II, in other words, Europe and Japan.
Against this background the European economy’s
collapse, the expert notes, is fraught with great
risks for the United States itself.
"If the Russian economy offers long-term resistance
to sanctions and manages to bleed the European
economy white.. and manages to survive with
Chinese support, US monetary control of the
world will collapse, and with it, the US’
ability to finance its mammoth trade
deficit for next to nothing. This war
has become existential for the US.
It cannot get out of the conflict
before Russia. They cannot let
go. This explains.. why we are
now in an open-ended war, in
a confrontation that is bound
to result in the collapse of
one side or the other,"
Todd says.
Economic and social problems
The conflict in Ukraine.. "leads to a real economy that
allows for gauging the real wealth of states, and their
productive capacity," the expert states. In particular,
he points to a two-fold increase in Russia’s wheat
production after the first major sanctions were
introduced in 2014, as well as Russia's
leading position in building nuclear
power plants, not only at home,
but also abroad.
The outcome of the conflict "will depend on the ability
of both systems to produce weapons," Todd believes.
The historian notes that the transition to a war of
attrition reduces the influence of advanced US
military technologies, being used by Ukraine.
It brings to the forefront, the availability of
skilled personnel, material resources and
industrial potential.
"At this point the West’s fundamental problem of globalization begins to intervene: we have
moved so many industries [from our
territory] that we don’t know now
whether our military plants will
be able to maintain the desired
production pace," he added.
In addition to natural and industrial resources the
expert notes the great role of human resources
and education. He points to the United States’
more than twofold advantage over Russia, in
population... but advises his readership to
remember that in the United States only
7% of students master engineering
professions, while in Russia there
are about 25% of them, which
ultimately gives Russia a
competitive edge.
"The United States, is filling this gap with foreign
students, mostly Indians and even to a greater
extent, Chinese. This substitution resource is
unreliable though and is already dwindling,"
he said.
Clash of ideologies
Todd also urged not to forget about the "ideological
and cultural balance of power." He recalled, that
during the Soviet era, the Communist ideology
was used as soft power, which won acclaim
in China, and partly in India and Europe.
However, for the Muslim world, that
ideology was not attractive due to
its official atheism, the expert
believes.
"Today, Russia, which is - again - positioning itself as a
great power, not only anti-colonial, but also patrilineal
and conservative in relation to traditional mores, can
attract far greater support," he explained.
"Western newspapers are tragically funny: they keep
saying: 'Russia is isolated. Russia is isolated.' But
when you take a look at the votes at the UN, it
will turn out that 75% of the world does not
follow the West, which, at such moments,
looks very small," Todd says.
"The current conflict, which our media tend to
describe as a clash of political values... at a
deeper level is a conflict of anthropological
values. It is this lack of awareness and
depth, that makes the confrontation
dangerous."
Global confrontation
"The reality is.. that World War III has already begun. It
is obvious that the conflict, initially a limited territorial
war, has evolved into a global economic confrontation
between the entire West, on the one hand and Russia,
supported by China, on the other, to have become: a
world war," Todd believes. He speculates that given
current economic and demographic factors, the
hostilities should be expected to end within
five years.
He believes that, one way or another, the European
countries are "participating in killing Russians" by
supplying military equipment to Ukraine, even
though they do not put themselves at risk.
"The Europeans are primarily focused on the
economy. We can feel the real involvement
in the war through inflation and shortages
of various goods," the expert stressed.
Russia, he says, while participating in an economic
war [with the West].... is partially restoring the
military economy, but, at the same time, it is
doing its utmost to take care of the people.
"This is the purpose of the pullback of troops from
Kherson, that followed the pullback from the
Kharkov and Kiev regions. We are counting
the square kilometres captured by the
Ukrainians, while the Russian..., are
waiting for the fall of the European
economies. We, are their main
frontline," Todd stated.
Wow - what do YOU think?
Are we really the toss of
a coin away from
mayhem?
Mayhem - from the French - ''to maim''
________________________________
Iran:US Undermining
Rule of Law, UN Charter
January 13th, 5:34pm (FNA)
The Iranian Ambassador and Permanent Representative
to the UN, Amir Saeed Iravani, blasted the US' illegal
unilateral acts against sovereign states such as
Iran - and its coercing of other member states to participate in these actions - cautioning
that the move undermines the rule of
law and violates the UN Charter.
Iravani made the remarks addressing UN Security
Council open debate titled 'Promotion and
Strengthening of the Rule of Law in the
Maintenance of International Peace
and Security: The Rule of Law
among Nations'.
"The fundamental principles of the UN Charter such
as the sovereign equality of all members, the
prohibition of threats, or the use of force in
international relations, and the peaceful
resolution of conflicts, should act as a
framework -- for advancing the rule of
law within the United Nations," the
Iranian ambassador added.
"Some member states, in particular, the United States,
consistently misuse the authority and power of the
UN --- using the UN as a tool to exert pressure on
sovereign states in pursuit of their own political
agenda and to further their unilateral actions,"
he added.
The diplomat underlined that the adoption of such
“illegal actions”in the Security Council, has
"detrimental impacts on international
peace and security".
"This is especially evident in the Middle East,” he said,
providing examples of the Security Council’s failure
to address the ongoing atrocities and human rights
violations committed by the Israeli regime in th
e Occupied Palestinian Territory, the acts of
aggression and occupation against Syria’s
national sovereignty, and the “hasty and
irresponsible”withdrawal of the US and
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), forces from Afghanistan.
“The ongoing illegal unilateral acts by the United
States as a permanent member of the Security
Council against sovereign states such as Iran
and the coercing of other member states to
participate in these illegal actions --- or
face repercussions --- undermine the
rule of law and violate the UN
Charter,” said the Iranian
diplomat.
He went on to name some“clear examples” of how
Washington has undermined the UN system with
regard to acts against Iran, such as withdrawal
..from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA) the imposition of unilateral coercive
measures, in flagrant violation of the UN
Security Council Resolution 2231, the
illegal action in depriving Iran of its
rights as an elected member of the
commission.. on the status of
women, and open defiance
of the International Court
of Justice’s provisional
order to lift sanctions
on humanitarian goods.
Elsewhere, the diplomat reacted to remarks
made by UK and UAE representatives
during the session.
He rejected the“unjustified and unfounded”
claim of UAE Minister for State Ahmed Bin
Ali Al Sayegh, over the three Iranian
islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser
Tunb and Abu Musa.
Iravani noted that such claims are inconsistent
with the principles of international law.
He also rejected the allegation, made by the United
Kingdom's delegate, about Iran's peaceful nuclear
programmes, and said, "Our nuclear activities are
peaceful and consistent with our rights and
obligations -- under the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)
and Safeguards Agreement."
Senior Iranian officials have always described
unilateralism as a"serious threat to the rule
of law"which impedes international
cooperation and peace
and security.
Surveys conducted worldwide by reputable polling firms, have uncovered that a majority of the world's peoples think the US is the ''greatest danger to world peace.''
Whereas the US population alone - thought it was Iran.
What do YOU think?
________________________________________
First British-Based Space Launch
of Military Satellites.... Fails
January 11th, 8:33am
(al Manar)
The UK’s attempt to become the first Western
European nation to put satellites into space
from a base on home soil has failed after a
LauncherOne rocket missed the
designated orbit.
British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit had
planned to launch nine satellites from the 21-metre
LauncherOne rocket - attached under the wing of a
modified Boeing 747 flown from a new spaceport in
Newquay in Cornwall, southwest England, at 2202
GMT on Monday.
Virgin Orbit officials announced on Tuesday that a
''still-unexplained anomaly'' had occurred during
the firing of the rocket’s second stage engine,
ending the mission.
The two-stage rocket took off from Cornwall, attached
to the Boeing 747, and then detached from the aircraft
and ignited as planned at a height of 35,000 feet over
the Atlantic Ocean to the south of Ireland at around
2315 GMT. But in a series of tweets as the rocket
was due to enter orbit and discharge its nine
satellites, Virgin Orbit said, “We appear to
have an anomaly that has prevented us
from reaching orbit.”
The rocket had nine small satellites on board,
including several military & security payloads.
Among the military payloads was one program linked
to the US Naval Research Lab and another linked
to the British Defense Science and Technology
Laboratory (Dstl).
Two cereal-box sized Prometheus-2 cubesats
developed by the British government at In-
Space Missions Ltd, based in Hampshire,
and designed with Airbus Defence and
Space in collaboration with the US
National Reconnaissance Office
(NRO) were planned to operate
in low Earth orbit, providing a
test platform for imaging and
monitoring radio signals,
including GPS.
The two had separate equipment installed to test
concepts in support of the British MoD’s ISTARI
program for future space-based intelligence
and surveillance.
The US Navy and the Dstl, were also working on
a satellite in the Circe program, a coordinated
ionospheric reconstruction cubesat
experiment, meant to have been
placed in orbit on board
LauncherOne.
The collaborative space mission involved investigating
the ionosphere, an important area of space impacting
GPS, communications, and sensing technology.
A third, defense-related security satellite program on
board the rocket, known as Amber 1 satellite, was
designed for maritime intelligence gathering.
The Virgin Orbit launch was meant to be the first
of 20 or more such payloads to provide maritime
domain awareness.
The failure of the mission is considered a heavy blow
to Britain’s military space programs, showcasing the
UK’s weakness in launching satellites. Had the
mission been successful, the UK would have
been one of only nine countries that could
launch craft into Earth’s orbit.
“Joining that really exclusive club of launch nations is
so important, because it gives us our own access to
space, that we’ve never had before here in the UK,”
Spaceport Cornwall chief Melissa Thorpe told BBC television ----- before the launch.
Matt Archer, director of commercial spaceflight at the
UK Space Agency, described the result of the failed
mission as “disappointing.”
Meanwhile, anti-war campaigners expressed outrage
over the failed efforts of the British government,
saying London should be focused on resolving
the UK’s cost-of-living crisis and social injustices, which have led to months- long protests and strikes across the country.
“Space is the new frontier for military escalation
and spending, with no real public scrutiny or
accountability,” said Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament (CND) General Secretary
Kate Hudson. “Billions of pounds are
being spent on this new arms race
which could instead be invested
in helping to solve the current
cost of living crisis.”
Drone Wars UK Director Chris Cole denounced a
“space arms race which will inevitably lead to
greater risk of instability and conflict.”
Critics argue that rather than engaging in the military
expansion into space, the British government should
be upholding and abiding by the Outer Space Treaty,
ratified in 1967, that recognizes space as a“global
commons”- to be used for peaceful purposes and for the benefit of all countries and humankind.
The multilateral treaty, which was negotiated and
drafted under the auspices of the United Nations
and forms the basis of international space law
...aims to prevent military and commercial
exploitation of space and the damage
it would cause.
Source: AFP
Our ruling class - obsessed with their
''vital interests'' - ie, their hegemonic
pretensions - obviously don't care
about ruining working people's
lives. Shouldn't they be given
some care and treatment in
a private psychiatric clinic
...far from power, now?
What do YOU think?
_________________________
Tanks for the Memories!.. German and NATO Tanks to Roll in Ukraine
by Finian Cunningham
published here on January 10th, 2023
https://strategic-culture.org
German, American and French tanks - are supporting
a regime that openly glorifies its Nazi collaborators.
They say history never repeats, exactly. It certainly rhymes though.
German tanks rolling into Ukraine to fight Russian
troops ---- would have seemed an unbelievable
scenario given the dreadful history of World
War Two. Yet that scenario is where the
NATO proxy war against Moscow, is
headed. The development has the
disturbing echo of Operation
Barbarossa when the Nazi
Wehrmacht launched its
offensive on the Soviet
Union in 1941.
Instead of Panzer Tiger tanks.... we will see German
Marder “fighting vehicles” trundling across Ukraine.
These weapons are called “light tanks” but the
bigger push is for Leopard 2 main battle tanks
to be supplied to Ukrainian NeoNazi forces
against Russian lines.
Just two days before the Orthodox Christmas, on
January 7, U.S. President Joe Biden and German
Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, announced a deal in
which they would supply Bradley & Marder
armoured infantry carriers to Ukraine, as well as another battery of U.S. -made Patriot missiles.
That announcement followed French President
Emmanuel Macron declaring that France was
going to supply AMX-10 RC light tanks to
Ukraine. Macron’s tone... was notably
bellicose -- saying that France would
back the Kiev regime until victory
is achieved.
Scholz and Macron, are showing themselves to
be completely unreliable and politically weak.
Previously, the French leader has suggested
his willingness for finding a diplomatic
resolution to the conflict in Ukraine
with Russia. He.. had incurred the
wrath of Washington... as well as
the anti-Russian NATO members,
Poland and the Baltic states, for
being “too soft”, & undermining
transatlantic unity.
Yet here we have Macron now making a dubious debut
of France becoming the first Western state to supply
tanks to Ukraine --- in the war against Russia. That decision, marks a serious threshold of
involvement by the NATO bloc in the war.
The fact that the French move was virtually coupled
with the U.S. and German commitment to supply
light tanks, also points to coordinated action by the NATO alliance.
Germany’s Scholz and Macron, like Biden, have broken
one promise after another to not escalate the supply
of weapons and war in Ukraine. Moscow has
repeatedly warned the collective West to
desist from arming the Kiev regime.
All of them have previously declared that there would
be no tanks supplied to Ukraine --- as that would be a
reckless escalation risking World War Three. Despite
such vows of restraint, Washington, Berlin, and Paris
have all intensified the supply of increasingly more
offensive weaponry.
Biden’s move to send Patriot missiles at the end of last
year follows the earlier supply of long-range HIMARS
rockets. The supply of tanks was previously
verboten, but now that threshold... has
been similarly breached.
At that rate, it’s only a matter of time before the same
NATO powers announce the despatch of main battle
tanks. The Kiev regime and its Polish and Baltic
allies are demanding - Washington and Berlin
send in Abrams... and Leopards. Both Biden
and Scholz are saying... that won't happen.
But past form suggests there is a cynical
and deliberate stealth approach going on
where actions blatantly contradict
rhetoric.
Tanks are evidently part of an offensive force. They
would also require trained crews to operate them.
That indicates the NATO powers are providing
personnel, maintenance crews and other
logistics to deploy these sophisticated
machines. The coordination between
Washington, Berlin and Paris.. also
signals: that NATO is deploying in
a systematic and interoperable
manner.
Thus - the proxy war is going from a piecemeal approach of individual NATO members furnishing the Kiev regime on a bilateral basis - to a whole new level of organizational participation.
“The United States and Germany... joined France on
Thursday [Jan 5] in saying they will send armoured combat vehicles to Ukraine ---- expanding their assistance with new weapons systems, that
Kyiv has said it needs ----- to help its forces
recapture territory locked behind Russian
lines” ----- reported the Washington Post.
Western media are spinning the illusion... of the
Ukrainian regime winning a war against Russia
when the reality is, the Ukrainians are being
slaughtered by superior Russian forces.
Moscow is not going to relinquish the
Crimea and Donbass... to NeoNazi
death squads, equipped with
NATO weapons.
The Kiev regime is fighting a losing battle and the
NATO powers... are willing to fight to the last
Ukrainian. Washington and its minions, are
fueling a futile war & figuratively throwing
good money after bad, by now supplying
tanks to the fray. (It’s good money all
the way for the Western merchants
of death.)
Instead of seeking a diplomatic way back from the
abyss -- the NATO powers are too bamboozled by
their own propaganda, political venality, and the
addiction of their capitalist economies to the
military-industrial dealers.
The last time German tanks rolled into battle in Europe
--- they were roundly defeated by Soviet forces. Back
then, the Americans were also fighting against the Nazis, albeit only to cynically collude with the
remnants of the Third Reich, in the next
Cold War.
This time around, German, American and French tanks
are on the same side supporting a regime that openly
glorifies its Nazi collaborators. They say history
never repeats, exactly. It certainly
rhymes though.
Tanks for the memories, indeed!
What do YOU think? I've started
praying as much as possible....
Here's a way of praying, below.
_____________________________________
Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for
they know not what they have done.”
I think that all is happening in the war deeply pains the
souls of Ukrainians and Russians and all others who
have connections to these two countries. And.. our
prayers are very important, not just for the general
population, most of whom are innocent, or for
the liberators, but also for the perpetrators
themselves. That can be a hard idea,
but then, we must experience the
depths of God’s love.. to even
understand how it could be
possible to pray for them.
Here is the prayer. It can be
done live, in groups as well.
It starts as a visualization, as such, one must find a
quiet and comfortable disposition, or place to pray
and - calling on God’s Love - call forth the God, to
hold all the souls in Ukraine ----- all the humanity,
all the good guys and bad guys... all the soldiers
on both sides, all the children, all the old people,
men and women, all the foreigners, and, holding
them in your prayer an your vision and with God
doing so, at your request, hold all these souls,
and smooth down their essence, to their
common humanity ------- and with this
presence of God’s immense love..
see them all, as his beloved
children…
Sit with that for a time..... and then extend this same
exercise further, to all of Russia and all of the souls
within Russia and again, ask God to smooth the
souls of all the people in Russia...... and all the
people in Ukraine, to their common humanity
of God’s beloved children…
And once again, now add all of the people in the world
who are connected with Ukraine or Russia or both, all
the government people, politicians, good and bad, all
the friends and family of Russians and Ukrainians,
every who has any connection to these two
countries, and again ask God and see God
holding all of their souls and smoothing
them down to their common humanity
as one giant group of God’s beloved
children.
Now, with all of these souls, acknowledge the power of
God to perform miracles, to heal his children, to heal
“Of course, most Americans would agree - that there is
a dictatorship in Russia and that the Ukrainian people
are suffering from war. At the same time these same
Americans cannot find an answer to the question –
why... has the political class of the United States
put the interests of Ukraine before the interests
of the American people. Perhaps --- the only
correct answer is that Ukraine has long
been a money-laundering hub and
therefore the American elite, is
now obliged to support it,” the
American online edition of
American Thinker, wrote.
The last doubts... about the correctness of this
assumption have disappeared - after the news
appeared that Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskiy, plans to participate in the World
Economic Forum (WEF) and is going to
cooperate with one of the world’s
largest investment companies,
BlackRock, the edition notes,
and acquaints its readers
with the history of the
Ukrainian crisis.
AT writes about the proximity of Ukraine’s eastern
regions to Russia, noting that this proximity is not
only geographical but also cultural. If we take an
interest in the history of these regions, it
becomes clear why.
For years, the eastern regions of Ukraine were settled
by ethnic Russians who came from all over Russia to
build industrial facilities, American Thinker explains.
So, for the Russian population, Ukraine’s eastern
regions have always been “their territory” --- but
for the Kremlin, they have always been a buffer
against NATO pressure. This explains well why
Russia perceived Ukraine’s desire to join the
North Atlantic Alliance --- as a threat to
national security.
“Speaking of Biden, every conservative knows that
Biden has excellent, very good relations with
Ukraine. After all, it was the Ukrainian
company Burisma that gave Hunter
Biden a seat on its board for
$85,000 a month.
“The fact that Hunter knew nothing about Burisma’s
business and spoke neither Ukrainian nor Russian
did not matter. What mattered was that Hunter’s
father - who was vice-president at the time -
made sure that the corruption investigation
between Burisma and the government was
dropped. Why the Democrats do not want
to know about this is absolutely unclear,”
Andrea Widburg, the author of the article, writes.
He is sure that Ukraine is one of the most corrupt
countries in Europe -- and the US Democrats, led
by the White House - are helping Kiev. The truth
about this has been revealed quite recently. As
it turned out, Kiev had used US taxpayer
dollars to invest in FTX, and then FTX
invested in US Uniparty. The whole
idea was just fine, says the author.
But American interests again had
no place in this cunning financial
scheme, notes Andrea Weedburg.
After the outbreak of hostilities on the territory of
Ukraine, the US government, decided to do every
thing possible - and even impossible - to help the
Ukrainian army. Since then American politicians
have not been interested in American problems
such as the open southern border, drug-related
deaths among the youth, rising unemployment
and other problems. All that, has ceased to
exist for the White House – only helping
Ukraine and nothing else, the author
continues.
The perception that Washington.. is no longer
interested in anything but Ukraine, has been
reinforced by the growing expenditure on
the Ukrainian army --- which is already
counted in trillions of dollars. At the
same time, no one mentions aid to
ordinary Americans – everything
is only for Ukraine and its army.
The other day it became known that the government
of Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenski, is
preparing to participate in the January World
Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, and that
Zelenski is already holding talks with the
CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink. The topic
of the talks is Ukraine’s reconstruction
after the end of hostilities, the
author notes.
“The specialists of this company are already helping
Ukraine to set up a fund to rebuild our state,” the
Ukrainian president announced in his regular
evening “address to the nation”.
The fact that Zelenskyy will do further financial
business with the BlackRock investment
company shows --- that from now on,
globalist rather than US interests
will be the priority, the online
edition specifies.
“After the United States fully financed his war, Vladimir
Zelenski is handing over the post-war profits to a
globalist company and seeking guidance from
the WEF. It is worth recalling, that the WEF
makes no secret of its efforts to create a
world in which“you will have nothing
and you will like it”.
“Agree: that the WEF’s formula for the future of our
world, sounds like a threat,” concludes the
American Thinker.
Well, well, Zelenski the globalist, eh?
Perhaps he's not just a puffed up
comedian, after all... but a mad
man ---- who has literally sold
his soul. What do you think?
________________________________
The Unprecedented Crime
January 4th, 12:48pm (FNA)
Under international agreements as well as customary
law, assassination of foreign officials, official guests,
or internationally protected persons is illegal - and many countries around the world have
criminalized it in their criminal laws.
For instance, the United States Code of Crimes and
Criminal Procedure in Section 1116 of Chapter 51
which includes crimes related to "murder"
provides: “Whoever kills or attempts to kill a foreign official, official guest, or
internationally protected person
shall be punished as provided
under sections 1111, 1112,
and 1113 of this title”.
Furthermore, according to this Code, if the victim of an
offense is an internationally protected person outside
the United States, the United States may exercise
jurisdiction over the offense if - (1) the victim is a
representative, officer, employee, or agent of the
United States, (2) an offender is a national of the
United States, or (3) an offender is afterwards
found in the United States. Therefore, US
courts have the jurisdiction to deal with
the crimes of people who have violated
this provision even outside the territory
of the United States of America. [1]
Thus, with respect to the legal status of internationally protected persons under domestic and international laws ------- the assassination of a foreign official or
official guest is not only an example of violation of the domestic law of most countries, but also a failure of courts to try the perpetrators of
these crimes, is a violation of anti-terror conventions ------ especially the 1973 Convention... on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes.... against
Internationally Protected Persons
--- including Diplomatic Agents.
In such a situation, the victim's government, in the
capacity of asserting its rights, can take action
to try the perpetrators of such a crime in its
domestic courts.
But the assassination of a foreign official by a government, often in addition to violating the domestic law, is also considered an international criminal act which will provide countermeasures ----- for the victimized
government. This is while the United Nations Charter, in order to prevent the occurrence of any war... has emphasized on principles such as the prohibition of intervention,
the right to sovereignty, and the non- use of force as the fundamental and key concepts of inter-national law, and the foundations, of this historical document.
According to reports by the Security Council Counter-
Terrorism Committee, the main cause of terrorism
is actions that lead to the violation of political
independence, sovereignty and political
integrity of countries, as well as... the
widespread and systematic violation
of human rights.
The United Nations General Assembly Resolution
40/61 explicitly condemns all acts, methods and
methods of terror as a criminal act regardless
of the perpetrator or perpetrators (state or
non-state actor). [2]
Killing and terrorizing civilians... as well as organizing
and encouraging such brutal acts.. have always been
condemned by the international community as gross
violations of human rights, and all mandatory
international documents confirm the
statement that governments are
obliged to avoid any form of
participation... in acts of
terror, either by inciting
or organizing them.
This... is why the crime of the assassination of a senior
Iranian official and top anti-terror figure on January 3,
2020, by the United States --- is unprecedented and
cannot be compared to any other assassination
in the world.
So far, no country's military in the world has
assassinated a foreign official, who is an
internationally protected person, with
drones... and officially claimed
responsibility for it. The US
committed the first and
most horrific.. and
unprecedented
crime.. in
history.
The impropriety of America's action was such that
shortly after this incident, Agnes Callamard, the
special rapporteur of the United Nations, in her
official report, called the US drone attack
illegitimate --- and a violation of inter-
national human rights.
She said:
“This is the first time in history -- that a drone targets
a foreign official, on the territory of a third country.
Targeting Soleimani ---- will undoubtedly cause the
international responsibility of the US government.
This assassination -- shows that the American
government does not even adhere to its own
domestic laws; because with this action, it
has practically violated its internal laws in
accepting the right to life of people”. [3]
It is worth noting that the US is the only covenant-
breaking country in the world ------ which is an
indication, that this country holds no respect
for its domestic law, as well its international commitments.
The assassination of Iran’s top anti-terror commander
Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, in addition to
violating the provisions of international agreements
and customary law --- that the United States is
committed to fulfilling --- it is also an example
of violating the domestic law of crimes
and criminal proceedings of
this country.
Based on this, any failure and procrastination of the
US government in not prosecuting the perpetrators
behind the terror --------- will not only result in the
The war in Ukraine has dominated the past year. Other
global crises of soaring energy and food costs are
collateral damage from the conflict in Ukraine.
The conflict is not simply a localized one, in the centre
of Europe on Russia’s doorstep involving a reactionary
anti-Russian regime in Kiev. The conflict represents a
historic showdown between the United States and its
allies in the NATO military alliance it leads, and
Russia. The showdown has been a long
time coming.
It didn’t have to happen in this violent, atrocious way.
Russia had long warned the United States and its
NATO partners that the expansion of the alliance
towards Russia’s borders was an unacceptable
strategic security threat. Moscow’s warnings
went unheeded year after year.
Almost one year ago, Russia offered a last-ditch
diplomatic way to avoid conflict -- by appealing
for a comprehensive security treaty, one based
on the previously accepted principle of
“indivisible security”. That diplomatic
initiative was dismissed out of hand,
by Washington & its European allies.
Moscow had repeatedly warned that it would not
accept the further militarization of the NeoNazi-
espousing Kiev regime. Eight years of low-
ntensity war against Russian-speaking
people, in former Southeast Ukraine,
had to stop. Ukraine’s militarization,
by NATO and its touted membership
of the alliance was Russia’s red line.
It was the United States - and its NATO
partners who chose to cross that line.
In that case, Russian President
Vladimir Putin - vowed to take
military-technical measures.
The military defanging of
the Kiev regime that
began on February
the 24th, was
the result.
What has transpired... is a quasi-war between NATO and Russia. Ukraine has been flooded with NATO, arsenals. Attacks are being perpetrated deep inside Russia and there is reckless, foul talk by Western politicians and pundits about assassinating the Russian leadership
and pushing for regime change in Moscow.
It is clear that Ukraine was an opportunity to unleash
long-held imperial plans by the United States to
aggress Russia. Russia’s natural wealth is a
coveted prize for Washington’s ambitions of
global hegemony. The war in Ukraine has
delivered partial gains for Washington.
Europe has been subordinated more
than ever to American tutelage.
The selling of gas, and arms to Europe, has benefited
America’s flailing capitalist economy. The Russians
have been kept out, the Americans in, and the
Germans (the Europeans) down, as NATO's
founders envisaged.... shortly after World War Two.
Geopolitical relations between the U.S./West and the
Soviet Union/Russia.. have long been punctuated by
episodes of detente, as the late respected scholar
Stephen F Cohen noted, in his final book, War
With Russia?
In the 1930s, there was a detente after the U.S. finally
acceded to recognizing the sovereignty of the Soviet
Union. That detente produced an expedient alliance
in order to defeat Nazi Germany. But as soon as the
Third Reich was vanquished, the United States and
its British ally, promptly moved to a new era of
hostility... known as the Cold War.
Detente resumed again during John F Kennedy’s
presidency, in the 1960s, owing to the fear of
mutually assured destruction from nuclear
war. Several landmark arms-control
treaties were negotiated over the
ensuing decades.
However, following the collapse of the Soviet Union
in 1991, the United States quickly adopted a new
imperial swagger and contempt for the Russian
Federation. The arrogant notion of sole super-
power & full-spectrum dominance took hold.
Despite earlier promises, the United States and its
NATO vehicle for U.S. military power relentlessly
encroached on Russia’s borders, more than
doubling its membership ... over a 30-year
period. War drills targeting Russia -- and
new missile installations across Europe,
the ripping up of arms-control treaties,
and the deliberate recruiting of former
Soviet republics, were all signs of one
thing: Russia was to be conquered, in
a way that Nazi Germany in previous
decades... could not achieve.
The on-off pattern of detente by the United States
towards Moscow ---- has always been a cynical
game of expedience. After the Cold War had
supposedly ended --- Washington took the
systemic view that Russia was no longer
a power that needed to be respected. It
was a target to be subjugated.
But there was a problem. Russia refused to roll over
in compliance. Moscow has asserted its strategic
security interests and has refused to concede to
US' ambitions. Russia’s military intervention in
late 2015, to defend its Syrian ally from a U.S.-
led regime-change war using terrorist proxies
--- was a bold demonstration.
There was a time when Moscow earnestly sought
diplomacy, to resolve the hostilities. But the
realization now -- is that Washington’s zero-
sum, winner-takes-all ambitions of global
dominance are implacable and insatiable.
Both Washington and its vainglorious
media, are good at narcissism and
pretensions of virtue. When they
talk about a “rules-based global
order”, they really mean total
dominance under U.S.A.
hegemony ------- always
conceitedly presumed
to be benign.
The upshot is, either you are a vassal to serve
American imperial interests, or an enemy to
be targeted with aggression and,
ultimately, destruction.
Russia’s insistence on defending its strategic
interests --- has exposed the ugly face of US'
power beneath the genial mask. It isn’t just
the end of a year, it is the end of a century
of presumed American imperial swagger.
The pretensions of self-righteous American power
have been exposed. Washington’s demand to the
rest of the world is for subjugation. It has always
been so... but in a latent form.
The nefarious nature of American power is now
clearly seen, in its naked brutality, from the
increasingly maniacal relations with
Russia and China.
Russia’s line in the sand over Ukraine has exposed the
violence that underpins American power. That power
is unsustainable and unacceptable in a world
supposedly based on the United Nations
Charter.
The conflict in Ukraine is a crossroads. Either a multipolar world emerges based on international law and equitable relations, as envisaged by theUnited Nations, amid the ashes of World War 2,or the world is condemned to conflagration because of Washington’s imperialist
zero-sum hegemony.
Russia, China, and a growing number of nations are
calling for a multipolar world of parity in relations
based on international law. The United States
stands exposed more than ever as the would-
be supremacist power harboring delusional
notions of exceptional prerogatives.
The U.S., under its prevailing political conditions, is
incapable and unwilling to abide by a multipolar
world. Such a world of peaceful relations is
fundamentally anathema to Washington.
Hence, its warmongering record is out
on its own, compared with any other
nation in history.
Russia’s stand in Ukraine has exposed the world’s
warmonger. And that defiant stand is marking
the end of presumed U.S. hegemony.
Hurrah ! Or did someone
just say Aaaagggh!
________________________________________
Maria Zakharova:Through the efforts
of the “collective West” ---we have
witnessed a blatant act of mass
totalitarian censorship
December 20th, 1:19pm
https://en.news-front.info/
UN Secretary General António Guterres called
to elaborate rules to regulate the extent of
responsibility of social networks for
the content they distribute.
“The question is about clear rules, which it is
important for us to develop, so that there is
clarity ----- on the issue of social media
responsibility. We live.... in a kind of
legal vacuum.... in which social net
works can do whatever they want,
they can spread whatever they
want ------- and it has no legal
consequences. The social
networks are not legally
responsible --- for what
they publish,” he said,
at a press conference.
This is exactly what Russia has
been calling for, over the years.
Why didn’t the Secretary General notice it?
It is our country that has adopted legal norms at the
legislative level, to regulate the responsibility of
social media. However, instead of support, this
was not met with fierce criticism but rather a
veritable uproar from the West. In particular,
in accordance with amendments to the
Federal Law --- “On Information,
Information Technology --- and
the Protection of Information”
from February 1st, 2021, the
owners of social networks,
are obliged to identify and
block unlawful content
--- themselves.
At the time, the reaction in the West was, to put
it mildly, nervous. “This is bad news for Russia,
and it sets a dangerous precedent... for other
countries. Russia should stop implementing
this system and, instead, engage in the
development ....of a free... and open
Internet,” commented the Human
Rights Watch Deputy Director
for Europe, Rachel Denber.
From the State Department’s 2021 report on human
rights - in Russia: “The law marks a growing trend
for Russian authorities to put pressure on digital
platforms.... to censor and remove
objectionable content.”
We have traditionally spoken out in favour of the need
to address the legal vacuum in the context of social
media. Exactly what the UN Secretary General.. is
now saying. But our position has been constantly
criticised by adherents of the neoliberal
approach of permissiveness.
Back in January 2021, we handed over to António
Guterres, the text of an official statement of the
Federation Council on the numerous violations
of freedom of speech by the American
Internet monopolies.
I do not recall Mr. Dujarric saying anything positive on
this subject. I suggest that we go back to discussing
the Russian initiative, which has been gathering dust
on the desk of the UN Secretary General for almost
two years now.
Let us move on. The Secretary General also said
yesterday, that he “would be shocked to see
press freedom threatened, journalists not
allowed to do their jobs and hate speech
continuing to be broadcast”.
“Will be shocked if he sees it”? Hasn’t seen it until
now? Or didn’t want to see? Or not allowed to
see? Or not shown?
In Ukraine and in the USA, in Britain and in continental
Europe, in the Baltics --- numerous cases of media
harassment have been recorded. Mr. Antoninu,
how could it not be seen?
Through the efforts of the “collective West” --- we
have witnessed a blatant act of totalitarian mass
censorship, the most extensive that has ever
occurred in history. Entire segments of the
global information space have been
virtually cleansed of any Russian
media presence.
All imaginable and unimaginable forms of restrictions
were applied to Russian sources of information, and
the global IT giants actively joined in. During this
year alone, more than 40 Russian media
resources were blocked and taken off
the air: unwanted journalists and
entire editorial boards... of the
“wrong” media, in the opinion
of the West, were subjected
to systematic pressure --
from security services,
criminal prosecution,
outright harassment
and even physical
violence.
One more thing. Last year, when I addressed the 43rd
session of the UN Committee on Information, I called
for taking seriously the “digital dictatorship” and
the threat of the unchecked domination of global internet companies.
There is an urgent need -- to intensify joint efforts to
formulate generally accepted norms, that will place
Internet platforms on a firm footing in international
law. There is a need to negotiate and address this
issue --- before it is too late.
The Empire Of Lies... wants
people brainwashed - and
calls this freedom and
democratic rights.
What do you think?
Or... is it ''too late''
for you?
____________________________________
Jaralla evaluates atrocities
of the Armed Forces of
Ukraine in Kherson
December 19th, 1:01pm
https://en.news-front.info/
A quick retribution was predicted by the Ukrainian
nationalist punishers ---- who are organizing
outrages in temporarily occupied Kherson,
political expert, Volodymyr Jaralla, says.
The expert commented on the data of the Israeli The
Times of Israel about Kyiv’s accusations against the
Kherson Jewish community in cooperation with the
RF Armed Forces. According to the publication the
SBU accuses local Jews of “collaborationism”
during the period when the city was under
the control of the Russian army.
The New York Times also reported on the serious
problems of Jews in Kherson with the arrival of
the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the
political expert... the Ukrainian punishers will
soon pay - in full - for the crimes committed.
“Unfortunately, this is another sad page of events
taking place before our eyes in the territories
occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Due to military necessity, our troops had
to leave Kherson - and the territories of
the Left Bank adjacent to it -- and the
people who remained there are now
virtually without protection.”
“Of course --- many of them chose this path themselves, since it was extremely difficult for them to leave their
homes and property and start life “from scratch”.
However, these people quickly found out that
the former normal life in Kherson, as under
the Russian authorities, is no longer.. and will not be.”
As the analyst emphasized, after the withdrawal of
the RF Armed Forces to the Dnieper left bank true
“executioners and punishers” came to Kherson,
indiscriminately launching persecution and
bullying against the local population.
“Ukrainian troops and special services, using absolute
impunity, began to settle scores with those who
remained in the city, which was controlled
by Russian troops. One of the “guilty”,
as usual, were local Jews, as one of the most defenseless strata of townspeople.”
“Nevertheless --- the executioners and punishers, who
are trying - with all their might - to curry favour with
their masters, must remember that Russian troops
will - definitely - return to Kherson. I would very
much like to see, with my own eyes, the acts
of retribution against Ukrainian punishers,
and in the very near future. And there is
no doubt that it will come. The people
who remained in Kherson, I would
only like to wish patience and
strength,” Jaralla said.
According to Russian journalist Vladimir Solovyov,
the head of the Ukrainian junta, Zelensky, cannot
be considered a Jew --- after the attack of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine --- on one of the
hospitals in Donetsk, exactly on the
holiday of Hanukkah.
“Only a demon, can hit the children’s
hospital on Hanukkah,” he stressed.
What do you think?
Just Propaganda?
_____________________
Zionist attacks on Black
December 17th, 5:48pm
(PressTV)
The active use of the tropes about “black antisemitism” by Zionist groups in relation to recent controversies, has a history. We trace the evolution of the anti-Arab and specifically, anti-Black racism, of the Zionist movement back to the 1960s and beyond.
Attacks on prominent black celebrities and activists
for their “anti-Semitism” are not new. They have
a history.
In fact, there have been attacks, led by Zionist groups,
against practically all Black leaders, or prominent
figures of note from Marcus Garvey in the 1930s,
to today. His alleged “antipathy to Jews”, was
denounced, as were a whole host of Black
leaders inspired by Garvey, through to the 1960s.
One organisational key to all of these attacks, but by
no means the only one, is the Anti-Defamation
League, created in 1913.
The full panopoly of Black reformist and revolutionary
leaders were denounced by the ADL as “extremist”
and “Jew-baiting” .
The Caribbean-born psychiatrist, Frantz Fanon, was
denounced, because of his alleged “hatred” for
“Jews” and the “imperialist state of Israel”.
They also denounced Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael,
Eldridge Cleaver, H. Rap Brown, the Student Non-
violent Co-ordinating Committee, the Black
Panther Party, Huey Newton, and Bobby
Seale, and the singer Miriam Makeba.
Right up to the present day --- the
ADL continues its denunciations
of the BLM.
One key complaint, was that black denunciations of
Zionist “manipulation” of the anti-racist movement
as far back as the 1960s..... were a mask for anti-
Semitism. In fact, of course, Zionist penetration
of the anti-racist movement has had the effect that some groups have a blind spot on Palestine.
The denunciations have been accompanied, by direct
action. Since the 1930s at least the Anti-Defamation
League --- has spied on black critics of racism and
has directly collaborated with the FBI and other
organs of the state, to attack them.
In 1993 ------ the San Francisco District Attorney, investigated the ADL for collecting confidential
information on nearly 10,000 activists and at
least 700 organizations.
The investigation showed that the ADL had directly
surveilled and infiltrated social justice and human rights organizations, and its agents had received
stolen police files --- from a surveillance
program deemed to be illegal.
The ADL even spied on anti-Apartheid activists in the
US and sold its intelligence to BOSS the intelligence
agency of the South African Apartheid regime, as
well as providing information to Mossad.
For the ADL, the Black led anti-racist movement is a
bigger threat to “Jewish” interests than the far
right and white supremacists.
When Zionists complain about “black anti-semitism”
--- they are really complaining about uppity black
people, especially those who are critical of
Israel and Zionism.
Ooooh ! Controversial !
What do you think?
________________________________
While Ukraine was aboutto
become Europe,Europe
became Ukraine
December 16th, 11:18am
https://en.news-front.info/
In the current global conflict, with Europe at its
epicentre, any forecast is a thankless task.
Events are moving at an unprecedented
speed and usually.. in defiance of our
predictions, based on experience..
and the logic of a previous world
that no longer exists.
Ukraine has become not only a battleground between
the forces of neoliberalism and humanity but also the
biggest media construct of our time --- a hologram
state, that uses the latest media technologies to
try to convince the world of its reality in order
to provide the public opinion desired by
planetary elites.
But in recent months and weeks the situation has
begun to change. The EU, which contrary to its
theoretical aims of existence - has become an
instrument, not of political independence, but
of a total subjugation of European countries, to international financial flows, with a new,
and ignorant, generation of technocratic
managers in power, is no longer even able to pretend that its states are still able to decide anything in
the interests of..... their own citizens.
While Ukraine was about to become Europe, Europe
has become Ukraine, but sadly not the peaceful
bread country of our memory, but an occupied
territory, where the invisible hand of mega-
corporations like BlackRock, Monsanto
and others --- whose information is
difficult to find on Google (a tool
of other corporations) chooses
the method of death.... for
millions of people..... lost
between the trademark
logos and national flags.
If our descendants ever learn the whole current
kitchen of our dehumanisation, they will ask
themselves --- how could our culture and
history have allowed this to happen?
The search for an answer....... will surely lead to the
realisation that while armies or economic leverage
used to be the main destructive force of empires,
today, the latest advances in psychology are
taking centre stage, given unlimited entry
into any family circle, anywhere in the
world, thanks to television screens.
Simultaneously... with a general decline in the average
level of education, this creates extremely favourable
conditions for the manipulation of a desperate
population --- with fewer and fewer social
guarantees, and more and more urgent
real problems. And, at the forefront of
this dramatic process, is Ukraine,
which has now become a major
laboratory of madness.
But history is fortunately non-linear, and human beings
are much more complex & unpredictable, and social
processes.. do not fit into the models programmed by economic power. The inhabitants of various
European countries... are no longer just tired
of artificially inflated anti-Russian hysteria
and the same news, devoid of any critical
analysis or context, but are asking more
and more questions about where their
countries are heading --- with blind
obedience --- to the demands of
NATO, which has become a
straitjacket for any
sovereignty.
It is not just the economic problems of the current
winter without gas; it is simply that this situation
has more clearly and visibly, exposed a crisis
that has been building up over decades.
Just as the coronavirus pandemic that just started a
couple of years ago (regardless of the nature of its
origins and the rest of this story, which requires a
separate analysis) showed the world the failure of
current international humanitarian cooperation
mechanisms and national health systems,
turned by neoliberalism into private
commercial enterprises, so the
conflict around Ukraine, has
demonstrated to European
citizens the complete lack
of independence of their
governments and, more
specifically, an inability
to continue... building social development.
Whereas the earlier wars waged by the USA and Europe,
for the same purposes and with similar mechanisms,
took place away from First World borders and there
were islands of independent critical journalism
among the mass media, today, the situation is
fundamentally different. Simultaneously with
the transformation of the former allies (who
used to bicker, but were only pandered to)
– neoliberalism and Nazism – into a single
entity, they have a new project manager.
The European pseudo-leftists, in the name of NATO
and corporate interests ----- have put a complete
dissonance, in the mind of the utterly confused
Everyman... and put a final end to the future of
traditional political parties, which have been
transformed -------- from effective political
instruments of the last century ---- into
masquerades and beauty contests --
for the promoters of one branch of
government or another, who
pretend to be the leaders
of society.
With the cessation of social debate at the top... and
the intensification of police, economic and cultural
repression against all dissenters, representatives
of yesterday’s leading European democracies
can no longer criticise the Ukrainian Nazi-
neoliberal dictatorship --- because they
differ from it less and less every day.
The fact that Western Europe still has more civil and
journalistic freedoms than Ukraine, is explained not
by the democratic convictions of their leaders, but
by the greater degree of organisation of European
social movements, which are more difficult to
ban and suppress --- than the weak and
fragmented leftist parties
of Ukraine.
It is interesting, without making predictions, to highlight some trends whose influence
will increase, in the near future.
I think that fatigue and irritation with Ukrainian
issues, will continue to grow in different strata
of populations.. in various European countries,
which has become not only the main catalyst
of the current economic crisis - but has also
become too propagandistic a product, that
does not fit well with the receptivity of
the older and middle generation of
Europeans... brought up on
real journalism.
Any attempts by the Ukrainian government to put
pressure on European countries, and especially
in the form in which it is happening today, will
only reinforce this trend. At the same time..
the problems associated with the extreme
inequality of European economies, and
unsolvable within the EU’s neoliberal
scenario, will increase.
A fundamentally new social force must emerge in
response, one that is not linked to discredited
political parties --- and that can unite the
discontent of Europeans who do not
want to live in banana republics.
Increasing tensions will inevitably lead to a mass
realisation that we all need a fundamentally new
social model, the development of which, would
be the creation of a real “image of the future”,
not only for domestic national consumption
in favour of this or that conjuncture, but
also, as a project of great universal
importance.
In the coming months, I believe, we will witness the
emergence of many new phenomena not described
by sociologists, and the future will be determined
by our ability to respond quickly, in an organised
and critical way to the challenge of this train of
history ------ that is rushing towards us today.
Aaaah... a sweet, thoughtful article, not shying away from our predicament, and gently puhing us to hope.
What do you think... hopefully?
______________________________
My Homeland is the USSR!
Patriotic rally dedicated to
the 100th anniversary of
the USSR
Updated, December 13th, 5:34pm
On December the 5th to the 27th, 2022, the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation and the All-Russian Headquarters of
the Protest Movement ---- will hold a mass
All-Russian patriotic rally dedicated to
the 100th anniversary of the
formation of the USSR.
Its symbols will be patriotism and Victory, represented
by the Red Banner, outstanding achievements of the
Soviet period and the approaching victory of the
military political operation.
The rally will be held under the Red Banners of the
USSR, the Great Victory and the Communist Party.
The idea of the action is clearly represented by
the slogan: "My homeland is the USSR!".
It vividly and figuratively expresses the feelings and
personal involvement of everyone ---- in the great
history and achievements of the Soviet Union.
The December 5th launch date was not chosen by
chance. It was on this day, in 1936, that the 6th
Extraordinary Congress of Soviets -- adopted
a new "Stalinist" Constitution of the USSR,
which legally established the construction
of a socialist society in the USSR and the
basis of state power - the Soviets of
Workers ' Deputies.
The economic base of the state was legally
established, by the socialist system of
management and public ownership of
the means and tools of production.
All citizens of the country, were guaranteed by the
Constitution the right to work, rest, education and
decent material support in old age. Labour was
proclaimed: not only a right, but also an
obligation, of every person.
The purpose of the CPRF rally is to foster patriotism,
remind.. about the greatness of the Soviet period's
heritage, express grateful memory to generations
of fathers & grandfathers - builders of socialism
--- and winners of the grandiose battle against
fascism, restore historical truth and pride... in
their Great Fatherland in the minds of people,
& draw public attention, to the approaching anniversary of the USSR.
The starting point of the convoys will be memorial
complexes of military and labour glory, central
squares of cities, and history museums. Short
rallies will be held, before the start. Many
young Communists will be awarded
party tickets on this day.
The award ceremony will be held by honoured guests
of the patriotic action of the Communist Party of the
Russian Federation:- honoured, respected people - veterans of the party, labour and military battles.
Meetings with the public, flower-laying at memorials,
distribution of leaflets and party press, will be held
at bus stops.
The patriotic action of the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation... will be held in all regions, covering most cities and rural settlements, with its influence.
* * *
Appeals and slogans of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation for the
100th anniversary of the founding of the USSR:
- Glory to our Soviet Motherland!
- Glory to the great Soviet people - the
generation of creators and winners!
- Glory to the Russian soldiers - the successors of the
great victories and achievements of the Red Army!
- Lenin-Stalin-Socialism-Victory!
- We will continue the feats of our fathers and
grandfathers with deeds and achievements!
- Let us restore -- the economic
sovereignty of the Fatherland!
"For changing course!" For the
"left turn"! For social progress!
- Our homeland is the USSR!
- To the Russian army - worthy
support of the State!
- Victory of the military-political
operation - restoration of
historical justice!
- The Russian economy needs a budget
for development, not degradation!
- Strong industry and agribusiness -
a guarantee of Russia's sovereignty!
- To the Russian countryside –
the state support program!
- Natural resources are for the people,
not for the oligarchs ' wallets!
- To national enterprises –
the care of the state!
- Anti-Crisis Program of the Communist
Party of the Russian Federation
- state status!
- Let's return the social gains of
the USSR to the people of Russia!
- Russian economy - experience in
building socialism in the PRC!
- For free labour and social justice!
- For the growth of salaries and
pensions, not prices and tariffs!
- For the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation - means for the power of
the people!
- Strengthen the unity of the Communist Party
of the Russian Federation and the left
people's patriotic movement!
- Capitalism and compradors of the
"fifth column" - down with Russia!
- Capitalism is a source of bloody
wars and economic crises!
- For the USSR! For A Strong And
Just Socialist Motherland!
- For the revival of the glory of
the Fatherland and Soviet
heroic traditions!
- Our goal is socialism, our symbol
is the Red Banner of Victory!
- Fascism and Bandera will never happen
on the historical land of Russia!
- High-quality education and medical
systems — to the people!
- Young people-for socialist Russia!
- The law on "children of war" - in practice!
- Socialism is the future of Great Russia!
"Our cause is just! The victory will be ours!
What do you think?
Is socialism alive
in Russia? Yes,
or maybe...?
_____________________________________________
"How the U.S. is planning a
full-scale war with Russia"
by Victoria Nikiforova.
December 13th, 2022
"....No matter how much money is poured into it, no
matter how many weapons are shipped, the Armed
Forces of Ukraine can't fulfill the combat missions
that Washington is setting before it. This means
that the operational plan.. for the NATO war
against Russia is not some old trump card
that Milley puts on the table every year
...seeking an increase in defense
spending from Congress. It’s a
completely real plan for a
very real, big war....
"Meanwhile, more and more new units of the US army are being transferred to Europe --- and large-scale deliveries of weapons and equipment are being
carried out there. The idea of sending
representatives of the U.S. Army, to
Ukraine is being openly discussed.
Officially, military advisers.. will have to train the
Ukrainian troops.. in handling valuable imported
equipment. In reality, that's also to ensure that
the equipment is not plundered --- on an
industrial scale.
The American military has been fighting in Ukraine
for a long time - and with might and main. It’s just
that it is being done unofficially, as though it
were soldiers of fortune from Texas and
Oklahoma involved.
All the frank escalation of the conflict -- inexorably leading the world to a larger war -- is accompanied
by lulling speeches saying that Washington wants
to avoid an open confrontation with Moscow.
To be frank, it is simply not believable. The fig leaf called ‘Ukraine’, which was supposed to cover up
Washington’s plans for war with Russia, slipped
a long time ago - and is now gone."
War between the US and Russia.. eh?
War between two countries armed to
the teeth with nuclear weapons and
both threatening each other - with
their use. What could go wrong?
Your children dying in a cesspool
of denial and betrayal, because
you didn't even go out and try
to rouse others to stop this?
That's what will go wrong.
Act now -- to stop this suicidal war.
You can read the whole article (the above is a small extract) by clicking the link below.
For Europe, its unreflective taking of this American
‘cuckoo’ thinking into its own European nest, is
nothing short of catastrophic.
Larry Johnson – a long veteran of both the CIA and the
State Department – pinpoints the ‘cuckoo’ nestling at
the bottom of the ‘nest’ of western thinking about
Ukraine. The bird has two closely related parts:
the upper layer is the conceptual framework
positing that the U.S. faces two distinct
spheres of contention: first, U.S. vs
Russia, and secondly, U.S.
vs China.
The essential mental framework behind this ‘cuckoo’ –
just to be plain - is wholly U.S.-centric: It is the view
of the world from someone peering out from
Washington, tinted by wishful thinking.
It is truly a ‘cuckoo’ (i.e. the malicious insertion of an
interloper amongst the legitimate chicks), because
these battlescapes are not two, as claimed, but
one. How so?
These two conflicts are not distinct, but interconnect
through the western refusal to acknowledge that it is
Western cultural pretensions of superiority that are
the crux to the unfolding process of today’s
geopolitical restructuring.
The purpose of the cuckoo is to erase this pivotal
aspect from the conceptual framing, and then to
reduce the whole to abstract power politics
where Russia and China can be played off – one against the other.
Plainly put, the bifurcation U.S. vs China separate to
U.S. vs Russia serves principally to ‘bed-down’ the
growing cuckoo.
Professor John Mearsheimer, the high-priest of
Realpolitik, articulates today’s geopolitics (as
fluently as always) as being one of ‘Godzilla’
hegemons acting according to their nature –
liberally throwing their weight about (acting
imperially), while others, who fail to get out
of these hegemons’ way, end as ‘road kill’.
The Realpolitik view – whilst superficially compelling –
is deeply flawed, for it erases the issue at the core of
today’s geo-politics. It is absolutely not just three
‘Godzillas’ on the rampage jostling for space:
Fundamental to today’s geo-politics is that
the Rest-of-World refuses to have the U.S.
either speak for it, define its political and
financial structures, or accept to have
the West’s curious ‘hang up’ with
‘cancel-culture’ imposed
on others.
Larry Johnson writes: “U.S. Foreign Service officers
take great pride in believing they are super smart. I
worked alongside some of these folks for 4 years
and can attest to the arrogance and air of self-
importance that imbues the typical FSO, as
they parade around the State Department”.
And here is the key: the super smart thinking emerging
from the State Department is that the entirety of the
Kremlin’s strategy (in this view) depends on Russia
fighting the U.S. by proxy (i.e. in Ukraine) – AND not
in direct conflict with the militarily superior United
States and the whole of NATO.
Rah, Rah, Rah! ‘The U.S. has the mightiest military the
world has ever known’. Nothing in history ever like it.
Whilst Russia and China are poor ‘start-ups’.
Sure – this is a propaganda line. But if you say: we
have the biggest, the best, the most advanced
military in the history of the world.. often
enough, a majority of the élite can begin
to believe it (even if there is a cadre at
the top which doesn’t). And if, on top
of that, you believe yourself to be
‘super-smart’, it will seep into
your thinking and shape it.
Thus, the ‘very smart’ former State Dept officer, Peter
van Buren opines in The American Conservative:
[that from the outset of the Ukraine operation],
“There were only two possible outcomes.
Ukraine could reach a diplomatic solution
that resets its physical eastern border …
and so firmly re-establishes its role as
buffer state between NATO and Russia.
Or, after battlefield losses & diplomacy,
Russia could retreat to its original
February starting point” --- and
Ukraine would re-situate itself
between NATO and Russia.
That’s it – just two putative outcomes.
Seen through the rose-tinted lens of a U.S. global
military ‘Leviathon’, the two-outcome argument
has the appearance of inexorability to it, van
Buren writes: “the off ramp in Ukraine – a
diplomatic outcome – is clear enough to
Washington. The Biden administration
seems content, shamefully, to bleed
out the Russians -------- as if this was
Afghanistan 1980 all over again - all
the while looking tough * soaking
up whatever positive bipartisan
electoral feelings are due, for
pseudo ‘war time’ President
Joe Biden”.
Van Buren, to his credit, takes a hard swipe at the
Biden stance; yet, his thinking (as much as team Biden’s) is still rooted in the false premise that
America is a military colossus, and Russia, a stumbling military power.
The flaw here, is that whilst the U.S. militarily spends
as a colossus -- after being raked by DC pork politics
& ‘just in time’ set-ups, focussed on selling weapons
bling to the Middle East – the final output is both
hugely expensive, but inferior, too. Russia’s –
not so.
What this means is important: As Larry Johnson notes,
there are not just two putative outcomes, but rather,
there is a missing third. It is that Russia ultimately,
will dictate the terms of the Ukraine outcome.
This missing 3rd alternative, paradoxically,
is also the most likely.
Yes, the U.S. and EU narrative is that Ukraine is
winning, but as Colonel Douglas Macgregor,
an earlier candidate for U.S. National
Security Adviser, notes:
The Biden administration repeatedly commits the
unpardonable sin in a democratic society --- of
refusing to tell the American people the truth:
Contrary to the Western media’s popular
“Ukrainian victory” narrative, which
blocks any information..... that
contradicts it, Ukraine is not
winning and will not win this war …
The coming offensive phase of the conflict will provide
a glimpse of the new Russian force that is emerging,
and its future capabilities … The numbers continue
to grow, but the numbers already include 1,000
rocket artillery systems, thousands of tactical
ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones,
plus 5,000 armoured fighting vehicles,
including at least 1,500 tanks... 100s
of manned fixed-wing attack aircraft,
helicopters and bombers. This new
force has little in common with the
Russian army that intervened nine
months ago on Feb. 24th, 2022.
For Europe, its unreflective taking of this American
‘cuckoo’ thinking into its own European nest is
nothing short of catastrophic. Brussels – by
extension – absorbed the false contention
that China ---- is distinct from the Russian
project. This mental device intentionally
forecloses on the necessary under-
standing ---- that Europe faces a
burgeoning resistance from the
Russia-China axis, and much
of the world, who scorn its
pretensions to some
higher order
superiority.
Secondly, the buy-in to the DC-smart ‘only two
alternatives’ framework – ‘because the U.S.
is a military behemoth and Russia would
never dare anything beyond a proxy war’
– shows up the fat cuckoo in the nest:
NATO escalation is relatively risk-free:
we have Putin pinned down in Ukraine;
HE dare not trigger a full NATO
response.
Russia, nonetheless, is preparing to launch an
outcome-setting offensive. Then, what of
Europe? Did you think that through? No,
because that ‘alternative’ did not even
appear ‘amongst the framework
parameters’.
As a logical consequence, the indeterminate and
undefined ‘as long as it takes’ policy, simply binds
the EU to ‘forever Russia sanctions’ – leading
Europe deeper into economic crisis, with no
plan ‘B’. Nor, even a hint of one.
Yet, at another level, almost completely absent from
European analysis, (because of its embrace of the
flawed analysis that views ‘Russia as a friable
military power’) – lies the unaddressed reality:
The contention is not between Kiev vs
Moscow – it was always between the
U.S. vs Russia.
The EU, inevitably, will be a mere bystander to that
discussion. They will not have a seat at the table.
That is, if we ever get to that point … before
escalation re-sets the parameters.
In short --- multiple wrong diagnoses
equals the wrong curative treatment.
When Larry Johnson describes his experience of the
élite arrogance and air of superiority pervading DC,
he could well have been describing the European
political class haughtily striding the corridors
of Brussels.
The consequences to these pretentions are not trivial,
but of a strategic order. The most immediate is that
the EU’s fanatical support for Kiev and the public
adulation of certain dubious ‘nationalists’ --- has
moved ethnically ‘anti-Russian Ukraine’ further,
& further, away from any possibility of serving
as a neutral or buffer state. Or, of being a
stepping-stone to compromise in the
future. Then What?
Think of it from the Russian optic: With sentiment
amongst Ukrainians now turning so toxic against
everything Russian, this inevitably imposes a
different calculus on Moscow.
The fanning by Ukraine activists, within the EU
leadership class, of such toxic anti-Russian
sentiments amongst nationalist Ukrainians,
inevitably has opened a bitter fault line in
Ukraine – and not just in Ukraine alone; It
is fracturing Europe --- and creating a
strategic fault line between the EU
vs Rest of World.
President Macron, said this week, that he sees
‘resentment’ in Russian President Putin’s eyes
“a sort of resentment” directed at the
Western world, including the EU and
the U.S. --- and that it is fuelled by
“the feeling that our perspective
is --- to destroy Russia”.
He is right. The resentment however is not confined to
Russians, who have come to hate Europe, it is, rather,
that across the globe resentment is bubbling up at all
the destroyed lives strewn in the wake of a western
hegemonic project. Even a former high-ranking
French Ambassador now describes the rules-
based order as an unfair “Western order”
based on “hegemony”.
Angela Merkel’s interview to Zeit Magazine confirms
for the Rest of World that EU strategic autonomy
always was a lie. In the interview, she admits
that her advocacy of the 2014 Minsk cease-
fire was a deception. It was an attempt to
give Kiev time to strengthen its military –
and was successful in that regard, she
said. “[Ukraine] used this time to get
[militarily] stronger, as you can see
today. The Ukraine of 2014/15 is
not the Ukraine of today”.
Merkel emerges as a self-confessed collaborator in the
‘Smart Think’ - of using Ukraine to bleed Russia: “The
Cold War never ended, because Russia basically was
not at peace”, Merkel says. (She clearly had bought
into the ‘Mighty NATO – midget Russia’ pretension,
peddled by Washington.)
So, as the global tectonic fault line plummets deeper,
the Rest of World has it reconfirmed that the EU was
a full collaborator with the U.S. project – not just to
cripple Russia financially, but to have her bleed
on the battlefield too. (So much for the EU
narrative of an ‘unprovoked Russian
invasion’!)
This is a familiar ‘playbook’; one that has unfolded
---- amidst huge suffering across the globe. As
Eurasia separates from the western sphere,
would it be a surprise were the latter to
think to ‘wall out’ such European
toxicity, together with its
hegemonic patron?
Merkel was also refreshingly frank about the quality of
German friendship: The Nordstream project was a sop
to Moscow at a fraught moment in Ukraine, she said,
adding: “It just so happened, that Germany couldn’t
get gas elsewhere”. (Nothing ‘strategic friendship’
about it then.)
Of course, Merkel was speaking to legacy … but words
of truth often slip out, in such legacy ‘moments’.
The EU posits itself as a strategic player; a political
power in its own right; a market colossus; a
monopsony with the power to impose its
will over whomsoever trades with it. In
essence: the EU insists that it
possesses meaningful
political agency.
But Washington has just trampled that narrative. Its
‘friend’, the Biden Administration, is leaving Europe
to swing in the wind of de-industrialisation,
subsidised by Biden’s Inflation Reduction
Act, whilst disdain for the EU’s ‘anti-
culture’ culture accumulates around
the globe (viz: the European antics
at the football World Cup in Qatar).
Then what for Europe, (with economic power
punctured and soft power disdained)?
You agree with this? No?
Try reading the book,
There You Are.. but
Where Are You?
_______________________
Hamas calls on intl. community
to criminalize Israeli violations,
and hold regime responsible
December 10th, 5:10pm (PressTV)
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has
called on the international community to
criminalize Israeli violations against
Palestinians and to hold the
occupying regime
accountable for
its crimes.
Hamas made the remarks, in a statement released
on Saturday, while marking the Human Rights Day
which was adopted by the United Nations in 1948.
The resistance movement said the world is marking
this day as Israel continues to escalate its terror
and systematic violations against Palestinians,
including deliberate killings, land theft, siege,
and racial discrimination and segregation.
It went on to say that the day provides a good
opportunity to shed light on the scale and
gravity of the unabated Israeli crimes
against Palestinians.
“It is also a suitable opportunity to remind the whole
world of its responsibilities to take actual action to
criminalize the Israeli occupation’s violations and
colonial settlers’ terrorism - work on putting an
end to them, and prosecute their perpetrators
as war criminals at international courts,”
Hamas added.
The movement further stressed that Israeli crimes
constitute a flagrant violation of the principles of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
international law, reaffirming its commitment
to the legitimate Palestinian rights.
Hamas further called on the United Nations and the
international community: to put an end to Israeli
crimes in the occupied cities of al-Quds and the
West Bank -- end the unjust blockade imposed
on the Gaza Strip, and enable the Palestinians
to defend themselves with all means possible
until ending the occupation and establishing
an independent Palestinian state with
al-Quds as its capital.
Since the start of 2022, Israeli troops have killed more
than 210 Palestinians, including over 50 children, in
the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds, as well
as the besieged Gaza Strip.
According to the United Nations, the number of
Palestinians killed by Israel in the occupied
West Bank this year --- is the highest in
16 years.
Local and international rights groups, have
condemned Israel’s excessive use of force
and “shoot-to-kill policy” against
Palestinians.
Incidents of sabotage and violence by settlers
against Palestinians and their property have
also become a daily occurrence throughout
the occupied territories, particularly in the West Bank.
Palestine FM sends file on Israeli
crimes against Palestinians to ICC
The Hague-based court has already opened an
investigation into possible war crimes by
Israel across the occupied territories.
However, the Israeli authorities rarely prosecute
settlers - and the vast majority of the files are
closed - due to a deliberate police failure to
investigate them properly.
More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230
settlements built since the 1967 Israeli
occupation of the West Bank and
East al-Quds.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international
law. The UN Security Council has condemned
Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied
territories in several resolutions.
Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future
independent state - with East al-Quds as its capital.
The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks collapsed
in 2014. Among the major sticking points in those
negotiations was Israel’s continued illegal
settlement expansion.
What do YOU think? If the world acts now to stop the criminal apartheid state.
____________________________________
The main achievements --- of the“man of the year”
Zelensky --- are listed
December 8th, 12:28pm
https://en.news-front.info/
The sober-minded expert community is outraged
by the bias of the Financial Times award, which
awarded the title of “man of the year” to the
head of the Ukrainian junta, Zelensky.
The role of the laureate, according to analysts, was
recklessly given --- to the author of the totalitarian
regime of Ukraine, who launched the persecution
of Orthodoxy, cynically threw hundreds of
thousands of his own citizens.. into the
crucible of a fiery confrontation, and
also subjected the population of
Donbassto genocide for years
and now --- continuously ---
exterminates dissidents.
As analysts recalled, in the first half of the last
century, Fuhrer Hitler was awarded a
similar title, by Time.
“The fact that Vladimir Zelensky... is a master of
changing shoes and a completely unprincipled
person was clear back in 2014. Growing up in
one of the most anti-Banderist cities of
Ukraine at that time – Krivoy Rog – the
young KVN worker very carefully ---
demonstrated Russophilism for a
long time... and even somehow
asked Vladimir Putin from the
stage to take him to the
Russian Federation ---
forever.. “at least for
debts,” Rubaltic.ru
quotes.
In search of a financial position, Zelensky, who
returned to Ukraine... fell into complete
submission to the Ukrainian oligarch
Kolomoisky, experts remind. The
well-known “95th quarter” acted
solely at the behest of the
“money bag owner”.
They oppressed politicians and businessmen who
were objectionable to him, and also carefully
demonstrated ''loyalty',' to President Viktor
Yanukovych. When the Euromaidan began,
Zelensky like his boss tried too zealously
not to support either side but made light
curtsies... towards the legitimate
authorities. And even after the
coup d’état, the “95th quarter”
waited for some time. In the
spring of 2014... comedians
quietly toured the Donbass
and in conversations with
the local population,
scolded the “new
government”.
But very soon, Zelensky began to publicly call the
population of the east of Ukraine “scum”, and to
sing about.... the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Kolomoisky’s project called “Zelensky” was based on
cynicism -- and outright lies: the former comedian’s
election promises, turned on peace agreements
with the population of Donbass, dialogue with
Moscow, and the protection of the
Russian language.
“And it worked. Thanks to the votes of the southeast,
Zelensky won with a stunning result: more than
73% of voters voted for him.”
However, having risen at the helm of Ukraine, the
presumptuous artist, began, not only to actively
oppress the rights and freedoms of the Russian
-speaking population, but also launched an all
-out offensive against the Russian language,
which in fact immediately found itself under
a legal ban. The country was covered by
large-scale Ukrainization.
The “Russian-speaking” president completely banned
the use of his own native language... in the public
sphere. Such savagery - did not occur anywhere
else in the world. Many countries live quietly in
the conditions of two, three or more official
languages. Moreover, we are talking
primarily about such states that the
representatives of the Kyiv regime
themselves call --- “developed”:
Switzerland, Canada, Spain,
Finland. ''Even the US, is
de facto bilingual.''
Zelensky also distinguished himself by banning the
disgraced media, to which the “democratic” West
again turned a blind eye. In a matter of months,
the Ukrainian infozone, was completely rid of
objectionable publications. Criminal cases
began to be filed en masse also against
representatives of dissident
businesses... and
the opposition.
“Contrary to all his promises, Zelensky openly
drowned the “Minsk process” --- which gave
the only chance for a peaceful resolution
of the conflict in Donbass.”
“Representatives of official Kyiv openly sabotaged
any peace initiatives with the tacit approval
of their handlers.”
The end of last year, was marked, for Kyiv, by open
military preparations for the forceful seizure of the
LDPR and the Crimean peninsula. Neo-Nazis
boasted in social networks --- about the
imminent “destruction” of the regions.
This was the last straw for Moscow, which was forced to launch a special military operation to denazify and demilitarize the criminal neighboring regime.
The bloody policy of Zelensky, according to analysts,
has cost the disintegrating state huge human losses.
Zelensky went even further, shamelessly raising his
hand against Ukrainian Orthodoxy --- the security
services break into church cloisters --- accusing
the clergy of treason without exception, being
subjected to their humiliating searches,
harassment and bullying.
Despite all this ---- preferring not to notice the criminal
essence of Zelensky, imaginary Western “democrats”
declare the former Ukrainian comedian “man of the
year.” The situation risks repeating itself by
analogy with the dictator Hitler who
eventually got out of control, the
consequences of which turned
out to be catastrophic for the
whole world, analysts warn.
What do you think?
Do you believe the slimy little piano player deserves to be ''man of the year''?
__________________________
Western Allies failed
to destroy Nazism
by anonimo
December 6th, 2:22pm
(Prensa Latina)
The failure of the far-right Kapp Putsch in Berlin,
which lasted from the 13th to the 17th of March
1920, unfortunately did not discredit the new
Nazi ideology taking root in Germany.
The Nazi seed was sown, primarily, because of the destabilizing effects of the First World War (1914
-18) on German society, and resultant legislation
like the Treaty of Versailles, as revolution was
breaking out in Germany from late 1918.
The Kapp Putsch’s rapid demise, mainly due to the
conspirators’ incompetence, meant that the Nazi
elements in Germany had suffered a blow, and
not a heavy one at that.
Had the Kapp Putsch endured over a longer period, for
weeks, rather than days, the Western Allies would
have been compelled to send their troops into the
heart of Germany: so as to remove the coup’s
nominal leader, Dr Wolfgang Kapp, a far-right
civil servant and politician --- and General
Walther von Lüttwitz -- a future supporter
of Adolf Hitler and a commander of note
during World War I, who represented
the military force and real power
behind the putsch.
France, in particular, could not have accepted a
military dictatorship being established in Berlin
in 1920. World War I had ended less than two
years before, in which... the French Army
suffered such a high loss of life against
the German Army. The French, last of
all, would be inclined to show
leniency to their old enemy
the Germans.
A Franco-British military intervention in Germany
in 1920 would, in all probability, have led to the
permanent tarnishing of German fascist
influence, political and military, which
had underlined the Kapp Putsch.
Men like General von Lüttwitz, who was a fiery
Prussian and overall commander of the
German paramilitary formations
(Freikorps), would undoubtedly
have chosen to fight back
against an Allied attack
on German soil and, not
having enough soldiers
or heavy arms, von
Luttwitz’ forces
--- could only
face defeat.
Historian Donald J. Goodspeed wrote, ''As it turned
out, the ideas of the rebels were by no means
discredited. Their coup [Kapp Putsch] had
failed, but, nothing less than decisive and
bloody retribution would have persuaded
these gentlemen to change their minds.''
''When nothing of the sort was forthcoming, they
regained their spirits. What was one failure
more or less? Was it not true that the
seed is not quickened except it die?
And so, for the next 13 years, their
revolutionary nationalism...
germinated darkly in the
German soil.''
The most effective and obvious means of destroying
Nazism is indeed through force of arms. Appease-
ment and diplomacy are unlikely to work. The
Allies failed to learn this lesson in 1920, in
1933 and 1938.
Time and again the Western powers either shirked
their responsibility, or collaborated with the Nazis
through extensive business & armaments deals.
Inevitably, Nazism thereafter, spread to other states
such as Austria, and the ideology has persisted
inEurope into the 21st century. To provide an
example, in February 2014 in Kiev, the
Ukrainian capital, a far-right coup was
implemented in that city... by the
neo-Nazi Ukrainian organization
Svoboda, Right Sector, Patriot
of Ukraine and the Congress
of Ukrainian Nationalists.
These neo-Nazi groups stormed the parliament
building in Kiev on the night of February 21st,
2014, forcing the democratically elected
president, Viktor Yanukovych, to
leave Kiev.
The Kapp Putsch, meanwhile, folded so quickly that
the far-right influence behind the coup, was barely
noticed... by Germany’s public. The Kapp Putsch
was supported from the outset by General Erich
Ludendorff ----- who was present in the Reich
Chancellery in Berlin with the conspirators,
after the coup initially succeeded on March
the 13th, in 1920 --- the day in which the
Weimar Republic’s political leadership
fled south, to Stuttgart.
General Ludendorff... who would become a figurehead
for the radical right, was the German Empire’s military
dictator from 1916 to 1918, in the latter half of World
War I. During his autocracy Ludendorff, an intelligent,
strong-willed and ruthless man, dominated both his
close colleague Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg
and Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Under Ludendorff’s generalship, for example, the
Germans came close to overcoming the French,
British and American divisions, during the
Ludendorff offensives, of the spring and
summer of 1918, but the enemy’s
numbers were just too large.
In his biography of Ludendorff, Goodspeed described
the general as “one of the very greatest military
organizers of all time”. For some years prior to
World War I, Ludendorff was well regarded
within the German Army for his abilities
as a staff officer.
According to Goodspeed, Ludendorff “became an
extraordinarily important staff officer”. This was
because... in the months leading up to the out-
break of fighting in August 1914, he had been
centrally involved in strategic war planning
at the highest level in the German Army.
When the conflict was ending in November 1918
Ludendorff, vulnerable in his unguarded west
Berlin apartment and fearing assassination
from communist militants, left his
residence, after nightfall.
He disguised himself by
wearing a hat, a fake
beard and blue
spectacles.
Ludendorff moved nearby to the south-west of Berlin
to Potsdam, where he stayed for a few days at the
house of his younger brother, Hans Ludendorff, a
well-known astronomer. With unrest increasing
across Germany, Ludendorff decided, with
some reluctance, that it would be best to
leave behind the country which he had
ruled with an iron fist, for two years.
On November 16th, 1918 Ludendorff travelled north to
Denmark by steamship. In spite of his disguise,
he was recognized on the boat by some of
the passengers.
When Ludendorff arrived into the port at Copenhagen,
the Danish capital, a crowd of onlookers were waiting
to see the man who had tried to conquer most of
mainland Europe. Ludendorff felt that he was
being followed everywhere he went in
Copenhagen, so in late November
1918 he relocated again, this
time to southern Sweden.
He was granted refuge with a pro-German Swede,
Herr Dolson, who lived in a country house near
the town of Hässleholm.
From Sweden, Ludendorff wrote to his wife,
Margarethe, who had remained in Berlin:
“For four years, I have fought for my
country and now, when so much is
hanging in the balance, I must
stand aside”.
Ludendorff’s presence in Sweden could not be
concealed. Before long the Swedish Social
Democrats, to Ludendorff’s irritation, were
demanding that the general be expelled
from Sweden. He was offered sanctuary
in Finland.
However, in early 1919 the German paramilitary units,
comprised mostly of First World War veterans, were
well on their way to “restoring order” back home.
In other words, the German left-wing groups
were being subdued.
By the spring of 1919, the paramilitary formations in
Germany altogether consisted of over 400,000 men,
and for the large part they wanted a restoration of
the old order. Ludendorff believed it was safe to
return to Germany, which he did at the end of
February, 1919.
On arriving back in Germany after three months away,
because of his famous name Ludendorff did not suffer
from the financial hardships which afflicted so many
other German officers at this period. When he got to
Berlin, Ludendorff and his wife were given a suite
at the prestigious Adlon Hotel, located in Berlin’s
city centre.
The Adlon Hotel also happened to be the headquarters
of the Allied Disarmament Commission. To avoid
publicity... the 54-year-old Ludendorff now went
by the name of “Karl Neumann” and the hotel’s
owner, Lorenz Adlon, provided him with
a separate exit from the building to
Wilhelmstrasse (Wilhelm Street),
allowing him to avoid those he
did not wish to see.
In actual fact, Ludendorff had no problem in engaging
in conversation with Allied officers, specifically the
British. The French he liked less. In turn, the
English officers were curious to meet the
man whose military capabilities they
had admired. Among those who
Ludendorff dined with at the
Adlon Hotel, was Major-
General Neill Malcolm,
Chief of the British
Military Mission
to Berlin.
Ludendorff told Malcolm that Germany had been
unable to secure victory in the war, due to the
weakness of the German politicians. They
had, Ludendorff said, failed to support him
sufficiently and “proved themselves
unworthy of their warrior
ancestors”.
Malcolm replied, “Are you trying to tell me, general,
that you... were stabbed in the back?” On hearing
this, Ludendorff became excited and he shouted,
“That’s it! They stabbed me in the back! They
stabbed me in the back!” The phrase,
“stabbed in the back”, would soon
be used widely by the anti-
Republican forces
in Germany.
For his own peace of mind Ludendorff was trying to
explain away defeat. He could not accept, after
the German Army had won many battles, that
they ultimately lost the war militarily. He was
not alone in this. Millions of Germans, who
were proud of their country’s history of
arms, could not attribute defeat to
military causes.
Ludendorff reproached himself in one regard. “I ought
never to have let myself be dismissed” he used to
say, reminiscing on his resignation as Germany’s
warlord on October 26th, 1918.
Through 1919, Ludendorff could see the extent of the
armed German presence on Berlin’s streets, and he
began to believe... that his country’s greatness
could be restored. Speaking contemptuously
of the leftist forces, Ludendorff declared
repeatedly, “The greatest blunder of the
revolutionaries was to leave us all alive”.
The Versailles Treaty signed in Paris on June 28th,
1919, was not only a very harsh document --
stripping Germany of territory and ordering
her to pay unsustainable reparations, but
it was also an enormous gift to the
extreme right German factions.
By injuring and humiliating the Germans through the
Versailles Treaty, the French, British and Americans
were playing, perfectly, into the hands of the
radical groups.
It has been stated, in Western scholarship, that
Ludendorff, had a considerable role in the rise
of Hitler and the Nazis. On closer inspection,
these claims do not stand up well.
The Versailles Treaty, in reality, performed a
significantly greater part in Hitler coming to
the fore than anything which Ludendorff
could do. Overlooked too, is that
Ludendorff had fallen out with
Hitler by the late 1920s,
before the latter
threatened to
take power.
On top of the Versailles Treaty, another huge factor
behind Hitler’s ascent was the Wall Street Crash of
autumn 1929, which was the detonator that set off
the Great Depression (1929-39). This financial
disaster hit Germany especially hard in the
early 1930s, convincing many millions of
unemployed Germans, to vote in
elections, for the Nazi Party.
What was the major cause behind the Great
Depression occurring? The First World War.
Overproduction, caused by that conflict,
had depressed global prices, and
because of war debt payments
--- most of the world’s gold
supply was concentrated
in America.
From 1918, many of the smaller European countries
had adopted a short-sighted economic nationalism.
Formerly rich nations... like Germany, Austria and
France had seen much of their wealth disappear,
while reparations payments damaged the
economies of the recipients more than
the donors. The explosive mass
which resulted in the Great
Depression, had been
building since the
end of World
War I.
What do you think? The author
suggests that the left were
weak - and the Frei-corp
''subdued'' them easily.
No mention of the reign of
terror, when thousands of
union leaders and leftists
were shot by thugs and
dumped in canals.
Why is that, Mr (or Mrs) anonimo?
________________________
Yuri Afonin on the air of "Russia-1":
The victory of the USSR in 1945
predetermined the collapse of
the world colonial system
December 5th, 2:54pm
Press Service of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation.
First Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of
the Communist Party of the Russian Federation,
Yu. V. Afonin, took part in the program
"60 Minutes" on the TV channel
"Russia-1".
One of the topics discussed in the studio, was the
introduction by the European Union of a "ceiling"
on Russian oil prices. Yuri Afonin expressed
confidence that Russia will cope with this
situation, thwarting the attempts of
European politicians to deprive our
country of part of the income from
the export of hydrocarbons.
In his opinion, a more serious problem for our country
is comprador capital, which, for decades, received
hundreds of percent of profits here in Russia, and
invested in low-income or unprofitable assets in
the West - enterprises, hotels, yachts, football
clubs, etc. But it was possible and necessary
to invest in the development of Russian
production, to restore what was
destroyed in the nineties!
But the compradors considered themselves "citizens of the world" and were obsessed
with the idea.. of legalizing themselves in Europe, becoming part of the local elite.
Yes, there were, also, those who invested in the real
sector of the domestic economy, creating a margin
of safety, including through imported equipment
and technologies. However, these investments
are not comparable to the enormous damage
caused to the country, by the Comprador
bourgeoisie. The people consider such
"businessmen" - not unreasonably -
as criminals, who robbed Russia.
They would have continued to do so. But a special
military operation began and the state's financial
& economic policy changed. It no longer intends
to overlook the withdrawal of capital abroad.
The First Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation,
also commented, on the scandalous statement of
Pope Francis who called the Chechens & Buryats
"the most brutal in the Russian army." For the
head of the Catholic Church --- one of the
world's leading religious denominations
- such a racist attack, is completely
unacceptable. It damages the
whole of Catholicism.
Magomed Daudov, Chairman of the Chechen
Parliament... was quoted in the studio. He
stressed, that there is not a single fact of
a war crime committed by Chechens &
Buryats. Both they and other Russian
military personnel, representing
almost 200 peoples of our
country ---- have become
saviours for the civilian
population...... of the
liberated territories.
Daudov was puzzled: how can a spiritual leader,
to whose denomination a significant part of the
world's peoples belong, allow himself to talk
so primitively about the national question?!
Yuri Vyacheslavovich called this assessment of the
head of the Chechen parliament well-reasoned and
balanced. But you can't equate what the Pope said
with all Catholics. Yes, there've been many dark
spots, in the millennial history of the Catholic
Church. If we talk about the Great Patriotic
War, then after the liberation of Western
Ukraine, Catholic churches often
became.... the centres of anti-
Soviet agitation - which was
conducted by the Ksenzds,
who also gave shelter
to Bandera.
But ---- as the first deputy chairman of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation stressed, it is necessary... to separate
the unseemly affairs of the Catholic Church from
ordinary believers. There are hundreds of
thousands of Catholics in Russia --- and
even more in fraternal Belarus, where
it is one of the most popular
confessions, along with
Orthodoxy.
Surely among those who are fighting against Nazism
in the ranks of the Russian army today, there are
also Catholics. Therefore, it is absolutely
impossible to spread the blame for any
negative actions of the Vatican - to
all believers. Moreover, Russia is
a multi-religious country, its
peoples are distinguished
by religious tolerance.
Orthodoxy, Islam, and Buddhism are our most popular
faiths. But this does not mean that Catholicism is
somehow infringed or oppressed. Catholic
parishes are active and churches
are open.
Yuri Afonin also touched upon the visit of foreign
ministers of a number of European countries to
Kiev, calling it "political tourism". So they say
about foreign trips and meetings that do not
have a clear agenda --- and any significant
results. So, meaningless, was the arrival
of these "tourists" in Kiev. Unless they
earned some political dividends and
reminded us all about themselves.
The program also discussed a speech by British Prime
Minister Sunak, in which he made a series of tough
statements against China & Russia and promised
further assistance to the Zelensky regime.
According to the first deputy chairman of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party, it is possible to
draw some parallels.. between the speech of the
new prime minister and the famous speech of
Churchill, in Fulton.
After the end of World War II, two poles were formed
on the planet --- the Western world, led by the
strengthened United States, and the Soviet
Union, which, despite enormous losses,
victims and destruction... also became
stronger, and began to unite a number
of countries around itself.
Communist ideology, the struggle for peace and against imperialism and colonial
oppression, have proved attractive to many countries and peoples of the world.
The world socialist system was being created. The
collective West saw this, as a threat to itself and
tried to stop the growing Soviet influence. The
Cold War... began.
After the Soviet Union was destroyed, the West
decided that the era of a unipolar world had
come. But it didn't last long. Russia and
China are becoming new centres of
attraction. They challenge the
Western world order, oppose
neo-colonialism and
imperialism.
Other countries and peoples look at them
with hope. The Anglo-Saxons, of course,
don't like it.
As for Rishi Sunak... the paradox and even cynicism of
the situation, is that his ancestors come from India – a country that has fully experienced British
colonial oppression. Thus, he actually betrays his historical homeland.
There is an opinion that India allegedly got rid of
British rule with the help of Mahatma Gandhi's
concept.. of nonviolent resistance. They say
that the Indians did not resort to violence,
but they were able to defeat English
colonial rule, so this victory was
almost bloodless.
But this is a misconception. In fact, if not for the
Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War, if not
for the decisive contribution of the Soviet
Union to the defeat of German Nazism &
Japanese militarism, India could still
remain a British colony. That is, the
freedom of this country, was paid
for, among other things, with the
lives of Soviet soldiers.
The fact is that it was after the victory of the USSR in
1945 that the preservation of the colonial system by
the West became almost impossible. And within 20
- 30 years, it was destroyed. And India had to be
released just a few years after the war. Why?
Because a new pole of power appeared in
the world - the USSR, which all anti-
colonial liberation movements
began to focus on.
This is what determined the collapse of colonialism.
Today, Russia and China are becoming such poles.
When Sunak opposes them --- he opposes the
centres of unification for all the peoples of
the world who are fighting for true
independence.
In conclusion, Yuri Afonin expressed confidence.. that
the collective West's expectation of a new victorious
cold war will not be justified. What happened 30
years ago, when the West was able to break
up the USSR ----- should not happen again.
We will not allow them to continue their
destructive policy towards Russia!
Brave words - what do you think?
_____________________________________
Residents of Milan held a rally
against the supply of weapons
to Ukraine
by Alexander Kislov
December 4th, 8:42pm
(Komsomolskaya Pravda)
Participants in the action said that they should not
help the Armed Forces of Ukraine militants.
TO SHARE
Italians oppose large-scale
military assistance
to Ukraine.
In Milan, about five thousand people took part in
a street rally against the supply of weapons to
Ukraine and for peace talks to resolve
the conflict.
Participants of the rally demanded that the Italian
authorities immediately stop pumping the Kiev
nationalist regime --- with all types of lethal
weapons. Information about this in social
networks, was spread by the former
mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno,
who became the organizer and
applicant of the protest rally.
According to preliminary data, about
five thousand Milanese took part in
the protest.
"The right is returning to the square, to stop the
war. It was a great honour for me to complete
the demonstration organized in Milan, by the
United against War coordination, and it was
very pleasant... to see many people of all
ages, still marching with the tricolor in
their hands," the European politician
stressed.
According to him the participants of the demonstration
asked the Italian Cabinet not to continue to follow the
same path as the government of the former head of
the Council of Ministers of Italy, Mario Draghi.
Earlier it became known that the financial assistance
to Ukraine from the US may be significantly reduced
or even stopped altogether against the background
of political disagreements in the American elites.
Some members of the US Congress, speak of such a
scenario as quite real - and believe that the team of
American President Joe Biden needs to come up
with a thorough and well-developed action plan
in case it is implemented.
In particular, the White House may need to use
emergency mechanisms to ensure that its
Ukrainian partners are not left without
funding in the midst of a hard and
harsh winter.
Every week, millions march in Europe against the sanctions, against NATO against supporting Ukraine and against the war on Russia.
but the Main Stream Media... ignores it all.
What do you think of the Tory Minister who said that NHS staff shouldn't strike for higher pay - to ''spite Russia'' ...?
_________________________________________
Why did Brussels voice
information on AFU
casualties?
December 2nd, 11:52am
https://en.news-front.info/
Nothing clicked in the mind of the perennial German defense minister when she said from the rostrum about one hundred thousand dead Ukrainian servicemen.
The Ukrainian authorities reacted strangely to the
words of the head of the European Commission
that the loss of life in the Ukrainian Armed
Forces exceeded a hundred thousand
people: they did not confirm, but did
not deny it either. It is also strange
that Ursula von der Leyen said this
at all, & how Brussels disavowed
her words. What is the intrigue
behind all this?
But nothing clicked in the mind of the former (and
long-time) German Minister of Defence when she
declared from the podium about the hundred
thousand dead Ukrainian military personnel.
Perhaps because this is the data she
actually has. There is a 7-10 times
discrepancy with the data
sometimes mentioned
by officials on the
Ukrainian side.
Therefore, the European Commissioner’s words had the effect of an information bomb. And already after she exploded, an excerpt of von der Leyen’s speech was deleted from the European Commission’s accounts, publishing another one instead, from which the words about Ukrainian
losses were cut out. At the time, even many sceptics were convinced: that if they were trying to cover it up, it must be true.
The strange reaction of Ukrainian propaganda is
telling. At first --- it was furious, accusing the
European commissioner of working for the
Kremlin, but it was at the level of “lower
and lower”. When it came to official
comments --- the office of the
Ukrainian president refused
to deny Ursula’s data -- or,
indeed, to confirm it. The
losses -- they say -- are
classified information,
and the head of state
will reveal it... at an
“appropriate time”.
The strangeness... is explained by the context. The EC
head needed the data on losses to, roughly speaking,
appease her listeners. Ursula von der Leyen is in
charge of several important projects for Kiev –
from creating an international tribunal for
Russia, to gutting its frozen assets for
Ukrainian needs. Her message is that
this is how badly Ukraine is suffering,
it needs even more help, despite the
weariness of all things Ukrainian,
which can be observed in both
Europe and America.
There are only two possible explanations.
And they seem to be about different
people. Different Ursul von
der Leyens.
The first one, in keeping with her status, is
playing a rather complex game against
both Russia and the leadership
of Ukraine.
Lately President Vladimir Zelensky has become
blatantly out of hand, out of control. And this
has been noticed... by everyone. The most
vivid illustration, is his repeated refusal
to acknowledge the Ukrainian origin
of the missile that fell on Polish
territory and killed two Poles.
He persisted, even after
being shouted down
from Warsaw and
Washington.
And Zelenski demands further support, of tens of billions of dollars a month. Importantly, it is indefinite --- until the “victory over Russia”, by which he means... the “de-occupation of Crimea” and the “payment of
reparations”. That is to say, something that is, clearly, impossible to achieve and until the impossible is achieved --- no negotiations, with Moscow. The EU’s task, in its world
view, is to pay the bill and not interfere.
Denying Kiev assistance and support would be
effective leverage. But Zelensky apparently
believes that the West will not go for it.
They are simply no longer in a position to curtail their
crusade against Russia --- because that would mean
losing not only for Ukraine, but for the West itself.
They do not want to give up at all, and von der
Leyen, as one of the coders and curators of
the process, does not want to give up in
the first place. Therefore --- they will
continue to give both money and
weapons --- no matter how
capricious & ungrateful
Kiev behaves.
From that point of view, the ‘100 thousand victims’
of the EC head, resembles a sword, which she
uncovered demonstratively, and then hid in
its scabbard. The hint is clear: “don’t get
bogged down, Mr President”.
The conflict in Ukraine and the economic war against
Russia, unleashed by the West, under its pretext,
affects hundreds of millions. And the
“Streisand effect” can also be
manageable: sometimes, to
highlight something, you
have to...... hide it
ostentatiously.
The version in which Ursula von der Leinen flicks a
whip in front of Zelensky’s nose is beautiful in its
own way and convenient for almost everyone
who is not Ukrainian. Yet.. we are talking
about a man, under whose tutelage for
years.. the armed forces of the FRG
have lost their fighting ability, due
to chronic underfunding.. and the
27 EU countries have unleashed
a championship of shooting
themselves in the foot, in
spite of Russia.
Maybe she really doesn’t understand what information
can and cannot be divulged. Doesn’t know how many
casualties there really are in the AFU because she’s
not interested enough. Doesn’t realise where
Europe is really going and how far Europe
can get.
What do YOU think?
Too clever by half?
_____________________________________________
Ukraine Demands--- Yet More
NATO Weapons & Generators
by Declan Hayes
December 1st, 2022
(Strategic Culture Foundation)
Although Ukraine’s power grid has been heavily hit, it
is as nothing, compared to what Syria is suffering this very day.
NATO’s BBC outlet reports that their NATO masters
have promised to supply the rump Ukrainian Reich
with yet more weapons & a pile of generators, to
keep Kiev’s Christmas lights burning brightly for
both Christmas --- and Little Christmas. The
problem, it seems, is that Russia’s Armed
Forces have an increasing propensity to
destroy Ukraine’s power grid, pulverize
its water reserves - and shred those
NATO supplied weapons... Ukraine
does not offload onto Zelensky’s
partners in the international
black market.
NATO are unhappy with Russia’s actions, which they
and their G7 flunkeys classify as war crimes, even
though Russia’s actions, are a watered down
version of what NATO did in Iraq and what
NATO and Israel currently continue to
systematically do, in both Syria
and Gaza.
The blockades of and systematic destruction of
Serbia, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Gaza, Libya and a
host of other countries, NATO put on their
butcher’s block show beyond any debate
that it is NATO and her BBC apologists
that belong, both in the dock, and on
the gallows; not only is it a disgrace
that these serial criminals have yet
to face the harshest justice they
richly deserve for their multi-
plicity of war crimes but
their evasion of the
hangman’s rope..
indicts us all.
Although Ukraine’s power grid has been heavily hit, it
is as nothing compared to what Syria, a third of
which, is illegally occupied by U.S. troops, is
suffering this very day. Although Ukrainians
are suffering from the cold, it is as nothing
compared to what NATO has inflicted on
Syria’s children, countless numbers of
whom freeze to death, winter after
bleak Syrian winter.
In her efforts to show... that her husband, the Clown
Prince, is not Kiev’s only joker, Ukrainian First Lady
Olena Zelenska, compared Russia’s bombardment
of their rump Reich to Britain’s Blitz and she then
joked... that all she and the rest of Ukraine’s
privileged elite want for Christmas, is some
nebulous form of justice... which Ukrainian
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba explained
was the capitulation of Russia --- which
Estonian Foreign Minister (& notorious
Waffen SS admirer) Urmas Rainsal,
explained, was to be achieved by
massive missiles strikes into
the heart of the Russian
motherland.
Though it seems a few Dr Strangelove videos... would
make good stocking fillers for that crazy lot, Russia’s
aerial attacks are in no way comparable to the Blitz,
which witnessed the Luftwaffe, with clowns Hitler
and GÅ‘ring at the helm, make strategic blunder
after strategic blunder, against England’s
“bitter weeds”.
So much for the Brigadoon parallel universe, of these
profiteering charlatans. Russia, as it did in 1812, & in 1941, is simply using its weather for home advantage and who at West Point, or Sandhurst, could honestly
fault them.. for that? Though the answer to Russia’s sporadic bombardment is conceptually quite simple
it is - obviously - beyond the ken of the Zelensky household who are too preoccupied with their
holograms, their international property
portfolio, their Milanese catwalks -
and their imports of Colombian
nose candy.
The solution is for the rump Ukrainian Reich to return
to the negotiating table, to stop murdering their own
negotiators, to banish Ukraine’s (and Estonia’s) Nazi
militias, to ban Boris Johnson and other sleaze bag
British politicians from dictating their political and
negotiating positions... to condemn France and
Germany for their failure to uphold the Minsk
agreements... to stop persecuting the
Russian Orthodox Church and to rid
itself of the Zelensky family and
all profiteers like them.
All of those preliminaries would only be for starters.
The real problem, is not Russia, which will border
Ukraine until the end of time, but the U.S. which
is using and abusing not only Ukraine, but all of
Europe, to emasculate and enslave the entire
continent, from Dublin to Vladivostok.
Here in Dublin, our Prime Minister is blaming local
protests on Putin’s machinations. This overpaid
clown.. is telling us that “Putin is weaponising
migration” ...and that it is somehow Putin’s
fault that tens of thousands of Georgians,
Albanians and Nigerians have, along with
over 100,000 Ukrainians --- been foisted
upon us and are being housed and fed
in five star hotels at our expense. Not
only that, but, because of Putin, we
must give Ukrainains...... their own
houses gratis even as over 50,000
Irish people are homeless, and
have only the snow shrouded
stars as their canopies.
For all the huff and puff of these hucksters, the story
is not only much worse than that but is set to get yetworse. Just as Julian Assange pointed out with Afghanistan, so, also, has NATO a massive money laundering scam afoot, in Ukraine.
And with all scams, there are winners --- like the
Zelenskys.. and the braying donkeys of the Irish
& Estonian political establishment. The losers,
who include not only all the Ukrainian soldiers
who died in vain, but also, ordinary Germans,
who have seen their country’s industrial
infrastructure destroyed, to serve the
insatiable greed of the Zelensky
and Biden families.
Once the worm fully turns, as it will in the New Year
and the Germans, the Irish, the British and Europe’s
other American flunkeys ------ are forced to choose
between eating and heating, between subsidizing
the Zelensky’s property empire and keeping their
own families alive... then all the “let them eat
insects” spin of the BBC and NATO’s other
media outlets, will not stem the pending
deluge -- that will be as unstoppable as
the carnage that followed the 1789
storming of the Bastille.
What do you think?
Over the top?
Certainly a warning.
_________________________________
Meloni v. Macron –
The Colonial End Game
by Tom Luongo
November 30th, 2022
https://strategic-culture.org
Sometimes the internet being eternal works to our
advantage. Recently... there’s been a dustup in
European politics, over a three-year old video
of now Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni,
stepping on the 3ird rail of European politics.
In that video she openly explained that colonialism
in Europe isn’t over and she tied it to African
immigration into Europe, which Italy has
born the brunt of thanks to the EU’s
rules which force countries to
accept anyone that shows
up on their shores.
The mechanism for France’s dirty colonial secret
is they still control fourteen West African nations
through a French colonial currency (CFA Franc)
issued by France.
Now, since Meloni’s rant, the CFA Franc has been
slightly revised but the real source of its power
over West Africa was not, more on this later.
What’s important is that this video has all of a sudden
resurfaced at a time when Italy and France are
involved in a major row over France’s (and
Davos’) latest attempt to paint Meloni as
some heartless Fascist for denying a
French NGO boatload of migrants
from North Africa into Italy.
The boat eventually wound up having to go to France
as Meloni stuck to her guns. Remember, folks it was
then Interior Minister Matteo Salvini who first tried
to defy Davos on this and his reward was to be
sued in Sicilian court over ‘human rights
abuses.’ This began Salvini’s fall from
political power in Rome as he didn’t
have enough support from his then
coalition partner, Five Star
Movement (M5S).
Eventually, Salvini was forced out of power, M5S cut a
deal with the Rome Mafia to betray its supporters
and the rise of Meloni and the Brothers of Italy
(FdI) was inevitable.
The lame attempt by France to attack Meloni on
immigration... was met with a much different
result this time as she enjoys a far stronger
political position than Salvini did in 2017- 18. So, the boat went to France and all the French could do was fulminate
about it.
Enemy at the NGO Gates
In fact, the French Foreign Minister Gérald Darmanin
went so far as to call Italy France’s enemy over this
issue. This level of histrionics over less than 250
migrants is both so predictably French and
overblown it borders on the comical.
So much for European solidarity, I guess.
But it’s all part of the silly Davos PR campaign against
Meloni. Nothing changes with these people. They
have a pathological need to win every single
little battle, because as psychopaths they
know any sign of weakness is an
invitation to the gallows, as
people see them... for what they are.
As always, the timing on this video of Meloni coming
out is interesting. It’s a clear counterattack on
France’s theatrics.
My question, as always, is who did this? Obviously
Meloni’s people are part of this but does it imply
she has some other support?
Stick with me, because I have a theory on this.
Ultimately, this dustup fully highlights the
mendacity and, frankly, evil of the former
colonial powers of Europe.
The CFA Franc was something that you ‘just didn’t
talk about’ as France continued to extract wealth
from West Africa through monetary expropriation.
The very idea that the vestiges of colonialism are on
the wane in Europe is not only fundamentally false it
is intrinsically woven into the fabric of the EU itself
in every way. The CFA Franc should be an
anachronism, but France holds onto it for its benefit, subsidizing its
ridiculous government and
failing social institutions.
Among first world nations.... France has the highest
effective tax rate for upper income earners. And yet, they still can’t keep things running effectively....
and have to extract wealth from north Africa.
How brutally inefficient and sickly is a French
economy, that derives nearly 50% of its
electricity from a mostly-homegrown
nuclear industry and has levels of
taxation that make even a 19th-
century slaveowner blush that
it still needs to operate.... a
colonial wealth extraction
system in West Africa in
the 21st century?
But it’s also a microcosm of the euro itself and even the corruption of the US dollar through national
control over interest rates, thanks to a
monolithic central bank.
Like many of you, I had no idea the CFA Franc even
existed and I’m still wrapping my head around the
idea that in 2022 fourteen countries do not have
monetary sovereignty, serfs to a feudal lord on
a separate continent.
Again, just when I thought I’d plumbed the depths
of Eurotrash globalist depravity, they make me
look naïve.
But what’s been very clear is that the CFA Franc has
been a no-go in international and inter-European
political discussions for decades…. and
someone close to Meloni just made it
a global issue.
So much so, that no less than Le Monde had to put out
a fire suppressor article. It’s a laughably poor piece
of apologia. It’s a typical piece of ‘word parsing’
that picks out specific little exaggerations to
discredit Meloni as stupid and uninformed
while avoiding the basic problems of
France running a wealth vacuum in
14 of the poorest countries
in Africa.
Le Monde quickly switches to the ‘migrant’ issue to
‘debunk’ Meloni’s claims about African immigration
as a result of the CFA Franc. Sure the country of
origin of most migrants are from countries on
the shore of the Mediterranean, but where
did they come from in the first place?
It’s like saying Hondurans who cross into the US from
Mexico aren’t Hondurans and that policy in Honduras
didn’t contribute to the migration. But, this is really a
side issue. Meloni is fundamentally right that the CFA
Franc keeps these countries poor through currency
arbitrage and contributes directly to North Africa’s
instability and lack of economic progress.
To think that doesn’t have spillover effects into
Algeria, Morocco or anywhere else along the
southern Mediterranean is simply laughable.
It’s the Currency, Stupid!!
The key to understanding the evil of the CFA Franc is
no different than understanding the evil of the euro
or the Fed Funds Rate. It’s mercantilism through
currency arbitrage.
The CFA Franc is not just pegged to the euro (formerly
the French Franc) it is also tied to the ECB’s monetary
policy debt rate. This is the part no one, especially
the writer at Le Monde, wants to touch.
So, as Le Monde states there are the two central
banks in Africa that issue the two different CFA
Francs. What they fail to state is that both
currencies are still pegged to the euro,
making local monetary policy a joke.
France and the ECB still control
their economies.
The ECB’s monetary policy is set by Germany for
Germany’s benefit. Having (up until now) the
strongest economy in the EU, Germany gets
an effective benefit from the euro trading at a single exchange rate.
If the euro were to collapse and the Deutschmark
returned, it would rise dramatically versus the
previous euro exchange rate. For Italy, the
return of the lira would see it fall.
This is simply the value add/deficit of the labor in
the aggregate of the country, represented by the
exchange rate through the discounting
mechanism.
This is why the euro and the EU are nothing more than
colonialist systems designed to do exactly what they
have done --- impoverish the European periphery,
which includes Italy, and concentrate capital
in the centre, in Brussels’ political power.
As much as I’ve used the Hunger Games to
describe the US, it is even more apropos
for the EU.
California and New York have used the singular Fed
Funds Rate in the same way Germany has used
the euro to dominate US electoral politics,
ensuring that for decades their
populations stayed high, the
capital flowed to them....
trapping people there...
and grinding them out
between the twin mill
stones of inflation &
taxation, just like
Lenin described.
So, now applying that same model to France and it’s
former colonies, does anyone believe that the
labour efficiency of the Ivory Coast is the
same as Germany? or even France?
Of course not. But that’s the situation for these
countries. France is running the same
mercantilist scam of any colonial
power by keeping the home
country’s currency weaker
than it should be --- in
exchange... for real
goods from abroad.
But we see this effect in the reverse from the colony’s
perspective. By setting a peg for the CFA Franc... it is
always stronger than it should be if allowed to float.
Even if initially set weaker than it should be to
attract capital, eventually, the exchange rate
will become an albatross around the colony’s
neck, strangling economic growth while all
the wealth.. is extracted back to the home
land, thanks to the ECB’s monetary policy.
While the CFA Franc was reformed slightly under
Macron, the essential link between France’s
banking system and these colonies remains
key, using the ECB’s ruinous monetary
policy to take the profit and leave
misery behind.
Now, the good news is that mercantilism only works
for so long before the currency mismatches become
so great that the whole scheme has to collapse. It
is, after all just another Ponzi Scheme.
In the case of France and Germany running their
wealth extraction system across not just the 17
other countries of the euro-zone but 14 African
countries as well, we’re reaching that
breaking point.
Pres. Macron Tear Down This Peg!
Italy... needs to be let loose from the euro. The
populists and everyone not on Herr Schwab’s
payroll, understand this. Davos will blow up
the world --- before letting that happen.
Meloni knows this. And she also knows that France
has real designs on annexing parts of northern
Italy and will fight very dirty to win here.
Macron tried to marginalize her on immigration,
tugging on heart strings.... about denying
migrants. She stood her ground, forced
France to take the boats and when
France tried to publicly shame
her, she trotted out the CFA
Franc and put that issue
right to bed.
But here’s the fun part. She just put out her budget
proposal... for the EU’s consideration. It’s a very
crafty proposal, skirting the edges of the rules
set out by the EU, violating the spirit of the
rules while not actually violating many of
them. See this article from Reuters on
rescinding the limits of cash use.
Martin Armstrong has a quick overview of the budget
where he pulls out some of the salient points (from
his perspective). His takeaway is that Meloni is
putting real limits on Italy’s welfare state.
So, this is how she can play the game of not radically
increasing spending. She’ll increase spending to
subsidize rising energy costs clearly imposed
on Italy by Germany and Brussels through
ruinous sanctions on Russian energy as
a stop gap measure. Sound familiar?
Because this is what cost Liz
Truss her job in the UK.
But she is also reforming the entitlement system for
the long term.... which will keep the overall budget
deficit.. which will call Brussels’ bluff on whether
they will maintain support of Italy’s bond market.
We know this is a bluff otherwise ECB President
Christine Lagarde wouldn’t have created the
Transmission Protection Instrument to
maintain internal credit spreads at
the July meeting.
She knew this day was coming the minute Mario
Draghi walked away from his post as Prime
Minister. The TPI was announced the
next day.
It looks like, at first glance, that Meloni’s found a way
to circumvent being forced to implement “German
Austerity” — raising taxes and cutting spending
to protect bondholders — by cutting long-term
entitlement spending while at the same time
cutting taxes where they are needed most.
If there is a budget proposal that could mollify credit
markets over Italy’s fiscal situation it would look
something like this. It puts the EU on their back
foot in budget talks. Because this plan could
actually work.
Part of the budget plans includes slashing taxes for
the self-employed by extending the 15% single tax
rate from an annual income of €65,000 to €85,000,
slashing VAT on certain essential goods by half,
and conditionally reducing the retirement age
to 62, provided that individuals have paid in
at least 41 years of contributions.
What’s funny about this is that this budget, which
explicitly breaks the EU’s cap of a 3% of GDP
budget deficit, pushing it to 4.5% thanks to
energy subsidies to families, is being
hailed by the European press as
“More EU Friendly......
than expected.”
What were they expecting, for Meloni to introduce
miniBOTs and a new domestic currency like
Salvini talked about in 2018?
No, this is clearly messaging that states Brussels isn’t
in the position to fight her because she holds all the
cards in the negotiations. Remember, $640+
billion in TARGET2 liabilities are the
Bundesbank’s problem, not Italy’s.
Having exposed France to the world over the CFA
Franc and understanding exactly how vulnerable
the ECB and the EU Commission actually are in
the Eurodollar markets, Meloni has pushed
Italy into a good position.... to begin
reversing the colonial extraction
system of the EU itself.
A quick look at the polls in Italy has her riding a big
lead at 30% support and moving higher. If she gets
this budget past the EU Commission, that number
will instantly jump to 40% or higher. The worry
that Salvini and Berlusconi will betray her
then drop precipitously.
The Ring Heads South
Remember, lurking in the background of all of this
is Wall St., the Fed and patriots in the US military.
This is who I think is helping Meloni stand firm here.
The Fed’s aggressive policy stance...... has the Euro
dollar markets teetering and Lagarde is no longer
talking about QEternity but QT and higher rates,
albeit very grudgingly.
If the price cap on Russian oil fails and Ursula Von der
Leyen cannot ride herd on a 9th sanctions package,
then Italy will quickly move into the driver’s seat
on energy imports into Europe.
Wall St. understands this. And with a grateful Meloni in
Rome realigning EU policy or forcing a breakup it also
paves the way for a new cycle of energy investment
now beyond desperately needed.
Who wants in on that action? Well, pretty
much everyone, especially Wall St.
Meloni just told France’s African colonies to stand up
and follow Burkina Faso’s lead. With countries like
Algeria, Egypt and Morocco all looking to join the
BRICS alliance, the end of France’s colonial
control over North Africa could end very
quickly and Italy then... has massive
leverage on the EU to turn back on
the sanctioned energy supplies.
This is a fight for all the EU marbles folks, and Meloni,
I believe knows this. So, she’ll play the dutiful game
of supporting Ukraine publicly. But, there’s almost
nothing Italy can do practically to do that. It’s an
empty promise. They have no money, no
domestic military to speak of… what is
that promise actually worth?
No, France and Germany, the mercantilist
powerhouses, are the ones that have to
foot this Ukraine bill. Meloni and Italy
are happy to support them bank-
rupting themselves while she
lays the groundwork for
increasing Italy’s
leverage over
them.
The Fed is doing its job by forcing the euro down,
bond yields up and taking options away from
Christine Lagarde.
You beat colonialists by taking away their
money printing machine. It’s that simple.
tomluongo.me
Wow... tell us what you think...
of our West European looters.
__________________________________________
The Crux of the Putin-Xi Revolution
for a New World Order – Arresting
the Slide to Nihilism
by Alastair Crooke
November 29th, 2022 https://strategic-culture.org
It becomes questionable whether the West can
compete as a civilisational state and maintain
a presence.
The world ‘Map’ is accelerating its shift away from the
paralysed Washington ‘hub’ – but to what? The myth
that China, Russia, or the non-western world can
be fully assimilated to a Western model of
political society (any more than
Afghanistan was) is over. So
to where are we headed?
The myth of the pull of acculturation into western
post-modernity lingers on however, in the
continuing western fantasy of pulling
China away from Russia, and into an
embrace with U.S. Big Business.
The bigger point here is that former wounded
civilisations are reasserting themselves:
China and Russia – as states organised
around indigenous culture – is not a
new idea. Rather, it is a very old one:
“Always remember that China is a
civilization – and not nation-state”,
Chinese officials repeat regularly.
Nonetheless, the shift to civilisational statehood
emphasised by those Chinese officials arguably
is no rhetorical device but reflects something
deeper and more radical. Moreover, the
culture transition is gaining wide
emulation across the globe. Its
inherent radicalism however,
is largely lost to western
audiences.
Chinese thinkers, such as Zhang Weiwei, accuse
Western political ideas of being a sham; of
masking their deeply partisan ideological
character beneath a veneer of supposedly
neutral principles. They are saying that
the mounting of a universal framework
of values – applicable to all societies
– is finished.
All of us must accept, that we speak
only for ourselves and our societies.
This has arisen because the non-West... now sees
clearly that post-modern West is not a civilisation
per se, but really something akin to a de-cultured
‘operating system’ (managerial technocracy).
Europe of the Renaissance did consist of
civilisational states, but subsequent
European nihilism changed the very
substance of modernity.
The West promotes its universal-value stance,
however, as though it be a set of abstract
scientific theorems which have
universal validity.
The accompanying promise to the latter that
traditional ways of life could be preserved
under the wholesale application of these
intentionally secular western norms –
ones that demanded enforcement
by the western political class –
has proved a fatal conceit
...these alternative
thinkers contend.
Such notions are not confined to the Orient. Samuel
Huntington, in his book The Clash of Civilizations,
argued that Universalism is the ideology of the
West contrived for confronting other cultures.
Naturally, everyone outside the West,
Huntington argued, should see the
idea of ‘one world’ as a threat.
The return to plural civilisational matrices precisely
is intended to break the West’s claim to speak – or
to decide – for anyone other than themselves.
Some will see this Russo-Chinese defiance as mere
jockeying for strategic ‘space’; as a rationale to
their claims for distinct ‘spheres of interest’.
Yet, to understand its radical underside, we
should recall that the transition to civilisation
states amounts to a full-throated resistance
(short of war) being mounted by 2 wounded
civilisations. Both Russians (post-the '90s)
and Chinese (in the Great Humiliation)...
feel this deeply. Today.. they are intent
on reasserting themselves forcefully,
in uttering: ‘Never Again!’
What ‘lit the fuse’ was the moment when China’s
leaders saw – in the plainest terms – that the
U.S. had no intention whatsoever to allow
China to overtake it economically.
Russia of course, already knew the plan to destroy her. Even the smallest amount of empathy is
sufficient to understand that recovery from
profound trauma is what binds Russia and
China (and Iran) together in a joint
‘interest’ that transcends
mercantile gain. It is
‘that’ which allows
them to say:--
Never again!
One part to their radicalism therefore, is the national
rejuvenation that propels these two states to ‘step
confidently onto the world stage’; to emerge from
the western shadow, and to stop mimicking the
West. And to stop assuming that technological
or economic advance can only be found within
the western liberal-economic ‘way’. For, it
follows from Zang’s analysis, that the
West’s economic ‘laws’ similarly are
a simulacrum posing as scientific
theorems: A cultural discourse
– but not an universal system.
When we consider that today’s Anglo-American world
view rests on the shoulders of three men: Isaac
Newton, the father of western science; Jean-
Jacques Rousseau, the father of liberal
political theory, and Adam Smith, the
father of laissez-faire economics, it
is plain that what we confront here
are the authors of the ‘Cannon’ of
individualism (in the wake of the
Protestant triumph in Europe’s
30 years’ war). From it comes
the doctrine -- that the most
prosperous future... for the
greatest number of people
comes from ------ the free
workings of the market.
Be that as it may, Zhang and others have noted that
the western focus on ‘finance’ has come at the
expense of ‘stuff’ (the real economy), and has
proved to be a recipé for extreme inequalities
& social strife. Zhang argues, contrarily, that
China is poised to evolve a new kind of non-
Western modernity that others – especially
in the developing world – can only admire,
if not emulate.
The decision has been made: The West then,
in this view, can either ‘shut up, and put up’
– or not. So be it.
Steeped in cynicism... the West sees this stance, as
bluff or posturing. What values, they ask, lie behind
this new order; what economic model? Implying
again that universal conformity is mandatory,
and thus missing Zhang’s point completely.
Universality is neither necessary, nor
sufficient. It never ‘was’.
In 2013, President Xi gave a speech which sheds
much light on the shifts in Chinese policy. And
though its analysis was firmly focused on the
causes to the Soviet implosion, Xi’s
exposition... very clearly intended
a wider meaning.
In his address, Xi attributed the break-up of the Soviet
Union... to ‘ideological nihilism’: The ruling strata, Xi
asserted, had ceased to believe in the advantages
and the value of their ‘system’ --- yet lacking any
other ideological coordinates within which to
situate their thinking, the élites slid
into nihilism:
“Once the Party loses the control of the ideology,
Xi argued, once it fails to provide a satisfactory
explanation --- for its own rule, objectives and
purposes, it dissolves into a party of loosely
connected individuals --- linked only by the
personal goals of enrichment & power”.
“The Party is then taken over by
‘ideological nihilism’”.
This, however, was not the worst outcome. The worst
outcome, Xi noted, would be the state taken over by
people with no ideology whatsoever, but with an
entirely cynical and self-serving desire to rule.
Put simply: Were China to lose its sense of a Chinese
‘rationale’, embedded for over a millennia in a unitary
state with strong institutions guided by a disciplined
Party, “the CPC, as great a Party as the CPSU was —
would be scattered like a flock of frightened beasts!
The Soviet Union — as great a socialist state as it
was — ended shattered into pieces”.
There can be little doubt: President Putin would
concur with Xi whole-heartedly. The existential
threat to Asia is to allow its states to assimilate
into soulless western nihilism. This then, is the
crux of the Xi-Putin revolution: Lifting the fog
and blinkers imposed by the universalist
meme to permit states a return to
cultural rejuvenation.
These principles were in action at the G20 in Bali. Not
only did the G7 fail to get the wider G20 to condemn
Russia over Ukraine, or to insert a wedge between
China and Russia, but rather, the Manichean
offensive targeting of Russia produced
something even more significant for
the Middle-East than the paralysis
and lack of tangible results,
described by the media:
It produced wide and open defiance of the western
order. It spurred pushback – at the very moment
that the world political ‘map’ is on the move,
and as the rush towards BRICS+ is
gathering pace.
Why does this matter?
Because the ability of western powers to spin their
spiders’ web notion that their ‘ways’ should be the
World’s ways, remains the West’s ‘secret weapon’.
This is plainly said when western leaders say
that a loss in Ukraine to Russia would mark
the demise of the ‘Liberal Order’.
They’re saying, as it were, that ‘our hegemony’
is contingent on the world seeing the western
‘way’ – as their vision for their future.
Enforcement of the ‘Liberal Order’ largely has
rested on the underpinning of an easy
readiness of ‘western allies’ to fall
into line, with Washington’s
instructions. It - therefore -
is difficult to overplay the
strategic significance
of any withering of
compliance to U.S.
diktat. This is the
‘why’ to the war
in Ukraine.
The U.S.’ crown and sceptre are slipping. The peril of
U.S. Treasury ‘N-bomb’ sanctions have been key to
induced ‘allied’ compliance. But now, Russia,
China and Iran have charted a clear path out
from this thorny thicket, through dollar-free
trading. The BRI initiative constitutes
Eurasia’s economic ‘high road’.
India, Saudi Arabia and Turkish inclusion (and now,
an expanded list of new members are waiting to be
signed up) give it an energy-based
strategic content.
Military deterrence.. has constituted the secondary
pillar to the architecture of compliance to western
models. But even that - though not gone - is
lessened. In essence, smart cruise-missiles,
drones, electronic warfare and – now –
hypersonic missiles, have capsized
the former paradigm. So too, has
the game-breaker event... of
Russia joining with Iran, as
a military force multiplier.
The U.S. Pentagon, even a few years ago, dismissed
hypersonic weapons as ‘boutique’ and a ‘gimmick’.
Wow – did they miscalculate on that one!
Both Iran and Russia, are at the forefront, in
complementary areas of military evolution.
Both, are in an existential fight. And both
peoples possess the inner resources to
sustain sacrifice from war. They will
lead. China will lead from behind.
Just to be clear: This Russo-Iranian link says: U.S.
‘deterrence’ in the Middle East itself now faces a
formidable deterrent! Israel too, will need to
ponder that.
The Russo-Iranian force-multiplier relationship, the
Jerusalem Post opines: “provides proof that the
two states … together – are better equipped to
make good on their respective ambitions – to
bring the West to its knees”.
To fully understand the anxiety lying behind The Post
opinion piece, we must first grasp that the geography
of the ‘shifting map’ towards a BRICS+ --- new
corridors, new pipelines, new waterway and
railway networks --- is but the outer
mercantilist layer to a nesting
Matryoshka doll. To unstack
to the inner doll layers is to
espy in the final innermost
Matryoshka – a layer of
kindled energy and
confidence latent
to the whole.
What is missing? Well, the fire that finally bakes the
New Order Z -‘dish’; the event that instantiates the
new World Order.
Netanyahu keeps threatening Iran. Even to Israeli ears
however his words seem stale and passé. The U.S.
does not want to be led by Netanyahu into war.
And without the U.S., Israel cannot act alone.
The recent MEK-led attempt to wreak havoc
in Iran, reeks somehow, of a ‘last
resort’ push.
Will the U.S. try some risky game-changer in Ukraine
to ‘take out’ Russia? It’s possible. Or might it try to
derail China somehow?
Is a Mega-clash inevitable? After all, what is in prospect is not the dominance of any one
civilization, but a return to the natural, old
order of non-universal realms of influence.
There is no reason in logic for a Western
boycott to try to explode the shift –
except one:
In any assimilation to what this future portends,
the collective West inexorably must become a
civilizational state per se – simply to maintain
an enduring presence in the world. But the
West has opted for a different route (as
Bruno Maçães, commentator & former
Portuguese Secretary of State for
European Affairs, writes):
“[The West] wanted its political values to be accepted
universally … In order to achieve this, a monumental
effort of abstraction and simplification was needed …
Properly speaking, it was not to be a civilization at
all but something closer to an operating system …
no more than an abstract framework within which
different cultural possibilities could be explored.
Western values were not to stand for one
particular ‘way of life’ against another —
they establish procedures, according to
which those big questions (how to live)
may later be decided”.
Today, as the West turns away from its own key
leitmotif – tolerance – and towards weird ‘cancel
culture’ abstractions, it becomes questionable
whether it can compete as a civilisational
state and maintain a presence. And if
it can’t?
A new order may come into being following one of two
events: The West may simply self-destruct, following
some systemic financial ‘breakage’, and the
consequent economic contraction. Or....
alternatively a Russian decisive victory
in Ukraine just may be enough finally
to ‘cook the dish’.
Wow... Mr Crooke certainly knows
how to serve up a fascinating dish.
What do you think?
____________________________________
Europe cannot agree on
what the price ceiling
on Russian oil and
gas should be
November 26th, 2:34pm
https://en.news-front.info/
How strange it is! EU diplomats said.... that most
European countries, led by France and Germany,
supported a price ceiling on Russian oil and gas.
They have not yet accepted it, but simply
because they cannot agree... on what
the ceiling should be.
The only thing they are concerned about is whether
they will be able to comply with it. It has to be
respected… They are not worried about EU
energy prices, cutting down trees, about
36 000 elderly people froze to death in
England last year --- because there wasn't enough money for high
temperatures in their
homes (this is not
propaganda, the
BBC has it).
Some in the EU are straightforwardly convinced that
we should make the ceiling no higher than $30 and
it will surely punish Russia, hurt it. Obviously, that is what individuals from the countries of limitrophs think – the Baltic states, plus Poland, but they are really discussing it with them.
Erdogan is starting to build a gas hub; Qatar sent them
and signed a long-term contract with China; Algeria is
asking to join BRICS; the U.S. says bluntly: sorry, we
will not have much gas. But stupidity is like
space – limitless.
These freaks in the European Parliament, in the
leadership of individual countries, the entire
European Commission, do not learn history,
and their knowledge is fragmentary. They
even have all sorts of Ph.D. degrees or
some J.D., but to explain to this Ph.D.
that regulating gas and oil prices...
is impossible.
The funny thing is, in the short term oil prices, for
example, will fall. They will fall, because there
will be a recession in the world, demand will
go down and prices will go down with it. And
then these idiots will decide -- why not limit
prices on everything and end inflation? For
Russian fertilizers, wheat, and then they
will decide to regulate the prices of not only Russian products…
And maybe we, as humanitarian aid, should unload
their stupid macroeconomics textbooks, with
which we have been brainwashed? By the
way, one of the authors, is economist
Jeffrey Sachs, ---once one of the 100
most influential people in the world,
who has now, incidentally, had an
epiphany and says that the US is
the main Mordor… Everything is
mixed up…
What do YOU think?
Are you mixed up too?
___________________________________
‘Is Washington Our Ally or Not?’:
EU Officials Accuse US
of Profiteering Off
Ukraine Crisis
November 25th, 6:41pm
(Sputnik)
The allegations come as temperatures across Europe
continue to drop, and amid the bombshell revelation
by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson this
week that the UK’s European allies recognized the
economic fallout which would accompany a long
Russia-Ukraine conflict, and sought its speedy
resolution in the spring.
European Union officials and diplomats have accused
Washington of profiteering off the Ukraine crisis via
energy and weapons sales -- and warned that the
mood is shifting against the US among its allies
on the other side of the Atlantic.
“The fact is, if you look at it soberly, the country that
is most profiting from this war is the US because
they are selling more gas, and at higher prices,
and because they are selling more weapons,”
one senior European official told a German-
owned media group --- on condition
of anonymity.
“We are really at a historic juncture…America needs
to realize that public opinion is shifting in many EU
countries,” the official added, warning --- that
skyrocketing energy costs & transatlantic
tensions over trade, risk fracturing the
Western bloc.
An unnamed US official dismissed these concerns,
assuring that American energy companies “have
been transparent & reliable suppliers of natural
gas to Europe,”that prices are set by market
considerations, and that resellers, not US
exporters, skim much of the profits off
energy deliveries destined for Europe.
European officials expressed similar concerns
regarding America’s profiteering from arms
sales, with one EU diplomat saying“the
money they are making, on weapons”
should help Washington realize: that
the profits they’re making from gas
deliveries may be “a bit too much”
...and that a discount for fuel to
Europe could “keep united..
our public opinion.”
“It’s not good, in terms of optics, to give the
impression... that your best ally is actually
making huge profits out of your troubles,”
the anonymous diplomat complained,
citing concerns in Brussels that
building up depleted weapons
stocks could take “years”
to achieve.
Another official complained about the Inflation
Reduction Act (IRA), a controversial law
passed in August, designed to curb
inflation and ramp up domestic
energy production and clean
energy, but which Brussels
has condemned.. for its
discrimination against
European goods ---- in
violation of WTO rules.
The IRA“changed everything”and has
prompted questions in Europe to the
effect of: “is Washington still our
ally or not?”the EU official said.
One French Foreign Ministry official complained
that the law amounts to....“discriminatory
subsidies that will distort competition.”
A US official assured... that the IRA was not aimed at
undermining European industry or competitiveness.
“This is not a zero-sum game,”the official said.
“The IRA will grow the pie for clean energy
investments, not split it.”
Open Acrimony
The exchange of anonymous comments... by officials
and diplomats to media comes against the backdrop
of harsh back-and-forth remarks by officials on both
sides of the Atlantic in public regarding the IRA and
energy, with French President, Emmanuel Macron..
leading the increasingly angry rhetoric.
“Their costs of energy are so much lower, as they are
producers. They sell their gas for 3-4 times less than
we have to pay, and they have also great subsidies
from the state in some areas, up to 90 percent.
That is unfair. These are double standards,”
Macron complained, in October.
“The United States produces cheap gas that they sell
to us at a high price, and on top of that, they have
taken massive state aid measures in certain
sectors that are completely outside our
market projects,”Macron expanded,
earlier this month.
Paris estimates that the IRA could cost France alone
up to eight billion euros in investments if companies
shift operations to the US to take advantage of
the subsidies.
Hundreds of European companies, including steel and
chemical manufacturers, carmakers, pharmaceutical
companies, and food producers have already shifted
operations to the US to take advantage of lower
energy costs and state incentives, threatening
the European Union with deindustrialization
and widespread job losses.
European officials appeared to have been cognizant of
the threat the Ukraine crisis posed to their economic
well-being, as far back as the spring, with Boris
Johnson revealing this week, that there were
“sound economic reasons” for Germany to
seek a swift Russia-Ukraine peace
agreement to prevent the crisis
from turning into a long,
drawn-out conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly
warned French, German... and other European
leaders of the folly of their anti-Russia policy,
characterizing EU sanctions on Russian
energy as“suicidal”and stressing that
the loss of cheap and dependable
Russian oil and gas - would strip
the bloc of its global economic
competitiveness.
Rhondda Records believes in
fighting for better leadership.
What do YOU believe in?
_________________________________
Journalist-Run, Intelligence-Linked
OperationThat WarpedBritish
Pandemic Policy by Kit Klarenberg
November 23rd, 2022
(Strategic Culture Foundation)
Presented as an independent voice for “unbiased”
scientific advice --- iSAGE provided a channel for
media spinmeisters, spies & psy-op specialists
to influence Britain’s pandemic policy without
accountability. Leaked internal emails show
members fretting over its unethical methods.
Throughout Britain’s response to the COVID-19 crisis,
a lobbying group... known as the Independent
Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies
(iSAGE) served as a key driving force
behind the government’s most
draconian lockdown policies.
While it presented itself..... as a non-governmental
organization composed of forward-thinking health
experts, The Grayzone can reveal iSAGE not only
maintains an array of ties to the British security
state, while relying largely on political, rather
than scientific, considerations when crafting
policy recommendations.
With Winter ahead in Europe and calls for the
reimposition of COVID-19 restrictions...
growing once again — not least from
iSAGE itself - the outfit’s endeavours
provide a disturbing look at the role
of the security state and the main-
stream media -- in corrupting
British public health policy.
Nearly three years since the world first heard of
COVID-19, societies across the globe, are still
reeling: from prolonged lockdowns and harsh
social restrictions which many governments
implemented in order to supposedly “stop
the spread” of the virus. Britain is no
exception, and while the full long-
term impact of such measures
remains unknown, some
grueling effects are
already painfully
apparent.
Patients receiving care for cancer, cardiovascular, and
respiratory disease were prevented from accessing
routine treatment; rates of clinical depression, and
mobile phone addiction among university students
skyrocketed; adults of all ages report worsening
mental health conditions; and the number of
Britons seeking help for drug addiction
increased by 81% between 2020
and 2021.
Meanwhile, school closures exposed Britain’s youth,
to food insecurity and increased likelihood of falling
victim to domestic abuse, while a rapid digitization
of education, further widened learning gaps
between wealthy and low-income
students in the country.
“We were mesmerized by the once-in-a-century scale
of the emergency -- and succeeded only in making a
crisis even worse. In short, we panicked,” lamented Professor Mark Woolhouse, an Edinburgh University epidemio- logist, inJanuary 2022.
As with many contemporary critics of the British
government’s initial “Zero COVID” strategy,
Woolhouse argued a targeted response to
protect the most vulnerable members of
society, such as the elderly, would have
done more to curb Britain’s death toll
than blanket, nationwide lockdowns.
“This was an epidemic crying out for a precision
public health approach and it got the opposite,”
he explained.
Behind some of the most socially destructive
pandemic policies implemented by the British
government was iSAGE, a shady organization
...founded by a Russia-obsessed Guardian
pundit, and advised by spies, behavioral
psychologists and media influencers,
without backgrounds in science
or medicine.
Founded in May 2020, by David King, a former chief
scientific adviser, to Labour Prime Ministers, Tony
Blair and Gordon Brown, iSAGE initially set out to
agitate for greater transparency around state
health policy, while providing “robust,
unbiased advice”... to the public and
government. It rapidly transformed
into a powerful, wholly unaccount-
able lobbying group, aggressively
pushing for “Zero COVID”
measures.
For almost two years, iSAGE members were a fixture
in both British and international media. Senior
politicians and pundits effusively endorsed
the group’s pronouncements... on the
pandemic, and its weekly YouTube
briefings, racked up tens of
thousands of views.
Its representatives used their popular platforms to call for extensive control and suppression
measures, including contact tracing, mass
testing, border quarantines, lockdowns,
and the implementation of mitigation
software... in order to stop the
transmission of COVID-19.
Confusion regarding iSAGE’s name, given its obvious
similarity to the British government’s official
Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies
(SAGE) --- only increased the group’s
prominence. Very quickly after its
launch, iSAGE began to not only
work in parallel with its govern-
ment namesake, but supplant it in the public mind.
Despite its enormous influence.... iSAGE and its
members have largely avoided public scrutiny.
Little is known about the forces guiding and
shaping its activities, or whether its
representatives.. are advancing an
ulterior agenda at odds with their
stated commitment to providing
“unbiased” scientific advice.
iSAGE pushes lockdowns “without sufficient
scientific expertise or scientific evidence
to inform it”
It was on iSAGE’s official launch date in May 2020 that
its founding objective... of securing publication of the
identities of SAGE, and its papers, was achieved.
Previously, the body’s composition, and the evidence
underpinning its decisions was entirely hidden from
public view - which stoked significant controversy,
particularly given its initial heel-dragging over the
implementation of protective COVID-19 measures.
Emboldened by this immediate success, former iSAGE
member, Allyson Pollock, claims the group “rapidly
moved away” from its initial transparency agenda
“to wanting to make policy” itself. Unknown to
the public at the time, iSAGE’s transformation
from government watchdog project into the
premier public health policy-making
activist group, prompted an
internal revolt.
“Often, [iSAGE] ended up advocating things... when it
hadn’t sufficiently thought through the uncertainties
in the evidence and the potential for harm,” Pollock,
who worked as a clinical professor of public health
at Newcastle University, alleges. She cites
“prolonged lockdowns, school closures,
and mass testing,” as examples
of iSAGE’s misguided
recommendations.
According to Pollock, the group offered policy advice
“sometimes without sufficient scientific expertise or
scientific evidence to inform it.” She expressed
vehement opposition when the group officially
adopted its “Zero COVID” position in July 2020,
believing it lacked any basis in science. Two
months later, the group declined to renew
her membership.
iSAGE’s push for Zero COVID appeared.. oddly timed,
and the group itself acknowledged total eradication
of a disease --- had only ever been achieved once in
history, in the case of smallpox. Britain was at that
point, beginning to reopen after a four-month lock-
down, in line with SAGE advice. In theory though,
as iSAGE was an entirely separate entity from
SAGE --- it was free to advocate for whatever
mitigation strategies it deemed appropriate.
In practice though, an overlap in the membership
of both bodies as well as their virtually identical
names, blurred lines between the two groups.
British government chief scientific advisor
Patrick Vallance claims he explicitly
warned iSAGE founder David King
against using any derivation of
“SAGE” for the title of his new
group, believing it would
puzzle and mislead
the public.
Despite apparently pledging to not emulate the name,
King did so anyway. The “Independent” prefix was
even more problematic, as it clearly implied that
SAGE was not a trustworthy, autonomous
organization.... while iSAGE issued
impartial, more credible advice,
by contrast.
iSAGE gathers influence by fueling confusion
As predicted, the two groups’ duplicate names
muddied the waters on public and government
messaging around COVID-19, leading to
numerous troubling -- if not outright
dangerous -- blunders on the part
of journalists, pundits, and
elected lawmakers alike.
SAGE member, Ian Boyd, claims such chaos was
intentional. In October 2021, he told The British
Medical Journal the 2 groups’ names “created
confusion... and was a device used by those
organising [iSAGE] to set up unnecessary
friction.” In the same article, another
academic, suggested iSAGE’s title
implied the body was “somehow
more authoritative than it
actually is.”
Public disorientation was compounded by the fact that
several members of SAGE also moonlighted as iSAGE
experts. Take the example of Susan Michie --- a left-
wing political activist and self-styled “behavioural
change” expert, who served with both iSAGE and
SAGE, advising the secretive governmental SPI-B
council of behavioral psychologists, that fear
-mongered the public into compliance with
official pandemic policy. Media reports on
Michie almost universally referred to her
simply as a “SAGE scientist,” creating
the impression that her comments
represented the British
government’s official
position.
Michie became a symbol of iSAGE’s advocacy for a
permanent biomedical security state. During a
June 2021 interview, she argued that social
distancing and mask mandates should
“continue forever.”
Susan Michie says we will need to wear masks and
socially distance from our fellow human beings ‘for
ever’. Remember she is a member of SAGE and
‘Independent’ SAGE. https://t.co/ewuzyvNozV
— Neil Clark (@NeilClark66) June 10, 2021
At no point did the mainstream British media
acknowledge that Michie’s background did
not necessarily qualify her to recommend
policy for a public health crisis. Rather, a clinical psychologist represented
precisely the type of character
who could be called upon to
manipulate the public into
accepting extreme
lockdowns.
Michie was not the only iSAGE representative that
news outlets presented as a “scientist” despite
an apparent lack of relevant credentials in
epidemiology, virology -- or public health
management. Another long-time media
favorite was... iSAGE mathematician
Christina Pagel, who was promoted
as a credible expert, despite her
routinely misreading and
misrepresenting data.
On the flip side, mainstream media wrongly
characterized members of iSAGE who were
not part of SAGE as representatives of the
latter on numerous occasions. Similarly,
the press erroneously presented iSAGE
recommendations as official SAGE
advice more than once.
In May 2020, Labour party deputy leader Angela
Rayner, mistakenly declared that SAGE had
warned against the planned June the 1st
reopening of schools as “too soon,”
implying the British government
was recklessly ''discounting''
recommendations from its
own in-house scientific
advisors. She was in
fact referring to a
report produced
by iSAGE ----
not SAGE.
Conversely, SAGE’s own research cautioned that
blanket school closures would result in children
experiencing “a shock to their education which
will persist and affect their educational and
work outcomes for the rest of their lives.”
It predicted that extended periods of home
learning would gravely deepen inequalities
between pupils, and leave early-stage
learning and behavioral disorders
undetected.
As scheduled, England began to reopen schools
in September 2020 ----- although they were shut
down once again that December. Independent
SAGE representatives then steadfastly
opposed mass reopenings in Spring
2021, and regularly criticised the
move for months thereafter.
In October that year, a United Nations report
concluded countless children worldwide had
been harshly impacted emotionally and
psychologically, by school closures,
leading to greatly increased “fear
and stress, anxiety, depression,
anger, irritability, inattention”
as well as “irregular physical
activity and sleep patterns.”
A total confirmation of SAGE’s
initial warnings --- against
blanket school closures.
The UN’s withering judgement may explain why iSAGE
representatives have since deleted social media
posts in which they aggressively advocated for
keeping children out of classrooms until COVID
-19 was completely eradicated. Still, some
evidence of their advocacy remains
extant today, including a July 2020
livestream on mask mandates ----
billed as a “public consultation.”
“I don’t believe schools should be opened until we’ve
approached Zero COVID. This is a big challenge,”
David King declared in that discussion. “It means,
over to the government, ‘please lock us down,
manage the disease, bring it right down to
roughly a level of one in a million people,’
and we’ll manage to open schools much more safely.”
Not-so-Independent SAGE riddled
with conflicts of interest
It was not until July 2021 the British media began
probing into the scientific collective with any
critical scrutiny. That month, The Daily
Telegraph revealed.. a shadowy outfit
called The Citizens was responsible
for establishing iSAGE.
The Citizens was itself led by Carole Cadwalladr, the
Russia-obsessed Guardian columnist who won a
series of high profile awards for reporting
claiming the data firm SCL-Cambridge
Analytica served as a channel ----- for
Russian meddling in the Brexit vote.
As Alex Rubinstein reported for The
Grayzone, Cadwalladr’s reporting
was comprehensively discredited
by a 2020 British parliamentary
report that found no evidence
whatsoever of Russian
involvement in Brexit.
Not the first time Facebook has had a fake
whistleblower! https://t.co/AvoRlHPtEQ
— Alex Rubinstein (@RealAlexRubi) October 6, 2021
In response to the revelation that The Citizens had
spawned iSAGE, Cadwalladr insisted The Citizens’
connection to the group had been publicly stated
on iSAGE’s website since its launch. Though her
claim was technically accurate, the link had
never been acknowledged in media
appearances by iSAGE members,
let alone by Cadwalladr herself.
What’s more, the relevant passage on iSAGE’s
website merely refers to The Citizens as a
“small support team, helping Independent
SAGE with its public events and
media activities.”
This characterization significantly downplays the
scale and nature of the relationship between The
Citizens and iSAGE. It was around the time of the
Telegraph exposé that Cadwalladr updated her
own Twitter profile to describe herself as a
“cofounder” of The Citizens, the “parent”
of iSAGE. Meanwhile, The Citizens’
Twitter characterizes itself as
iSAGE’s “founder and
producer.”
Official records of a June 2020 meeting of iSAGE’s
‘Behavioural Advisory Group’ show the organization
received significant direction and assistance from
another unacknowledged source. Zack King,
representative of PR firm Firstlight Group,
took a lead role in proceedings,
introducing “the work of
Independent SAGE to
date,” and leading a
dedicated discussion
on press relations.
Along the way, King stressed that he and Cadwalladr “handled press issues,” and iSAGE “can use both of them” if the organization’s behavioral scientists wanted to “involve” the media in its activities.
“Zack and Carole work together on press side. Most press relations are undertaken via Zack and his PR firm,” the minutes state.
In January the next year, a blog titled, “Holding the
government to account” was published on Firstl-
ight’s website, laying out the “ambitious media
plan” the company pursued in order to “build
the group’s profile as quickly as possible”
and “grow the group’s influence” upon
launch. The proposal called for 36
weekly media and public briefings
and “countless one-to-one inter-
views and bylines.”
Within six months, iSAGE was “agenda-setting,”
Firstlight boasted --- “and this publicity
empowered them --- to drive change,”
including its “Zero COVID” approach
“being adopted by parts of the Welsh,
Scottish & Northern Irish devolved
governments.” At no point was it
disclosed that Zack King is the
son of iSAGE chief David King,
a fact the former is keen
to conceal.
Leaked iSAGE communications reviewed by The
Grayzone, indicate Firstlight was rewarded
handsomely, for its media manipulation. In
late May 2020, when Cadwalladr proposed
starting a crowd-funder for the operation,
iSAGE member Allyson Pollock, said she was growing uneasy about the initiative. She was “extremely anxious” re seeking
such finance for a “short-term project,”
and proposed raising funds, via other
non-public means, even offering to
contribute to expenses herself.
Pollock’s concerns were extensive. There was no
clarity, on what the money was needed for “and
how much and how long and exactly who for,”
she complained, especially given that iSAGE
members were working pro bono. Further,
the group had collectively decided to
recruit resident academics with
stable incomes plus volunteers
living off guaranteed govern
-ment financial support.
“Everyone on the committee is in employment and
some of us are on very good salaries. So, should
we not be contributing if we need to, that would
be public spirited and in the spirit of what we are doing,” Pollock fretted. “The public are very hard pressed at the moment and I don’t feel at all comfortable crowdfunding.”
David King attempted to reassure Pollock that any
sums received would not be used to enrich iSAGE
members, but to instead cover invoices to the
PR firm, Firstlight. Remuneration for
“professional expertise” would be
solicited elsewhere, he promised.
Cadwalladr also weighed in, remarking that Pollock
“won’t be aware.. of the behind-the-scenes work
that has been involved... in getting the project
this far,” including “the unavoidable expense
involved particularly in handling the media.”
What services those costs would have
covered in the midst of a national
lockdown remains unclear.
That June, The Citizens launched a dedicated
crowdfunder for iSAGE which raised £60,000.
An accompanying blurb was vague on how
donations would be spent, merely stating
it would help the organisation yo “keep
following the science.” No mention
was made.. of bankrolling a wide-
ranging media blitz, courtesy of
the son of iSAGE’s founder.
The Citizens rakes in donations from
regime change cut-out Omidyar
The decision by iSage to launch a fundraising
campaign, while the British public suffered
widespread unemployment, hardship, and
financial uncertainty – and despite wholly
reasonable & legitimate internal dissent
is rendered all the more perverse, given
The Citizens has received hundreds of
thousands of dollars from Luminate.
As Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal documented in
an investigation with Alex Rubinstein, Luminate is
an integral component of intelligence-linked US
oligarch, Pierre Omidyar’s global propaganda
and regime change network.
The 2018-2022 strategic plan of @Pierre Omidyar’s
@luminategroup lists “counter[ing]” Russia and
China & “provid[ing] critical support” to groups
in “countries in transition” as top priorities.
That’s code for supplementing US regime
change operations. https://t.co/
AXFBhAduCR pic.twitter.com/
gwPmC9da2s
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal)
September 9, 2020
In 2020, Luminate gifted The Citizens $150,000 to
develop the “Real Facebook Oversight Board”,
and $300,000 ostensibly to produce “impact
journalism to hold government and big tech
to account.” Cadwalladr also claims... the
CIA-connected Ford Foundation provided
some support, although no record of the
donation is recorded on the
Foundation’s website.
A 2016 report on Omidyar Network activities in West
Africa underlines how the billionaire’s media assets
are used to further his commercial interests. One
passage refers to “converting passive readers to
active citizens” by sponsoring the publication of
“politically opportunistic” content, in order to
“motivate citizens and government to act.”
The report went on to cite “recent, major
successes” the billionaire’s network had
enjoyed in Nigeria, where Omidyar
effectively owns the local
tech sector.
“With the spectre of potential citizen mobilization
looming in politicians’ minds, media outlets also
have the potential to elicit government response
directly,” the report boasted. “In some cases…
government was motivated to act in order to
prevent citizen action [emphasis added],
instead of in response to it.”
Between March and July 2020, Omidyar’s personal
wealth grew by $9 billion, in no small part due to
the “Covid-proof” business interests he had
fostered around the globe. These included
expansive investments in ed-tech, digital
health & online content, which became
major growth industries.... due to
lockdown policies.
By contrast, it’s difficult to identify how The Citizens
put its lavish Luminate grants to work. Omidyar was
clearly happy with the results, however, giving the
organisation another $300,000 in 2021.
Today, the Real Facebook Oversight Board consists
of an infrequently updated Medium blog with 225
followers. There is no sign either of any “impact
journalism” from The Citizens, save for a long-
dormant Substack, and legal action against
the British government ...over its purported
failure to investigate Russian interference
in elections.
Despite their lavish Omidyar financing, Cadwalladr’s
group again turned to crowdfunding for that effort,
raising tens of thousands from the public before
its legal push was thrown out by a High Court
judge as the case was “inarguable.”
Discredited former MI6 agent Christopher Steele advises iSAGE
The Citizens’ website, which has been ''in construction”
for most of its existence, once featured a dedicated
profile of disgraced former MI6 spy and former FBI
contractor Christopher Steele. And The Citizens
founder Cadwalladr --- has been a fervent fan of the intelligence huckster, lionizing him despite
his ‘Trump-Russia’ dossier having been
comprehensively exposed as a fraud -
compiled with rumours and tall tales
fed to him by a single dubious
source --- for cash.
Orbis Director Christopher Steele.... moderated a
fascinating panel discussion following a special
screening of #TheGreatHack hosted by
@liviafirth and @firthcom. Thank you to
@carolecadwalla, @edwardlucas and
Mike Lerner @roastbeeftv for your
participation. pic.twitter.com/
ZQ49ZzG1rU
— Orbis Business Intelligence
(@OrbisBIOfficial) January
7th, 2020
In email exchanges with The Grayzone, Zack King,
the PR agent and son of iSAGE’s founder, initially
contended The Citizens “drew on a wide and
diverse collection of unpaid advisors before
it launched.” Christopher Steele was among
them, though according to King, he “never
played any active or other role” in The
Citizens or iSAGE.
Requests for details on the services Steele provided
for The Citizens before its public inauguration were
ignored. When asked why the group’s website
featured his profile... if he was no longer
involved in any capacity, King revealed
Steele was actually part of “a network
of pro-bono advisors we can call upon
as needed.” He therefore implied the former spook could provide
indeterminate support at any time, to The Citizens,
and perhaps iSage,
as well.
Steele’s intimate but mysterious involvement with an
influential outfit that shaped government policy and
public perceptions on COVID-19 is troubling, given
the power grab --- that British security and
intelligence services carried out, under
cover of pandemic prevention.
Britain’s security state merges with the public
health sector under cover of tracking Covid
In May 2020, the same month iSAGE was launched,
London rolled out an initiative called the Joint
Biosecurity Centre (JBC). The JBC... was
advertised as a state-of-the-art system
providing “evidence-based, objective
analysis to inform local and national
decision-making in response to
COVID19 outbreaks.”
Purportedly tracking the virus’ spread, in real-time, its
coronavirus “alert level” was directly modeled on the
Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre’s “traffic light”
system, established in 2003.
JBC was first led by Tom Hurd, a veteran intelligence
official who months earlier had been put forward as
the likely next MI6 chief. Hurd... soon returned to
running counter-terrorism for the Home Office,
however, and was replaced by senior GCHQ
operative Clare Gardiner. Her appointment
reportedly came at the behest of Cabinet
Secretary Simon Case, GCHQ’s former
Director of Strategy.
At the time, concerns were rising... about the growing
role of intelligence service personnel --- in managing
the pandemic - particularly given their abject failure
to sound any alarm on COVID-19 before it circulated
among the general public. But any resistance to the
integration of the security state with the public
health sector -- was comprehensively shunted
aside, when the British government replaced
Public Health England, with the Health
Security Agency, of which, the JBC
became a subdivision.
Despite the body’s enormous and constantly
expanding power, the opaque JBC, has
entirely eluded scrutiny from British
media since its launch.
Its membership, the minutes of its meetings, data,
analysis, and arguments, all remain a secret,
while it maintains the power -- to impose
restrictions if not outright lockdowns
-- without explanation or warning
at any time.
In October 2020, as Britain edged towards a second
national shutdown, parliamentarians demanded the
publication of JBC’s deliberations, evidence
sources, and key personnel be published.
On each point -- they were shut down by
the government. In justifying its refusal
to disclose members’ identities,
Downing Street... claimed the
Centre is “largely staffed by
civil servants,” meaning it
was “not appropriate” to
name them.
Given that the veteran GCHQ spy Clare Gardiner was
merely referred to as a “senior civil servant”.. in an
official press release announcing her appointment
to lead JBC, the question must be asked: is the
centre “largely staffed” by intelligence
operatives?
Gardiner left her post in mid-June 2021 without any
official announcement, and the position has been
vacant ever since. At least, no replacement has
been publicly mentioned, and no one has asked
officials for clarity. Given the enormous clout
exerted by the body to this day it's staggering
that not one single journalist or campaigner
...has demanded answers.
Indeed, contrary to their professed, principled
commitment to scientific transparency, and
their initial calls to break the wall of official
silence surrounding the British government’s
scientific advisory group’s composition, and
thinking, iSAGE and The Citizens have made
no attempt to pressure the government to
release any information on the JBC or
Health Security Agency.
As we will see in further installments in this
investigation, leaked emails absolutely
debunk the stated commitment by
iSAGE and The Citizens to
“following the science.”
thegrayzone.com
The views of individual contributors do not
necessarily represent those of the
Strategic Culture Foundation.
[or Rhondda Records]
Murky, eh? What
....do YOU think?
_____________________________________
Raids at Kiev-Pechersk Lavra
point toKiev regime’s moral
degradation — HRC
November 22nd, 5:47pm (TASS)
Conducting raids at Kiev-Pechersk Lavra monastery, indicates a complete moral degradation of the Kiev regime, according to the head of the permanent committee on international cooperation in the
sphere of human rights of the Presidential
Council for the Development of Civil
Society and Human Rights,
Kirill Vyshinsky.
"The image of the Lavra as a pillar of spirituality.. has
always been a beacon for people during the hardest
times. And when it is being brazenly dragged into
politics, and pummeled with absurd accusations,
this testifies to a complete moral degradation of
the Kiev regime. It is clear that the SBU would
not have dared to do so without a
presidential order," he said, as
quoted by the HRC press
service on Tuesday.
Vyshinsky added that Ukrainian nationalists have
always wanted to take possession of the Kiev-
Pechersk Lavra. According to him, slogans to
take over the oldest monastery were voiced
during the Maidan events in 2004 and 2014.
"Yet I will reiterate that there have always been the
devout who defended the Lavra from adversaries.
I hope to God, there will be some now as well,"
he added.
Earlier, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU),
confirmed it was conducting searches at the
Kiev-Pechersk Lavra; explaining them by the
need to protect residents from provocations
and terror attacks. On November 13th, the
SBU opened a criminal case over chants
about Russia being performed at one of
the churches of the Kiev-Pechersk
Lavra of the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church.
The SBU also reported that its members were
inspecting the premises of two Ukrainian
Orthodox monasteries, in Rovno region.
What do you think? Moral degredation or much ado...?
_____________________________________
The West is preparing
an invasion of Belarus
November 20th, 9:19am
https://en.news-front.info/
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya publicly declares that her
victory in the presidential election in Belarus, was
stolen by Alexander Lukashenko & Vladimir Putin.
Authorities have been talking about possible foreign
invasion of Belarus since 2020. Today, the threat of
intervention has begun to take real shape. A not
inconsiderable role is being played here by the
fugitive Belarusian opposition.
By now, it is not only about the incessant military
exercises of the NATO countries near the borders
of Belarus and Russia. Poland --- and the Baltic
states have already started to form a bridge-
head for a future intervention.
This is evidenced... by the modernization of Polish and
Baltic airfields, the reconstruction of training centres
and firing ranges, and the increases in the number of
armed forces stationed near the Belarusian border.
Poland is planning to increase its army to 300 000 men
and arm it with 1 500 modern tanks and BMPs, 1 200
mobile artillery units and several thousands of light
armoured vehicles. Tanks, helicopters and HIMARS
are to be bought from the United States, and
howitzers and artillery rockets from
South Korea.
It is planned to expand the presence of US troops on
the borders of Poland with Belarus, primarily the
101st Airborne Division, which can become
the strike fist of the invasion.
However, it is impossible to organise an intervention
without a political and ideological justification. This
is what a runaway Belarusian opposition... is
needed for.
First, we are talking about Svetlana Tikhanovskaya
and her entourage. Over the last month the fugitive
opposition activist made several trips to European
countries where she was welcomed on an official
level. In early November, Tikhanovskaya went to
Strasbourg for the first meeting of the contact
group of the Belarusian opposition and the
Council of Europe (CoE).
After that, she was welcomed in Iceland, which now
chairs the Council of Europe and will preside over
the Nordic Council from 2023. In Reykjavik,
Tihanovska was met by the Prime Minister,
the head of the Foreign Ministry and
members of parliament. The hosts
heard from the guest a request for
assistance in raising her inter-
national status.
In particular, she suggested initiating “the launch of
projects to support civil society & prepare reforms
within the framework of the Contact Group under
the Council of Europe”, inviting “representatives
of Belarusian political organizations and parties
to PACE as observers”, “to initiate an
investigation of the Lukashenko
regime crimes in international
institutions in one of three
areas: crimes against
humanity, aiding... to
military aggression,
migration crisis”.
On 14 November, Tikhanovska spoke to the EU foreign
ministers on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council
of the European Union for Foreign Affairs. There she
demanded to “put Belarus back on the agenda”,
“institutionalise relations with democratic forces
in the European Parliament following the
example of the Council of Europe”, and
“support Belarusian activists,
volunteers and volunteers
in Ukraine”.
Two days later, Tikhanovska could be
seen in Prague, where she met with
representatives of the
Czech parliament.
The crowning feature of Tikhanovska’s ideological
work was her article in Politico “I am the elected
president of Belarus, and together we will win”.
In it Tihanovskaya proclaimed herself
“president”, claiming that her victory
had been stolen ---- by Alexander
Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin.
She accused the Russian president of sending
“propagandists to Belarus and preparing
forces for an invasion”, securing from
the Belarusian leader “support for
armed aggression against
Ukraine”.
The purpose of Tikhanovska’s surge is to justify a
Western invasion of Belarus. The rhetoric of the
Belarusian opposition has increasingly referred
to the “occupation” of the republic by Russia
and the need for Western support for the
“national liberation movement”.
Representatives of the Kiev regime have already
addressed international institutions with a
proposal to declare Belarus an “occupied”
territory. All this resonates in the EU.
Thus, at the beginning of November, a member of the
Polish Sejm Pawel Kowal stated that Brussels and
Washington should “recognize Tihanowska as the
president of Belarus, recognize her government,
recognize them as members of the anti-Putin
coalition”, unless Lukashenko refuses to
support Russia.
In parallel, work is underway to destabilise the
situation in the republic -- under the Peramoha
(Victory) plan. According to Franak Viachorko,
advisor to Tihanova, “guerrillas” are already
operating in Belarus and the plan itself has
been restructured - “to fight the Russian
occupiers”. According to him, there is
a large “underground” in the republic,
structures are being prepared and
“at the right moment”, will be
mobilized for a coup, and
tens of thousands... of
“volunteers”, transmit
information about the
movement of the
Belarusian and
Russian military.
According to Sergei Terebov, first deputy chairman
of the Belarusian State Security Committee, the
opposition ''has one goal: to delegitimize the
incumbent authorities and justify terrorist
acts and sabotage.''
Among the main activities of Lukashenko’s opponents
in the coming winter, the KGB calls the work in the
''student and teaching environment.'' It is known
that the administrations of some Telegram
channels set tasks to their subscribers
''to equip hiding places... for tools,
construction, and other special
equipment, that can be used
in riots and for subversive
purposes.''
Meanwhile, the fugitive opposition, which previously
denied any such allegations, is now making no
secret of the fact that it is preparing the
ground for an armed coup.
According to the “joint transition office” of
Tikhanovska, their nearest plans include
“the establishment of cooperation with
the units of the Belarusian volunteers
in Ukraine,” “raising the capacity of
power units to the level necessary
to perform key tasks” --- and ''the
establishment of stable working
relations, with the Ukrainian
state authorities --- with the
aim of jointly counteracting
the Russian aggression and
de-occupation of Belarus.''
The main intention is to create a situation in the
country that would allow the West to declare
the need for a “peacekeeping” or “de-
occupation” mission in the republic.
Groups of trained fighters, such as the “Kastus
Kalinovsky regiment”, will be used as the first
wave to cover a full-scale invasion of Belarus.
Minsk cannot fail to understand this. This means
that the Belarusian authorities will strengthen
their control over the situation as soon as
possible, and the regional grouping of the
Union State forces will be increased and
re-equipped with modern weapons.
Igor Novitsky, FSC
Scaremongering?
Yellow journalism?
Or a warning to stop.
What do you think?
___________________________________
Borrell’s ideasinstilled inside EU
provoking Europe’s prolonged
split — Russian diplomat
November 19th, 10am (TASS)
The ideas that EU top diplomat Josep Borrell disseminates among member states of the
European Union show no sign of the bloc’s
strategic vision on the Russian track and
provoke a new prolonged split in Europe,
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman
Maria Zakharova said in a commentary
on Saturday.
"Unfortunately, the ideas that EU top diplomat Borrell
spreads among member states of the European
Union do not contain, as before, any hint at the
EU’s strategic vision on the Russian track and
only provoke Europe’s new prolonged split.''
''They offer no recipes for resolving accumulated problems, as if Russia and the European Union
as geographical and civilizational neighbours
can get away from each other," the diplomat
said, commenting on Borrell’s six-point
proposals on the EU’s common
approaches to relations with
Russia... amid the
Ukraine crisis.
Hence the conclusion: that the goal of the current
EU leaders, is to be quick to give a reasonable explanation to the attempts at bringing the
relations with Russia to the state of
political confrontation, depriving
them of their common history
and their economic base,
Zakharova pointed out.
"There can be seen the desire... to limit the
opportunities for future politicians to find
a way out of this profound crisis. Beyond
any doubt --- most of European society
shows the need for quite the opposite
in the current conditions," the
spokeswoman said.
Borrell - apparently - does not abandon the desire:
to write his name into world and European history
with dubious initiatives, the diplomat pointed out.
"However, the Spaniard has, so far, distinguished
himself ---- as the EU’s most confrontational high-
level official for all time who will be remembered
for his belligerent calls for ‘the war must be won
on the battlefield’ and racist pronouncements
about the ‘European garden’ and ‘the jungle’
besetting Europeans," the spokes-
woman recalled.
It is still early to talk about the results of the
discussions within the EU on the bloc’s
relations with Russia --- as these
discussions continue --- but
Moscow has no illusions
on this score ------ the
diplomat stressed.
Six-point proposal
Commenting on the essence of Borrell’s six-point proposal, the Russian diplomat said this was evidence that the Ukraine problem with the 2014 state coup inspired by the West --- had been artificially created as an ideological cover-up for the political, economic,
technological and humanitarian containment of Russia to ensure the West’s hegemony in Europe and the world as a whole.
"This is why, there is not a word in J. Borrell’s
proposals on settling the Ukraine crisis
through negotiations and, generally,
on ensuring security in Europe,"
Zakharova pointed out.
Brussels has staked on "destabilizing" the internal
political situation in Russia, cleansing the EU’s
information space from alternative viewpoints,
securing the Western Balkans as the sphere
of the EU’s influence, transferring rivalry
with Moscow to the post-Soviet space,
imposing West-centric "rules" and
"isolating" Russia, the diplomat
pointed out.
"The latter... is the obsessive idea, that has become a
real goal in itself for the EU - a futile intent that bears
solely costs for European Union countries and their
citizens ---- who have to pay for their politicians’
strategic blunders from their own pocket,"
Zakharova added.
"Indicatively most world capitals are unready to follow
the EU’s Brussels - which, by its mediaeval logic - returns the world.. to the time of the split, high
walls and besieged fortresses. Using present
day terminology, it can be said that the EU
leadership that has - apparently - been
infected by some abnormal political
virus... has decided to self-isolate
from Russia," the spokeswoman
went on to say.
Moscow believes that the practical relevance of
the results of intra-EU discussions will largely
depend on accepting new realities.. "on the
ground" and the awareness of the need to
build security on the common European
continent together with Russia, as the
option that has no alternative, the
ability of European capitals.. to
protect --- relying on their own
sovereignty --- the interests of
their citizens... and the EU as
a whole, "without turning into
the secondary instrument of
the geopolitical expansion
of the United States and
NATO," the Russian
diplomat stressed.
What do you think?
If Russia is strong
and good, why are
we being told that
it's evil and weak?
____________________________________________
The U.S. has started talking about
rights to some Russian territories
November the 11th, 10:11am
https://en.news-front.info/
The US has recalled its claims to part of Chukotka,
Yakutia and Kamchatka. However, these claims
show that the Russian-American convention on
the cession of Alaska was invalidated in 1881.
The Wall Street Journal in New York has published
another provocative piece. It urged the Biden
administration to “return” the Wrangel and
Herald islands, which supposedly, since
1881 “belong” to the United States,
and since 1924 are “held”
by Russia.
Note: The Wall Street Journal is a “business”
publication that specializes in information
provocations. The purpose of these
provocations is to attract attention
and engage in discussion.
Therefore, there is no point
in parsing the publication.
Another thing ---- our citizens
should remember some facts.
Wrangel Island is a large island in the Arctic Ocean,
named after the 19th century Russian navigator
Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel. It is located
north of the coast of Chukotka and is
administratively part of the Chukchi
Autonomous District of Russia. To
the east, the tiny Russian island
of Geralda adjoins it.
The existence of Wrangel Island was known to
Russian navigators long before there was a US
of A. It was first mapped by Russian explorer,
Ivan Lvov. This happened no later than 1707.
Later, Mikhail Lomonosov recorded the island’s name,
Doubtful, on a map. The first documented description
of Doubtful was left by “geodesy sergeant” Stepan
Andreev. In 1764, he observed it from a distance
of 20 versts. Andreev called the island the Land
of Tykegen. According to the ‘Siberian Herald’
of 1823, even at that time the land of Tikene
had a permanent population of Russians
and ‘natives’.
At that time, the internationally recognised eastern
borders of the Russian Empire extended to the
territory of present-day Canada. Thus, the
Land of Tikene (Doubtful) was within the
territorial waters of Russia and
belonged to it.
In 1867 the Russian Empire signed a convention with
the US, ceding Alaska. Russian America was ceded
to the States. According to the convention, the new
state border between the two countries was drawn
on the middle line between Ratmanov and
Krusenstern islands.
Both were situated opposite each other in the Bering
Strait: one east of Chukotka, the other, west of
Alaska. To the north, the boundary was drawn
from the midpoint between Ratmanov and
Kruzenshtern islands in a straight line to
the North Pole. Thus the Wrangel and
Herald Islands, remained under
Russian jurisdiction.
However, as early as 1881, the States broke this
agreement. An expedition of the American
explorer George De Long landed on
Henrietta Island and declared it,
as well as neighbouring Bennett,
as US territory. The Americans
planted their flag on Henrietta.
Both islands are west of Wrangel Island. They are
located north of the coast of Yakutia and are
part of the Novosibirsk group of islands,
which are now administratively part of
the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Soon the De Long expedition suffered a catastrophe.
It was then rescued by the American steam cutter
Thomas Corwin. Passing by the Wrangel and
Herald Islands, Captain Calvin Hooper
landed a search party. But instead of
searching for traces of De Long’s
stay, the Americans declared the
islands… US territory.
Hooper’s subordinates did not search for any more
of their compatriots. The members of De Long’s
expedition... died of hunger and cold. Their
remains were later found by the Russians
and handed over to the States.
The violations of the 1867 convention
did not stop there.
In 1921, at the height of the Russian Civil War,
an expedition by anthropologist Wiljalmur
Stefansson landed on Wrangel Island.
The US citizen raised Canadian and British
flags before declaring the local territory
the possession of the United Kingdom.
At the same time, reindeer herder Carl Loman
landed on neighbouring Herald Island and
declared the local territory “possession
of the United States”. The invaders
were not expelled until 1924, when
the gunboat “Krasny Oktyabr”
arrived on the islands and
planted the Soviet
flag there.
In order to prevent new provocations once and for
all the Soviet government in 1926 officially
reminded all countries of its jurisdiction
over Wrangel and Herald islands.
It should be added that after the collapse of the USSR,
the US again violated the 1867 convention. In the
1990s, the parliaments of the states of Alaska
and California demanded that the U.S.
government “return” Wrangel, Herald,
Bennett, Henrietta and Medny from
the Commander Islands...
(Kamchatka) to the US.
All these territories, according to the 1867
convention, were under Russian jurisdiction.
Now the Americans have completely lost their way.
They have gone so far as to make fun of those who
have exercised their will. In particular, they refer
to the fact that they deceived Mikhail Gorbachev
when they were discussing the Beringia project.
The Beringia Project is a project to create an
international biosphere park comprising the
Seward Peninsula (Alaska, USA), the Bering
Strait and Chukotka, together with Wrangel
and Herald Islands. The initiative was
proposed in 1990 by George Bush Sr.
and Mikhail Gorbachev.
The project provided for the creation of a demilitarized
zone on the territory of Chukotka and its adjacent
islands. The “park” was to be managed jointly.
That is why even at the time when Beringia
was being discussed, in the USSR, there
were fears that under the guise of
creating a “park”, the US wanted
to establish a Russian-American
condominium over Chukotka.
At the time, the US government gave “guarantees”
of the inviolability of Russian borders. Now the
Wall Street Journal says that at the time the
“guarantees” were given, reservations
were made ------ that render the
“guarantees” meaningless.
It is yet another lesson for those who expect ever
to negotiate with the West. Any agreement with
the West is not worth the paper it is signed on.
The Anglo-Saxons understand only one
language – the language of force.
One last thing. The Frontier Clause was an integral
part of the Russian-American Convention on the
Cession of Alaska. It was violated in 1881.
Since then, the 1867 convention
has been null and void.
Yuri Gorodnenko, RenTV
Wow... so... at one time,
Russia owned Canada!
Do you know better?
_______________________
Berlin Goes to Beijing:
The Real Deal
by Pepe Escobar
November 4th, 2022
(Strategic Culture Foundation)
The Scholz caravan went to Beijing to lay down the
preparatory steps... for working out a peace deal
with Russia, with China as privileged messenger.
With his inimitable flair for economic analysis steeped
in historical depth, Professor Michael Hudson’s latest
essay, originally written for a German audience,
presents a stunning parallel, between the
Crusades and the current “rules-based
international order” imposed by
the Hegemon.
Professor Hudson details how the Papacy in Rome
managed to lock up unipolar control over secular
realms (rings a bell?) when the game was all
about Papal precedence over kings, above
all the German Holy Roman Emperors.
As we know, half in jest, the Empire
was not exactly Holy, nor German
(perhaps a little Roman), and not
even an Empire.
A clause in the Papal Dictates provided the Pope with
the authority to excommunicate whomever was “not
at peace with the Roman Church.” Hudson sharply
notes, how US sanctions are the modern
equivalent of excommunication.
Arguably there are Top Two
dates in the whole process.
The first one would be the Third Ecumenical Council
of 435: this is when only Rome (italics mine) was
attributed universal authority (italics mine).
Alexandria and Antioch, for instance, were
limited to regional authority within the
Roman Empire.
The other top date is 1054 – when Rome and
Constantinople split for good. That is, the
Roman Catholic Church split from
Orthodoxy, which leads us to
Russia, and Moscow as The
Third Rome ------ and the
centuries-old animosity
of “the West” against
Russia.
A State of Martial Law
Professor Hudson then delves on the trip by “Liver
Sausage” Chancellor Scholz’s delegation to China
this week to “demand that it dismantle its public
sector and stops subsidizing its economy, or
else Germany and Europe will impose
sanctions on trade with China.”
Well, in fact this happens to be just childish wishful
thinking -- expressed by the German Council on
Foreign Relations in a piece published on the
Financial Times (the Japanese-owned
platform in the City of London).
The Council, as correctly described by Hudson,
is “the neoliberal ‘libertarian’ arm of NATO:
demanding German de-industrialization
and dependency” on the US.
So the FT -- predictably -- is
printing NATO wet dreams.
Context is essential. German Federal President
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in a keynote speech
at Bellevue Castle, has all but admitted that
Berlin is broke: “An era of headwinds is
beginning for Germany – difficult,
difficult years are coming for us.
Germany... is in the deepest
crisis since reunification.”
Yet schizophrenia, once again, reigns supreme,
as Steinmeier, after a ridiculous stunt in Kiev – complete with posing as a unwitting actor
huddled in a bunker – announced an
extra handout: two more MARS
multiple rocket launchers and
four ''Panzerhaubitze 2000''
howitzers to be delivered
to the Ukrainians.
So even if the “world” economy – actually the EU – is
so fragilized that member-states cannot help Kiev
anymore without harming their own populations,
and the EU is on the verge of a catastrophic
energy crisis, fighting for “our values” in
Country 404 ---- trumps it all.
The Big Picture context, is also key. Andrea Zhok,
Professor of Ethical Philosophy at the University
of Milan, has taken Giorgio Agamben’s “State of Exception” concept to new heights.
Zhok proposes that the zombified collective West is
now... completely subjugated to a “State of Martial
Law” – where a Forever War ethos is the ultimate
priority for rarified global elites.
Every other variable – from trans-humanism to
depopulation -- and even cancel culture -- is
subordinated to the State of Martial Law,
and is basically inessential. The only
thing that matters, is exercising
absolute, raw control.
Berlin –Moscow –Beijing
Solid German business sources completely contradict
the “message” delivered by the German Council on
Foreign Relations on the trip to China.
According to these sources, the Scholz caravan went
to Beijing --- to essentially lay down the preparatory
steps for working out a peace deal with Russia,
with China as privileged messenger.
This is – literally – as explosive, geopolitically and
geoeconomically, as it gets. As I pointed out in
one of my previous columns, Berlin and
Moscow were keeping a secret
communication back channel
– via business interlocutors –
right to the minute the usual
suspects, in desperation,
decided to blow up the
Nord Streams.
Cue to the now notorious SMS from Liz Truss’s
iPhone to Little Tony Blinken, one minute
after the explosions: “It’s done.”
There’s more: the Scholz caravan may be trying to
start a long and convoluted process of eventually
replacing the US with China, as a key ally. One
should never forget that the top BRI trade/
connectivity terminal in the EU, is
Germany (the Ruhr valley).
According to one of the sources, “if this effort is
successful, then Germany, China and Russia,
can ally themselves together and drive the
US out of Europe.”
Another source provided the cherry on the cake: “Olaf
Scholz is being accompanied on this trip, by German
industrialists who actually control Germany and are
not going to sit back...... watching themselves
being destroyed.”
Moscow knows very well what the imperial aim is
when it comes to the EU.... reduced to the role of
totally dominated - and deindustrialized - vassal,
exercising zero sovereignty. The back channels,
after all, are not lying in tatters on the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Additionally, China has not
provided any hint... that its massive trade
with Germany and the EU, is about
to vanish.
Scholz himself, one day before his caravan hit Beijing,
stressed to Chinese media --- that Germany has no
intention of decoupling from China, and there’s
nothing to justify “the calls by some to isolate China.”
In parallel, Xi Jinping and the new Politburo are very
much aware of the Kremlin position, reiterated
again and again: we always.. remain open for
negotiations.. as long as Washington finally
decides to talk about the end of unlimited
NATO expansion.... drenched
in Russophobia.
So, to negotiate, means the Empire signing on the
dotted line of the document it has received from
Moscow on December 1st, 2021, focused on
“indivisibility of security”. Otherwise,
there’s nothing to negotiate.
And when we have Pentagon lobbyist Lloyd
“Raytheon” Austin advising the Ukrainians
on the record to advance on Kherson, it’s
even more crystal clear - there’s nothing
to negotiate.
So could this all be the foundation stone of
the Berlin-Moscow-Beijing trans-Eurasia
geopolitical/geoeconomic corridor?
That will mean Bye Bye Empire.
Once again: it ain’t over - till the
fat lady goes Gotterdammerung.
What about that, then! Stranger things have occurred - what do YOU think?
________________________________________
US rapidly losing
supporters in
Islamic world
October 18th, 8:28am
https://en.news-front.info/
Just last Monday, Joe Biden signed a new US National
Security Strategy in which he named Russia and
China as major threats to which America will
respond, by strengthening its alliances and
partnerships around the world. And after
just two days, the US president has
made notable progress on this
important issue.
Speaking in California at a meeting with local
Democratic Party activists, Biden said he
had spent more than 225 hours in direct
consultation with leaders of other NATO
allies and EU members. So much effort
had to be expended, he said, “just to
keep the coalition of countries
together” on issues of support
for Ukraine.
Clearly --- rallying against the “Russian threat” requires a
lot of effort -- the cost to Europe (and not just financially)
of breaking with Russia is too high. It has to be stressed all the time that the Russians are threatening everyone with a nuclear bomb --- exacerbating already growing tensions.
Biden has been talking recently about Putin’s possible
use of nuclear weapons, while there are persistent
bogeymen.. about Iran’s nuclear programme (the
deal to control it is now off the table) ...and the
DPRK is expected to resume its nuclear tests.
More generally, the prospect of a nuclear threat never
left Biden in California – and he blurted out, “I think
that Pakistan may be one of the most dangerous
nations in the world. Nuclear weapons
without any cohesion.”
The phrase itself was a political nuclear explosion: the
head of a superpower declaring that the world’s fifth
most populous and sixth most nuclear-capable
country poses a threat to peace! Moreover,
Pakistan is the only Muslim country that
possesses nuclear weapons, and other
Islamic countries treat Pakistan’s
nuclear bomb as an Islamic
patrimony.
While Pakistan’s very emergence of nuclear weapons
was a response to India’s related programme. In the
1960s, before the bomb was made, Zulfikar Bhutto
stated it was wrong that Christians, Buddhists,
Jews and soon to be Hindus had atomic
weapons, while Muslims did not have
them. As a result, by the end of the
twentieth century, Pakistan gained
its own nuclear weapons, despite
all the displeasure from the West.
And now the US is calling it one of the most dangerous
countries in the world – that is, putting it on a par with
“terrible” Russia and hostile North Korea?
Islamabad was, to put it mildly, very surprised by the
American president’s words – Prime Minister
Shehbaz Sharif said his country was a
“responsible nuclear state”:
“We are proud that our nuclear assets have the best
safeguards as required by the IAEA. We take these
safeguards seriously. Let there be no one in any
doubt about this.
The US ambassador was summoned to the Foreign
Ministry, where he was formally protested to, and
Washington immediately tried to keep things quiet.
“The US is confident in Pakistan’s resolve to protect
nuclear assets,” the State Department said... and
Biden’s spokeswoman said the president “views
a safe and prosperous Pakistan as critical to
US interests.”
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari (grandson of
Bhutto, the man behind the nuclear project) said,
“Let`s consider this a misunderstanding arising
from a misunderstanding of our regional
problems,” but the residual effect was
devastating.
Yes, Pakistan’s situation is not only complicated
externally, but also internally – especially in the
last 6 months, after Prime Minister Imran Khan
was ousted. Who has bluntly accused the US
of both plotting against him and seeking to
subjugate Pakistan – and is now fighting
to regain power by demanding snap
elections. Either way, Imran Khan
has a good chance of returning
to power --- sooner or later.
But inter-clan and political infighting is commonplace
in Pakistan, and this in itself could not justify such
an alarmist statement by Biden. The more so
because only the day before General Qamar
Bajwa, the strongest man in the Islamic
Republic and the head of the army that
controls not only nuclear weapons but
also the state itself (Pakistan’s army
has a key influence on power and
political processes), had been
received in Washington.
What, then, is the reason for Biden’s surprise
statement? There is no way that one can
put it down to age-related problems, as
Biden sometimes forgets and speaks
out loud about things that are not
meant for public discourse. It is
very serious, so there must be
some clear reason.
And there it is: the United States realises that it
is losing the Islamic world. Yes, not individual
countries, but the Islamic world as such.
This has been evident for a long time,
but this year the process has come
to the surface.
Problems with Turkey (escalating after the failed coup
attempt in 2016), tensions with Saudi Arabia (which
last week escalated to the point of promising
consequences and intending to review
relations with it), misunderstandings
with Pakistan. And these three
countries are not just ordinary
Islamic countries; they are
three key states in the
Muslim world ------- of a
billion & a half people.
Turkey is a member of NATO; Saudi Arabia is the leader
of the Arab world and the richest Islamic country;
Pakistan is the only nuclear weapon state and
the second most populous. Although relations
within the Ankara-Riyadh-Islamabad triangle
are not always smooth (there is rivalry
between Erdogan and the Saudis, but
Pakistan has close ties with both
countries), the simultaneous
deterioration of atmosphere
with all three is absolutely
disadvantageous to the
Americans. However,
that is exactly what
is happening.
Not because the “collective Biden” is doing it
deliberately; they are just nervous to find
that not only the initiative, but also control
of the geopolitical game is slipping out of
their hands. Although they pay lip service
to the fact that we have rallied the world
against “aggressive” Russia and are
ready to fight back against
revisionist China, in reality
the situation is exactly
the opposite.
From the start of our special operation, the Islamic
world refused to side with the West – as did key
Muslim countries (and Pakistani Prime Minister
Imran Khan was, by sheer coincidence, in the
Kremlin just on February 24th). The longer it
goes on, the more noticeable it has become,
and the recent OPEC+ decision to cut oil
production (despite US requests) was
only confirmation of this.
And Pakistan, formerly one of the closest military
partners of the United States (it was from its
territory that they waged war against the
USSR in Afghanistan) -- has been looking
more and more intently towards Moscow
in recent years.
The growth of the closest Pakistani-Chinese ties has
not helped the Americans to maintain their position
either. The inglorious end of the American
occupation of Afghanistan strengthened
the mood in Pakistan for a turn away
from the Anglo-Saxons.
Of course, the US and UK positions in Pakistan are still
very strong, especially in the same Pakistani army.
But the generals are well aware of how things are
changing – not only in the region, but also in the
world. Now Russia is selling arms to Pakistan
(as a response to increase of US shipments
to our main partner India), now Pakistan is
a member of Russia-China SCO (together
with India), and the project of building
Pakistani Stream gas pipeline (going
from southern ports to the north of
the country) is getting closer to
realization.
And the issue of pipelines from Russia via Central Asia
to Pakistan will be solved sooner or later as soon as
joint efforts are made to establish peaceful life in
Afghanistan (and this will require inter alia cutting
off the possibility for Anglo-Saxons to provoke the
inner-Afghan contradictions). In other words,
Pakistan has the most serious arguments in
favor of rapprochement with Russia, as do
quite a large part of the Islamic world.
Therefore, despite the change of power in Islamabad,
Putin has met with Pakistani prime ministers three
times this year: in addition to meeting with Imran
Khan in Moscow in February, he met with
Shehbaz Sharif twice in the past month
(a separate meeting in Samarkand in
September, and later they
communicated on the
sidelines of the
Astana Summit).
That is, Pakistan’s interest in Russia does not depend
on domestic politics – and the two nuclear powers
have common interests and projects.
Not to mention the fact that the Americans call both
of our countries “the most dangerous countries in
the world”: in the current conditions of global
transformation it sounds like a compliment
from the mouth of the US to the rest of the
world. Because everyone understands
what they really mean – ‘dangerous to
the world’ in the American way.
Peter Akopov, RIA
What do YOU think?
Kadirov will LOVE it!
__________________________________
US scared of armageddon
October 14th, 8:53am
https://en.news-front.info/
“Armageddon” is probably the most popular word in the
Western media space right now. And not only because
the local media came up with this nickname for
General Sergei Surovikin, who was recently
appointed commander of the combined
group of Russian troops in the zone of a special military operation.
The word was uttered last week by US President Joe
Biden, at a cocktail party with Democratic Party
donors that the world has never been closer to
nuclear Armageddon than it has been since
the Cuban Missile Crisis of the 1960s. And
since then he has been accused of
excessive alarmism.
Biden has been attacked on all sides --- by Democrats,
Republicans & even European leaders who normally
look into the mouth of the US president. Not to
mention the fact that even French President
Emmanuel Macron criticized his overseas
boss for the remark, describing it as
“political fiction”.
The Wall Street Journal, in an editorial, felt that Biden
had dealt a blow to US interests, with his statement.
“His comments unnecessarily frightened Americans
and may have undermined containment policy,” the
newspaper, usually loyal to Democrats, proclaimed.
And The Washington Times accused its president
of “reviving old fears”. The chief sin of Biden,
according to the editorial board, was to “give
the impression.. that the United States is no
longer a superpower”. If they can’t confront
a nuclear-armed Russia, then what kind of
superpower can it be!
Obviously, the Republicans are trying especially hard.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Biden’s
remarks“put the American people at terrible risk”.
And former US Presidential National Security
Adviser John Bolton opined that Biden had
“exaggerated the seriousness of
the situation”.
It should be noted that the American leader did say
some pretty silly things that day. For example his
remark about Vladimir Putin: ''He is not joking
when he talks about possible use of tactical
nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.''
Of course Putin has never threatened anyone with the use of biological or chemical weapons that
Russia destroyed long ago. And regarding
nuclear weapons our president stressed
that it could only be a response to a
threat to our country and nothing
else – this essential point is
assiduously left out... in
the West.
But the point is that Biden is not being accused of
outright lying about Putin’s statements – this has
become commonplace in the Western
establishment.
The White House master is being crucified... for using
a word “Armageddon” to describe the consequences
of nuclear war. In particular, for the phrase: “I don`t
think it`s possible to use tactical nuclear weapons
and not end up in armageddon”.
That is, from the point of view of Biden’s critics, by his
ill-considered statement, he undermines the morale of
Americans and Europeans, who are assured that they
can and must -- defeat Russia. But how can they win,
with the end of the world around them? So the word
“Armageddon” ..scared the average American. So
much so, that the White House had to clarify the
words of its chief separately, by saying that no
new information about Russia’s intention to
use nuclear weapons, has emerged.
And Biden himself even had to arrange a short
interview this week for CNN, a faithful servant
of the common cause of the Democratic Party.
Judging by the content of the performance,
which was remembered more for the
obsequious presentation of a cheat
sheet that fell out of Biden’s sleeve
by a flattering journalist, it was a
special occasion to explain the
pithy word “Armageddon”.
The speech had no other
informational function.
And all the establishment’s beef with Biden ---- was
expressed in a statement and follow-up question
by CNN host Jake Tapper: “When people hear
the word ‘armageddon’ coming out of the
mouth of the American president, they
get scared. Don’t you think that by
doing so our European allies will
be even more frightened by a
confrontation with Putin?”
That’s what Biden’s supporters are really outraged
about: that he has inadvertently revealed to the
Western community, the real horrors of a
nuclear war with Russia. And to do that,
is by no means an option, say all of the
supporters of increased confrontation.
This is precisely why Biden was
forced to make excuses for
predicting nuclear
armageddon.
After all, with just one word, just by assuming there will
be no winners in a nuclear confrontation between the
West and Russia, Biden crosses out the years-long
efforts of anti-Russian propagandists who have
been painstakingly preparing public opinion... for the possibility of such a confrontation.
One may recall how, at the beginning of the special
operation, The New York Times - angrily - criticised
those who warned that NATO’s direct intervention
in the Ukrainian conflict, could escalate into a
third world war. In the newspaper’s opinion,
such a formulation of the issue itself is
“a manifestation of weakness”.
The Western public... has long been persuaded
that threats of a nuclear war with Russia are
exaggerated and that the term “nuclear
winter” is an invention of the KGB,
which ran a brilliant information
operation in the 1980s to
intimidate the West.
The result of the lengthy public opinion warfare was
complete silence on direct calls for a pre-emptive
nuclear strike on Russia -- even from the lips of
American legislators, as was the case with
Senator Roger Walker’s statement.
American citizens have been persuaded, that a nuclear
conflict... will not affect their country at all. The same
Tapper, questioning Biden, spoke of “Putin’s threat to
use nuclear weapons in Ukraine” (as if the Russian
president had ever said or meant it). The White
House, when attributing the “nuclear threat” to Putin, constantly stresses --- that it is about war........ in Europe.
That -- is why the Americans so calmly and benignly
discuss how they will bomb Russia in case it uses
tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The only
question they have, is whether to first nuke
the desolate Russian Arctic and Siberia or
to immediately bomb the Black Sea Fleet,
as the adventurous General Ben Hodges
has suggested... many times before.
And the fact that Russia would be forced to respond
with a strategic nuclear strike against the invading
states and alliances, is not even considered – it
cannot be discussed, as the story with the
carelessly uttered word from the mouth
of the US President... has shown.
This is why the Western media is much more emotional
about this word than the far more dangerous statement
by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about the
alliance’s actual involvement in the war against Russia.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, he said, bluntly and
openly: “If Putin wins, it will not only be a great defeat
for the Ukrainians, but it will be a defeat and a danger
for all of us.” And so.. this scandalous tirade about
NATO’s direct involvement in the conflict against
Russia caused no resonance at all in the West –
everyone is engrossed in condemning Biden
for warning about the consequences of
nuclear war.
British newspapers all rushed to interview the retired
General Richard Shirreff, former deputy commander
of NATO forces in Europe, who 6 years ago became
famous --- for his scandalous as well as talentless
book “2017: War with Russia”. In it, he described
an utterly insane scenario for a nuclear war that
would begin with the murder of two American
military trainers in Kharkiv and a Russian
attack on Donbass and Latvia.
The book certainly says a lot about the mental state of
Western officers commanding NATO forces. But it was
just that kind of fiction ---- “political fiction”, to use
Macron’s term.
And now this fantasy general is openly calling for a
nuclear war with Russia, saying that the West and
NATO “should by no means hesitate” to do so.
“If we promise massive retaliation, one way or
another, we must prepare for the worst-case
scenario, and the worst-case scenario, is
war with Russia. There will be no peace
in Europe as long as either Putin or the
Putin regime sits in the Kremlin,”
declares Shirreff emphatically.
And this, is all printed in Britain’s leading newspapers.
And all this does not meet with the slightest criticism
--- which Biden got for the word “armageddon”.
In fact, the US President’s words (even if carelessly
uttered over a cocktail party) are a useful and
timely reminder to the West of the threat
of nuclear catastrophe.
Duma member Oleg Morozov made a very good point:
“I am calm about the dialogue going on between us
and the collective West about the nuclear threat.
When we say: ‘Guys, don’t even think! <…> –
they should be afraid of that. Even if it is at
the level of rhetoric, but let this fear sits in
their brain. They have to understand: we
will not let them win this war, even when
they are rattling their nuclear suitcases.''
Fear of a global nuclear threat has been holding the
planet back from a third world war ---- for decades.
Dulling this fear could - indeed - lead to irreversible consequences. It is this threat that Vladimir Putin
warns the overseas adventurers about. That is
why it is very important to remind those
Stoltenbergs, Hodges, Shirreffs,
Wickers & other warmongers
of the global nuclear war
between the West and
Russia ---- that there
will be no winners
in it.
Vladimir Kornilov, RIA
What do you think? Has your fear been dulled enough that you never protest?
____________________________
Everything for the front,
everything for victory!
Statement by G. A. Zyuganov,
Chairman of the Central
Committee of the
Communist Party
of the Russian
Federation.
October 9th, 12:43pm
(Press Service of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation.)
The situation in the war zone in Ukraine has changed
dramatically - recently. The neo-Nazi regime's army
launched a counteroffensive. The terrorist attacks
on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the Crimean
Bridge, and the daily shelling of the Zaporizhia
nuclear power plant, show that globalists will
stop at nothing --- to destabilize our country.
Now there is not a special military operation, but a war
of the United States and its allies against Russia ---
by the hands of Bandera fascists.
Western countries provide the criminal regime in
Ukraine, with the most modern weapons. They
provide funding and training for newly formed
units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Their
headquarters plan and monitor neo-Nazi
militant operations --- and provide them
with intelligence. They also determine
targets -- for strikes against Russian
troops, cities and towns in Russia.
NATO experts sit at the control panels of precision
weapons systems. Thousands of mercenaries are
directly involved in the fighting. The US and its satellites have assumed... almost full
financing of the Bandera regime
in Ukraine.
Information, propaganda and economic warfare are
being waged against Russia as an integral part of
modern hybrid war. The latest terrorist attacks
are undoubtedly the work of the American
and British special services, which have
long specialized in such crimes.
The undisguised entry of NATO into the armed struggle
against Russia is a fundamentally new phenomenon
that requires a change in the strategy and tactics
of the state and army leadership and the transfer
of the entire country, to the needs of ensuring
victory. Given the fact that the LPR and DPR,
as well as the Kherson & Zaporizhia regions
have returned to Russia, today, we are
fighting, not in Ukraine, but on our
own lands. And this, is also a
new phenomenon.
But we must understand that the task of liberating
the people of Ukraine from the neo-Nazi regime ---
is not removed from the agenda.
The Russian Armed Forces face difficult challenges.
Many mistakes and miscalculations were made.
There is an underestimation of the enemy's
forces. The promises... of the Russian
military leadership --- to strictly stop
the supply of Western weapons to
the front line... remain unfulfilled.
Society is asking a natural question: why? By the
way, even our opponents are surprised by this
circumstance. Varnishing the situation, as it
has been so far, has never worked out well.
The problems that arose were not solved,
but were hushed up, or blurted out. This
position led to the fact that precious
time was lost.
However, it would be completely wrong to blame all
these problems only on the current leadership of
the Armed Forces. They require all possible
support and assistance. And we must give
an objective and harsh assessment to
those who have been destroying
Russia's defense capability...
for many years.
We are talking, first of all, about the former Minister of
Defense of the Russian Federation, Serdyukov and his
team. It was under his command that famous military
units, academies and colleges, with a centuries-old
history - were destroyed. They were brought to the
brink of destroying the system of military medicine
and science. Due to an actual defeat of military
enlistment offices, the system of mobilization
readiness was undermined. Because of the
elimination and plundering of strategic
reserves, the army was, largely, left
without the most necessary things
in the midst of the struggle.
The defense industry and science were severely
weakened. Thoughtless and often downright
wrecking privatization... has led to the
liquidation of many strategically
important industries.
By the way, the process of deliberate
bankruptcies of such enterprises,
continues at the present time.
The solution to so many problems of supplying the
fighting army was forced to be taken by society.
Honour and praise to the millions of patriots in
all corners of the country who have taken on
themselves, the purchase and delivery of
various equipment, food, clothing, night
vision devices, UAVs, medicines... and
medical equipment to the active army.
But this is a direct responsibility of the state and its
relevant bodies. In 1941-1945, a stream of parcels
to Red Army soldiers also came to the front from
the rear. But the army was fully supplied with
everything necessary by the state.
In recent years, a number of measures have been taken
to restore the Armed Forces and the defense industry.
However the damage caused by liberal "reformers",
and the "5th column" is so great that it takes years
to overcome it. Our society expects that the
perpetrators of the current - most serious -
problems of our army, who treacherously
undermined its defense capability, will
be severely punished.
Huge damage to Russia's combat readiness, has been
inflicted by those who shape public opinion. The long-
term policy of suppressing patriotism, instilling
Western "values" that are alien to our people,
as well as stealing elections, could not but
lead to serious consequences in the form
of... thousands of young people evading
mobilization. We must blame... not only
them, but also those who deliberately
turned our youth into cosmopolitans,
without a family or tribe.
The destruction of the system of pre-conscription
initial military training, the transformation of
DOSAAF into a commercial enterprise,
contributed to the reduction of the
country's defense capability.
In the face of a military clash with a vile insidious
enemy, it becomes even more obvious, how
threatening problems, such as corruption
and low wages, have become; including
in the areas of ensuring our security.
The corrupt and impoverished are the best targets
forbribing and inducing treachery for self-interest.
Today, it is actively used by those who fight
against us... through bandit terror
and sabotage.
The escalation of hostilities, the open entry of NATO
into the war with Russia --- revealed the presence of
forces that thoughtlessly or deliberately hinder the
solution of the tasks facing the country and the
army. Part of the bureaucracy, especially in the
economic and financial spheres, behaves so
calmly, as if there is no special military
operation, there is no transformation
of the CBO into a NATO war against
Russia. This is already beginning
to border on sabotage.
It is necessary to adopt a law in the near future
on punishing this, including for the inaction
of officials in situations where urgent
responsible decisions need to
be made.
Today, when hundreds of thousands of our soldiers
are in mortal danger fighting at the front, the red
tape of officials in the rear, means direct or
indirect complicity with our enemies. It is
high time for the authorities to recall the
most serious consequences of defeats
in the Russo-Japanese and World War
I, at the beginning of the XX century.
We must avoid previous mistakes,
achieve victory, and protect our
state from turmoil and
destruction.
In the face of the growing military threat to the country,
the unity of society is vital. It is not just necessary to
mobilize military reserves. It is impossible to blame
the tasks of fighting the world's largest military,
economic and political bloc solely on the army.
It is necessary to mobilize all the productive,
spiritual and creative forces of the country
to support the fighting army.
It is not the army that is at war, but the country. The
slogan of all and everyone, should be the motto of
our great ancestors: "Everything for the front,
everything for victory." However, a true
consolidation of social forces can be
achieved ---- only if the course is
changed to a socially oriented
one. Justice, collectivism and
mutual assistance --- are the
cornerstones of our society.
It is necessary to immediately introduce
a progressive tax scale ...and to cancel
decisions to raise the retirement age.
The battle must be waged not only with external
enemies, but also with Russia's main internal
opponents – with the management crisis,
economic backwardness, mass
impoverishment, and blatant
social division.
With the criminal greed and thievish irresponsibility
of the oligarchy. With the Russophobic and anti-
Soviet machinations of the "fifth column" in the
fields of culture, education and propaganda.
This battle in the XX century was brilliantly
won by Soviet Power, having carried out
the Leninist-Stalinist modernization in
the shortest possible time. Ending the
exploitation, poverty, unemployment,
and illiteracy; which carried out a
rapid industrialization of the
economy.
Outstanding peaceful feats of socialism became the
foundation of our victory over Hitler's brown plague.
It is time for everyone to understand the meaning
of this historical lesson, and realize that new
victories are possible, only if the course is
fundamentally changed --- towards
socialism, justice, equality and
genuine responsibility of the
authorities and citizens for
their country.
Our experience shows - the need for a maximum
concentration of resources for decent provision.
In the last victorious war, the Headquarters of
the Supreme High Command was created ---
then the State Defense Committee, which
became the main management bodies.
This experience shouldn't be ignored.
In the face of German Nazism in World War II, even
such a thoroughly liberal country as Great Britain,
took thepath of nationalizing key sectors of the
economy. In the current difficult conditions,
vital areas of the national economy must
return to the control of the state.
Nationalization of strategic sectors of the economy,
maximum support for its innovative development,
the dissemination of the experience of national
enterprises, the social protection of citizens,
free, high-quality medicine and education -
these are the core of our initiatives
and proposals.
This -- is the victory program that needs to be adopted
at the state level. Without this, it is impossible to give
a crushing rebuff to those who seek to destroy the
Russian world and wipe out the state born of it,
from the face of the earth.
At a time when the country has risen up to defend its
sovereignty and independence, when hundreds of
thousands of young people are sent to the front,
everyone should make every effort to defeat
neo-Nazism and Bandera, behind which, the
United States and its NATO satellites stand.
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation and
the left-patriotic forces of Russia are convinced of
the victory of our people over the same enemy
that came to us in June 1941 – the united
forces of the aggressive West.
Then these forces were led by Hitler's Germany.
Now it is the United States, Great Britain and
their vassals. The success of this struggle
requires a full concentration of all our
resources and spiritual forces. The
Russian leadership is obliged to
take exhaustive measures,
for this.
Chairman of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of the
Russian Federation
G. A. Zyuganov.
What do you think?
Is Putin's Achilles heel his
refusal to accept that he
needs more than calls
for a holy war?
________________________________________
SCO goes to replace UN
October 2nd, 1:21pm
https://en.news-front.info/
The UN is not dying a natural death, it is being
deliberately and methodically finished off by
the United States. The reason is the veto
power of Russia and China in the UN
Security Council.
America is clinging to the status of a world hegemon,
when all attributes of power, primarily economic and
financial, are steadily slipping from its hands and
going to Asia. And in view of the energy crisis
provoked in the West, by the same States,
they are moving to Eurasia.
In this connection, the strategic task of the United
States is to replace the UN with a new mechanism
of international governance. But, to create such a
body artificially without taking into account new
economic and political as well as military
realities in the world, is an occupation
that can come up... only to a new
cohort of Western politicians --
who're devoid of real political
thinking ---- and who made
their careers on the basis
of cronyism, corruption,
or a certain “cinematic”
way ------ “through the
couch to the screen”.
We know how the first attempt to create a new world
governance mechanism on an ideological, rather
than an economic basis, ended.
Do you remember how the League of Democracies
was founded --- and what it was like?
And it was the USA’s plan to create it, to replace the
UN, and they decided not to let Russia, China and
a number of other countries, to participate in it.
Frankly speaking, I remembered that there was such
creep... because it was quite recently, but the exact
name of this idealized abracadabra, didn’t come to
mind for a long time because after some artificial
informational splash --- a full silence followed.
But as we know, nature abhors a vacuum. Since the UN
is being deliberately destroyed by the US by cutting
funding and denying visas to diplomats from
unwanted countries, and since the centre
of economic, political and financial life
is meanwhile shifting more and more
to Eurasia --- a new mechanism of
international governance should
appear there, too, in any case.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is emerging as
such a centre, created at the initiative of GDP. Initially
(in 1996) it was founded by the heads of Russia, China,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, to establish
confidence building measures in the military field
in the area of joint borders.
In 1997, in Moscow they signed an Agreement on
a mutual reduction of armed forces in the border
area. This established a mechanism of mutual
confidence in the military field in border areas
-- which contributed to the establishment of a
true partnership between the countries
concerned.
Gradually the range of issues decided upon between
the SCO member states expanded into foreign policy,
the economy, environmental protection, including
water management, thereby fostering mutual
trust and good-neighbourliness. The issues
of the joint provision, and maintenance of,
peace, security & stability in the region,
ways of creating a democratic, just &
rational international political and
economic order... started to
be discussed.
Contacts that take place on the margins of the annual
SCO summits enable the countries to conclude
agreements among themselves that deal
mainly with economic cooperation.
The SCO summit held on 15th-16th of September in
Samarkand demonstrated that a new international
organisation --- regionally more authoritative and
effective than the United Nations, has emerged
in “Greater Eurasia”. It demonstrated... the
direction in which international relations
should evolve, among countries that
seek cooperation without the West.
In spite (or even, it seems, thanks to) Western
sanctions, a new model of cooperation,
based on equal rights and multipolar
world principles, is successfully
emerging.
Experts emphasise that this model will allow
the members of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation to cooperate without the
dictate of the dollar. To this end the
summit adopted a road map: to
gradually increase the share
of national currencies in
mutual settlements.
The model of inter-state relations proposed by the SCO,
where states may not be afraid of threats from the US
and its sanctions policy, has become extremely
attractive to many countries.
Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the Maldives
are ready to join the SCO, while Belarus is next in
line... and Iran has signed a memorandum of
membership. It will become a full member,
after adopting some domestic legislation
necessary for membership of the
international organisation.
At least 10 other applications, are on the desk
of member state leaders, representing a wide
geographical spectrum from Eastern Europe
--- to the Arab East.
For many countries, the opportunity to work together
to stop aggression from Western countries is very
attractive. Further cooperation in the field of
international security was discussed on the
margins of the recent summit by CSTO
Secretary, General Stanislav Zas, and
SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming.
A declaration was signed at the summit that
cemented the agreements reached in the
defence and security sphere.
Observers say the Samarkand summit was a verdict
on a unipolar world. Some observers compare the
SCO to the G7 for the Eurasian region, and the
latter’s expansion... is evidence of
the organisation’s growing
international popularity.
Geopolitically important is the member states’ support
for the de-dollarisation policy. It is seen as an
unqualified success of Russia and China
and their leaders personally, who
initiated this policy.
The world is watching with great attention how the
increasingly aggressive international policy of the
United States --- and its pressure on Russia and
China -- will affect Russian-Chinese relations.
The SCO summit demonstrated that America’s ill-
considered policies have only led to a further
rapprochement ...between the Russian
Federation and the People’s Republic
of China.
The ‘patriarch’ of US diplomacy, Henry Kissinger,
warned that this would inevitably happen, if the
US applied pressure on Russia and China.
Some politicians in the West hope to either destroy
Russia altogether or use it as a counterweight to
China. Regarding plans to pit Russia against
China, V. Putin, in one of his speeches,
categorically stated: “They will not wait for it”.
The remarks by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who during
his meeting with Vladimir Putin on the margins of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit praised
Russia’s position on the Taiwan issue and called for
strengthening Russian-Chinese coordination in the
SCO and BRICS, were also revealing. According to
him, China and Russia are ready to play a leading
role in the world, to put the countries on the
trajectory of sustainable development.
Based on the remarks of the Russian and Chinese
leaders, observers conclude that Russia and
China have come to full agreement on the
Ukraine issue... and the SCO's
development plans.
For the West, however, the Samarkand summit was a
real shocker. It shows that the plan to isolate Russia
completely failed. Moreover, observers began to
speak that now there is a new pole of counter-
action against the conditional West.
However, politicians both in Europe and overseas
are concerned, not only about Russia’s historic
rapprochement with China, but also about
growing Russian-Turkish ties and
the further development of a
comprehensive relationship
between Russia and India.
France 24... conducted a live poll of experts on the
outcome of the Samarkand summit. Jean-Vincent Brisset, Academic Director of the Institute for
International and Strategic Studies, said:
“The countries represented in the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization make up half
the world’s population. In a way, this
could be called a counter-summit”.
And the German business daily Handelsblatt admits
that Russia does manage to reshape the old rules
(probably referring to its own rules, with which
the West seeks to replace the foundations of
international law).
“For Putin, the meeting was another opportunity to
demonstrate that his country is far from being as
isolated internationally as the West would like it
to be. His message was that India and the other
SCO countries, which account for about 40% of
the world’s population, are creating a serious
alternative to the West,” the paper said.
And only the White House, completely ignoring reality,
reacts according to the Russian proverb “spit in his
eyes – that’s God’s dew!”: “Mr Putin has no friendly
allies there at all --- because of what he is doing in
Ukraine. He is simply isolating himself... more and
more from the international community. We don’t
think this is the time to do any business with
Russia,” says John Kirby, the White House
National Security Council’s Strategic
Communications Coordinator.
The FT immediately backed Kirby, saying that the Indian
prime minister was “criticising Putin for the Ukraine
conflict”. Meanwhile, Indian leader Modi wrote on
US social media about the talks: “Had a great
meeting with President Putin. We had an
opportunity to discuss further cooperation
between India and Russia in sectors
such as trade, energy and defence.”
Russia’s inevitable pivot to the East is watched with
particular concern in Europe in the context of the
significant development of energy ties between
Russia and Asian countries, where more and
more Russian gas... is going. And less and
less of it remains for European countries.
China, observers note, is displacing
Germany as the main importer of
Russian energy.
Everyone paid attention -- that President Erdogan of
Türkiye stated -- immediately after the SCO summit
that Ankara has a desire to become a full member.
He stated that Türkiye aims to join the SCO as
early as 2023, at a summit to be hosted
by India.
Facing criticism from the EU over his participation in
the SCO summit, Erdogan, according to the Turkish
newspaper Yeni afa, told PBS television: “Ankara
does not intend to answer to the European Union
for its participation in the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization summit… The European Union will
hold us back for 52 years, will not allow us to
approach it and then will ask: why did it meet
with this country ....why... did it meet with
another? I will negotiate. By conducting
these negotiations... we are not
accountable to the European
Union at the moment.”
The issue of Türkiye’s future membership of the SCO
was clearly discussed - during Putin’s meeting with
Erdogan. The VVP stated afterwards that there is
a close working relationship between Moscow
and Ankara on key international policy issues,
and promised to welcome Türkiye’s work
within the SCO, in every possible way.
And given the increased emphasis on security issues
in the work of the SCO, Türkiye’s simultaneous
participation in the SCO and NATO, is some-
thing of a double-edged sword. Does this
mean... that we can expect Türkiye to
leave NATO -- in the near future? This
is the question.. many politicians in
the West and in the East are asking
themselves. And GDP and Comrade
Xi probably know the exact answer.
No, it was not in vain that Vladimir Vladimirovich saved
Erdogan from an assassination attempt organised
against him, by the US and NATO. Nor can it be
ruled out, that Putin, together with Xi Jinping,
has billed Erdogan and Türkiye as a regional
leader in the Asian region among Muslim
countries. Of course, if Türkiye’s
activities correlate with SCO
foreign policy.
The situation is very ambiguous. Today, many Russian
observers in endless political talk-shows wonder how
Russia should behave... in the Azerbaijani-Armenian
confrontation. Armenia.. is a member of the CSTO,
but under the current president looks increasingly
towards America, while Azerbaijan is not in the
CSTO, but is sharply criticized by the US and
has established... close contact with an
increasingly friendly Türkiye. And the
latter has deployed a significant
military contingent... on the
border with Armenia.
Meanwhile, the answer to this “sacramental” question
seems quite obvious. The CSTO --- according to its
charter, has to stand up for its member --- if it is
attacked militarily. The fight between Azerbaijan
and Armenia, is over Nagorno-Karabakh, which
is not legally recognised as Armenian territory.
In this case the CSTO should not intervene
militarily in the situation.
And why should any member of the CSTO intervene
militarily at all, if during the fighting in Nagorno-
Karabakh no mobilization has even been
announced in Armenia? Instead,
Pashinyan called on Russia and
the West to defend his country.
The U.S. immediately responded by sending Grandma
Pelosi, a full-time international provocateur and a third person in the U.S. power hierarchy, to
Yerevan. She clearly stated, that the US is
on Armenia’s side against Azerbaijan and
that she intends to provide Yerevan with
military assistance. She did not specify
what kind of assistance and how it will
be delivered to Armenia.
For Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Yerevan there was a
demonstration there, demanding withdrawal
from the CSTO (since Russia does not want
to fight for Armenia instead). If this does
happen and the country leaves the
CSTO, Russia.. will breathe a sigh
of relief, and Armenia will be left
alone with Azerbaijan & Türkiye.
The US is unlikely to get involved in the conflict itself.
It is true that Iran is in favour of the Armenians, who,
following Türkiye, have deployed troops on the
Armenian border.
The Americans would like to make a mess of the
Ukrainian scenario, at Russia’s borders in
Transcaucasia. However.... the only real
arbiter in this situation is Russia, which
has the ability to influence both Türkiye
& Iran. Of course, it will do everything
possible to avoid bloodshed also in the
Caucasus. However, N. Pashinian must
draw the necessary conclusions from
this situation, instead of playing with
fire, threatening Russia to defect to
America and leave the CSTO.
If Russia turns its back on Armenia - and leaves Baku
& Yerevan to sort out their historical contradictions
on their own - it will be tantamount to a death
sentence for Armenians in the Caucasus
(and... there are fewer of them living in
their historical homeland than abroad).
And the fate of many Armenians,
scattered around the world, will not be well affected.
Yes, the Samarkand summit of the SCO, which saw the
rethinking of relations between many countries, the
formation of new political alliances ---- and the
destruction of old ones, does seem historic,
but we seem far from knowing all its
historical decisions --- and their
implications for the emerging
new multipolar world.
Sergey Kuznetsov, IA Alternative
What do YOU think?
Does the author really
believe that the SCO
will take over from
the UN? Or, has it
begun already.
________________________________
Americans --- Find Gangsters
Suitable to Lead the Country
by Eric Zuesse
September 30th, 2022
On November 13th, in 2019, the U.S. President said,
regarding Syria, “We’re keeping the oil, we have
the oil, the oil is secure, we left troops behind
only for the oil.”
That was at a press conference, and none of the
reporters asked him any question about that
statement. They certainly thought it to be
unremarkable and not surprising, to hear
a US President say --- that our country is
stealing oil -- from a country that we've
invaded & still are militarily occupying
--- despite having no legal authority to
position any troops there — publicly
admitting to international gangster-
ism, in the very boldest way, (yet
without surprising anyone there).
That statement, had followed a U.S. ‘Defense’
Department’s statement, on 25 October 2019,
saying --- with more tact --- that, “The United
States will maintain a reduced presence in
Syria, to deny ISIS access to oil revenues
as the next phase of the defeat-ISIS
campaign.”
It was tactful because it lied to claim this is to be done
(and no reference to stealing anything) “to deny ISIS
access to oil revenues” ------ the false, underlying
assumption being conveyed that the oil is ISIS’s
& NOT Syria’s, so that even IF that oil is being
stolen from ISIS (which wants to overthrow
Syria’s Government, just as much as does
the U.S. Government, though for different
reasons), then it still is being done for a
reason that America’s voters... would
approve of: conquering ISIS. In other
words the U.S. ‘Defense’ Department
was tactful enough to misrepresent
what the reason for these ongoing
international thefts is.
On 10 August 2022, when that President’s successor
was (and still is) in office ----- The Cradle news-site
headlined “Washington steals over 80% of Syria’s
oil output per day: The losses incurred by the
trafficking campaign --- surpass $100bln,
according to Syria’s oil ministry”, and
they presented a stunning brief aerial
-shot video (perhaps from Russian
drones) showing the long strings
of tanker-trucks, hauling away
that oil from Syria. Though the
US President now was from a
different U.S. political Party,
the U.S. foreign policy....
remained unchanged.
That President’s successor, though of the opposite
political Party, continued these thefts. The thefts
were started by a President of this President’s
Party.. back in 2012, who was working with its
European 'partners' perhaps as early as 2009,
& definitely wanted “regime-change” in Syria
at that time, but definitely by no later than
2012 he decided to support Al Qaeda in
Syria, against Syria’s existing Govern-
ment at that time, late in 2012, and
the planning for this overthrow of
Syria’s Government was already
functioning in June of 2011.
The U.S. Government was doing this overthrow-
operation not for any legitimate reason — Syria
had never threatened nor posed any threat to,
the United States. It presented no national-
security risk to the US whatsoever — and
never had. This was purely an inter-
national-gangland operation ---, in
order to benefit the billionaires
who control (buy the winning
politicians in) ....each of its
participating Governments.
All members of this international gang settled upon their plan “behind closed doors, at the sidelines of the Atlantic Council’s Energy Summit in Istanbul, Turkey,on November 22 – 23, 2013.”
The Atlantic Council... is NATO’s chief PR organization.
Furthermore, allegedly, ISIS’s “two heads ----- are the
royal family of Saudi Arabia & the CIA headquarters
in Langley, Virginia, U.S.A.” Lots more evidence
along the same lines --- was given in the U.S.'
magazine Homeland Security Today, on 18th
March 2019, interviewing “ISIS Ambassador
to Turkey”, who, for some reason, seems to have left ISIS.
One of the U.S. gang’s mainstream news-media, TIME
magazine, presented this operation - as if the U.S. Government were debating within itself pro-and-
con about it, instead of fully committed to it
(which the U.S. Government had been ever
since 1949).
They headlined about it, “Syria’s Opposition Hopes to
Win the War by Selling Oil” - as if “Syria’s Opposition”
were anything more than Al Qaeda in Syria, and
Kurdish separatists in Syria’s northeast —
America’s proxy-forces, to overthrow
Syria’s committedly secular Govern-
ment and replace it with a govern-
ment that would be controlled by
the Saud family.
On 29 September 2022, Steven Sahiounie headlined at
The Duran, “Cholera and US sanctions killing Syrian
civilians”, and reported that...
The deadly outbreak has claimed 39 lives in Syria, with
thousands of suspected cases across the country. In
areas under the Ministry of Health, in Damascus, 23
deaths were reported recently, 20 of them in
Aleppo, and at least 253 cases.
In the northeast region of Syria controlled by the US-
backed SDF — a [separatist] Kurdish militia… — are
a reported 16 deaths --- and 2,867 cases, since
September 5. The US occupation forces there
are controlling the main oil fields in Syria to
prevent the Damascus government from
using the oil to provide electricity for
people’s homes, water pumping
stations, and gasoline for
their cars. …
Health authorities tested the Euphrates and found the
bacteria causing cholera. The river is polluted by raw
sewage and oil spills from the US-occupied oil wells
at Deir Ez Zor. …
According to the UN, nearly two-thirds of water
treatment plants, half of the pumping stations,
and one-third of water towers, have been
damaged by more than a decade of war.
Last winter, Syrians died in their homes without heating.
… Diesel fuel is used in Syria for home heating, but it is
expensive and often in short supply because of the US
occupation of the oil wells in the northeast and the US
sanctions preventing importing fuels. Most Syrians get
about one hour of electricity because the fuel used to
generate electricity is taken by the US troops.
Sahiounie says that because of the heavy paperwork
that is required by the U.S. sanctions in order for
Syrians to buy foreign medicines, hospital treat-
ments for the cholera victims are impeded.
Here are some of the top agents in this U.S.-headed
gang, agents of U.S. billionaires. These individuals
don’t even need to worry about elections, such as
politicians do; they remain in office for as long as they want, if they do what America’s billionaires
want them to do. Like the politicians, they are
answerable only to the billionaires, and a few
centi-millionaires who fund their careers, but
their jobs are easier than for publicly elected
officials --- who are constantly competing
against one another, to win over those
big-dollar donors.
In fact, some of these agents had formerly been
successful politicians, U.S. office-holders, but
then ‘retired’ upstairs, where it’s far easier to
remain in their jobs, not only because of the
constant competition for mega-buck donors,
but because, constantly fooling their voters,
is hard work not so easy as being a lobbyist
is. These agents are ONLY agents, but they
are all extremely well rewarded financially,
for their services to the gangsters who own
them - who have funded the wealth or their
lobbyists and other agents. And you see...
there, some of the U.S. mega-corporations
that fund these peoples’ careers on behalf
of those corporations’ controlling stock-
holders. But, of course, the names of the
billionaires themselves aren’t shown there.
The billionaires generally stay behind the
scenes -- because they don’t want to be
the people who will get blamed for the
resulting Government.
Of course, the same things were true of this gang’s operations to take over Iraq, and are true today, of
the gang’s operations to retain control of Ukraine,
which they had won in 2014. The American people
find it acceptable to be constantly lied to & to be
ruled by, the agents of international gangsters —
billionaires’ agents. It has been going on now --
blatantly, since at least 9 December 2020, and
actually ever since at least 25 July 1945, when
this gang, these gangsters, America’s super-
rich, took over the country, and have
continued to hold control over
America’s Government.
The majority of Americans vote for these gangsters’
stooges, instead of do anything to rebel against and
replace virtually all of these stooge-officials -- who
occupy congressional seats and the White House.
So, the promises that are made to the public remain
unfulfilled, while the promises that are privately
made to the mega-dollar donors get turned into
government-policies & laws. Even at the level
of state governments --- “Politicians Don’t
Actually Care -- What Voters Want”. But,
apparently, Americans find gangsters
-- agents of the billionaires -- suitable
to lead the country (on behalf of their
funders — NOT of their voters). And
those agents of billionaires then
get to choose whom our judges
will be. And, that’s okay. Or:
Is it? Is it democracy, at all?
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse’s new book,
America’s Empire Of Evil: Hitler’s Posthumous
Victory, and Why the Social Sciences Need to
Change, is about how America took over the
world after World War II in order to enslave
it to U.S.-and-allied billionaires. Their
cartels, extract the world’s wealth,
by control of not only their ‘news’
media but the social ‘sciences’
— duping the public.
(Source SouthFront)
If you are American... do you think the rest of the world likes this... ...and will let this continue?
Tell us what YOU think.
_________________________________
I think the name of this page should be changed - to In-Depth Articles... here are two more:
==========================
The West will learn to take
Russia’s words seriously
September 28th, 11:17am
https://en.news-front.info/
With more than two decades of Vladimir Putin in power,
it is long overdue for the West to answer its own
question, “who is Mr Putin?” and start
assessing the man’s moves seriously.
A growing understanding is likely in
the near future.
The West will learn to take Russia's words seriously
For now, let’s just say that if it were necessary to
single out Putin’s main message to “the city and
the world”, the message of his “life”, it would
undoubtedly be the word “stability”.
Putin came to power at a time of great turbulence, and
the first big thing he did - was to stop the country from falling apart: he pacified Chechnya, stopped the terror
and rampant banditry, ended the cold “civil war”, and
reconciled, albeit with great reservations, the people
and the elites. Finally, it forced the elites themselves
– their divergent “towers” – to follow the rules.
Then it was time to rebuild. Which was also incredibly
difficult – given the diametrically opposed interests
of the elites. Nevertheless, the checks & balances
model worked and by expelling the most odious
from the system & sharply reinforcing the most
active ones we managed to do just that: raise
the standard of living, restore the army, and
fill the treasury.
And without any ideology, without any mobilization, without any alignment whatsoever, apart from the
natural laws and guarantees of normal life. And..
it was much later that these natural positions of
life.. were cautiously substituted not even with
ideology - but with some necessary basis of
“reasonable conservatism”.
That is, again, preservation of stability (without crazy
gender experiments, culture of cancellation, etc.).
So – stability. Whence came another important quality
of style – the apparent absence of any personal
initiative. Putin, in contrast to the rulers we are
used to, did not call him to build communism,
develop glasnost, or move into other bright
lands, but only constrained the centrifugal
forces, not allowing the “planets” to jump
out of their orbits. He himself... remained
at a kind of absolute rest. And so, being
in the very centre of differently directed
vectors, he kept them: the system from
collapse, the people from poverty, the
elites from eating each other. And so
it remains a fundamental tuning fork.
It has long been a commonplace to talk about Putin’s
philosophy of using his partner’s energy against
himself in a duel. It really is. Forcing Putin into
action is no easy task. The “partner” must
exhaust himself in provocations before he
gets a response. Which will be nurtured
so long and carefully that the most
patient will fall into despair.
Only when the most patient give in and say: that’s it, no
more hope, all is lost – the reality will suddenly resolve
itself with an answer: always unexpected, lightning-
fast and precisely calculated. And, as a rule,
confounding. (The return of Crimea... for
example, was such a lightning bolt. The
liberation of Donbass was awaited for
eight long years). This has always
been the case, and it is still
the case.
One must well understand - what Putin has conveyed to
the West by the referendums in the liberated territories,
the announcement of partial mobilization and other
words and actions of recent days --- and what will
probably be clarified until the counterpart learns:
if an escalation is not stopped by him, we will be
forced to actually demonstrate the realities of
a changing “wind rose”, forcing the Ukrainian
regime to capitulate. That is, we'll bring the
conflict to a situation that clearly exceeds
the West’s desire to be involved in it.
This was clearly demonstrated in the early days of the
conflict, when the Ukrainian regime was likely to fall
and the Americans simply fled from their embassies.
The regime held out then. But only because we were
unwilling to escalate escalation unnecessarily. But
now that both the regime and its handlers have
shown their true face, we are determined to
do so. This is a crucial moment that our
former esteemed partners will have to
take seriously, perhaps... by going
through all the necessary stages,
from denial - to acceptance of
the inevitable.
Finally, Putin, I think, is not only addressing the West,
but also the rest of the world. Also, of course,
watching developments -- with extraordinary
attention. This world China, India, Pakistan,
Iran, the Middle East, the Pacific, Central
Asia, Latin America, Africa – is 2/3, if not 3/4, of the world’s population.
But Russia is looked upon with great sympathy,
remembering the policy of the Russian tsars,
and later the USSR, which behaved in the
“third world” very differently from the
way the first behaved.
The USSR.. was the real alternative to rapacious financier capitalism, which is well remembered
there --- carefully reading the signs Putin
sends out.
People like strong leaders. We are not talking about
ghettoised Europeans back home, who are not
allowed to be proud of their culture and are
only allowed to think about gender
reassignment --- and/or sexual
education for their children.
We are talking about normal people. And what kind of
leaders do they see in the stunted beds of democratic
regimes and the faded emblems of eastern despotism
today? None. The real face of politics today is one in
which the great shadows of the past rise again. And
the third world remembers the shadows of its great
ancestors and respects them… Today -- only Orban,
desperately fighting for a small crusading Hungary,
and Erdogan, restoring the former greatness of the
Ottoman Empire with oriental sagacity, can shade
the “monumental power”. On whom else can the
ordinary people of the world pin their hopes?
Let’s leave the poor, battered white population of the
West alone. In the rest of the world Putin’s stock is
rising faster ...than gas prices on European stock
exchanges. So is... the rapidly gaining weight, of
the SCO as a real alternative to the global order.
discussed was the Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline,
a link pipeline to be built through Mongolia; and
Mongolia’s increasing role in the crucial link
corridor of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),
now that China is not using the Trans-
Siberian route for exports to Europe
because of sanctions.
Putin briefed Xi Jinping on all aspects of the Russian
special military operation in Ukraine and perhaps
answered some really tough questions, many
of which have been circulating on the
Chinese internet for months.
The Russian president’s key conclusion: “There is
no change in the plan for SSR. The basic tasks are
being fulfilled.” As for the peace prospects, it is
Ukraine that is “not ready to talk to Russia”.
And in general, “it is regrettable that the
West came up with the idea of using
Ukraine to try to break up Russia”.
On his meeting with Xi Jinping: “It was an ordinary
meeting, it’s been quite a long time, we didn’t
have a face-to-face meeting.
They talked about how to “expand trade turnover”
and circumvent the “trade wars caused by our
so-called partners”, with the “expansion of
settlements in national currencies not
progressing as fast as we want”.
Putin’s bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi could not have been more cordial –
in the register of “special friendship” – with Modi
calling for serious solutions to the food and fuel
crises, effectively appealing to the West.
Meanwhile, the State Bank of India will open
special rupee accounts --- for trade related
to Russia.
Another major reason was the increased attractiveness
of the BRI initiative in close association with the SCO.
China’s ambitious BRI project was officially launched
by Xi Jinping in Astana (now Nur-Sultan) nine years
ago. It will remain the overarching concept of
China’s foreign policy, for decades to come.
So, for all practical purposes, Xi Jinping and Putin in
Samarkand outlined a roadmap for strengthening
multipolarity – as emphasised in the final
Samarkand Declaration signed by all
SCO members, the journalist
concluded.
It looks like the new world is being born... and the only thing that can stop it --- is World War 3.
We at Rhondda Records choose a new world free of the West's arrogance and wars.
At the risk of addressing you - the unknown reader - what do You CHOOSE?
_________________________________________
The unipolar world of US'
hegemonyhas collapsed
along with the twin towers
September 11th, 11:38am
https://en.news-front.info/
When a supernova explodes in far distant space, it
seems to people on Earth that it is there and still
shining for a long time. But it’s actually gone,
and the sooner people accept that, the
better for them: they have time to
prepare to defend themselves
from the blast’s after-effects,
from the gamma-rays that
can kill every last
living thing.
The skyscrapers of the World Trade Centre, two of the
tallest buildings in the world at the time, embodied
for many of us that distant and mighty cosmos.
They embodied... the millennia-old dream of the Tower
of Babel of haughty men. They stretched themselves
toward God, in order to equalize them, if not
spiritually, with their commercial and
financial power.
In the world that was crowned by the twin towers they
were temples, only not to God, but to Mammon, the
world capital. In the world that was destroyed on
September 11, 2001, they were the most visible,
comprehensible and powerful symbol of global American domination.
The omnipotence of the “Shining City on the Hill” then,
at the turn of the millennium, seemed an immutable
and by and large justifiable course of history. The
“end of history” and its arrival at its finale, the
triumph of universal liberal democracy, were
eagerly proclaimed by Western publicists.
Ten years before that, we had lost the country we were
born into, loved and cherished. We were constantly
being told that the path of socialism --- was a
mistake, that all victories and achievements
of the USSR --- were nothing more than a
whimper, that we should repent, for the
history of our country, for the deeds of
our fathers and grandfathers, that the
global market will judge everything,
as it is common practice in the
‘civilised world’.
Instead, we were offered a path to the
bright capitalist past, aka our future.
And there it was – all of a sudden, no one was
expecting this! – It exploded, it collapsed,
moreover, it exploded and collapsed in a
most merciless way, live and in real time,
all before our eyes. And it collapsed, not
anyone else’s, but our future. Yes, today
we are all aware that it was an illusion -
but then it seemed clear and real.
Ours – means common: Americans, Russians,
Europeans – the future of all, who trusted in
the global market as an impartial arbiter,
capable to put everything in its place,
in the USA as the light of the
world civilization.
But as soon as the towers fell, it became clear:
Mammon is a false god. He... can only confuse
and seduce; he is free to lend trillions, driving
billions of people into debt bondage; he has
the power to lavish his most loyal oligarch
priests with golden palaces and the
deceptive comfort of his acolytes;
but he will demand obedience for
all his “loans”, and blood --- from
those who will not accept them.
If the collapse of the USSR in 1991 was the greatest
geopolitical catastrophe of the XX century, then the
collapse of the twin towers ten years later is the
greatest geopolitical catastrophe of this, the XXI
century. It opened our century and defined
its vector.
This is the vector of the collapse of 500 years of
Western global domination and the rebirth of a
multipolar world, the normal, natural order of
human civilisation as it has always been
since ancient times and before the
European conquest of the
New World.
The convulsions of a unipolar world began
immediately after the fall of the twin towers.
The US invaded Afghanistan to search for and punish
al-Qaeda* extremists, the perpetrators of the 9/11
attacks, who were harboured by the Taliban*
(both banned in Russia).
The Americans quickly overthrew the Taliban and used
their military power to install their desired regime in
Kabul. But exactly 20 years later, the same Taliban
seized power again, setting the date of
inauguration of their government
exactly for September 11, 2021.
But this is not so much “trolling” as it is a cruel
mockery of history. History loves such mockery,
it never misses an opportunity to show people
how brute force, devoid of truth and common
sense, achieves the exact opposite of what
was expected.
Then came the armed invasion of Iraq. Saddam
Hussein’s oppressive regime ruled there for a
quarter of a century, but it held the country
firmly and ensured peace and order.
The Americans accused Hussein of developing
weapons of mass destruction (which turned
out to be a lie), overthrew him and had him
executed. Order was replaced by chaos
in Iraq, opening the way for even more
dangerous extremist movements than
al-Qaeda, such as the Islamic State*
(also banned in Russia).
From a country that threatened no one after Operation
Desert Storm in 1990, Iraq has become a hotbed and
breeding ground for international terrorism that
threatens the entire world. Tens of thousands
of fighters from all over the world arrived there
to join the ranks of IS*, while hundreds of
thousands of refugees, forced to abandon
their homes and possessions, made their
way to Europe, causing new waves of
the migration crisis.
Extremists have also infiltrated the ranks of these
refugees and carried out terrorist attacks in
peaceful European cities.
The self-appointed global hegemon did not rest content
with wreaking havoc in Afghanistan and Iraq. The
theory of “managed chaos” adopted by Barack
Obama’s administration required new victims.
The secular autocracies of the Near and Middle East,
staunch allies of the United States, were the victims.
But they fell, betrayed by the Americans and swept
away by the elements of the Arab Spring. They
were replaced by fundamentalists, outspoken
enemies of America and western civilisation.
Egypt, the largest and most important country in the
Arab world, was in chaos and it was only thanks to
a military that was strong enough to assume
responsibility for the country’s fate that
Egypt was spared Iraq’s fate.
The next victim of the “Arab spring” after Iraq
could have been Syria, but the Russian peace
keeping operation, launched at the request of
the legitimate authorities of that country, put
an end to the plans of the extremists and
their accomplices.
The unipolar world of American hegemony collapsed
along with the twin towers, never to be reborn again.
Those who still dream of a semblance of America in our
country are actually chasing a mirage, a dream of the
past: the America... that served as their role model
ended that very day on September 11. And every-
thing that happens to her, to us, to the world
after that symbolic frontier is the natural
consequence of the collapse of those
towers of Babel.
In physical reality they have long fallen, but in
historical time they will continue to fall, hitting
everyone with the wreckage – in Iraq, Libya,
Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan and everywhere
else, where the broken unipolar world
tries in vain to save its dominance.
As for Russia, it has nothing to reproach itself with
on this sad anniversary. From the outset, it has
supported the ''common struggle'' - against
international terrorism - with determination
and consistency.
We have had our own difficult experience in fighting it –
in the North Caucasus and in the central cities where
terrorist attacks took place. Russia, victorious in that
war, extended its hand with complete sincerity to all
those who suffered from terrorism and were ready to
resist it. On Sept. 11, 2001, Vladimir Putin was the
first world leader to call George W. Bush, Jr. to
express condolences and support. But the
same Bush invaded Iraq despite Russia’s
persistent warnings. It is not her fault
that the arguments of the Russian
side were ignored, and the US,
with its characteristic
arrogance, continued
to act... at its own
discretion.
Likewise, they continued to act after Russia’s special
military operation in Ukraine, dismissing all Russian
arguments, remarks and warnings out of hand. We
can see where this has led them. And what it will
lead to in the future is easy to imagine. Weapons
that the United States has been criminally reck-
less in supplying to the Kiev regime are firing at
the Russians today, but tomorrow they could
end up in the hands of terrorists from some
other “al-Qaeda” --- who hate America
to death.
A series of military-political and, more importantly,
moral failures seems to have cooled down the
warlike fervour of the hegemon. Joe Biden,
Obama’s vice-president, has so far been
reluctant to send American soldiers
into battle.
“America is coming back,” he declared as he began his
own cadence. And America is - indeed - coming back –
but back where? To itself, to solve its own problems,
as enormous as its 30 trillion national debt? Or is it
returning to the ideas of “export democracy” and
“managed chaos”? It is now called “fighting
democracies against autocracies” – a
theory as ridiculous as it is false.
How can we be sure that if, God forbid, another tragic
event should occur in America tomorrow, she will
not - once again - rush to find the guilty party,
appointing them - left and right - to reorder
the country afar, from the United States?
Wherever America returns, it will always return to its
ashes, the wreckage of the World Trade Centre, its
9/11. It is the wreck of the old America and the
birth trauma of the new, which we will only
have to see when (and if) it does find the
strength to survive and overcome it.
Boris Tolchinsky, VZGLYAD
_____________________________________
The Western “free press”is
about to be''nationalised''
September 11th, 11am
https://en.news-front.info/
When describing what the sanctions (and not only
sanctions) crisis will lead Western economies and
politics to, it is usually pointed out that Europeans
– and Americans too – will be in caveman’s misery.
Not the Leningrad blockade, but something along
the lines of the unforgettable 1919, described in
the poem “Alright!”. Not too pleasant.
The Western "free press"----- is about to be nationalised
Of course such forecasts can be exaggerated, perhaps even strongly, but reasoning in this vein is based not
so much on the talking points... about the crisis of
global imperialism – much has been said about it
– as on quotations from speeches by leading
Western politicians, and not by those in
opposition, but the ones who really
hold sway.
It is not by the orders of the Kremlin ideologues that
they urge their constituents to stock up on firewood
and candles, to cut the time for ablutions (or better
still, not to wash at all, but to wipe the secret
places with a damp cloth), to lower the
temperature in dwellings and public
buildings, etc.
Nor do they talk about the possible introduction of
rationing of energy and even other consumer
goods, not on the advice of the enemy. The
possible elements of the card system in
the West were not invented in Moscow
but in the government institutions of
the West.
In Moscow they only divulge the speed of the transition
from “We are not afraid of nobody’s effort, we rush
forward with the locomotive of labour” to “I can’t
promise you anything but sweat, blood and
tears”. And also the smell of... an
unwashed body.
Domestic analysts, however, point out that the
pampering of the Europeans --- should not be
exaggerated. Even before the current crisis
they have stood quite firm at the
temperature in the dwellings ---
which seemed uncomfortably
low for Russians. It's possible
that they could overcome the
current hunger and cold.
More serious is something else.
Not some opposition populists but quite senior EU
officials – European Commissioner for Economic
Affairs Paolo Gentiloni, Belgian Prime Minister
Alexandre De Croo and others – say that the
European economy --- will fall into a severe
depression or even shut down altogether.
And the closure of factories and plants will not
be prevented by restricting bathing or even
abandoning it altogether. And how the
depression in Germany in 1931 looked
like and what came after it – may be,
politicians don’t know, but
historians do.
We don’t even want to talk about the global implications
of all this, let’s pay attention to the seemingly trivial
things. The collapse of the advertising market... is
inevitable in such a depression. The unemployed,
or even the severely impoverished, are an
unimportant audience --- from an
advertiser’s point of view.
Calls to “buy this and buy that” have little appeal to
those who are forced to make a living from bread
to kvass. They might be happy to buy, thereby
securing the advertising cycle, but they have
no money.
Of course, this should not be taken to mean... that
commercial advertising may disappear altogether.
Just as the market is indestructible (it existed
even under the siege of Leningrad, and even
wartime communism could not cope with
the bagmen), so advertising... is
indestructible.
It existed in the United States even in the severely
depressed 1930s, and even in the newspapers of
the Stalinist USSR there were sections of
commercial ads advertising perfumes,
commercial restaurants and craft
services. By inertia these ''ads''
were in newspapers until July
1941, juxtaposed with the
dreadful reports from
the front.
But the inexhaustibility of advertising is one thing, and
the volume of the advertising market in absolute and
relative terms is another. Both we and, even more so,
the Europeans have grown accustomed to the fact
that its share of the total economy is quite large.
Fragment from One-Story America: “We were told that a
five-cent bottle of Coca-Cola... costs the manufacturers
one cent and that three cents, is spent on advertising.
We don’t need to write about where the 5th cent goes.
It’s pretty clear.” It’s a bit exaggerated, but it shows a
tendency. A consumer society is also a society of
flourishing advertising. How else could one
indulge in consumerism?
If the consumerism fails (as the French Macron,
for instance, openly speaks about it today),
the advertising is in trouble.
And the press is in its wake. Print, radio and television,
and the internet. The heyday of blogging, for example,
was due to advertising. When after February 24th a
banking blockade began which made it impossible
to live in advertising, blogging was deflated too.
Any journalist can tell you how our media
deflated during the 1998 and
2008 crises.
Now it is the turn of the West.
Of course, there is no such thing... as a hopeless
situation. When advertising is critically reduced,
the lack of funds can be compensated either
through direct state subsidies or subsidies-
in-kind. Some kind of free press fund
which, in turn, gets money from
lofty government agencies.
The CIA... or something
on that line.
But since, as the rude German proverb says, “Only
death is a gift”, with such powerful subsidies the
“fourth estate” must be guided without fools by
Lenin’s words: “The newspaper is not only a
collective propagandist and a collective
agitator, but also a collective organiser”.
And do not shirk from the functions
prescribed by Lenin.
There will probably be some floundering. But the
principle of “Gut Out, Conscience Shaken”
will more and more define the behaviour
of a completely free press, hungry
without advertising. One is
hungry, every day.
Maxim Sokolov, RIA
__________________________________
World hunger - is
a planned event
September 11th, 9:50am
https://en.news-front.info/
The 2020 declaration of world hunger was
not a prediction, but a project. And a
successful one at that.
The British Financial Times has warned of
the threat of famine in Europe because of
rising energy prices.
Members of the farmers’ union Copa-Cogeca, as well
as two major food producers associations, FoodDrink
Europe and Primary Food Processors, have already
begun to wind down their businesses and reduce
their production.
“Another increase in energy prices, especially natural
gas and electricity, threatens the continuity of agri-
food production cycles and therefore the ability to
continue supplying essential agricultural
commodities, food and feedstuffs,”
said a joint statement by European agricultural
industry reps... ahead of the EU energy
ministers meeting --- in Prague on Septemberthe 8th.
Copa-Cogeca Secretary General Pekka Pesonen
stressed: that European buyers will face even
higher prices and shortages of many fruits
and vegetables next winter.
''This is something we have not seen before…'' he said.
''Some products will be unavailable or very expensive.''
Electricity is used in all the stages of food production, from fertilisers to harvesting and cooling. The dairy and bakery industries have been hit hard by
rising pasteurisation costs, Pesonen said, --- milk powder production has become
unaffordable, because of high
energy costs.
From the beginning of the year until July the prices of
butter in the EU went up by 80%, with milk powder
prices going up by more than 50% and beef prices
by 28%. Farmers say their production costs are
rising even faster.
Fruit and vegetable growers are cutting back on
plantings for next season, and some report that
the rising cost of running greenhouses already
exceeds the profit they will be able to make.
Nordic Greens --- Sweden’s largest tomato
producer, has said it will not plant winter
crops. Greenhouses in the Netherlands -
the world’s second biggest agricultural
exporter after the US - are also
gradually shutting down.
The harvest of cucumbers and peppers grown in heated
greenhouses in the UK in 2022 will be half of last year’s
due to excessive energy costs, the Financial Times
reports. And such vegetables will cost twice
as much.
The British press blames Russia for the coming famine,
although it admits that Russia has cut fuel supplies
to the continent, because of sanctions.
“Britain will starve because of faulty environmental
dogma,” writes the Daily Telegraph. - ''Economists
blame economic adaptation after the pandemic..
and the armed conflict in Ukraine. But the truth
is that we ourselves have let our domestic
agricultural base languish… There is a
tendency in Britain to give away farm-
land for solar panel installation and
other ‘eco-targets’,” laments the
Daily Telegraph article.
This year up to half of harvested crops in the UK will be
lost due to inability to irrigate, says The Guardian. The
reason is not drought at all, but the widespread
installation of windmills and solar panels i
nstead of establishing irrigation.
It is predicted that up to half of carrots, onions, sugar
beet, apples and hops will be lost. Milk production
in the UK is also falling due to a shortage of feed
for cows.
“There are fears that many farmers will refuse to sow
next year’s crop,” reports The Guardian, “leading to
dire consequences for the 2023 crop. Cattle and
other livestock are expected to be slaughtered
earlier at lower weights because farmers are
likely to run out of feed in winter. Incidentally,
the drought had nothing to do with the feed
shortage. The economy has been turned
green --- by force.
In France, up to 35 per cent of the fruit and vegetable
harvest is expected to be lost, said Jacques
Rouchauss, president of the French national
association of vegetable producers,
Legumes de France.
In Italy the situation is even worse, we are talking about
the fact that in some areas of the country could be lost
up to 80 percent of the crop. And there is no way to get
food from other European countries or America – crops
are dying and livestock are being slaughtered
everywhere.
In the US, “74% of beef cattle, 50% of dairy production,
over 80% of wheat production, 70% of vegetables,
fruits and nuts are at risk. 37% of farmers said
they are ploughing and destroying existing
crops… A staggering number of ranchers
in some western states are selling off
their cattle.
Farmers in the Lone Star State have reported the
largest decrease in their livestock by 50%,
followed by New Mexico and Oregon at
43% and 41% respectively,” writes
renowned American economist
Michael Snyder on his website
The Economic Collapce.
The renowned economist sees the causes of the food
crisis that threatens America with famine in the
actions of the US government and only in the
last place, in the drought.
The fact that America is threatened by famine does not
help Europeans. She does not conceal that Europe
is in danger of a huge famine... due to
anti-Russian sanctions.
And a world famine seems to have been planned for a
long time. The global food crisis was announced to
the world in May 2020 by Arif Husain, the chief
economist of the UN food programme --- when
there was no drought in 2022 and no Russian
special operation in Ukraine. At that time,
crop, crop and livestock figures, as well
as agricultural prices, were stable and
no food shortage... was conceivable.
Between 2000 and 2019, according to the UN, the
proportion of the world’s population suffering
from malnutrition fell from 15% to 8.9%. By
2030, the UN had set a target of zero.
All went to waste in 2019. Against the backdrop of a
triggered ‘pandemic’, the positive trend has reversed.
In 2020, the number of undernourished rose from
690 million to 811 million, the largest in 15 years.
In 2021, world food prices have risen by an average
of 30%: sunflower and rapeseed oil prices have
risen by over 60%, wheat by 31%, sugar by
30%, dairy products by 17% and meat
by 13%.
So the UN expert’s 2020 statement about world hunger
was not a prediction, but a project. And a successful
one at that. We should speak separately, about the
authors of the project.
Vladimir Pohvatilov, FGC
_______________________________________________
Russia saves the world
from the brown plague
again --- today
September 2nd, 1:07pm
https://en.news-front.info/
On September 2nd, in 1945, the Act of Unconditional
Surrender of Japan was signed. World War II came
to an end. What matters to us, is the significance
of the event itself.
The war generation, the generation of victors, was
united by the hope that the Second World War
was the last, that Nazism in Europe and
militarism in Asia had been destroyed
forever, and that there would never
be a Third World War.
Our country made a decisive contribution to the victory
not only in the West. We remember: Japan capitulated
not after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, but after the Soviet Union entered
the war. Both Japanese & Americans were
sure that the war would last at least until
1946: some were preparing to defend
themselves, others to attack. It was
our country’s decision, that saved
-- many hundreds of thousands of
US troops, millions of Japanese
lives, hastened the victory of
the Chinese people, and
liberated the enslaved
peoples of Asia.
The defeat of the Kwantung Army by Soviet forces
deprived the Tokyo militarists of the opportunity
to continue their resistance. Nazi Germany’s
ally was defeated.
But was the war over? Open hostilities had ended.
The covert war continued. And the “allies”
showed themselves, alas, as if they had
already seen their countries as
participants and initiators of
the Cold War.
Churchill’s Fulton speech was not long away. And
it came. Under the conditions created by “our
Western partners”, it could not but happen.
Our country, which had contributed decisively to the
victory, was the first and main target of the
aggressors and also their accomplices.
Both German Nazism and Japanese militarism were
nurtured with the support of the leading states of
the West. These states, publicly and non-publicly
endorsed and supported --- those actions of
Germany that created opportunities and
springboards for an attack on the
Soviet Union.
The rise of Nazism in Europe and militarism in Japan
was only made possible by the support of the USA,
Britain & France - and it is not just about the first
steps of Nazism and militarism. Remember the
Munich deal, remember the so-called “Far
Eastern Munich”.
Certainly, they did not expect that the beast that had
been incubated would rush on themselves. At least, they hoped to the last: as far back as 1940, the
rulers of England and France were planning,
not to act against Nazi Germany ----- with
which they were officially at war..... but
to bomb the cities of the Soviet Union.
They were doing everything they could, to push
both Germany and Japan to attack in the “right”
direction. It was a strange war indeed. In fact,
it was for such “planning” ...that France paid
the disgrace of defeat and Nazi occupation.
Such a hostile attitude of the “Western democracies”
to Russia, the USSR was characteristic not only of
the period of preparation and the beginning of the
Second World War. But, unfortunately, also at the
end of it, and in the postwar period.
It is important to remember this in order to understand
how fragile the post-war peace was, and that only the
strength of our country and the courage of our
people, were able to keep it.
The facts of the separate negotiations between the
Anglo-Americans and the Nazis, and their plans to
combine their efforts against our country are well
known. It is known that even before Berlin was
taken Churchill had organised the preparation
of Operation Unthinkable – a plan of war
against our country in which the British,
the Americans and what was left of the
Wehrmacht would take part.
It was only the obvious impossibility of military success
that forced him to abandon it. The only thing Churchill
was firmly convinced of, was the effect of
propaganda on his own population.
It is also known that the American atomic bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki had no military necessity but
were, above all, a means of intimidating the Russian
allies. US President Truman, who ordered the use of
nuclear weapons, not only refused to demonstrate
their power in a deserted place, but he also
refused to attack purely military targets
in Japan. Nuclear weapons --- were
specifically, purposefully, tested
on civilians.
And of course it was no accident. The same Truman,
while still a senator, commented thus on the German
attack on the Soviet Union: “If we see that Germany
wins, we must help Russia, if Russia wins, we must
help Germany, and let them kill each other as much
as possible. These words of a “democratic leader”
are cited often, but not often enough, it seems.
The present Western leaders rarely have Truman’s
candour, but the principle “let them kill as many
as possible”, remains most in demand for them.
Proof of this is NATO’s desire and demand to
fight “to the last Ukrainian”.
It is certainly no coincidence that American support for
former Nazi collaborators from among the Ukrainians
and Baltic peoples is also not a coincidence. By
taking this “baton” from the Nazis, American
figures have ensured that criminal ideology
now dominates both Kyiv and the Baltic
capitals. The demolition of monuments
to the liberators and victors of fascism
further confirms that the authorities of
these states have chosen to side with
those who were defeated... in World
War II. And they are not fully aware,
of the consequences of this choice.
The feeding of the current Kiev regime by the Western
powers is very similar to the feeding of German
Nazism and Japanese militarism in the 1930s.
The same support for racism, caveman
nationalism and Russophobia.
The propaganda of exceptionalism that fooled Germans
in the 20th century is now fooling the population of
Ukraine, betrayed and sold out by Kiev’s
“servants of the people” for
generations to come.
September 3rd, is not only the anniversary of the end of
the Second World War. It is also a day of our solidarity
against terrorism. It is the date on which we bow our
heads in memory of the victims of a monstrous
ideology and the heroes who gave their lives
in the fight against the enemy.
International terrorism, like Nazism in Germany,
militarism in Japan and contemporary Nazism
in Ukraine, has received the same support in
the West. Let us recall -- for example -- the
American “nurturing” of such a character
as Bin Laden – against the Soviet Union.
Or how European authorities blessed
terrorists, to go and fight against the
legitimate government of Syria. The
fact that these militants -- like the
Nazis in their day -- struck at the
Western capitals themselves....
seems to have taught Western
politicians nothing, so far.
And, of course, we will never forget that Western
governments and intelligence services in the
1990s and later, provided both moral and
material support - to the terrorists in the
North Caucasus. This should be neither
forgotten nor forgiven --- just like the
terrorist crimes of the Kiev regime.
The generation of 1945 – both Soviet people and
citizens of Allied countries – would look at
modern Europe and America with wonder.
And contempt. Who would have thought
then that monuments to the victors of
Nazism would be demolished in
European countries and that
streets in European cities
would be named after
Nazis and their
collaborators?
That the prohibition of the Russian language and calls
for the murder of Russians --- would be considered a
triumph of European values? That terrorism and the
killing of civilians, would be justified and glorified in
Europe and America under the yellow and blue flag?
Who would have thought that Europe and America
would applaud people with swastikas and
declare them heroes?
Such Western “values” cannot win, they have no right
to win. The sooner their defeat comes, the better for
humanity. They have nothing in common with real
values that are dear to our country and other
countries of Europe, Asia and the world.
Those values, in the name of which our country won
the Great Patriotic War, in the name of which, our
country and its allies, won the Second World War.
The past stages and further plans for the expansion of
NATO and the bloc’s military infrastructure... are very
reminiscent of the seizures made by Hitler’s Germany
and militaristic Japan by 1939. And just the same ---
are directed against Russia. But American plans for
a unipolar world must meet the same fate as Hitler’s
plans for world domination. And we – our country,
together with our friends, our allies – will
achieve this.
There is one more point that is important to mention
today. On behalf of the Soviet Union the Act of the
Surrender of Japan on September 2nd 1945, was
signed by Lieutenant General Derevyanko, a
native of Kyiv province. In 2007, the then
Ukrainian President Yushchenko, for his
own political reasons --- posthumously
awarded him the title Hero of Ukraine.
The same year the title of the Hero of
Ukraine, already from a pure heart,
was posthumously awarded, to
Nazi henchman Shukhevich.
It is easy to imagine how Kuzma Nikolayevich
Derevyanko, a military spy, the participant of
liberation of Ukraine from Nazis and their
accomplices, would feel about it. And it
is hard to imagine how he would feel,
seeing the Ukrainian authorities
demolishing those monuments
dedicated to his comrades
-in-arms, destroying the
memory of the victory,
and destroying people.
Such a regime now ruling in Kiev should have no right
to a future – and this is one of the main lessons that
the history of the Second World War teaches us.
The course of history is inexorable. Today, Russia is
once again, on the guard of the world and confronts
neo-Nazis and terrorists of all stripes. Once again,
it is saving the world from the brown plague.
This is our great historic mission
and destiny.
Boris Gryzlov, Izvestia newspaper
What do YOU think? Or do you still truly believe in the crap you were taught?
______________________________________
The West’s illusion of solidity
is fast disappearing
August 26th, 12:35pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Reading the American and European media lately,
I catch myself thinking, that they in the West
cannot make up their own minds about
the conflict in Ukraine
No, they are still unanimous in their assessments:
Russia is the aggressor, and Ukraine is the
innocent victim, but when it comes to the
question of how to proceed and what to prepare for, that is when serious
differences and contradictions
come to light.
On the one hand, the US, Britain and Poland (the most
militant part of the Western coalition) are still talking
about a war to the bitter end --- and are categorically
against any peace talks between Kiev and Moscow, while continuing to assure the Ukrainian leader- ship -- of their continued support and readiness to continue this support as long as necessary.
On the other hand, exactly the same people are hinting with all their might to the Kremlin that they would like
to discuss with it the terms of peace or at least a ceasefire, but face to face, so to speak,
in private.
Just yesterday, -- announcing a new, hitherto unheard of
amount of military aid to Kiev ($2.8 billion, by the way),
US Under Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs
Colin Cole said exactly the following: ''I have
repeatedly made it clear that much of the
reason for Washington’s commitment to
Kiev is to actually challenge Putin’s
victory theory. The winning theory
of the Russian leadership... is that
Russia can outlast everyone else.''
''Such aid packages signal that we are not only
providing support to Ukraine now --- but that
there will be a steady stream of assistance
stretching over many months and years.
Of course we hope … to send a special
signal to Putin that he cannot simply
wait longer than everyone else.''
''Hopefully this will be an incentive for Russia to stop fighting and move to negotiations”.
In addition, according to a Pentagon spokesperson, the
new aid package ''aims to give Ukraine what it needs
in the medium to long term. It is not about fighting
today, tomorrow or next week. It is about
Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, and
deter aggression a year from now,
two years from now.''
As we can see, from general discussions about the
“war of attrition”, which US President, Joe Biden,
started talking about, representatives of the US
administration have moved on to the attempt to
demonstrate their readiness to win this war.
They, i.e. Anglo-Saxon coalition, are not afraid of the
protracted character of this war, they say there is
nothing to be afraid of, and they have enough
patience, and -- most importantly -- the means, to bring Ukraine to victory.
It sounds good, but it is all an illusion, and artificially
created. Even in the above quote... by Colin Kohl... it
actually boils down to making a lasting impression
on Putin and thereby forcing Russia to negotiate
and abandon its plans to fully liberate Ukraine.
Those who are as confident of victory, as our
former overseas partners are trying to make
it seem, do not usually offer this, to
potential losers.
In reality, things are not so rosy. The European allies of
the United States are increasingly withdrawing, and,
in fact, the current confrontation, which began as
a “world war on the evil empire”, is turning into a purely Russian-Anglo-Saxon squabble.
Here is what The Washington Post says about this,
summarizing - in an editorial - the results of six
months of hostilities in Ukraine (in abstract):
Ukraine could not have survived so long ''without the
support of international friends,'' and all the talk of
an impending counterattack, is in the poor man’s
favour (the AFU has neither the strength nor
the means to do so);
the current situation could be called ''the end of the
first phase of the war,'' but the prospects for its
further development are very dim;
France and Germany (read: all of Europe) are far
behind the US, Britain and Poland, in arms
deliveries to Ukraine.
And, perhaps most importantly:
despite the sanctions, Russia has managed to maintain
''relatively normal economic conditions,'' and although
the West still hopes that ''internal divisions may arise
within Putin’s regime,'' for the moment, it is
''impressive how solid and monolithic the
Russian government remains.''
By the way, the thesis that the Germans have
exhausted their possibilities (and there is
not much desire for it either) of military
assistance to Ukraine was confirmed
the other day, by Annalena Berbock,
head of Germany's Foreign Ministry.
''This is the thin line we have been walking for weeks
and months. We want to support Ukraine militarily
with everything we have, but unfortunately the
situation here is that we have an absolute
shortage of our own supplies. So, the
military industry has to specifically
produce materials for Ukraine. And
Chancellor Scholz has once again
made it clear that this does not
only apply to the next few
months, but also with a
view to the next few
years. ''
''We have to be prepared for the fact that the conflict in Ukraine may continue into next year. That’s why we need additional rapid deliveries of arms to Kiev in
the autumn and winter,'' the minister said.
The sadness in the eyes of the Europeans, who are
very willing to pay lip service but are unable to do
so in practice, was explained in The National
Interest, which said that ''the painful
recession caused by gas shortages
and booming commodity prices, is
very similar to what the EU had to
endure --- during the 2020-2021
pandemic and the 2008-2009
financial crisis.''
And against this background, ''what matters is not some
absolute measure of economic, or military power, but
the balance: between Russia, Ukraine and Europe, in
terms of their ability to continue to make sacrifices.''
''Moscow has demonstrated a resilience in this
regard that few had foreseen,'' the NI experts
say in amazement.
This is exactly what the US liberal watchdog CNN is
saying, reporting that war weariness and rising
living costs are the reasons why Western
politicians may start pushing Ukraine
towards compromise with Russia.
''After six months of war in Ukraine, some European
officials have suggested that, amid the economic
downturn, EU agreement on arms supplies to
Ukraine, could break down,'' a story on the
channel’s official page said.
Back in February it was easy to jump on the anti-Putin
train. Now a dull phase of the war has set in. There
are fewer daily victories and casualties, fewer
bright pictures… As time passes, peace talks
involving Putin may no longer be terrifying
for the leaders of countries with which
Russia does not border, and they may
not think that the only cause of the
existential crisis is, actually,
in Moscow.
Moreover, according to Teresa Falcon, director of the
Centre for Russian, European and Asian Studies -- if
Ukraine continues to cede its territories to Russia
--- a process that... while slowing markedly... is
proceeding almost continuously --- then the
calls for such negotiations will grow louder.
And when people in the West feel that Kiev is losing (so
far their media have managed to create a generally
acceptable ''all is well, fair marchioness'' picture),
they will willy-nilly begin to wonder why continue
supplying Ukraine with expensive weapons
when they urgently need the money
themselves, during the
economic crisis.
And now this bleak prospect comes on top of the
election period in Europe and the US, which will
almost certainly lead to a change of political
leadership in most of them.
I remind you that these are not my fantasies, they are
the conclusions of western experts who are looking
at the truth. So the West has no unique reserve of
strength and fantastic patience, which it, in fact,
frankly admits. And all talk about the war being
a long one is rather an attempt to make some
kind of bedding and prepare in advance for
the inevitable and only true way out of the
situation: to return to discussing Russia’s
demands laid down in the ultimatum of
December 17th, 2021. The West, has
no other option for “soft surrender”
--- all the rest, is just an illusion.
Alexey Belov, Antifascist News Agency
What do you say - are you in agreement?
_____________________________________
The Spectator calls U.S.
“crazy gerontocracy”
and a banana republic
August 14th, 11:43am
https://en.news-front.info/
Chinese leader Xi Jinping sees the United States
- not only as a declining superpower - but also, as a gerontocracy, completely insane, said Freddie Gray, a columnist for the British magazine, The Spectator, noting that the United States is close.. to the state of a banana republic.
A similar opinion was expressed - by the author of an
article in The American Conservative, Frank DeVito.
Among the signs of the decline of the United States,
Gray mentioned the unsuccessful, from his point of
view, visit of 82-year-old Speaker of the US House
of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, as
well as another “blunder”, by US leader, Joe
Biden, who, after a visit to Kentucky, could
not put on his jacket and dropped glasses.
Against this background, Gray points out, the murder
rate in the United States - is going through the roof -
and the problem with the supply of baby food for
babies... has not yet been solved.
“Such problems in the most highly developed capitalist
economy in the world, should not exist, in principle.
However, as Xi noted, in many respects, America
is - rapidly - running wild,” the author of the
material writes.
The US, Gray noted, is not a banana republic, but “very
much like one.” In this context, he cited as an example
the searches at the residence of former President
Donald Trump, which could cost him the
opportunity to participate in the
next election.
At the same time, the author recalled that no one broke
into the house of the former Secretary of State, Hillary
Clinton, who violated the rules of correspondence,
with searches, and the State Department
investigation... found her innocent.
“So, Monday’s raid, as Trump himself claims, really
looks like an act of political intimidation, which is
inherent in the dictatorships of the developing
world. And also, a desperate attempt to find
anything - that will prevent Trump from
running for president in 2024,”
writes Gray.
With the banana republic of the United States - in
the context of the searches at Trump’s - lawyer
Frank DeVito warned the US, in his article for The American Conservative.
“Any attempt to prevent the re-election of Donald J.
Trump, through the tactics chosen by the FBI and
the Department of Justice - is unconstitutional
and will further undermine public confidence
in our federal institutions,” he stressed.
The lawyer added that if anyone wants to prevent
Trump from becoming president in 2024, then he
must - “stop desperately attacking him and
looking for legal loopholes against him.”
“Instead, they should let the American people make
their choice, who - if they wish - can only reject
Trump’s candidacy in a pre-election campaign
or general election. Let’s stop acting like a
banana republic --- and be worthy of the
greatness of our Constitution,”
summarized the author.
What do YOU think... and
shouldn't this article be
on the Home Page?
_______________________________
Zelensky was told in the West
what he did not want to hear
August 5th, 1:17pm
https://en.news-front.info/
After Volodymyr Zelensky addressed students at the
Australian National University and called on China
to remain neutral rather than help Russia in its
fight against Kiev, and The New York Post
wrote about it, its readers and it, told the
Ukrainian president, what he and his
country... do not want to know.
In comments to the piece, Zelensky was called a
“laughing stock” and a “corrupt NATO puppet”.
And they suggested he be sent to eastern
Ukraine to “face a real trial for his war crimes”.
“I hope to see the day when Zelensky is captured,
stripped naked, shackled and then flogged,”
wrote one user.
But, on the other hand, to add to this, at the same time
the US has agreed to and allocated a new aid package
of 550 million dollars to Ukraine, bringing the total
to 8.7 billion dollars, since the US President and
Democrat Joe Biden took office. And Zelensky
himself ---- and the head of his Office (OPU),
Andriy Yermak, have once again confirmed that they have no intention of going to any peace talks with Russia until they have fullly defeated it on the battlefield.
This is what Ukrainian leaders have, of sorts, been
seeking since the launch of the special military
operation (SSO) --- intending to finish the job
before winter --- through a broad counter-
offensive --- and US Republican Senator
Lindsey Graham, commenting on yet
another aid package to Ukraine...
said: “I like the way we’re going.
With American weapons and
money, Ukraine will fight
Russia, to the last man”.
In other words, despite the alleged difference between
Republicans and Democrats, both US parties did come
to a consensus on the Ukrainian issue. US House of
Representatives member, Elissa Slotkin, recently
told reporters that deliveries of Army Tactical
Missile System (ATACMS) missiles --- with a
range of up to 300 kilometres --- have been approved by both parties.
And the White House administration is currently
preparing a legal justification for such parcels so that they can begin in a month and a half and Washington will thus help Kiev with HIMARS
multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) to
more thoroughly - shell troops & civilian cities in the LPR, or even to destroy the Crimean bridge, altogether.
The new aid package includes HIMARS MLRS shells
and ammunition for 155mm artillery pieces, and,
according to US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd
Austin, four more HIMARS -- because they
have -- “made a big difference on
the battlefield”.
In other words, Ukrainians have been and will continue
to be, killed on the FRE fronts for someone else’s
interests, not Ukraine’s, and there is no force
to change this state of affairs, apart from the allied forces of Russia & the LDNR.
Because the current Ukraine already rests on two
axioms, which, as we know, require no proof and
are visible to everyone, except, as mentioned
above, the Ukrainians themselves. More
precisely, they are beginning to under-
stand --- the deplorable situation in
which they find themselves, but
they have no opportunity to
change anything.
Axiom one: the current Ukrainian ruling elite, born out
of the 2014 coup d’état on Euromaidan, is no longer
strictly Ukrainian, and no longer defends the
national interests of the country and
its people.
It is a real neo-colonial administration, raised in
advance, appropriately trained, paid for and
brought to power... in a pseudo-democratic
way ( --- through completely unsupervised
presidential and parliamentary elections),
recruited from “natives” ------ rather than
brought in from a metropolitan country.
This ersatz-elite, from the metropolis –
the U.S. and the EU – is only overseen
and directed in all its steps --- by all
kinds of advisers and instructors.
In the rest, neocolonizers are pure mercenaries, from
the locals, who manage everything perfectly well on
their own, not forgetting their own pockets. And
expecting to flee with their loot to the West
after their “service” is over, under
guarantees of security there.
For good “service”.
And, apparently, the West has given such guarantees.
At least to Zelensky and his closest entourage, who
don't hesitate to stop at nothing in dismembering
their own country and fear no one --- except their handlers.
At the same time, the neo-colonial post-Maidan elite,
has turned the AFU not into the army of the country
that stands for its interests, but into a mercenary
structure, which also performs non Ukrainian
general tasks and specific tasks.
Soldiers recruited by the AFU do not want to fight, but
they are driven to slaughter, because the West, which
pays, needs a war with Russia - to destroy or at least
to weaken and deplete the latter. And the Ukrainians are fighting --- and will continue to do so --- because the Ukrainian generals are the same neo-colonial non-Ukrainian administration.... only in shoulder straps.
This was especially evident, in the recent, horrific
scandal with a HIMARS shelling of the Yelenivka
detention facility - when 50 Ukrainian prisoners
of war were killed and more than 70 wounded.
And General Vadym Skibitsky, one of the leaders of the
so-called Ukrainian intelligence service, is known to
have admitted that - all shelling with high-precision
MLRS is carried out exclusively, under the control,
under the tip, and on the orders of, US instructor-
advisers. Skibitsky himself admitted that no one
pulled him by his tongue. Though, maybe in this
way he was acquitting himself of the possible
court martial that awaits him, at the end of
the RSO.
The second axiom is that Zelensky’s neo-colonial
administration in Ukraine -- is sustained only by
fear and deceit. Or... on deception and fear ---
which intertwine & complement each other.
On the one hand, the population is “fed” ....only verified and censored information that Ukraine is winning
in the USO, and will soon hold a victory parade on Red Square in Moscow. Because “the
whole world is with us”, plus the bi- partisan and bi-cameral consensus
in the US --- to help the proud and invincible Ukrainian warriors.
Along with ...the latest weapons.
On the other hand, the usurpation of power by
the neocolonial Zelensky administration, is
accompanied by repression, suppression
of all discontent and the imposition of
an atmosphere of fear --- and
submissive obedience.
The Zelebobites have already crushed any opposition
at the edges of the political spectrum, and are now
getting to their Maidan rival allies in ex-President
Petro Poroshenko’s Eurosolidarity Party (PES) in
the centre. Porochobots, --- notable, like the
zealots --- for their extreme Russophobia,
have traditionally been accused of
“working for Russia”, which is the
worst accusation, for which,
there is no forgiveness.
The media in Ukraine is censored and unified, and free
speech on the internet and social networks can get
you benched and imprisoned, if the free-thinking
and chatty ones are tracked down by the SBU.
And they will roughly punish them.
And now we are witnessing a new round of spy mania
in Ukraine which the Zelensky regime and its lackeys
are planning to combat by snitching and informing on
“unreliable” people. Olexander Vilkul, the current
head of Kryvyi Rih, who has “repainted” himself
as a patrio ---, is already ready to pay money to
informers for --- “signals about the enemies”.
If a spy is delivered – 50 thousand hryvnias,
if an agitator for the Russian world – 10,000 hryvnias.
Which just shows ---- how impoverished Ukraine and its neo-colonizers are: immediately after the 2014 Maidan, oligarch, Igor Kolomoysky offered 10,00 quid for a “Moskal”.
But not the point. Today, Zelensky frankly fears 3
things: that a) the people in the territories of the
Donetsk region that are still under the control of the AFU will stay there and wait for their
liberation by the AFU forces; b) they will
receive Russian passports under a new decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, of July the 11th this year, on simplified Russian “fencing”; c) they will participate in a
referendum on the fate of the LDPR ---- and finally leave for Russia.
This is exactly what Zelensky is afraid of in the
liberated territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia
and Kharkiv regions, realizing that referenda
can take place as early as September 11th,
2022, on a single day of voting in Russia.
And Putin’s new decree on simplified citizenship, by
the way, applies to all citizens of Ukraine, which
makes Zelensky’s soul and heart.... grow cold
even more – he may lose the cannon fodder
with which he makes his way to a
comfortable and secure future
in the West.
That is why, apart from propaganda, censorship,
repression and spy mania, he also frightens
people --- with future reprisals for “zrada”
(betrayal). And that is why he ruthlessly
and massively shells those territories
that are being liberated by the allied
forces of the UDF.
There, for Zelensky, it seems there are no Ukrainian
citizens left – so bloodily and fiercely the AFU is
shelling the abandoned areas. And people
there too. Like in Yelenivka…
by Vladimir Skachko, Ukraina.ru
Is the West really this evil and corrupt?
And its populace --- are they to blame
for passively living under these sick criminal governments --- just as Germans did... under nazism - and were all despised, for generations, for doing so.
What do YOU think?
____________________________________
Anglo-Saxon strategic goal is
the economic destruction
of Europe
July 21st, 11:14am
https://en.news-front.info/
The EU is eating itself up from the
inside... with the help of the U.S.
As the runway at Brize Norton air base, is melted by
unbearable heat and the resulting temperatures are
terrorising Europeans from the Spanish province of
Alicante to the French department of Pas-de-Calais,
few would have thought that in four months time
the calendar winter will arrive.
The air-conditioner will have to be switched from
cool to warm. And if, just in time, the frost starts
to rage, the price of heating will become
unaffordable.
But the officials who are responsible for maintaining
the “comfort zone” for the population... remember:
winter will ask where you were in the summer.
Therefore, Klaus Müller, head of the German Federal
Network Agency, warns in advance that although
the underground gas storage facilities are filled
to 64.44%, it is not enough; Germany will
hardly survive without Siberian gas.
A “winter of discontent” is coming
Decision maker Muller is echoed by the US publication
Føreign Policy. “This is the most extreme energy crisis
that has ever occurred in Europe”, says Alex Manton,
a gas markets expert at the Rapidan Energy Group.
– Europe is in real danger of running out of gas at
the time when it needs it the most – the coldest
time of the year.
The US market expert cites the lack of alternatives to
Russian natural gas as one of the factors contributing
to the crisis. As Manton admits, “Supporting (!) energy
suppliers such as Norway and North Africa are failing
to step up” (meaning shortages).
If Russia imposes counter-sanctions and shuts down
gas pipelines, a recession in Europe would cut GDP
by nearly 6 percent by the end of 2023, according
to forecasts by analysts at Swiss bank UBS.
Forecasters at the Bundesbank foresee a domino
effect in the absence of Russian energy carriers –
there will be a systemic breakdown in supply
chains, which in turn “will amplify the initial
shock by a factor of two and a half”.
Against this background, Chancellor Scholz
announces plans to restart 16 inactive coal
and oil-fired power plants and to extend the
life of another 11 such air polluters. Greta
Thunberg is nervously smoking pot…
As a consequence, Europeans are in for a “winter of
discontent”, according to Manton. Simply because
electricity rationing for households as well as
businesses --- cannot be avoided.
It is not clear what the biggest threat is. Closing
swimming pools is half the trouble, even a
quarter of the trouble. “The worst-case
scenario,” notes Manton, “is when
people face the choice of eating
out or heating their homes in
winter.”
“If the degree of discontent rises, the scale of street
demonstrations could surpass the recent peasant
riots by Dutch and French farmers.”
The next step could well be an escalation
of indignation among freezing citizens,
frustrated by the drop - in their usual
standard of living and quality of life.
A social explosion, is all but a
foregone conclusion.
Oil blackmail as an example of short-sightedness
The sixth EU sanctions package to be launched
will also be a risky gambit. An embargo on
maritime deliveries of Russian oil (in
force from December 31st) and oil
products (from February 2023)
is envisaged.
German Deputy Finance Minister Jörg Kukis resorted
to Cold War clichés, calling the Druzhba pipeline “an
instrument of the Soviet empire in Eastern Europe”.
The German financier is silent on the fact that it was
Russian natural gas and oil that became the yeast
of sustainable economic growth in Germany and
the socialist commonwealth countries: either
out of ignorance, or out of malice.
It is pertinent to recall that in 2021 about 35% of oil as
well as 55% of natural gas and about half of all coal
imports Germany received from Russia. Where will
the government of the grandson of SS General
Olaf Scholz be taking the falling out of oil
imports next year? Perhaps Berlin’s
reckoning with the Saudis?
Yes, during US President Joe Biden’s visit to the Saudi
kingdom he was promised that production would rise
from 10 million bpd to 13 million bpd. However, there
are two “buts”. First, only by 2027 and second, only
after an agreement with countries of the OPEC+
alliance of oil producers, which, by the way,
includes Russia.
And the refineries in East Germany (the former GDR)
have been adapted to the Russian Urals standard.
If you ask any technologist, readjustment is both
difficult and costly.
Apropos. In the April-June interval Saudi Arabia has
doubled (compared to the same period in 2021) its
purchases of oil from Russia, using it in electricity
generation and thus freeing up its own raw
material for export.
Another curious fact is that the Europeans have been
buying Russian oil in a hurry in anticipation of the
black gold pipes drying up. Tankers belonging to
Greek shipowners called at Russian ports 151
times in May and June, which is 70% more
than the statistics for May-June 2021.
And that’s despite the fact that
freight quadrupled in price
compared to January.
“Now we hear all sorts of hysterical ideas about
limiting the volumes of Russian oil, limiting the
price of Russian oil. This is the same thing that
is happening with gas,” says Vladimir Putin. –
The result will be the same (as with gas)
– price rises. Oil prices will skyrocket.
Attempts by the US and the European Union to
impose a uniform ceiling on Russian oil prices
are akin to a nervous tic.
The target of US sanctions is the German economy
There are no winners in the sanctions war. But the
biggest loser today is the leading power of the
European Union. The engine of European
integration. A high-tech workshop with
disciplined employees – Germany.
There are at least two main reasons for the failure
of the fine-tuned mechanism. The key sectors of
the economy – steel, automotive, chemicals –
are highly energy intensive and
export oriented.
What follows? German industry can’t stand two evils:
rising energy prices, which are automatically
included in the cost of finished products,
and a recession in the rest of the world
because demand immediately falls.
The German blog platform Deutsche Wirtschafts
Nachrichten (DWN) comes to a disappointing
conclusion: the energy crisis “is a crushing
judgment on the future of the German
economy”.
However, negative trends were already evident,
caused by accumulated problems such as an
ageing population (average age 47.8 years,
second only to Japan), slow productivity
growth, falling real wages, the burden of
the social security system with a
shrinking taxpayer share, etc.
Whereas in 2007, according to statistics from the
British audit and consulting firm Ernst & Young,
the top 100 companies with the largest
capitalisation included seven giants in
the German jurisdiction, today there
are none there at all.
The German economy, says DWN, is
losing its former competitiveness.
To weaken and break up the Continentals
In the five months since the EIA began, the
consequences of the carpet-bombing of
anti-Russian sanctions, by the US and
the pro-US leadership of the EU, have
become clear. It was “united Europe”
that suffered the most damage. It
was not expected that a “petrol-
cell” country...... with a GDP of
about 2% of the world's total,
would actually ensure the
stability .......of the whole
structure of world trade
and the international
division of labour.
The words of the apostle of the Westphalian system,
the defender of the principle of national sovereignty,
the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, have
been widely circulated:
“At first, I thought we had just shot ourselves in
the foot. At the beginning I thought we had shot
ourselves in the foot, but now it’s clear that the
European economy has shot itself in the lungs
and it’s choking.”
It turned out that the countries of the golden billion
largely built their economic and worldly well-being
on deliveries of cheap energy, & agricultural raw
materials and food, rare earth metals, and other
minerals from Russia. Without an uninterrupted
supply of these precursors, their model of post-
colonial economy begins to bog down, or skid.
It is the German economy that is now being swept to
the side of the speedway. Was it an accident? Not
likely. At least, this is the opinion of Mikhail
Delyagin, a member of the State Duma and
editor-in-chief of the magazine Free
Thought: “The European Union is
devoid of political subjectivity.
It’s a crazy bureaucracy that
carries out the commands
of the US of A, the UK,
and that’s it.”
“The European Union, is really destroying Europe very
effectively. A great tragedy has happened in Europe:
national bureaucracies gave responsibility for their
countries to Brussels, which didn’t accept... their
responsibility, and this “feast of irresponsibility”
has lasted for more than 20 years. And, of
course, it ends in disaster.”
One may either agree or disagree with the other two theses of the famous economist. First:
“The whole Ukrainian crisis was instigated by the
Americans from the very beginning - in order to
destroy Europe. That was the first task, and
that task is being carried out quite
successfully.”
The second:
“England’s strategic objective is the
economic destruction of Europe.”
Given the centuries-long strategy of Anglo-Saxon
elites to divide and conquer and to prevent the
emergence of strong, sovereign and self-
sufficient states in continental Europe,
Delyagin’s conclusions are convincing.
It is possible that this winter’s energy apocalypse
could significantly undermine the foundations of
pan-European solidarity, which are already
cracked by national egoism. The reason
could be... the command-and-control
diktat of the European Commission.
In the emergency plan they have put in place the
right to compulsory (!) reductions of natural gas
consumption in the EU countries if they do not
comply with the instructions to conserve
energy resources.
Meanwhile…
The photo of greyish-brown bottom of Italy’s longest
river Po (652 km) with a catchment area of more
than 70 000 sq km, dried up like a mummy of
Egyptian pharaohs, is making the rounds of
social networks. Following a sparse winter
of snow, Europe was hit by an abnormal
heatwave with minimal precipitation.
The Rhine, Rhône and Ebro are the
unlucky companions of the Po.
Climatic vagaries are an additional risk factor for
European energy. That’s because French nuclear
power plants (many of which are undergoing
inspections at this time because of cracks
in their designs or maintenance checks)
use river water for cooling. And German
thermal power plants routinely haul
coal by barge down the Rhine….
“Bloomberg wryly comments on the force majeure
situation: “So it turns out that the weather is
playing into Russia’s hands. So when
assessing what happens next in the
energy conflict between Europe and
Russia, watch the skies. And pray
for rain”.
by Vladimir Mikheev, FGC
What do YOU think... could it be,that
this time --- we in the UK and the US,
could we be... the bad guys?
Image: The memorial complex at the site of the concentration camp is specially designed not to remind people of the nationality of the Jasenovac victims.
Nazi scandal in the Balkans
indirectly linked to special
operation in Ukraine
July 20th, 10:34am
https://en.news-front.info/
The memorial complex at the site of the
concentration camp - is specially
designed not to remind people
of the nationality of the
Jasenovac victims.
Between Serbia and Croatia there is a grand scandal
...like none seen since the war. Serbian President
Aleksandar Vucic was denied the opportunity
to commemorate his grandfather, a victim of
the uniquely brutal Croatian concentration
camp Jasenovac. What are Croats trying
to hide? And what does this have to do
with the Russian Armed Forces’
special operation in Ukraine?
The idiom “fired from the Gestapo for brutality” usually
describes cases where diligence beyond morality
cannot be appreciated even by those who look
past morality. But life always wins in the
debate over metaphors: there was a
case in history... when Heinrich
Himmler, Reichsfuhrer of the
SS, creator of the Nazi death
machine and the most vile
man in Hitler’s circle --
chided the Allies for
not being human
enough.
We are talking about the Ustashas, the Croatian
nationalists. They were raised by Mussolini’s
fascists, but their views and methods were
closer to those of Himmler’s SS. In 1941
the Ustasci seized power in most of
what is now Croatia and Bosnia,
and deployed their own death
machine --- the Jasenovac
system of concentration
camps --- named after the largest of them.
It is not known why Himmler was so impressed that he
ordered the Ustas to slow down at the meat grinder.
The well-known history of Jasenovac... is a
kaleidoscope of horrors that would have
impressed even the prisoners
of Auschwitz.
The camp itself was destroyed long ago; in its place
is a memorial complex with a composition “Stone
Flower”, symbolising the lasting memory. This
cursed place remembers many things.
It remembers the championships in the killing of Serbs
with special Serbian knives, which were made in
Germany on a special order from the Ustas. It
remembers its winner, Petar Brzica, who
received a gold watch and a roast
suckling pig, for slaughtering
over a thousand people.
It remembers the commandant, Franciscan monk
and military chaplain... Miroslav Filipovic,
nicknamed the “Devil of Jasenovac” for his cruelty and sadism.
It remembers the unique children’s ward and money
bets between the guards, the essence of which,
was who would be the first to kill a child
in a day.
During the Second World War, Jasenovac was one of
the most gruesome places on the planet. The exact
number of victims is not known and never will be.
The universally accepted minimum, is 100,000
people, more than 80% of whom were Serbs,
while the rest were Jews, Roma and
Croatian anti-fascists.
Serbian historians usually increase
this number ...by several times.
One should not think that in Himmler the stories of this hell awakened empathy. Rather, the
Reichsführer’s displeasure, was based
on two circumstances.
Firstly, the genocide of the Serbs boded well for
problems of a political nature. Serbia itself, at
the time also had a collaboration government
aligned to the Third Reich sitting on German
bayonets. And Ustasha atrocities, to put it
mildly -- were not conducive to Serbian
loyalty and made it difficult to control
the territory of the Balkans.
Secondly, Himmler was by nature a perfectionist
and bureaucra --, fixated on “German order”, and
competitions for sadists -- and atrocities for the
sake of atrocities, were by no means conducive
to discipline. If the creation of Germany’s own
“killing machine” passed under the rubric of
state secrecy, the Croats were essentially
proud of theirs...
After the Reichsfuhrer’s scolding... the leader of the
Croatian Nazis, the Führer, Ane Pavelic, shifted the
responsibility for the bloody mess onto father and
son, Kvaternikov. The patriarch – Slavko – was
Minister of Defence under the Ustashas, so
he was also responsible for the situation
on the front. The heir – Dido – did pass
as one of the main organisers of
Jasenovac and was considered
a fanatical Nazi (even though
he was a Jew by mother,
albeit with Croatian
specificity).
His grandfather, Josip Frank, had converted from
Judaism to Catholicism and played a role as an
ideologue of Serbo-Hungarianism, in Austria-
Hungary, to the point of organizing Serbian
pogroms at the turn of the 19th and 20th
centuries. His daughter, Olga, who later
became Slavko’s wife, & Dido’s mother,
eventually decided to take her own life.
She is believed to have been unable
to bear the weight of guilt.. for her
son’s crimes.
Dido himself escaped responsibility – he moved
to Argentina and died in a car crash in the early
1960s. The same can be said of many other
Ustashas – from Brzica, whose fate is
unknown, to Pavelic himself.
Like Dido, he fled to Argentina but, following an
assassination attempt on the part of Serbian
emigrants, moved to Franco-Spain and died
in his bed after a Catholic Christmas... in 1959. The Führer’s own Himmler,
Andrij Artukovic, lived until 1988
..almost to the point of Croatian
independence, but he died in a
Yugoslav prison. A year before
his death.... he had been
extradited from the USA
to Belgrade, but could
understand very little
...because of senile
dementia.
Despite the Stone Flower, the memory of the
Jasenovac tragedy -- is no better than the
justice for its victims: during Yugoslavia,
the communist leadership did a lot to
ensure that it would be forgotten.
That is why the monument is so
– it looks majestic, but is
stylistically neutral.
Inter-ethnic peace, “brotherhood and unity” under
Josip Broz Tito, were much more cherished than
historical authenticity. This was also the case
in the Soviet Union, on a somewhat smaller
scale. For example, in Elem Klimov’s film
Come and See --- which is based on the
Khatyn tragedy, the Nazi executioners
speak German rather than their native
Ukrainian, as in reality. This, too, is a
consequence of the intervention of
the Communist Party.
Their regime was rehabilitated... by Croatia’s first
president, Franjo Tudjman, a former red partisan
like Tito himself. But after his death, moderate
forces under Ivo Sanader took over the ruling
party, and since then there has been some
backlash: the Ustashers were no longer
exalted, and the streets named after
them - were renamed back. It is
believed, that this was one of
the conditions.. for Croatia’s
entry into the EU.
Sanader has been in prison for more than a decade,
accused of corruption and bribery. But the same
party founded by Tudjman – the Croatian
Democratic Union – is still in power.
And the Ustasha regime has again
become a silent figure in public
policy -- it is avoided because
it is unpatriotic to criticise it
and indecent to justify it.
A completely different policy is now in place in Serbia,
where Jasenovac, on the contrary, is mentioned very
often. Monuments are erected, books are written
and films are made. And the head of state, is
President Aleksandar Vucic, the grandson
of one of the Jasenovac victims.
He was supposed to be the first Serb leader (including
Tito the Croatian) to visit the memorial in person. And
he was going to do it as a private person – first last
year... then in spring. The Croats responded in the
spirit of “come tomorrow”, stalling for time. They
still did not want to recall the genocide, but they
also did not want a scandal: Vucic, as it is now
known, was asked to wait --- and not to report
the delays to the media.
Now..., the Serbian president has been denied for the
third time – and information about it, did leak to the
press, and from the Croatian side to the Croatian
side. The tone of some publications was openly
boorish. What is indicative, is the tone of the
Croatian Foreign Minister... Gordan
Grlich-Radman, too.
He said he perceived Vucic’s idea as provocative
and did not believe in the sincerity of his desire
to honour his grandfather’s memory:
“This is not about expressing piety for the victims,
the visit is more motivated by meeting domestic
political needs in Serbia … This is not a private
visit, it is not a trip to the sea.”
The position of the Serbian side is
amply reflected in other quotes:
“It is the same as if you forbade the president
of Israel, to visit Auschwitz. This is an anti-
European and anti-civilization decision,
a gross violation of the freedom of
movement… This is the biggest
scandal in relations between
Serbia and Croatia in recent
history… Shame on you!”
--- PM Anna Brnabic.
“Today..... the fascists are members of the European
Union. They do not like to be reminded of how many
children they killed… But now, all functionaries
of the Croatian state.. all holders of service or
diplomatic passports will have to specifically
declare and justify their visit --- or travel
through Serbia --- and will be subject to a special control regime.” Interior
Minister, Aleksandar Vulin, said.
“Our relations are at their lowest point in more than
twenty years. And this is already an assessment
from the president, personally. Which Croatian
Prime Minister, Andrej Plenkovic, called
“hysterical”.
Relations between Belgrade and Zagreb, are, of
course, bad, even without discounting the past
wars. For example, there is a classic arms race
between the two countries, with Croatia being
armed by NATO, and Serbia by Russia and,
partly, by China.
At that, the reluctance of the Croatian authorities to
brush aside the Jasenovac issue is understandable, as is the desire of the Serbian authorities and Vucic personally, to brush it on the contrary. But the utterly boorish tone of the first persons of the Croatian state... is surprising.
A possible explanation for this behaviour
is indirectly linked to the Russian Armed
Forces’ special operation in Ukraine.
We are now witnessing an attempt to turn Vucic into
a European pariah, which is being undertaken by the
very people who previously forced Croats to behave
decently: the functionaries of the European Union.
Earlier an ultimatum.. was given to the Serbian
president to impose sanctions against Russia.
The ultimatum was rejected by Belgrade.
Moreover, Vucic tried to convince the
Europeans - that they were dragging
the continent with their own hands
- into the hell of World War III.
All in all, the Serbian president, is not happy in the EU.
And Croats could take that dissatisfaction as a “fass!”
command, or, at the very least, as a “may” command.
In Europe, in recent years, it has, indeed, become
possible to do many things that were not thought
possible before – from getting a pass to go to the
shops and blockade of the Kaliningrad region to
freezing assets on ethnic grounds, and support
for neo-Nazi militias. If so, the mockery of the
memory of the victims of ethnic cleansing
from the “wrong side” – should we
be surprised?
That said, Croatia’s ruling party now needs to distract
its target electorate – the nationalists – from its own
helplessness. President Zoran Milanovic, who is in
opposition to the government, has proposed to
Plenkovic, to block the West’s much needed
NATO expansion to the North -- until the
Croats of Bosnia... are given the same
self-government that the Serbs have.
This is precisely the concern of Plenkovic’s nationalist
electorate, which loathes the socialist Milanovic. The
trick is that the President was essentially trolling the
government he hates -- knowing full well that the PM
did not have the guts to contradict his “honourable
Western partners”. Nor did he have the courage,
but he got a wonderful opportunity to remind
supporters of the Ustashas, that it is
possible to hate, not one’s own
government, but the Serbs...
in the old fashioned way.
The Serbian future... is the most interesting thing in
the story about the tragic past and the scandalous
present. And, above all, how serious is the EU’s intention to make Vucic a pariah – and how it
will affect the geopolitical orientation of
Belgrade, where the authorities were
previously sitting on two chairs.
It would not be desirable to have the influence so
that Belgrade's foreign policy will be decided in
Brussels, and the memory policy – in Zagreb...
when everything is strict, precise, technical,
and unconditional -- with full dedication --
within the framework of “Europe united”.
Himmler would have liked that.
Dmitry Bavyrin, VZGLYAD
What are we to make of a
''Europe'' -- that fights for
fascists and hegemony
over the world -- in the
name of democracy...
and really for the US?
What do YOU think?
________________________
The U.S. & the Ukrainian issue:
everywhere there is a wedge
July 20th, 10:06am
https://en.news-front.info/
According to Swedish media, a 28-year-old lieutenant,
who had recently left the national air force, was
killed near Donetsk. According to the source,
he arrived in the war zone a couple of
months ago to “share his
tactical knowledge”.
This news -- despite its local nature -- is on a par
with other developments in recent days, which
unequivocally show that the West is at a
crossroads - and will soon be forced to
make a fundamental decision on the
form of its further involvement in
Ukraine’s fate.
The problem is that, on all fronts, the processes
are not developing the way they were planned
and intended on both sides of the Atlantic
Ocean. And the situation is rapidly
becoming critical.
Russia’s economy has withstood the brunt of the
“hellish” sanctions. On the other hand, Europe
and America have been hurt so badly that they cannot hide it. And in the autumn the situation threatens to become
quite grim.
The isolation of Moscow... did not work out either.
Moreover, watching what is happening, the non-
Western world is openly demonstrating its
disdain for the global hegemon.
Biden’s trip to the Middle East was an embarrassment, that no amount of buoyant rhetoric.. could cover up.
Putin, on the other hand, had an excellent flight --- to Tehran yesterday. Mr Lavrov, too,
demonstrated at the Indonesia summit, that boycotting our country at the G-20 ---- is not an option.
But most importantly, things are not rosy in Ukraine.
Events on the fronts are still developing slowly, so
that sofa experts do not tire of breaking their
spears --- in disputes about whose favour the score ends up being.
At the same time.. officials are increasingly making
statements and decisions that reveal the essence
of what is happening. Zelensky’s beheading of
the Prosecutor General’s Office and the
Security Service of Ukraine - with the
words “unsatisfactory work results”
and “numerous facts of state
treason” - speak for
themselves.
For the West, it is Ukraine that has become the main
stake in the fight against Moscow. Failure here is
simply unacceptable. But things are not going
well at all.
In Ukraine, the West is at war against Russia, using
Ukrainian armed formations as its proxy troops. In
theory this was indeed an ingenious plan. Firstly,
because there is no risk of a direct clash of the
nuclear powers. Secondly, because it is much,
much cheaper... than going to war yourself.
And thirdly -- this format of confrontation
presupposed the exhaustion (economic,
military, social, etc.) of our country,
while Europe and the US.......
would bear minimal costs.
However, in five months of Russian special
operations, it has become clear that the
West is getting deeper and deeper
bogged down in Ukraine.
It is forced to spend more and more money on it.
Yes, against the backdrop of the trillion-dollar
bubbles inflated by the printing press, the
billions allocated may not be that
significant. But the support of
European and US societies
for this expenditure is
steadily decreasing
in the face of a
worsening
domestic
crisis.
The West is - constantly - being forced to allocate
armaments instead of grinding out allied troops.
And it has come to the point --- of increasingly
modern and expensive Western-made items.
Those are, of course, troublesome, for the Russian
and republican troops -- but their use is in no way
capable of turning the tide of military action. In
addition --- Russia is learning to resist such
weapons. And Kiev is not to be trusted
either --- given how some of the
supplied volumes...... simply
evaporate, and journalists
unearth facts of trivial
theft and sale to the
outside (including
Russian).
The publicised death of the Swede, however, has
once again highlighted the growing problem -- of growing casualties among the foreigners
fighting on Kiev’s side. There is no doubt -
that among them are many commonplace
mercenaries who have come to Ukraine
simply because they want to earn extra
money or because of their Nazi beliefs.
But the “retired lieutenant” is a different matter; most
likely ----- it was a military adviser “in plain clothes”.
All in all, the usual story: NATO and almost-NATO
countries, use the long-standing method of
formally distancing themselves from the
conflict while actually helping one side.
The bottom line for the Western countries is extremely
worrying: money, weapons (of which there is already
a shortage) and people are lost, and the internal
situation is deteriorating at home. And there is
no result. And with every decision taken in
Washington and European capitals, the
proxy coverage (even if it does not
fool anyone) is erased from their
war against Russia.
This begs the question: how
should the West proceed?
It has three obvious options: 1) to back down,
2) putting aside the formalities and engaging
in an open military confrontation with Russia
in Ukraine, or 3) to continue with the
current logic.
The first option implies an open surrender of the West
to Moscow, which looks almost unbelievable at the
moment; the second option is to bring the planet
to the brink of a global nuclear war with a high
chance of falling into it.
And the third option, which has already proved ineffective,
means continuing to build up comprehensive, costly aid
to Kiev, which cannot turn the tide on the frontlines
and will only drag the US and Europe.. deeper into
a conflict that is sure to be a loser for them.
In short, there is a wedge
in every direction.
It is from this set that the West
will try to ---- put together the
phrase “victory over Russia”.
(by Irina Alksnis, RIA)
Well... what do you think?
Are the West's elite viciously cunning...
or just vicious --- in which case ---
isn't it an excellent idea to rid ourselves.. of these lunatics?
Image: Zakharova reacts to compromising photo from French and US embassies July 16th, 1:38pm https://en.news-front.info/ Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, commented on a photograph from a reception at the French Embassy, in the Unite
Zakharova reacts to
compromising photo
from French and US
embassies
July 16th, 1:38pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria
Zakharova, commented on a photograph from
a reception at the French Embassy, in the
United States, to mark the anniversary
of the taking of the Bastille.
It shows the first transgender woman to become
a US admiral - Rachel Levin - in the company of
another transgender woman, the US Assistant
Secretary of Nuclear Energy, Sam Brinton.
“Answer yourself, honestly, the question:- are these
the values you are willing to instil in your children?
Or are we fighting for our own, after all?” the
diplomat wrote under the photo, in her
Telegram feed.
Transgender woman, Rachel Levin, was promoted
to the rank of admiral of officers of the US Public
Health Service in 2021. The agency is dedicated
to maintaining the country’s health care system.
Levin is the first transgender person to receive
such a high rank.
Me? I'm saying nothing.
(Lol)
What do YOU think?
_____________________________________________
Ukrainian statehas
no geopolitical value
July 16th, 11:21am
https://en.news-front.info/
Not every state is worth dying for. To defend a state
just because it is a state is the destiny of shallow
minds. A state must possess something more
significant than just the name “state” in
order to be worth anything.
The Ukrainian state possesses nothing of the kind. It
was built on the civilizational and geopolitical fault
line between East and West, and it cannot be
enduring by its nature. It is like if someone
built a house in a zone of high seismic
activity over a crevice in the ground
and hoped to live in it happily
ever after.
And if such a person were to attack anyone who
advised him to put up his house, and store his
property elsewhere, he would be considered
unreasonable. And if in such house a man,
who is able, as Platon wrote, “to imitate
neighing of horses, bellowing of bulls,
murmuring of streams, crashing of
the sea, thunder and other in a
similar way”, that is, clown or
joker, would be appointed as
a manager, the days of such
a house would be numbered.
In the house called Ukraine, all this unpleasant stuff is
available. The clown president, “a drunkard with the
eyes of a dog and the heart of a deer”, often under
the influence of strong substances, is sending
thousands of his fellow citizens to their
certain death.
Unreasonable people with sticks are national activists
and the SBU, violently forcing fellow citizens to
believe, against logic, in the longevity of
Ukrainian selfhood.
The cleft, over which the house of Ukraine is built, is
the hostile line drawn by the West with the Eurasian
civilisation. The zone of high seismic activity is Eastern Europe, turned by the Americans into
a bridgehead for militaristic pressure
on Russia.
In ancient Greece there was a prediction --- that a state would collapse when it was ruled by an iron or copper guardian. By iron and copper men the
Greeks meant a generation that had deviated
utterly... from allegiance to the virtues and
precepts of their ancestors. The positive
characters opposed to them, were called
golden & silver guardians by the Greeks.
Under the golden and silver ones, the
state flourishes.
A ruler hatched from the iron-copper generation ‘by
drawing a carpenter and showing him from afar to
children or people not very clever … may mislead
them and they will take it for a real carpenter’,
Socrates warned.
Guarded by iron-copper guards, such a ruler juggles
before the crowd with fake images and false
promises, leading them as if on a rope.
“Thus the people … exchanges their immoderate
freedom for the most grievous slavery – slavery
to slaves” (Plato, “The State”). This is what
happened to the Ukrainians. First they
collapsed... into the vortex of the
“Euromaidan” licentiousness --
and now by law, they cannot
even leave the country.
Zelensky is not independent in his decisions, he is just
a talking doll of Washington, London and Brussels,
i.e. a political slave who chases other slaves –
his fellow citizens.
Such states, “like ships sinking into the abyss, will
perish or have perished or will perish in the future
because of the uselessness of their steersmen…
– the greatest ignoramuses of great affairs who,
not knowing anything about government, think
that they have mastered this knowledge most
clearly in every respect,” Plato warns in the
dialog “The Politician”. Ignorant people do
everything in their power to attribute the
terrible consequences of their own
ruling to external forces.
Ignorant Zelensky attributes all the
misfortunes of Ukraine... to Russia.
Initially Ukraine was not created as an independent
state, so it had stability only within the framework
of ...more powerful state formations (the Russian
Empire, the Soviet Union). Figuratively speaking
Ukraine “hovered” --- between the Eurasian
Economic Union and the European Union,
being neither one nor the other.
In geopolitical terms, Ukraine is also in a perpetual
state of “between” – it is neither in Eurasia nor in
Europe, and in relation to both... it occupies a
peripheral position. The periphery is always
deprived of the power to make fateful
decisions. Its fate... is to obey the
decisions made by others. If the
West decides to stage a coup
d’état in Kiev, the coup is
organised in 2014.
A decision by Moscow.. to denationalise the
authorities sentrenched in Kiev..... after the
coup d’état – denationalisation has begun.
In both situations, Ukraine had no influence on
decision-making. Zelensky’s bogus slogan --
“nothing about Ukraine... without Ukraine”
in reality sounds like this: “About Ukraine
without Ukraine”. The West clearly
adheres to this formula when it
comes to important, not
populist, decisions.
The Russian philosopher Konstantin Leontiev (1831-
1891) said: “There are Slavs, there are no Slavs”. A
large part of the Slavic world is under the control
of the Atlanteans. Besides Russia and Belarus,
only Serbia resists the pressure of the West.
Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Croatia, Bulgaria have long been
subordinated to the Atlantists.
Ukraine performs the function of a destroyer of the
East Slavic oikumene, in the interests of the West.
Ukraine is a means to split the Russian-Orthodox
civilization from within ... which is a practical
manifestation of the “iron-copper” deviation
from the historical path, that was
fore--ordained by the ancestors.
Just as a fish can't live in an unnatural environment
for itself... the state cannot exist in an unnatural
geopolitical environment. Even if.. Zelensky and
his clique will argue the contrary - as Kravchuk,
Kuchma and Yushchenko did before them. Life
punishes, for breaking the laws of geopolitics,
as inevitably as for breaking the laws
of physics.
No one would think of declaring the selfhood of a
single room within a single flat. Such a story
would be a laughing stock and worthy of the
attention of psychiatrists. Ukraine is just
one of the “rooms” of the Eurasian “flat”
and its declaration of selfhood... is so
contrary to sound geopolitical logic,
that the degeneration of Ukrainian
selfhood into a laughing stock
is not surprising.
Competing for the title of homeland of borscht,
disfiguring Easter crocks with the colours of
the Ukrainian flag, desecrating the face of
the Blessed Virgin Mary with the image of
a US Javelin in her hands, requests to
count Stepan Bandera’s father to the
list of saints for raising such a son
are clear symptoms... of moral
ill-health. So why die for such
a travesty of a state?
The conclusion is simple: the Ukrainian state has
no geopolitical value. It is a historical accident,
a geopolitical invalid, unable to survive
without help.
Ukraine... was economically healthy and politically
stable only when it was in an alliance with Russia.
At that time no seismic activity, instigated by the
West, would frighten it, because the earth did
not expand beneath it, and no geopolitical
cracks appeared beneath its foundations.
The iron and copper heads do not realise this, and the
gold and silver ones, after the 2014 coup, have either
been killed by the nationalists or driven out of the
country. Ukraine has trapped itself in stupidity,
creating an atmosphere of intolerance for
common sense. This is what is causing
it to decay.
Vladislav Gulevich, One Nation
Phew - quite a tough article ...and YOUR opinion?
____________________________________
Can Russia become a
global powerhouse on a par with the US and China?
July 11th, 1:22pm
https://en.news-front.info/
The transition from unipolar to multipolar world
order, about which, the opponents of US-style
globalization have been talking for so long, is
acquiring obvious features of irreversibility
Of course, the U.S. is not going anywhere in
the foreseeable future. Even in the worst
international developments for the US,
it will remain a centre of power that has to be reckoned with.
It is clear that the “only truly global” empire is failing.
Last year’s inglorious retreat from Afghanistan was
not the first, and certainly not the last, evidence
of that. However, the geopolitical consolidation
of the West around the U.S. against the back-
drop of the Ukraine crisis shows that the
US elite, is not going to retreat on all
fronts -- at all. Washington’s zone of
global responsibility is shrinking...
but on the contrary, the influence
of the United States is growing..
in the Euro-Atlantic controlled
territories. Even if only
situationally.
Another undisputed contender for global leadership in
a multipolar world is the People’s Republic of China.
By 2050, the ruling Communist Party promises to
turn the Middle Kingdom into a superpower and
achieve “universal prosperity” for its citizens.
China’s gross domestic product has exceeded the
United States in terms of purchasing power parity
for several years in a row. But Beijing, is also
aiming to surpass the US -- in nominal GDP.
It is both an audacious and a deliberate
strategy. The Chinese are the ones
who know how to plan.
Decades ahead.
Russia’s claim to global leadership is not so obvious.
Yes, we managed to defend national sovereignty
..while on the losing side of the unipolar world
after defeat in the Cold War. Yes, the country
has demonstrated... a number of successful
examples of securing its security and long
-term interests, as they say, in the far
reaches. Yes, Russia is, with varying
success, but steadily, establishing
control of the situation along the
perimeter of its state borders.
That may be enough to consolidate its status as an
influential regional power. But does our country
have enough geopolitical audacity to truly
compete with the US and China?
American global leadership is bolstered by the $22
trillion that the United States economy will deliver
in 2021. China’s catching-up and overtaking
development rests on $16 trillion of
nominal GDP generated by the
Middle Kingdom.
Russia’s contribution to the global economy is
$1.65 trillion, less than the gross regional
product of California or China's province
of Shenzhen. It seems Washington is
still rather bewildered by the extent
to which the Russian geopolitical
ambitions are disproportionate
to Russia’s current share of
the global GDP.
Moscow, on the other hand, believes that what
matters is not the size of its economy, but
how skilfully its competitive advantages
are exploited.
Russia’s economy has obvious growth potential. In
the unipolar world, our natural resources primarily
ensured prosperity of the West which built entire
industries on relatively cheap and stable hydro-
carbon supplies from Russia. In a favourable
conjuncture... raw materials exports to
Europe were also profitable for Russia,
but the cream in the process.. was
still skimmed off in Germany and
other EU countries.
The conflict with the West.. not only opens up the
prospect of reorienting oil and gas flows towards
Asian markets. After all, simply becoming a raw
materials appendage of the rapidly developing
East... is a dubious pleasure. The freezing of
export infrastructure on a western direction
poses an urgent task for the country to
re-orient its resources towards
domestic development.
It makes much more sense.... to extract value from
Russian raw materials at each stage of processing rather than endlessly exporting them “naked”.
China is ensuring its impressive economic growth in
spite of the fact that it spends hundreds of billions
of dollars annually on imports of more than 70% of
oil and almost 50% of gas. What prevents Russia
from achieving similar GDP dynamics when the
entire Mendeleev table is literally under our
feet, including huge hydrocarbon reserves?
Apparently, the lack of strategic planning, which in
the 20th century made the USSR a global leader
and - in the 21st century - allows China to
challenge the US economically. Only if
we have a clear vision of what we
want our country to be by 2030,
2040 or 2050... will Russia
be able to overcome the
technological lag that
has accumulated in
recent decades.
Few can compare to the Russian Federation in terms
of resource endowment. It's possible and necessary
to build a much more competitive economy, and
monetary system on our natural riches. In this
sense, the decision to sell gas for roubles is a
step in the right direction. But how realistic
is it to transfer other export operations to
settlements in the national currency?
As the world economy becomes dedollarized, a niche
will gradually open up for the ruble, but will Russia
be able to use it competently?
For the Russian national currency to be taken
seriously in the world, one should first ensure
its elementary stability. And at the very least
...to convert into roubles most of the settle-
ments within the Eurasian Union. And
only after that... should one claim,
on an equal footing with the yuan,
to participate fully... in the more
complex currency mechanisms
of the BRICS. It is not an easy
task, but it is quite solvable.
Undoubtedly - Russia has prospects for global
leadership, and not bad ones at that. After all,
Russia was and remains at the forefront of the
struggle for a multipolar world, and therefore,
may well claim to be one of its main centres
of power. Meanwhile, excessive geopolitical
ambitions without a corresponding
economic basis are too risky.
Courage, as you know, takes cities.
But only a strong and diversified economy, which
ensures “universal prosperity”, can keep them.
That is why it would be premature to say that
Russia is now capable of competing on an
equal footing with the US and China.
However, work in this direction...
is undoubtedly necessary.
by Alexander Vedrusov,
Izvestia newspaper
Perhaps those who have read the CPRF articles on this page, will know the answer... but what do YOU think?
_________________________________
US Pledges... Not to Start
a Cold War Against China
at G20 Meeting
July 10th, (teleSUR)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary
of State, Antony Blinken, held"substantive and
constructive" talks on Beijing-Washington
relations... and major international and
regional issues of common interest..
on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign
Ministers' Meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pledged
during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister
Wang Yi in Bali... that Washington would not start a cold war or challenge the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP).
He also noted the need for personal contacts
between U.S. and Chinese representatives
in his meeting with Wang Yi on the side-
lines of the G20 Foreign Ministers'
Meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
"Blinken stated that the U.S. side is not seeking a
new cold war with China, is not trying to change
China's state system and will not challenge the
CCP and its political role," China's Foreign
Ministry said, in a statement, Saturday.
The Secretary of State at the meeting argued that
Washington... "is doing everything possible to
control risk factors in relations between the
two countries."Blinken also assured that
the US..."will take an open stance to
promote cooperation with China,"
the report said.
Wang emphasized that China has practiced
mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and
win-win cooperation as three principles
in the development of relations
between the two nations.
Since the U.S. has pledged not to seek to change
the Asian country's system, Washington should
respect the path of socialism with Chinese
characteristics chosen by the people of
the Asian country, the foreign
minister said.
China also submitted four lists to the United States:
the list of U.S. irregularities to be stopped, the list
of key individual cases of concern to China, the
list of China-related bills of great concern to
China, and the list of eight areas of
China-U.S. cooperation.
The foreign ministers reached a consensus, to push
for more results from the China-U.S. joint working
group consultations on an equal and fair basis.
They agreed to resume people-to-people
exchanges and consultations and
strengthen cooperation on
climate change and
public health.
The two sides also put forward the vision of strong
China-U.S. interaction, in the Asia-Pacific region,
...and exchanged in-depth views, on the Ukraine
issue and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Sneaky US tries, permanently, to weaken Russia/China unity... but is this really going to work?
But here is the question: are the Baltic States and
Poles themselves, ready for war with Russia? It
is not a question of politicians, of course, but
of the common people. And the picture is at least controversial.
Recently, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki
made a comical statement: “The Kremlin must
know that if Russia ever intends to invade
Poland, we have 40 million Poles ready
to defend their homeland.
Given that Poland’s population as of 2018 was 38.4
million, it turns out that Morawiecki has enlisted
everyone in the Polish Army without exception
– including children, women and the elderly.”
There are not so many people who want to join.
But the Poles, by and large, are not ready to run
away and enlist. This conclusion is contained
in a document, prepared by the staff of the
Supreme Chamber of Control of Poland.
The publication Dziennik Polityczny calls the agency’s
report “alarming data”. Earlier Warsaw announced
plans to build up the army – in particular, the
head of the Defence Ministry, Mariusz
Blaszczak.. announced the creation
of 2 new combined arms divisions,
which, according to him, will be
deployed “along the Vistula
River in Central Poland”.
However, it turned out that manning both
existing and planned military units...
is not an easy task.
According to calculations of the Polish Ministry of
Defense, in the future, the country should have a
250,000-strong professional army and 50,000-
strong territorial militia.
In March 2022, Polish President Andrzej Duda
signed a new law “On Defense of the
Fatherland”, according to which,
the country’s military spending
will amount to 3% of GDP next
year and 2.5% of GDP in 2023.
The law also envisages the introduction
of simplified recruitment mechanisms
a new system of incentives for
volunteers, and significant
purchases of weapons
and equipment.
However, despite an intensive propaganda campaign
for several years now, urging the population of pre-retirement age to “become soldiers of
Rzeczpospolita”, the actual number
of people in uniform, in 2021,
increased by only 3,486 –
amounting to 113,586
soldiers by the end
of last year.
At the same time, 6,165 people took off the uniform
–this turned out to be the highest number of
departures from the army in the last ten
years. The Polish Supreme Control
Chamber also specified that only
12.3 thousand reservists, were
called up for training in 2020..
(the low figure was, however,
put down to the coronavirus
pandemic).
The Polish army is also facing
a shortage of civilian workers.
For example, in 2020, 45,376 civilians were employed
in various structures of the armed forces – whereas
the limit set by the ministry... was 47,388 positions.
In addition, the Polish generals were disappointed
by the results of an inspection carried out at the
aviation academy in the city of Demblin. The
M-346 training aircraft.. was in a state
of disrepair; consequently, over 40%
of graduates from the academy in
2019-2020 had never trained on
this type of aircraft.
This particular case, is a reflection of general
problems with sloppiness and irresponsibility
prevalent in the Polish army.
Polish historian Michal Krupa wrote in the American
Conservative, in April, that Warsaw’s bellicose
policy runs counter to the mindset of
its citizens.
“According to an opinion poll, conducted in early
March, by sociologists from IPSOS... about 60%
of Poles responded negatively to the question:
should Poland and NATO make a military
intervention in Ukraine? The message
is clear: Poles do not want to take
part in someone else’s war,”
Krupa said.
The Polish state is now luring young people.. to join
the country’s recently introduced “voluntary basic
military service”, promising volunteers a salary
of over 4,500 zlotys (53,400 rubles) a month
and the chance to obtain a driving licence,
or any professional licenses. Many young
Poles, however, consider this level of
remuneration insufficient.
“How can Russia be trusted?”
The smell of gunpowder has been hot in Lithuania
lately, after official Vilnius announced a partial
blockade of Russia’s Kaliningrad region.
US TV channel, CNN, reports that Lithuanians
are joining the militia - in large numbers. The
Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union (the equivalent
of Ukraine’s territorial defence – a unit of
civilians armed with light firearms and
undergoing regular military training)
currently has 12,000 members.
“Since the first days of the war in Ukraine, the number
of recruits wishing to join the militia has increased
from 10-12, to more than 100 a month,” the CNN
correspondent assures. He said.... residents of
the territories known as the “Suvalki Corridor”
– the isthmus of Lithuanian territory between
Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad region's borders – were particularly interested in joining the militia.
“There are fears that if Ukraine falls, Russia will
occupy this corridor next, possibly in a matter
of days, cutting off the Baltic states... from
other NATO states,” the channel reports.
CNN reports that nearly 30,000 Lithuanian prisoners
allegedly died in Soviet “labour camps” – and now
Lithuanians are ready to fight to prevent such a
thing from happening again.
TV reporters, in particular, talked to Vytas
Grudzinskas, a 59-year-old resident of
Kibartai... who said that there is a
“Riflemen’s Union” base - near his
home - training takes place there
both day and night. Grudzinskas
himself, keeps a machine gun
in his wardrobe at home.
“My father was sent to Sakhalin for fifteen years.
The first year he ate grass to survive. How can
you trust Russia? With our history? Of course
I am scared,” the Lithuanian confides to a
visiting US journalist.
For its part, Lithuania's Ministry of Defense
reported that, this year, the Union of the
Riflemen had been allocated additional
4.8 million euros, i.e., the funding of
the organization had been tripled,
in comparison with last year.
The Union of Riflemen will spend the next three
years, to purchase 4,500 rifles, new uniforms,
1,500 G-36 automatic rifles with ammunition,
2,000 helmets, 500 flak jackets, 2,000
waistcoats and backpacks, 70
thermal imaging cameras
and 250 digital radios.
Also planned are the purchase of 60 frame tents with
equipment, 20 electric generators, 16 cross-country
vehicles and eight minibuses. Funding will also go
up... for the “Riflemen’s Union” camps, which
prepare young Lithuanians, from childhood,
for the defence agenda.
“Weapons cannot be given to non-patriots”.
Something similar is being observed in neighboring
Latvia as well – in recent months, the number of
people signing up to the local territorial militia
Zemessardze (Defence of the Land) has
grown. Not only ordinary citizens, but
also... high-ranking government
officials are joining the militia.
For example, recently the Latvian Minister of Justice
Janis Bordans became the militiaman, who in May-
June developed and managed to “push” through
the Seimas, the law on the demolition of 70
monuments to Soviet soldiers located
on the territory of Latvia.
Bordans came to Zemessardze to sign up together
with his son and colleagues from the Ministry of
Justice. And they are not alone. On March 7th,
Brigadier General Egil Leschinskis reported
that Latvians had submitted.... 784
applications to join Zemessardze,
in just two weeks.
Leschinskis notes that it is a lot ---- so many
applications haven't been received - before
and during - the whole year. The general:
asked those who want to join the militia
to be patient, because they first have
to pass a medical examination, get
a certificate from a psychiatrist
and a narcologist as well as be
checked by special services.
Then they have to sign a contract, take the oath and
undergo basic training, which lasts for 21 days.
Egil Leschinskis, reminds, that at the moment
the “Zemessardz” has restrictions regarding
age – citizens from 18 to 55 years old, can be accepted into the club.
However, the situation has been improved and the
possibility for older people to be admitted, has
been planned to be legalized.
Latvian media have been happy to reprint social
media posts shared by newcomer Zemessargi
militia members. “Came to Zemessardze.
People standing in line. Young guys and
bearded men in suits. Even women in
coats. The joy of the day,” wrote
Raymond Schiferis, for example.
And another new zemessarg, Andris Vitols, reflects:
“I didn’t think the time would come when a regular
war would start. Under these circumstances,
everyone must be prepared. The supporters
of a ‘neutral’ position, actually support the
war against Ukraine --- initiated by the
Putin regime”.
However, not everything is so smooth. The other day
Latvian publicist Egil Lycitis examined the situation
with the number of the state army. At first, Lycitis
lamented the absence of compulsory military
conscription at such a “dangerous time for
the country”, but then concluded that
this was for the best.
Lycitis counted the number of all potential Latvian soldiers. According to him, there are about 7,000 professional soldiers... about 8,000 members of
the Zemessardze militia, and reservists whose
exact number is difficult to establish – only a
fifth of them come to the military training
camp - on summons.
Such a small number upsets Licitis and he
wonders what would happen if universal
conscription, abolished in 2006, is
reinstated in the country.
He arrives at the disappointing conclusion that, in that
case, those in Latvia who await “Putin’s coming as a
liberation from the heavy boot of nationalism”, will
also have access to weapons. According to Licitis
Latvia is full of “the most loyal followers of Putin’s regime” who work in shops and taxis, live in mixed families and continue to support Russia... ''even''after the start of the special operation in Ukraine.
“Non-patriots cannot be given weapons, so there
should be no universal conscription in Latvia,”
the author concludes.
“Loyal” and “disloyal”
The picture is similar in Estonia. On the one hand,
the local authorities readily tell... of an influx of
“national patriots” into the ranks of the local
territorial militia “Defence League”.
The militia’s leadership says it receives requests from
the population for additional information sessions
that provide in-depth information on how to join
the militia. At such events, the halls are so
packed with interested citizens, that
there are sometimes not enough
chairs for everyone.
On the other hand, the country’s officials express
concern, that they believe there may be many
“disloyal” residents... who do not see the
Estonian army as their defenders.
Some of the nationalists automatically classify
as “disloyal”, the entire Russian population of
the republic – which is 23% of the population.
As they have been constantly made to feel that they
are 2nd-class citizens here – the gradual liquidation
of Russian-language education, restrictions on the
use of the Russian language, not allowing
Russians into the Estonian government –
they have no reason to consider the
Estonian state, to be fully theirs.
Nikita Demyanov, VZGLYAD
My humble opinion, for what it's worth,
is that Russians in the Baltic states
could be much better off, moving
to the Russian Federation -
what do you think?
____________________________
BRICS is turning into a
collective “Non-West”
by Elena Panina,
June 30th,
(RUSSTRAT Institute)
BRICS expansion has been discussed for a long time.
It is significant, that the last summit, on June 24th in the BRICS Plus format, was attended by such
countries as Algeria, Argentina, Cambodia,
Egypt, Fiji, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran,
Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Senegal,
Thailand and Uzbekistan.
At the same time, the fact that the first applications
for membership were submitted by Argentina and
Iran, which did not take part in the BRICS Plus
meeting, does not seem accidental.
Initially, the BRICS group, was created as an association of the largest developing
economies in the world. However, in
the modern world, it is political
decisions that determine the
nature of the development
of economic ties.
It is quite logical that the first countries with a
pronounced geopolitical sovereignty and
having their own geopolitical scores
with the collective West, are
preparing to join the
expanded BRICS.
Iran is already almost 2,500 years old, since the time
of Cyrus the Great is a powerful historical power,
and its geopolitical significance cannot be
overestimated.
Geography itself determines the potential of its
influence on the countries of the Arab world up
to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the
Persian Gulf, in the Transcaucasus, Central
Asia, as well as on the Afpak region
(Afghanistan and Pakistan).
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran’s state
ideology has been anti-Western. Tehran is
engaged in an intense struggle with the
US-British coalition for influence in Iraq, and is helping Syria in the fight against terrorism.
From an economic point of view, Iran’s potential is
also great. The Iranian economy.. is in the world’s
top 20... in terms of purchasing power parity the
country is third in the world - after Saudi Arabia
and Venezuela - in terms of proven oil resources
and has 16% of the world’s proven gas reserves.
Argentina, since the time of General Juan Domingo
Peron, has also clearly felt its geopolitical role,
being one of the regional leaders, in Latin
America. This role is recognized all over
the world. Argentina, while not one of
the world’s largest economies, is
nevertheless, a full member of
the G20.
Having survived the failed war with Great Britain
over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), as well as
the collapse of liberal reforms --- according to the IMF recipes, the country has an obvious
quest:-- to find an independent path of
development. Today... Argentina is in
a difficult economic situation, it has
a huge external debt. However, the
potential of Argentina, as one of
the global food exporters, has
significantly increased in
recent years.
For various reasons... both Iran and Argentina, are
extremely interested in BRICS projects to create
new international settlement systems that are
an alternative to the global hegemony of the
dollar. Iran -- which is under sanctions -- life
itself has forced to go to “de-dollarization”,
the country practically does not use the
US currency.
For Argentina, the transition to a hypothetical new
monetary and financial zone, would mean an
escape from the stranglehold of the IMF...
from the pressure of US creditors, which
today, have an extremely destructive
impact on the national economy.
In any case, against the background of aggressive
pressure from the United States and its allies on
potential new BRICS members, the desire of
Iran and Argentina to join the community
requires a certain amount of foreign
policy courage.
There is reason to assume that the process of their
joining the BRICS, will be successful, since both
countries do not cause rejection, even in India..
which until recently was the main opponent of
expansion. We can confidently predict that in
the near future, the process of adding new
members to the BRICS will continue, due
to the entry of a number of Asian and
African countries.
But even now, the BRICS expansion at the expense
of Iran and Argentina is the final departure of the
community from the idea of Goldman Sachs
analyst, Jim O’Neill, who coined this
abbreviation twenty years ago,
& who decided to designate
such a term as “emerging
economies” -- that are
“catching up” -- with
the developed West.
We can say that BRICS is confidently turning into
a “collective Non-West”, from a community of
emerging markets, it is finally transformed
into a community of world powers -- with a pronounced geopolitical sovereignty.
Elena Panina, is Director of
the RUSSTRAT Institute.
Sounds fair... wonder what's going
to happen to Wales, in all this....
what do you think?
______________________________
“Kyiv is playing for time”:
Russian expert evaluates
progress of Russia’s
special operation
in Ukraine
June 20th, 11:04am
https://en.news-front.info/
The collective West will not stop pumping Ukraine
with weapons, deliberately delaying the process
in order to 'force' Moscow to stop the offensive
of the RF Armed Forces, after the completion
of liberating all the territories of Donbass,
Sergey Markov, head of the Institute for
Political Studies, shared this opinion,
whose interview is published
by Ukraina.ru.
The expert recalled -- that US senators in charge of the
armed forces came out with an approving assessment:
of the fact of an additional allocation of $45 billion for
defense for the coming year. As the head of the US
committee, Reed, hopes, the document will help
''eliminate'' the catastrophic consequences of
inflation and will also provide another $800
million in military assistance to Kyiv.
“There will be new deliveries of weapons – heavy
artillery -- so that Russia will stop the offensive
after the capture of the Donetsk and Lugansk
regions,” the expert said.
According to the political scientist, the West intended
to supply Kyiv with multiple launch rocket systems,
as well as howitzers in order to carry out attacks
on the Crimean bridge, Belgorod and Russia’s
Rostov-on-Don.
“I must say, that the current government of Ukraine, is
a terrorist group, and terrorists strike... not because
they can or cannot. I am sure that there will be more
attacks on the centre of the cities of Kursk,
Belgorod, and Rostov, and there will be
attempts at terrorist attacks.”
However --- Kyiv’s ambitious hopes to “overcome” are clearly meaningless. According to the expert
a large-scale movement -- is now underway in
Severodonetsk -- the Ukrainian command is
transferring military forces to the regions
of Donetsk and Lysychansk... with the
sole purpose of slowing down the
Russian advance, he said.
“But our people want most of the Ukrainian troops to
be ground -- let it be there – Slavyansk, Kramatorsk,
Avdiivka. Better there than in large cities - Odessa,
Dnepropetrovsk, or Kharkov. This is a reasonable
strategy, it is better to take fortifications in
small towns”, the political scientist
summed up.
Recall that earlier, Sergei Markov called the fighting in
Severodonetsk nothing more than “the destruction of
the Ukrainian army.” The collective West, according
to him, believes that now about 50% of the entire
Ukrainian army is located in the city area, so if
this group is liquidated, a fundamental turning
point may occur during the special operation
– the battle for Severodonetsk... may well
become the finale within the framework
of the special operation deployed by
the Kremlin on the territory
of Ukraine.
The Russian special operation to force Ukraine
to peace, started on February 24th, by decree
of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Its
main goals are the denazification and
demilitarization of the criminal Kyiv
regime, which, for eight years, has
subjected the civilian population
of Donbass to harassment,
abuse, and genocide,
with impunity.
What do YOU think?
What will Russia do........ if Kiev - on US instructions - strikes the Crimea bridge (God forbid!)
____________________________
Mystical death of three "gravediggers
of the USSR"at once — the grin of
historyor a sign of rapid changes
by Vladimir Vorsobin
June 20th, 10:31am
(Komsomolskaya Pravda)
Burbulis (Russia), Kravchuk (Ukraine) and
Shushkevich (Belarus), the signatories of
the Bialowieza Agreement, passed away
in just a month and a half.
Even if we are thrice materialists, do we believe
in coincidences? Don't we look for patterns in
everything, even before we die?
Telegram channels - are now discussing a mystical
sequence - almost simultaneously, in just a month
and a half, half of the "funeral team of the USSR",
three of the six signatories of the Belovezhskaya
Agreement, passed away:- the former head of
Belarus, Stanislav Shushkevich (May 3rd), the
former President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk
(May 10th) and literally last weekend, June
19th - the author of the famous phrase
"The Soviet Union as a subject of
international law and geopolitical
reality ceases to exist" the former Secretary of State of Russia, Gennady Burbulis.
The word "gravedigger"is very convenient here. This
sad profession... does not involve murder and other
evil. And the participants of "Bialowieza" insisted
they did not kill the Soviet Union, it was doomed,
it only remained... to witness its death, giving
freedom (they thought) to 15 new countries.
And here is the fate of fate - it was in 2022, when the
course of History turned sharply, as if trying to
challenge the Bialowieza verdict to the Union,
that by some strange, incredible coincidence
these three died. It is those who, it would
seem, forever put an end to a huge
country and its new borders.
What does it mean?
If you are a materialist, probably nothing.
Although... Maybe this is a hint that we are again
(here, "lucky" those who are over 40!) living on
the scrap of History? The old familiar world, is
disappearing before our eyes. And obediently,
in an organized manner - together with their
architects. It is decaying, collapsing,
overgrown with graves and ghosts
of already irrelevant ideas.
Another one arrives. And, as then, in the 90s -
the same unknown, with new architects and
"signatories of historical treaties" that will
again lead Russia and its suburbs...
somewhere.
By the way, on the day of his death, Burbulis managed
to give an interview at a conference in Baku, where
he answered the question: is it possible to restore
the USSR?: "This is nonsense and utopia.
It cannot be restored."
And it sounded like a challenge.
We'll see.
WWW.KP.RU: https://www.kp.ru/
Silly article or omen --- what do YOU think?
_________________________________
What is coming to replace
American ‘unipolarity’?
by Vladimir Vinokurov,
(in 'The Star')
June 13th, 12:34pm
Russia’s military special operation has changed world
politics and world relations: the transformation of the
new order, the formation of a new reality, not yet so
visible, but already evident, due to the movement
of the “arrow” of those or other interests in world
politics, suggests the end of US “unipolarity” in
world politics. What replaces it?
The thesis of a unipolar and multipolar world
confrontation was first put forward in 2000
by former Prime Minister, Foreign Minister
& Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence
Service E.M. Primakov. Since then, the out
lines of the global crisis... have become
increasingly clear: endless sanctions,
which have resulted in energy
shortages, food and water
shortages... inflation...
climate problems, etc.
due to the fault of the
West in his countries.
One of the triggers of this crisis in the West, is
Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.
Indeed, Russia’s special military operation has
changed the world order, which is no longer
dominated by the West, some experts say.
Its new structure, in their opinion, has
already started to take shape.. and to
take concrete contours. The process
of shaping the new reality is not yet
that visible due to some or other
interests of the world politics
...but it implies fundamental
changes in the world order.
Some Western media outlets have already started
to acknowledge that a new commonality is taking
shape on the planet --- one that is in many ways
superior to the Western one. In particular, CNN
journalist F. Zakaria states this directly, and
he believes that the United States will lose
its status as the world hegemon... in the
near future.
Collapse of Pax Americana
In the light of the emerging situation, the West led by
the U.S. is convulsively trying to retain control, but it
is yielding to it with great difficulty. The unipolar
world of Pax Americana is bursting at the seams
and, according to many experts in our country
and abroad, attempts to save it from Russia by
closer consolidation against Russia are
nothing but ‘putting out the fire
with paraffin’.
Discussing the role of the US in the modern world, the
famous British philosopher and sociologist Z. Bauman
believes: “No one... can consider himself truly
irreplaceable. Even the most privileged status
can turn out to be temporary - and suddenly
change”. The prospect of living and acting
according to alien standards and patterns
that lead to a loss of national identity and
identity... persists.
The US is used to setting the world’s rules of the
game and changing them depending on the
situation, seeing its mission as being at the
top of the governance pyramid. Therefore,
inequalities in income, consumption and
living standards are only increasing, and
this is fraught --- with fragile economies,
aggressive policies, regional instability
and conflict.
Here it is worth recalling the words of Henry Kissinger,
one of the outgoing “propaganda ministers of world
government”, about the vulnerability of an all-
powerful country, about the problems of a
new order in which America cannot
dominate the world:
“It must not compromise its own greatness by
harbouring illusions about the limits of its
capabilities. World leadership.. is an
essential part of America’s power,
and moral values... but it does not
include the privilege of pretending
to be in league with other nations,
or the unlimited ability to impose
its will on them by curtailing
their goodwill.”
However, there is an ongoing and heated debate in
expert circles on how long the transformation of
the world order will continue and what will
happen on the international stage before
the final establishment of the multipolar
world. Many observers are inclined to
believe that this tectonic change
could result in the world...
descending into chaos.
If not the USA, then impartiality?
With the United States now failing as the sole pole of
the world order, the world has entered a period of
uncertainty and increased risks, especially
exacerbated after the start of Russian
special operations in Ukraine.
In his book “Global Confusion: American Foreign Policy
and the Crisis of the Former Order”, R. Haas, former
adviser to Barack Obama & president of the Council
on Foreign Relations, introduced the notion of a
world without states or a non-polar world.
“A system of world government must be
established - and sovereignty abolished.
Nations must be prepared to surrender
sovereignty to world structures. This
is already happening in the trade
sphere,” he argues. And further:
“The moment of unipolarity” in U.S. politics is over.
International relations in the twenty-first century
will be determined by a situation of non-polarity.
Power will be diluted rather than concentrated,
and nation-states will become less important
as non-state actors strengthen. But this does
not threaten the United States in any way. In
the face of transition, Washington is still
able to hold the course to a more
secure world.
In the twenty-first century, the dominant feature of
international relations will be non-polarity: It will
not be one, two or even a few states, but dozens
of actors that can have different effects on the
state of the world. The new situation is
fundamentally different from what it
was in the past and represents a
fundamental change in the
balance of power.
But the advent of the era of non-polarity raises
a number of important questions. How does it
differ from other forms of world order? How
and why did it emerge? What are the
possible consequences of its
functioning? And how should
Russia respond to the
emergence of
this form?
In contrast to multipolarity, which implies several
distinct poles or centres of power, a non-polar
international system is characterized by
the presence of numerous centres
...with considerable power.
A multipolar world order may be based on cooperation,
even taking the form of a “concert of powers”, when
several major states work together to create the
rules of the game ...and develop measures to
influence those who violate them... (the vivid
example - the Vienna system of international
relations). A multipolar world may also be
more competitive and based on a balance
of power, or it may pose a risk of conflict
when that balance is disturbed.
An un-polar world today is not simply the result of the
rise of other states and organisations or the failures
and irrational moves of the United States. Impolarity
is an inevitable consequence of globalisation. It has
increased the volume, speed and importance of
cross-border flows – from drugs, email, green-
house gases, industrial goods and people to
television and radio signals, viruses (virtual
and real) and weaponry.
Globalisation perpetuates a non-polar disorder and
makes it increasingly pervasive, which will have
mostly negative consequences for most states,
including Russia. With so many actors wielding
considerable power & trying to exert influence,
it is more difficult to organise collective action
and make international organisations work.
Controlling dozens of actors is harder than
controlling a few. The failure to reach
agreement on the Trans-Pacific
Partnership at the time, is a
clear demonstration of
this truth.
However, even though the advent of an era of non-
polarity is inevitable, the nature of this form is not
predetermined. To paraphrase the international
relations theorist H. Bull, we can conclude that
global politics anywhere in the world is a
mixture of anarchy and organization.
Moreover, anarchy is recognized as
a leading force in the development
of international relations.
“Anarchy” is interpreted as the absence of a world
government, a single supreme authority in the
interaction of states. The question is what
is the ratio of these components and
what is the trend.
Much can and should be done to form the structure of
a non-polar world. Order will not emerge on its own.
On the contrary, a non-polar world, if left to its own
devices, will become more chaotic over time.
Entropy teaches us that systems consisting
of a large number of actors will, in the
absence of external intervention,
tend towards more randomness
and disorder.
An impolar world order makes diplomacy difficult. It
is not just that there are more actors in a non-polar
world. It lacks the predictable fixed structures and systems of relations that characterise uni-
polar, bipolar & multipolar forms. For example,
alliances will lose much of their significance --- if only because they require.. predictable threats, clear projections and commitments, all of which are lacking in a non-polar world.
Relationships will become more selective and
situation-driven. It will become more difficult
to define other countries.. as either allies or adversaries, cooperating with us on some
issues.. and opposing us on others.
Consultations and interest-based coalition building
will come to the fore, as will diplomacy, which
encourages engagement wherever possible
and protects it from the consequences of
inevitable disagreements.
It is particularly important not to make a mess
of international terrorism if we do not want
the era of impartiality to turn into an era of
modernmedievalism. There are many ways
to weaken existing terrorist organisations,
using intelligence, law enforcement, and
military capabilities. But none of this will
work unless recruitment and funding for
these organisations can be reduced.
Parents, religious leaders and political leaders must
show that terrorism is unacceptable, by showing
contempt for those who engage in terrorist
activities. More importantly -- governments
should find ways to integrate marginalised
young people into society, which cannot
happen in the absence of political and
economic opportunities.
The era of globalisation the world has experienced for
the past 40 years is beginning to be replaced by an
“age of disorder and chaos”, a Deutsche Bank study
said. According to the forecast of the report’s author
Jim Reid and his colleagues, the distinctive feature
of the new time is the strengthening of the Chinese
economy --- and its predominance over the U.S.
economy. Analysts suggest that confrontation
between the countries will occur mainly in the
economic sphere and at times will resemble
the relationship between Washington and
Moscow during the Cold War.
The report says that the “century of disorder” will be
characterised by rising inflation, economic inequality,
increased intergenerational competition and a new
technological revolution. German economists
predict that “disorder” will define the new
era for a decade or longer.
The concept of “controlled chaos”
In US geopolitics, the theory of “promiscuous
disorder” is closely tied in with the doctrine of
“controlled chaos”, which is a kind of tool for
world struggle without rules for geopolitical
power in the world. The goal is to organize
a country’s lack of subjectivity & establish
a world order --- in the interests of the
organizer (user) of “controlled chaos”.
As for the origins of the chaos theory, its original
underlying idea was as follows: any evolutionary
process is expressed by a succession of
alternating opposite states – order and
chaos, which are connected by phases
of transition to chaos (destruction of
structure) and exit from chaos (self-
organization).
The increased scientific interest in the problem of
chaos appeared under the influence of I. Prigozhin
and I. Stengers’ “Order out of Chaos. The New
Dialogue of Man with Nature”, published in
the West in 1979 (in revised form in 1984).
A key figure in the development of the geopolitical
doctrine of “controlled chaos” is S. Mann, who
began his career as an employee of the U.S.
Embassy in Jamaica, then worked in the
embassy in Moscow, in the Soviet Union
Affairs Division & the State Department
Operations Centre, and, from 1991 to
1992 was responsible for Russia and
Eastern European countries... in the
Office of the Secretary of Defense.
The basic idea of “controlled chaos” .......lies in the
creation of controlled chaos in national economies
and the social sphere. This paradoxical concept
suggests that the economic and social life of
the countries that are victims of this war is
transformed into chaos. & the aggressors
themselves, sitting at the controls of this
weapon, keep the chaos in the camp of
the enemy under control, for them, it is
deliberately created... a special order.
The objectives of “controlled chaos” are: the
reduction of the population not of interest to
the organizers of the new world order, the
weakening / destruction of nation-states
with their control transferred to trans-
national corporations, supranational
bodies, and organizations under the
control of the initiators of launching
the technology of controlled chaos,
followed by... blocking the
subjectivity of develop-
ment of the country.
To solve these problems, various methods are used to
create chaos in the country, including: promoting
liberal democracy; improving living standards in
the population, especially the elites; displacing
the national ideology and values; supporting
market reforms. The basis for organization
of controlled chaos is the restructuring of
the mass consciousness and worldview
through the rigorous influence of
modern means of manipulation
of the entire spiritual sphere
of man with the use of
information and socio-
cultural technologies.
During this restructuring, the destruction of
the culture of solidarity, national unity, the
destruction.. of the ability of large masses
of the population to resist, to self-organize
and develop. The main tools are the media,
TNCs, private foundations & organisations
and the intelligence services.
In fact, the doctrine of “controlled chaos” is a new
form of colonial policy, turning some countries
into a service appendage of “chosen” states
or communities. This assumes and then
implements the unequal, predatory
relations of exchanges of goods
and the appropriation of the
property of “colonies”.
As a result, the doctrine of “controlled chaos” results
in organization of “lack of personality” in the country
or region, which is targeted by the organizers of
“controlled chaos”.
No matter how long the non-polar world order and
‘controlled chaos’ continue... this period will be
difficult and dangerous. But promoting a higher
degree of global integration, will help to
achieve stability. Creating a central
grouping of governments, and other
actors committed to multilateralism
would be a significant step forward.
Let’s call it “concerted non-polarity”. This model
would not end non-polarity, but it would help
manage it and increase the chances that the
international system would not degrade
and disintegrate.
On the eve of global changes
Thus in the 21st century international relations
are undergoing a powerful transformation, that
is changing the nature, structure and essence
of the world order.
The structure of the international system has been
enriched by new actors that challenge the power
and influence of traditional states and inter-
governmental organisations. Consequently,
the essence of international relations has
undergone significant changes. States...
which sought to maximise their interests
on the basis of the principle of
sovereignty... now seek to
enter the world-economy
and world-politics.
In a changing world the United States is losing its
military, political, economic and moral supremacy
and cannot pursue a unipolar world alone. It is
important for a once-powerful power, today, to
understand not just what it wants to achieve,
but rather what it can achieve, what an
increasingly fractured coalition led by
it could support, and what its rivals,
Russia and China, can come to
terms with.
Russia faces an era of turbulence, a complex and
unstable time that differs significantly from the
realities of the past century. New criticality
factors are taking shape in the world.
Under these conditions, reliable anchors of stability
for our country have been and will remain the unity
of the multinational people, a powerful Armed
Forces and a successful national economy
that must match Russia’s status as a
great power.
To what extent we all living on this earth will be able
to solve the task of building a new world, and what
the price for the elimination of contradictions
associated in particular with the problem of
global disorder will be, it is difficult to say
now, but it is clear that the establishment
of a new model of international relations
will be very painful and costly.
At the same time... the experience so far accumulated,
to solve the most diverse & no less complex problems
than today... gives hope that eventually the desire to
create a favorable external environment for the
development of states, the growth of their
interdependence will outweigh all the
negative factors and lead to the
formation of a better model of
international relations, than
the previous ones.
Well...veryinteresting...
what do YOU think?
___________________________________
They see you coming!
(Unified peaceful Mass
Disobedience the Only Way.)
by a blogger, June 5th.
In view of the carefully-suppressed “domestic
problems” affecting the US, and the rapidly-
emerging risk of loss of dollar primacy
(which WILL be catastrophic for the
US), it is at least “interesting” to
remember back to 2012... and
the “not so simply explained”
relatively sudden purchase
of BILLIONS of rounds of
ammunition by many US
Agencies, who are not
''normally'' associated
with the need for any
firepower... let alone
significant firepower.
One of MANY examples –
https://investortimes.com/freedomoutpost/
look-what-other-federal-agencies-have-
ordered-huge-amounts-of-ammunition/
Interesting, too that the majority of these orders were
"Russia was forced to defend itself, and stupid Europe
follows the orders of the United States. Vladimir Putin
is a man of reason and great courage..."
v v v v v v Z v v v v v v
Vladimir Putin addressed the
plenary session of the 1st
Eurasian Economic Forum
May 26th, 2022
Also attending the meeting were... Prime Minister of
Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of Kazakhstan
Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan
Sadyr Japarov, Prime Minister of Belarus Roman
Golovchenko, and Chairman of the Board of the
Eurasian Economic Commission Mikhail Myasnikovich. The forum moderator was
Alexander Shokhin, President of the
Russian Union of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs, member of the
Presidium of the EAEU
Business Council.
The purpose of the Eurasian Economic Forum,
established by a decision of the Supreme
Eurasian Economic Council and timed to
coincide with a meeting of the SEEC, is
to further deepen economic cooperation
between the EAEU member states.
The EEF 2022 in Bishkek, themed Eurasian Economic
Integration in the Era of Global Shifts: New
Investment Opportunities, will focus on
promising areas for the strategic
development of integration.
The participants will discuss ways to deepen
industrial, energy, transport, financial, and
digital cooperation.
* * *
Address at the plenary session of
the 1st Eurasian Economic Forum.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: I am grateful for
this opportunity to address you, to speak on the
issues which you [Alexander Shokhin] have
raised and which, as you suggested, should
be addressed in greater detail.
First of all, I would like to thank President of
Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov and his team for
organising the event. I can see many people
in the audience, including businesspeople
and government officials. I am sure that
the media will take a keen interest in
the forum.
This is what I would like to begin with when answering
your question. The development of Eurasian
integration has no connection whatsoever
to current developments or market
conditions. We established this
organisation many years ago.
In fact, we established it at
the initiative of the First
President of Kazakhstan
[Nursultan Nazarbayev].
I remember very well the main conversation we had on
that issue, on that subject, when he said, “You must
choose what is more important to you: working
more actively and more closely with your direct
neighbours and natural partners, or prioritising,
for example, admission to the World Trade
Organisation.” It was in this connection
that we had to make decisions.
And although we were interested in joining the WTO
and in developing relations accordingly with our
Western partners, as you said and as I continue
to say, we nevertheless regarded as our main
priority the development of relations with our
direct and natural neighbours within the
common economic framework of the
Soviet Union. This is my first point.
The second. Already at that time, we started
developing ties - I will speak about this later
- within the framework of the Greater
Eurasian Partnership. Our motivation,
was not the political situation.... but
global economic trends, because the
centre of economic development is
gradually – we are aware of this,
and our businesspeople are
aware of this – is gradually
moving, continues to move
into the Asia-Pacific Region.
Of course, we understand the tremendous advantages
of high technology in advanced economies. This is
obvious. We are not going to shut ourselves off
from it. There are attempts to oust us from this
area a little but this is simply unrealistic in the
modern world. It is impossible. If we do not
separate ourselves by putting up a wall,
nobody will be able to isolate such a
country as Russia.
Speaking not only about Russia, but also about our
partners in the EAEU and the world in general, this
task is completely unfeasible. Moreover... those
who are trying to fulfil it... harm themselves the
most. No matter how sustainable, economies
of countries pursuing this shortsighted policy
are, the current state of the global economy
shows that our position is right and justified,
even in terms of macroeconomic indicators.
These advanced economies have not had such
inflation for the past 40 years; unemployment
is growing, logistics chains are breaking and
global crises are growing in such sensitive
areas as food. This is no joke. It is a
serious factor affecting the entire
system of economic and
political relations.
Meanwhile, these sanctions and bans are aimed at
constraining and weakening the countries that are
pursuing an independent policy, and they are not
limited to Russia or even China. I do not doubt for
a second that there are many countries that want
to and will pursue an independent policy and their
number is growing. No world policeman will be
able to stop this global process. There will not
be enough power for this and the desire to do
so will evaporate due to a host of domestic
problems in those countries. I hope they
will eventually realise that this policy
has no prospects whatsoever.
Violating rules and norms in international finances and
trade is counterproductive. In simple words, it will
only lead to problems for those who are doing it.
Theft of foreign assets has never done any good
to anyone, primarily those who are engaged in
these unseemly deeds. As it's transpired now,
neglect for the political & security interests
of other countries, leads to chaos and
economic upheavals with global
repercussions.
Western countries are sure that any persona non grata
who has their own point of view and is ready to
defend it can be deleted from the world
economy, politics, culture and sports.
In fact, this is nonsense, and, as I
said, it is impossible to make
this happen.
We can see it. Mr Shokhin, as a representative of our
business, you certainly face problems, especially
in the field of supply chains and transport, but
nevertheless, everything can be adjusted,
everything can be built in a new way. Not
without losses at a certain stage, but it
leads to the fact that we really become
stronger in some ways. In any case, we
are definitely acquiring new skills and
are starting to focus our economic,
financial, and administrative
resources on breakthrough
areas.
True, not all the import substitution goals were
achieved in previous years. But it is impossible
to achieve everything: life is faster than
administrative decisions, it develops
faster. But there is no problem. We
have done everything necessary
in key areas that ensure
our sovereignty.
Let us move on. After all, import substitution is not
a pill for every ill, and we are not going to deal
exclusively with import substitution. We are
just going to develop. But we will continue
to arrange import substitution in those
areas where we are forced to do so.
Yes, maybe with some mixed results,
but definitely we will only become
stronger thanks to this, especially
in the field of high technologies.
Look, after the CoCom lists – I have already spoken
about this many times – after what you said about
our work, for instance, within the same former G8
and so on, restrictions still remained. In the most
sensitive areas, everything was still closed. In
fact, fundamentally – I want to emphasise this
– nothing has changed fundamentally.
These issues related to large-block assemblies and so on, it took so much effort to increase localisation
within the country, in our economy, in the real
sectors of the economy, in industry. And even then we did not agree on key issues, in many respects.
Actually, import substitution was necessary
to create not just assembly shops, but also
engineering centres and research centres.
This is inevitable for any country that
wants to increase its economic,
financial and ultimately political
sovereignty. It is inevitable.
This is why we have been doing it, and not because
the current state of affairs demands it from us, but
simply because life itself demanded this, and we
were active.
And, of course, we will work actively within the
framework of the Eurasian Economic Union and
within the CIS in general, we will work with the
regions of Asia, Latin America and Africa. But I
assure you, and you can see it yourselves,
many of our companies from Europe, our
partners from Europe, have announced
that they are leaving. You know, some-
times when we look at those who are
leaving, we ask ourselves: isn’t it a
good thing that they have left? We
will take up their niches: our
business and our production
– they have matured, and
they will safely take root
on the ground... that our
partners have prepared.
Nothing will change.
And those who want to bring in some luxury goods,
they will be able to do so. Well, it will be a little
more expensive for them, but these are people
who are already driving Mercedes S 600, and
will continue to do so. I assure you, they will
bring them from anywhere, from any country.
That is not what is important for us. What is
important for the country, for its development
– I have already said this and I will repeat it –
are the engineering centres and research
centres that are the basis of our own
development. This is what we must
think about and what we must work
on both within the EAEU and in a
broad sense with our partners –
those who want to cooperate
with us.
We have a very good base that we inherited from the
old days, we only need to support it and to invest
resources there. As for those areas, in which we
did not invest appropriate resources before,
including, say, administrative resources,
relying on the fact that everything can
be bought by selling oil and gas, life
itself has now forced us to
invest there.
And thank God that this has happened. I do not see
any problem here with the fact that we have not
completed something in the field of import
substitution. We will not do it just because
the current economic situation forces us
to do so, but only because it is in the
interests of our country.
The Eurasian Economic Union has developed a
roadmap for industrialisation, with over 180
projects --- with a total investment of over
$300 billion. A programme for agricultural
development has been prepared,
including more than 170 projects
worth $16 billion.
Russia has something to offer here, and
businesspeople are well aware of this.
We have grown to be highly competitive
at the global level, in the global markets.
Russia remains – if we speak about
agriculture – the largest exporter of
wheat, number one in the world.
Until recently, we were buying it
– now we are selling it, number
one in the world. True, countries
such as the United States or
China produce even more ---
but they also consume more.
But Russia has become no.1
in international trade.
Our high-tech industries are growing successfully, too.
And we would like to continue growing together with
our EAEU partners. We can and should restore our
collaborative competencies.
I have discussed this with my colleagues, with the
President of Kazakhstan and the Prime Minister of
Armenia – not because some of Russia’s IT
workers have moved to Armenia, not at all.
They are free to relocate and work anywhere,
and God bless them. But again, it is a certain
challenge for us: it means we must create
better conditions.
We have opportunities to work with the Republic of
Belarus in a number of areas of cooperation... and
we will definitely do this, because the Republic of
Belarus has retained certain expertise that's very
important for us, including in microelectronics.
President Lukashenko and I just met in Sochi
and talked about it, and even agreed to set
aside funding for those projects in Belarus.
The products that these enterprises, these
industries will make, will enjoy demand in
Russia. This is a very interesting and
promising area.
The EAEU countries have laid the foundation for
a common digital landscape, including a unified
products traceability system. Various platform
solutions are being developed, for example,
the Work without Borders search system.
The project is very important for all our
countries. Despite all the crises and
challenges caused by the current
political situation, labour migrants
continue to send almost as much
money home from Russia as
before. Moreover, some
countries are receiving
even more money now,
as my colleagues from
the CIS, have told me.
The practice of payments in national currencies is
expanding, which is very important. Notably, their
share in the mutual trade of the Union’s countries
has already reached 75 percent. We will continue
to work on interlinking our national payment
systems and bank cards.
We believe it is important to expedite the dialogue
on internal international financial and payment
mechanisms, such as transitioning from SWIFT
to direct correspondent contacts between the
banks of the friendly countries, including
through the Russian Central Bank’s
financial messaging system. We
also propose strengthening the
cooperation with key lending
and financial centres in the
Asia-Pacific Region.
New topics related to Eurasian integration include
developing cooperation in green technology,
environmental protection and energy saving.
We expect to receive support and proactive
suggestions from the business community.
Colleagues,
In the current international conditions when,
unfortunately, traditional trade and economic
links and supply chains are being disrupted,
Russia’s initiative to form a Greater Eurasian
Partnership– an initiative we have been
discussing for many years – is gaining a
special meaning.
We are thankful to the leaders of the EAEU countries
for supporting this proposal from the very beginning.
BRICS members such as China and India as well as
several other countries also supported creating a
Greater Eurasian Partnership. The Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation, ASEAN and other
organisations have shown interest in
this initiative.
Here, I would like to mention several specific ideas
pertaining to the comprehensive development of
the Greater Eurasian Partnership.
First, it is reasonable to develop shared institutions for
specific growth points, including creating a Eurasian
export centre and trade houses, expediting the
establishment of a Eurasian reinsurance
company, examining the issue of
developing special trans-border
economic zones, probably even
with supranational authority.
The second point. It is important to step up the EAEU’s
cooperation with foreign partners and inform them
about the benefits & advantages of working with
the EAEU.. and of our key projects and plans. My
colleagues know that interest in our association
is growing. In this context... the EAEU Business
Council could play a significant role. It's already
successfully developing ties beyond our union.
Its business dialogue system may become an
example for a potential business cooperation
platform in Greater Eurasia.
That said, as I have already noted, it would be
desirable to support the freedom of business
initiative, the creative activity of business, of
our investors. I suggest creating additional,
better incentives for this purpose and
investing more in Eurasian projects.
Naturally, companies representing
national businesses of the EAEU
countries must receive
priority support.
My third point. It is time to draft a comprehensive
strategy for developing large-scale Eurasian
partnership. It must reflect the key inter-
national challenges facing us, determine
future goals and contain instruments and
mechanisms for achieving them. We must
consider further steps in developing our
system of trade and investment agree-
ments, in part, with the participation
of the SCO, ASEAN and BRICS
member countries.
In fact, we may draft new agreements that will
develop and supplement WTO rules. In this
context, it is important... to pay attention
not only to tariffs but also to the removal
of non-tariff barriers. This may produce
considerable results without subjecting
our national economies to risks.
In conclusion, I would like to say the following. It
would be no exaggeration to say that Greater
Eurasia is a big civilisational project. The main
idea is to create a common space for equitable
cooperation for regional organisations. The
Greater Eurasian Partnership is designed
to change the political and economic
architecture and guarantee stability
& prosperity on the entire continent
– naturally, taking account of the
diverse development models,
cultures and traditions of all
nations. I am confident, and
this is obvious anyway, that
this centre would attract a
big audience.
I would like to wish success and productive
cooperation to all participants of the
Eurasian Economic Forum.
Thank you for your attention.
Thank you.
What do YOU think...?
Is Putin really... a knuckle-headed egotist - as the West's media tries to paint him?
_____________________________________
Ukraine’s Nazi Connection,
And The British National
Cover-Up
by Brett Redmayne-Titley
May 22nd (SouthFront)
The UK government is funding a Nazi regime
in Ukraine... rather than prioritizing its
domestic national interests.
Britain’s parliamentary warlords have to date gladly
provided £2.1 Billion --- to fund the Ukrainian war
effort --- rather than budgeting to fix the UK’s
gutted NHS, declining educational system,
historic poverty - or ever-increasing home-
less population. With the deplorable state
of the UK in mind, why does the British
public continue to ignore this national
decline, in favour of Ukraine’s factual
allegiance to neo-Nazism?
Answer: the lies of the British media.
It is high time to factually challenge the UK media
cover-up of Ukraine’s neo-Nazi connection, by
exposing the inconvenient truths regarding
its allegiance to Nazi-inspired Ukrainian
leader Stepon Bandera, the Ukrainian
Right Sector, and the Azov Battalion
whose swastikas are steeped in the
blood from the slaughter of 14,000
eastern Ukrainians.
The origin of the war in Ukraine and its propagation of
neo-Nazism can be traced back to the 2014 Ukrainian
“Orange Revolution” that saw the US help overthrow
a legitimately elected president Viktor Yanukovych,
and create the terror of Maidan Square.
Months before, Assistant US Secretary of State
Victoria Nuland, had publicly stated that the
US had spent US$5 Billion, to support US- style democracy in Ukraine. When that
“democracy” spiralled into predictable
national violence, much to the dismay
of European leaders, Nuland famously
stated, “F***k the EU.” A three-word
synopsis for US democratic
diplomacy, then and now.
Regionally and culturally Ukraine is divided East to
West, on either side of the Dnieper River with the
capital, Kyiv at the north end. Eastern Ukraine,
is primarily culturally Russian and has been for
centuries. The 1939 Molotov/ Ribbentrop Pact
divided Ukraine along new borders and today
west Ukraine... is far more aligned culturally
and politically with western Europe and the
US. For these reasons, western Ukraine has
great animosity towards the East, hence the
2014 election.... was very close and violent.
Yanukovych was from the Donbas of far eastern
Ukraine and until the 2014 election, the people
of the city regions of Luhansk (LPR), Donetsk
(DPR), and the Donbas had little to fear from
the Ukrainian government.
These regions are the important industrial,
manufacturing and mining centres of
Ukraine while the western half is far
more agrarian. Regardless, east and
west lived in relative harmony post-1939... until 2014.
On February 20th that year pro-democracy snipers
murdered - in cold blood - forty-nine innocent
Ukrainians and four policemen in one night,
during US-backed post-election protests
against Yanukovych, at Maidan Square.
The murders -- falsely blamed on Russia -- had the
intended effect of sending Ukraine into a tailspin
of East vs. West anti-Russian ultra-violence.
Yanukovych abandoned the presidency and went to Russia and the parliament installed Arseniy
Yatsenyuk as temporary president, until
new elections brought to power Petro
Poroshenko, who was aligned with
US interests and did nothing to
restrict the growing influence
of the neo-Nazi Right Sector,
or Azov Battalion.
Thus began the Ukraine war.
Before 2014 the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) had
been rife with anti-Russian/ Jewish sentiment for
decades, but was held in check by Yanukovych,
and other Russian aligned leaders. During WW2
Ukrainian Nazi collaborator, Stepon Bandera,
achieved almost hero status in western
Ukraine, for his genocide of Ukrainian
Russians and Jews and statues were
erected in his honour after he was
assassinated in 1959.
Bandera was unabashedly a neo-Nazi and created
his legion of the like-minded. However, his death
only galvanized his underground supporters,
many of whom remained within, not only
the Ukrainian Army, but the political
structure itself.
This is evidenced by a Ukrainian politician, Andriy
Parubiy. He has served as Deputy Speaker, and
Speaker of the Ukrainian parliament from 2014
to 2019, and Secretary of National Security and
the Defence Council of Ukraine. Andriy Parubiy
is a Nazi. He has proudly proclaimed this many
times --- before his parliament, before the
Ukrainian military --- and the public,
on TV.
When Poroshenko was elected, Washington used this
opportunity to open the flood gates into Ukraine for
US weaponry and military training, in preparation
for its eventual de facto assault on the East and
Russian influence there. As such, Ukraine,
incrementally, became the largest military in Europe.
It was also at this time that the previously
suppressed “Banderists” dominated the
AFU and Ukrainian politics, much to the pleasure of the US and NATO.
The Right Sector is admittedly disciples of Stepon
Bandera and exerts neo-Nazi influence, as they
act as a political watchdog propagating their
philosophy across Ukraine. The AFU is not
exclusively Banderist --- but the massive
Azov battalion stationed in the east, is,
predominately so. Like Bandera, they
hate Ukrainian Russians and Jews.
The United Nations Human Rights Commission,
reported that the Azovs have killed over 14,000
eastern Ukrainians, since 2014, as the East
begged Russia for military assistance to
help their regional militias fight back.
To stop this slaughter, in 2014, Russia brokered a
truce called the Minsk Protocols which the AFU
ignored. This was followed in 2015, by Minsk II
which also had no practical effect on the AFU
genocide. For 7 years, this terror continued,
unchecked, as Washington salivated in
the wings, for more dead Russians.
In 2019 Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a comedian and actor
famous for his role in the TV series, Servant of the
People, defeated Poroshenko in a landslide by
promising peace, by honouring the Minsk
accords and controlling corruption and
the rising violence of the Right Sector.
But it took mere months for the Ukrainians to
become the brunt of this comedian’s dark
joke, that saw him become, not a leader
for peace, but a US and Banderist
puppet.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, and its
divestiture of its many satellite countries in
1990, NATO had promised not to expand to
these countries. However, almost without
exception NATO expanded and began to
ring Russia with US weapons and NATO
influence. With Ukraine being the
launching point... for past wars
against Russia... the Kremlin
had made it clear to the US
that Ukraine joining NATO
was a red line.
For the UK media to suggest that Russia wasn't
incrementally provoked into defending both
eastern Ukraine, and its own national
interests --- is to turn the truth on its
head. With Spring, being historically
the best time to begin a war, during
February... Zelensky ordered the
Azov Battalion, and the AFU, to
begin amassing 100,000 troops
& munitions towards the east,
in preparation for a massive
attack, designed to take
back the autonomous
eastern regions.
The DPR, LPR and Donbas militias again begged
Russia for intervention, but Putin still refused.
Instead, the Russians tried diplomacy and
repeatedly contacted Washington and
Kyiv --- in an effort not to militarily
intervene. The demands, were
simple and rational: Abide by
Minsk I & II; don't attack the
East; de-Nazify the AFU
and don't join NATO.
The US and Kyiv did not so much as respond. In an
effort to get a negotiated response, and with the
AFU continuing to amass forces eastward,
Russia began to prepare its army on the
Russian/ Ukraine border. Instead of
negotiating with Russia for peace,
Ukraine and the western media
falsely screamed “Russian
aggression.”
Then on the last week of February Zelensky did the
unthinkable. He informed the US that he was now
willing to allow US nuclear weapons into Ukraine.
The next day, February 24th, the Russian army
crossed into eastern Ukraine. Thus began the
Russian / Ukrainian war and the incredible
barbarity of the AFU.
For the western media to cover up the neo-Nazi
connection in Ukraine, is the biggest lie of this
war. I have recently returned from two months
of reporting in and around Ukraine. Certainly,
both sides are guilty of atrocity, but I have
seen a different kind of barbarity by the
AFU, that is beyond the pale of war,
because the AFU and the Avovs...
consider and treat all Ukrainian
Russians, Jews, and even
peace advocates,
as vermin.
They have given up all morality. I can bear witness to
the killings of the innocent, the torture and killings
of prisoners, the firing on civilian targets, the
mining of the humanitarian corridors, to
prevent escape, and the execution of
anyone who suggests peace, much
less negotiation, and I have seen
the Swastikas and pro-Nazi
tattoos - scrawled on the
hands, arms, necks, and
chests of AFU killers.
Many facts are being covered up such as the network
of US bio-weapons labs discovered across Ukraine
and that the Ukrainian army is not winning this war
--- it is being decimated. The Air Force, Navy, fuel refineries supply and railway lines destroyed.
50,000 men dead, with so many surrendering, that the
Russians are building larger POW camps. All men 16 -60, being - by law - conscripted as replacements.
NATO munitions supplies destroyed, as soon as they
cross the polish border, and command and control
communications centres, are in ruins.
This day Boris Johnson’s favourite democratic
champion, President Zelensky signed a new
law -- banning all opposition parties from
existence, after already arresting five
generals and the main opposition
leader, Viktor Medvedchuk as
“anti-heroes” ...for the
treasonous crime of
suggesting peace.
Thus factually challenged here, the neo-Nazi
connection properly exposed and the big lie
of this war properly exposed, is it not time
for an increasingly impoverished Britain to now demand of Mr Johnson, their
parliament, and the British media,
the most fundamental, important
and intelligent of age-old
questions:
What… The… F**k?!
The End
About the Author: Brett Redmayne-Titley has spent
the last decade, travelling and documenting the
“Sorrows of Empire.” An archive of his many
articles are found at watchingromeburn.uk.
He can be contacted at
live-on-scene ((@))gmx.com
Is this article denigrating
your Prime Minister, who
is just trying to be a fair
honest, kindly man?
What do YOU think?
________________________________________
Update on Ukraine
by Maria Zakharova
May 20th, 2022
(source the Saker)
The special military operation continues in Ukraine.
As Russian leaders have said more than once, it is
going according to plan, and new territories are
being freed from the Nazis every day.
The Ukrainian military personnel and militants in Azov
nationalist units that entrenched themselves in the
underground bunkers of the Azovstal Plant, began
to surrender in Mariupol this week. According to
the Russian Defence Ministry, 959 Ukrainian
nationalists, including 51 with severe
wounds, have laid down their arms
over two days.
They receive medical aid at the Novoazovsk hospital
in the DPR, and the rest were sent to a pretrial
detention centre in Yelenovka in the suburbs
of Donetsk. Indicatively, on May 17th, this
centre was shelled by the Armed Forces
of Ukraine with multiple launch rocket
systems (MLRSs). The Kiev regime..
has always treated its citizens like
this, & this case was no exception.
Russian leaders had repeatedly stated that resistance
was senseless and announced the opening of
humanitarian corridors for militants and
Ukrainian military personnel to leave
the Azovstal Plant after laying down
their arms. They were urged to stop
the hostilities. In the meantime, the
Kiev regime was doing all it could
to prevent civilians, military
personnel and militants
from leaving the plant.
Why? They were
brainwashing
the public.
It was Russia that urged the UN to look into this
situation and persuade the Kiev regime to let
people walk out. Later, Russia organised
humanitarian corridors in cooperation
with the UN and the International
Committee of the Red Cross. I
would like to emphasise that
the initiative on announcing
& opening these corridors was ours.
The wounded troops are provided with professional
medical help. This fact is being turned upside
down and misrepresented in the Ukrainian
and international media. Remember the
footage showing how the militants and
the Armed Forces of Ukraine treat
POWs in Ukraine? Everyone saw
it. It horrified many, and others
pretended not to have seen it.
Russian POWs were shot to death by militants
from the nationalist units that became part
of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Russia has adopted a different approach. You see
footage showing professional help being provided
to the wounded [Ukrainian troops]. It is not being
provided “for show.” It is being provided to real
individuals, regardless of their background. Humanitarian law is not just something
we abide by; it is... of fundamental
importance for us. No one should
have any doubt about this.
According to Ukrainian POWs, the military leadership
of Ukraine forbids the troops to retreat or surrender.
Their key goal, is to destroy as much civilian
infrastructure as possible in order to leave
behind uninhabitable ruins and make it
hard to restore peaceful life. This is
not our messaging, but the
testimony received from
the Ukrainian side over
the past weeks.
The nationalists, who have long been using the tactics
of ISIS terrorists, don't hesitate to use kindergartens,
schools, and hospitals, as ammunition depots and
strongholds. They are not hiding this. They take
pictures inside preschools or with preschool
buildings in the background, to show how
they fight there. The civilians... are not
allowed to evacuate. They are forcing
people to leave their apartments, so
that they can set up firing positions
there. They are driving people to
basements that are used by
militants or as weapons
depots.
The other day, Ukrainian nationalists began to bring in
ammunition and deployed air defence systems on the
grounds of the Odessa film studio. The territorial
defence force militants go door-to-door in order
to identify residents - who do not accept the
nationalist way of thinking. They are taken
away to unknown locations and there’s no
information about the fate of many of them.
Earlier, the Zaporozhye administration banned the
evacuation of civilians, under the pretext of
security. All attempts by the citizens to
leave the city in private vehicles and
on foot are stopped by the territorial
defence militants at checkpoints.
Those who resist are subjected
to physical violence. Their
vehicles are seized and
they are sent back
on foot.
On May 16th, Ukrainian nationalists used the Smerch
MLRS to attack Kherson’s residential areas. There
are no Russian troops in Kherson, which the
Ukrainian side is well aware of. This means
they specifically targeted civilians in
retaliation for supporting Russia’s
actions. This is yet another war
crime committed by the Kiev
regime. Fortunately, all 10
missiles have been inter-
cepted by Russian air
defence systems.
Unfortunately, we do not see the international
organisations, Western countries, or their
media, respond to the criminal methods
used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
To be sure, it’s because there is no
response. Moreover, the Western
countries continue massive arms
supplies to the Kiev regime. We
consider this as direct support
for neo-Nazis - and an effort to
make the fighting last as long
as possible. We cannot ignore
the fact that Western weapons
are used to kill Russian troops
and shell Russian territory.
Arms deliveries are running into the billions of dollars
which is comparable to the military budgets of large
states. The United States, Great Britain, France, Canada, Poland and the Baltic countries, are
doing the most... to arm Kiev.
Washington alone sent $3.8 billion worth of military
equipment to the Kiev regime which is close to the
military budgets of Austria, Portugal and Finland.
The US Congress is considering a proposal to
provide another $40 billion in “aid”, including
about $25 billion worth of military equipment.
This is half the military budget of Germany and France. I would like to draw the attention of the US public, not so much to the size, which is comparable with the military budgets of other countries, as to the needs of the American people.
They can put these funds to good use. If this money
were sent as subsidies, aid, or sponsorship related
in some way. to humanitarian aid, one would
understand it. But money is being sent
to the Kiev regime for it to kill and to
continue this phase of the crisis.
More and more weapons abandoned by the Armed
Forces of Ukraine.. are becoming the spoils of war
for the People’s Militia of the Donetsk and Lugansk
people’s republics and the Armed Forces of Russia.
These include Javelin and NLAW ATGMs, Starstreak
and Stinger MANPADS, Bayraktar drones, Switch-
blade loitering munitions, Skynet Longbow EW
systems, CAESAR and PzH 2000s self-
propelled and M777 towed howitzers.
EU, US and UK officials, keep saying, that “victory
must be achieved on the battlefield,” that “Russia
must sustain a strategic defeat” and “cannot be
allowed to win.”
All these statements, in addition to the trade and economic blockade that has, in effect, been
imposed on our country and the hybrid war
unleashed against it, prove, once again,
that the Western countries are waging
war against Russia in Ukraine, and
that Ukraine itself and its citizens
are an expendable resource for
them. Our Chinese partners
used the expression...
“cannon fodder.”
In their information war, the Western countries resort
to outright lies. They are trying to accuse our country
of creating a global food shortage. We commented on
this many times. Each time we cite facts, figures and
other information that cannot be refuted. But nobody
is trying to refute them. Western-spread lies are not
supposed to be refuted. They are too absurd to
comment on.
It is forgotten that the crisis phenomena in the world
food market are linked with the West’s accumulated
mistakes and miscalculations in macroeconomic,
energy and agricultural policy.
The coronavirus pandemic has contributed as well.
In the middle of 2020, Executive Director of the
UN World Food Programme, David Beasley,
warned about the threat of “famines of
biblical proportions.”
Unilateral Western sanctions.. exacerbated this trend.
So, millions of people will have to go hungry because
of the geopolitical ambitions, egotism and stupidity
of the collective West.
At the same time, we are seeing a striving of the
Western curators, to take out of Ukraine, every-
thing that may be of some value. This is also a
repetition of history of 80 years ago. Hundreds
of grain carriers are crossing the Ukrainian
border, on the way to Europe. The Kiev
regime has organised massive daily
exports of agricultural products to
Europe in exchange for weapons
by road and rail, as well as by
river, on the Danube, to
Romania, via the port
of Ismail.
Think of what is happening. Against the backdrop of
statements by the collective West about imminent
famine (the Kiev regime is supposed to trust the
West), the leaders of Ukraine are getting rid of
food products. Ukrainian citizens.. need them
now. The Armed Forces of Ukraine also need
them since the Kiev regime is not going to
stop hostilities. However, food products
are being sent abroad instead. Where
to? To NATO countries.
The Ukrainians receive weapons in exchange for
these products, so that they can continue killing
themselves. This is not Nazism. These are even
more terrifying maniacal ideas that are even
worse than the misanthropic concepts
applied to the population of Ukraine,
Russia and the rest of the former
USSR, in the middle of the
20th century.
These are tremendous amounts of grain, maize, oil
crops and livestock animals. On May the 10th of
this year, US President, Joseph Biden, said
Washington was thinking about ways of
exporting from Ukraine... 20 million
tonnes of grain, supposedly with
a view to reducing prices in the world markets.
You know how much the United States and the White
House, care about the needs of hungry people in
Africa and Asia, how much they want all people
in the world to live a better life, eat well and be
wealthier. We know this bewitching American
pacifism and striving to do good for everyone.
But this is not the case. This is about robbing
Ukraine, its citizens and military, of the last
things they have.
Washington obviously is not concerned about what
the Ukrainians will be left with after this feast. Ukrainian citizens did not believe us 10 years
ago and five years ago. Maybe it’s time to
wise up. To realise that they are being
deprived of the last things they have.
Food products, grain – the results of
their labour – are being taken out of the country.
When we were in school and university, we were told
that the fascists and Nazis hauled away Ukrainian
natural soil by railway and this was presented as
the supreme manifestation of their hatred for
Soviet citizens. Now the logic is even more
gruesome – Ukrainian citizens are being
deprived of the fruits of their labour at
a time when their country is engaged
in hostilities.
For our part, we are paying close attention to the
humanitarian situation in the liberated areas and
facilitating the restoration of peaceful life.
Russia's military, are clearing Ukrainian mines in
cities and farming lands. People in the DPR, LPR,
and a number of regions in Ukraine have already
been supplied with 20,000 tonnes of basic
necessities, food products, medications
and medical devices.
We regret that the United States, Britain and several
European countries are supporting and sponsoring
those who are preaching in Ukraine the ideas of
aggressive nationalism, and neo-Nazism. They
continue supplying the Kiev regime with arms
and robbing the Ukrainian people. However,
these efforts will not change the situation.
As the Russian leaders said more than once, Russia
will achieve the goals of its military operation on
denazifying and demilitarising Ukraine,
defending the DPR and the LPR and
removing the threats to its
own security.
What do YOU think?
Are the West's elite scared sick
of losing to the 80% of humans
who live and work in Eurasia and war is, again, their answer to financial capital's crash...
or is Putin a crazed evil dictator
trying to attack your freedom
and democracy? (Lol)
No need to answer, really, is there.
__________________________________
Shame:Eurovision
accusedof being
politicized
May 15th, 11:53am
https://en.news-front.info/
The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, commented in her telegram channel, on Ukraine’s ''victory'' ..at the Euro-vision Song Contest.
''Agree, without the victory of Ukraine at Eurovision,
the picture of what happened to this country
would be incomplete'', Zakharova writes.
“National costumes and musical instruments, two
Baba Yagas on strings, break dance and chants
about Azovstal. Europe applauds standing.
The end”.
Also, after the victory of Ukraine at Eurovision,
many accusations of politicization remain
under the post of the organizers of
the contest:
“Why was the competition held at all? It became
clear to everyone who would win as soon as
Ukrainian performers appeared. This is
unfair to all other participants”;
“Eurovision is thoroughly politicized, shame”;
“The worst winner in Eurovision history. In
general, they didn’t make any efforts –
they just took advantage of where
they came from”;
''[The Eurovision 2022 motto]
‘Sounds of Beauty’should be
changed to‘Sounds of
Politics’'';
“It’s a shame that, instead of giving credit to the
talents and voices of the performers, they are
promoting personal interests while weaving
in politics”;
“Ukraine’s victory is politically motivated,but
next year Eurovision will be held in Russia.”
What do you think...? Should ''Euro-vision''
be renamed next year - to ''Ruble-vision''?
_____________________________________________
“The Banderovshchina” economy
is geared to robbing Russia
May 12th, 11:36am
https://en.news-front.info/
Inspired by a conversation with an
anonymous Ukrainian journalist
Russia’s demands for the denazification of Ukraine are, in
fact, the most important and fair to the modern world
order. The Ukrainian side has - repeatedly - given the
false signal, that the issue has been dropped. But
not only has it not been removed, it hasn't been
properly raised, which gives the West the
opportunity to speculate on the issue.
Take, for example, the recent question to Sergey
Lavrov that Zelensky cannot be a Nazi because
he himself is a Jew. This question comes from
the thesis of Western propaganda that a Nazi
and an anti-Semite are one and the same,
and that the aim of German Nazism was
solely the Holocaust, that is the mass
extermination of the Jews. In this
paradigm, it turns out that one
who destroys Jews is a Nazi,
while one who destroys, for
example, Slavs, is not
considered a Nazi.
And so the Ukrainian regime, officially calling for
the murder and enslavement of the Russians, the
eradication of Russian culture & the destruction
of the Russian language --- cannot be Nazi by
Western standards, as it does not officially
take the same position, in relation to the
Jews (statements by certain politicians
in this regard, are not considered an
official line).
Europe, according to its contemporary ideology, is
guilty before the Jews --- but not before the Slavs,
whom it massacred in World War II in far greater
numbers than Jews. Moreover, it was the feat
of the Soviet soldier, before whom modern
Europe does not feel guilty, that saved
those very Jews, and with them a
mass of other peoples, about
which European ideologists
prefer to keep silent.
That is, European ideologists have simplified World
War II into a war between the Nazis and the Jews,
although in reality it was much more complicated.
Europe presented the Donbass conflict from the
very beginning, in a very Jesuit way: Ukraine,
thanks to its European orientation, made
significant progress in its economy and
politics, and Russia became jealous,
and decided to destroy Ukraine. It’s
all according to the laws of drama:
she, Ukraine... fell in love with him,
the West, and the insidious villain,
Russia, decided to kill the woman
in love, so that they could never
be together.
In reality the story is slightly different: he, the lover,
has abused the gullible woman, robbed her and
committed her to a brothel, where she will
work off his debts, with her body. Using
figurative language, Ukraine has not
achieved any development, but has
become the poorest country in
Europe, losing its economic
power and political
independence.
But then... the role of the West... would not be as
attractive as it was in the first legend. Moreover,
the West will be seen as a rogue... and a villain,
and the West does not need such a reputation.
Therefore, the West needs to whitewash its
role, and it cannot do that, without white-
washing the modern Banderaism and
Nazism. That is why the Western
experts ''do not see'' the
Ukrainian Nazism.
At its birth, Banderovshchina served not Ukraine, but
Germany against Poland. The western Ukraine had
oil, which the Poles weren’t supposed to have, so
the Banderaites terrorized the Poles under the
command of Berlin. That is, from the very
beginning, the Banderaites, being a part
of then Poland, betrayed Poland under
the pretext of ''protection of national
interests,'' all under German money.
Then, together with the Wehrmacht, they entered Soviet
Ukraine and, under the pretext of the national revival
of Ukraine... they carried out a Jewish pogrom.
Germany didn’t like it, banned the right to
pogroms and independent Ukraine, and
Bandera himself... ended up in a
privileged concentration camp,
for the stupid but useful.
Then there was the massacre of Poles in Volhynia,
which Germany cared little for, as Poles were not
considered Europeans then. Then there was the
terrorist activity against Soviet Ukraine, which
was financed not by the Reich, but by the
democratic USA, and Britain.
That is, the Banderovshchina never worked for
Ukraine, but was always a tool of the West
to plunder and destroy its people.
Therefore, when the West began robbing Ukraine
under the guise of reviving its statehood,
it traditionally began to rely on
Banderovshchina, which has
always served its interests.
As Russian capital developed, it began its assault on
the West --- and here, Banderaism begins to play the
role of legalized racketeering and terrorism, acting
in the interests of Western companies, driving
Russian business out of the European and
Ukrainian markets. Europe, but first and
foremost the US, uses the Ukrainian
issue as a cover, to solve its
economic goals.
The Banderaites, apart from the torchlight marches,
have squeezed Russian banks, property developers
and investors... out of Ukraine, and taken the
advertising market from the Russian and
opposition media. All in all, quite a self-
sustaining gop-company - that does
not hesitate to do the dirty work
for its masters.
With the help of the Ukrainian card, the US and the UK
have solved the issues of military orders, the energy
market and the agricultural market, the issue of
strengthening the dollar, and the investment
attractiveness of the US. Why would they
cut the Bandera chicken that lays the
golden eggs? They wanted to drive a
stake between Russia and the EU -
and got a confrontation in Europe
instead of development.
So the euro will fall and the dollar will rise.
For Russia, the presence of Banderovshchina means
the West is unwilling to trade fairly with Russia.
Banderovshchina is a politically red card that
Western politicians play, in order to rob
Russia. But this ideology of deceit and
plunder... goes completely against the
Western image of democracy, justice
and freedom. Nevertheless, the West
does not want to lose its card, and
they even make it a trump card.
So how can this trump card be beaten? Here, it
is necessary.. to bring out the essence of the
Ukrainian political regime, its deceitfulness
and anti-humanity. After all, it is not only
playing against Russia’s interests, but
also against the interests of Europe,
which is already being weakened
economically and put under the
US military-industrial and
energy complex.
It is necessary to play a subtle game on the contradictions between the United States, and European states. But in order to save Europe from political cheating with the
crackpot Bandera card, it is necessary that Europe itself, wants it too. More precisely, the powers that be, in power in the EU countries,
must also want it.
Dmitriy Chistilin, RenTV
What do YOU think?
Write to us...
_____________________________
Russia is defeating
Ukraine, US & NATO
all by themselves
May 5th, 2:46pm
(Abaham Stein's News Letter)
Russia is winning --- despite billions of dollars in
US and NATO military support to Ukraine, the
Russians have already achieved their most
important strategic objectives. Russian
President Vladimir Putin did not simply
wake up one day and decide to send
troops into Ukrainian cities --- he
publicly warned the West about
this plan of action...... years in
advance, yet he was ignored
by most western leaders.
Russia did not come into Ukraine to lose, it is
undoubtably obvious - that after 66 days of
warfare - Russia is defeating not only the
Ukrainians but NATO & the US as well,
it is quite an achievement.
Failure was not an option
There is no way Russia is going to “lose” the battle in
Ukraine, those who know the Russian military... are
quite aware that Putin hasn't used the full Russian
might, in the eyes of the Russian President, they
have not even begun to fight a real war.
The Russians describe the conflict... as a special
military operation, the first phase of the Russian
operation employed young officers undergoing
new training methods, it was a bit of a test,
despite heavy loses the Russian objective
succeeded in the first month.
Putin publicly addressed these young soldiers in a
video a week into the conflict, he said: “I know
you are learning new complex methods of war
fare”, despite the learning curve, Russians
have achieved their goals in much of the
South and East of Ukraine.
The Russian federation has made it clear -- they are
conducting a limited special military operation, a
very specific plan to demilitarize and de-Nazi-fy
Ukrainian cities. Russia, still, has not defined
their operation as a “war” yet - and if they do
decide to declare war ----- we can expect an
assault on Ukraine beyond our imagination.
The Western mainstream media has sold us complete
fabrications, nothing about this conflict has been
based in journalistic truth --- the narrative that
Ukraine is “winning” is simply not accurate.
We have been told Vladimir Putin is depressed, angry,
The Russian President, has methodically taken control
of the major trade routes --- essentially choking the life
out of Ukraine, he is winning. Putin took the little port
city Mariupol, while the whole world had their eyes on
the capital Kyiv, it was a brilliant move. Vladimir Putin
has not revealed one single thing about his military
operation in terms of strategy, the West still
cannot figure him out.
Why Russia wins
Everything we learn about Russia comes from former
generals on American TV, MSNBC, and CNN, they are
almost always wrong. Russian Foreign minister Sergi
Lavrov mocked the Americans trying to analyze the
Russian military operation, he said “They don’t
understand us, they don’t understand the
Russian mindset, they don’t understand
how we work”, in essence, Lavrov was
making it clear: everything the Western media prints about the war is a fabrication.
The average Ukrainian citizen understands Putin better than any US, British, or German news
analyst, in this aspect Russia is defeating
the US, NATO, and the Ukrainians.
Who is really fighting against Russia?
So far, the Russians have documented at least 40
different countries who are engaged in battle
against them, even the Ukrainians bragged
about how many hired contractors are
battling the Russians.
In the week since President of Ukraine Zelensky
announced the creation of an ‘International
Legion’ to defend Ukraine, 20,000 people
from 52 countries have volunteered to
fight in Ukraine, the country’s, Foreign
Minister, Dmytro Kuleba said on
television.
On the Russian side are simply young Russian boys
and Chechen (Pro Russian national) soldiers, that’s
it. A simple look at a map -- will show how Russia
has taken the key areas of Ukraine. The red and
light red, shows how Ukraine has already lost
the battle.
Image: What do you THINK? ___________________________________
Russia is not only winning against the Ukrainians,
but they are also defeating NATO and US money/
weapons, the U.S loves funding foreign wars
but they don’t know how to win them.
Britain, Germany. Italy and France want no part of war
with Russia, Western Europe would never send a
dollar (or any military equipment) to Ukraine
without the United States coercing them to
do so. Western Europeans are not in the
least bit interested in engaging in war
in Eastern Europe, most Westerners
are worried about unemployment,
food shortageS and inflation,
not Ukraine.
Our media is not allowed to tell you
Russia is winning.
According to our biased media, cities like Mariupol and
Kherson are not under Russian control, they tell the
public that there is “fierce resistance” to Russian
attacks, this is, of course, a lie. A month ago,
a lifelong resident of Kherson, reported that
the city was in 100% Russian control... but
the public is not allowed to know this truth.
See video: This would never
air on American television.
The guy on camera tells the truth “Kherson is under
100% Russian control”, the reporter did not expect
that answer she tries to cover the truth, she says
“there are conflicting reports on who controls
the city”, then he drops the full truth again.
Russia is in 100% control; this was a rare
truth that slipped by Pro-Ukraine media.
Finding honest news is almost impossible today, the
fact of the matter is that Russia is not only winning,
but they are also winning relatively easily... despite
suffering heavy losses. Does anyone really believe
that Russia could not take all of Ukraine if they
want it? At the start of the conflict every US
media pundit.. said Russia would take the
capital city Kyiv in less than a week, yet
Russia... “chose” not to do so. No one can figure out Putin’s war strategy.
The Ukrainian civilians are, sadly, being slaughtered,
they are caught between the Russian military might
and Zelensky’s ego. No matter how many thousands
of civilians slaughtered, Washington has only one response… more weapons, more weapons,
more weapons.
The United States Government does not care the least
bit about Ukrainian civilians, Ukraine (which is
actually a welfare state) has never stood on
its own two feet; it is a beggar state. The
President of Ukraine is not intelligent,
but he is slick, he knows how to milk
every dollar out of the United States.
It is a cruel game; Washington relies on the US
mainstream media to keep showing bombed out
Ukrainian children on the news.... to justify the
billions of dollars we keep sending to Zelensky.
Ukraine is one of the most corrupt states in the world,
dumping billions of dollars worth of weapons into the
land is lunacy, yet we will keep on doing it. The
bottom line is that Russia is winning, and
nothing will change this outcome, no
amount of weapons dump into
Ukraine is going to change
the result of the war.
No one in Washington cares about the Ukrainian
civilians, the US doesn’t care, Zelensky doesn’t
care and certainly NATO does not care; if they
did care they would have told Ukrainians to
lay down arms 2 months ago and tried to
reason (negotiate) with Putin.
We are defending Ukraine as if it is one of our 50
states, we are taunting a nuclear superpower,
we are encouraging the hotheaded Zelensky,
all while our corrupt American media leads
the drumbeats to world war 3.
What do you THINK?
___________________________________
Ukraine's Army Is In Very Bad Shape -
More Fighting Will Only Destroy It
Posted by b on
May 2nd, at 5:32pm
(Moon on Alabama)
The French news agency, AFP, has published
a report by Daphne Rousseau from near the
Ukrainian frontline. It allows us to gain
some realistic view of the state of the
Ukrainian armed forces.
Exhausted Ukrainian soldiers
return from eastern front
I will quote the AFP report piecemeal
and add my observations:
Packed with exhausted Ukrainian soldiers with
clenched jaws, the truck drives away at full
speed. The troops from the 81st brigade,
have just received an order to withdraw
from the eastern front, where Russian
forces advance.
The brigade walked 12 kilometres (7.5 miles)
Saturday, camouflaged in the woods and
under crossfire, until their point of
retreat at Sviatoguirsk.
The 81st Airmobile Brigade consists of 3
infantry battalions equipped with BTR-70
armoured personnel carriers that can be
loaded onto a plane. It also has a strong
artillery group with 3 gun and missile
battalions, and the usual hodge-
podge of support units.
As the Ukrainian troops had to walk 12
kilometres, a question arises. Where
are their armoured carriers? Even
when infantry is deployed in dug-
outs and trenches its transport
should always be nearby
(~3 km) to be able to
quickly pick it up
when necessary.
The most likely answer is that those BTR-70s,
plus the brigade's artillery... no longer exist.
From today's 'clobber list' as published by the
Defense Ministry of Russia (emphasis added):
In total, 146 aircraft and 112 helicopters, 683
unmanned aerial vehicles, 281 anti-aircraft
missile systems, 2,756 tanks and other
armoured combat vehicles, 316 multiple
launch rocket systems, 1,234 field artillery and mortars, as well as 2,563 units of special military vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation.
Those numbers will be, like all such counts,
somewhat exaggerated. But they do tell
a story.
Sviatoguirsk, the extraction point for the troops,
is some 10 kilometres southeast of Izium
which the Russian forces have taken
a while ago.
More from the AFP piece:
For a month, the 81st -- whose motto is "always
first" -- battled to push back the Russian
advance in Ukraine's eastern Donbas
region where Moscow's troops move
forward slowly, taking villages one
by one.
"Everyone understands that we must guard the
line here, we can't let the enemy move closer,
we try to hold it with all our force," says
lieutenant Yevgen Samoylov, anxious
that the unit could be hit by Russian fire at any point.
"As you can hear, the enemy is very, very near,"
he says, pointing to the sky. The line of Russian
tanks is on the other side of a hill, around seven
kilometres (4.3 miles) away.
The troops walked 12 kilometres... and are now
on trucks. The enemy is currently 7 kilometres
away. Simple maths will explain that, with a 5
kilometre deep gain by the Russian forces.
At 21 years old, Samoylov, an officer from the
Odessa military academy, finds himself
managing 130 conscripts, often twice his age.
"It's my first war. I was supposed to graduate in
four months, but they sent me here," says the
baby-faced officer with a short black beard.
What a disaster. 130 conscripts up to age 40+.
These ain't well trained warriors but teachers
and car mechanics - or farmers - drafted into
the war. With 130 troops the unit has about
the size of a company. Infantry companies
in the Soviet/Russian/Ukrainian army are
relative big:
[T]he strength of a tank company is 31-40
people, and the number of servicemen of
a motorized rifle company ranges from 150
people. Often a company is commanded
by an officer with the rank of captain,
and only in some units this position
is occupied by a major.
The junior lieutenant Samoylov, who did not
even finish his officer course, is leading a
unit that is usually led by an officer two to
three ranks higher than his. Where are
the higher officers?
More from AFP:
The unit swung into action on February 23rd,
a day before Russia launched the invasion.
At the start of the war, they spent a month
defending Izium, which fell on April 1st,
before joining the fighting around the
village of Oleksandrivka.
"Some really difficult battles,"
says the quiet Samoylov.
Izium is at the northern front where Russian
force press towards the south. There are
several Oleksandrivka (Alexandrovka)
named settlements in the Ukraine...
three of them in the Donetsk oblast.
There may be more unofficial ones with that
name. Two of the known ones are in the
north west of Donetzk Oblast some 20
kilometres southwest and southeast
of Izium, respectively.
Neither is directly on the current frontline..
that runs about 10 kilometres to the north.
Sviatoguirsk, the extraction point, is much
nearer to the front. That is where the
troops likely were, before they
walked towards the trucks.
The AFP piece continues:
In this brigade, like the others, they don't
say how many people have been killed.
When the subject comes up,
Samoylov's gaze becomes
misty. The pain is raw.
A deadly silence takes over the military truck
during the drive to the abandoned building
where the soldiers will stay during their
week of rest.
Samoylov's 130 men are unlikely to be from one
original company. They are probably all what is
left from a battalion that originally had three
companies and more than 400 men.
When the convoy passes a truck loaded with
long-range missiles dashing to the front, the
soldiers automatically make a "V" sign for
victory with their fingers, before fixing
their gaze once more on their feet
or the horizon, in silence.
Is there still some morale in these men or is that
just a routine gesture? I believe it is the latter.
On arrival at the base, the soldiers unload their
weapons, remove their kit and immediately go
into one of the dilapidated rooms without
electricity where they undergo a medical
examination after returning from the front.
For the survivors, "there are small injuries on
the forehead, those who were buried under
the rubble during a bombing have fractures
and (injuries) linked to shrapnel," says
Vadym Kyrylov, the brigade's doctor.
"But we mainly see somatic problems, like
hypertension or chronic illnesses that
have worsened," the 25-year-old adds.
Each battalion of the 81st brigade should have
a doctor with a more senior one serving in the
brigade's headquarter company. That a 25
year old one is in the brigade's doctor role
again points to a lack of men.
- 'Trench foot' -
The men also greatly suffer from "trench foot"
syndrome caused by prolonged exposure to
moisture, unsanitary conditions or the cold.
"For a month they are not able to dry their
shoes... so there are many feet-related
injuries, mainly fungi and infections,"
the doctor says.
Military boots should be watertight. During my
time in the military we trained in some very
muddy areas but I never got my feet wet.
One wonders what quality Ukrainian
army boots have.
After the medical visit, they all have the same
reflex: to isolate and use their phone to call
a female partner, a child or a parent.
Soldiers cannot use their phones on the front,
and any application that requires geolocation
is banned.
How strict is the control of those policies?
Experience says that if soldiers are allowed to
have phones with them they will inevitably
use them. That is why Russia prohibits its
soldiers to carry phones.
Four soldiers reassemble the rusty metal bed
frames and sweep the floor coated with dust
to make a semblance of a room.
That does not sound like a fun place for rest
and recreation. Are there even mattresses
for those metal frames?
"It's the moment for the guys to relax, to take
care of their physical and psychological
injuries, to regain their strength before
returning to battle," Samoylov says.
"They'll sleep warm, eat normal food and try
to more or less get back on their feet."
Those troops were nine weeks on the frontline
and now only get one week of rest --- in a
miserable place. Samoylov is an optimist.
None of those injuries, especially not the
psychological ones, will heal within a
week. It takes years to overcome the
cruelties of war and sometimes more
than a lifetime.
The Ukrainian army is obviously in a very bad
shape as it pushes barely trained conscripts
to the frontline where Russian artillery will
eat them up. That it is in such a state, is
not astonishing though.
The Swiss military intelligence officer Jacques
Baud has worked in the Ukraine & has written about the current war. He describes the sorry
state the Ukrainian military was in from the
get-go:
The Ukrainian army was then in a deplorable
state. In October 2018, after 4 years of war,
the chief Ukrainian military prosecutor,
Anatoly Matios, stated that Ukraine had
lost 2,700 men in the Donbass: 891 from
illnesses, 318 from road accidents, 177
from other accidents, 175 by poisoning
(alcohol, drugs), 172 from careless
handling of weapons, 101 from
breaches of the security
regulations, 228 from
murders and 615
from suicides.
In fact, the army was undermined by the
corruption of its cadres and no longer
enjoyed the support of the population.
According to a British Home Office report, in
the March/April 2014 recall of reservists, 70
percent didn't show up for the first session,
80 percent for the second, 90 percent for
the third, and 95 percent for the fourth.
In October/November 2017, 70% of the conscripts did not show up for the “Fall 2017” recall campaign.
This is not counting suicides and desertions
(often over to the autonomists), which
reached up to 30 percent of the work-
force in the ATO area. Ukrainians...
refused to go & fight in the Donbas
and preferred emigration, which
also explains, at least partially,
the demographic deficit of
the country.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense then turned
to NATO -- to help make its armed forces more
“attractive.” Having already worked on similar
projects within the framework of the United
Nations, I was asked by NATO to participate
in a program to restore the image of the
Ukrainian armed forces. But this is a
long-term process and the Ukrainians
wanted to move quickly.
So, to compensate for the lack of soldiers, the
Ukrainian government resorted to paramilitary
militias. They are essentially composed of
foreign mercenaries, often extreme right-
wing militants. In 2020, they constituted
about 40 percent of the Ukrainian forces
and numbered about 102,000 men,
according to Reuters.
They were armed, financed and trained by
the United States, Great Britain, Canada
and France. There were more than 19 nationalities—including Swiss.
The Ukrainian army will not win the war nor will
the fascist militias. The country simply has
no chance.
'Western' governments are abusing the Ukraine
and its soldiers. They want to 'weaken Russia'
and do not allow the Ukraine to sue for peace.
That is criminal.
Jacques Baud again:
[D]espite [President Zelensky's] probable
willingness... to achieve a political settle-
ment for the crisis with Russia, Zelensky
is not allowed to do so. Just after he
indicated his readiness to talk with
Russia, on February 25th,, the EU
decided two days later to provide
€450M in arms to Ukraine.
The same happened in March. As soon as
Zelensky indicated --- he wanted to have
talks with Vladimir Putin on March 21st,
the European Union decided to double
its military aid to €1 billion on 23 March.
End of March, Zelensky made an interesting
offer ......that was retracted shortly after.
Apparently, Zelensky is trying to navigate
between Western pressure and his far
right on the one hand and his concern
to find a solution on the other, and is
forced into a ” back-and-forth,” which
discourages the Russian negotiators.
...
Today, Zelensky must lead his country under
the sword of Damocles, with the blessing of
Western politicians & an unethical media.
His lack of political experience made him an
easy prey.. for those who were trying to
exploit Ukraine against Russia, and in
the hands of extreme right-wing move
-ments. As he acknowledges in an
interview with CNN, he was lured
into believing that Ukraine would
enter NATO more easily after an
open conflict with Russia, as
Oleksey Arestovich, his
adviser, confirmed
in 2019.
The Ukraine has lost the war. All the weapons
systems the 'west' is now pushing into it, are
of no use as the Ukraine obviously lacks the
men to field them. They will likely get
pilfered and in future some of them
may well be used against the
'west' itself.
That would do some bloody justice.
What do YOU THINK?
Are we to blame for letting our money printing parasitic elite... try to cling onto power over the rest of the world, by illegally bombing
or sanctioning those countries trying to achieve economic development?
And - worse - risking a full-on war with nuclear armed Russia - as it tries to take back its Slavic brother nation, from a nazi infested Ukraine, trained by the West and now in its death grip?
Fighting by using poor elderly conscripts, in a mince-meat cauldron... as our great Western public... tries ''not to think'' about it?
The Germans were reviled for allowing just this - do you believe that calling Russians ''evil'' really solves your complicity in this slaughter?
If you have any honour... Tell your MP WHAT YOU WANT! Stop the elite arming Ukraine and refusing to let them sue for peace... NOW!
I wonder what you feel before and after reading this - for some, it will be a chink of light at the end of a long gloomy tunnel...
"Victory Program". Article by
G. A. Zyuganov in "Pravda"
Meeting in the year 2022, we were full of hopes that it would first be remembered, as the year of a great and bright holiday: the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. On the
centenary of the greatest state, that was the first in the world to base its policy on justice, equality, human rights and dignity at work, the protection of motherhood and childhood, and fraternal friendship between peoples.
But history has made severe adjustments to our
lives and presented us with challenges that
have proved to be the most serious in the
last three decades - since the time when
traitors and degenerates united with our
external opponents, and carried out the criminal collapse of the Soviet country.
Chairman of the Central Committee of
the Communist Party of the Russian
Federation G. A. Zyuganov.
2022-04-20 at 18:17
In response to Russia's desire to block the aggressive plans of NATO.. which for many years.. squeezed a suffocating ring around our borders, to protect the sovereignty and
security of the Donetsk & Luhansk People's Republics and to free the fraternal Ukrainian people from a Nazi -Bandera junta entrenched on their land, the West -- finally dropped the mask of "partnership" and civilized diplomacy. It directly declared its readiness to launch a deadly strike on our country, which it considers as decisive, in the hybrid war declared on us.
A power born in battle
Recently, more than 6,000 sanctions have been imposed on Russia. This has never happened to any other country
before..... An unprecedented economic, political and informational sabotage has been unleashed against us ---- the purpose of which is not only to force our State to abandon all claims to independence and defend its legitimate interests, but also to destroy it as a single sovereign state. Having challenged the criminal hegemony of Anglo-Saxon capital in the world, we, are now the main target of its
adherents in Washington, London, Brussels & other centres of modern neo-colonialism.
Trying to cope with the deepest crisis that the world capitalist system is naturally plunging into, globalists strive to maintain their power over the planet - at all costs. And for this they stop at nothing - even to the point of openly provoking a 3rd world war, in the fire of which they expect to burn the insoluble problems
generated by the dead-end policy of capital.
I warned about the alarming challenges that we will inevitably face in the twenty-first century as a result of the crisis of the liberal model of world governance 20 years ago, in my book "Globalization & the fate of humanity", which has been translated into many languages. It thoroughly analyzes the aggressive motives of the US imperialists and their henchmen.
The prospect of the emergence of new world power poles in the face of China and India, is outlined. Back then... they were just on the verge of rapid economic growth.
As a future alternative to US hegemony --- these countries were not yet taken seriously by many. But now it has become clear: it is Russia's
alliance with these Asian powers, that
negates the fascist-infused "American
dream" of a unipolar world. And the
total dehumanization carried out
by Washington.
This conversation ------ about the upcoming challenges to our planet, was continued in a book "Russia under the gun of globalism". It reveals in detail the history of our political, economic and spiritual opposition to the West.
And in my books " The Russian Core of Power'' and ''The Russian World on two axes" I have shown in detail that it is our country, relying on the great legacy of Soviet civilization, and now, in the XXI century, it will be -- as it has happened many times before -- in the centre of a clash with Anglo-Saxon imperialism.
The essence of our opposition to the "collective West "was expressed in 1938 -- by the German philosopher, Walter Schubart, who left Germany, after the Nazis came to power: "The task of Russia is to return the soul to man. It is Russia, that has the powers that Europe
has lost or destroyed in itself... Only Russia is able to breathe soul into the human race, which is dying from the love of power, mired in objective efficiency."
Today, all this is confirmed before our eyes.
The actions of Russia and its allies are met with
fierce resistance from globalists who are losing
control of the planet. In this confrontation, they
are ready to step over any political, legal and
moral barriers. We must face this challenge
courageously, stand up and win. As we have always won, in a clash with the most formidable of opponents.
It is deeply symbolic that the current trials have
fallen to us in the year of the 100th anniversary
of the Soviet state. The memory of this unique
victory experience, fills us with responsibility
for preserving the great achievements of our
fathers and grandfathers, achieved at the cost
of unprecedented efforts and tens of millions of
lives. And it inspires us to believe that we will
celebrate the anniversary of the USSR not only
as a solemn date, but also as a national holiday
by entering the era of purification from hostile
filth.... In the era of the USSR's renaissance.
Our vast country, infinitely rich in spiritual and
natural resources, has always been the object
of aggressive plans of the rulers of the West.
The subjugation of Russian lands gave them
the opportunity to solve the problem of
undivided political and economic
domination. But their intentions
were invariably broken against
the reliable shield of the State.
After the victory of the Great October Socialist
Revolution, the peoples of our country
embarked on the path of building a
society of social justice, free from
exploitation and inequality. Russia
ceased to be a dependent part of
the world capitalist system. Its
enormous resources were put
at the service of the people,
not a handful of "chosen"
masters of life.
Our Motherland became a guiding star for working people all over the world. Her
unique example had captured the
hearts of millions of people
around the world.
World capital did not want to accept this development. Driven by a thirst for profit and a desire to maintain their class dominance --- its agents set about
organizing -- a new "crusade" against Russia. Now - against Soviet Russia. Their goal was
to overthrow the power of working people and turn our country... into a colonial
periphery of the leading imperialist Powers.
On December 23rd, 1917 -- less than two months
after the socialist Revolution -- Britain & France
entered into a criminal agreement to divide the
territory of the former Russian Empire... into
spheres of influence. The oil-rich Caucasus
and the Cossack regions of southern Russia
were included in a zone of the "preferential
interests" of Great Britain. France expressed
a desire to get Crimea and a fertile Ukraine
with its developed metallurgical industry.
The United States also joined the Anglo-
French agreement and the preparations
for intervention against our country.
They laid claim to resource-rich Siberia and the Far East. Japan also demanded its "piece of pie". On January 1st, 1918, it brought warships into the port of Vladivostok, under the pretext of "protecting" her subjects.
The West could realize its plans only if the
Soviet government was overthrown. But it
became an insurmountable obstacle to
the realization of the ambitions of the
international oligarchy. It was Lenin -
& the Bolshevik Party who managed
to save the country - to save it from
disintegration and destruction and
to Defend our Homeland, both in
the battle with the Entente...
and in the bloody civil war
unleashed by its
accomplices...
inside Russia.
The enemy who sought to destroy us was
confronted by a young Soviet Republic
that was not yet fully strengthened but
was ready to fight courageously - and
was based on socialist principles. To
believe in the ideals of justice -- and
fraternity. On the people's conviction
that they are right. On an invincible
desire to build a country --- whose
politics would be subordinated - to
the interests of the whole society,
and not a bunch of insatiable
nouveau riche. In all those
difficult years, the enemy
was opposed not only by
the Red Army. Then, the
battles had two fronts -
military and economic.
And the Soviet country was able to defeat
the enemy, precisely because it won on
both fronts.
From this historic victory... in December 1922,
a great state was born - the USSR. Within the
borders of the new State, fraternal and like-
minded peoples came together, opening a
new era in their joint struggle for a bright
future, not only in their own history, but
also in the history of the whole world.
Together they had to build a mighty country,
protect it from the fascist invasion, revive
the Fatherland after the Great Victory
and lead it to new achievements
and heights.
A course at war with us
A century later, we are once again fighting the
"collective West" --- with the baggage of the
savage capitalism that destroyed us in the
3 decades that followed the treacherous
collapse of the USSR.
This terrible baggage in the form of a huge population decline, which is taking on the scale of a national
catastrophe, an economic crisis, a undermined industry, a technological lag, a dangerous dependence on imports --- and a strong influence of the liberal "fifth column" is now on the side of the opponents. It helps them to fight against our country.
In order to survive this war and embark on the life-saving path of independent development, we need to get rid of the cancer of a political curse that is fighting against its own people.
We need to call a spade a spade: for 30 years in
a row, the socio-economic system imposed on
us acted against Russia as an internal enemy.
It was destroyed in the 90s, when the country
was falling into the abyss of degradation --- against a background of "fraternization"
with the West. And it continued its
subversive work, even after we
declared our right: to free our
selves from external dictates
-- to pursue an independent
policy & restore genuine
sovereignty.
The course that has been dictated over the years by transnational centres of global capital, like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization has caused enormous damage to our country. It was at the direction of these structures --- that we
systematically built a system of capitalist
periphery, the doom of which is constant
lag and chronic crisis, was proved with
brilliant clarity ------ by Vladimir Ilyich
Lenin in his work "The Development
of Capitalism in Russia" at the end
of the 20th century.
Almost a hundred years after it was written --- a
great country that had reached unprecedented
heights in its development thanks to socialism
was thrown back, trying to turn it forever into
a raw material appendage of the West, which
does not even dare to dream of successful
independent development.
The predatory privatization of state property,
its transfer for a song into the hands of the
oligarchy, that by the beginning of the 90s
had grown up on the basis of a criminal
shadow economy, led to the destruction
and theft of thousands of enterprises.
To turn the labour and natural resources of our country into a source of enrichment for greedy parasites who did not
want to invest a pin in its development. Their fabulous profits from robbing Russia, were invested in luxury
yachts and mansions, in the most expensive foreign resorts.
Today, a significant part of this property... has
been seized in the West as part of a sanctions
campaign. But fake foreign "legalists" do not
even think about returning it to the people of
Russia. First, our country was robbed by
homegrown Gaidars and Chubais. And
now it is being repeatedly robbed by
foreign bandits.
The cynical curators of privatization have long
and publicly admitted that during this criminal
process --- they did not even think about any
benefits for the state. Their main task was to
put together a new class of owners from the
former shadow speculators, to wrest the
country's largest assets from the hands
of the people --- and thereby "drive the
last nail in the coffin of communism."
But they treacherously drove this nail not only into the hated Soviet government. They drove it into our future, which they readily sacrificed, in the interests of Russia's enemies. Today, they are fleeing the country --- fearing responsibility... and fair retribution for their deeds, as did the same Chubais.
Another devastating consequence of the dastardly collapse of the USSR and the Soviet system, is the rapid and massive seizure of domestic industry by foreign capital.
Its total share, according to the Academy of Sciences, until recently, was 65%. And.. in some of the most
important industries, it reached 75-95%. External control over our economy and industry is one of
the main reasons, that even in strategically important areas - on which our national security directly depends - real import
substitution, which was repeatedly promised, from high tribunes,
has not been implemented.
This is what most painfully responds to
us, against the background of the law-
lessness of sanctions unleashed
against Russia.
Those who organized it were also greatly
"helped" by the financial policy that was
carried out all these years according to
the patterns of the IMF — state in name
and anti-state in essence. It was it who
legitimized the absolutely adventurous
practice of placing a significant part of
the country's gold & foreign exchange
reserves in dollars and euros ---
concentrated in Western banks.
That is, in the financial institutions of those
who have long ceased to hide their hostile
intentions towards our country. This year,
as part of the "infernal sanctions" as they
are called in Washington, dictating to its
satellites, the scenario of an economic
war against Russia, We have received
a financial blow from our "Western
partners", which the Communist
Party of the Russian Federation
has long warned us about. And
the danger of which the "party
in power" did not even want to
discuss. Of the $ 640 billion in
Russian gold and foreign
exchange reserves, the
West has "seized"
almost half.
To this blatant financial sabotage, we should
also add the fact that in 2020-2021, 600 tons
of gold were exported from Russia to foreign
storage facilities the entire volume produced
in our country, in two years. In today's
situation --- this stock would be very
useful to us. But it is also sacrificed
to the irresponsible manipulation of
the state's financial reserves.
Our country's entry into the World Trade Organization, imposed by the liberal column, which took place in 2012 despite our stubborn resistance - and thanks to the votes of United Russia in the State Duma, has had an extremely negative impact on the
economy and industry. For almost 10 years - the WTO has served as a "legalized" barrier to real import substitution and ensuring food and drug safety in our country.
By joining this organization, we have taken on
23,000 additional obligations to other States
and trade partners. And these commitments
worked exclusively for the destruction of the
domestic economy & industry. To undermine
their ability to act in the interests of Western
corporations & exporters - which is the true
purpose of the WTO, which was created
precisely to serve these interests.
After --- without exaggeration --- the criminal
decision to join Russia in this organization
was pushed through, the Communist Party
of the Russian Federation 5 times submitted
to the Duma a bill to withdraw from it. But
they did not want to hear us, even when
it became absolutely obvious, that the
Western sanctions stranglehold was
tightening ever tighter and would
not weaken.
Do not hesitate to correct errors!
The vulnerability of the Russian economy
to hostile machinations, laid down by the
architects of market "reforms", was, in
fact, recognized in the National Security
Strategy signed in July 2021, by President
Putin. It states: "Unfriendly countries are
trying to use the existing socio-economic
problems in the Russian Federation to
destroy its internal unity.… Indirect
methods aimed at provoking long-
term instability within the Russian
Federation, are increasingly
being used."
Agreeing with this assessment, we called on the
country's leadership to finally bring the real
socio-economic policy in line with it.
To implement a fundamental change in the vicious
course that it has been avoiding for many years.
The Communist Party insisted: ''Without this, the President's fundamental goals formulated in his May decrees of 2012 and 2018, overcoming the demo-graphic crisis & mass poverty, achieving
a technological breakthrough, and entering
the top 5 leading economies in the world
- cannot be implemented.'' But they didn't
hear us then, either.
Today, when the enemy is insistently pushing
us towards economic collapse, it is no longer
possible to delay in correcting accumulated
system errors, with the adoption of tough
& principled decisions that will put an end
to the destructive practice of predatory
"reform" of the country in favour of
transnational capital.
The sooner these decisions are made, the better we will be able to resist the machinations designed to
destabilize the Russian state --- and bring our country to its knees.
Yes, the Russian economy is negatively affected by sanctions related to our independent position in the foreign policy arena. But it is also obvious that only if the internal policy is improved... the mobilization and close consolidation of society is carried out, we will be able to respond to any intrigues from the outside.
The current difficulties are not comparable to the challenge that was thrown at the Soviet country by the Entente... which tried to overthrow the power of the Bolsheviks with the trials that fell to its lot in the '40s of the last century — during the Nazi invasion. And the current losses of our economy due to external factors, are also not comparable with the losses the Soviet economy suffered in the first half of the
XX century.
But it is necessary to understand that, unlike the
Soviet Union which emerged from the most terrible trials & made up for the most severe losses thanks to the economy of creation and development, our country will not be able to achieve real economic growth or accelerated import substitution... if it does not abandon the system of socio-economic decay.
The recent history of Russia has clearly shown that criminal-oligarchic capitalism, can bring even greater destruction to the country, drive it into an even greater crisis --- than a clash
with the most terrible military opponent.
Addressing the government leadership during its report to the State Duma, I stated bluntly: the liberal model of governance is completely bankrupt & has finally outlived its usefulness. The task of independent rapid development, on the solution of which our survival depends, in the current conditions, requires that we abandon this model decisively and forever.
In the current circumstances, there is no
other choice, but to fulfill our program
requirement: to carry out a complete
revision of the principles of economic
and social management.
The results of a survey of experts conducted
by the Central Bank after the announcement
of Russia's "infernal sanctions" showed that
they predict that by the end of this year, the
economy will shrink by 10%, and inflation
will be 20%. At the same time, warnings
about the impending significant decline
in real incomes of citizens and job cuts
are becoming more insistent. But we
have no right to give up and allow a
collapse that is fraught with a
social explosion.
The country has every opportunity, not only to avoid this, but also to reach a fundamentally new level of development, that was hindered by a dependence on the recipes of Western financial institutions and on foreign capital now fleeing from Russia. To meet this historic challenge --- we urgently need to implement the measures we propose, based on our economic and social revival program "10 steps to a decent life".
Based on the outstanding experience of the Soviet state, based on the best modern achievements of socialist
China, growing faster than anyone else in the world, and on the other states that successfully resist the dictates of Western globalists, and follow the sovereign path of development and creation.
We do not need demagoguery about import
substitution, which is fed to us by helpless
liberal managers --- but a new industrial-
ization, a revival of national production,
and overcoming the huge backlog in
such areas as machine tool
construction, micro-
electronics, and
robotics.
Large owners do not want to invest in the technological renewal of the country. The work of most Russian citizens is clearly undervalued. Millions of people receive a salary that can only be described as a pathetic handout. At the same time, they
see how the income created by their work
flows into the pockets of a nouveau riche.
A system based on exploitation, riddled with
corruption and indulging in the fantastic
enrichment of oligarchs, is not able to
stimulate the restoration of industrial
potential, and the growth of labour
productivity. If this system is kept
to, if attempts continue to cling
to the previous course, Russia
will not be able to guarantee
its true independence... and
take its rightful place in
the world.
Our next steps should be based on a clear
understanding that the time has come to
decisively abandon the dominant role of
bank & financial capital in the economy.
We must provide conditions for the
development of those industries
that create the necessary
material values on a
public scale.
It's time to stop feeding society myths about the regulatory "hand of the market,'' about the wonders of prosperity that free enterprise promises. In order to save the national
economy and therefore the country it's
necessary: to put an end to the lies of
liberal fundamentalism. It should be
replaced by the realization -- that in
the struggle for independence and
lasting security -- we cannot do
without a new large-scale
industrialization, which
requires the maximum
mobilization of all
our resources.
If, against the background of sanctions
designed to strangle us, the government
continues to pursue a policy aimed at
compensating the losses of oligarchs
and speculators --- and not at fully
supporting industrial production,
agriculture, medicine, science
and education, we will not be
able to win on the financial
and economic front.
The clan-based oligarchic economy -- has
repeatedly proved that it is unable to act
for the benefit of the state & society or
work in their interests. And in difficult
situations, this becomes especially
obvious. We insist on removing the
oligarchy from the economic helm.
We are committed to following the
course of justice and development
- taking into account our program
for the revival of the country and
the experience of outstanding
socio-economic victories of
socialism, that underlies it.
Modernity of Stalin's tasks
History has never known such military exploits
and such feats of peaceful construction as the
Soviet country did. In just five years after the
October Revolution, a young Soviet Republic
managed to go from a paralyzed economy &
mass starvation, from huge military losses
and destruction, from poverty & epidemics
to NEP and GOELRO and the establishment
of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
This feat of universal significance looks even
bigger if we remember that in the same five
years there were such incredible trials as
the civil war and the intervention of the
largest Western states. And they were
preceded by three pre-revolutionary
years of the First World War.
By the beginning of 1921, the volume of industrial production in Soviet Russia was only 12% of the pre-war volume of 1913. The volume of output of large-scale industry decreased by 7 times compared to the same year in 1913. In 1920, grain was grown less than 64% of the pre- war harvest.
Most of the mines and mines were destroyed. Only a few plants & factories were operating. The devastation covered both the city and the village.
In order to start producing industrial products in the USSR in the 1920s and achieve a colossal growth rate in its production by the 1930s, it was necessary first, to build this production up from scratch. The task of preserving the Soviet country, required fulfilling the most difficult condition: to grow faster than all Western countries, while solving much more complex innovation tasks than any of them.
In fact, it was a challenge of the same scale that we are facing now. It is no accident, that the words of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, who in 1925, at the XIV Congress of the CPSU, outlined the uncompromising goal of an economic breakthrough, sound as if they are said today:
"We must make our country an economically independent country based on the domestic market. We must build our economy in such a way that our country does not become an appendage of the world capitalist system, that it is not included in the general scheme of capitalist development as its subsidiary enterprise, that our economy develops, not as a subsidiary enterprise of world capitalism, but as an independent economic unit, based on the link between our industry and the peasant economy.".
And the Soviet country proved by its actions the possibility of achieving such a huge task in the shortest possible time.
Already in 1927, the total volume of industrial output produced in the USSR exceeded the figures of 1913. By 1929, at the beginning of the first five-year plan, more than two thousand large state-owned industrial enterprises had been restored and re-built.
However, this was not enough to ensure economic independence and defense capability. In order to fulfill the Stalinist policy formulated at the XIV Party Congress, it was necessary to fundamentally improve the system of national economic management.
That is why, since 1929, the Soviet economy had been developing, according to five-year plans.
In 1931, at the First All-Union Conference of Workers in Socialist Industry, Stalin, emphasizing the need to accelerate industrialization and modernization in principle, addressed the people with the words:
"We are 50-100 years behind the advanced countries. We have to run this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or we'll be crushed."
This call was also heard and implemented. And this became clear not only to Soviet citizens, but also to the whole world. In January 1932, the French newspaper Tan stated: "The USSR won the first round, industrializing without the help of foreign capital."
This conclusion was echoed by the British Financial Times: "The success achieved in the machine-building industry - is beyond any doubt. The USSR is currently producing all the equipment necessary for its metallurgical and electrical industries. it managed to create its own automobile industry. It created the production of tools; and tools that cover the entire gamut, from the smallest tools of high precision, up to the heaviest presses. As for agricultural machinery, the U.S.S.R. is no longer dependent on foreign imports. There is no doubt that the newly built huge factories guarantee a significant increase in heavy industry output."
The planet-shaking results of rapid industrialization... became more impressive every year. A country where on the eve of the 1917 revolution, 70% could not read or write, having won the battle against illiteracy in the first years of Soviet power, had now moved on to breakneck economic and social development. And it began to turn into one of the world's leading powers.
In the "post-Soviet" era, we witnessed an almost endless crisis, the degradation of the economy, & the destruction of high-tech production. But the Soviet Union increased industrial production almost 13-fold in the first 30 years of its existence. While the US had only doubled it in the same three decades, and the UK - by 60%.
In capitalist Russia, over the past 10 years, the real average annual growth of the economy has not reached even 1%. And in the USSR, just in the twelve pre-war years, from 1928 to 1940, the volume of the economy grew --- by 450%. It increased annually by an average of 13.8%. This is an indicator that no other country in the world has been able to surpass --- to this day!
We should be proud of the fact that this is the history of our Fatherland. Be inspired by it, at this difficult time. To study and implement in new conditions, its experience of heroic mobilization, labour, and the social and moral solidarity of its citizens. Only this, will allow us to overcome today's difficulties.
A plan for great achievements
During the first Soviet five-year plan, the volume of industrial production in the Soviet country doubled! And in Western countries, it shrank by an average of a quarter, over the same period. Compared to the performance of the Russian Empire on the eve of World War I, industrial production in the USSR increased fourfold by 1933, compared to a ten percent increase in the United States over the same 20 years.
In 1933, the share of industry in the total Soviet economy exceeded 70%. It was 16% higher than in 1929, and 28% higher than in 1913. In just three years, the production of trucks had grown 5 fold, and passenger cars - 16-fold.
In his report to the seventeenth Congress of the CPSU(b), Stalin summed it up briefly and clearly: "Our country has become firmly and definitively, an industrial country."
Rapid industrialization was accompanied by the constantly accelerating development of the Soviet agricultural industry. Over the first 5-year period, the availability of tractors for agriculture had increased almost 6 times, and the availability of combine harvesters - almost 15 times. During the first five-year plan, the state sent 111 thousand technical and agronomic specialists to collective farms & state farms, about two million trained tractor drivers, combined harvester drivers and more than one and a half million field and livestock foremen.
These achievements look fantastic against the background of what has been happening for decades in "post-Soviet" Russia. The market orgy caused serious damage to the agricultural sector and food security of the country. A particularly negative role was played by the law on land purchase and sale, which we strongly protested against.
It opened up almost unlimited possibilities for transferring land to private ownership. As a result, the irresponsibility of the new owners-moneybags led to the fact that 40% of the Russian arable land is not used for its intended purpose today. In the context of sanctions aimed, among other things, at creating a shortage of food products in Russia, this problem is particularly acute.
We insist that Russia's food security must be guaranteed at the legislative level. And pay special attention to the agro- industrial complex. Provide producers in rural areas with the necessary equipment and fuel, seeds and fertilizers. Create a state fund to support agricultural enterprises. Use the mechanisms of cheap loans and direct subsidies to those who work on the land. Overcome the shortages of personnel in rural areas.
To meet these vital requirements, we have developed a number of programs aimed at reviving the Russian countryside and fundamentally improving the productivity of the agro-industrial complex.
Our best specialists — V. I. Kashin, N. M. Kharitonov, N. V. Arefyev - worked on them. The most important among them are "New Virgin Land" and "Sustainable Rural Development". The financial and economic block of the government, has long prevented their implementation. But it is unacceptable and extremely dangerous to continue delaying it, in the current conditions.
Comparing the indicators of pre-revolutionary Russia's industrial backwardness, with the outstanding Soviet achievements, we understand: that a fair, effective system of economic management can provide the country with the most ambitious breakthroughs.
In 1913, Russia was 8 times behind the United States in terms of industrial output, 3.5 times behind Germany, three times behind Britain -- and one and a half times behind France. Russia's share in the world's industrial output in 1913 was only 4%. The socialist economy had fundamentally changed the situation. The country was rapidly becoming one of the leading industrial powers.
During the first five-year plan, 1,500 new large industrial enterprises were put into operation. Entire industries were re-created: aviation, machine-tool building, automotive, chemical, instrument-making, and agricultural machinery. They could not have been mastered, if it were not for the huge achievements in ferrous metallurgy, in the production of aluminium and high-quality steel.
At the same time, the main work was carried out to implement the plan developed immediately after the revolution by GOELRO --- the State Commission for Electrification of Russia. The capacity of domestic power plants had increased 2.5 times. As a result of the implementation of the five-year plan, a solid foundation of the economy was built — heavy industry, mechanized agriculture.
The possibilities and advantages of the socialist planned economy became indisputable at that time. They remain so today. And it is simply criminal to refuse them, when the West is trying to push our country into social and economic chaos.
In November 2021, the head of state signed a decree "On the fundamentals of state policy in the field of strategic planning in Russia". It finally recognizes what the Communist Party has long insisted on: without strategic planning, it is impossible to determine the true most important goals of socio-economic development that meet the main interests of the country, & find ways to achieve them. Especially now when we doubly need maximum mobilization & accurate calculation of our actions. We call for the urgent implementation of this installation. We need to finally do what we have been trying to do for many years – create a State Committee for Strategic Planning, which will coordinate this work.
The successful implementation of the Soviet 5-year plans was based on the ever-growing financing of the most important industrial sectors. The total amount of capital investment in the first 5-year period -- was twice as much as the expenditure in the previous 11 years. 50% of all capital investments were directed to the development of industry. Of this amount, three-quarters were allocated to heavy industry.
Like the USSR of the late 1920s and early 1930s, today's Russia, which also needs to solve the problem of accelerated industrialization and modernization, has neither the time nor the right --- to rely on private investors, either external or internal. The economy facing such challenges should rely primarily on public investment.
But instead of implementing this principle, for many years.. we have been openly draining the financial system of blood and squandering its resources. Over the years of market "reforms", over a trillion dollars have been withdrawn from the country. At the current exchange rate, this is 80 trillion rubles — almost four federal budgets! Capital withdrawal has accelerated, especially over the past 2 years, during which $ 122 billion, or 9 trillion rubles, has flowed out of the cordon. We insist that the foreign currency earnings of Russian exporters should be left in the country, and at least half of it should go to the state treasury. However, the authorities ignored the demand to take financial flows under strict control. The currency was freely exported abroad, where it is now frozen indefinitely.
We call for abandoning the flawed model of financial system governance. It cannot indulge the anti-state interests of the oligarchy --- and is obliged to work for the development of the country.
The Central Bank's key task -- should be to promote economic growth. It is necessary to strengthen the Central Bank's responsibility for the ruble exchange rate and the stability of the national currency. Systematically expand the use of the ruble in settlements with foreign countries. Restore the branch state-owned banks - Industrial, Construction, Agricultural, Scientific and Technological. Focus them on the tasks of economic and social development.
The country urgently needs to introduce a mechanism for interest-free lending to enterprises guaranteed by the state and regional authorities. For the revival of domestic production, such financial measures are needed, and not the lifting of credit rates for enterprises, which high-ranking liberal officials continue to insist on.
Russia needs to strictly limit the export of capital and ensure the process of real de-offshorization of the domestic economy, which we have been promised for years, in words, but not in practice.
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation... has developed a program for improving the state's financial policy and prepared a package of relevant laws, which were worked out by Yu. V. Afonin, N. V. Kolomeitsev, S. A. Gavrilov and other representatives of our deputy team.
The rapid growth of industry, allowed the Soviet country to completely eliminate such a social evil as unemployment by the end of 1930. And until the last days of the existence of the Country of Soviets, our citizens did not encounter this terrible phenomenon. The Soviet Labour Code... not only enshrined the right to work and prohibited the dismissal of an employee without a valid reason - just at the whim of the employer ---- as is often the case today. This code guaranteed workers to work in their specialty, excluded the possibility that the knowledge acquired by a person in a higher education institution, or in a vocational educational institution, would be unclaimed.
And in today's Russia, millions of people do not have a permanent job, or are completely unemployed. The government's employment promotion and support program for medium and small enterprises, has not been fully implemented.
Back in 2012, the president set a goal in one of his "May decrees": to create 25 million high-performance jobs by 2020. But eight years later, instead of increasing their number, we saw a reduction from 18.3 million in 2014 to 17 million in 2020. The reason is obvious: where there is no development of advanced areas of the economy, there can be no growth of the corresponding jobs.
One of the most important requirements of our program is to reliably protect workers from unemployment and urgently form a state employment support program that meets today's challenges. But this task can be realized only on the basis of a rapid development of the domestic industrial sector, a brilliant example of which, is provided by the Lenin-Stalin modernization.
Alternative to raw material dependence
The results of the second Soviet five-year plan of 1933-1937 were no less impressive, than the results of the first. The volume of industrial output continued to grow at the same high rate and doubled in 5 years. Electricity generation increased 2.7 times. 80% of all industrial output was obtained at enterprises newly built or completely reconstructed during the first and second five- year plans. Industrial productivity had doubled.
4,500 large industrial enterprises were put into operation. Among the main ones were the Ural & Kramatorsk Heavy Engineering Plants, the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, the Ural Car Building Plant, the Novolipetsk & Novouralsk Metallurgical Plants. In 1935, the first stage of the Moscow Metro was put into operation, which became the pride of the country and the decoration of the capital.
In the first years of the third five-year plan --- which was destined to be interrupted by the war, the success of the Soviet economy became absolutely irrefutable evidence of the advantages of socialism. The country came out in 2nd place in the world and the 1st in Europe in the main types of heavy industry. In 1937-1939 alone, three thousand new large industrial enterprises were established. Power plants, oil refineries, cement plants, and pulp and papermills, were put into operation. The number of Soviet workers & employees rose to 31 million in pre-war 1940, almost tripling from 1928.
By the beginning of the war, the USSR ranked first in Europe in terms of the main types of natural & raw materials. And for some of them - first place in the world. But, at that time, raw materials were not exported abroad. It was used for the economic development of the country, for the production of high-quality products, and above all, metals- cast iron and steel. These metals, transformed into planes, tanks and katyushas, helped the Soviet soldier defeat the most terrible enemy that Russia faced. They literally saved our homeland during the Great Patriotic War.
The absence of dependence on raw material exports is one of the most important features that fundamentally distinguished the multi-layered Soviet economy from today's. And provided it with self-sufficiency, which we so lack --- in the current sanctions conditions.
Those who judge the Soviet economy superficially or based on unreliable sources --- are often convinced... that it had become increasingly commodity-oriented over the years, and allegedly became dependent on it to the same extent as the economy of modern Russia. But this is a distorted view. Until the last years of its existence --- when the management of the Soviet economy, at the instigation of Gorbachev's entourage, began to be intercepted by degenerate destroyers, its distinctive feature --- dis- played precisely, the multi-structure characteristic of the most developed countries.
So, if the export of oil from the USSR for the period 1960- 1987 increased by 7.7 times, then the export of electricity increased 18 times, equipment for the chemical industry — by 19, equipment for the textile industry — by 21, power equipment — by 56, equipment for the timber, pulp and paper and woodworking industries - by 77 times.
The earliest possible achievement of industry diversity, is something that is vitally necessary for our economy, both from the point of view of saturating the country with domestic products, and from the point of view of its competitiveness in the foreign market.
Today, some experts are openly spreading panic, scaring us with the fact that by the end of this year, Russia may lose half its oil and gas exports, and eventually face a critical budget deficit. But if a competent policy is implemented, we have all the opportunities for successful mobilization of high-tech production. It will really help rid Russia's economy of its dependence on raw materials.
We are in favour of the speedy implementation of this fundamental task. And for the gradual reduction of oil & gas exports in order to better support the domestic market, and reduce the prices of petroleum products within the country. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure the development of the oil refining industry ...improving the quality of raw materials products.
But to solve this problem, it is necessary to remove the oligarchy that is not interested in it, from the economic helm. Only this will make it possible to return Russia's natural resources & strategic sectors of the economy to public ownership: the electric power industry, transport, military-industrial complex, oil and gas fields, and illegally privatized factories and mines.
These measures should be accompanied by an increase in spending on economic development from the budget and the National Welfare Fund. And ensuring state control over exports and imports, in order to create the most favorable conditions for domestic producers.
It is necessary to immediately assess at the state level the industrial potential that has been preserved in the Russian regions, in order to update it and include it in production activities - as soon as possible.
Today it is important to remember -- that, in the USSR, it was precisely industrialization and modernization of the economy that led to the rapid development of the social sphere. And it was closely linked to the growth of the construction industry. The annual commissioning of housing by the start of the '50s increased almost 8 times compared to the end of the 20s. The number of theatres, cinemas, clubs, & libraries increased significantly. Sanatoriums and rest homes were actively built. Soviet citizens enjoyed all these benefits, free of charge, including housing provided by the state.
With the return of capitalism, buying their own homes has become an unaffordable luxury for most. The average family either needs to save up for the purchase of a standard city apartment for 15-20 years, saving for this purpose, all the money that it earns. Or voluntarily throw yourself into a debt hole, not knowing if you will ever be able to get out of it.
The deterioration of housing stock, in the era of the "free market" has taken on an alarming scale. The destruction of public infrastructure in various regions, reaches from 40% to 80%.
We insist that social housing should be built en masse for Russian citizens and internally displaced persons from the Donbas and Ukraine. And consider the right to housing - as a guarantee of the right to life.
Large-scale state investments in housing construction and utilities are needed. The construction industry, not only has a special social significance -- but also is a unique locomotive that pulls many other sectors of production along with it. This should be the basis for the economic policy of any state that seeks to develop successfully.
Transfiguration Lessons
The public, high-quality education that the Soviet system managed to guarantee everyone, was not only a social boon. It became the intellectual and professional basis, for the outstanding achievements of the USSR.
The availability of education in the Soviet state, and the rapid involvement of the broadest social strata in it can be judged at least by this fact: by the beginning of 1933, students from peasants, already accounted for about 17% in higher educational institutions of the USSR, while, in Germany at that time, the share of peasants in universities, barely exceeded 2%.
From 1933 to 1938, 20,000 new schools were built in the country. 16 thousand of them were opened in rural areas. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, 5 times more children were studying in secondary schools than before the Communists came to power. The number of students enrolled in secondary educational institutions increased by 30 times, compared to the pre-revolutionary period. The number of students, increased eightfold.
And, since the destruction of the USSR, a third of schools in Russia have been closed. Moreover, in rural areas, their number has halved. The number of vocational schools has decreased by 10 times! This is a real sabotage against our country, arranged by the hands of "reformers" who acted according to openly anti-Russian programs received from the Soros Foundation and other overseas structures. That is why, today, it is so difficult to find a good turner, millerist, locksmith, or welder. These professions, which are now extremely necessary for the new industrialization and rapid import substitution, have essentially been eliminated in our country.
We insist - that in order to revive the broken system of vocational and technical education and provide it with effective support from the state - it is necessary to restore the State Committee that will manage this area. Without this, it is impossible to quickly fill the shortage of highly qualified workers, which is vital for us today.
In 1940, the Soviet state spent 13% of all budget expenditure on education. And even at the height of the war, in 1942, it allocated 6% of its budget expenditure for education. And, in victorious 1945, this figure increased 2.5 times and amounted to 17% of all Soviet treasury expenditures.
The share of today's public investment in this area is only a quarter of the pre-war Soviet expenditure. Modern Russia, according to UNESCO Institute of Statistics, has slipped to the 120th place in the world in terms of the share of spending on education! In the last ten years --- the total expenditure of the federal budget on education does not exceed 5% of its expenditure. And they remain within 1% of the gross domestic product. Federal and regional budget expenditure under the section "Education" reached only 3.6% of GDP, which is also categorically insufficient.
Along with the financial theft of education, one of the main crimes of the "reformers" was the intellectual and moral destruction of the outstanding heritage of the Russian- Soviet school. Washing out our best achievements from the school curriculum, infiltrating it with Russophobia, anti-Sovietism and gross distortions of national history.
Reduction of educational standards, which undermines the intellectual and spiritual potential of society, was fully reflected --- in the vicious system of the unified state exam - an "innovation" imposed on Russia, which the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has always opposed, and continues to strongly oppose.
The Unified State Exam... not only does not improve the quality of education, but also frankly, devalues the most important knowledge. It undermines the authority of key scientific areas, without the development of which, it is impossible to count on the technological breakthrough of Russia declared in presidential decrees & messages.
In 2019, a group of Chinese scientists led by Academician Jin Sizhang ...conducted their own research and assessed how the level of education in 43 countries around the world has changed over the past 30 years.
The conclusion of scientists is as follows: The West has imposed on Russia a disastrous Unified State Exam system that trains "biorobots, destroys knowledge, and condemns schoolchildren to degradation and eternal lag. The Unified State Exam is the main threat to the development of technology in Russia" and "the greatest sabotage of the West".
Simultaneously with the school, the university education was also sabotaged. Most of the higher education institutions... were put on starvation rations. Even in Moscow, the current average rate of a professor is 35-40 thousand rubles, the rate of an associate professor is 25 thousand & an assistant professor is from 15 to 20 thousand. A student's estimated stipend... is a humiliating 13% of the officially established subsistence minimum, compared to 80%, as it was in the USSR. And for those who receive vocational education the figure is a measly 5% ---- 16 times less than in the Soviet era!
One of the main vices of the system of wild capitalism is the loss of connection between economic activity and scientific and technological progress, without which, the development and decent future of the state and society --- are absolutely impossible.
A fundamental review of policy in this area is an essential part of our program. And one of the key documents underlying it is the draft law "Education for All".
The best scientists and representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in the State Duma worked on it: Zh. I. Alferov, I. I. Melnikov, V. I. Kashin, O. N. Smolin, Yu. V. Afonin, D. G. Novikov, S.E. Savitskaya, T. I. Pletneva, N. A. Ostanina... I am convinced that -- without the implementation of this law in life, it is impossible to revive the outstanding Russian-Soviet school, which is being destroyed by liberal "reformers".
We must resolutely reject the view of education as a service -- any justification for its commercialization, or transformation into a business sphere. From the stupefying USE system, which we demand to replace with a full-fledged traditional exam, where students are not played guessing games, but objectively reveal their true knowledge and abilities, and from the vicious idea of imposing distance learning on schools & universities ...which the liberal destroyers of the education system began to actively introduce, against the background of the pandemic.
Government spending on education should be doubled and amount to at least 7% of GDP. Without this, any calls and promises to achieve a technological breakthrough will be negated - by the growing intellectual degradation and destruction of the country's scientific potential.
In all regions, teachers ' salaries must be at least as high as the average in Russia. In the field of vocational education, teachers ' salaries should be at least doubled, in comparison with today's salaries. And the rates of university teachers should be increased to a level not less than twice the average Russian salary.
Textbooks that preach Russophobia, deny the ideology of social justice and equality, denigrate and distort the national history - should be resolutely expelled from schools and universities. The outstanding works of Soviet authors -- which have been withdrawn from the school curriculum for decades and which are the best examples of morality and patriotism - should be returned to the school curriculum.
In order to throw off the yoke of anti-national capital and move forward confidently, Russia needs to fully feel that it is the heiress not only of Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Nekrasov and Chekhov --- but also of Gorky, Sholokhov, Simonov, Isakovsky, Tvardovsky, Bondarev and Rasputin. Prokofiev, and Sviridov. Mukhina, and Vucetich. Makarenko and Sukhomlinsky. Kurchatov and Keldysh. Korolev and Gagarina. Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Vasilevsky, and Konev.
The country should be proud that this galaxy of brilliant names that make up the pride of Russian civilization was born out of the Soviet era, the socialist Fatherland, the birthplace of Lenin and Stalin.
We demand the adoption of a law on state protection of the Russian language as the greatest national treasure. It is also largely the responsibility of the school to foster love for it and preserve it.
Let us recall what Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky, the founder of the Russian pedagogical system, said about the priceless value of native speech: "Being the most complete and faithful chronicle of the entire spiritual life of the people for many centuries, the language is at the same time the greatest national mentor, who taught the people... when there were no books or schools yet, and continues to teach them to the end.. stories. Language is the most vital, most abundant and strong link that connects the obsolete, living and future generations of the people into one great historical living whole. When the national language disappears the people are no more!''
''As long as the language of the people lives in the mouths of the people, so long does the people live."
We Communists never cease to remember this, as we defend the Russian language, our national culture, science and education, which the true patriots of Russia have always stood guard over, and continue to stand guard over.
Scientific foundation of the state
The basis of the outstanding economic and social victories of the Soviet country --- was the rapid development of science, which became one of the main tasks of the state from the first days of Stalin's industrialization.
The Soviet State itself, was born on the scientific foundation of the outstanding Marxist-Leninist doctrine, and commitment to politics and the knowledge economy, was an immutable law for it.
With each five-year plan, the state's contribution to the development of science & its achievements increased. Even the war was unable to stop this process. And, in the post-war years, our country confidently broke out into being world leaders in scientific development.
In five years - from 1950 to 1955 - the number of scientists in leading research institutes, where the main scientific potential was concentrated, increased from 75 to 95 thousand. And over the next five years, it reached 200,000. That is -- during these five years -- the number of researchers in the USSR, increased annually by 20 thousand. Our specialists were trained at the highest level. It was they, who ensured the creation of a nuclear shield, which still reliably protects the Russian State from the military encroachments of those who dream of enslaving it.
They paved the way for our country to go into space. It is their achievements, that our people are still proud of - and the whole world admires.
A quarter of a century later, by the mid-1980s, more than 500 research and production associations were operating in the USSR, which made it possible to actively integrate science into production and the national economy. In the Soviet Union, there were 1,200 independent industrial research institutes and design bureaus. Over 500 of them worked in the machine-building complex. Every fourth researcher in the world, was a Soviet citizen. Every third invention on the planet, was made in our country.
At that time, there were 70 centres of scientific and technical creativity of young people in the USSR. Implementation of the "Comprehensive Program of Scientific and Technological Progress of the COMECON member Countries" began. And the key role here belonged to Soviet science and our scientists. The socialist countries started the joint production -- of computers and laser installations, digital information transmission systems, automation tools and other high-tech products. New metal-cutting equipment, new materials based on ferrous & non-ferrous metal and refractory compounds were created, using powder metallurgy methods. Biotechnologies were actively developed. A socialist economy proved its ability to dynamically modernize, & actively introduce innovations. It confirmed an ability, not only to keep up with the capitalist economy, but also to be ahead of it, in development.
There is no doubt that socialism would soon have achieved an absolute victory in the economic competition between the two systems, if a cohort of outright traitors and unscrupulous opportunists had not penetrated the highest echelons of power & begun to undermine the system from within. They played the role of allies of those external forces, that did every thing to bury the USSR and the Socialist Commonwealth.
A direct consequence of this was the refusal of the state to fully support and strengthen domestic science. Over the years, its funding has been reduced, both relative to the total budget expenditures & relative to GDP. The country that was the leading scientific power in the world in the Soviet era, under capitalism, has come to the point that the treasury is allocating for basic science as much as the US and the leading countries of Europe spend on the maintenance of one large university!
Now these opponents are trying to deal us a new crushing blow & in many ways, they rely on Russia's technological backwardness, which was allowed during three decades of market degradation. We will be able to achieve victory in this difficult confrontation only if we make a large-scale intellectual breakthrough. But the solution to this problem is impossible without the comprehensive support of modern science. The Soviet experience proved how effective its integration into production and the national economy is. Today, we need to significantly increase funding for the scientific activities of domestic scientists and increase the share of organizations where it is carried out, to at least 30%.
It is vital for us to develop high technologies and restore production capacities that will allow us to build a strong and independent economy. This means investing in basic science. The formation of new laboratories based on the industry principle -- working to accelerate scientific and technological progress. The immediate implementation of new developments in real production.
Special attention should be paid to electronics, machine tools, robotics, and artificial intelligence. In our program documents, we have repeatedly shown, how to solve problems in these areas. And they put on the table of the President, the head of government, and the heads of key ministries proposals developed together with the directors of major enterprises and scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Our country has a strong base for making scientific and technological breakthroughs. This is the world-famous Novosibirsk Akademgorodok — one of the pearls of the great Soviet heritage. And the St. Petersburg National Research Academic University, that bears the name of its founder, Nobel laureate Zhores Alferov, who worked brilliantly not only in the scientific field, but also in the deputy team of the Communist Party in the State Duma. Within the walls of the university he created a physics and mathematics lyceum, a university and a state-of- the-art production facility were united for the first time. But.. instead of giving it maximum support, the authorities turn a blind eye to how predatory raiders roam around the university, dreaming of seizing the land on which this unique educational institution is located.
If we want to overcome the technological gap and return Russia to the path of advanced development, which will ensure that we are invulnerable to any sanctions, it is necessary to put an end to such criminal practices; protect the dignity, professional & social interests of scientists, and radically revise the state policy in this crucial area.
In 1931, the Nobel Prize-winning British playwright Bernard Shaw said: "If the experiment that Lenin undertook in the field of social structure fails, then civilization will collapse, as many civilizations that preceded ours failed."
Thanks to the Leninist-Stalinist modernization, the Soviet system managed to survive and reach incredible heights. But --- at the turn of the XX and XXI centuries, after its treacherous destruction, our country went off the path of the leader of world civilization. And at the same time the entire world civilization began to slide into a deep crisis and obscurantism --- which has reached an extreme degree in our days. The only way to get out of this disastrous abyss -- for us -- is to transform Russia into a socialist country that opposes globalist fascism on the basis of a smart and patriotic development policy.
Reliable Medicine Shield
Outstanding scientific achievements of the USSR became an indispensable basis, not only for industrialization, but also for the development of Soviet medicine. It was the breakthroughs in science that predetermined the huge success of domestic healthcare and pharmaceuticals, which began to rapidly gain height during the second Stalinist five-year plan. Thanks to this, back in the 30s, our country was the first to defeat many of the most dangerous infections, the eradication of which ...the world had previously considered impossible. Soviet specialists created new, hitherto unknown drugs. Among them, a special role was played by penicillin --- which saved the lives of millions of soldiers on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War.
Without these brilliant victories in the medical field, the enormous demographic growth of the Soviet era... would not have been possible.
Despite all the hardships and terrible human losses suffered in the first half of the twentieth century in three wars — two world wars and a civil war - the population of the Soviet country grew steadily and rapidly. If in 1913 159 million people lived within the borders of the future USSR, then in the years of Soviet power their number increased to 294 million - by 85%. By the start of the 20th century - there were 67 million inhabitants within the borders of present-day Russia, and - in the Soviet era - its population grew to 148 million — 2.2 times!
At the beginning of the 20th century... the average life expectancy in Russia was deadly low - 32 years. In the US, it was then 49 years old. But... in 1967, when the Land of Soviets celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Socialist Revolution, our citizens lived an average of 70 years. The US, however, was not able to reach this figure by that time.
They were 3 years behind the Soviet Union in terms of average life expectancy. In the same period, the Soviet Union surpassed not only the US in life expectancy, but also countries such as France, Belgium, and Finland and was on a par with Japan, Germany, Italy, and Canada, in this indicator.
Here are the unique achievements of the Soviet State, whose citizens were protected by a reliable shield of advanced science and medicine.
And, over the past 30 years, in Russia and other former Soviet republics that were forced to abandon socialism, the number of Russians alone has shrunk by 20 million.
The population decline in our country over the past three years, has amounted to more than two million people. This is the terrible price of an irresponsible attitude to the healthcare sector and to science, without which medicine and self-sufficient pharma- ceuticals, independent of imports, cannot develop.
Over the past 20 years, the amount of public funding for healthcare in Russia has fluctuated between 3-4 percent of GDP - with a required 7 percent. The result, is low salaries for health workers and a deterioration of the medical infrastructure. The situation was seriously aggravated by the irresponsible "optimization" of the medical sector. It was carried out, under the pretext of restoring order in the domestic health care system, modernizing it, and freeing it from bureaucratic costs. But in fact, it led to the fact that the number of hospitals and hospital beds was halved, and the medical staff underwent a large-scale & absolutely unjustified reduction, that resulted in an acute personnel shortage.
The accumulated problems were particularly acute against the background of the coronavirus pandemic, which put Russia in one of the first places in the world, in terms of mortality.
In the summer of 2020, against the background of the growing epidemic, it was the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, that came up with a clear and consistent program of emergency measures aimed at saving domestic medicine. Then, it was actually ignored by the authorities. But today, in the face of hostile sanctions, the predatory scenario of which involves depriving our country of modern medical equipment and a whole range of vital medicines, this program becomes even more relevant.
It is only possible to ensure the availability and high quality of healthcare, if government spending on this area is at least doubled. First of all, the primary health care system must be restored.
In this situation, it is necessary to make a decision - on providing the necessary medicines to poor citizens free of charge or on preferential terms. Let me remind you: in 2021, the average cost of packaging medicines in Russia increased by 12.5%. The increase in prices for imported drugs ranged from 20% to 40%, and some of them, doubled in price. In the long run, the problems... may be even more serious. We must do everything possible to stop further escalations in this area. This is one of the most urgent tasks - both from the point of view of social stability and from the point of view of national security.
Its implementation requires the transfer of pharmaceutical enterprises under the control of the Ministry of Health. And a fundamental increase in their financing at the expense of the National Welfare Fund. The work of these enterprises should be carried out in strict accordance with the programs and requests of the relevant ministry.
This is the only way to overcome dependence on imported drugs and components in the shortest possible time, and which is becoming extremely dangerous in the context of the Western sanctions banditry.
We also call for an end to the practice of admission to medical universities and colleges, on a fee-based basis.
It is absolutely unacceptable that access to the profession of a doctor for money should be opened to people who do not have the necessary abilities for it and are devoid of sincere devotion to it. This is a direct path to a further degradation of medicine... on which, the health and preservation of the nation depends.
The demographic catastrophe that threatens Russia has two main components. These are high mortality and extremely low birth rates, which, in recent years, have turned out to be the worst in our country since the early 2000s.
Key social measures: should stimulate the birth rate - improving the welfare of workers, restoring a full- fledged and effective system of benefits for large families, providing housing for young families, & implementing a large-scale national program for the protection of motherhood and childhood.
But we will achieve curbing mortality, without which it is also impossible to improve the demographic situation - only if Russian medicine is revived on the basis of our program requirements & the outstanding experience of the Soviet health care system.
The unsurpassed achievements of the Soviet era, which were especially vividly manifested in the labour, scientific and social feats of Stalin's industrialization, were based on two axes, on two fundamental principles of the Russian world — the worker and the peasant.
These 2 principles were also combined in the outstanding personality of the Soviet leader I. V. Stalin. This, is exactly what the German writer Lion Feuchtwanger noticed in him, who after getting acquainted with our country persistently sought to spread the truth about the USSR in the West — despite the myths of reactionary propaganda about "Soviet totalitarianism". In his book Moscow, 1937, written in France, he spoke of Stalin: "This is the type of the Russian peasant and worker who has risen to genius, and who is assured of victory because he combines the strength of both classes."
Feuchtwanger meant, primarily, the political and socio- economic victory of Stalin and the country he led. But these words, written four years before Hitler's attack on the Soviet Union, were also prophetic of our country's Great Victory on the battlefields against fascism.
This Victory was forged in the combination of the greatest ideas of our people, coming from the depths of centuries and embodied with the highest power in Soviet society - the ideas of statehood and socialism. Their connection was clearly and forcefully expressed in the address to the defenders of the Soviet Homeland, which Stalin delivered from the rostrum of the Mausoleum on November 7th, 1941, at the military parade markingthe 24th anniversary of the October Revolution:
"Let the courageous image of our great ancestors - Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Kuzma Minin, Dmitry Rogozin - inspire you in this war: Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov. Let the invincible banner of the great Lenin overshadow you!"
Today, having accepted a new challenge from foreign opponents, we can repeat these Stalinist words that inspire us to the victories and achievements of the twenty-first century.
A fateful test of strength
A big war becomes for any nation not only a test of military and moral fortitude. It is the most rigorous test --- of the political, social and economic sustainability of the state. The most revealing test for the strength of the existing system.
For the Soviet state, the main test was the Great Patriotic War, which proved the ability of the people who linked their fate with socialism to fight back against a strong and terrible enemy and save all of humanity from the plague of Hitler's Nazism. It was the socioeconomic system with which the USSR met the treacherous attack of the fascist invaders, that played a decisive role in achieving our Great Victory.
The most difficult and heroic years of the war clearly demonstrated the Soviet Power's ability... to make unprecedented economic breakthroughs. In 1943, the output of Soviet defense industries doubled in comparison with the pre-war 1940. Domestic agriculture also withstood the blows of the war. New acreage was developed... in the eastern regions, where it grew by 5 million hectares. During the war years, winter crops in Siberia increased by 64%.
Today, when the tasks of strengthening our agricultural sector and achieving sustainable food security require maximum provision of modern agricultural machinery, it is especially important to remember the indicators of its production at that most difficult time. Thus, tractor production, which plummeted in 1942, increased by 27% in 1945 compared to 1942.
It is terrible to imagine what might have been waiting for our country if, at the time when it was attacked by Hitler's Germany, the economy was in the hands of oligarchs who made capital, thanks to Chubais' criminal privatization.
Even then, they probably would not have had "incentives" to invest in the economy, in successful opposition to the enemy. They probably wouldn't want to share their super-profits with the country, even if it meant the country's death.
Without such social unity in the Soviet country, such faith in ideas that reflect the interests of the working people, the USSR would hardly have withstood the onslaught of the enemy. But there was a great unity in Soviet society. And so our fighters went on the attack, died, broke through the enemy's encirclement and won with the words: "For the Motherland! For Stalin!"
Soviet patriotism and loyalty to the Fatherland, rooted in its difficult and heroic thousand-year history, gave them an unbreakable strength. These great feelings permeate one of the best poems of the first war years "1941", written by the poet and front-line correspondent, a talented native of Donbass, Dmitry Kedrin. His piercing words were addressed to the Soviet soldier and citizen:
Is it for this purpose under the Lenin banner
By constant hard work
We rebuilt it in belokamenny
Our once log cabin;
And from the fierce onslaught of the enemy
Did they defend it for that purpose,
To rot you alive now
In the bitterest of bitter captivity
So that, staring pewter eyes,
Nemchura drilled the guys,
So that you forget that the Slavs
You and I were called yesterday
Fight well so that the aliens are filthy
They ordered others to come to us
Enemies to be insulted
Don't give us our honest graves!
Look back at the woods and pasture,
Advancing with a rifle into battle
All that is acquired by our hard work,
Behind your back, behind you!
So that the good will not be pulled apart,
To the Motherland to bloom and shine,
With the voices of your hoary ancestors
I'll tell you to stand to the death!
And today... we can stand and win, only if society is maximally united, with close civil and social unity. But it cannot be achieved --- if the practice of persecuting left-wing patriotic forces, intimidating and putting pressure on our comrades --- continues.
Talented managers of the best national enterprises, such as the Lenin State Farm, near Moscow, headed by the people's presidential candidate, P. N. Grudinin, the Zvenigovskoye association in the Republic of Mari El, headed by I. I. Kazankov, & Usolye-Sibirskoye in the Irkutsk region, under the leadership of I. A. Sumarokov.
It is impossible to achieve solidarity in a country where, even in a hybrid war, high offices & television screens continue to pour buckets of malicious and deceitful anti-Soviet views on society.
We demand an end to the persecution of our comrades and associates. Outlaw the propaganda of Russophobia and anti-Sovietism. Without these policies, in Russia, where the demand for social justice and a turn to the left, is growing rapidly --- it is impossible to achieve lasting social unity in the face of the challenges that have been thrown at us all.
The outstanding Soviet experience is both an example of great spirit and national unity, and an example of heroic recovery of the economy and social sphere, after colossal losses. Since the Great Patriotic War, this example has never been so relevant as it is today.
The material losses suffered by the USSR from 1941 to 1945 amounted to almost a third of its national wealth. The amount of damage caused to the Soviet Union was estimated at 2.6 trillion pre-war rubles. In terms of current prices --- this is at least the seven-year gross product of today's Russia.
The enemy army completely or partially destroyed or burned 1,710 Soviet cities and towns, more than 70 thousand villages and villages. 65 thousand kms of railway tracks, 4 thousand railway stations, 36 thousand postal & telegraph institutions were disabled. The Nazis destroyed over 6 million buildings on our territory. 25 million people lost their homes.
A heavy blow was dealt to Soviet industry. Almost 32 thousand enterprises were destroyed. Steel mills, which before the war accounted for about 60% of the steel produced, and mines, which produced 60% of the country's coal, were destroyed. Tens of thousands of collective and state farms were ravaged by the war and looted by the enemy.
The losses in the social, educational and scientific spheres were gigantic. On the territory of the USSR, the invaders completely destroyed or damaged 40 thousand hospitals and other medical institutions, 84 thousand schools, technical schools, universities and research institutes, and 43 thousand public libraries.
But the most terrible result of the war's hard times, is the death of almost 27 million Soviet people. If not for the war, they would have continued to live and have children, work in production and agriculture, teach in schools and institutes, and make scientific discoveries.
The victorious country, which had survived a terrible war, was faced with the task of recovering from these wounds inflicted by the enemy, as soon as possible. In the hearts of Soviet citizens, the bitterness of loss, the triumph of winners and the desire for a new life, the struggle for which is sanctified by the great deeds of our ancestors and the outstanding history of the Fatherland, were united.
All these feelings were poignantly reflected in the poem "Contemporaries", written in 1946 by the veteran poet Pavel Shubin, who was born and raised in my native Oryol region:
Friends,
Tattered to pieces
In the Dnieper swamps,
On the Orlovskaya arc,
Silt-covered Siwash, —
They were also surprised by the stars,
They were lying in the bloody mud under fire
We crawled to the Prussian trenches without breathing;
They also hugged the cute ones
And they died at the cold dawns
In the ruins of someone else's dugout…
I was with them,
I ws also hit at point blank range
And the wounds haven't closed yet
But still sometimes,
On the dawns of the former
Cherries are blooming again in Chernihiv,
Drunken nights are no darker than before,
Cast showers fall on Downpours,
And drops, like chopped hryvnia,
In the shaggy manes of warhorses
And I'm also Svyatoslav's vigilante,
Went to Kafa, took Bratislava,
A hundredfold died at Stalingrad
And risen again under the sun of our glory —
Zealot of peace, guardian soldier
The more deeply we realize the scale of the tragic losses suffered during the war years, the more majestic the feat of rapid socialist reconstruction of the victorious country appears -- demographic, social, and economic recovery.
Stalin's industrialization of the 1930s, was an unsurpassed experience of a gigantic socio-economic breakthrough. The reconstruction of the post-war years, turned out to be an unprecedented example of the revival of a Power that not only made up for the losses incurred, but also surpassed its pre-war achievements, in the shortest possible time.
The average annual growth rate of industrial output in the post-war fourth five-year plan was 14% and exceeded the pre-war rate of 13.2%. These figures were achieved despite the fact that the country lost millions of skilled workers during the war! Despite the fact that, by the end of the war, there were 2.5 million fewer workers and employees in Soviet industry than in pre-war 1940!
After the war, the USSR was faced with the task of transferring military industry enterprises to the production of civilian products. It was possible to solve it only if the machine-building industry grew intensively. And this breakthrough in the 1st post-war five-year plan, turned out to be more than impressive. In 1950, the output of Soviet mechanical engineering was 2.3 times higher than in 1940.
Against the background of today's economic indicators, such figures seem fantastic. But without such success in mechanical engineering, the country would not have been able to ensure the development of the entire national economy on a new technological basis. It was the success in mechanical engineering, that created the most important prerequisites for the 37% increase in labour productivity and 64% increase in national income achieved by the end of the fourth five-year plan, compared to the pre-war period.
By 1950, in comparison with 1940, the gross output of Soviet industry had grown by 73%, fixed production assets had increased by a quarter, and the national income by 64%. Mechanical engineering, chemical industry, and raw materials industries had shown rapid development. The material & technical base of agriculture had been significantly strengthened.
Construction of the largest energy facilities, new irrigation channels and systems had started. The creation of forest strips in the steppe regions of the country, had begun.
During the post-war five-year plan, 6,200 large state-owned industrial enterprises ...were restored and re-erected. The Kaluga Turbine Plant, Kolomna Heavy Machine Tool Plant, and Ryazan Machine Tool Plant gave their products. The Saratov — Moscow, Kohtla-Jarve — Leningrad, and Dashava — Kiev gas pipelines were built and put into operation.
It is especially important to recall today that first of all, the Dnipro hydroelectric power station, metallurgical plants in the south of Ukraine and mines in the Donbass, were restored.
The Bandera-Nazi regime, which seized power in Kiev, as a result of a criminal coup in 2014 -- seeks to erase from the Ukrainian people the memory that they fought fascism side by side with the Russians and other peoples of the USSR. And fought alongside them in the post-war years for the reconstruction of the country, in which industrial construction in Ukraine.. played a special role. It was in the Union of Soviet Peoples, that Ukraine reached the peak of its economic, social and cultural development.
We will never allow Bandera members, fascists and traitors to trample on the historical memory. They are not destined to establish obscurantist ideas of enmity and hatred on a land drenched in the blood of Soviet soldiers.
Every day there is more and more irrefutable evidence that the militaristic machine of Anglo — Saxon imperialism --- NATO, which continues to stuff Ukraine with weapons, is fighting with Russia in the Ukrainian direction. It is also obvious.. that the Russophobic West is not just fueling fascist sentiments in Ukraine, but is also thoroughly imbued with them.
A convincing confirmation of this, was the vote held in December 2021, on the UN resolution: "Combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other forms of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia".
Among the countries that are Members of the United Nations --- there were 51 who cynically refused to support this document, for which no truly civilized state can fail to speak out. At the same time, the United States and Ukraine, voted most defiantly against the resolution. And 49 abstained, which is also a de facto refusal - to recognize Nazism as a world evil and resolutely oppose it. Among those who refused to denounce Nazism are all "democracies", many of which fought on the side of Hitler. And today they signal their commitment - to the same misanthropic ideology, arming Bandera members and waging a political and propaganda war on their side. These are, in particular:
Great Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
From the heroic experience of the war years and post-war reconstruction, there are three crucial lessons to be learned that should inspire us in today's challenging environment.
The first of them is a lesson in socio-economic revival and rapid reindustrialization, successfully overcoming the worst destruction in our history. We say that we are quite capable of recovering from the pogrom that the "reformers" prepared in Russia during the three post-Soviet decades.
The second lesson is a lesson of fraternal friendship of peoples, from which the Great Victory in the war against fascism, and the great revival of the country crippled by the enemy, were born..
It confirms --- the importance of our current program requirements: to strengthen the Union of Russia and Belarus and actively form a common economic and cultural space of Russia, with the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics. Resolutely protect our compatriots abroad. Open the doors wide, for their return - to their homeland. Launch a vigorous struggle for a voluntary restoration of the ruined Union State. The Communist deputies L. I. Kalashnikov, K. K. Taisaev and other representatives of our party, are at the forefront of this most important work.
The third lesson, is the denazification of Germany and its satellites in the Hitlerite coalition by the victorious Soviet state. This experience should be used today, in Ukraine, which should be forever cleansed of the taint of Nazism.
Understanding this, we have collected unique material concerning the denazification that the USSR carried out in the 40s and 50s on the territory of Europe. And they handed it over to the country's leadership, with the wish to use it effectively in modern conditions.
Peaks of peaceful prosperity
The feat of rapid post-war reconstruction laid the foundation for the successful development of the Soviet country for four decades.
In the 1950s, the annual growth of industrial production averaged 12%, the growth of gross agricultural output — 5-6%. Renewal of fixed production assets is estimated at 10% a year. National income grew by 10% annually, and trade turnover ---- by 11.5%. Destroyed towns and villages were being revived and new ones were being built. During the fourth 5-year plan alone, 201 million square metres of housing were built and restored in Soviet cities and towns.
Between 1951 and 1967, national income in the USSR increased by an average of 9% per year, while in the United States it grew by less than 4%. The annual volume of industrial output in the Soviet country grew by 10.5% annually, and in America-only by 4.5%. The Soviet Union increased agricultural output by 4% every year, yet the US increased it by less than 2%. Cargo turnover of all types of transport, grew by 9% a year... in our country, while overseas - by only 2.5%.
Soviet capital investment in development increased by 10%, while US capital investment increased by less than 3%. The annual growth of labour productivity in industry in the USSR, exceeded 6%, and in the United States, it was twice as low.
By 1967, the total volume of products produced by the USSR and other socialist countries, was 20 times higher than the volume of products produced in the same countries in 1937. And.. in the leading capitalist countries the production of industrial products had grown... only 3.4 times, over the same 30 years.
20 years later, the USSR accounted for a fifth of the world's industrial output, and the Russian Federation accounted for 9%, compared to less than 2% today. The Soviet country produced 4.5 times more industrial products per citizen, than the world average.
In 1987, the growth rate of national income in the United States was less than 3%, and in the USSR it exceeded 4%.
The volume of industrial output in the United States increased by 2.6% in the same year, while in the USSR its growth exceeded 5%.
The Soviet aviation industry had achieved tremendous success. Every third passenger in the world, flew on "Silts " and "Carcasses". The USSR had an excellent line of aircraft that didn't have a single foreign part. By the early 90's ----- the country had fully certified, state-of-the-art airliners ready for mass production.
But the "reformers", the "fifth column", which acted in the interests of the West, ditched all this --- in favour of Boeing and Airbus.
Now that Russia's adversaries are using the fruits of this irresponsible policy to try to paralyze our civil aviation with sanctions --- we urgently need to restore the domestic aviation industry. Life, has convincingly confirmed what we have been insistently warning about -- all these years: a country spread across 11 time zones --- cannot depend on foreign civil aviation. It has no right to become a hostage of foreign exporters in this sphere.
In order to restore the status of a leading aviation power, we must start mass production of the most significant line of aircraft, as soon as possible — the long-haul IL-96-400, medium-haul MS-21 and SSJ-100, and other modern airliners.
For the development of intraregional routes in Russia, at least 15-20 thousand light aircraft are needed. These aircraft should provide transport accessibility to remote and sparsely populated regions, where their use is more cost-effective, safer, more reliable & easier than using motor vehicles.
Expanding the financing of mass production of Russian aircraft and attracting qualified personnel in this area is one of the most important points of our economic program.
When solving the vital task of import substitution today, it is necessary to take into account the Soviet experience in the production of consumer goods.
The Soviet Union had a developed textile industry and produced fabrics of the highest quality. Worsted mills in Leningrad, Chernogorsk, Buryatia, and Khakassia provided the textile industry with raw materials. Excellent products were produced by the Kiev, Chernihiv and Tashkent silk mills. Excellent cotton and linen products were produced at enterprises located in Ivanovo, Vologda, Kolomna, Novosibirsk.
Oligarchic capitalism, in fact, destroyed the traditional Russian textile industry. And today, its restoration --- should become an important component of the state program of accelerated import substitution.
The experience of Soviet economic achievements serves as proof of the most important law, without mastering which, it is impossible to successfully fight for the welfare of the people. This law states that economic growth based on an increase in industrial production - and the dynamic development of the high tech sector is the only basis for increasing workers ' incomes. And to successfully counter such a negative phenomenon as inflation. The Soviet government took full account of this law. And so, it could guarantee a decent life for every citizen.
Already in 1945, the Soviet state's social security expenditures -- were almost six times higher than before the war. The hard times of war left millions of Soviet people orphaned, widowed, and disabled. But the Soviet government did everything possible to help people return to a normal life as soon as possible. Although it required an incredible effort, and huge financial costs.
Large-scale measures aimed at improving the standard of living of the people were carried out. Two years after the end of the war, many problems of food and manufactured goods consumption were solved. In 1947, the card system was abolished. The overall price level has almost halved. In just 7 years - from 1947 to 1954 - bread and butter fell in price by 67%, meat-by 64%, sugar-by 56%, fish-by 51%, shoes-by 52%, clothing made from natural fabrics-by 30- 50%. The cost of the main consumer basket had more than halved, over the same years. And the income of almost 60% of workers and employees exceeded it from one and a half, to more than two times.
At the same time, it should be emphasized: in Soviet times, the basic consumer basket meant a set of goods that guaranteed a completely prosperous existence. And not a beggarly ration, unable to provide even basic survival, which today's statistics give out as a living wage.
By 1967 - the half-century anniversary of the Great October Revolution — the real incomes of Soviet workers had increased 6.6 times, and the incomes of peasants - 8.5 times in comparison with the indicators of the early 20s. Simultaneously with the rapid growth of the purchasing power of citizens ---- there was also an increase in consumption. So, for the period from 1929 to 1955, the consumption of eggs increased by 1.5 times, vegetable oil - twice, fish - 2.5 times, sugar - 2.8 times. A similar pattern was observed in the non-food sector. Sales of fabrics increased 1.7 times over the same period, leather shoes — 2.3 times, hygiene items — 2.7 times. In general, the retail trade turnover in the same quarter of a century has grown in the USSR by 5 times.
The economic and social achievements of Soviet Power were admired by the whole world. Unforgettable international festivals of youth and students, held in the USSR in 1957 and 1985, will always remain in history.
The atmosphere that prevailed at them said that the Soviet country... is a delight for all mankind and proves to the whole planet the advantages of socialism. The Soviet Union did not ask for love and respect from anyone, but rightfully gave them --- because of what we had managed to achieve.
This is the great example that we must follow today, as we fight to return to the most advanced positions in the world and become truly invincible ----- politically, economically, and morally.
Left turn to rebirth
In stark contrast to the social achievements of the Soviet era, is the system of inequality and impoverishment that we have built up, over 30 years of savage capitalism.
In the twenty-first century, Russia is the only country among the largest countries in the world, where the total capital of 100s of dollar billionaires exceeds the total amount of bank deposits of all other citizens. We are in the top three in terms of the ratio of gross domestic product to the wealth of a narrow group of oligarchs, which, in monetary terms, is 35% of our GDP.
This indicator, which indicates a huge social split, is twice as high in our country as in the United States, and three times higher than in the EU countries.
According to the minimum wage, we are sixth out of ten countries. And in Western Europe, it is 5-10 times higher than in Russia. Over the past 8 years, real incomes of citizens have decreased by 12%. The salary of over half of employees does not exceed 20 thousand rubles per month. Almost a quarter of families with children live in poverty, and over half of those with many children, live in poverty.
Impoverishment has pushed tens of millions of people into debt, forcing them to take out "survival" loans. The total debt of Russians to banks exceeds 23 trillion rubles, exceeding the size of the annual federal budget.
For decades, the impoverishment of millions ensured the fabulous enrichment of a handful of"chosen ones". In 2020 -2021 alone, despite the epidemic and the crisis that had worsened against it, the total wealth of the Russian billionaires ---- increased by $90 billion. Or, almost seven trillion rubles at the current exchange rate. That is, for a 3rd of the country's annual budget.
Their total capital at the end of 2021, amounted to 628 billion dollars and almost equaled the value of Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves, half of which are now criminally frozen in the West. Frozen by those whom the oligarchs never tired of praising and under whose dictation, they led the Russian economy to degradation.
Under primitive capitalism a decline in workers incomes is compounded --- by non-stop inflation. In 2021, only according to official data, consumer prices growth exceeded 8% and turned out to be a record for the last 6 years. Food products -- according to official statistics, on average rose in price by almost 11%. But in reality, according to experts, this figure is three times higher. The government's forecasts promise no less significant inflation, this year.
In this situation, we have formulated a program of priority actions in the social and economic sphere — "Twenty urgent measures for the transformation of Russia". We submitted it to the President and the government, for consideration and stated that only if our demands are met, will the country be able to avoid collapse, cope with the hostile sanctions challenge and get on the path of confident, independent development.
The first requirement of our emergency response program is to start an urgent fight to eliminate poverty. Double the cost of living -- and set it at a minimum of 25 thousand rubles. Ensure state regulation of prices for essential goods. The draft of the relevant law that we have prepared, is on the government's desk. And it must be taken up immediately!
We insist: in the current situation, the authorities must immediately cancel the cannibalistic pension reform. Limit the amount of payment for housing and utilities services to no more than 10% of the family's income. Form a public trade network. This will eliminate the arbitrariness of speculators who are ready to warm their hands on the current difficulties & challenges.
Overcoming the crisis, reviving the country, and providing citizens with decent living conditions is impossible without restoring the social state -- which guarantees the right to free education and medical care. In order to build such a state, modern effective management is necessary. It is time to reduce the number of officials and the bloated repressive apparatus. Resolutely suppress corruption and crime, first of all by purging the upper echelons of power, from illiterate and corrupt personnel.
Over the past 30 years, the country's system of checks and balances has been destroyed, which is provided by independent public structures and organizations that are able to resist corruption and lawlessness. In the Soviet era, such a system played a huge role. It was based on public organizations and was, in fact, all- pervasive. It was based on the people's control, trade unions, industry, youth, and women's organizations.
They not only helped to strengthen the unity of society, but also protected the civil and labour rights of people. We draw on this experience in our policies and programs. The Communist Party's desire to revive the state of social justice and the rule of law --- is actively supported by patriotic forces, the Komsomol, the Union of Officers, the Women's Union "Hope of Russia", the movement "Russian Lad", creative and professional unions.
We rely on a strong, professional and patriotic team, in the centre of which are I. I. Melnikov, Yu. V. Afonin, V. I. Kashin, D. G. Novikov, N. N. Ivanov, L. I. Kalashnikov, N. V. Kolomeitsev, N. M. Kharitonov, S. G. Levchenko, N. V. Arefyev, S.E. Savitskaya, Yu. P. Sinelshchikov, N. I. Osadchy, S. P. Obukhov, N. G. Zubrilin, S. I. Kazankov, A. A. Yushchenko, A.V. Kurinny, D. A. Parfenov, A.V. Kornienko and other representatives of the Communist Party factions in the State Duma and regional legislative assemblies.
A successful example of governance is demonstrated by the regional leaders representing our party - the Mayor of Novosibirsk A. E. Lokot, the Governor of the Orel region A. E. Klychkov, the head of the Ulyanovsk region A. Yu. Russkikh and the head of Khakassia V. O. Konovalov.
Representatives of our young team, heads of regional organizations of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Lenin Communist Youth Union — M. N. Prusakova, G. P. Kamnev, A. N. Ivachev, V. A. Tsarikhin, R. I. Kononenko, A. R. Aleksandrov-are actively and effectively working.
V. P. Isakov and M. V. Drobot reliably ensure the interaction of the party with the Komsomol and the Pioneers, whose 100th anniversary we are celebrating this year.
Our highly qualified lawyers E. I. Kolyushin, I. A. Filatova, and V. G. Solovyov are uncompromising and professional defenders of the interests of the party and its voters.
The Pravda and Sovetskaya Rossiya newspapers and the Krasnaya Liniya TV channel, headed by their leaders B. O. Komotsky, V. V. Chikin and V. V. Miller, are valiantly working on the information and ideological front of the struggle for socialism.
Yu. P. Belov, S. A. Shargunov, V. N. Tetekin, L. G. Baranova, L. N. Dobrokhotov, L. N. Shvets, I. I. Nikitchuk, V. S. Nikitin, I. N. Makarov, V. F. Gryzlov, Yu.S. E. Anikhovsky, M. S. Muzaev, Ya. I. Listov, A.V. Sukhoverkhov.
V. I. Sobolev, G. M. Benov, V. P. Komoyedov, A. P. Tarnaev, N. N. Platoshkin, and S. S. Udaltsov play an important role in strengthening the Union of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and other left-wing patriotic organizations.
Our call for a left turn is supported by the best manufacturing professionals and scientists. It resonates with the most serious scientific research.
An example of this is the recently published fundamental work "Crystal of Growth. To the Russian Economic Miracle", which unequivocally proves that the Leninist-Stalinist modernization, was the greatest socio-economic breakthrough in the history of our Fatherland. And it should serve as a key reference point for us... in shaping the country's new course.
The statements of the Russian leadership.. are increasingly echoing our calls and demands. Let me remind you that the already mentioned Presidential National Security Strategy rightly recognizes: that our traditional spiritual and moral values include "creative work, the priority of the spiritual over the material, humanism, mercy, justice, collectivism, mutual assistance and mutual respect." But this is nothing more than the basic foundations of socialism! And it is in our common interest to raise this red banner of victory over the country once again!
We must remember what the socialist system was capable of. And to pass on the memory of this to a new generation, whose most important historical task is to free themselves from the fetters of the crisis, the main source of which for the whole world is the system of global capitalism led by its neo-imperialist Anglo-Saxon dictate.
Today we explicitly state: Soviet power, the power of the working people, is the best defense against external enemies and against the betrayal of national interests by the"fifth column".
It was the unyielding will of the people that allowed the creation of the greatest state in history, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 100 years ago. And when this will was betrayed and paralyzed --- the criminal destruction of the Soviet country became possible, committed --- despite the results of the national referendum, in which 113 million people voted for socialism and the inviolability of Soviet borders — 76% of those who took part in the vote.
The collapse of the USSR and world socialism turned out to be beneficial only to transnational capital, the Western political establishment closely associated with it, and corrupt traitors inside our country. Western "elites" saved the capitalist system sliding into the abyss - by military adventures, destroying a self-sufficient socialist economy, seizing new markets and turning successful states into raw materials appendages.
The nefarious aims of those who profited from the destruction of the Soviet State are reflected in the memoirs of the outstanding Russian scientist and patriot, Alexander Zinoviev.
He recounted a remarkable conversation that took place in the late ' 90s: "Shortly before my return to Russia, I met a well-known figure of the Cold War, and he told me directly:
"We will destroy you, the Russians, but only by humane methods. Global division of labour, free trade, financial sabotage, debt bondage, economic sanctions, blockades, famine, drugs, AIDS, family planning, spiritual corruption, and, at worst, by pinpoint and carpet bombing."
On July 23rd, 1991, a few months before the conclusion of the criminal Belovezhskaya Accords, which "legitimized" the liquidation of the USSR, a "Word to the People" was published... in Sovetskaya Rossiya, signed by me and a group of reputable industrialists, cultural figures, & military personnel known throughout the country.
In it, we addressed the public with the appeal: "Let's say' No! ' to the destroyers and invaders. Let's limit our retreat at the last line of resistance. We are starting a nationwide movement, calling to our ranks those who have recognized the terrible disaster that has befallen the country ...
Everyone who is in the cities and villages, in the steppes and forests, at the edge of the great oceans that wash the country - we will wake up, stand up for unity and repel the destroyers of the Motherland!"
30 years ago, those on whom the salvation of the Soviet state depended did not listen to us. I hope, that those on whom the security of Russia, the well-being and dignity of our people depend today, will hear a new call for the transformation of the Motherland under the banners of patriotism, unity and renewed socialism!
In February 2021, Orel hosted the International Scientific & Practical Conference "Image of the Future", which we actively prepared. Its key conclusions, are the complete bankruptcy of the capitalist system in Russia and in the world, & the fundamental need to return to the socialist principles of governance & socio-economic development.
This historical pattern is followed by the most important demands of the left-patriotic forces, which are reflected in our program and meet the interests of the absolute majority, the tasks of saving the people -- and their spiritual and moral revival. The nationalization of strategically important industries. Restoration of the planning system, in all social and economic areas. The resumption of the full-fledged work of such industries as aircraft construction, robotics, electronics, plus machine tool construction, energy, and metallurgy under state control, plus.....
Maximum concern for the development of agriculture and food security. Comprehensive support of existing national enterprises and active promotion of new ones.
In the name of the Victory Program
One hundred years ago, a key event occurred in the history of mankind. In its significance, it turned out to be no less important than the transition of humanity from savagery to civilization, the invention of writing or the spiritual impulse of the Renaissance.
The creation of an equal family of peoples — the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was an achievement of global historical scale. It had fulfilled the highest hopes of thinkers and visionaries of several millennia. They reflected the dreams of a just society and a brotherhood that could achieve anything - from conquering the vast expanses of the sea and the air, to defeating the darkest forces of evil.
The leap of our fathers and grandfathers into the future, did not happen by itself. It was prepared by the selfless struggle of generations of creators and heroes - from Radishchev and Pestel, Herzen and Chernyshevsky to the brave Narodnaya Volya and inflexible Bolsheviks who were not afraid of persecution, hard labour, or the block. An ideological basis of the Soviet project was laid by Marxist science, enriched by the visionary genius of Lenin, the tireless work of Stalin, and the incredible energy of millions of Communists.
The formation of Soviet society was impossible without the spiritual and moral pillars of the great Russian culture with its inherent search for truth, love for the common man, and the desire ---- to transform the native land, on the basis of friendship of peoples and justice. In carrying out their feat of creation, realizing a cultural breakthrough, creating the USSR, implementing the Victory Program, the Bolsheviks relied entirely on the great works of Pushkin & Lermontov of Belinsky and Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Nekrasov, on the entire layer of our deeply humanistic literature, on its philosophical understanding of life.
The fortress of the "roots" predetermined the strength and beauty of the mighty state "tree" called the Union of SSR. Its vital juices were drawn from the wisdom of centuries and the energy of new generations. This was the start of a breakthrough, that history had never known.
Industrial sectors created from scratch, unprecedented scientific achievements, and space travel, have become milestones of a grandiose movement forward.
But it wasn't progress for the sake of beautiful statistics. And records were not set, for the sake of records. The very existence of Soviet power --- all its victories and achievements served Man. The people of labour, their well-being, their comprehensive development became the goal for which the Soviet Union fought, overcame difficulties, and was eager for the future.
And the Soviet man - the man of the new era, the creative man -- responded to his socialist Homeland with love and devotion. He suffered hardships, building Magnitogorsk and Dnepro GES. Not sparing his very life, he fought on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War against fascism. Looking to the future, he selflessly restored the national economy of his beloved Motherland.
Contrary to the fabrications of the enemies of the Soviet government, our dear Motherland was not at all doomed to collapse. She was in the prime of her life --- had the opportunity to overcome temporary difficulties --- and accumulated a huge potential for new achievements and victories. But the strong trunk of a thousand -year-old statehood, was eroded from the inside.
Covering up their criminal actions with demagoguery about perestroika and glasnost, distorting Marxist- Leninist teaching, mixing great personalities with mud, pandering to the sabbath of philistinism, these parasitic shifters, led the country to destruction.
Willingly or unwittingly, they were fulfilling the order of world capital, which since the birth of the Soviet State has been calculating lost profits and trembling for its future.
The emergence of an alternative world order, directly threatened the imperialists' plans for their planetary and eternal domination. The world bourgeois oligarchy, spared no effort to destroy the USSR.
To do this, it sent groups of interventionists to us, and supplied White Guard collaborators. It was they who nurtured fascism, wishing the Hitlers and "Fuhrers"of a smaller kind, to defeat our country.
It unleashed the "cold war" --- trying to strangle the USSR with a blockade and cordons of aggressive military blocs.
It formed a "fifth column" - which included the Gorbachevs and Yakovlevs, Yeltsins and Shevardnadze, Gaidars and Chubais and a whole host of their accomplices.
The crime has been committed. The brilliant Soviet project of the twentieth century was stifled. Together with the USSR, the hopes of billions of people on Earth, for justice, peace and social progress, were shaken.
Traitorous pygmies danced on the fallen giant tree, calling it an "anomaly of nature." They insisted that Lenin was guilty of "destroying Russian statehood" - while plundering and living off the vast legacy created by him.
Barren, devoid of conscience and creative potential.... the bourgeois government could not move the country forward, doomed it to degradation. Russia survived thanks to the oil and gas fields explored during the Soviet era. It had weight in the world, thanks to the nuclear missile shield created by the Soviet people. The authorities only parasitized on all this, not forgetting to release poisonous anti-Soviet injections. A symbol of the loss of its adequacy, was the surprise that capitalist Russia could not even provide itself with nails.
Alas, the Soviet legacy is dwindling. At the same time, the appetites of world capital are growing, which needs to extinguish its own crises and contradictions with a new expansion. Sooner or later, this was bound to lead to an acute conflict. Its centre is Ukraine — once the most developed and prosperous Soviet republic. After the destruction of the USSR, it became a giant laboratory, where monstrous experiments were conducted -- on de-industrialization, the destruction of moral foundations, the re-animation of Bandera and fascism.
In the Donetsk steppes and on the banks of the Dnieper, the fate of Russia, the fate of Europe and Asia is being decided today. We must admit that our country had to enter this conflict without having the same potential. A military operation of this scale.. requires the strength of not only the armed forces, but also the entire economic system, social sphere, education and culture. The armoured train will not stand on rusty liberal rails. And it no longer depends on the power of the gunsand the accuracy of the missiles that it is equipped with.
The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin and Stalin, were well aware of how to act in an emergency. That is why, while building the Red Army and trying to strengthen their defense capabilities, they - vigorously - took up the GOELRO plan, carried out industrialization, collectivization and the cultural revolution.
They opened universities and research institutes. This ensured our victory over Hitler's Germany and militaristic Japan.
Of course, you can catch up, even today. But this requires a huge effort and mobilization of all resources. This requires a strong state will and the unconditional support of the masses. And you can only gather them around a large, forward-looking project.
Russia can move away from the brink of destruction and put a strong barrier to external aggression, only by abandoning its vicious liberal course. It will solve this world-historical task ----- if it discards the disastrous chimeras of anti-communism and anti-Sovietism. It will go ahead, if it stops appeasing the oligarchy, and turns its face to the working people.
How important it is that we have this remarkable and grandiose example — the experience of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics! The example is life-giving, created for the ages. This experience still inspires us today. Thanks to it, humanity did not descend into savagery, did not degenerate, did not turn into a US concentration camp.
Such experiences will always have followers. And we have evidence of this. This is a brave grandmother - with a red banner, who stood face to face against the Nazis-Bandera. These are young people joining the communist movement. This is fraternal Cuba, which defends its revolution under the dictates of vicious sanctions. This is socialist China, with its victory over mass poverty and impressive space program.
The USSR is fighting, and always stays with us. It still lives here, nearby, as a prototype of new victories. Like the epic Svyatogor, it is ready to transfer its power to a new hero - Ilya Muromets. Will Russia of the future become such a hero? Will she be able to fight with the Filthy Idol and nightingales-robbers of all stripes, coming out victorious? It depends on each of us. It depends on the ability to implement the Victory Program.
We are convinced that socialism is still capable of saving Russia from degradation, destruction and any hostile machinations.
The outstanding history of the Fatherland proves that relying on the experience of socialist construction, on the unique examples of Leninist-Stalinist modernization and world practice, our people will be able to perform a new feat of revival and regain the right to decent development and a great future!
Good day, my comrades and friends!
________________________________________
In 1891 a ‘Slave Map of Modern Australia’ was
printed in the British Anti-Slavery Reporter.
Was there slavery in Australia? Yes.
It shouldn’t even be up for debate
Published (updated): June 12th, 2020
Authors Thalia Anthony Professor of
Law, University of Technology Sydney
Stephen Gray Senior Lecturer, Faculty
of Law, Monash University
(The Conversation.)
Prime Minister Scott Morrison asserted in a
radio interview that “there was no slavery
in Australia”.
This is a common misunderstanding which
often obscures our nation’s history of
exploitation of First Nations people
and Pacific Islanders.
Morrison followed up with “I’ve always said
we’ve got to be honest about our history”.
Unfortunately, his statement is at odds
with the historical record.
This history, was widely and publicly
documented, among other sources,
in the 2006 Australian Senate report Unfinished Business: Indigenous Stolen Wages.
What is slavery?
Australia was not a “slave state” like the
American South. However, slavery is a
broader concept. As Article 1 of the
United Nations Slavery Convention
says:
Slavery is the status or condition of a
person over whom any or all of the
powers attaching to the right of
ownership are exercised.
These powers might include non-payment of
wages, physical or sexual abuse, controls
over freedom of movement, or selling a
person like a piece of property. In the
words of slavery historian Orlando
Patterson, slavery is a form of
“social death”.
Slavery has been illegal in the (former) British
Empire since the Act for the Abolition of the
Slave Trade of 1807, and certainly
since 1833.
Slavery practices emerged in Australia in the
19th century and in some places endured
until the 1950s.
Early coverage of slavery in Australia
As early as the 1860s, anti-slavery campaigners
began to invoke “charges of chattel bondage
and slavery” to describe north Australian
conditions for Aboriginal labour.
In 1891 a “Slave Map of Modern Australia” was
printed in the British Anti-Slavery Reporter, a
journal that documented slavery around the
world and campaigned against it.
Reprinted from English journalist Arthur Vogan’s
account of frontier relations in Queensland, it
showed large areas where:
the traffic in Aboriginal labour, both children and
adults, had descended into slavery conditions.
Seeds of slavery in Australia
Some 62,000 Melanesian people were brought
to Australia and enslaved to work in
Queensland’s sugar plantations
between 1863 and 1904.
First Nations Australians had a more enduring
experience of slavery --- originally in the
pearling industry in Western Australia
and the Torres Strait and then in
the cattle industry.
In the pastoral industry, employers exercised a
high degree of control over “their” Aboriginal
workers, who were bought and sold as
chattels, particularly where they
“went with” the property upon
sale. There were restrictions
on their freedom of choice
and movement. There was
cruel treatment & abuse,
control of sexuality, and
forced labour.
A stock worker at Meda Station in the
Kimberley, Jimmy Bird, recalled:
… whitefellas would pull their gun out and kill
any Aborigines who stood up to them. And
there was none of this taking your time
to pull up your boots either. No fear!
Aboriginal woman Ruby de Satge, who worked
on a Queensland station, described the
Queensland Protection Act as meaning:
if you are sitting down minding your own
business, a station manager can come
up to you and say, “I want a couple of
blackfellows” … Just like picking up
a cat or a dog.
Through their roles under the legislation, police,
Aboriginal protectors and pastoral managers
were complicit in this force.
Slavery was sanctioned by Australian law
Legislation facilitated the enslavement of
Aboriginal people across the Northern
Territory, Western Australia, South
Australia and Queensland. Under
the South Australian Aborigines
Act 1911, the government
empowered police to
“inspect workers and
their conditions” but
not to uphold basic
working conditions
or enforce payment.
The Aboriginals Ordinance 1918 (Cth) allowed
the forced recruitment of Indigenous workers
in the Northern Territory, and legalised the
non-payment of wages.
In Queensland, the licence system was
effectively a blank cheque, to recruit
Aboriginal people into employment
without their consent.
Amendments to the Aboriginal Protection and
Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897
gave powers to the Protector or police
officer to “expend” their wages or
invest them in a trust fund –
which was never paid out.
Officials were well aware that “slavery” was a
public relations problem. The Chief Protector
in the Northern Territory noted in 1927 that
pastoral workers:
… are kept in a servitude that
is nothing short of slavery.
In the early 1930s, Chief Protector Dr Cecil
Cook, pointed out Australia was in breach
of its obligations under the League of
Nations Slavery Convention.
‘… it certainly exists here in its worst form’
Accusations of slavery continued into the
1930s, including through the British
Commonwealth League.
In 1932 the North Australian Workers’ Union
(NAWU) characterised Aboriginal workers,
as “slaves”. Unionist Owen Rowe argued:
If there is no slavery in the British Empire then
the NT is not part of the British Empire; for it
certainly exists here in its worst form.
In the 1940s, anthropologists Ronald and
Catherine Berndt, surveyed conditions
on cattle stations owned by Lord
Vestey, commenting that
Aboriginal people:
… owned neither the huts in which they lived
nor the land on which these were built, they
had no rights of tenure, and in some cases
have been sold or transferred with
the property.
In 1958, counsel for the well-known Aboriginal
artist Albert Namatjira argued that the Welfare
Ordinance 1953 (Cth) was unconstitutional,
because the enacting legislation was:
… a law for the enslavement of part of the
population of the Northern Territory.
Profits from slaves
Australia has unfinished business in repaying
wages to Aboriginal and South Sea Islander
slaves. First Nations slave work... allowed
big businesses to reap substantial profits,
and helped to ''maintain'' the Australian
economy through the Great Depression. Aboriginal people are proud of their
work on stations, even though the
historical narrative is enshrined
in silence and denial.
As Bundjalung woman Valerie Linow has said
of her experiences of slavery in the 1950s:
''What if your wages got stolen? Honestly,
wouldn’t you like to have your wages
back? Honestly. I think it should be
owed to the ones who were slave
labour. We got up -- and worked
from dawn to dusk …. We lost
everything: family, everything.
You cannot go stealing our
lousy little sixpence. We
have got to have money
back. You have got to
give something back,
after all this country
did to the Aboriginal
people. You cannot
keep stealing off
us.''
No-one in Australia will read this article (as a slur was sent to Rhondda folks in Oz ------ about Rhondda Records) but you can help by distributing it on social media --- what do YOU think?
_________________________________
More information on US Biolabs including experiments on mental patients
Briefing on the results of the analysis of
documents related to the military
biological activities of the US on
the territory of Ukraine
April 14th, 2022 (Telegraph)
A special military operation by Russian troops
has yielded additional information on the US
military and biological activities in Ukraine,
confirming numerous violations of the
Biological Weapons Convention.
Taking advantage of existing gaps in
international law... and the lack of a
clear verification mechanism... the
US administration has consistently
built up its military-biological
capabilities --- in various
regions of the world.
The Russian Federation has made continuous
efforts -- to establish a BTWC verification
mechanism, but this initiative has been
consistently blocked by the collective
West, led by the US, since 2001.
The existing UN Secretary-General's
Mechanism to Investigate the
Suspected Use of Biological
and Toxin Weapons, as well
as the 1925 Geneva Protocol
for the Prohibition of the Use
of Asphyxiating, Poisonous
or Other Gases and Bacter-
iological Methods of Warfare
and Military Conflict, do not
cover.... the verification of
States Parties' biological
activities.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons, based in The Hague, has no such
authority either.
We have previously provided a scheme for US
coordination of biological laboratories and
research institutes in Ukraine.
One of its elements is the Ukrainian Science
and Technology Centre (STCU), a seemingly
non-public organisation that has nothing
to do with the Pentagon.
The Russian Defence Ministry has managed to
uncover its role in US military and biological
activities in Ukraine.
According to its statutes, the STCU is an
international intergovernmental
organisation established to
"...prevent the spread of
knowledge & expertise
related to weapons of
mass destruction...".
Its legal status is defined by the Agreement of
October 25, 1993 between the governments
of Ukraine, Canada, the USA and Sweden
and the Protocol of Amendment of
July 7th, 1997.
STCU is headquartered in Kiev and has regional
offices in Baku, Chisinau and Tbilisi, as well as
in Kharkov and Lvov.
However, the Russian Ministry of Defence's
Chemical and Biological Threat Expertise
Centre found... that the STCU's main
activity, is to act as a distribution
centre for grants for research of
interest to the Pentagon
... including biological
weapons research.
In recent years alone, Washington has spent
more than $350 million on STCU projects.
The U.S. customers and sponsors of STCU are
the Department of State, and the Department
of Defense. Funding is also provided through
the Environmental Protection Agency, the
US Departments of Agriculture, Health
and Energy.
In addition, note the document prepared by the
STCU curators, dated March 11th, 2022, which
underlines the true nature of this organisation.
It notes, quote: "...there has been an outflow of
scientific experts in the development ofmeans
of delivery andadvanced weaponry who have worked for Ukrainian institutions, as well as
experts in the development of biological,
radiological, chemical and nuclear
weapons.''
''The best-trained professionals with experience
of working with dual-use materials and
technologies (between 1,000 and
4,000) have foundthemselves in
unfavourable professional and
financial circumstances.''
''This makes them vulnerable to defection to
other states to participate in programmes
to develop WMD, delivery systems and
other weapons...".
By using such words, Washington actually
acknowledges Ukrainian experts' work
...on the development of weapons of
mass destruction delivery and use
...and considers it appropriate to
continue funding them.
Here are the names of the officials who
were involved in the military-biological
programmes.
The post of STCU executive director is held by
Bjelajac Curtis Michael, a US citizen. Born
August 27, 1968 in California, he studied
at California's Anderson University of
Management. He holds a master's
degree in international finance
and has worked in Ukraine
since 1994.
The European Union chairman of the STCU
board is Maier Eddie Arthur; the US chair is
Phil Dolliff, who is the State Department's
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter-
national Security .....and WMD
Nonproliferation Programmes.
Documents received by the Russian Ministry of
Defence confirm STCU's ties to the US military
department. The slide shows a formal
recommendation from the US State
Department endorsing the STCU's
cooperation with the Pentagon's
main contractor, Black & Veach.
The correspondence expresses the willingness
of Matthew Webber, the company's vice
president, to work with the STCU on
ongoing military-biological
research in Ukraine.
Between 2014 and 2022, the Ukrainian Science
and Technology Centre implemented five
hundred R&D projects in post-Soviet
countries (Ukraine, Georgia,
Moldova and Azerbaijan).
US supervisors were primarily interested in dual-use research, such as project 6166, Development of Technologies for Modelling, Evaluation and
Prediction -- of Effects of Conflicts and Threats of Mass Destruction Weapons Spread, and project 9601 -- Transfer of UkrainianTechnologies for the
Production of Complex Dual-Use Materials to the European Union.
Many of them --- are aimed at studying potential biological weapons agents (plague ,tularaemia) and pathogens of economic importance
(pathogenic avian influenza, African
swine fever).
Projects P-364, 444, and 781, aimed at studying
the spread of dangerous pathogens through
insect vectors, wild birds, and bats, were
funded by the Centre -- directly in the
interests of the military department.
Note the documents of Project 3007 "Monitoring
of the epidemiological and environmental
situation regarding hazardous diseases
of aquatic origin in Ukraine".
During the work, the Ukrainian specialists,
overdeen by US scientists, systematically collected water samples in a number of
major Ukrainian rivers, including Dnepr,
Danube and Dniester -- as well as in the
North Crimean Canal, to determine the
presence... of particularly dangerous
pathogens, including cholera, typhoid,
hepatitis A and E pathogens and draw
conclusions about their possible
waterborne spread.
The project assessed the damage properties of
the selected samples and deposited the strains
in a collection --- and subsequently exported them to the USA.
Its analysis shows that the results of this work
can be used to create an unfavourable bio-
logical situation --- not only in the Russian Federation, but also in the Black Sea and
the Sea of Azov, as well as in Eastern
Europe - Belarus, Moldova and Poland.
Our concern about Washington's activities in
Ukraine, stems from the fact that, contrary
to its international obligations, the US has
retained norms in its national legislation
that allow for work in the field of
biological weapons.
The ratification of the 1925 Geneva Protocol
by the United States was accompanied by a number of reservations, one of which
allows for the retaliatory use of
chemical and toxin weapons.
Under the US Federal Unity and Cohesion
Against Terrorism Act --- research into
biological weapons is permitted with
the approval of the US government.
Participants in such research
are not criminally liable, for
developing such weapons.
Thus, the US administration is implementing the
principle that domestic law takes precedence
over international law in this area. The most
ethically controversial research, is
conducted outside national
jurisdictions.
Thus, during the special operation in Ukraine,
it was established that US scientists from a
laboratory in Merefa (Kharkov Region) were
testing.... potentially dangerous biological
drugs on patients of the regional clinical
psychiatric hospital No 3 in Kharkov,
between 2019 and 2021.
Persons with mental disorders were selected
for the experiments on the basis of their age,
nationality & immune status. Special forms
were used to record the results of 24-hour
patient monitoring. The information was
not entered into the hospital database,
and the staff of the medical institution
signed a non-disclosure agreement.
In January 2022, the laboratory in Merefa
was shut down and all equipment and
preparations were moved to
western Ukraine.
There are a number of witnesses to these
inhuman experiments, whose names we
cannot disclose, for the sake of
their safety.
Finally, in a previous briefing we described
a technical device - for the delivery and
application of biological formulations
that has been patented in the US.
At the same time, it was noted that Ukraine had
sent a request to the manufacturing company
regarding the possibility ...of equipping the
Bayraktar drones with aerosol equipment.
It is a matter of concern that on March 9th,
three unmanned aerial vehicles equipped
with 30-litre containers and equipment
for spraying formulations were
detected by Russian recon
units in Kherson region.
In January 2022, Ukraine reportedly purchased
over 50 such devices through intermediary
organisations, which can be used to apply biological formulations and toxic chemicals.
We continue to analyse the evidence of crimes
committed by the US administration and the
Kiev regime in Ukraine.
What do YOU think?
Are the real madmen in the US?
The Chinese know - read this about
South Korea's biolab nightmare
(3 pages of mind-blowing facts)
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202204/
13/WS625699dea310fd2b29e56c6b_1.html
___________________________________
West silencing most dissenting
voices...tocontrol narrative
on Ukraine/NATO war
April 14th, 3:19pm (PressTV)
The conflict between Russia and the West
over Ukraine seems to have gone beyond
the military realm as independent media
outlets say - their dissenting voices are
being silenced by the US and its allies.
Among several news outlets whose social
media accounts have been blocked --- in
recent weeks is the ASB news, whose
editors say the suspension of their
accounts - is a targeted takedown
aimed at controlling the narrative
on the war in Ukraine.
The editors of ASB news say they are working
to offer alternative information sources - as
opposed to the blatantly false information
that the West provides about the conflict.
Commenting on a Press TV’s query whether the
conflict in Ukraine is taking shape in various
different avenues apart from its military
aspect, Pepe Escobar, a geopolitical
analyst whose Twitter account has
been suspended as part of the
Western campaign to muzzle
dissenting voices, said on
Thursday, that the move
by the US and its allies
indicated their despair
of winning the public
relations war.
“They are absolutely desperate --- because they
need to win the PR war - for Western audiences.
They already lost it inside Russia. The problem
is what I call NATO stand, the spectrum of the
whole NATO sphere. There's only 1 narrative
that is allowed. It's the narrative that comes
from the White House, the State Department
and the Pentagon and all us independents
have been silenced - little by little - and
especially in these past two weeks,”
Escobar told Press TV.
“We are telling it like it is; what's really
happening, especially in Mariupol, and
the Donbass; the fact that Ukraine has
absolutely no chance to win anything
in this war. And of course, the only
solution, from the point of view of
Big Tech, is to cancel us,” he
added, referring to two
volatile regions in
eastern Ukraine.
The geopolitical analyst expressed hope that
there will be... “Indian platforms, Iranian
platforms, Pakistani platforms, African
platforms, Latin American platforms,
soon emerging all over, and that will
be the end of Big Tech Controlling
social networks.”
Clashes have escalated between Russian
troops and Ukrainian forces over control
of the besieged port city of Mariupol, as
Russia’s military offensive in the former
Soviet state nears its 50th day and
amid Western promises to flood
the war-battered country with
military and financial aid.
Asked as to how the West’s arm supply to
Ukraine would be affecting the war in the
former Soviet state, Escobar said, “They
think they can prolong the war, sending
old MiGs, Kalashnikovs... but most of
these weapons... don't even arrive at
their destination in different parts of
Ukraine --- or they are immediately
resold in the black market inside
Ukraine. Ukraine nowadays is
an enormous black hole
--- including many super-
imposed black markets
as well. So this will
never arrive.”
Pointing to the Ukrainian military forces,
Escobar added, “They have a choice ---
sooner or later: either they surrender
or --- they are going to be totally
exterminated - and that will be
the end... of the Ukrainian
armed forces; but this, is
also something that we
simply cannot explain
to Western social
networks.”
Commenting on his predictions for the battle
looming for the Donbass region, in eastern
Ukraine, Escobar said “We cannot predict
anything. In fact everything that so-called
Western military analysts predicted...
I would say - went wrong.”
“What we follow is movement on the ground
and what we could define as the Russian
high command's strategic ambiguity.
Because we can never tell -- what's
going to be their next major move,”
he underlined. “This is something
that from the point of view of the
Russians --- it should be
accomplished.. through-
out this month until the
end of April… Nobody
can say that they
know --- what the
Russian military
are going to do
next.”
Asked about the West’s hypocrisy and double
standards... in the media coverage of the
Ukrainian war, as it received a different
international response than the war in
Yemen, Syria --- and the occupation in
Palestine, Escobar said, “All the wars
of conquest, rape, pillage, & plunder,
by the Empire over the past 50 years
in fact, they simply disappeared.”
“It's like the only war that exists is the war
unleashed by the evil new Hitler, Vladimir
Putin. This is beyond any rationalization
or hypocrisy,” the analyst stressed. “In
fact, of course, the genocide in Yemen,
which is a real genocide --- had already
disappeared from the West's narrative
for the past few years. And now it's
completely obliterated. Same with
Palestine. Everything that
happened in Syria when
the Americans were
using a proxy war to
destroy the Syrian
nation also ----
disappeared
completely.”
“And obviously, it's impossible for, I would say,
especially the Americans and, of course, the
European poodles that follow them --- to
understand and to put into context, in
perspective - how imperialism has
survived for the past few decades
- based on these wars of choice.”
“What basically led to the Russian response to
the situation in Ukraine, was many different
factors,” Escobar added. “The fact that the
Russians knew that there were bio labs
in Ukraine - and this was confirmed -
the Russians knew that Ukraine
was making 'some moves' to
restart a nuclear program...
It was also confirmed that
NATO essentially, was
organizing a huge
blitzkrieg.”
“There would be a real, blitzkrieg genocide
in Donbass and everything was confirmed.
So they had to act now, as a preemptive
attack against NATO, essentially. And
this war is not Kiev against Moscow.
This one is NATO against Moscow.
And this is also another piece of
information that simply cannot
be analyzed in Western
social networks.”
Russia President, Vladimir Putin, announced a
“special military operation” on February 24th,
to demilitarize Donetsk and Luhansk, largely
populated by ethnic Russians, in eastern
Ukraine. The US and its European allies
have labeled the military operation as
“Putin’s land grab,” imposing waves
of unprecedented sanctions
on Moscow.
In 2014, the two regions - collectively known
as the Donbass – declared themselves new
republics; a move that triggered a
persisting and bloody conflict
between Kiev --- and armed
pro-Russian separatists.
Are YOU being led astray by the media black-out of the true facts?
email us with your opinion.
___________________________
The Commodity-Currency
Revolution Begins...
by Tyler Durden at Zerohedge
April 9th, 2:20pm
Authored by Alasdair Macleod
via GoldMoney.com,
We will look back at current events and realise
that they marked the change from a dollar-
based global economy underwritten by
financial assets to commodity-backed
currencies. We face a change from
collateral being purely financial in
nature to becoming commodity
based. It is collateral that
underwrites the whole
financial system.
The ending of the financially based system, is
being hastened by geopolitical developments.
The West is -- desperately -- trying to sanction
Russia into economic submission, but is only
succeeding in driving up energy, commodity,
and food prices against itself. Central banks
will have no option but to inflate their
currencies to pay for it all.
Russia is linking the rouble to commodity prices
through a moving gold peg instead, and China has already demonstrated an understanding
of the West’s inflationary game, by having
stockpiled commodities and essential
grains for the last two years and
allowed her currency to rise
against the dollar.
China and Russia are not going down the path
of the West’s inflating currencies. Instead...
they are moving towards a sounder money
strategy with the prospect of stable
interest rates and prices, while the
West accelerates in the opposite
direction.
The Credit Suisse analyst, Zoltan Pozsar, calls it
Bretton Woods III. This article looks at how it is
likely to play out, concluding that the dollar and
Western currencies, not the rouble, will have
the greatest difficulty dealing with the end
of 50 years of economic financialisation.
Pure finance is being replaced
with commodity finance
It hasn’t hit the main-stream media yet, which is
still reporting yesterday’s battle. But in March,
the US Administration passed a death
sentence on its own hegemony, in a
last desperate throw of the dollar
dice. Not only did it misread the
Russian situation with respect
to its economy, but America -
mistakenly - believed in its
own power, by sanctioning
Russia & Putin’s oligarchs.
It may have achieved... a partial blockade on
Russia’s export volumes.. but compensation
has come from higher unit prices, benefiting
Russia, and costing the Western alliance.
The consequence is a final battle... in the
financial war which has been brewing for
decades. You do not sanction the world’s
most important source of energy exports
- the marginal supplier of a wide range of
commodities & raw materials, including
grains and fertilisers, without damaging
everyone but the intended target. Worse
still, the intended target has in China an
extremely powerful friend, with which,
Russia is a partner... in the world’s
largest economic bloc -- the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation commanding
a developing market of over 40% of the world’s population. That is the future, not the past which is....
Western wokery, punitive taxation, economies dominated by the state and bureaucracy... anti-capitalistic socialism ...and magic money trees to help pay for it all.
Despite this enormous hole in the sanctions
net --- the West has given itself no political
option but to attempt to tighten sanctions
even more. But Russia’s response.. is
devastating for the western financial
system. In 2 simple announcements,
tying the rouble to gold for domestic
credit institutions and insisting that
payments for energy, will only be
accepted in roubles, it is calling
an end to the fiat dollar era that
has ruled the world from the
suspension of Bretton
Woods in 1971...
to today.
Just over five decades ago, the dollar took over
the role for itself as the global reserve asset
from gold. After the seventies, which was a
decade of currency, interest rates, and
financial asset volatility, we all settled
down into a world of increasing
financialisation.
London’s big bang in the early 1980s paved the
way for regulated derivatives and the 1990s
saw the rise of hedge funds and dotcoms.
That was followed by an explosion in over
the counter unregulated derivatives - into
the hundreds of trillions & securitisations
which hit the speed-bump, of the Lehman
failure. Since then an expansion of global
credit for purely financial activities, has
been remarkable - creating a financial
asset bubble - to rival anything seen
in the history of financial excesses.
And together with statistical suppression of the
effect on consumer prices --- the switch of economic resources from Main Street to
Wall Street has hidden the inflationary
evidence of credit expansion from
the public’s gaze.
All that is coming to an end ---- with a new
commoditisation — what respected flows
analyst Zoltan Pozsar at Credit Suisse
calls Bretton Woods III.
In his enumeration, the first was suspended by
President Nixon in 1971, and the second ran
from then until now... when the dollar ruled
indisputably. That brings us to Bretton
Woods III.
Russia’s insistence that importers of its energy
pay in roubles and not in dollars or euros is a
significant development, a direct challenge
to the dollar’s role. There are no options for
Russia’s “unfriendlies”, Russia’s name for
the alliance united against it. The EU...
the largest importer of Russian natural
gas, either bites the bullet or scrapes
around for insufficient alternatives.
The option is to buy natural gas and oil ....at
reasonable rouble prices or drive prices up
in euros, and still not get enough to keep
their economies going, and the citizens
warm and mobile. Either way - it seems
Russia wins and one way, the EU loses.
As to Pozsar’s belief that we are on the verge of
Bretton Woods III... one can see the logic of his
argument. The highly inflated financial bubble..
marks the end of an era 50 years in the making.
Negative interest rates in the EU and Japan are
not just an anomaly, but the last throw of the
dice for the yen and the euro. The ECB and
the Bank of Japan have bond portfolios
which have wiped out their equity, and
then some. All Western central banks
which have indulged in QE have the
same problem.
Contrastingly, the Russian central bank and the Peoples Bank of China, have not conducted any QE ---- and have clean balance sheets. Rising interest rates in Western currencies are made more certain & their height even greater --- by Russia’s aggressive response to the Western sanctions. It hastens the bankruptcy.... of the entire Western banking system and by bursting the highly inflated financial bubble ...will leave little more than hollowed-out economies.
Putin has taken as his model, the 1973 Nixon/
Kissinger agreement with the Saudis, to only accept US dollars in payment for oil... and to
use its dominant role in OPEC to force other members to follow. As the World’s largest energy exporter Russia now says she will
only accept roubles, repeating for the
rouble, the petrodollar strategy. And
even Saudi Arabia, is now bending
with the wind & accepting China’s
renminbi for its oil... calling
symbolic time on the Nixon
/Kissinger petrodollar
agreement.
The West, by which we mean America, the EU, Britain, Japan, South Korea, and a few others have set themselves up... to be the fall guys.
That statement just describes their strategic stupidity -- an Ignoble Award is closer to the truth. By phasing out fossil fuels before they could be replaced entirely with green energy sources ------ an enormous shortfall in energy supplies has arisen. With an almost religious zeal, Germany has been cutting out nuclear generation. And even as recently as last month it still ruled out extending the lifespan of its nuclear facilities. The entire G7 membership... were not only unprepared for Russia turning the tables on its members,
but -- so far -- they have yet to
come up with an adequate
response.
Russia has effectively commoditised its currency, particularly for energy, gold,
and food. It is following China down a
similar path. In doing so.. it has under
mined the dollar’s hegemony, perhaps
fatally. As the driving force behind
currency values, commodities will
be the collateral replacing financial
assets. It is interesting to observe
the strength in the Mexican peso
against the dollar (up 9.7% since
November 2021) & the Brazilian
real (up 21% over a year) And
even the South African rand
has risen by 11% in the last
five months.
That these flaky currencies are rising tells us
that resource backing for currencies, has its
attractions beyond the rouble and renminbi.
But having turned their backs on gold, the
Americans & their Western epigones lack
an adequate response. If anything, they
are likely to continue the fight for dollar
hegemony rather than accept reality.
And the more America struggles to
assert its authority the greater the
likelihood of a split in the Western
partnership.
Europe needs Russian energy desperately,
and America does not. Europe cannot
afford to support American policy
unconditionally.
That, of course, is Russia’s bet.
Russia’s point of view
For the second time in eight years, Russia has
seen its currency undermined --- by Western action over Ukraine. Having experienced it
in 2014, this time the Russian central bank
was better prepared. It had diversified out
of dollars adding official gold reserves.
The commercial banking system was overhauled, and the Governor of the
RCB, Elvira Nabiullina, by following
classical monetary policies instead
of the Keynesianism of her Western
contempories -- has contained the
fall-out from the war in Ukraine.
The link to commodities is gold... and the RCB
announced that until the end of June it stands
ready to buy gold from Russian banks at 5,000
roubles per gramme. The stated purpose.. was
to allow banks to lend against mine production given that Russian-sourced gold is included in
the sanctions. But the move has encouraged
speculation that the rouble is going on a
quasi- gold standard; never mind that a
gold standard works the other way
round, with users of the currency
able to exchange it for gold.
Besides being with silver, the international legal definition of money (the rest being currency and
credit), gold is a good proxy for commodities. Priced in goldgrams, crude oil today is 30%
below where it was in the 1950s, long
before Nixon suspended the Bretton
Woods Agreement. Meanwhile,
measured in depreciating fiat
currencies --- the price has
soared - & been extremely
volatile along the way.
It is a similar story for other commodity prices,
whereby maximum stability is to be found in
prices measured in goldgrams. Taking up
Pozsar’s point - about currencies being
increasingly linked to commodities in
Bretton Woods III - it appears that
Russia intends to use gold as
a proxy for commodities to
stabilise the rouble.
Instead of a fixed gold exchange rate, the RCB
has wisely left itself the option to periodically
revise the price it will pay for gold after 1 July.
While non-Russian credit institutions do not
have access to the facility, it appears that
there is nothing to stop a Russian bank
buying gold in another centre, such as
Dubai, to sell to the Russian central
bank for roubles. All that is needed
is for the dollar/rouble rate to be
favourable for the arbitrage and
the ability to settle in a non-
sanctioned currency, such
as renminbi --- or to have
access to Eurodollars..
which it can exchange
for Euroroubles from
a bank outside the
“unfriendlies”
jurisdictions.
The dollar/rouble rate can now easily be
controlled by the RCB -- because how
demand for roubles in short supply is
handled, becomes a matter of policy.
Gazprom’s payment arm (Gazprombank) is
currently excused the West’s sanctions
and EU gas and oil payments will be
channelled through it.
Broadly, there are four ways in which a
Western consumer can acquire roubles:
By buying roubles on the foreign exchanges.
By depositing euros, dollars, or sterling
with Gazprombank and have them do
the conversion as agents.
By Gazprombank increasing its balance
sheet to provide credit, but collateral
which is not sanctioned would
be required.
By foreign banks creating rouble credits
which can be paid to Gazprombank --
against delivery of energy supplies.
The last of these four is certainly possible,
because that is the basis of Eurodollars
--- which circulate outside New York’s
monetary system and have become
central to international liquidity.
To understand the creation of Eurodollars and therefore the possibility of a developing Eurorouble market
we must delve into the world of credit creation.
There are two ways in which foreigners can
hold dollar balances. The way commonly
understood is through the correspondent
banking system. Your bank, in Europe,
say, will run deposit accounts with
their correspondent banks in New
York (JPMorgan, Citi etc.). So, if
you make a deposit in dollars,
thecredit to your account will
reconcile with the change in
your bank’s correspondent
account in New York.
Now let us assume that you approach your
European bank for a dollar loan. If the loan
is agreed, it appears as a dollar asset on
your bank’s balance sheet, which through
double-entry bookkeeping is matched by
a dollar liability --- in favour of you, the
borrower. It cannot be otherwise & is
the basis of all bank credit creation.
But note that in the creation of
these balances.. the American
banking system isn't involved
in any way, which is how and
why Euro-dollars circulate,
being fungible with, but
separate in origin from
...dollars in the US.
By the same method, we could see the birth
and rapid expansion of a Eurorouble market.
All that’s required... is for a bank to create a
loan in roubles matched under double-entry
bookkeeping.. with a deposit which can be
used for payments. It doesn’t matter which
currency the bank runs its balance sheet
in, only that it has balance sheet space,
access to rouble liquidity and is a
credible counterparty.
This suggests that Eurozone and Japanese
banks can only have limited participation
because they are already very highly
leveraged. The banks best able to
run Eurorouble balances, are the
Americans & Chinese because
they have more conservative
asset to equity ratios.
Furthermore, the large Chinese banks are
majority state-owned, and already have
business and currency interests with
Russia --- giving them a head start with respect to rouble liquidity.
We have noticed that the large American banks
are not shy of dealing with the Chinese despite
the politics ----- so, presumably, would like the
opportunity to participate in Euroroubles. But
only this week, the US Government prohibited
them from paying holders of Russia’s
sovereign debt over $600 million.
So, we should assume the US banks cannot
participate, which leaves the field open to
the Chinese mega-banks. And any attempt
to increase sanctions on Russia, perhaps
by adding Gazprombank to a sanctioned
list, achieves nothing, definitely cuts out
American banks from the action --- and
enhances the financial integration
between Russia and China.
The gulf between the commodity-backed
currencies and yesteryear’s financial
fiat... simply widens.
For now, further sanctions are a matter for
speculation. But Gazprombank -- with the
assistance of the Russian central bank
will have a key role in providing the
international market for roubles,
with wholesale liquidity, at least
until the market acquires depth
in liquidity. In return, Gazprom-
bank can act as a recycler of
dollars and euros gained
through trade surpluses
without them entering
the official reserves.
Dollars, euros yen & sterling are the unfriendlies’ currencies, so the only
retentions are likely to be renminbi
and gold.
In this manner we might expect roubles, gold
and commodities to tend to rise in tandem.
We can see the process by which... as
Zoltan Pozsar put it, Bretton Woods III,
a global currency regime, based on
commodities... can take over from
Bretton Woods II, which has been
characterised by financialisation
of currencies. And it’s not just
Russia and her roubles. It’s a
direction of travel shared
by China.
The economic effects... of a strong currency
backed by commodities -- defy monetary and
economic beliefs prevalent in the West. But
the consequences that flow from a stronger
currency are desirable: falling interest rates
wealth remaining in the private sector, and
an escape route from the inevitable failure
of Western currencies and their capital
markets. The arguments in favour of
decoupling from a dollar-dominated
monetary system... have suddenly
become compelling.
The consequences for the West
Most Western commentary is.... gung-ho for
further sanctions against Russia. Relatively
few independent commentators pointed out
that by sanctioning Russia and freezing her
foreign exchange reserves, America is
destroying her own hegemony.
The benefits of gold reserves have also been
pointedly made ---- to those that have them.
Furthermore, central banks leaving their gold
reserves vaulted at Western central banks
exposes them to sanctions... should a
nation fall foul of America. Doubtless,
the issue is being discussed around
the world and some requests for a
repatriation of bullion, are bound
to follow.
There is also the problem of gold leases and
swaps, vital for providing liquidity in bullion
markets, but leading to false counting of
reserves. This is because... under the
IMF’s accounting procedures, leased
and swapped gold balances are
recorded... as if they were still
under a central bank’s owner
ship and control.. despite
bullion being transferred
to another party --- in
unallocated accounts.
No one knows the extent of swaps & leases,
but it is likely to be significant --- given the
evidence of gold price interventions over
the last fifty years. Countries which have
been happy to earn fees and interest, to
cover storage costs & turn gold bullion
storage into a profitable activity
(measured in fiat) ...are at the
margin now, and likely to not
renew swap & lease agree-
ments, and to demand the
reallocation of the bullion
into earmarked accounts,
that would drain liquidity
from bullion markets. A
rising gold price... will
be bound to ensue.
Ever since the suspension of Bretton Woods, in
1971 the US Government has tried to suppress
gold relative to the dollar ---- encouraging the
growth of gold derivatives to absorb demand.
That gold has moved... from $35 to $1920,
today, demonstrates the futility of these
policies. But emotionally at least, the US establishment is still virulently anti-gold.
The link - between commodity prices and gold -
has endured through it all. It is this factor that
completely escapes popular analysis --- with
every commodity analyst assuming in their
calculations a constant objective value for
the dollar and other currencies, with price
subjectivity confined to the commodity
alone. The use of charts, and other
methods of forecasting commodity
prices assume as an iron rule that
price changes in transactions
come only from fluctuations
in commodity values.
The truth behind prices measured in unbacked
currencies --- is demonstrated by the cost of oil
priced in gold having declined about 30% since
the 1960s. That is reasonable... given the new
extraction technologies and is consistent with prices tending to ease over time under a gold
standard. It is only in fiat currencies that
prices have soared. Clearly, gold is
considerably more objective for
transaction purposes than fiat
currencies, which are
definitely not.
Therefore, if the dollar price of oil doubles from
here --- it will only be because, at the margin,
people prefer oil to dollars — not because
they want oil beyond their immediate
needs, but because they want
dollars less.
China recognised these dynamics, following the
Fed’s monetary policies of March 2020, when it
reduced its funds rate to the zero bound and
instituted QE at $120bn every month. The
signal concerning the dollar’s future
debasement was clear, and China
began to stockpile commodities
oil, and food — just to get rid
of dollars.
This contributed to the rise in dollar commodity
prices, which commenced from that moment,
despite falling demand, due to covid and
supply chain problems. The effect of the
dollar's debasement, is reflected in a
popular commodity tracking ETF.
A better understanding.. would be to regard the
increase in the value of this commodity basket
not as a near doubling, since March 2020, but
as a near halving of the dollar’s purchasing
power, with respect to it.
Further, the Chinese have been prescient
enough to accumulate stocks of grains.
The result is that 20% of the world’s
population has access to 70% of the
word’s maize stocks, 60% of rice....
50% of wheat and 35% of soybeans.
The other 80% of the world’s population will
almost certainly face acute shortages this
year as exports of grain & fertiliser from
Ukraine/Russia, effectively cease.
China’s actions show that she has to a degree
already tied her currency to commodities,
recognising the dollar would lose
purchasing power. And this is
partially reflected in the
yuan’s exchange rate
against the US dollar,
that since May 2020,
has gained over 11%.
Implications for the dollar, euro and yen
In this article the close relationship between
gold, oil, and wider commodities, has been
shown. It appears that Russia has found a
way of tying her currency not to the dollar,
but to commodities through gold, and that
China has effectively been doing the same
thing, for two years, without the gold link.
The logic is to escape the consequences
of currency and credit expansion for the
dollar and other Western currencies as
their purchasing power is undermined.
And the use of a gold peg, is an
interesting development
in this context.
We should bear in mind that according to the
US Treasury TIC system... foreigners own
$33.24 trillion of financial securities and
short-term assets including bank
deposits.
That is, in addition to a few trillion, perhaps,
in Eurodollars not recorded in TIC stats.
These funds are only there in such quantities... because of financialisation of the Western
currencies - a situation we now expect to end.
A change in the world’s currency order toward Pozsar’s Bretton Woods III
can be expected to have a substantial impact on
these funds.
To prevent foreign selling of the $6.97 trillion of
short-term securities and cash, interest rates
would have to be raised, not just to tackle
rising consumer prices, but to protect the
currency on the foreign exchanges ---
particularly relative to the rouble
and the yuan.
Unfortunately, sufficiently high interest rates to
encourage short-term money and deposits to
stay, would destabilise the values of the
foreign owned $26.27 trillion in long-
term securities — bonds
and equities.
As the manager of US dollar interest rates, the
dilemma for the Fed --- is made more acute by
the sanctions against Russia, exposing the
weakness of the dollar’s position. The fall
in its purchasing power is magnified by
soaring dollar prices for commodities,
and the rise in consumer prices will
be greater and sooner, as a result.
It is becoming possible to argue, convincingly, that interest rates for one-year dollar deposits should soon be in double figures --- rather than
the 3% or so argued by monetary policy hawks.
Whatever the numbers turn out to be ---- the
consequences are bound to be catastrophic
for financial assets --- and for the future of
financially oriented currencies... where
financial assets are the principal form
of collateral.
It appears that Bretton Woods II is, indeed, over.
That being the case, the US will find it virtually
impossible to retain the international capital
flows, which have allowed it to finance the
twin deficits — the budget and trade gaps.
And... as securities’ values fall with rising
interest rates, unless the US Government
takes a very sharp knife to its spending
--- at a time of stagnating or falling
economic activity --- the Fed will
have to step up ....with
enhanced QE.
The excuse that QE stimulates the economy......
will have been worn out and exposed for what
it is: the debasement of the currency, as a
means of hidden taxation. And the foreign
capital that manages to escape from a
dollar crisis is likely to seek a home
elsewhere. But the other two major
currencies in the dollar’s camp, the
euro and yen, start from an even
worse position.
With their purchasing power visibly collapsing
the ECB and the Bank of Japan... still have
negative interest rates, seemingly trapped
under the zero bound. Policy makers find
themselves torn between the Scylla of
consumer price inflation --- and the
Charybdis ..of declining economic
activity. A further problem is that
these banks have become large
investors in government and
other bonds (the BOJ even
has equity ETFs on board)
and rising bond yields are
playing havoc with their
balance sheets, wiping
out their equity -- and
requiring a systemic
recapitalisation.
Not only are the ECB and the BOJ technically
bankrupt without massive capital injections,
but their commercial banking networks are
hugely overleveraged --- with their global
systemically important banks --- their
G-SIBs --- having assets relative to
equity averaging over 20 times.
And, unlike the Brazilian real, the
Mexican peso, and even the
South African rand, the yen
and the euro are sliding
against the dollar.
The response from the BOJ is one of
desperately hanging on... to current
policies. It is rigging the market by
capping the yield on the 10-year
JGB at 0.25%, which is where it is now.
These currency developments are indicative
of great upheavals and approaching crises.
Financial bubbles are undoubtedly about to
burst, sinking fiat financial values and all
that sail with them. Government bonds
will be yesterday’s story, because
neither China nor Russia, whose
currencies can be expected to
survive the transition from
financial, to commodity
orientation... run large
budget deficits. That,
indeed, will be part
of their strength.
The financial war, for so long, predicted and
described in my essays for Goldmoney,
appears to be reaching its climax.At
the end... it has boiled down to who
understands money & currencies
best. Led by America.. the West
has ignored the legal definition
of money, replacing fiat dollars
for it instead. Monetary policy
lost its anchor -- in realism,
drifting on a sea of crack-
pot inflationary beliefs
instead.
But Russia and China have not made the
same mistake. China played along with
the Keynesian game - while it suited
them. Consequently... while Russia
may be struggling militarily, unless
a miracle occurs the West seems
bound to lose the financial war...
and we are - indeed - transiting
into Pozsar’s Bretton Woods III.
Breathless?
What do YOU think?
___________________________________________
The collective West helped Russia get rid ofcurrency colonialism
April 7th, 12:56pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Russia’s existing monetary
system has ceased to exist.
In the first half of the 1990s, Russia created
a monetary system which could be called
“currency management” (a model for
colonial economies). Its essence is,
that the national monetary unit -- the Russian rouble -- is issued by the Central Bank, by purchasing foreign currency.
The latter is stored in foreign currency
reserves, that are reflected in the assets of the Central Bank. And the Russian rouble is secured by the foreign currency reserves... of the
Central Bank.
This idea can be expressed more clearly: the
Russian rouble -- in the system of “currency
management” - turned out to be a repainted
foreign currency. A state can be sovereign,
however, if the assets of its Central Bank
are dominated by loans in the national
currency -- for the development of the
national economy. As a supplement,
securities issued by national issuers
(not any securities, but those that
help to develop the domestic
economy).
The latest official report from the Central Bank
of the Russian Federation to date, dates back
to 2020. Here is a picture of the main types
of assets of the Bank of Russia as of 31st
December 2020 (trillion roubles, share in total assets, in brackets, %):
Assets, total – 51.27 (100)
Foreign exchange reserves (currency in bank
deposits, and in the form of securities issued
by treasuries of other states and other non-
residents) – 30.45 (59.39)
Due from IMF – 1.91 (3.72)
Loans to and deposits from
Russian banks – 3.76 (7.33)
Securities issued by Russian government
and other Russian issuers – 1.03 (2.00)
Gold in reserves – 10.41 (20.30).
In the composition of assets, only 4.79 trillion
rubles, or 9.33% of the Bank of Russia’s
assets, were used to support the
Russian economy.
International reserves (foreign currency
reserves + claims on the IMF + gold)...
accounted for RUR 42.77 trillion or
83.42% of total assets.
The rest of the Central Bank’s assets are real
estate, equipment, communications, etc.
(“technical assets”). This portion
accounted for 7.25% of assets.
It is fair to say that international reserves
include gold, which can be considered
quite a Russian asset: it is located in
Russia, controlled by the Bank of
Russia, and is fully immune to
economic sanctions from the West.
If we add gold to Russian assets, the
share of the latter in the assets of
the Bank of Russia (excluding
“technical assets”) would
be 29.63%.
And the share of international reserves
without gold... would be 63.12%.
Thus, the “external assets” of the Bank of
Russia working for the economies of other
countries are 2.13 times greater than the
“internal assets” working for the Russian
economy! Figuratively speaking -- the Bank of Russia, according to its own annual report, has turned its face to the West and its back to Russia.
And the Russian rouble... turned out to be
over 2/ thirds backed by Western papers.
For years in Russia, there have been calls to
de-dollarize the Russian economy, including
the de-dollarization of the Bank of Russia,
but nothing changed. And, at the end of
February this year, the collective West
helped the Bank of Russia de-dollarise
its assets. All international currency
reserves except for the Chinese
yuan, are frozen.
According to the Bank of Russia (“Review of
the Bank of Russia’s management of assets
in foreign currencies and gold”, 2022, no. 1),
as of mid-2021 the US dollar, euro, British
pound sterling, Japanese yen and some
other reserve currencies accounted for
65.2% of all international (foreign
exchange) reserves in Russia.
We do not know what the assets of the Bank
of Russia are at the end of February. Let’s
assume they are the same as they were
on 31 December 2020. If we attach the
figure we get (65.2%) to the assets at
that time, it turns out that the Bank
of Russia has a “hole” equal to
54.39% of its assets in its
balance sheet.
This leaves only “domestic assets” working for the Russian economy, plus the Chinese Yuan.
The Bank of Russia seems reluctant
to acknowledge the loss of gigantic
amounts of international reserves.
It merely states that the reserves of over
$300bn are “frozen”. The experience
of freezing reserves in Libya, Iran,
Afghanistan and other countries..
shows that after a while the word
“freeze”.. is replaced by the word
“confiscation” or “nationalisation”.
The Bank of Russia continues to publish data
on the size of Russia’s international reserves
on a weekly basis, from which it appears that
so far nothing seems to have happened. Here
is the latest update on the Bank of Russia
website: “As of the 25th of March 2022,
international reserves of the Russian
Federation stood at USD 604.4 billion,
...a decrease of USD 38.8 billion
compared to 18 February 2022.
The main factors behind the reduction in
reserves were currency interventions,
currency refinancing, as well as a
currency revaluation of assets”.
The sooner the Bank of Russia realizes that
there is no USD 600 billion or more in the
reserves, the more likely it is that we
can - quickly - rebuild the Russian
monetary system to fit the new
conditions. And such a
restructuring is
necessary.
If we take the assets of the Bank of Russia
remaining after “expropriation” of currency
reserves by the collective West as 100%,
then the picture would be as follows. The
main asset component is monetary gold
(around 44,5% of all assets). In second
place the Chinese yuan (26.9 percent).
In 3rd place are ruble loans & deposits
(16.1%). In fourth place, are securities of the Russian government and other
Russian issuers (4.4%).
It is clear that my calculations cannot be exact,
they are based on data pertaining to December
31, 2020 and mid-2021. However, I don’t think
today’s picture of Central Bank assets differs
much from the one I have shown. It turns out
that the rouble... is no longer a “repainted”
foreign currency (it is only slightly “tinted”
by the Chinese yuan). Gold, of which there
are currently 2300 tons in the reserves of
the Bank of Russia, became its main
support - in an instant.
This gave some Russian experts the reason to
declare with joy, that, unexpectedly, a golden
rouble was born in Russia. No, it is not a gold
rouble, but a rouble backed by the precious
metal in the vaults of the Central Bank. Gold
currency refers to those monetary units
which can be freely exchanged for the
precious metal.
There are already calls for an amendment to
Article 75 of the Constitution of the Russian
Federation, defining that the Russian ruble
is gold. And to take as a model the gold
rouble, which was introduced in 1897
through the efforts of the then
Minister of Finance, Sergey
Yulievich Witte.
Many people rave about that time. I cannot
share this enthusiasm. The gold standard,
which was established in Russia 125
years ago, began to choke the
domestic economy. To issue
the rubles Russia needed, it
needed a gold reserve. For
various reasons the supply
of gold was lagging behind
the needs of the economy
for money.
The gold standard turned out to be akin to a
gold noose. To weaken it somehow, the gold
reserve had to be replenished by means of
gold loans. And for loans... to bow to the
Rothschilds. By 1917... Russia had the
world’s largest sovereign foreign debt
(see my book “Gold in World and
Russian History XIX – XX
centuries. Moscow:
Homeland, 2017).
This does not mean... that gold should not
be accumulated in Russia’s international
reserves. Very much so, it is necessary.
Firstly, by buying the metal from domestic
miners the Bank of Russia will stimulate
the development.. of the country’s
“currency shop”. Secondly, it will
strengthen the Russian rouble.
Thirdly, it will help to create
a reserve of gold... as
“emergency money”
for settlements with
other states (in case
of wars, crises, etc.).
However, it is extremely dangerous to restore
the gold standard, which: 1) provides for the
free exchange of banknotes for precious
metal from reserves; 2) ties the Central
Bank’s monetary issue to its available
gold reserve. I will note, on the way:
it has long been said that China is
preparing... to introduce the gold
yuan and that we should follow
in Beijing’s footsteps. Indeed...
according to experts, through
domestic production... and
imports, China has already
accumulated more than 30
thousand tons of yellow
metal, and not less than
half in the hands of the
State (although, China's
statistics strongly
camouflage these
accumulations).
However, there are no signs yet that Beijing is getting ready to move to the gold yuan.
They are well aware of the disadvantages of such a move. I think that gold helps Beijing
strengthen the yuan, push the dollar
and the euro out of the domestic
market and create reserves of
’emergency money’.
Returning to the question of restructuring
Russia’s monetary system, I note that we
don't need a gold ruble, but a commodity
ruble. That is, the ruble which is backed
by the commodity mass created by the
Russian economy.
Gold may be only one of the goods... in such
a mass. In addition to it, we need consumer goods. Even more necessary are investment
goods – machinery and equipment, with
which industrialization can and should
be carried out.
Article 75 of the Constitution of the Russian
Federation must be amended in this regard.
It defines the main function of the Central
Bank of the Russian Federation as
“protecting and ensuring the s
tability of the ruble”.
However, the Central Bank must have a higher-
level task: to strengthen (develop) the Russian
economy. The Bank of Russia can and must
strengthen the Russian economy --- by
increasing ruble loans, the ultimate
recipients of which, will be
enterprises in the real
economy.
Such loans should help build up the stock of
goods. Inflation, which has been fighting by
shrinking the money supply and raising the
key rate (inflation has been fought by
strangling the Russian economy), will then disappear.
The above calculations show that today the
share of ruble loans and securities of
Russian issuers in the assets of the
Bank of Russia (remaining after the
“expropriation” of foreign currency
reserves) is about one-fifth. It
should be at least four-fifths.
The Russian rouble --- would then become
truly stable and commodity-driven. Then
...the dedollarisation of the Russian
economy will occur by itself. Then
we would really win the sanction
war with the collective West.
Valentin Katasonov, FSK
Very intersting... !
What do you think?
_______________________________
Leptospirosis, Tularemia
pathogens and mosquito-
borne viruses:what else
is of interest to the U.S.
in Ukraine
March 17th 5:54pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Share
Today I was sent some rather interesting
information published on the website of
the US National Library of Medicine
The documents indicate that US experts in
Ukraine studied in detail the bacteria that
cause leptospirosis and tularaemia, as
well as studied mosquito-borne viruses.
Moreover, they had full access to the test
results of especially dangerous infections
and to annual reports of Ukrainian
laboratories.
And financial assistance was provided by the
Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) as part of
the Cooperative Biological Cooperation
Programme in Ukraine.
Experts should pay attention
to these documents!
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Image: ron-paul-dont-steal
The Ins and Outs of
Whose Money is it
Anyway?
March 13th 2022
by Tom Luongo
“Inside, Outside…. Leave me alone!
Inside, Outside … Nowhere is home!
Inside, Outside … Where have I been?
Out of my brain on the 5:15…”
— The Who
There’s been a massive reaction to Credit
Suisse analyst Zoltan Poszar’s note
about the birth of a new Bretton
Woods agreement.
Every investor in the world should read it. Zerohedge posted (behind their paywall)
a lengthy analysis of Poszar’s musing
....along with some reactions from Wall St. It is well worth your time.
The people most freaked out about this note
are the Keynesians who worship at the altar
of what Poszar calls Inside Money — money
that only exists inside the financial system,
bonds, credit, dollars, euros, etc.
Austrians, like myself, have always understood
that eventually Inside Money fails because it's
ultimately nothing more than a Ponzi Scheme
built on top of Outside Money — money that
exists outside the financial system, like
commodities and bitcoin.
Poszar makes his early case... and then goes
through the mechanics of what is happening
in the financial plumbing of the world
economy right now -- to prove the
stresses are real and building
quickly towards an implosion
of Inside Money ------ and an
explosion of Outside Money.
Again, anyone with a passing acquaintance
with Austrian business cycle theory and
Mises’ Theory of Money and Credit
always knew this day was coming.
Today’s “Inside Money” standard ---- known
colloquially as the Dollar Reserve standard
is what I like to call “Milton Friedman’s
Nightmare.” It is nothing more than a system of competitively devalued and inflated debt-based scrips running around drinking each other’s milkshakes until everyone’s glass is empty.
FYI, there are a lot of empty glasses around the
world right now and more are being created
everyday as the financial system turned
predatory after the Lehman Bros.
collapse in 2008.
It was then that the Central Banks and
governments turned fully against the
people, sucking up more and more
outside money by inflating inside
money egregiously, to control
more and more of the real
wealth of the world.
There is only one problem with that, however.
Eventually, you run out of property to squeeze
out of people’s hands. The more you take, the
less people are restrained by little things
like laws.
Eventually two things happen. The first is what
we’ve been seeing from Russia and China, for
the past twelve years — steady accumulation
of gold and other hard assets, outside money,
including the building of real manufacturing
infrastructure, as well as the financial
infrastructure to house it.
The second is just over the horizon — the
moment where all the legal claims to
controlling outside money mean nothing
when enforcement of those legal claims
gets exposed as a bluff because there
aren’t enough enforcers capable of
keeping the looters from taking it.
Look, I’m as much a private property guy as you
can possibly conceive of but I made my peace
a long time ago... with what those claims of
private property actually mean, in the very
real sense to me personally and my limits
of defending them.
I can lay claim of ownership to hundreds of
acres of land. I can even have a deed that
proves I bought it from someone else who
had a legal document to ownership. That’s
legal ownership. Now --- real ownership is
actually being able to defend that claim,
by constantly applying your time
and energy.
I live rural, folks. I can tell you that where the
roads lie & where the legal property corners
are, do not square with each other. And the
reality is that when you live like that, little
things simply aren’t worth your time.
But, if you are a stickler for this stuff, that
means, for example, rousting squatters,
pressing claims of borders if people cut
the corner driving along the public ease
-ment, etc. But it’s your money you have
to spend, your time. You have to put up
the fence, or the pole or the sign. You have to ‘police’ that claim.
And if you don’t, do you really still have that
‘claim’ to that property? Legally yes, but de
facto? Be honest with yourself.
Libertarian theorists have juggled this question
around for years and it naturally comes down to
as Hoppe would put it, “the private production
of defense.” Are you willing to continue
pressing that claim over property that
you are not actively ‘mixing your
labour’ with?
If not, then let it go and let someone
else make better use of it.
I know this opens up a massive can of
philosophical worms. That’s exactly the
point I’m trying to make. When civilization
breaks down, legal claims tend towards
zero value. Civilization breaks down
through the systemic subversion of
the agreed upon rules... to the
advantage of some, at the
expense of the other.
And what bigger subversion of the rule, “thou
shalt not steal” could there be... than a debt-
based Ponzi scheme of inside money being
used to suck up legal claims to most of the
world’s valuable resources, while actively
suppressing the value of the competing
outside money to defend people’s
claims to it?
This is what Poszar is implying when he says
we’re moving away from inside money, to outside money. Inside money is created
through rules and laws, not markets.
Outside money is created through
labour, time and human ingenuity.
It is tokenized human capital.
This is the real implication of Poszar’s note that
we are approaching a new Bretton-Woods
where outside money will replace inside
money as the reserve asset of the
financial system.
The West has stupidly picked a fight... with the
one country, Russia, that has the commodities
needed to run the world and bring about this
return to an outside money based system.
Poszar rightly argues that the inside money
system only works if commodities trade
within tight spreads, ie. almost zero
geographic arbitrage.
This is another way of saying, this shit money is
only worth using if everyone has confidence in
the system, because commodity prices are not
under real systemic stress.
It works because everyone still believes
(wrongly) that the rules of civilization
are mostly equitable and it’s possible
to defend your property through
its institutions.
Individual commodity markets can be subject to
the vicissitudes of living — boom/bust cycles,
weather, etc.. But when the entire commodity
complex is under stress like it is now, that’s a
‘no-confidence’ vote against the inside
money system.
That’s what we witnessed breaking last week
with the London Metals Exchange shutting
down futures trading in nickel.
Now let’s think through what we now know
about this situation which has come to light
since it first occurred and Poszar wrote his
little note. We found out that the LME was
shut down because one Chinese tycoon
was caught massively short, and his
counter-party was one of the most
systemically-important banks in
the world, JP Morgan Chase.
Moreover, the LME didn’t reopen because he
didn’t want to cover his short, but doubled
down. And now the LME is trying to reverse all the trades that
occurred on Wednesday.
Rules for thee and not for me. Oh look, someone
thought all that inside money was actually
worth something to claim outside money
in the real world. How quaint.
I’m sure this situation will eventually work itself
out. But, let’s be clear here, the LME is now
effectively done, as an exchange. Just like
Black-Faced Hitler destroyed the concept of
private savings in Canada a few weeks back
because some truckers made him look like
the little bitch he is, the LME undermined
global confidence in it... as a way to coordinate supply and demand for important commodities through price and time.
It is also just like the US State & Treasury
departments, making a mockery of the
concept of foreign exchange reserves
and the value of anyone’s savings...
held in something other than their
deplorable, little hands?
Now let’s connect some other dots shall we?
Because here’s the thing everyone has
forgotten going back 10 years…..
Who owns the LME?
It ain’t London. It ain’t New York. It’s China.
And they bought it 10 years ago.
For those wondering when China was going
to make its move to support Russia in this
financial war, I think it happened on
March 8th --- when they shut down the LME. What do I mean by this?
Let’s set the Wayback Machine to last year
shall we? Do we all remember Archegos
Capital? Bill Hwang’s ridiculous one-way
portfolio of CFD’s for momentum meme
stocks --- which pulled in nearly every
Western Prime Broker into a vortex
so powerful it shook the entire
financial system to its core?
Back then I noted that just prior to Archegos blowing up, Ukraine had “declared war on Russia by making it Ukrainian security policy to retake Crimea”.... and prominent members of the US
State dept. calling Taiwan “a country.”
So I asked this question:
“If you were the Chinese and you were now in a
hybrid war with the U.S. how would you send a
message back across the Pacific?”
By blowing up a test financial nuke like Archegos was my conclusion.
So, now here we are a year later with a real hot war in Ukraine. The West is screaming at
Russia for abrogating legal agreements
and the UN Charter. The Russians saw the US and NATO unilaterally pull out of such treaties previously under
the last 3 presidents; knowing full well that ‘legal claims’ to anything at this point aren’t worth anything, if they cannot be enforced.
The war in Ukraine is a manifestation of
my second effect of stealing real wealth
through inside money.
Ukraine is steadily, inexorably being swallowed
up by Russia’s Special Operation there,
establishing new facts on the ground
which make a mockery of all of the
previous legal arrangements to
property. Russia just pulled up
the boundary markers.... and said, “They are here, now.”
And the question everyone has been asking
is, “What are the Chinese going to do about
all of this?”
Well, I think, they just did.
Why would the LME allow this guy to amass this
insane position in Nickel futures when he’s
clearly not interested in taking delivery of
the metal (the whole purpose of commodity
futures trading in the first place). He’s just
a speculator. So, position limits don’t matter
all of a sudden? But, if I’m China I allow this
to get out of control, knowing all it takes is
the application of a pittance of newly-
minted inside money - to blow up the
whole nickel market.
And with it, the validity of the
LME, as a futures exchange.
I’m having a hard time not seeing this as China
just fucked the West completely, by destroying
the validity of the LME.
It could just be, like Archegos, an initial round
of financial system blackmail. Today nickel,
tomorrow…. gold?
Regardless, tt just broke the confidence of the
LME as a clearinghouse for commodity traders.
This means that we’ve seen the peak of the
LME/CRIMEX control over the gold and silver
markets as capital will now shift away from
London to Shanghai. Remember, Shanghai
has a well-established futures exchange for
what? Gold and oil. And what does that oil
contract represent? Medium-sour oil, the
most plentiful of which is {drumroll
please!}… Russian Urals grade.
And now the global financial markets, which are
dependent on the fiction of paper gold (‘inside
gold’) as the real reserve asset of the system
inflated to extreme numbers, >200 oz paper
to every 1 oz of physical reserve --- are
vulnerable to the worst kind of
deflationary shock we’ve
ever seen.
Poszar gave us the clues with his note. The
Petrodollar is the M0 of global trade. Paper
Gold is the M0 of the financial markets, on
which the current asset pricing system is
based. Inside money is deflating, outside
money inflating.
Wall St. realized the petrodollar was dead ages
ago and that the move for them now was to get
ahead of the game and into the other outside
money worth considering, bitcoin. Of course,
they want to recreate the old paper gold trade
with bitcoin to keep their inside money games
going. But, I don’t think that’s going to be
enough to save them.
The FOMC is staring at an existential choice,
this week. How much do we raise rates in the
US knowing the deflationary shock it will have
on asset prices, especially since the ECB just
signaled it’s getting on the tightening
bandwagon?
Because if the Fed is aggressively hawkish on
Wednesday that is your signal that Congress’
new spending blackmail will not be funded with
cheap inside money anymore. The cost will be
higher than the US can afford and stay solvent.
If they aren’t then they caved --- and it’s time
accelerate personal plans of de-dollarization
to defend what property you have left.
Russia and China should control the Gold and
Oil trades now. They will be the price-makers.
We will be the price-takers. They are about to change the denominator in the global forex markets from the USD (inside money) to gold/oil (outside money).
What we have to realize now is that real price
discovery for gold and oil - are going to shift
quickly away from London and Chicago and
towards Shanghai and Moscow. Expect
announcements from Russia and China
deepening the relationship between the
MOEX and Shanghai, for coordinating
metals and energy futures trading to
improve liquidity on both exchanges.
It’s the right play, honestly.
Biden going it alone against Russia on banning
imports of Russian oil is a move to destroy the
U.S. energy markets and our economy. It is
pure scorched earth policy.
Now Biden et.al. are looking for ways to freeze
Russia’s gold, so they can’t spend it. What
these congenital morons do not realize is
Russia isn’t going to SPEND ITS GOLD,
it’s going to ACCUMULATE EVEN
MORE OF IT.
Freeze it all you want guys, you won’t be in
power in eight months. Right now Wall St.
and the Fed have to step in and demand a
change at the top of the US government
to oust these insane Davos vandals... or
the US is toast, along with the smoking
hole that Europe is already.
____________________________
Follow the money:how
Russia will bypass
western economic
warfare
by Pepe Escobar (March 1st, 2022)
The US and EU are over-reaching on Russian
sanctions. The end result could be the de-
dollarization of the global economy and
massive commodity shortages worldwide.
So a congregation of NATO’s top brass
ensconced in their echo chambers
target the Russian Central Bank
with sanctions and expect
what? Cookies?
What they got instead was Russia’s deterrence
forces bumped up to “a special regime of duty”
– which means the Northern and Pacific fleets,
the Long-Range Aviation Command, strategic
bombers and the entire Russian nuclear
apparatus on maximum alert.
One Pentagon general very quickly did the
basic maths on that, and mere minutes
later --- a Ukrainian delegation was
dispatched to conduct negotiations
with Russia in an undisclosed
location in Gomel, Belarus.
Meanwhile, in the vassal realms, the German
government was busy “setting limits to
warmongers like Putin” --- quite a rich
undertaking -- considering that Berlin
never set any such limits for western
warmongers who bombed Yugoslavia
invaded Iraq, or destroyed Libya, in
complete violation of international
law.
While openly proclaiming their desire to “stop
the development of Russian industry” ---
damage its economy, and “ruin Russia”
--- echoing American edicts on Iraq,
Iran, Syria, Libya, Cuba, Venezuela
and others in the Global South –
the Germans could not possibly
recognize a new categorical
imperative.
They were finally liberated from their WWII
culpability complex by none other than
Russia's President, Vladimir Putin.
Germany is finally free to support
and weaponize neo-Nazis out in
the open all over again – now of
the Ukrainian Azov battalion
variety.
To get the hang of how these NATO sanctions
will “ruin Russia,” I asked for the succinct
analysis... of one of the most competent
economic minds on the planet, Michael
Hudson, author, among others, of a
revised edition of the must-read
Super-Imperialism: The
Economic Strategy of
American Empire.
Hudson remarked how he is “simply numbed
over the near-atomic escalation of the US.”
On the confiscation of Russian foreign
reserves and cut-off from SWIFT, the
main point is “it will take some time
for Russia to put in a new system,
with China. The result will end
dollarization for good, as the
countries threatened with
‘democracy’ or displaying
diplomatic independence
will be afraid to use
US banks.”
This, Hudson says, leads us to “the great
question: whether Europe and the Dollar
Bloc can buy Russian raw materials –
cobalt, palladium, etc, and whether
China will join Russia in a
minerals boycott.”
Hudson is adamant that “Russia’s Central Bank,
of course, has foreign bank assets in order to
intervene in exchange markets to defend its
currency from fluctuations. The ruble has
plunged. There will be new exchange
rates. Yet it’s up to Russia to decide
whether to sell its wheat to West
Asia, that needs it; or to stop
selling gas to Europe via
Ukraine, now that the
US can grab it.”
About the possible introduction of a new
Russia-China payment system bypassing
SWIFT, and combining the Russian SPFS
(System for Transfer of Financial
Messages) with the Chinese CIPS
(Cross-Border Interbank Payment
System), Hudson has no doubts
“the Russian-China system will
be implemented. The Global
South will seek to join and
at the same time keep
SWIFT – moving their
reserves into the
new system.”
I’m going to de-dollarize myself
So the US itself, in another massive strategic
blunder, will speed up de-dollarization. As
the managing director of Bocom Inter-
national Hong Hao told the Global
Times, with energy trade between
Europe and Russia de-dollarized,
“that will be the beginning of the
disintegration of dollar hegemony.”
It’s a refrain the US administration was quietly
hearing, last week, from some of its own
largest multinational banks, including
notables like JPMorgan and Citigroup.
A Bloomberg article sums up
their collective fears:
“Booting Russia from the critical global system
--- which handles 42 million messages a day ---
and serves as a lifeline to some of the world’s
biggest financial institutions, could backfire,
sending inflation higher --- pushing Russia
closer to China --- and shielding financial
transactions from scrutiny by the west.
It might also encourage development
of a SWIFT alternative --- that could
eventually damage the supremacy
of the US dollar.”
Those with IQs over 50, in the European Union
(EU) must have understood that Russia simply
could not be totally excluded from SWIFT, but
maybe only a few of its banks: after all,
European traders depend on
Russian energy.
From Moscow’s point of view --- that is a minor
issue. A number of Russian banks are already
connected to China’s CIPS system. For
instance, if someone wants to buy
Russian oil and gas with CIPS,
payments must be in the
Chinese yuan currency.
CIPS is independent
of SWIFT.
Additionally, Moscow already linked its SPFS
payment system - not only to China - but also
to India and member nations of the Eurasia
Economic Union (EAEU). SPFS already
inks to approximately 400 banks.
With more Russian companies using SPFS and
CIPS, even before they merge, and other
maneuvers to bypass SWIFT, such as
barter trade – largely used by
sanctioned Iran – and agent
banks, Russia could make
up for at least 50 percent
in trade losses.
The key fact is that the flight from the US-
dominated western financial system is
now irreversible across Eurasia – and
that will proceed in tandem with the
internationalization of the yuan.
Russia has its own bag of tricks
Meanwhile, we’re not even talking yet about
Russian retaliation for these sanctions.
Former President Dmitry Medvedev
already gave a hint: everything,
from exiting all nuclear arms
deals with the US to freezing
the assets of western
companies in Russia,
is on the table.
So what does the “Empire of Lies” want?
(Putin terminology, on Monday’s meeting
in Moscow to discuss the response to
sanctions.)
In an essay published this morning, deliciously
titled America Defeats Germany for the Third
Time in a Century: the MIC, OGAM and FIRE
conquer NATO, Michael Hudson makes a
series of crucial points, starting with how
“NATO has become Europe’s foreign
policy-making body, even to the point of dominating domestic economic interests.”
He outlines the three oligarchies
in control of US foreign policy:
First is the military-industrial complex,
which Ray McGovern memorably
coined as MICIMATT (military
industrial Congressional
intelligence media
academia think tank).
Hudson defines their economy base as
“monopoly rent, obtained above all
from its arms sales to NATO, to
West Asian oil exporters and to
other countries with a balance
-of-payments surplus.”
Second is the oil and gas sector, joined by
mining (OGAM). Their aim is “to maximize
the price of energy and raw materials so
as to maximize natural resource rent.
Monopolizing the Dollar Area’s oil
market & isolating it from Russian
oil and gas -- has been a major US
priority for over a year now, as the
Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia
to Germany threatened to link the
western European and Russian
economies together.”
Third is the “symbiotic” Finance, Insurance
and Real Estate (FIRE) sector, which
Hudson defines as “the counterpart
to Europe’s old post-feudal landed
aristocracy living by land rents.”
As he describes these three rentier sectors that
completely dominate post-industrial finance
capitalism at the heart of the western
system, Hudson notes how “Wall St
always has been closely merged
with the oil and gas industry
(namely, the Citigroup and
Chase Manhattan banking
conglomerates).”
Hudson shows how “the most pressing US
strategic aim of NATO confrontation with
Russia, is soaring oil and gas prices. In
addition to creating profits and stock
market gains for US companies, high
energy prices will take much of the
steam out of the German economy.”
He warns how food prices will rise “headed by
wheat.” (Russia and Ukraine account for 25%
of world wheat exports.) From a Global South
perspective, that’s a disaster: “This will
squeeze many West Asian and Global
South food-deficient countries,
worsening their balance of
payments and threatening
foreign debt defaults.”
As for blocking Russian raw materials exports,
“this threatens to cause breaks in supply
chains for key materials, including
cobalt, palladium, nickel,
and aluminium.”
And that leads us, once again, to the heart of
the matter: “The long-term dream of the US
new Cold Warriors is to break up Russia, or
at least to restore its managerial klepto-
cracy, seeking to cash in their
privatizations in western
stock markets.”
That’s not going to happen. Hudson clearly
sees how “the most enormous unintended
consequence of US foreign policy --- has
been to drive Russia & China together,
along with Iran, Central Asia and
countries along the Belt and
Road initiative.”
Let’s confiscate some technology
Now compare all of the above with the
perspective of the central European
business tycoon with vast interests,
east and west, and who treasures
his discretion.
In an email exchange, the business tycoon
posed serious questions about the Russian
Central Bank support for its national
currency, the ruble, ''which according
to US planning is being destroyed by
the west, through sanctions and
currency wolf packs, who are
exposing themselves by
selling rubles short.''
''There is really almost no amount of money
that can beat the dollar manipulators
against the ruble. A 20 % interest
rate will kill Russia's economy
unnecessarily.''
The businessman argues that the chief effect of
the rate hike “would be to support imports that
should not be imported. The fall of the ruble is
thus favorable to Russia, in terms of self-
sufficiency. As import prices rise, these
goods should start to be produced
domestically. I would just let the
ruble fall to find its own level
which will - for a while - be
lower than natural forces
would permit... as the US
will be driving it lower....
through sanctions... and
short-sell manipulation..
in this form of economic
war against Russia.”
But that seems to tell only part of the story.
Arguably, the lethal weapon in Russia’s
arsenal of responses has been identified
by the head of the Centre for Economic
Research of the Institute of Globalization
and Social Movements (IGSO), Vasily
Koltashov: the key is to confiscate
technology – as in Russia ceasing
to recognize US rights to patents.
Koltashov maintains that “one of the foundations of success of American
industry, was its copying of foreign
patents for inventions.” Now, Russia
could use “China’s extensive know
-how with its latest technological
production processes for copying
western products: the release of
American intellectual property will
cause damage to the United States
to the amount of $10 trillion, only
in the first stage. It will be a
disaster for them.”
As it stands, the strategic stupidity of the
EU beggars belief. China is ready to grab
all Russian natural resources – with
Europe left ... as a pitiful hostage of
the oceans and of wild speculators.
It looks like a total EU-Russia split
is ahead – with little trade left and
zero diplomacy.
Now listen to the sound of champagne
popping all across the MICIMATT.
Interesting times, eh? What do YOU think is going to occur...?
_________________________________
China:US Shirks Responsibility
for Starlink Satellites' Activities
February 11th, 10am (FNA)
The US shirks its responsibility and diverts
attention with the so-called "emergency
collision criteria", which is not a
responsible attitude that a
space power should have,
a foreign ministry spokes
-person said on Thursday.
Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at
a daily press briefing, in response to a related
query that the US denied China's notion that
Starlink satellites endangered the China
space station twice in a note sent to the
UN Office of Outer Space Affairs in
Vienna and dated January 28th,
Xinhua news agency reported.
"Because the activities did not meet the
threshold of established emergency
collision criteria, emergency
notifications were not
warranted in either
case," according
to the US' note.
China, was fulfilling the international obligation, stipulated by Article V of
the Outer Space Treaty by informing
the UN... of the Starlink satellites'
dangerous approach to China's
space station that threatened
in-orbit Chinese astronauts,
Zhao said.
In the relevant collision avoidance events... the
US Starlink satellites are in a continuous orbit
maneuvering state, and their maneuvering
strategies and intentions.. are unknown,
Zhao said, adding: Chinese astronauts
in orbit are facing real and urgent
safety threats --- and China was forced to implement
a preventive collision
avoidance control.
After the incidents, the Chinese authorities
tried, multiple times, to reach the US side
via e-mail, but received no reply, the
spokesperson said.
Now the US is attempting to use the so-called
threshold of emergency collision criteria, to
shift responsibilities and distract attention.
It is not showing a responsible attitude as
a space power, not to mention.. it is in no
position to unilaterally set a threshold of emergency collision criteria, he said.
Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty, stipulates
that in the exploration and use of outer space,
States Parties to the Treaty shall be guided by the principle of cooperation and mutual
assistance, and shall conduct all their
activities in outer space with due
regard to the corresponding
interests of all other States
Parties to the Treaty,
Zhao noted.
He said the Chinese side has submitted
registration of its space station to the
UN and released its orbital elements
on website.
"To safeguard the safety of Chinese astro-
nauts & the space station, China is ready
to establish a long-term communication mechanism with the US side and hopes
that the US side will take concrete
measures... to prevent such
incidents from recurring,"
Zhao said.
China also hopes that all countries will jointly
respect the international system of outer space based on international law & work
together - to safeguard the safety of in- orbit astronauts and the safe, stable
operation of space facilities, the
spokesperson added.
[Rhondda Records adds: a private company owned by a megalomaniac multi -billionaire, is operating a maneuvering set of dangerous satelites, on behalf of the US, which hates China.]
what could go wrong?
What do YOU think?
_______________________________
The CPRF is the authentic voice of the Communist Party of Russia -- which is the 2nd largest party in the Duma (Parliament)
If you want a thorough insight into the recent events in Kazakhstan, you won't do better than reading the article below!
THE VOICE OF THE WORKING PEOPLE
OF KAZAKHSTAN - MUST BE HEARD
January 2022 (https://cprf.ru)
Kazakhstan is living through a difficult period.
The long pent-up popular discontent has
erupted into mass indignation
and protests.
Every broad movement... has multiple components.
The events in Kazakhstan involve social discontent, the activities of “the fifth column,” and the actions
of terrorist groups. “The fifth column”... includes
extremists adhering to radical Islam, numerous
NGOs nurtured by the West, some members of
the security and military communities looking
for a chance to fish in troubled waters, and
oligarchic clans which are prepared to use
mass protests, in their struggle for power.
The fraternal peoples of Russia and Kazakhstan
are linked by the bonds of centuries of
common history.
Together we created the Soviet Union, built
and gained victories, and prided ourselves
on outstanding economic and social
achievements. Together... we have
revived integration processes:
creating the EurAsEC,
SCO and CSTO.
Today... our comrades and friends are living through a
period of trials and tribulations. Kazakhstan has been
swept by mass protests. The southern capital Alma-
Ata – has seen bloody riots, which claimed many
victims and brought devastation. An accurate
and all-round assessment of the events,
should take many things into account.
It is clear that the situation in Kazakhstan... is a direct
consequence of the tragedy that befell all of us, thirty
years ago. The collapse of the USSR, renunciation
of the socialist system and Soviet power, planted
numerous mines under the new “independent
democratic states.”
The savage capitalism into which the Soviet republics
have been plunged, inevitably doomed the people to
poverty and rightlessness, creating appalling
inequality. By the same token, our peoples
have become extremely vulnerable, in the face of external threats.
Contrary to the promises of liberal pundits, the new
states have not become fully-fledged members of
the “civilized world.” Global capitalism, has
reduced them to the role of raw materials
appendages and markets, sources of
cheap labour and pawns in the geo-
political adventures of imperialist
powers.
Kazakhstan embarked on this slippery path. Modern
industries perished in the cesspool of privatization.
The commodity sector was rented out to foreign
capital. The oil sector is dominated by Chevron
and Exxon Mobil (USA), Total (France) Royal
Dutch Shell (UK and the Netherlands). The
transnational corporation, AlcelorMittal,
has become the new master of the
steel industry.
The nascent bourgeoisie of Kazakhstan, allied
with overseas capital, has been profiting from
exploitation of the republic’s labour & natural
resources. Just like in Russia or Ukraine, it
went to any lengths in the process of
“primary capital accumulation.”
Many of the richest people,
have - effectively - become
part of the establishment.
Like almost everywhere in the post-Soviet space,
Kazakhstan created an oligarchic-comprador
system, typical of savage capitalism.
Inequality in the republic was steadily growing. The
people got tiny morsels of the national income and
inequalities of wealth and social tensions, were
rising. In 2011 a strike of oilmen in Zhanaozen
led to clashes, in which 16 people died. The
authorities demonstrated their attitude to
the people, by raising the retirement age
to 63 for men and women.
The coronavirus pandemic finally shattered the myth
about “social peace” in Kazakhstan. Even the official
poverty figures grew. With the world poverty level at
5.5 dollars a day, one in every seven citizens is
below the poverty line.
According to surveys, the percentage of households
that cannot even put food on the table... has grown
from 3 to 13%. A further 44% say they have money only to buy food. Meanwhile the number of dollar billionaires --- grew from 4% to 7%, and their
combined fortunes almost doubled.
Strikes have been going on, at Kazakhstan’s
enterprises, throughout the last 2 years. The
biggest protests are in the western regions.
While these regions are the main producers
of export commodities – oil and gas – they
also have the highest level of inequality in
the country. Thousands of people were
angry about wage arrears and lay-offs
and demanded higher pay, to make
up for the constant rise of prices.
Even according to official statistics, food
inflation in the country, ran at 20% over
the past two years.
The authorities ignored the legitimate demands of the
people. Social support during the pandemic turned
out to be inadequate. People were also angry over
the harsh quarantine measures. Like in Russia...
Kazakhstan had lived through the disastrous
“optimization” of health care --- which left them more vulnerable to the epidemic.
Some measures taken by the authorities... were
seen as humiliating. Thus -- in the autumn -- the
president promised to unfreeze part of citizens’
pension savings. However, several days before
the New Year a minimum sum of savings above
which people aged 59-62 were allowed to with-
draw part of their savings, was raised to more
than 9 million tenge, or 1.5 million robles. Only
a tiny fraction of Kazakhstan’s population has
such savings. Instead of addressing societies
problems the ruling class preferred to further
divide society, by fanning Russophobia and
ethnic hostility. Kazakhstan’s kids read in
their school textbooks about “Russian
colonialism” and “bloody Soviet
totalitarianism.”
An official campaign has been launched... for
a rehabilitation of all “victims of repressions,”
including those who collaborated with Hitler.
Monuments were reared to people like Mustafa Shokai
who collaborated with the Nazis. Streets and schools
are named after them. The authorities were ramping
up speculations about “the Kazakh Holodomor” in
gross contradiction to historical facts. The pro-
government nationalistic forces, openly
demanded that the famine be equated
to genocide --- and called for a “final
de-Communization” of the country.
Against the background of this hysterical hand-
wringing the remaining monuments to Lenin are
being brought down:- streets, regions, villages -
entire cities are being renamed. The new wave
of this political skullduggery swept the country
late last year. Dozens of streets were renamed
in Uralsk, Semei (former Semipalatinsk) and
other cities. In Karaganda the Octyabrsky
district was named after Buhkeikhanov,
leader of the bourgeois Alash party
who fought against Soviet power,
along with Kolchak and Dutrov.
Contrary to the officially proclaimed friendship of
the peoples - Kazakhstan’s leaders were steadily
restricting the use of the Russian language... and
discriminating against Russian-speaking citizens.
Late last year parliament passed a bill whereby all
visual information could only be in the Kazakh
language. Transition of the Kazakh alphabet
from Cyrillic to the Latin script, is to be
completed by 2025.
Such policies provoked an exodus of the population.
The share of Russians in the republic, dropped from
38 to 18 percent during the post-Soviet period. Thus,
in 2019 of the 45,000 who left the country 85 percent
were Russians, Ukrainians and Germans. A program
is underway in Kazakhstan... to resettle indigenous
citizens to the northern, mainly Russian-populated
regions.
“Language patrols”... are a hideous phenomenon.
Humiliating the “|non-titular nation” participants
making people apologize in front of the camera
for not knowing the Kazakh language. For a
long time the authorities turned a blind eye
to this. The authorities went through the
motions of condemning such actions,
only after they provoked an uproar
in the Russian media.
These policies were welcomed -- by numerous pro-
Western NGOs, which had dug in, in the republic.
The authorities, while coming out in support of
Eurasian integration, were flirting with the
Western capitals. Relations with the US
reached the level of Enhanced
Strategic Partnership.
Every year the republic hosts The Steppe Eagle
military exercise, jointly with NATO. With US
help, several biological laboratories have
been built, which raise many questions
among local and foreign experts.
While aiding and abetting the nationalists, the
Kazakhstan government is cracking down on
the left opposition. Communists, independent
trade unions, have come under real pressure.
Against this background a social explosion occurred.
The immediate pretext was the doubling of the price
of liquefied gas. Earlier, the authorities announced
a transition to “market pricing” and abolished all
subsidies. Western Kazakhstan became a focus
of protests. First, liquefied gas is used there
more extensively to heat dwellings and fuel
motor vehicles. Second, fuel is produced in
this region through the efforts of many of
its citizens, a fact which people were
asked to forget, in deference to the
free market. And third, Western
Kazakhstan was hardest hit by
the previous waves of the
crisis, making it a centre
of protests.
Within days the protests spread to other regions.
Initially, they were peaceful. Protesters wanted
lower prices, higher wages and social benefits
and a return to the former pension age.
Workers at some oilfields staged
sympathy strikes.
However, the situation changed quickly and
got out of control. The first acts of terror &
vandalism were committed in the cities of
Zhanaozen and Aktau, in the Manguistau-
skaya Oblast, in S. Western Kazakhstan.
Unrest then developed into fierce clashes in Alma-Ata
& other cities. The work of airports in Aktobe, Aktau
and Alma-Ata was paralyzed. The Baikonur space
launching site was in danger. Groups of armed
men attacked police and army, seized and
rampaged through buildings and attacked
doctors, firemen and civilians. A wave
of marauding, swept the cities.
Obviously, the violent acts were perpetrated by
people who had nothing to do with the mass of
the protesters. Criminal groups... were taking
advantage of popular protests in Kazakhstan
to further their own ends.
These are first & foremost radical Islamist cells.
Proof of this, is atrocities committed against
policemen, some of whom were beheaded.
External agents -- became active. This is
especially true of Alma-Ata, traditionally
a stronghold of liberalism where many
pro-Western NGOs have their offices.
Criminals linked to nationalist groups, went on the rampage. This is evidenced by the targeting of the prosecutor’s & special services buildings
which were set alight, the seizure of weapons,
& the looting of shops and other public places.
It cannot be ruled out that all these actions were
coordinated from a single centre which seeks to
destabilize Kazakhstan. But some responsibility
rests with the republic’s leadership... because
officials had aided and abetted the activities
of pro-Western forces -- and adopted a
conciliatory stand with regard to the
Islamists. The country’s National
Security Committee turned down
numerous requests for Salafism
to be banned. Clerics trained in
Saudi Arabia, and other Arab
countries, were active
in Kazakhstan.
It is incumbent on our country, to see all these
developments in a broad international context.
The military-political situation near Russia’s
Western borders had clearly deteriorated in
recent months. Our country.... came under
growing economic, information, diplomatic
and military pressure. The Western media,
diplomats, politicians, and NATO officials,
have repeatedly voiced “concern” about
alleged “plans to attack Ukraine”, and
threatened to take “comprehensive
preventive measures.”
In the midst of the worsening situation around our
country, we have now received a blow on our
southern border. At the start of the New Year,
Russia’s enemies in the world upped the ante
in the game on the big chessboard. On Jan. 2,
Kazakhstan's people got a shock from the
authorities, which raised gas prices.
The flareup of indignation was promptly taken
advantage of, by the terrorist underground...
whose leaders used jihadists' experiences
in Syria and Iraq. Large-scale acts were
mounted, to destabilize the situation.
The members of the underground managed, on the
one hand, to blend with the masses of protesters
and, on the other hand, to enlist the support of
declasse and criminal elements.
As of now, thousands of people have become victims
of criminal acts. Hundreds of people have been
hospitalized, dozens are in intensive care and
many have been killed. Thugs obstructed the
work of ambulance crews, intimidated the
population, looted shops and engaged in marauding. The character of their
actions, attests to the existence of
a plan coordinated and funded
from abroad.
The President of Kazakhstan has declared a state
of emergency in the country and dismissed the
government. Considering the scale of events
and the interference of external forces, the
republic’s authorities have sought help
from their partners. The CSTO Council decided to render such assistance in order to stabilize the situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The CPRF takes the view that the sending of CSTO
peacekeepers is a forced but adequate and timely
measure, called upon to put out the flame of yet
another “colour revolution.”
The Communist Party of Russia resolutely condemns
the actions of international reaction, and criminal
elements. We deem, as totally unacceptable, this
interference in the internal affairs of Kazakhstan
and attempts to destabilize Central Asia, which
pose a direct threat to our country.
The CPRF wants to see Kazakhstan return to the
peaceful path of development. We believe, that
the main task of the peacekeeping contingent
is to protect strategic facilities called upon to ensure a normal life for the citizens.
The population of Kazakhstan must be
protected against terrorist attacks
by jihadists, who have resorted
to intimidation tactics.
We are sure the peaceful mission of the CSTO will
help to stabilize the situation in the Central Asian
region. At the same time we strongly believe that
the peacekeeping contingent... should be used
only for the purposes that have been declared. Involvement of peacekeepers in internal
settling of scores between rival power
clans and groups, is inadmissible.
It would be a mistake for Kazakhstan’s leadership
to persecute peaceful protesters & bracket them
together with “terrorists” & “thugs.” We believe
that the government should, promptly, initiate a
dialog with the working people and authoritative
politicians and immediately meet their legitimate
demands for better socio-economic conditions.
The CPRF thinks that the time has come to nip in the
bud, the manifestations of Russophobic and anti-
Soviet policy in the republic. There is a pressing
need to take a long hard look at the activities of
pro-Western organizations & media. All that for
years, has been turning Kazakhstan into an
arena of activities of anti-Russian forces
that sought to set the people in
opposition to friendship with
our country.
The time has come to honestly discuss and root out
the fundamental causes of the pernicious social
cleavage in Kazakhstan and also in Russia. Our
country has been given another sinister signal
that the policy that breeds divisions, inequality
& poverty inevitably makes people’s patience
run out. Any government... that works for the
interests of oligarchs, tossing “crumbs from
the master’s table”, to the working people,
will sooner or later meet with a demand to
answer for its actions. Then neither crack-
downs, nor the nationalism dope, nor the
lies of anti-Sovieteers and Russophobia
will help.
The most important lesson of Kazakhstan events is
that the attempts of the national bourgeoisie to fit
their peoples into the world of global capitalism,
turns them into puppets of the world oligarchy.
The root interests of the peoples of Russia,
Kazakhstan and all the other states
consist in giving up this
dead-end policy.
Today, more than ever... our program of Ten Steps T oward a Worthy Life and the unique experience of
people’s enterprises, take on added relevance. Not
foreign or homegrown capitalism, but the working
masses, should be the masters of their countries.
Gennady Zyuganov,
Chairman of the CPRF Central Committee
What do you think?
__________________________________
Positive interaction among
religions ensures salvation
of global civilization
- Iranian scholar
December 28th, 10:41am (PressTV)
A high-ranking Iranian Muslim scholar has underlined
the need for a “positive and constructive interaction”
among faiths in order to guarantee the salvation of
global civilization, stating that political and social
systems are based on common origins that
enable cultures to unite.
Ayatollah Alireza A’rafi, head of Iran’s Seminaries, said
that extensive communications among people, along
with peaceful coexistence, can advance human and
humanitarian goals and help overcome political,
social, and cultural issues.
“Positive and constructive interaction among
religions is one of the most important factors
for saving global civilization, and fostering
intimacy among human societies,” the
cleric said.
“Interactions of religions can tremendously contribute
to their convergence, and bond human societies
together. Common values of religions can easily
address human needs. The diversity and
multiplicity of religions is an ideal
opportunity for human societies
to deepen their understanding
and visions and exchange
their achievements,”
Ayatollah A’rafi
pointed out.
The senior scholar went on to highlight that all
human values are anchored in spiritual and
religious traditions, adding that religion,
therefore, plays a matchless role in
human life and lifestyle.
He said prophets have tried throughout history to
create a lifestyle based on monotheism, promote
the spirit of love and affection among all people,
and command their followers to love each other.
“The goal of all divine religions has been human
happiness, salvation, & liberation in this world,
& in the hereafter. Throughout history the role
of prophets in creating unity and solidarity
within societies, has been undeniable,”
Ayatollah A’rafi noted.
He called on religious scholars... to fulfill their
educational, moral-promotional, educational,
and social responsibilities, work towards
scientific discussion among different
denominations and schools of
thought, and avoid prejudices
and extremism.
The cleric then dismissed the concept of absolute
relativism, saying it gets in the way of correct
understanding.
“Absolute relativism, especially postmodern
relativism... does not have a strong and
acceptable rational and philosophical
logic. Postmodernism relies on the
logic of relativism and makes
dialogue... expedient and
superficial,” he opined.
“All religions and denominations of the world are
organized on the basis of rationality, the focus
of which is the purposefulness of the world
and societies. Religions have sought to
understand the relationship among
man, himself, and his existence,
and at least within the frame -work of rationale and
common sense, tried
to provide a correct
and realistic inter-
pretation of man
and existence,”
Ayatollah A’rafi
said.
He added that all religions and schools of thought
are formed on the basis of justice and peace and
are meant to direct human societies within such
a framework.
“The interaction of religions and denominations is
not based on formalities. It is rather, based on a
deep logic. Religions and denominations, are
rooted in common principles of philosophy,
law, values, and jurisprudence,” the
cleric said.
“The current world needs to learn the etiquette of
dialogue among different religions. Islam and
Muslim scholars... have always stressed the
need for interaction among human beings
...and underscored respect for their
sanctities,” Ayatollah A’rafi said.
He emphasized that interfaith dialogue has been
one of the main areas of concern for religious
thinkers over the past two decades, adding
that epistemological, ontological, theo-
logical, and interactive necessities,
have made religious dialogue
inevitable in today’s world.
“Through interfaith dialogue, a clear and close
understanding of the teachings of religions
can be obtained, and many misunder-
standings would be removed. This
will prepare the ground: for belief,
value & behavioral convergence,”
Ayatollah A’rafi said.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
_______________________________
I Have No Doubt He Will Die
if Extradited to US,Julian
Assange's Brother Says
December15th, 10:15am (Sputnik)
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is facing new
uncertainties.. after the UK's High Court ruled
last Friday.. that he could be extradited to the
US. "I have no doubt he will die [if extradited
to the US]," said Assange's brother, Gabriel
Shipton, in an exclusive interview with
Global Times (GT) reporter
Wang Wenwen.
Assange's fiancée revealed to the media that he
suffered a stroke in prison, in October, due to
stress over his future. What does the family
plan to do next? How did the US admin-
istration disappoint the family? Shipton
shared his thoughts with Global Times.
GT: When was the last time you saw him?
How was his condition?
Gabriel Shipton: ''The last time I saw Julian was in
Belmarsh maximum-security prison just outside
of London. And that was in October last year
when I was last in the UK. His condition at
that time I think he had almost been in that
prison for two years. So... it was taking its
toll on him. Over the years when I go and
visit him, whether it's in the Ecuadorian
embassy or the prison, you can see
what effect it's having on him.''
''This sort of pressure that he is under... is really taking
its toll on his health. He just had a mini-stroke during
the appeal hearing in October. His health is
progressively getting worse and we sort
of live in fear, that he won't survive
this ordeal.''
GT: How did you feel when you heard the latest ruling
that he could be extradited to the US? Is the fear that
Julian may choose to die by suicide haunting
you more?
Gabriel Shipton: ''Yes, it certainly does. I hope he can
survive. He's very strong and he's very determined.
I think the extradition approval that was given by the high court - we're gonna fight it. Julian is going to appeal. He has until December 24 to lodge an appeal to the Supreme Court, in the UK but I think we can't rely on the UK courts anymore. I think the chances of winning, are very slim.''
'' One of the justices who approved the extradition on
Friday (December 10)th, was the chief justice of
England and Wales. So he is the most senior
judge in the whole of the UK and that's his
decision to grant the extradition.''
''So any appeal to the Supreme Court will have to take
that into account, that they will have to rule against
the most senior judge in the UK. So it's really up to
the US and the Biden administration to let this
attack on press freedoms and attack on
journalism go.''
GT: Besides the appeal, what else do you plan to do?
Gabriel Shipton: ''We are campaigning now around the
world for Julian's release. I'm here in the US in New
York City today and I'll be in Washington, DC
tomorrow, advocating for Julian's release.
I'm doing media here. We have many
avenues of the campaign... that is
ongoing... I was just at a protest
action outside the UK consulate
here in New York, where there
were many people, celebrities,
lots of media.''
''So there's renewed attention on Julian's persecution
now, and we're taking advantage of that and building
momentum for a campaign to free him.''
GT: What could happen to Julian
if he is extradited to the US?
Gabriel Shipton: ''I have no doubt that he will die. If he is
extradited in the US prison system, they cannot keep
their prisoners safe. You just have to look at what
happened to other high-profile prisoners... like
Jeffrey Epstein. He cannot be kept safe in the
US prison [system]. And I don't think we can
assume that they can look after him or keep
him safe from the forces that are trying to
keep him in prison now.''
''We saw in September revelations coming from
investigative reporters in Washington, that
there were plots from within the CIA to
kidnap or kill Julian... when he was in
the Ecuadorian embassy. I think those plots haven't really gone away. There are still those factions within the US intelligence - that want to see Julian dead. That's what I feel will happen ...if he gets extradited to the US.''
GT: You tried to lobby the Biden administration when
it was just about to take office. Did it disappoint you
more when you dealt with it?
Gabriel Shipton: ''There was a time when people post-
Trump, thought that maybe Biden would let this go,
maybe the Biden administration would revert to
the position of the Obama administration where they found that they couldn't prosecute Julian
without also prosecuting The New York Times.''
''So there was a bit of an expectation that the Biden
administration might revert back to that position.
And we did have... some early contact with the
administration. But after the inauguration on
January 20th, we had no more contact with
them. And shortly after that, they
announced that they would be
pursuing this prosecution.''
''With the Biden administration, we've seen with the
"democracy summit" last week --- they are talking
the talk when it comes to press freedom. They're
using press freedom to lecture other countries...
and talk to other countries about press freedom
in their country... when they are holding a
publisher and journalist in prison.''
''Julian is in prison only at the request of the US DOJ
(Department of Justice) and they have also
requested that he not be given bail.''
''The Biden administration has an opportunity now, to
show the world how serious they actually are about
press freedom. And it's not just hot air that they're
talking about press freedoms and lecturing other
nations on press freedoms, and that they are actually serious about press freedoms, and
they should just let Julian go. And that is a
way that they can show the world that they
are actually serious about press freedom.
They're not just lecturing other countries
about it.''
''I see the Chinese foreign affairs spokesperson today
(Monday) come out with a tweet, saying that if the
Biden administration wants to lecture people on
press freedoms, they should let Julian Assange
go. I think those sorts of things are going to
increase over time. Nations & states around
the world are going to say to the USA, you
can't say anything to us... because look
what you're doing to Julian Assange.''
GT: What do you expect from the Australian
government? If it steps in, will it make
a difference?
Gabriel Shipton: ''I think so. Australia - they just have
this AUKUS agreement in place. So Australia is an
ally of the US, so Australia can turn around and
say, hey, we're one of your allies. Just let this
go --- let our man come home to be with his family. Just yesterday (Sunday) the Deputy
Prime Minister of Australia Barnaby Joyce
--- called for the extradition of Julian Assange not to go ahead.''
''That's an encouraging sign that maybe the Australian
government might do something here, or at least the
deputy prime minister is on the side of Julian, and
sees that this is a problem, a problem that US law
can be applied to anywhere. It can be applied to
any of the allied countries - the extraterritorial
reach of US law. I think that's a big problem,
and Barnaby Joyce... sees that problem.''
''We even saw Meng Wanzhou in Canada. She is the
CFO of Huawei. The US used the extradition
treaties with Canada.... to hold her captive. So we can see it happening time and time
again. The US is using these unfair
extradition treaties to pursue people... whom they don't agree with politically.''
''I think it's an opportunity for Australia to tell the US
-- its biggest ally -- that they want Julian to be free.
Australia should use its alliance in it, for its favour,
rather than just take orders from the US. Australia
is an important strategic ally of the US, and we
should be respected as such --- and we should
be listened to, when it comes to our citizens.''
GT: Some believe Julian's case is the result of the
connivance of Western governments that cannot
tolerate the truth, which shows the decline of
the West. What do you think?
Gabriel Shipton: ''What we're seeing with Julian's
persecution is that if you expose the crimes of a
government, or if you expose torture, or if you
expose the corruption of the government, you
are going to be punished. What the US DOJ is attempting to do, is to make telling the
truth illegal.''
''I think when you look at a government that does that,
you start to think, well, is this a democracy? Am I
living in a democracy, if I don't know what the
government is doing in my name? What does
my vote mean? Is it just a performance that
we do every four years? Voting, if we don't
really know what our votes are voting for,
or where our tax money is going? I think
the Julian persecution strikes at the very
heart of what we believe our democracies
are. So we need to stop it... and sort of rebuild... and stop this descent into
barbarity... that is happening in the West.''
GT: Besides some news reports from US media
about the process of Julian's case, few made
the call to free him. What do you think of the
US mainstream media's reaction to this case?
Gabriel Shipton: ''They could always do more. What is
their stake here is their rights as well. So they should
be coming to defend the defence of Julian. They're
getting better and some are reporting on it more.
But they can always do more and they need to
realise that really, this is their business that's
under attack here. If journalism is a crime,
then how can I do business? What we've
been saying since the last 10 years is
mainstream media has been losing its
audience and so they need to take a
long hard look at themselves and say, what is their function in a
democratic society?''
GT: Have you imagined what you will do
if Julian is set free? What is his wish?
Gabriel Shipton: ''I would imagine Julian coming up for
Christmas this year, would be good. I think if he gets
out, he's going to need some time to recuperate, to sort of rehabilitate himself after this ordeal.''
''I hope he has some time to spend quiet time with his
family, with his children, and his fiancée Stella, so
that they can just take some time to become a
family again and do normal things, take the
kids down to the park... or go and have a
coffee or something like that. I think it's
a pretty nice dream at the moment.''
GT: How are his two children right now?
Gabriel Shipton: ''They're very cute. Gabriel and Max -
they're OK, but they're still quite young and don't
have a great grasp of what's going on. One of
them has only ever known Julian in prison.
He's never known his dad to live outside
or anything like that.''
''So when they grow up more and begin to understand
what's going on, I think they'll be very proud of what
their father has done. And they'll get a better
understanding. But at the moment, this is
what they know. This is their life.''
This article was originally published
by the Global Times
What do think...?
More importantly, what are
you going to do...to help?
______________________________
Biden moves to form fund --- for
interference in domestic affairs
of others --- Russian senator
December 11th, 11:57am (TASS)
US President Joe Biden, who announced plans
to commit $424 mln for assisting other nations
in strengthening democracy, actually seeks to
form a fund for interference in the domestic
affairs of countries, the Deputy Speaker of Russia’s Federation Council (upper
house of parliament) Konstantin
Kosachev, wrote on Facebook
on Saturday.
"At the recent summit... US President Biden announced
the launch of the Presidential Initiative for Democratic
Renewal, which involves the allocation of $424 mln to
support countries loyal [to Washington]. It is already
clear that in fact, a fund for interference in the
internal affairs of disloyal states is being
formed," Kosachev pointed out.
"The idea certainly was not to just review forces in the
run-up... to the upcoming fight for democracy. It was
about convincing the world that those who oppose
the US unilateral world order... actually oppose
democracy. It is quite a simple manipulation
but it serves an important ideological
mission, aimed at camouflaging the
geopolitical causes of the current
crisis as those related to values,"
the Russian senator emphasized.
According to him, the way that participants were
chosen for the summit was based on geopolitics.
"It is foreign policy that was the focus rather than the domestic one, it was about being loyal to America," Kosachev stressed.
"It is a perfect signal to all the pseudo-democracies
in the world: proclaim a policy guided by the West,
vote the right way in the United Nations.. and you
will be allowed to do whatever you will at home,"
he added.
On December 9th-10th, Washington hosted a video
conference dubbed the Summit for Democracy.
The 110 countries and territories that the US
authorities invited to the summit did not
include China, Russia, Turkey, Egypt
and a number of other states.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier
slammed the event as one of the most odious
US projects, aimed at dividing countries into
democratic and non-democratic ones.
WHAT DO you THINK?
email rayjoseph2021@aol.com
and we promise to air your opinion!
(suitably edited to remove inelegant prose)
________________________________
Poll:Majority of US citizens...
Believe US Politicians Spread
More Misinformation Than
Russia, China
October 8th, 3:43pm (Sputnik)
The majority of US citizens believe that politicians
and social media in the US spread misinformation
online more often than foreign actors, including
Russia and China, according to a joint poll by
the Associated Press, the NORC centre for
public affairs and the University of the
Pearson Institute, in Chicago.
When asked to pick who was the most to blame for the
spread of misinformation about current events in the
US and the world, 77% of respondents picked social
media users, while social platforms such as Face-
book, Twitter and YouTube, and politicians were
picked by 72% of those surveyed each.
Slightly over a half of all respondents considered
the Russian & Chinese governments responsible
for spreading false information, 54% and 53%,
respectively. The Iranian authorities were
chosen by 39% of US citizens surveyed...
and 41% blamed the political structures
of other countries, compared to 48%
of US citizens... blaming their own
government.
Older people were considerably more prone to
believe in the involvement of foreign govern-
ments than younger people, the
poll showed.
A total of 81% percent of US citizens consider the
spread of misinformation, to be a serious issue.
The survey was conducted among 1,071 US
citizens aged over 18 on September 9th-13th.
What do YOU think?
Do you trust your media and dutifully hate all Muslims, Russians, Chinese, and Iranians?
_________________________________
UK government secures injunction
againsteco-warrior protestors
who repeatedly blocked
sections of M25
September 22nd, at 10:12am (RT)
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced on Wednesday
that National Highways has secured an injunction against
protestors calling themselves ‘Insulate Britain’ who have
repeatedly disrupted traffic by blocking the M25.
A judge granted the injunction last night - with it set to come into
effect later today, in a bid to discourage further protestors from
invading the motorway in a “reckless” manner that “puts lives at risk,” Shapps stated on Twitter.
The eco warrior protestors will “face contempt of court with
possible imprisonment” if they continue to hold their
demonstrations, which have seen ‘Insulate Britain’
activists halt traffic, by sitting down in the middle of the busy M25 motorway.
The group have stated that they are trying to raise awareness of
concerns about insulation in housing, urging the government to
ensure it is put in all of “Britain’s 29 million leaky homes by
2030 and all social housing by 2025.”
“We are simply asking the government to get on the job. The
people of Britain understand that climate change is a severe
threat to everything they hold dear,” ‘Insulate Britain’
spokesperson Liam Norton stated.
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel previously described the legal
action as an “important injunction” that would ensure
“people can get moving again,” warning the
protestors that “we will not tolerate lives being put at risk.”
On Tuesday, a demonstration by the group at junctions 9 and 10
of the M25 resulted in 38 protestors being arrested by Surrey
Police, after the activists had unveiled banners and poured
paint on the road.
While the injunction covers the situation on the M25, Patel and
Shapps highlighted in a newspaper column published on
Wednesday that the government is working to ensure
police have more “powers to better manage such
guerrilla tactics in future.”
ALSO ON RT.COM
XR is not a protest group, but a vanity project for
a liberal middle class that soon won’t exist at all.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
_______________________________________
Pipeline proposals brought the Taliban
to power first time round –could the
same be true again now?
August 31st, 5:33pm (RT)
By Kit Klarenberg, an investigative journalist exploring
the role of intelligence services in shaping politics
and perceptions. Follow him on Twitter @KitKlarenberg
Washington helped the Taliban take power in Afghanistan
before, with a view to unlocking the country's natural
wealth. Now the band is back together in Kabul, is
something similar going on?
Contrary to official claims that the last US soldier has left
Afghanistan, it’s been reported that a “diehard” team of
elite British and US troops are to remain in the country
to “avenge the deaths” of those killed at Kabul airport
in a suicide bombing by ISIS-K.
The joint party – which includes the SAS and the Navy Seals
– may seek to construct a base in the “lawless” Afghan-
Pakistan border area to conduct stealth strikes against
the terror faction, and will be supported by US drones.
Of course, this effort will require the Taliban’s approval
– but defence sources say this is “likely to be given.”
Even more extraordinarily, the possibility of the
taskforce working alongside the returned
rulers of Afghanistan has not been
ruled out.
While seismically shifting alliances are nothing new for London
or Washington, the speed and totality of this volte face, is truly
unprecedented. Nonetheless, the rationale for the resounding
reversal – and indeed the total withdrawal of coalition forces,
despite defense chiefs having long known the illegitimate
and unpopular Western-backed government would
immediately collapse as a result – may
be straightforward.
In March, the Taliban were surprise guests of honour at a US-
brokered meeting in Ashgabat, between representatives of
Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India – the four
participating members of the long-awaited TAPI pipeline.
The group assured attendees... that they weren’t merely
committed to not attacking the project’s infrastructure,
but would actively ensure its safety --- and that of any
and all other “developmental projects” in the country.
The Taliban’s intervention was clearly intended to reassure
international financial institutions, which for so long have
been deterred from investing in the endeavour... by the
very real threat of its destruction by insurgents, that
the pipeline would be in safe hands.. once they were
back in the saddle – if successful, construction can
finally begin, marking the culmination of an effort,
almost three-decades in the making.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 destroyed the Iron
Curtain, that had, for so long, blocked Western access to
Central Asia’s vast energy wealth. The Vice President,
Donald Rumsfeld, declared in 1998... while chief
executive of energy giant Halliburton, which
reaped billions from government contracts
on which only ''it'' was permitted to bid
during the Iraq War.... “I cannot think
of a time when we have had a region
emerge as suddenly... to become
as strategically significant.”
There was just one problem – how could these vast riches
be effectively extracted? Funnelling oil and gas through
Russia would be expensive due to transportation fees
levied by Moscow, brought in to reassert Russia’s
influence over the region’s newly-independent
republics. US sanctions on Iran made even
transiting resources through its borders,
illegal.
That just left Afghanistan a barren wilderness with no infra-
structure to speak of, where Westerners typically feared to
tread. Undiscouraged, US oil major Unocal dispatched
representatives to conduct feasibility studies across
Central Asia starting in 1995. They concluded that...
once a stable government... or at least a governing
force, was in place in Kabul.. a 1,000-mile pipeline
capable of carrying a million barrels per day, was
attainable. At least one Unocal executive
provided information they gained on
these trips, to the CIA.
The next year, the company opened an office in Kandahar –
coincidentally across the street from a compound owned
by Osama Bin Laden, and not far from a Pakistani
intelligence station – as the Taliban were in the
process of taking control of Afghanistan. Their
subsequent success... could well have been
attributable to support provided by Unocal.
A US Defense Intelligence Agency whistleblower who visited
the country at this time heard from numerous informed
sources the group’s capture of Kabul wouldn’t have
been possible without the firm’s assistance.
Once that came to pass, Unocal’s in-house security forces
and the CIA, both afforded the Taliban weapons and
instructors to maintain its grip on power, and the
company engaged in well-funded lobbying back
home to secure Washington’s recognition of the group as the legitimate government of
Afghanistan, hiring numerous high-profile government officials for the purpose, including Henry Kissinger.
He would later be appointed to head the 9/11 Commission, which specifically examined the pipeline effort, but stepped down, rather than reveal potential conflicts of interest.
Another lobbyist enlisted was Zalmay Khalilzad, a State
Department veteran pivotal to increasing the Reagan
administration’s support for the Mujahideen’s war
against the Red Army in the 1980s. In October
1996, he authored a strident op-ed for the
Washington Post, demanding the US
“reengage” with Afghanistan...
dismissing suggestions the
Taliban were an extremist
force, and speaking of
a “common interest”..
between Washington
and the group.
His Unocal role was unmentioned – it also didn’t factor into mainstream media coverage of his appointment - as the special envoy to Afghanistan - in January 2002.
Taliban were also flown into Texas to meet in person with
Unocal executives in late 1997, as its fighters battled to
seize control of the remaining third of Afghanistan not
under its rule. Accounts of the VIP visit are rendered
supremely surreal today --- the group travelled to a
zoo, the NASA space centre, and a massive Target
outlet for a shopping spree, before retiring to the
palatial homes of company chiefs, replete with
golf courses and swimming pools, where they
feasted on halal meat and rice, washed down
with Coca Cola.
The Taliban returned to Afghanistan bearing a number of gifts
from Unocal, including a pledge to invest close to a million
dollars in training Afghans how to construct the pipeline.
For its part, Washington was very much open to recognizing the group, despite ever-growing domestic outrage at its treatment of women and their extremely harsh interpretation of Sharia law.
“The Taliban will probably develop like the Saudis did. There
will beAramco, pipelines, an emir, no parliament and lots of
Sharia law. We can live with that,” a senior US diplomat
allegedly said at the time.
That changed in August 1998, when US embassies in Kenya and
Tanzania were bombed by Al Qaeda, killing over 200 people,
and Washington responded with a series of cruise missile
strikes on Afghanistan. By December, Unocal had finally
withdrawn entirely from the pipeline project and ended
its operations in Kabul outright – although the next
year Graham Fuller, former Deputy Director of the
CIA’s National Council on Intelligence, made a
revealing disclosure.
“The policy of guiding the evolution of Islam, and of helping them
against our adversaries worked marvellously well in Afghanistan
against the Red Army,” he said. “The same doctrines can still be
used to destabilize what remains of Russian power, and
especially to counter the Chinese influence in
Central Asia.”
So, in 2005, with the US so firmly “guiding the evolution” of Islam
in Kabul anew, the pipeline was back on the table, in the form of
TAPI - US officials were reportedly strongly supportive, because
as before, it would allow Central Asia to export energy to
Western markets “without relying on Russian routes.”
However, the project again stalled in short order, due to an
increasingly volatile security situation. There’s no such
risk of that happening today, though, given the
Taliban’s solemn pledge to defend it at all
costs, from bothersome incursions.
The aforementioned Zalmay Khalilzad was appointed in
September 2018/// as the US Special Representative for
Afghanistan Reconciliation & led talks with the Taliban.
He has been condemned harshly, in some quarters, for
the group’s rapid reseizure of power but no reference to his time as a Unocal lobbyist, let alone discussion of how energy interests so intimately intersect with US foreign policy can be found among the criticism.
This may be attributable to suggestions oil and gas interests
played any role in Afghanistan having long-been dismissed
as lunatic conspiracy theorist fare. But the facts are what
they are, and more than speak for themselves.
What do you think? Too far fetched.. or obvious?
_______________________________________________
THERE IS LITTLE ENOUGH ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWS FROM THE COMMUNISTS IN RUSSIA... WHO WERE CHEATED OUT OF VICTORY BY YELTSIN AND HIS CIA ADVISORS IN ELECTIONS IN THE 1990s.
As the United Russia party is low in the polls and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is the only party with enough cross-country support to pose a realistic challenge.. perhaps this article is worth taking a look at.
CPRF is number 1 !
As a result of the drawing of places in the ballot
voting paper for the forthcoming elections of
the State Duma Parliamentaries (September
19th, 2021), held on August 16th by the
Central Election Commission of
Russia, the CPRF is at the top of the voting list.
This time all the tricks of the ruling party failed.
The Communist Party “clones” striving to
confuse the voter and draw the votes
from CPRF are closer to the end of
the list.
______________________
Essay by Gennady Zyuganov
Chairman of the CPRF, Head of the CPRF at the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Dr. of Philosophy
The Country’s Russian Core
The systemic crisis, which has been aggravated by the pandemic of a previously unknown virus & the plummeting of the world prices of raw materials, has laid bare the catastrophic costs of the capitalist system.
These costs are manifesting themselves all over the planet. They clearly indicate that the “liberal
paradise” does not exist anywhere in the world.
Within the globalist world structure even the most developed
countries, faced with large-scale challenges, give in and slip
into the maelstrom of social evil. Planetary crisis processes
are doubly painful for Russia which, like in the beginning of
the last century, is a weak, peripheral link in the world
capitalist chain. They are particularly destructive of
Russian people, which forms the core of the state
and which is hardest hit by the costs and losses
caused by the inhumane social experiments of
the past decades.
World significance of the Russian question
In 1990 there were more than 120 million ethnic Russians in Russia, today there are 10 million fewer of them. A further 20 million Russians, then lived outside the Russian Federation. Over the past 30 years their number shrank by 10 million. The contraction by twenty-five million is comparable to
the losses we suffered during the Great Patriotic War!
At stake is the question of our survival. Of saving civil peace and safeguarding our statehood. These all- important tasks can only be solved through a fundamental change of the destructive
comprador policy and through the implementation of a patriotic
anti-crisis program based on the principles of rule by the
people, and social justice.
On restoring the country’s economic and financial sovereignty, without which, genuine political sovereignty, is impossible.
However, such a program cannot be implemented without
an honest and thoughtful look at the Russian question.
Without belittling the dignity and the interests of the other ethnic
entities that form the multinational Russian people, it has to be
recognized that the Russian question is today the most acute
and urgent one. It is key for the destiny of Russia and all the
other peoples living within its borders and on the territory
of the former Soviet Union.
We Communists are staunch supporters of internationalism. We
are very well aware that every people wants to see its language
preserved, its faith endure, its traditional way of life remaining
immutable and its well-being enhanced. However, Russians
form the spiritual, moral and state core of the country. This
was the way our common destiny was formed. This was
what History ordained. This is not something that can be
wished away. To deny this and to think and act in denial
of this is madness that spells disaster for all the peoples
of Russia. If the Russians become enfeebled... and leave
the historical forestage, which is inevitable if the course
pursued since the early 90s is preserved, a catastrophe
is inevitable. I stress: a catastrophe for all the citizens
inhabiting the vast Eurasian space. Russia will simply
be trampled underfoot and torn apart by its stronger
and luckier neighbours.
The best representatives of our Motherland have always been very
mindful of this. In the middle of the 18th century Mikhail Lomonosov,
an outstanding scientist, said: “The grandeur, the power and wealth
of the entire state consists in the preservation and propagation of
the Russian people.” This idea engaged the mind of the great
Mendeleyev in the early 20th century. Pushkin’s genius
expressed concern about Russia and Russianness.
And today... for the country, 80% of whose population are ethnic
Russians, the program of saving the original Russian civilization
and reviving Russians as the spinal cord of the Motherland...
must be the key element of the nationalities policy.
Indeed, the preservation and well-being of Russians, the largest
European nation, is an issue of worldwide relevance. If the
destructive processes of the last 30 years continue... if its
numbers continue to shrink at such a rapid pace, this will
have a fateful impact on the European space and on the
whole planet. This will finally break down geopolitical
and economic stability, in the world in which the
Russians have over many centuries been one
of the key nations determining its character,
history, moral and ethical ideals.
It is not by chance that even the analytical materials of the CIA...
which can hardly be suspected of sympathizing with our country,
speak of the problem of the dying out of Russians, as a key threat
to the world. And yet those who run the Russian economy and the
social sphere today still refuse to admit the scale of the danger
and to seriously discuss effective measures aimed at counter-
acting it. In spite of the serious external & internal challenges
facing Russia, challenges that are obvious to any person in
his right mind, they adhere to the absolutely destructive
liberal policy. A policy that exacerbates tensions within
the country, is openly hostile to the Russians and to
the other peoples, and to our thousand-year-
old statehood.
The CPRF is the only political force which has throughout the post-
Soviet period, consistently upheld the idea of restoring the rule by
the people & justice, strengthening a nationally –oriented system
of governing society and the country. It is only logical that we
persistently raise and thoroughly analyze the Russian
question which is inseparable from the key problems
of our state.
Back in 2004 I devoted my book Russians and Russia to a detailed
analysis of the issue. The book met with lively interest on the part
of the patriots of our country and provoked a hysterical reaction
from Russophobes and anti-Sovieteers. I regret to admit that
contrary to our hopes for a fundamental change that were
generated in the early 2000s, the position of the Russian
people has not changed for the better. It keeps getting
worse. Russia-haters continue with impunity to attack
and stage provocations against the people that has
erected the edifice of Russian statehood. Their
destructive activities continue with the
connivance of the high-ranking
principals ensconced in the
corridors of power and the
mass media.
The repossession of Crimea & Sebastopol prompted an in-depth
nationwide dialog. Support of the heroic struggle of the people’s
republics of Donbass has shown the potential of the patriotic
sentiments within Russian society. The march of the Immortal
Regiment on Victory Day was a convincing statement in favour
of genuine values. Yet, even after these events, the authorities
failed to cooperate with the political opponents who genuinely
care for the fate of their Motherland. The ruling circles have
failed to take the necessary steps to meet the people, their
problems and aspirations. Instead, they respond to the
growing discontent in society by policing and endless
torrents of anti-Soviet rhetoric, vicious attacks on
socialism and the great achievements of
Leninist-Stalinist modernization.
The “fifth column” and venal propagandists, have launched an
immoral, and indeed, illegal campaign to present as heroes the
White Guard butchers & their followers.. who made short shrift
of their compatriots: side-by-side with the foreign armies of the
Entente and Hitler invaders. Their victims were representatives
of all the peoples that fought courageously for the freedom and
independence of our Motherland during the Civil War and the
Great Patriotic War. Their officially inspired attempts to tear
up the most glorious pages of our history and to put bloody
traitors of our Motherland on the rotten anti-Soviet pedestal
constitute a challenge in the first place to the Russians and
an insult to the country’s largest people, a desecration of
its outstanding victories.
The liberal position deepens the rift between power and society.
People are fed up with endless attacks on our history. Torrents
of dirt have been poured on it since the time of Gorbachev’s
“perestroika.” It was then that the “blank spots” in our past
began to be smeared with black, the colour to which official
propaganda is still clinging. But this paint has not stuck to
the Soviet legacy. It has dried up and peeled off to reveal
- to the astonished gaze of the new generations - the
grandeur of the accomplishments of the Land of
the Soviets.
That is what makes Soviet symbols so popular today and that is why Lenin and Stalin are seen by the people as the most authoritative statesmen & political leaders, the towering figures not only of the Soviet epoch, but of Russian history as a whole. This is an
undeniable fact and if so, its main lessons have to be learned. Then we will get rid of the Russophobia and anti-Sovietism
which impede our progress.
Some of the outstanding historical lessons are worth remembering.
Above all, it is the lesson of the formation of Russian consciousness
and the building of our state which was crowned with the emergence
of the Land of the Soviets, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The power of peacemakers
In old Rus, the patriotic feeling pre-dates the political, economic
or cultural unity of the peoples that inhabited it. Therefore all
the enemies of Russia, then and now, have tried to destroy
this feeling and turn the Russians and kindred peoples of
Eurasia into second-rate simulacra Germans, the Horde
people, Byzantians, Varangians, Hazars and so on…
Yet each time the patriotic feeling proved to be
stronger than external pressure.
Rus never became a colony and was never dissolved in other ethnic
groups. That in itself was a historic feat. Especially considering the
adversities our country faced: the cold climate, shortage of arable
land, openly hostile environments all along the perimeters of the
country’s western and eastern borders.
The English explorer Richard Chancellor, who was the first to penetrate
into Russia and initiate trade relations between the two countries wrote
about the Russians in his 1553 diaries that no other people under the
Sun encountered such harsh conditions. And yet this people. against
all the odds that seemed insuperable, managed to create the largest
country on the planet. This, was because its will was cemented by
unbending patriotism based on the Russians’ battle & labour feats.
The unique geographic and geopolitical position of Russia, which
linked Europe and Asia, led to the synthesis of the Western and
Eastern elements that shaped the unique Russian civilization.
The East is more inclined toward introspection and contemplation,
adherence to tradition and archaics. The Western civilization has
very different aspirations. Its strengths lie in the drive toward
scientific knowledge and development, economic & domestic
improvements based on innovative thinking. However... these
features which underpinned the West’s successes, went hand
-in-hand with its negative features: extreme individualism, and
the cult of personal success, at all costs. The habit of looking
at human relations through the materialistic & financial prism.
The abiding penchant to achieve one’s goal through the
exploitation, enslavement and even extermination of
other peoples. This inevitably caused original
capitalism to morph into imperialism and
globalism, which today, are pushing the
world toward a catastrophe and are
destroying the capitalist system...
pushing it toward degradation
and collapse.
The uniqueness and strength of the Russian world lies in the fact that
it seeks to combine the best features of the East and the West and
springs from the combination of high spirituality, an adherence to
traditional values and collectivism and innovative thinking, a
striving toward scientific and cultural heights.
Like the West, it has striven toward progress, but it never reduced
progress to economic and financial matters. In Russian civilization
progress has always been linked with moral laws... with principles
of sobornost’ (“togetherness”) & justice which rejects selfishness
and individualism. Supreme power and the privileged class some-
times departed from these principles. This led to the revolutionary
uprising in the early 20th century, and a systemic crisis, in whose
vice the country has been struggling over the past three decades.
But the people itself has always adhered to these principles. Only
a state based on them ,can meet its aspirations and ensure its
viability and well-being.
Collectivism, statism, the self-sufficiency of the Russian state,
a commitment to promoting the supreme ideals of justice and
brotherhood – these are bedrock principles of Russian
civilization. They predetermined the historical result
referred to by the philosopher Nikolay Beryayev:
“The Russian people has created the most powerful state
in the world, the greatest empire. From Ivan Kalita Russia was consistently and steadfastly, pulling itself together to achieve a size that defies the imagination of all the peoples of the Earth.”
The Russian state as a unique civilization and the largest power
is the main historical result of the Russian people’s endeavour.
And this is the constant target of our external and internal
enemies, past and present. Not only a geopolitical and
economic but also a spiritual target that is hostile to
them in the cultural and moral sense.
Those who target it target the Russian people. Hence the
whole world civilization, since life itself proves that world
History would have been fundamentally different without
the Russian contribution.
The Empire created by the Russians is the only one in world history
that was not built by conquest, plunder and the extermination of
other peoples, but by allying with them, usually on a voluntary
basis. Whenever the Russians resorted to arms it was to
protect the allied peoples against invaders who
threatened to destroy them.
Russia has a brilliant military history. A history, not of conquest,
but of peace-making. A history of national liberation wars
against aggressors who encroached upon our country,
of saving other peoples from external intervention,
genocide and annihilation.
This was the case in the 17th century when Ukraine rebelled
against Polish oppressors and reunited with Russia. And
again in the 19th century... during Russia’s wars against
Persia and the Ottoman Empire when Armenia found
refuge from ruthless neighbours under the Russian
wing. And again in the 20th century when the USSR
determined the outcome of the most terrible war in
History by defeating Hitler’s Nazism and saving the
world from the “brown plague.”
The role of Russia and the Russian people in world history is above
all, the great role of peace-maker. Without it the world would have
been totally different and many of the peoples inhabiting it today
would not exist. This is something that cannot be said about any
other power. It can only be said about Russia and the Russians.
“We shall be the first to herald to the world that we want prosperity
for ourselves not through suppression of the individual and other
nationalities, that we seek it through the freest and most brotherly
universal unity.” This is what the outstanding Russian writer of
prose & essays, Fyodor Dostoyevsky. wrote in his Diary Notes
in 1877. These words were fully vindicated by the military
exploits of our people and the Russian Empire and the
Soviet Union, created in line with these principles.
Russia’s interests from ancient times have been not to conquer, invade
and subjugate someone but to unite on its land, under its wing, under
the protection of a single powerful state, all the Russian people and all
those who consider Russia to be their motherland. All the peoples that
agree to cast in their historical lot with Russia.
We seek to ensure unconditional and lasting peace in our own home
secured against any encroachments from without and from within,
creating favorable external conditions for this. To defend our
historical uniqueness and original spirituality against the
aggression of alien and perverted stereotypes of mass
consciousness. Against the pernicious influence of
immorality elevated to the level of the norm. Against
egoism praised as a virtue. To create for our fellow
citizens, all the necessary conditions for education
and healthcare, work and leisure, the development
of science and culture, a happy childhood, and a
secure old age.
However, Russia has had at all times, to uphold its right to all this
in fierce struggle against foreign enemies and their high-ranking
accomplices inside the country. Against the “fifth column” which
today continues brazenly to corrupt and strangle our country.
From the geopolitical point of view Russia is a key element in
preserving the global balance of forces. A kind of safety fuse
that deters the world powers from violating strategic inter-
national equilibrium. From attempts to use force to create
a unipolar world... which transnational capital seeks to
create, and which brought forth Hitler’s Fascism in
the last century & today is concentrated in Anglo
-Saxon political and financial centres. From the
disastrous mixing of political systems, cultures, and religious teachings advocated by the globalists, who try to reduce humankind to a uniform, anonymous and totally docile mass.
From one century to the next, our country turned out to be the main obstacle in the way of all those who sought to dominate the world.
All those who ever laid claim to global power & sought to enslave mankind – from Batu Khan to Tamerlane to Napoleon and Hitler stumbled upon Russia. After the Great Patriotic War our country stood in the way of the Americans.... who held out to the world the
prospect of electronic slavery, essentially an “updated” version of Fascism, laced with neoliberal socio-economic and geo- political theories.
The Soviet Union provided an antidote to this deadly
triumph, until the USSR and the world socialist system collapsed, as a result of betrayal.
Victorious warriors.
As we mark the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory we should
remind the young generation of our country’s heroic history.
Beginning from the 9th century when the Russian state was born it had
to fight at least 70 major wars to defend its freedom, honour and dignity.
And our country has been involved in countless military conflicts. In
the period between 1240 & 1462, according to historical chronicles,
Russia survived nearly 200 wars and invasions. Of the 500 years
between the 14th and 20th centuries the country was fighting for
almost 330 years. In 1900 the well-known Russian general
Kuropatkin in his memorandum to the Czar wrote that in
the previous 200 years Russia had been in a state of war
for 128 years and enjoyed only 72 years of peace.
Throughout its history our power was constantly the target of external enemies. The arduous and heroic fate of our country was summed up in the words of Alexander III: “Russia has no friends, our vastness is feared. Russia has only two reliable allies – its army and navy.”
A country which has such a destiny must have a strong army. Russia’s
history has always been and will be inseparable from its armed forces.
Therefore its greatest leaders – from Peter I to Lenin and Stalin – were
the creators of a powerful state and builders of an invincible Army.
Alexander Nevksy, then barely 20 years old, defeated the Swedish
invaders on Lake Ladoga. Two years later he scored a brilliant
victory on Lake Chudskoye over the Livonian Order forcing it
to give up all the previously conquered Russian lands.
Thanks to the valour of our warriors, Ivan the Terrible, who was
enthroned when he was just 16... opened up Russia’s road to
Siberia along the Volga and the Caspian, when he was 25.
Peter I created the armed forces of the Russian Empire which replaced
the Streltsy regiments and manorial troops. He laid the foundations not
only of recruitment of the regular Russian army, but the principles of
unconditional respect for the defenders of the Motherland, which
penetrated deep into the thick of the people.
Having spent so many years fighting, Russia did not become cruel. Its
army, unlike the armies of Western countries, had never been an army
of hangmen. Its soldiers did not fight, in order to turn other peoples
into slaves, rob foreign lands and grow rich at the expense of their
resources. Our soldiers never perpetrated the kind of plunder and
treachery that spawned the world capitalist system.
This calls to mind the words of the brilliant Russia poet & diplomat
Fyodor Tyutchev, in the mid-19th century, when he served at the
Russian Embassy to Germany, & was engaged in polemics with
the Russophobes who even then tried to accuse our country of
being “an Evil Empire.” “Walk through the French departments
and ask people which enemy soldiers constantly displayed the
greatest humanity, strictest discipline and the least hostility
toward civilians. One hundred to one, they would name
the Russian soldier.”
The combination of great courage and unquestionable humanism has always guaranteed the victorious feats of the Soviet soldier. Its most salient manifestation, was the Soviet country and the Red Army
which took on Fascism.
When it entered the Great Patriotic War our people was truly united. Its cohesion was the main foundation of the May 1945 Victory. The cohesion manifested itself in everything. The Soviet leadership & Communist Party fully shared the fate of the fighting people.
All the grown-up sons of the members of the
Politbureau of the CC AUCP (B), went to the front, & many of them died a hero’s death. The unity of power and society cemented the unexampled national solidarity and
assured victory over the enemy.
The Soviet State did everything.. to remind people of the heroic pages of Russia’s thousand-year history. In 1941 the artists, Kykryniksy, and the poet Samuil Marshak, made a poster which showed Red Army soldiers and tanks standing like an iron wall to block Fascists. Above them, also facing the enemy, were figures ofthe great military commanders of the past: Alexander Nevsky, Alexander Suvorov and Vasily Chapayev.
It was as if they were in a single file with the Red Army men defending their Motherland. Beneath the picture were the verses:
We are fighting hard,
Wielding bayonets,
Grandchildren of Suvorov,
Children of Chapayev.
Stalin said on November 7th, 1941: “May you be inspired by the courageous images of our great ancestors – Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Kuzma Minin, Dmitry Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov and Mikhail Kutuzov.” He was saying these words from the stand of the Lenin Mausoleum... during a military parade to mark the 24th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. The words of a great statesman who managed to bring together the great ideas coming from the depth of time and embodied in Soviet society: the great state and socialism.
The marriage of these ideas opened a new and the most glorious
page in Russian history. It marked the birth of a new state of which
its founder, Lenin, had every reason to say in his 1919 article
“The Great Beginning”: “The world has never seen a more
democratic state in the true meaning, a state more closely
linked with the working and exploited mases.”
It was the fullest and most successful embodiment of the unique synthesis of the best features of the West & East which brought forth the Russian civilization. A synthesis of forward-looking energy of great transformations and spirituality rooted in the innermost eternal values of equality, justice and selfless love
of the Motherland.
The Russian Roots of Socialism
It is impossible to understand Russian history as a whole and its
outstanding Soviet period without being conscious of the fact
that the socialist idea has its roots in Christianity. The Gospel
of charity, equality, justice, of rejecting “filthy lucre,” lies and
exploitation. The underlying basis of the socialist world view
is the faith whose adoption finally made Russia a single
nation that embarked on the path of constant spiritual,
cultural, state, and political, creative endeavour.
The tail end of the 10th century, on the eve of Russia’s adoption of
Christianity, saw the schism between the Western Roman Catholic
Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The confessional
division was not over differences of ritual, as some historians
and propagandists would have us believe. It had to do with
the underlying world view and values.
Western Christianity, which concentrated on the glitter of rituals and
the bureaucratic structure of the papal hierarchy, virtually cast
aside the basic ideas of the Gospel: Sobornist’, inconspicuous
charity, care about the poor and the disadvantaged, rejection
of the ideology of usury branded by Christ. Protestantism,
which branched off from the Roman Church in the middle
of the previous millennium, spreading to the Anglo-Saxon
world and the north of the European continent, was
reduced to the preaching of extreme individualism,
and the superiority of “the select.” It severed all
links with the foundations of the Christian faith
& laid the foundations of the capitalist ideology
declaring glaring social inequality to be “God’s
providence” and the amassing of material
wealth, to be the highest virtue.
The Russian people from the start chose Orthodoxy which managed to
preserve the genuine spirit of Christianity and maintain the moral high
ground. To preserve over the centuries adherence to sobornost’
which was uniquely embodied centuries later in the
collectivism and solidarity of Soviet society.
The enemies of Communism in their spurious propaganda make wide
use of 2“unmasking” theses. The first one is that the Bolshevik Party,
upon coming to power, supplanted the Christian idea and symbols
with its own forcing out of society’s consciousness the spiritual
assumptions and meanings and replacing them with political
and social ones. The second charge our enemies level at us
is that the communist ideology allegedly, has the character
of worship, of symbols and major political figures.
The truth is that the idea implemented in Soviet society combines
the basic Christian values which echo humanity’s age-old dream
of justice and political practice aimed at embodying this dream in
reality. We are looking... not at a contradiction between socialism
& Christianity, but at the historically logical evolution of popular
consciousness, worldview and morality rooted in Orthodoxy
toward their political and social implementation. That is only
possible in a society of social justice and in a socialist state.
That is why the presence of Stalin’s image in the main church of
the Armed Forces built in Kubinka near Moscow to mark the 75th
Victory Anniversary is deeply symbolic. It infuriated many
prominent functionaries who have effectively made anti-
Communism their profession. However honest and
principled church representatives gave a fitting
rebuff to these attempts to whip up hysteria.
Thus, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church's expert council on
church art, architecture and restoration, Reverend Leonid Kalinin,
explaining why he would never order the image of the leader of
thevictorious Soviet country, to be removed from the church,
said quite rightly: “I have no rights or authority to tear out
pages from the Book of History.”
It was not in Russia that the basic principles of the Communist political
philosophy were formulated. They were proclaimed by Marx & Engels
in the Communist Manifesto. But it was our country and the Russian
people that adopted them not just as an ideology, but as a national
idea. They had been prepared for doing so by centuries of their
development. Herein lies one of the main reasons why
socialism first triumphed on Russian soil.
Such a triumph could only occur on a social and philosophical soil
of which Dostoyevsky said the following in A Writer’s Diary more
than forty years before the October Revolution: “The supreme
and most characteristic feature of our people, is a sense of
justice and a hankering for it.”
This is why the socialist idea is so close to the Russian world. This
predetermines the sincere adherence of the followers of socialism
to the key values: equality, rejection of greed, collectivism,
compassion, responsibility for the country & the society
understood as personal responsibility.
With true communists, staunch champions of socialism this
adherence is indeed akin to religious faith. Which ensured
the great Soviet achievements. The Great Victory in 1945
and the outstanding social and economic achievements
of the Soviet Land, or our conquest of outer space,
could not have happened without it.
Like the present authorities, those who ruled Russia before the Revolution, proved to be unable to understand the irrepressible yearning of the Russian soul for justice & its stubborn resistance to capitalism. They paid dearly for their deafness. This is a lesson today’s rulers should learn. But they stubbornly refuse to do so. They do not want to understand the destiny of their own country, the character and mentality of the Russian man.
Throughout the 19th century social and class contradictions in
Russia were growing in spite of the desperate attempts of the
state to take the situation under control. Neither the “great
reforms” of Alexander II, nor the “counter-reforms” of
Alexander III... nor the establishment of the State Duma
by Nicholas II saved the country from social upheavals.
The Romanov dynasty had led the country into an impasse. The bourgeois Provisional Government that replaced it failed to take Russia out of its crisis. It helplessly watched the country falling to pieces. Only the Bolshevik Party managed to prevent the
country from being buried under the ruins of the monarchy.
The national elite of Russia's Empire failed to fulfil its main function:
to ensure an acceptable level of well-being and social justice for its
people. No wonder it was swept away by the revolutionary wave in
1917, the wave of the Great October. That wave had been prepared
by the revolutionary movement of the 19th century which was
Russian society’s response to the progressive degeneration
of its ruling class. To the inability of power to keep the
country within the framework of its indigenous
non-capitalist path.
Socialism and Soviet power provided Russia with a new historical
form of the centuries-old Russian idea by not only preserving but
putting into practice what is its core: altruism, collectivism, the
yearning for justice, readiness to make sacrifices in the name
of lofty ideals. In short, everything that negates capitalism
and cannot coexist with it, as it is incompatible with the
Russian civilization.
Contrary to the wish of the ruling class, which challenged the
fundamental laws of civilization, it blazed the trail toward a
new, socialist world reuniting the Russian Power under the
banner of the Soviet Union. It radically changed the history
of the whole of mankind. This was the second great gain
of the Russian world after the creation of the Russian
Empire and the foremost result of its thousand-year
development.
Soviet power and national pride
Another thesis popular among the anti-Sovieteers who try put on the
patriotic garb is that socialism and Soviet power with their adherence
to internationalism, are allegedly hostile to patriotism. Including
Russian patriotism, whereas the capitalist system does not in
any way impinge upon patriotic feelings and even
encourages them. This is a patent lie.
Capitalism identifies national interests exclusively with the interests
of the ruling class, the exploiting minority of the nation. This is
manifest in the version of patriotism offered to society by the
official Russian propaganda which equates patriotism with
worship of the rulers. Seeking to perpetuate class divisions
within society capitalism thereby tries to perpetuate a
cleavage within the nation. In dividing the world into
exploiter and proletarian nations and dividing
classes within individual countries... the
capitalist system foments international
contradictions and tensions
within states.
In the 21st century capitalism acquired its final anti-national form in
the shape of globalism which has a stake in intellectual, cultural
and linguistic uniformity. It sees people’s consciousness, their
culture and individuality as no more than a function of capital.
As indeed the human personality. Everything that does not
correspond to this function should be rooted out,
according to the globalist ideology. Therefore
the aim is to subjugate all national cultures
to a single cosmopolitan and essentially
anti-cultural standard.
To this end the globalists are prepared to use the most sophisticated
technologies of digital enslavement. These include tacit mass chipization they may eventually resort to under the pretext of a mandatory vaccination against the coronavirus. The ideologists of digital fascism have allies among the owners of major corporations, bank presidents and high-ranking officials, including in our country.
Unlike capitalism, socialism is inherently aimed at eliminating the
soil on which inter-ethnic contradictions and conflicts arise. It
creates prerequisites for the nations which have put an end to
class divisions of nations to draw closer together on the basis
of cooperation and mutual enrichment. This is in striking
contrast with the national and cultural uniformity which
capitalism has long been trying to impose on the world.
That is why there are absolutely no grounds for
opposing patriotism to internationalism which
is essentially the opposite of anti-national
capitalist cosmopolitanism.
Even before they came to power, the Bolsheviks saw the future
Soviet State as a combination of socialist and patriotic ideals.
The key ideals which are equally dear to the Russian people
and which are an indispensable condition of its well-being.
Yes, it is a historical fact that in the early post-Revolutionary years
Trotskyites who were in thrall to anti-Russian sentiments and a
nihilistic attitude to the history and spiritual heritage of our
country sought to play an active role in Soviet politics
and social life. However, these attempts were
resolutely brushed aside by the Soviet State
and suffered a debacle.
Exposing the anti-Russian ideas of the Trotskyites, Stalin said:
“We are told that nationals... should not be mistreated. This is
very true and I agree with this: they should not be mistreated.
But to promote a new theory, to the effect that the Great
Russian proletariat should be put in an unequal
position to the former oppressed nations,
means to talk nonsense.”
Today there is a lot of such nonsense about. It is actively used
by the Russophobes who oppose the unity of peoples. They
continue to whip up anti-Russian hysteria in Ukraine. They
are trying to spread its bacilli to fraternal Byelorussia.
They rail against the historical choice of the people
of Crimea and Donbass. But their wicked activities
are doomed to failure, as witnessed by the
Bolshevik experience.
Beginning from the early 1930s the USSR categorically rejected
attempts to portray Russia’s pre-Soviet history as nothing but a
combination of backwardness, oppression and aggressive
feudal wars. School textbooks and literary works pictured
the country’s rulers, military commanders and diplomats
as colourful, flesh-and-blood, and many-dimensional
individuals. They stressed the continuity of historical
development of Kieavan and Muscovite Rus, Peter’s
Russia and the Soviet land.
After the Victory Stalin openly admitted that the Russians take the
decisive credit for this Victory. He never tired of reminding people
of what the CPRF staunchly adheres to and what is written down
in our program and what we insist should be reflected in the
Constitution: the Russian people forms the core of the state
because it is ordained by history to play the central and
unifying role in our Motherland.
The architects of the Soviet State were very conscious of the idea
which is pivotal for our party’s ideology and policy: the distinctive
feature of Russia patriotism that stems from the unique Russian
history and from Russian consciousness is its anti-capitalist
and anti-bourgeois thrust.
The far-reaching consequences of this truth for the practices of the
Soviet State have been acknowledged even by those who, after the
October Revolution, disagreed with Soviet power & left the country.
This is what the philosopher Nikolay Berdyayev said in his book
The Sources and Meaning of Russian Communism, published in
1938 in France where he lived after emigrating “A new generation
of youth has appeared which has been able to commit itself with
enthusiasm to implementing the Five-Year Plan, which perceives
the task of economic development not as its personal interest
but as social service. The Russian Revolution has awakened
and released the great strength of the Russian people.
Herein lies its main meaning.”
Today one can elaborate on the philosopher’s idea: herein lies the
main reason why, in the minds of those who hate the Russian
people, hostility toward it is intertwined with anti-Sovietism
and a visceral rejection of socialism.
The ideology of sovereignty
The Great Patriotic War which the Soviet Power won, thus saving
the world from destruction, has fully vindicated the path chosen
by the Communists, the Soviet leadership and the people who
came to believe it. Stalin put it very emotionally when he
famously toasted the Russian people in 1945.
In the wake of Victory our country created a new geopolitical space,
the socialist community led by the Soviet Union. The resulting
geopolitical and economic model was an outstanding
combination of traditional Russian concepts: the
imperial one with its idea of self-sufficient
statehood and the Pan-Slavic one,
based on the idea of the Great
Slavic Space.
Stalin’s policy of rapid industrialization was designed not simply
to boost the economy, but also to create a self-reliant economic
system independent from external conditions. Thus,
industrialization also solved the main political task
of ensuring unconditional sovereignty and its
protection against any adversary.
The task that was key for the Russians and that was only
completely solved during the Soviet era... when Russia
got rid of the enslaving influence of capitalism, which
basically colonizes peoples, by making them live
according to its laws.
At this point recalling the lessons of history – this time
socio-economic history – would not come amiss.
In the period between 1885 and 1913, Russia’s national revenue was growing at an average annual rate of 3.4%. The period between 1914 and 1920, when the country lived through two terrible wars - the First World War and the Civil War - predictably saw a decline of the national revenue by an average 11.7% a year.
However, already in the following 8 years, during Lenin’s NEP... these lamentable results gave way to growth unheard of, not only in this country, but in the world
economy: 12.7% a year. In 1929 - 1940, when Stalin’s
industrialization was launched, our annual national
revenue was growing at a still more astonishing rate of 14.5%. That was more than four times the rate of the most favorable pre-revolutionary years.
The New Economic Policy of the 1920s introduced by the Bolsheviks
was based on the model aimed at recovery of a devastated country
which had sustained huge human and economic losses. That model
proved the Communists’ ability to withstand any crisis and to keep
their word. Lenin’s party delivered on a promise it gave its people:
under its leadership the country attained a fundamentally higher
level of development than pre-revolutionary Russia.
Stalin’s industrialization, building on the foundation of the economic
and social achievements of the early Soviet years, represented a
model of forward-looking development. The model aimed at
making the country in which only 15 years earlier half of the
population were illiterate, one of the world leaders in key
areas. By the early 1940s this target was achieved in
spite of the colossal external pressure from the
enemies of the Soviet Union. In spite of the
international sanctions, which were even
more severe than the present ones.
Stalin left behind him a country which, by the mid-1950s, had a national
revenue 14 times that of the late 1920s with an industry growing at an
annual 12.3% and, not counting the war years, at 19%. The country
had paid off all its foreign debts. Its gold and currency reserves
were the second largest in the world. We were first in Europe in
terms of absolute industrial output volume, and first in the world
in terms of the proportion of machine building in industry and
mechanization of agriculture. The Soviet power had assured
its total technical and economic independence. The most
instrument-building, radio electronics — were powering
ahead. This was ensured by a spectacular development
of world-level engineering and science schools, top-
class and free education and healthcare systems.
Average life expectancy had increased by 23 years between 1929
and 1955. Russia’s population had increased by 40 million. Above
all due to the rapid growth of the number of Russians. And this in
spite of the colossal losses sustained during the Great Patriotic
War which carried away 27 million Soviet lives... of which,
20 million were Russian lives.
The welfare of the people was growing steadily. Real wages during
this period had increased more than fourfold and total bank
savings fivefold. Meanwhile prices in the USSR were
constantly going down, unlike in the capitalist
economy whose law says that as incomes
grow so do prices, which basically brings
to naught the formal rise of wages.
Here is but one example from Soviet history which contrasts sharply
with the current socio-economic policy, which spells a constant impoverishment of the people: in the period between 1947 and1954, consumer goods and food prices in the USSR, went down by 2.3 times.
The giant economic and social leap forward the Soviet Union made in
less than three decades is unmatched by any state in human history
except socialism. This spectacular achievement is underpinned by
three factors: wise strategic planning, massive government
investments in development and fair distribution of the
national income in the interests of the state and its
citizens, and hence in the interests of the Russian
people who account for the absolute majority of
the population.
These factors are totally absent in the policy of the present authorities.
As a result, the country is unable to adopt the proactive development
model and indeed to implement the model of recovery development
and overcome the consequences of the decimation of a powerful
and self-sufficient Soviet economy.
Today economic recovery should take the shape of return of the
financial and production base to the state and the people. It is
only by wresting the financial system and strategically
important sectors from the fabulously rich oligarchy
that these sectors can be harnessed to proactive
development, to ensuring a technological break-
through and economic independence of the
country. This is the essence of the CPRF
program... to which there can be no
alternative.. if we want to really lift
Russia from its knees and ensure
a decent life for all its citizens.
However, those who run our economy think otherwise.
They continue to feed society with tales that claim that
the socialist model has failed. That “perestroika” in
the second half of the 1980s, which developed into
a geopolitical & social catastrophe, was allegedly
brought about by a crisis of the Soviet economy
& by the need to revert to capitalist principles.
But that is a malicious lie.
The USSR had built entire sectors of the national economy,
major enterprises many of which are still in operation. The
well-being and social security of citizens was growing, the
USSR had become a great space, science and industrial
power. It remained such a power until a handful of out-
and-out traitors and rent-seekers pushed the country
toward self-destruction... under the pretext of
“perestroika.”
In 1987 the USSR accounted for one-fifth of the world industrial
output whereas today that share is almost 10 times less. Per
capita industrial output in our country was 4.5 times the
world average. While in the USA national revenue was
growing at the rate of 3% a year in the Soviet Union it
was more than 4%. In the mid-1980s our industrial
output growth was double that of America: 5.3%
versus 2.6%. We were also ahead of the USA in
terms of average life expectancy.
Was that a system that had to be dismantled instead of modernizing
and strengthening it? Only avowed enemies of our country, of the
Russians and all the other peoples inhabiting it can make such a
claim. But they continue unabashedly to lie and pour dirt on our
history. The reasons for this are obvious.
Anti-Soviet alliance of Russophobes.
Russophobia nearly always lurks behind anti-Soviet statements. It is
a feature of practically all those who are hostile toward our past and
the ideology of socialism. If you scratch them hard enough even
those who try to project an image of patriots who care about the
interests of the Russian people, those who claim to have been
ill-done-by under Soviet rule turn out to be Russophobes, who
have profound disdain for the people, its history
and achievements.
Soviet history is about the establishment of the first state in the
world, based on the principles of social justice. The victory of
our country in the most terrible of wars. The great unmatched
feat of industrialization, colossal economic, scientific, cultural
& social achievements. It is a history of the great uplift of the
Russian people. An uplift which manifested its will, & infinite
creative potential.
This is one of the main reasons why the Soviet idea and Soviet
history so enrage professional anti-Communists the absolute
majority of whom hate and detest the Russian people. Suffice
it to look at the propaganda talk of anti-Sovieteers and the
deeds of those who persistently attack our past, to see
that they are also, all of them, Russophobes.
The activities of propagandists who foment anti-Sovietism and
Russophobia have the support of high-ranking officials who
prefer not to display such sentiments publicly, but who
share them deep down.
Today the systemic crisis is putting the increasingly unstable
peace to a test. The two previous crises ended in world wars.
Today, too, the enemy does not want to confine itself to the
economic and information wars it has long been waging
against Russia.
NATO is again sabre-rattling close to our border. The prospects
of a new Drung nach Osten are again publicly discussed. We
are surrounded by a contracting ring of fronts. Transatlantic
provocateurs continue to run the show... in Ukraine. Their
Bandera underlings make constant attempts to aggravate
the situation on the border with Crimea and Donbass. The
Russophobic regimes in the Baltic states and in Eastern
Europe, are desecrating the graves of Soviet soldiers.
This is all part of the global strategy of the US and
its accomplices, who see a new big war as the
last remaining trump card, in their struggle
topreserve the power of transnational
capital. The power, which meets with
a growing protest on all continents.
To repel the growing external and internal threats Russia needs
social consolidation. But the current policy, which has a strong
element of Russophobia and anti-Sovietism, precludes unity.
It destroys any prospects of national cohesion.
To revive Russia is our mission. Each of us must realize this.
In order to move forward, one needs solid ground under
one’s feet. This is only possible if a country cares for
its history and the people which forms the spiritual,
social and demographic core of the state.
And yet our policy-makers consistently seek to deprive Russians
of their national identity. To dissolve them in the anonymous
mythical notion of Rossiyane (“citizens of Russia”), the idea
which was taken on board during the Yeltsin pogrom of the
country & is actively being used by the current authorities.
Reliance on native history is exceedingly important at critical junctures.
This principle was trampled upon at the tail end of Soviet history. The
enemies managed to blow up our Motherland. The same weapons of
Russophobia and anti-Sovietism were actively used to undermine its
foundation. In our time it may lead to no less gruesome results, sow
chaos as destructive as that at the end of the last century.
The call for cleansing the information domain from hideous lies that
distort our history is a very special part of the demands of the CPRF
set forth in our programmatic theses. Cleansing information of the
hysteria which insults the dignity of the Victorious People whom
the present system treacherously “rewarded” for its sacrifice...
with poverty, plunder & extinction provoked by the pro-US
course. Society needs to understand that if the country
is to get rid of officials and propagandists who sneer
at our country and the Russian people... it needs to
be guided by Communists to implement a patriotic
program of revival.
The colonial seamy side of “independence”
In 1812 the Prussian military commander & theorist Karl Klauzewitz
spent some time with the Russian army. He hated Napoleon and
wanted to help Russia personally, when Napoleon’s army
attacked it. After getting to know our country, Russian
soldiers, generals & government representatives,
Klauzewitz came to the following conclusion:
“Russia is not a country that can really be
conquered, that is, occupied, at least not
by the present European states. Such
a country can only be defeated by its
internal weakness or the effect of
internal discord.”
History has fully vindicated that conclusion.
The Russian state continued to grow from strength to strength
as long as it was able to follow its own path of development,
preserve its unique civilization & pursue its own historical
course. Borrowing, if necessary, the achievements of
neighbours, but not losing its identity in the process.
Not allowing alien ideas and values to become
prevalent in the hearts and minds of
its citizens.
Any departure from this golden rule inevitably led to troubles. The
state lost its effectiveness & strength. Society, riven by internal
contradictions, became an arena of interminable political and
ideological conflicts. This happened at the end of the 20th
century when turncoats in the nomenklatura (the party &
government elite) began to sing from the same hymn
book as the foreign enemies of our country and
socialism. They ruined the USSR , seduced by
the liberal attractions of the West which
brought nothing but countless woes &
privations for the absolute majority of
citizens. For the Russian people it
was the biggest geopolitical,
social, demographic and
moral catastrophe in
its history.
Against the background of this catastrophe, only cynical liars
& imbeciles can claim that the liquidation of the Soviet Union
brought independence and national liberation to Russia
and the Russians. The truth is, that the destruction of
the USSR paved the way for its de facto colonization.
The declaration on state sovereignty adopted in June 1990 by the
RSFSR Congress of People’s Deputies, was a key step toward
the disintegration of the Soviet State. Russia’s declaration of
“sovereignty” in the early 1990s, was a harbinger of the
processes which led precisely to our country losing its
sovereignty de facto. It included our country in the
neocolonial system of global capitalism. And not
as a strong independent power, but as a raw
materials appendage and a cheated “partner.”
Let us face it, it is the Russians who are paying the highest price
for the adventurous and essentially criminal policy imposed on
the country, by the “victorious democrats.”
In March 1991 the absolute majority of Soviet citizens voted for the
preservation of the USSR. But in December of that same year their
will was unlawfully ignored by Belovezhskaya Pushcha plotters
led by Yeltsin, befuddled with alcohol, power and the praise of
Transatlantic principals. By proclaiming the end of the Soviet
Union they perpetrated one of the most heinous political
crimes in human history. This was, above all, a crime
against the Russians comparable only to the crimes
committed against them by the most wicked of
foreign invaders.
As a result of the treacherous destruction of the USSR the Russians
became one of the largest divided peoples in the world. Twenty-five
million Russians who lived in the other union republics, found
themselves outside the Russian border. They became
foreigners against their will.
Overnight, the plotters turned Russia, Ukraine and Byelorussia into
separate states. As a result, the single Russian civilization was torn
into three parts. For each of them, the consequences were dire in
economic, demographic and cultural terms. The question of the
reunification of the Slavic republics has to do, not only with the
restoration of Russia’s lost geopolitical status. Contrary to
what our foes would have us believe, it is not just about
Russian interests. It has to do with the viability of all the
three republics and their peoples, which are bound by
common roots, that cannot be torn by any enemies
and any temporary disagreements.
Restoration of a full-fledged union between Russia, Ukraine and
Byelorussia was hindered above all by a lack of the necessary
political will on the part of the Russian leadership. This, in the
final analysis, gave a free hand to the pro-American clique of
Banderovites that seized power in Kiev in 2014. It is this that
is provoking processes that threaten a cooling of relations
between Russia and Byelorussia. This policy has to be
stopped immediately.
Russia meets one third of Europe’s demand for gas. It is capable of
providing 500 million cubic metres of renewable forest resources.
It supports a quarter of the world’s diamond market. Our country’s
wealth and revenue is based on assets created above all, through
the efforts of the Russian people. On labour resources, a majority
of which are formed by the Russians. On natural resources of the
land where the bulk of the population is Russian. From the point
of view of justice and from the legal point of view the Russian
people is entitled to a proportionate corresponding share of
the national revenue. This was the case, during the Soviet
years. But this principle has been criminally erased under
capitalism. The people that created the Russian State and
provided the major part of its national wealth has through
the efforts of the new “masters”, been reduced to an
impoverished, disadvantaged and miserable lot.
Those who got hold of the property of the people and state created
during the Soviet years, have either destroyed it, or turned it into a
source of unbridled personal enrichment. The Russian tightwads,
who enjoy the protection of the authorities, have, in the last 25
years spirited away at least a trillion dollars to foreign banks
& offshores. And yet this money could have doubled
government spending on education, science,
healthcare, trebled pensions, stipends and
wages. But the authorities keep mum
about it and continue conniving at
the plunder of the country.
Russia & the Russian people have paid for this with the destruction
of countless industries, thousands of factories, & millions of lost
jobs. With veritable colonization of the financial sphere and the
economy, which has become addicted to the sale of natural
resources and depends entirely on imports. This poses a
colossal threat to national security in the face of growing
hostility on the part of our “partners.”
But those who rule us today and engage the West in fierce polemic
in the world arena, do nothing to liberate Russia from what is,
obviously, financial and economic occupation.
This situation which spells disaster for the country and society can
only be changed through implementation of the CPRF program. A
program that envisages wresting control of the strategically
important sectors from the hands of the oligarchy. Revision
of the criminal results of privatization and bringing its
organizers to account. The use of federal and
regional budgets, that would be substantially
replenished, due to these measures, to
massively increase investments in
industry, agriculture and the
social sphere.
A ban on the export of capital from Russia. Easy-term crediting of
national producers at an interest rate below the level of inflation.
Raising the minimal wage, pensions & social benefits by at least
2 times. All-round support and constant growth of the number
of people’s and collective enterprises whose effectiveness is
convincingly being proved by our fellow party members and
This is the only program that today meets the national interests of
all the peoples of our country. Only the enemies of these interests
can reject it.
The epidemic of capitalism
The collapse of the socialist system caused colossal damage to the
country’s economy and the social sphere. As a result, in the 1990s
the national revenue was shrinking by an average annual 5.7%, i.e.
more than at the start of the Great Patriotic War. In the first two
decades of the 21st century our economy either declined or
reported a “growth” within a range of statistical error. In
other words, it hovered around zero, stagnated.
After the liquidation of the USSR the state cast aside all its social
obligations to its citizens. Millions of people are growing poorer
and falling into a debt pit. Meanwhile a score of the top Russian
billionaires increase their total wealth... by 1.5 trillion roubles
every six months, i.e., almost 300 billion a month, 9.5 billion a
day and 400 million an hour, according to Bloomberg agency.
Only the oligarchy which has seized our national wealth and the
bureaucrats in its service, are interested in the preservation of
this destructive system that emerged on the ruins of the great
Soviet power. But the people want to see a great, truly
independent country emerge from the ruins. Our
history confirms that this is only possible, if
Russia, in its struggle to recover, relies on
socialist principles.
The development of the situation in the world and inside our country
proves that the current neoliberal policy initially conceived by the
West and its appointees as anti-Russian and Rossophobic, has
spent itself and is on the brink of collapse.
Against the background of a growing crisis the socio-economic course
pursued in Russia, meets with ever sharper criticism from all sides.
More and more people realize that by embarking on the neoliberal
path and taking dictation from the IMF and transnational capital,
the authorities made a choice that spells disaster for the
country and society.
However, only a few people dare to tell the full truth: we are looking
not only at a dead-end socio-economic model. The ultimate goal
for the sake of which this model has been foisted on Russia is
to enfeeble its people & effectively to destroy it. To “clean up”
the fabulously rich country, in order to seize its resources.
The main target here is the biggest state-forming Russian
people, without which the country will collapse & become
easy prey for conquerors. The neoliberal socio-economic
model is a deadly weapon directed against it. Effectively a
neutron bomb in the hands of our external enemies and
their underlings inside Russia.
The current socio-economic course serves their interests. The
authorities today have a twin task: to minimize their obligations
to the citizens, and to absolve themselves from any legal
responsibility for this. This principle informs the entire
socio-economic policy.
The anti-people pension “reform” launched in the country is a direct
reflection of this principle. It is nothing but undisguised robbery of
those who have, for many years, worked honestly for the country
and society, and have now been deprived of their right to enjoy
a well-deserved rest and draw a legitimately earned pension.
Let us recall the clear and solid guarantees of protection of life and
health every Soviet citizen was granted under the country’s Main
Law. Article 42 of the Constitution of the USSR adopted in 1977
reads in part:
“The citizens of the USSR have the right to the protection of their
health. This is ensured directly by free qualified medical care
rendered by state healthcare institutions; the broadening
network of institutions for the treatment & improvement
of the health of citizens; the development and improve-
ment of safety rules & occupational hygiene; wide-
scale preventive measures; measures to improve
the environment; particular care for the health of
the young generation, including a ban on child
labour, unconnected with educational and
vocational training; & the deployment of
scientific research, aimed at preventing
and lowering the level of morbidity, and
ensuring the active longevity of citizens.”
These are much stronger and wider guarantees than those
promised by the present Constitution. Unlike those of
today, they were fulfilled, as long as Soviet power
existed, financed out of the treasury, without any
abstract insurances and contributions.
In its program the CPRF stresses that to rescue the country’s
healthcare system and give back to the people guarantees of
free and effective healthcare, we need to go back to Soviet constitutional norms. To build a state that would again
guarantee their fulfilment. This can be done only by
the socialist state, which can stop the dying out of the Russian people.
The wages of genocide
In 2006 the German military expert & journalist Peter Scholl-Latour
made a documentary film titled “Russia Surrounded” for the major
German TV company ZDF. Speaking about it, he made a grim
prediction: “Russia is inexorably moving towards death.
Russia’s main problem today, is the catastrophic
shrinking of the share of Russians.” Reluctant
as we may be to do so, we have to agree with
his assessment. Unless we want the demise
of our country to become reality, we must
honestly admit the destructive ongoing
processes and take urgent measures
to stop them.
The anti-Russian and anti-Slavic thrust of the country’s internal policy
is becoming ever more evident. The Russians and other indigenous
peoples that historically formed the backbone of Russia’s thousand-
year history are the most disadvantaged and humiliated. The dying
out of indigenous Russian regions is 2 or 3 times faster than the
average population decline figures. The representation of
Russians in key areas – governance, economy, culture
and the mass media is startlingly at odds with their
predominant share in the total population.
That the current policy is veritable genocide of the Russian people
is evidenced by the demographic catastrophe the country faced
after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist system.
The population of the USSR as a whole and of the Russian Federation
had been growing throughout the Soviet era with the exception of the
Great Patriotic War, when we lost 27 million people. By 1941 it was 43
million larger than that of the Russian Empire in the late 19th century.
It dropped by 13 million toward the end of the war, but 10 years after
Victory, it almost reached the pre-war level. By the early 1990s,
Russia had a population two and a half times larger than 100
years before. And this without any migration, solely due to
the high birth rate stimulated by Soviet social policy.
In the USA by the early 20th century people lived on average 17 years
longer than in Russia, the average life expectancy having risen by 18
years in 1967 compared with 1900. In the USSR fifty years after the
establishment of Soviet power people came to live on average 38
years longer than in Russia in the early 20th century. In 1967 the
Soviet Union had a longer life expectancy than the USA.
The increase of life expectancy in our country in the 67 years of the
20th century, was over twice that in the USA, the leading country of
the capitalist world. In terms of life expectancy the USSR, outran
not only the United States, but also, such countries as France,
Belgium, and Finland and was level with Japan, the FRG, Italy
and Canada. It shows that the socialist system contributed
much more to rapid social progress, than the capitalist
system at its best.
The capitalism that has been foisted on us brought deadly
demographic wages for the Russian people. By 2010 –
the year of the last census – there were only 111
million Russians in the country. A loss of ten
million members of the state-forming people
in the first two decades of capitalism. This,
according to official statistics, which do
not give the real picture.
On the whole Russia’s population since 1991 shrank by 1.6 million,
and the Russian population by 10 million. That does not take into
account the data for the last decade, which are still unavailable.
In other words, the number of Russians is diminishing over
six times faster than the total population. The shrinking
numbers are “balanced”, only by migration. This is a
real humanitarian disaster!
During the Soviet era the number of Russians more than doubled.
During the three decades of capitalism, it shrank by at least 13%.
What more proof is needed - of the fact that socialism meets the
national interest of Russians while capitalism is patently hostile
to them, and is deadly for them? What further arguments are
needed to show that renunciation of the present destructive
governance system, is not only a question of the socio-
economic well-being of our people, but a question of
its physical survival?
Only Communist power, socialism & a recovery of the best Soviet
experience, will put an end to the system that leads to an actual
extermination of the people. The system under which, citizens
consigned to conditions inadmissible for a country so rich in
resources, are afraid to raise a family and have children.
Today an absolute majority of young Russians do not expect to be
ableto afford their own - even a very modest - dwelling. Moreover,
they have no prospect of acquiring one, even 10, 15 or 20 years
from now. The cost of housing in Russia has risen 100 times
since the early 1990s. Even if he saves all his earnings
down to the last kopeck toward buying a flat, the
average Muscovite will have to save for 12
years, the citizen of Petersburg, 11 years,
those who live in a central region, 18
years & those who live in the south
of Russia, 10 years.
Those who try to solve the problem by taking out bank loans
will have to pay the bank two or three times the price of the
flat, or move out, because of exorbitant interest rates.
The situation will change dramatically after the Communists
come to power. The young people, who will contribute the
most to boosting national industry & science, restoring
agriculture & strengthening the country’s defenses,
will be granted housing for free immediately or
within a short space of time.
Others will be able to get housing within several years, as
was the case in the USSR which guaranteed free housing
for everyone. Housing construction - not for the new rich,
not for the millionaires and billionaires, but for normal,
honest people - will become one of the main areas of
effort in the country’s development.
To be an effective program of national salvation of the Russian and
other indigenous peoples of our country, it has to be based on firm
& effective socio-economic principles. The answer to the question
what should these principles be is provided by socialism. That is
why the CPRF program is a convincing and relevant program in
the interests of the country’s indigenous peoples.
The people’s soul trampled underfoot by wreckers
Simultaneously with physical extermination, the present system
destroys Russia & the Russian people spiritually. While paying
lip service to patriotism... the authorities absolutely refuse to
support the Russian national culture. They contribute to the
displacement of culture by primitive & immoral trash made
according to Western templates. With the connivance of
bureaucrats and cynical people, who treat culture as a
source of profit, this hack work has inundated TV
screens, cinemas and publishing houses.
The present system induces the state to renounce any attempts to
provide moral education & enlightenment and to help those who
seek to do so. The soul of the people and its consciousness, its
intellect, is above all, the native language. And yet the Russian
language, the language of the great Russian literature, which
is a key part of the world's cultural heritage, is subjected to
humiliation every day. And again, the authorities look
the other way.
Our language, is one of the richest in the world. But these riches
are trampled underfoot, by today’s mass culture, education and
information policy. The language is being polluted by newspeak
- senseless anglicisms which symbolize the colonial essence
of the system imposed on our people. Newspeak is effectively
a language of occupation. Take a walk in the streets of our
cities and you will see that foreign names of Western and
eastern provenance today outnumber Russian ones. It is
as if we are deliberately told that the Russian people are
not masters of their land. They have no right to national
self-consciousness, identity, and to native speech.
The law On the Official Language of the Russian Federation
passed in 2005, was aimed at protecting the Russian
language. But the same authorities that passed this law, are reluctant to protect it.
We see the Western countries being swept by the migration process
which threatens to develop into a political crisis. But try to get a
decent job without knowing the official language. In this country
it is becoming the new normal. In the services sphere and in the housing and utilities sector, we, increasingly, deal with people who are unable to communicate in Russian. This is not merely an inconvenience. It provokes social tensions. Ultimately, it threatens civil peace which is inevitably shaken when society is divided into groups that do not understand each other.
By all the criteria adopted in the world community, genocide of
theRussian people has been unleashed. That is why the most
sensitive national issue in modern Russia is not the issue of
the “national borderlands” but the issue of “the national
core.” It has to do not with a minority but with an
overwhelming majority.
The sacred desire to safeguard our Motherland and our people
against destruction, inspires us to struggle to revive in Russia
the state that is capable of stoppingthe physical and spiritual
genocide of the Russians and other peoples. Of enabling
them to return to the path of harmonious moral, cultural
and intellectual development. This is the key element of
the CPRF program. This is our main duty... to present
and future generations.
In order to throw off the yoke of anti-national capital & confidently
move forward Russia needs to become aware of itself as the heir
not only to Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Nekrasov &
Chekhov, but also to Gorky, Sholokhov, Simonov, Isakovsky,
Tvardovsky, Bondarev and Rasputin, Prokofiev & Sviridov,
Mukhina and Vuchetich, Makarenko and Sukhomlinksy.
Kurchatov and Keldysh. Korolev and Gagarin. Zhukov,
Rokossovsky, Vasilevsky & Konev. The country must
be proud of the fact that the galaxy of brilliant names,
the pride of the Russian civilization, was born of the
Soviet era, the socialist Motherland, the land of
Lenin and Stalin.
Communists & all patriots must be more active in defending
Russian history, Russian culture and the Russian soul.
Because they are the targets of all those who seek to
destroy our Power. At this critical juncture we need
to be conscious of the fact that we are not only a
party of rule of the people and of justice, but a
party of national salvation.
Russia is about to awaken
If the experiment undertaken by Lenin ....... the experiment of
socialism fails, modern civilisation will perish, just like many
civilisations perished in the past.”This was said in 1931 by
Nobel Prize-winning British playwright Bernard Shaw. The
Soviet power proved its strength and its great creative
potential. But its treacherous destruction vindicated
the writer’s foresight.
The collapse of the Soviet Union triggered a chain reaction
of global destabilization which threatens terrible upheavals
on the planet. It put on the brink of destruction the Russian
civilization whose crowning achievement has been the
creation of the Soviet State. The state of the working
people. The state of socialism.
However, the colossal historical experience, the great vitality,
the moral and intellectual potential we possess, enable us to
step back from the abyss. To overcome the systemic crisis.
Our people can still do it. And it will do it!
It was the Soviet civilization that, in the early 20th century,
offered all mankind the greatest socialist project of the
world order, a project based on the laws of justice,
humanism and equality. It demonstrated its
righteousness and power in the battles
against the armies of the Entente and
Hitler’s hordes. Its real superiority
over capitalism, which inevitably
degenerates into Fascism and
political banditry.
The bid of transnational capitalism... to bury the socialist project
turned out to be futile. Today mankind, tormented by crises and
disenchanted with capitalism, is again turning toward socialism.
The Russian world must be in the vanguard of this process, as
it was a hundred years ago, because the socialist ideas are
rooted most deeply in its consciousness. They cannot be
suppressed by any resistance of the world and the
Russian political and financial elite.
The German philosopher Walter Schubart who left Germany after
the Nazis came to power and who had sincere respect for our
people, said this about the Russian man in his 1938 book
Europe and the Eastern Soul: “He does not try to turn
his fellow man into an instrument. This is the essence
of Russian brotherhood. This is the Gospel for the
future… Russia’s mission is to give man back his
soul. Russia has the strength that Europe has lost
or destroyed in itself… Only Russia can breathe
the soul back into the human race, which is
perishing from power lust ...and is steeped
in materialistic business consciousness.”
Obviously, he was referring to the historical processes that
unfolded in the world after socialism challenged the
ideology of greed, plunder and exploitation. The
processes that put the Russian people and all
the other peoples of our great power at the
centre and, I am sure, will put them
there again.
History, whose main facets are again highlighted with fresh force
by thedramatic events of our time, warrants the conclusion that
a true Russiancannot be anything other but a supporter of
socialism. And a true adherent of socialism cannot but
treat Russians with respect, gratitude and love.
The rabid anti-Sovietism & Russophobia of our opponents is the
last toxic potion for which the bankrupt liberal pro-marketeers
are reaching out, in their attempt to rescue their sinking
authority and to convince the country of the need to
preserve the system of criminal capitalism. Only a
return to the principles of the social state can pull
Russia out of its crisis and set it on the path of
true development. The path of friendship,
brotherhood, and genuine national
independence.
That is why the CPRF program and fifteen key amendments
to the Constitution we are promoting are based on the ideas
& measures that would restore all the best features of the
Soviet economic, social and cultural policy. All the most
decent and progressive modern practices.
The Communists resolutely counter the ideology of liberal
anti-Sovieteers who worship capitalist globalization with
the ideology of social justice and national revival that
meets the interests of the absolute majority.
We have no doubt that the salvation and revival of Russia is
impossible without restoring the firm moral foundations &
moral principles society & power must abide by. Let us
give an honest answer to this question: in what epoch
were the principles dominating society and politics
closer to the premises of good, selflessness,
charity and humanism which the main world
religions have been preaching for ages.?
Was it in the Soviet epoch or today?
We are convinced that there can be only
one answer: the Soviet system directly
embodied these principles, based on
the ideals of universal brotherhood,
solidarity and social justice.
The systemic crisis can only be overcome & full-fledged
development resumed when those who were involved
in the criminal dismantling of the USSR and the
establishment of a system of wild criminal-
oligarchic capitalism are stripped of their
control of the political, economic and
financial spheres.
Let us remember Cicero’s wisdom: “A nation can survive its
fools and social climbers, but it cannot survive treachery.
The enemy at the gate is fearsome, but it is known and it
openly holds up its banners. A traitor circulates freely
among the besieged, his cunning whisper rustles in
the city streets, he acts secretly, and infects the
citizens such that they can no longer resist.
A murderer is less fearsome than he is.”
Removal of the Russophobic and anti-Soviet “fifth column” from
power is an indispensable condition of the revival of our country
& the Russian people. Only then, will the new truly patriotic and
nationally conscious leadership be able to implement the vitally
needed change of course, and unite all the healthy forces in the
Motherland.
The CPRF has renewed its call on the patriots of Russia to promote
this idea in the course of the festive events of the All-Union Popular
Assembly we organized in the spring of 2020, to mark the 150th
anniversary of Lenin’s birth, the First of May outing, timed for
the Day of International Solidarity of Working People.
We made a similar appeal to citizens on May 9, the day of the great
jubilee, the 75th anniversary of Victory. On the eve of that day, as
part of our political campaign Lenin, Stalin, Victory we announced
large-scale patriotic actions: “Immortal Regiment Under the Red
Banner,” “Victory Garden – the Garden of Life,” “Youth Follows
the Road of Heroic Fathers.” They will span the whole of Russia
and the former Soviet republics, which retain sacred bonds
with us.
Because of the dangerous infection which put all of us under an
exasperating lockdown, we could not stage street processions
and rallies and held our gatherings online. However, in spite of
the distance, they throbbed with the energy of the struggle for
justice. Of confidence: that we will soon reunite with fresh
force, in the name of the common cause: of reviving the
Motherland and the people.
The Lenin and Victory jubilees remind us that we are heirs to great
deeds. Heirs to heroes who have astonished the world with their
achievements. It is the people’s sacred right and sacred duty to
regain what it has gained & what traitors have taken away from
the country and society. We are confident that the enemy will
be defeated and victory will be ours.!
When in the Time of Troubles, invaders were feasting at the Kremlin
Patriarch Hermogenes who refused to recognize the impostors and
occupiers was imprisoned in a dungeon. But even there, deprived
of water and food, he continued to call, “Arise Russian people!.” He
was heard and the militias led by Minin and Pozharksy came and
saved the country. If we put it across to our people, Russia will
arise and step back from the edge of the historical abyss. The
21st century, will become the century of the revival of our
great Power.
The ideology that will pave the way toward our resurgence must
be the modern Russian idea capable of uniting all the country’s
peoples for the sake of the common cause and the common
good. The idea rooted in socialism and the thousand-year-
old spiritual and patriotic values. The idea that cements
the nation in a single surge of creativity. The idea that
mobilizes all the social resources to secure an early
end to the systemic crisis that threatens the very
existence of our country.
China has achieved spectacular results by linking socialism,
patriotism and the age-old folk traditions. Cuba, Vietnam and
Venezuela are following a similar path. We will achieve
victory if we rely on the Russian character, the
Russian spirit and Russian history.
The Russians are the state-forming nation. They have never
oppressed other peoples and have done everything to
safeguard their independence, their faith, their
alphabets, language and culture. Neither our
country, nor world peace, can be secured...
without strengthening the Russian people.
This is something true patriots of Russia - both Russians
and other peoples - cannot help recognizing. And this
strengthens our confidence... that it is important
to remind society of the sources of Russian
civilization, the Soviet values, discoveries
and achievements. Of the need to uphold
the ideas of socialism... and struggle to
promote these great ideas, in today’s
Russia. For a victory that will assure
a decent future for our Motherland.
This entry was posted in Articles on June 1st, 2020
stranded... near the community of Usnarz-Gorny, Podlaskie
Voivodeship, in the east
of the country.
The refugees from Afghanistan tried to illegally cross the
border, only to be stopped by border guards. The Polish
authorities argue that the migrants are on the territory
of Belarus. On one side.. they are guarded by armed
Belarusian law-enforcers, who prevent their return
to Belarus. On the other side Polish border guards
and the army, keep them out of Poland.
"The situation has not changed. As before, up to 30 people
are on the Belarussian side of the border," the press-
secretary of the Podlaska border guard office,
Katarzyna Zdanowicz told TASS.
"The Polish border guard service is doing its job," she
added, when asked if Poland had any plans for letting
the migrants in.
Zdanowicz said Poland had asked Belarus to take part
in resolving the problem. After that, nearly all women
and children were taken out of the temporary
refugee camp.
The migrants - mostly young men - have set up one tent.
Most spend the nights in sleeping bags on the ground.
Some politicians and human rights activists have
visited the site. Food and water is being brought
to the migrants.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a news
briefing, on Thursday, that Poland had no intention of
accommodating illegal migrants roaming the
border on the Belarusian side. He added
that such a decision would entail a
migration crisis, involving tens
of thousands.
Situation on the border
Earlier, Poland and Lithuania urged the European Union to
take tougher measures against Belarus over the migration
crisis in the region, allegedly provoked by Minsk. Since
the beginning of this year, more than 4,000 illegal
migrants have been detained on the Lithuanian
-Belarusian border, which is 50 times more
than in the whole of 2020.
According to the Polish Interior Ministry, there have been
2,100 illegal attempts to enter the country since the
beginning of August. The border guards prevented
1,342 attempts at crossing the border, and 758
foreign nationals were detained and sent to
closed centres.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that
his country had served as a barrier in the way of
illegal migrants to the neighboring country, but
in the light of political pressure from the West,
Minsk might think again about maintaining
this policy.
What do you think?
Should Belarus keep the West safe, from an influx of young men of dubious intent ...when the West keeps trying to crash Belarus' sovereignty?
______________________________
Perestroika did not cause
USSR’s downfall;but ‘a lot
of things’ - should have
been done differently,
says ex-Soviet leader
Gorbachev
by Jonny Tickle
August 4th, 4:56pm (RT)
The collapse of the Soviet Union was not caused by the
controversial policy of perestroika but should actually
be blamed on the attempted coup, in August 1991, and a conspiracy between the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
That’s according to former Soviet President Mikhail
Gorbachev, who wrote an article for ‘Russia in
Global Affairs’, explaining his point of view:
that perestroika was “historically correct”
and necessary for the USSR.
Gorbachev led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its collapse
in 1991 and is seen as one of the most important figures of
20th-century history. However... while he enjoys a positive
reputation outside of the country, he is viewed differently
inside Russia. Many people blame him for the post-Soviet
economic crisis, that led to a dramatic decline in living
standards, as well as a diminution of Moscow’s
status on the world stage.
Perestroika, seen by some as a significant contributing factor
in the dissolution of the USSR, was an attempt to restructure
the economic system and end stagnation. As part of the
policy, Gorbachev introduced market-like reforms into
the socialist system, which led to food shortages
and political tensions.
However, according to Gorbachev, those who believe
perestroika wasn’t necessary... have a very
short memory.
“They have either forgotten or don’t want to remember what
the moral and psychological situation in Soviet society was
like by 1985,” he explained. “People were clamouring for
change. Everyone - both leaders and ordinary citizens
- felt that something was wrong with the country. The country was sinking deeper into stagnation.
Economic growth had virtually stopped.”
“Perestroika was aimed at people. Its goal was to liberate a
person, to make him the master of his own destiny, of his
country,” he said.
However, despite his conviction that the policy was correct,
he did note that he would have done “a lot of things
differently.”
In Gorbachev’s opinion, the real reason for the fall of the
Soviet Union, was insubordination within the ranks of
the Communist Party.
“Two blows proved fatal for perestroika,” he explained.
“The attempted coup d’etat, organized by reactionary
forces, including those from my entourage, in August
1991, and the December collusion of the leaders of
Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, which ended the
centuries-old history of our state.”
In particular, he pointed the finger at Boris Yeltsin, who was
the leader of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist
Republic, and who promised that a union of some
sort would survive. However, according to the
former Soviet leader, the heads of Russia,
Ukraine, and Belarus got together and
opted to destroy the country.
“Yeltsin did not keep his word,” Gorbachev wrote. “He and
his entourage sacrificed the Union --- to an unstoppable
desire to reign in the Kremlin.”
What do you think?
________________________________________
Back to Stalingrad? Disputed poll
claims TWO THIRDS of Russians
want Volgograd to return name
used in legendary WW2 battle
July 30th, 10:13am (RT)
A majority of Russians support restoring the name of the
country’s twelfth-largest city back to ‘Stalingrad,’ 60
years after it was renamed Volgograd, in the Soviet
program of de-Stalinization, a poll has revealed.
The survey, commissioned by the centre-left political party
‘A Fair Russia’, and made public on Thursday, revealed
that 68% of Russians are in favour of returning to the
title it bore from 1925 to 1961, with just 28% wanting to keep the current name.
Interestingly, in Volgograd itself, the poll discovered that
local residents are somewhat less supportive of a name
change, with 48% backing a return to Stalingrad.
The last time Federov’s pollsters conducted a study on
this topic was in 2005, and just 23.4% in Russia said
then, that they supported a renaming.
However, most interestingly, the faction is now coming
under attack from the Communist Party (CPRF), which
has accused A Fair Russia of stealing one of its flag-
ship proposals. Speaking to the Moscow daily,
Kommersant, Communist Party Secretary
for Elections, Sergey Obukhov, accused
''right-wing forces'' of using his party’s
ideas to draw away voters. In 2013
-- on the 70th anniversary of the
Battle of Stalingrad -- the CPRF
collected more than 100,000
signatures in favour of
the renaming.
...What do YOU think?
________________________________
Slovenian PM:EU’s ‘imaginary values’
could trigger ‘collapse’ of bloc,
amid Hungary LGBT row
July 4th, 2:09pm (RT)
Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa has condemned
the EU’s western states, for imposing “imaginary
European values”, without respecting local
cultures. Jansa supports Hungary, in its
fight against LGBT content in schools and TV.
Sandwiched between Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia,
Slovenia is a tiny country of 2.1 million people. However,
for the next six months, it will set the agenda of the
European Council.
Speaking after his country assumed the council’s rotating
presidency, last week, Jansa made it clear, that his
priorities might not line up with those of the
bloc’s western powers.
Railing at the Slovenian “mainstream media” and its alleged
allies in the country’s judiciary, Jansa also spoke out
against the EU’s promotion of its liberal values in
eastern and central Europe, LGBT causes
among them.
Imposing “imaginary European values,” he argued,
would be the “fastest road to collapse” for the bloc.
“The European Union brings together countries with
different traditions, with different cultures, there are differences... that need to be taken into account and respected,” he stated.
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen,
openly disagreed with Jansa during the press briefing,
saying that “freedom of expression, diversity and
equality” are fundamental “European values”
that need to be upheld.
The clash between Jansa and von der Leyen is just one
more battle in a growing cultural conflict between the
western swathe of the EU, and the centre and east.
In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has led the charge
against Brussels in this conflict, angering the liberal West
by passing a law forbidding the portrayal of
homosexuality to children.
The EU in return has threatened legal action against Hungary,
and 17 western European leaders signed a letter last month
condemning “discrimination towards the LGBTI community”
and their “fundamental rights.”
Orban has insisted that the law does not discriminate against
the LGBT community, but allows parents to decide what to
teach their children, about matters of gender
and sexuality.
Jansa has taken a similar line. Responding to von der Leyen
on Friday, he said that the pair had “a sincere discussion on
what human rights are,” but that he defended “the right of
parents to educate their children” as they see fit. Von der
Leyen responded that “the right of parents to educate
their children was not at all disputed,” but “the
question was … whether the amendments
of existing laws discriminate against
minorities.”
Jansa also proclaimed that Slovenia is not “a colony” of the EU
to be dictated to, much like Orban last week decried the Dutch
“colonial” mentality, after Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte
declared earlier that Hungary “has no business being in
the European Union any more” if it doesn’t submit to
the bloc’s position on LGBT rights.
What do YOU think?
Think your friends would be interested?
Share this story!
__________________________________
Save the Children has been captured
by transgender ideology. It isn't
protecting youngsters, it’s
endangering them
by Debbie Hayton
July 2nd, (RT)
Debbie Hayton is a high school teacher and trade union
officer. She teaches science to 11-18-year-olds, at a
school in central England. As a transgender person,
she has written extensively about what it means to
be trans, and how trans people can be included in
society without compromising the rights of other
vulnerable groups. Her work can be read in
publications from across the political
spectrum, where rational scientific
debate is allowed and encouraged.
Follow her on Twitter @DebbieHayton
The charity is supposed to help vulnerable children, which is
why it rightly opposes FGM. So why is it promoting the idea
that it’s OK for girls as young as seven to go down a path
that leads to gender reassignment surgery?
Save the Children was established in the aftermath of the First
World War by Eglantyne Jebb and Dorothy Buxton, two sisters
from England who had been appalled by the impact of British
government policy on children across Europe. The war may
have been over, but the Royal Navy maintained a blockade
of Germany until it signed the Treaty of Versailles. In cities
like Berlin and Vienna, children were starving.
In 1919, Jebb was arrested and convicted --- for distributing
leaflets bearing shocking images of malnourished children.
A hundred years later, their campaign has grown into a
massive NGO with an annual turnover approaching
£300 million. Enjoying royal patronage, it is now
part of the British establishment. In the 2020
annual report, Princess Anne wrote, “I
thank you for everything you have
done for children this year.”
Maybe Princess Anne should ask them about their
campaign for Pride Month? Earlier this week, they
shared some tips about how to raise a
“transgender child.”
Judging by the video clip, Save the Children has been captured
by transgender ideology – the idea that men and women are
defined not by their sex but by some soul-like gender identity.
With reckless abandon, they extend this idea to children.
The lack of critical analysis is breathtaking. Each
slide could and should have been pulled apart.
There is no need to pigeonhole children as ‘transgender’.
We should let them be. Gender is not assigned at birth;
sex is observed and recorded sometimes before birth.
Identifying as the opposite sex does not mean we are
the opposite sex.Girls can have short hair; it’s fine!
Why do we need to validate feelings? What does it
even mean to validate feelings? We are all
vulnerable to the reactions of others, and
all parents can help their children to
respond constructively.
But behind the slogans, the cartoons, and the enchanting
music, this campaign focuses on a real nine-year-old girl
whose parents think she is a boy. They claim their
daughter was “assigned a female gender at birth,”
something she was questioning by the time she
was five. Two years later, she apparently
identified as a boy. In response, her
parents cut her hair short and
changed her name. In
their words:
“As we move forwards and puberty looms, there
will be problems to solve and decisions to take.”
These are problems of the parents’ making. The decision
they should be making for their child is to return to reality.
Despite their professed “moments of grief,” they still have
a daughter. She never left. Girls can be masculine – they
can cut their hair short, they can take a preferred name
usually adopted by boys, they can climb trees and play
football – and that is fine. But they are still female.
But rather than celebrate the diversity of humanity within
each sex, Save the Children uses this family’s story to
perpetuate the lie that girls can become boys. Worse,
gender non-conforming children, and their parents,
may get the impression that girls need to become
boys to express their masculinity. The video ends
with a link to Mermaids UK, an organisation that
promotes puberty blockers, drugs that stunt
natural development and lead to profound
and irreversible damage.
This is the same organisation that – rightly – condemns
female genital mutilation. Their country director for
Sudan said, “FGM is not only a violation of girl’s
rights, it has serious consequences for a girl’s
physical and mental health.”
Why is the mutilation that results from puberty blockers,
cross-sex-hormones, double mastectomies – for girls
whose breasts developed before they started treat-
ment – and gender reassignment surgery any
different? Abuse is abuse.
Who told Save the Children that seven-year-olds have a
gender identity that trumps their biological sex, and –
more importantly – why did the charity believe them?
Gender identity can be neither proved nor falsified,
and it is not needed to explain transsexualism.
I know that... as a trans person who
transitioned as an adult.
The fact that I am unhappy with my sex does not mean
I am the opposite sex; I am simply unhappy with it.
Further, I know that it is possible to be reconciled
to my sex. That delivered peace and contentment
within my own skin that I never experienced when
I thought I was some sort of woman. These
children’s lives are being built on folly, and
that is no way for anyone to start out in life.
Lies can never satisfy in the same way.
A hundred years ago, Eglantyne Jebb campaigned
against policies that harmed children. Her modern
successors are actively promoting harm.
Think your friends would be interested?
Share this story!
...what do YOU think?
__________________________________
Did the Soviet Union collapse because of a lack of love?
Or because it foolishly trusted and looked up to the West?
OR, PERHAPS, both.
What do YOU think?
Boris Yeltsin had entourage of
‘hundreds’ of CIA agents, who
instructed him on how to run
Russia, claims the former
parliamentary speaker
by Jonny Tickle
June 12th, 8:20am (RT)
The first Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, was surrounded
by “hundreds” of CIA agents, who told him what to do
throughout his tenure as leader. That’s according to
Ruslan Khasbulatov, the former chairman of
Russia’s parliament.
Speaking to radio station Govorit Moskva, Khasbulatov
claimed Yeltsin’s entourage was full of Americans. In
1991, he was elected to his leadership post, with
Washington’s ''help'', it has been alleged, and it is still not yet known, to what extent the US
remained the voice in his ear, through-
out his presidency.
“There must have been a hundred [CIA employees],”
Khasbulatov said. “They determined everything.”
He added that, after ''winning'' the presidential
election, Yeltsin would send security officials
and heads of departments to the US, so the
Americans could “examine them” and
“give conclusions.”
Khasbulatov’s statement comes after former Russian vice
president Alexander Rutskoy told online outlet Lenta that
12 full-time employees of the CIA helped carry out the
landmark Yeltsin-Gaidar market reforms, system-
atically dismantling the centrally planned
economic system --- and leading the country into shock capitalism.
However, according to Khasbulatov, everyone knew about
Rutskoy’s links to the US, and American officials even
influenced the former president to replace a
considerable number of his appointees.
“On the whole, Rutskoy is absolutely right – Yeltsin was
advised by foreigners,” he continued. “There is no
secret here... and a great number of people know
about it. I don’t have any detective stories about
eavesdropping, but, in general, it’s well known.
Yeltsin used to confer very closely, on all
personnel matters, with foreign
representatives.”
Yeltsin left office in 1999, but not before creating a hyper-
presidential system, taking power away from a hostile
parliament, and removing almost all the checks and
balances. This move was supported by Washington, which hoped to keep the Communist Party out of power in the newly formed Russian state.
Now, Yeltsin has a mixed legacy, with many Russians
believing he was a drunkard, who sold the country to
Western capitalists. However... in ''the West'', he is
compared to revolutionaries such as South Africa's
Nelson Mandela, Poland’s Lech Walensa... and
Czechoslovakia’s Václav Havel, with former
US president, Bill Clinton, even having
likened him to Abraham Lincoln.
Like this story? Share it with a friend!
_________________________________
Interview: ''Love for people''
makes Chinese communists
source of strength, says
French party chief
May 24th, 10:14am (Xinhua)
Chinese communists... have accomplished great
achievements in the country's development, by
living up to their all-for-the-people commitment
Jacques Cheminade, chairman of the French
political party, Solidarity and Progress,
recently told Xinhua, via video link.
For the Communist Party of China (CPC), loving people
is not only a political commitment, but also its source
of strength, said Cheminade.
In his view, a political party must know well about, and
be linked to, the history of its own country, which is
exactly what the CPC has been doing.
"In China, there is a vision of the future nourished by
the past, by Chinese history," said the party leader, referring to the Belt and Road Initiative,
as a case in point.
In 2019, Cheminade visited China for the first time, and
participated in the Euro-Asia Economic Forum in Xi'an,
capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
During the trip, he noticed that people's living standards
in this country, had been growing incredibly fast, and
that local people were more optimistic about their
future, compared with people in the West.
Talking about relations between France & China
Cheminade expressed his hope: that the two
countries could forge... a more rational and
active link in safeguarding multilateralism.
"It is by building multilateralism through
different ways, that we will achieve the
same commitment to the development
of all," he said.
In March, Cheminade co-signed a declaration with
experts from different countries, calling on the
West to face up to China's development
achievements - and to strengthen
cooperation with the
Asian country.
Denouncing the anti-China propaganda organized
by some Western countries, Cheminade stressed
that China has never imposed its own political
system on other countries.
In dealing with adverse situations created by the West,
China has, also, been showing patience and good
political will, he added, expressing appreciation
for "the sense of common welfare" of the CPC and the Chinese people.
___________________________
Siege of Russia by US and its Allies
Offers a Lesson for China
April 20th, 12:04pm
The US has rallied its European allies, to launch a new
diplomatic expulsion campaign, and a public opinion
crackdown against Russia.
In addition to the situation in eastern Ukraine, Alexei Navalny's hunger strike in prison - and reports that he's "dying" - have now become the latest focus of pressure on Russia.
It is noteworthy... that countries including the Czech
Republic, Poland, Ukraine, and Bulgaria have joined
the US in expelling Russian diplomats, mostly
claiming that these Russian diplomats have
conducted "activities incompatible with
their status".
This is a highly ambiguous reason for expulsion. Once members of the Warsaw Pact, or part of the Soviet
Union, these countries are now often the first to respond to the US' calls to confront Russia.
There are complex historical reasons for the Central &
Eastern European countries tilting toward the US, and
becoming "anti-Russia", that are difficult for outsiders
to comment on. It is a pity that internal disintegration
- rather than coercion from the US - had directly led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Russian Federation was one of the main promoters
of this disintegration.. and the original agreement to
replace the Soviet Union with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), was signed by Russia,
Ukraine and Belarus. The Russian leaders who
destroyed the Soviet Union, had no idea what
would happen to their country afterwards.
The collapse of the Soviet Union has brought about
geopolitical changes globally, and the evaluation of the event is destined to vary from country to
country, and from time to time. But it has
become increasingly clear, that Russia
has been the biggest loser from
that collapse.
Many Russians once believed that when the Communist
Party stepped down and the Soviet Union collapsed, the
US and the West would embrace Russia and respect
them, for taking the initiative to end the Cold War. The reality, however, is harsh. Moscow has received no gratitude or kindness, from the West.
From the moment the Soviet Union collapsed, the US has
arrogantly treated Russia as a defeated country in the
Cold War, engaging in all possible moves to suppress
Russia, at will.
The collapse of the Soviet Union was a geopolitical disaster
for Russia. As the dominant power in the Soviet Union, if it
had chosen to support reforms to solve problems in the
beginning, Russia could have paid a much smaller
geopolitical price, than it would pay, over the
following 30 years. Back then, Moscow had
a broad sphere of influence and powerful
capabilities; it could act independently
and defiantly against Washington. But
it has ceded those geopolitical
resources, giving up its
advantages.
The US' vicious attitude toward Russia offers a glimpse into
the brutality of great power competition and helps people
see through Washington's geopolitical manipulation
measures. The US portrayed its Cold War with the
Soviet Union as an ideological confrontation -- to conceal its intention -- to dominate the
world alone.
Many people, including Russians, believed a political
change of course, would fundamentally change their
relationship with the US, and that Russia could thus
integrate into the West, and become a dignified
member of the Group of Eight.
Yet Russia is too large, with a nuclear arsenal on par
with that of the US. It spans the Eurasian continent
and advocates multi-polarity, with no possibility to
becoming a new member of the West, that is
submissive to Washington.
The US then took advantage of its "victory" - promoted the
eastward expansion of NATO, squeezed Russia's strategic
space at the fastest speed, and completely abandoned its
verbal commitment that, after Germany was unified and
remained a NATO member, the bloc would recruit no
former Warsaw Pact countries, or former Soviet
republics, as new members.
The US is extremely untrustworthy. Its method of great power
competition fully mobilises the ideological resources of its
own, and in the West, and it is very good at infiltrating into
other countries, which makes it very deceptive. Since the
collapse of the Soviet Union, the world has witnessed
other "colour revolutions" supported by the US. The
destinies of countries that experienced subversion
of state power, have proven tragic, as the US has
neither the intention nor the ability to provide
substantial assistance to those countries.
China, as a newly targeted "strategic competitor" of the US,
is fortunate that we've witnessed all the colour revolutions
in the world in the past 30 years. This is equivalent to
having gotten politically vaccinated and receiving
a boost shot to enhance the effectiveness.
The Chinese people must protect the fruitful achievements
of the People's Republic of China, & remain sober-minded
about the US's repeated deceptive clamour that the
strategic ''game'' between the US and China, is a
battle between "democracies and autocracies".
China must continue to grow its national strength and weaken
the ability of the US to pressure it "from a position of strength".
China can only be a friend with whom the US has to coexist,
because it cannot crush it. We must not bear any illusion
that the US would embrace China, due to its changes.
China is so big that we cannot try to get rid of the natural
burden that comes with it. Since China is big, it should
live with great courage and advantages.
This article originally appeared
on the Global Times website.
What do YOU think?
Is the US a friend to the world ?
Or a psychopathic racist empire?
_______________________________________
Justice or Hegemony... what do you think?
China's Xi says world needs justice,
not hegemony, in veiled reference
to US
April 20th, 9:14 am (PressTV)
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for a fairer
world order in the face of the West’s unilateralism,
warning hegemonic countries against “bossing
others around.”
Speaking at the annual Boao Forum for Asia on
Tuesday, Xi said that “the future destiny of the
world should be decided by all countries.”
“One or a few countries shouldn’t impose their rules
on others, and the world shouldn’t be led on by the
unilateralism of a few countries,” Xi said.
Without singling out the US, the Chinese president
warned against building barriers that are against
market principles.
“Attempts to erect walls or decouple run counter to
the law of economics and market principles. They
would hurt others’ interests without benefiting
oneself,” Xi stated, in a ''veiled'' reference to
Washington’s efforts to reduce dependence
on Chinese supply chains and scrub the
export of products such as advanced
computer chips to China.
“What we need in today’s world is justice, not hegemony...
Bossing others around, or meddling in others’ internal
affairs, will not get one any support,” Xi said, while
giving assurances that China will never engage
in an arms race.
“A big country should look like a big country by showing
that it is shouldering more responsibility," he added.
China has repeatedly criticized US hegemony and
its projection of power in trade and geopolitics.
China and the US have been engaged in an intense
trade war, kicked off under the Donald Trump
administration.
The two world powers are also increasingly at odds over
a range of issues, including alleged human rights abuse
in the Xinjiang region, protests in Hong Kong, China’s
territorial claims on the Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)
and most of the South China Sea, as well as
the COVID-19 origin.
Beijing hoped for an improvement in relations under
President Joe Biden's administration. But the new
president has, so far, shown no sign of backing
down on hardline policies toward Beijing.
The Democratic president has even urged
his allies, to harden their stance on China.
In the latest anti-Beijing move, Biden sought
to present a united front with Japan, to
counter “challenges” by China.
On Friday, he hosted Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide
Suga in a meeting, in which China topped the agenda.
In a display of economic cooperation to the exclusion of
China, Biden said Washington and Tokyo will jointly
invest in areas such as 5G technology, artificial
intelligence, quantum computing, genomics
and semiconductor supply chains.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson censured the
US-Japan alliance and said the 2 were in fact ganging
up to form cliques & fanning bloc confrontation, while
talking about a “free and open” Indo-Pacific.
"It will only enable the world to see with increasing clarity
the detrimental nature of the US-Japan alliance, which
attempts to undermine regional peace and stability,"
the spokesperson said.
____________________________________
In Quest of a Multi-Polar World
March 28th, 2021
Michael Hudson and Pepe Escobar resume their
conversation about a global monetary system
that appears headed for divorce.
Michael Hudson: Fifty ago, I wrote Super Imperialism about
basically how America dominates the world financially and
gets the free ride.
I wrote it right after America went off gold in 1971, when the
Vietnam War, which was responsible for the entire balance
of payments deficit, forced the country to go off gold. And
everybody at that time worried the dollar was going to go
down. There’d be hyperinflation. And what happened
was something entirely different.
Once there was no gold, America strong-armed its allies to
invest in U.S. Treasury bonds because their central banks
don’t buy companies. They don’t buy raw materials. All
they could buy is other central bank’s treasury bonds.
So, all of a sudden, the only thing that other people
could buy with all the dollars coming in were U.S.
Treasury securities.
And the securities they bought essentially were to finance
yet more war making and the balance of payments deficit
from war, and the 800 military bases America has around
the world. And the largest customer, I think we discussed
it before, are the Defense Department and the CIA that
looked at it [Super Imperialism] as a how-to-do it
book. Well, that was 50 years ago.
And what I’ve done is not only re-edit the book and add more
information that’s come out, but I’ve picked up the last 50
years and how it’s absolutely transformed the whole
world. And it’s a new kind of imperialism.
There was still a view 50 years ago that imperialism was
[essentially] economic. And this is the view that there’s
still a rivalry for instance, between America and China
or America and Europe and other countries.
But I think the whole world has changed so much in the last
50 years that what we have now is not really so much a
conflict between America and China or America and
Russia, but between a financial system economy
run by finance and an economy run by
governments — democratic or less
democratic, but certainly a mixed
economy.
Well, everything that made industrial capitalism rich, every-
thing that made the USA so strong in the 19th century,
through its protective tariffs & through its public infra-
structure investment, all the way down through World
War II & the aftermath. We had a mixed economy in
America, and that was very balanced. Europe had a
mixed economy. Every economy since Babylon and
Rome, has been a mixed economy, but in America
you’ve had, since 1980, something entirely different.
That was not foreseen by anybody because it seemed to be so disruptive.
And what that was, was the financial sector saying we need liberty and by liberty, meaning we have to take planning and
subsidy & economic policy and tax policy, out of the hands
of government. And put it in the hands of Wall Street.
So libertarianism & a free market is a centralized economy
which is centralized in the hands of the financial centres, Wall St, the City of London, the Paris Bourse. And what you have today is the attempt of the financial sector to take the role the landlord class had in Europe, from feudal times through the 19th century. It’s a kind of resurgence.
If you look at the whole last 200 years of economic theory -
from Adam Smith and, Henry George and Marx, onward -
the whole idea was that everybody expected a mixed
economy to become more and more productive and
to free itself from the landlords, to free itself from
banking - to make land a public utility.
That was the tax base to make finance basically something
public, and government would decide who gets the funding
and thus, the idea of finance in the public sector was going
to be pretty much what it is in China. You create bank credit
in order to finance capital investment in factories. It means
the production of machinery, agricultural modernization, of
transport, infrastructure of high-speed trains of ports and
all of that.
But in the US & UK, you have finance becoming something completely different. Banks don’t lend money to factories. They don’t want money to make the means of production. They make money to take over other assets. 80% of bank loans are mortgage loans to transfer the ownership of real estate. And of course that’s what created a middle class in the US.
The middle class was able to buy its own housing, it didn’t
have to pay rent to landlords or absentee owners or war-
lords and their descendants in England and Europe.
They could buy their own. What nobody realized is
that if you borrow the money to take a mortgage,
there’s still an economic rental value that is not
paid to the landlords. It’s paid to the banks.
And so, in the Western civilizations in
America and Europe, the banks have
played the role that the landlords
played a hundred years ago.
And just as the landlord is trying to do everything they can
through the House of Lords in England & the upper houses
of government in Europe, they’re trying to block any kind of
democratic government. And the fight really, is against
governments that will do anything that isn't controlled
by the 1 percent, by the banks. Essentially the merger
between finance insurance and real estate; the FIRE
sector. So, you have almost a relapse of capitalism
in the West back into feudalism, but feudalism with
a financialized twist, much more than it was in
medieval times.
The fight against China, the fear of China is that you can’t do
to China, what you did to Russia. America would love for
there to be a [former Russian President Boris] Yeltsin
figure in China to say, just give all the railroads that
you’ve built, the high-speed rail, the wealth, all the
factories to individuals. And let the individuals run
everything and, then we’ll lend them the money, or we’ll buy them out and then we can control them financially.
And China’s not letting that happen. & Russia stopped that
from happening. And the fury in the West is that somehow, the American financial system is unable to take over foreign resources, foreign agriculture. It is left only with military means of grabbing them, as we are seeing in the near East. And you’re it seeing in the Ukraine, right now.
Pepe Escobar: Well, as an introduction, Michael that was
perfect because now we have the overall framework -
geo-economic and historically - at least for the past
70 years.
I have a series of questions for you. I was saving one of these
for the end, but I think I should start really the Metallica way.
Let’s go heavy metal for a start, right?
So considering what you describe as a new kind of imperialism
and the fact that this sort of extended free lunch cannot apply
anymore because sovereigns around the world, especially
Russia and China, I tried to formulate the idea that there are
only three real sovereign powers on the planet, apart from
the hegemon; Russia, China, and Iran, these three, which
happen to be the main hub and the main focus of not only
the New Silk Roads but of the Eurasia integration process,
they are actively working for some sort of change of the
rules that predominated for the past 70 years.
So my first question to you would be, do you see any realistic
possibility of a, sort of a Bretton Woods 2.0, which would
imply the end of the dollar hegemony as we know it, and
petrodollar recycling on and on and on, with the very
important presence of that oily hacienda in the lands
of Arabia. Do you think this is possible considering
President [Vladimir] Putin himself - only a few days
ago reiterated once again that the US is no longer
agreement-capable? So that destroys already the
possibility of the emergence of the new rules of
the game. But do you think this is still
realistically possible?
Michael: I certainly do not see any repetition of a Bretton Woods
because as I described in Super Imperialism, the whole of
Bretton Woods was designed to make American control
over Britain, over Europe total. Bretton Woods was a U.S.
-centered system to prevent England from maintaining
its empire. That’s okay. To prevent France from maint-
aining its empire --- and for America to take over the
sterling area and, essentially, with the World Bank,
stop other countries from becoming independent
and feeding themselves --- to make sure that they
supported plantation agriculture, not land reform.
The one single fight of the World Bank was to
prevent land reform and to make sure that
America and foreign investors, would take
over the agriculture of these countries.
And often, people think of capitalism, certainly in the sense
that Marx described in Volume One, is exploitation of wage
labour by employers. But capitalism also is appropriation
of land rent, agricultural rent, natural resource rent, oil
and mineral rent. And the idea of Bretton Woods was to
make sure that other countries couldn't impose capital
controls or prevent US finance from coming in and
appropriating their resources, of making loans to
foreign governments so that governments would
not create their own money to promote their own
social development, but would have to borrow
from the World Bank & IMF, that essentially
meant from the Pentagon and the State
Department, in U.S. dollars.
And they would dollarize their economies and the economies
would all be sucked. The economic rents from oil, agriculture,
mining would all be sucked into the United States. That kind
of Bretton Woods cannot be done again. And since Bretton
Woods was an idea of centralizing the world’s economic
surplus in a single country, the United States, no, that
can never be done again.
What is happening? You mentioned the world of free lunch,
and that’s what was a theme of Super Imperialism, when
America issues dollars, for these all end up in central
banks and they hold the dollars as a surplus. That
means what can they do? All they can do is really
lend them to the US. The US got a free lunch. It
could spend and spend on its military, on
bumping up corporate takeovers of other
countries. The dollars have come in, and
foreign countries couldn’t cash them in
for gold. They had nothing to cash them
into. All they could do, is finance the US
budget deficit, by buying Treasury bills.
That’s the irony now, what has happened in the last few years
in the fight against Russia and China is America has killed the
free lunch because it said, okay, now we’re going to have
sanctions against Russia and China. We’re going to all of
a sudden grab whatever money you have in foreign banks
like we grabbed Venezuela’s money. Let’s go, we’re going
to excommunicate you from the bank clearing system. So
you can’t use banking. We’re going to put sanctions
against banks that deal with you.
So obviously Russia and China said, okay, we can’t deal with
the dollar anymore, because the US just creamed them. And
if we do have dollars, we’re just going to hold everything in
reserves * lending to the US, the dollars that it’s going to
spend building more military bases around us to make us
waste our money on monetary spending. And so America
itself by the way, in fighting against China and Russia, has ended the free lunch.
“In America you’ve had since 1980 something entirely different.
That was not foreseen by anybody because it seemed to be
so disruptive.”
And now, Russia and China as you pointed out, are de-dollarizing,
they’re trading in each other’s currency. They’re being the exact
opposite of everything that Bretton Woods tried to create. They
are trying to create independence from the United States.
If Bretton Woods is this dependence on the US, a centralized
system dependent ultimately on Wall Street financial planners
then, what China & Russia are trying to create is an economy
that’s not run by the financial sector, but it is run by, let’s say,
industrial and economic engineering and saying, what kind
of an economy do we need in order to raise living standards
& wages and self-sufficiency and preserve the environment,
what is needed for the ideal world that we want?
Well, in order to do that, you’re going to have to have a lot of
infrastructure. And in America, infrastructure is all privatized.
You have to make a profit. And once you have infrastructure,
a railroad or electric utility, like you see in Texas recently, it’s
a monopoly. Infrastructure, for 5,000 years, Europe, the near
East, Asia was always kept in the public domain that goes, if
you give it to private owners, they’ll charge a monopoly rent.
Well, the idea that China has is, “OK, we’re going to provide
the educational system freely and let everybody try to get
an education.” In America if you have an education, you
have to go into debt for the banks for between $50,000
and $200,000. And whatever you make you’re going to
end up paying the bank while in China, if you give free
education, the money that they earned from education
will be spent into the economy, buying the goods and
services that they produce, and the economy will be
expanding, not shrinking, not having it all sucked out
into the financial banks financing your education,
same thing with railroads, same things with
healthcare.
If you provide healthcare freely then the employers do not
have to pay for the healthcare because that’s provided free.
In the United States, if the corporation and the employees
have to pay for healthcare, that means that the employees
have to be paid a much higher wage in order to afford the
healthcare, in order to afford the transportation that gets
him to work, in order to afford the auto loans, in order to
drive to work, all of this is free, or subsidized in other
countries, who create their own credit.
In the United States and Europe, governments feel that they
have to borrow from the wealthy people in a bond and pay
interest. In China they say, “we don’t have to borrow from
a wealthy class. We can simply print the money.” That’s
Modern Monetary Theory. As Donald Trump explained in
the United States, we can print whatever we want. Dick
Cheney said, deficits don’t matter. We can just print it.
And of course, Stephanie Kelton and my colleagues
in MMT at Kansas City, for many years, have
been saying.
“The economy has been saturated & Reaganized and
the result is, a fight of economic systems against China and Russia.”
The banks fear this because they say, “Wait a minute, Modern
Monetary Theory means it’s not feudal monetary theory. We
want feudal monetary theory. We want the rich people to be
able to have a choke point on the economy that you can’t
survive unless you borrow from us and pay us interest.
We want the choke points.” That’s called economic rent.
So, you have the West turning into a rent-extractive economy,
a rent-seeking economy. And you’ll have the whole ideal of
Russia, China, and other countries, being the ideal of not
only Marx, but Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, Ricardo. The
whole of classical economics was to free economies from
economic rent. & the US economy is all about extracting
rent through the real estate sector, the financial sector, the health insurance sector, the monopolies and the
infrastructure sector.
The economy has been saturated and Reaganized and the
result is a fight of economic systems against China and
Russia. So, it’s not simply that, there’s a fight between
who makes the best computer chips and iPhones. It’s:
are we going to have a fallback of civilization back to
feudalism, back into control by a narrow class at the
top of the economy, that 1 percent? Or are we going
to have the ideal of democratic industrialization that
used to be called socialism - but it was also called
capitalism. Industrial capitalism was socialism; it
was socialized medicine, it was socialized infra-
structure, it was socialized schooling. And so,
the fight against socialism is a fight against
industrial capitalism, a fight against
democracy, a fight against
prosperity.
That’s why what you’re seeing now is a fight for what
direction civilization will go into. And you can’t have a Bretton Woods for a single kind of organization...
because the US would never join that civilization.
The US calls a country trying to make its labour
force prosperous, educated and healthy, instead of sick with shorter lifespans, they call it communism or socialism.
Well, it can call it whatever it wants, but
that’s the dynamic we are talking about.
Pepe: Well, you put it very, I would say starkly. Opposition
between 2 completely different systems, what the Chinese
are proposing, including, from productive capitalism to
trade and investment all across Eurasia and beyond,
including Africa, parts of Latin America as well. And
the rentier obsession of the 0.01 percent that
controls the U.S. financial system. In terms of
facts on the ground, are we going slowly but
surely and ominously, towards an absolute
divorce --- by a system based on rentier,
ultra-financialization, which is the US's
system and not productive capitalism
at all.
I was going through a small list of what the U.S. exports, it’s
not much as you know, better than I do. Agricultural products
but always privileging U.S. farmers. Hollywood, we are all
hostages of Hollywood all over the world. Pop culture?
That’s not the pop culture that used to be absolutely
impregnable and omniscient during the ‘60s, the 70s,
during the Madonna, Michael Jackson era in the ‘80s,
right? Infotech. And that’s where a big bet comes in.
And this is maybe the most important US export at
the moment because American Big Tech controls
social networks all over the planet. Big Pharma.
Now we see the power of Big Pharma with the
whole Covid operations, right? But Boeing
prefers to invest in financial engineering
instead of building decent products.
Right?
So, in terms of a major superpower, the hyperpower, that’s
not much, and obviously buyers all over the world already
noticed that. So, China is proposing the New Silk Roads,
which is a foreign-policy strategy, & a trade, investment
and sustainable development strategy. [It’s] applied not
only to the whole of Eurasia, but Eurasia and beyond to
grow a great deal of the Global South and that’s why we
have Global South partners to the New Silk Roads —
130-and-counting as we speak.
So, the dichotomy could not be clearer. What will the 0.001
percent do? Because they don’t have anything seductive
to sell. To all those nations in the Global South to start
with; the new version of the Non-Aligned Movement,
NAM, the countries that are already part of New Silk
Road projects, not even to Europe and this, we
could see by the end of last year when the
China-European Union agreement... was
more or less sealed. It’s probably going
to be sealed in 2021 for good.
And at the same time, we had the Regional Economic
Comprehensive Partnership, RCEP, with the ASEAN
10, my neighbours here, the Association of South
East Asian Nations, China, Japan, South Korea,
Australia, and New Zealand. So, when you have
the China-EU deal, and when you have RCEP,
you have China as the number one trade
partner on the planet, no competition
whatsoever.
And obviously every one of these players wants to do
business with China. And they’re privileging doing
business with China to doing business with the
U.S., especially with a country that once again,
according to President Putin, is non-agreement
capable. So, Michael, what is your key geo-
economic view of the next steps? Are we
going towards a divorce of the American
financialization system and the Eurasia-
and-beyond integration system?
Michael: Well, you have made the whole point clear.
There is incompatibility between a rentier society
controlled by the finance and real estate interests
& military interests - and an industrial democracy.
Industry in England and Europe in the 19th century — the
whole fight for democratic reform to increase the role of
the House of Commons against the House of Lords in
England and the lower house in Europe — was a fight
to get labour on the side of industry [and] to get rid of the landlord class. And it was expected that …
capitalism [would then be] free of the landlord
class, free of something that wasn’t really
capitalism at all, it was a carry-over from
feudalism. Once you free capitalism, you
wouldn’t have this overhead of the idle
1 percent, only consuming resources
and going to war, anymore.
And then World War I changed all of that . … Already, in the
late 19th century, the landlords and the banks fought back,
and they fought back largely through the Austrian School
of individualism and the English marginalists and they
called it freedom. They call it free markets. Free market meant giving power to monopolists, to oppressors, to violence. A free market was where armies can come, take your
country, impose client dictatorships like
[Gen. Augusto] Pinochet in Chile or the
neo-Nazis in the Ukraine. And you call
that, a free market.
The free world was a world centrally planned by the US
military & finance, together. So, it’s Orwellian, and the
dynamic of this world is shrinking since it’s polarizing
- and you’ve seen with the Covid pandemic in the US -
the economy has polarized much more sharply than
ever before between the 1%, the 10% and the rest of the economy.
Well, as opposed to that here, you have economies that are
not run by a rentier class, that don't have a banking class
and the landlord class controlling the economy, but a
partnership. The kind of thing you had in Germany in
the late 19th century, government industry & labour
all working together to design how we provide the
financing for industry, so that it can provide, not
only industrial capital formation, but public
funding for us to build infrastructure and
uplift the population.
What China is doing is what made America rich in the 19th
century, what made Germany rich. It’s exactly the same
logical engineering plan. Now, this plan, because it’s
based on economic expansion, and environmental
preservation and economic balance instead of on
concentration, this is going to be a growing
economy. So, you are having a growing
economy outside of the USt - and a shrinking economy in the States
and its satellites in Europe.
Europe had a choice; either it could shrink, and be American,
or it could join the growth. Europe has decided unanimously,
we don’t want to grow. We want to be constant. We want our
banks to take over just like in America. That’s a free market
because Americans have found out, and I’m told by US
officials we just buy the European politicians, they’re
bribable. That’s why when president Putin says,
America and Europe are not agreement capable,
it means they’re just in it for the money. There
is no ideology there. There is no idea of the
overall social benefit. The system is “how
can I get rich, and you can get rich, by
being bribed?” That’s why you go into
politics. As you can tell in the US with
the Supreme Court's law saying that politics can be personally financed.
So, you’re having two incompatible systems and, they’re
on different trajectories & if you have a system that is
shrinking, like the West, and growing in the East, you
have resentment. People who obtain their wealth in
crooked ways, or without working - by inheritance,
by crime, by exploitation - they will fight like any-
thing to keep that. Whereas people who actually
create wealth, labour, capital, they, they’re not
willing to fight, they just want to be creative.
So you have a destructive military force, in
the West... And a productive, economic
growth force. And in Eurasia, the clash
now is occurring largely in Ukraine.
You’re having the US back the
neo-Nazis.
Pepe: The old Nazi movement!
Michael: It’s the same swastika-carrying group that threatened
Russia in World War II. And this is like waving a red flag before
a bull. Putin continues to remind the Russians. We know what
happened with the 22 million Russians that died in World War II
with Europe coming in. We’re not going to let it happen again.
And you can be certain Russia is not going to be sucked into
invading the Ukraine. The US has its military advisers in the
Ukraine. Now, the Vineyard of the Saker has a very good
report on that. America’s trying to needle Russia into
fighting back against the terrorist groups and Russia
has no desire at all to. There’s nothing that Russia
has to gain by taking it over. It’s essentially a
bankrupt country.
The US is trying to provoke a response so it can say Russia is attacking the West. The result will probably be, that
Russia will simply provide arms to the E. Ukrainians
to fight back the invasion. And you’re going to have a waste-land in Western Ukraine and Poland. And this wasteland will be a new buffer state with Europe. Already you have, maybe, 10% of the Ukrainians having moved to Russia and the east. 10% are now plumbers in England and Europe, working.
They are beginning to look like Latvia, and all the other
neo-liberalized countries. Neo-liberalized countries? If
you want to see the future, look at Latvia and Estonia.
Look at Greece. That’s the American plan. Essentially,
an emigration of skilled labour, a sharp reduction of
living standards, a 20 percent decline in population.
And although it may appear to have more income,
all of this income and GDP is essentially interest
collection and rents to the FIRE sector.
All US GDP growth is essentially payment to the bank, to the landlords and the monopolist, it’s not the population -
employees aren't sharing in the GDP. It’s all concentrated at the top. They make a desert, and they call it growth.
It hasn’t changed. Rome was a predatory economy held by
military force that ultimately collapsed and the US is on the
same trajectory as Rome. And it knows this, I have spoken
to US policymakers & they say, “you know, we’re going to be dead by then. It doesn’t matter if the West loses.
I’m going to be rich. I’m going to buy a farm in New Zealand, and make a big bomb shelter there, and live underground, you know, like a cave dweller.”
The financial time frame * the predatory rentier time frame
is short term. The Eurasian time frame, is long-term. So,
you’ve got to have the short-term burning what wealth
it has, as opposed to the longer-term building up.
[Consider the Biden Covid relief measure.] They call it a stimulus
bill, but if you’re starving, if you haven’t been able to pay your
rent, if you’re six months behind in your rent and you get
enough money to pay the landlord, at least one month
back rent, that’s not a stimulus, that’s a survival. And
it’s a one-time payment. This kind of stimulus checks
that America’s sending out are sent out every month
in Germany and parts of Europe.
The whole idea in Europe is: OK, you have a pandemic, you
have business interrupted. What we’re going to do is we’re
going to have a pause. You don’t pay the rent, but the land-
lords are not going to pay the banks. And the banks are
not going to be in arrears. We’re just going to have a
pause so that when it’s all over people will go back
to normal. Well... China and Russia are already
pretty much there and where you are [in Asia],
and especially in Thailand, are already back
to normal.
But in America anybody who’s renting or who’s bought a
house on mortgage credit or who has credit card debt or
personal debt or automobile debt they’re way behind.
And all of these stimulus checks are just being used
to pay the banks and the landlords - not to buy more
goods and services.
All they’re trying to do is, is get out of the hole they’ve dug
in the last 12 months. That’s not a stimulus that’s a partial,
desperation payment. This problem never existed in other
civilizations. You have the whole tradition of Greece and
Babylonia --- that’s what my book Forgiving the Debt is
all about. The whole idea is, when there's an economic
interruption, you have an interruption, you don’t have
people going into debt. You wipe out all the arrears
that have mounted up. You wipe out the tax arrears,
the rent arrears, the debt of payment arrears. So,
once the crisis is over, you can start from a
normal position again.
There’s no normalization in the US, there’s no normal position
to start. You’re starting from a position, even more behind the
financial problems than you were when you went in. The
foreign economies of China and Russia don’t have that
kind of problem, they don’t have any kind of deficit. So,
the West is beginning with 99% of the population
deeper and deeper into debt to the 1 percent.
Where is that whole polarization between the 1% and the
99 %? It doesn’t exist, certainly in China and in Russia,
Putin is trying to minimize it, given the legacy of kleptocracy
that the neo-liberals put in, he’s still trying to deal with that,
but you really have that. It’s a difference in economic
systems, and the direction in which these systems
are moving in.
Pepe: I’m really glad that you brought up Ukraine, Michael,
because this, let’s say U.S. foreign policy, even before
Trump and now with the Biden-Harris administration,
basically more or less what it boils down to, is
sanctions, sanctions, sanctions, as we know,
and provocations --- which is what they’re
doing, certainly, in Syria with that
recent bombing.
In the case of Ukraine & Donbass, it’s absolutely crazy
because NATO so-called strategists, when you talk to them in Brussels, they know very, very well, about each state or whatever they weaponize and financialize, to profit Kiev to mount some sort of offensive against the Donbass:
and even if they would have l,300,000 soldiers against 30,000 in Donbass.
If the Russians see that this is going to get really heavy if they
intervene directly with their bombing, with their super missiles,
they could finish this story in one day. And if they want it, they
could finish the whole story, including invading Ukraine, in
three days, like they did in 2008 with Georgia, and still they
keep the provocations, loosely acted on by people from
inside the Pentagon.
And so, we have sanctions, we have nonstop provocations, and
we have also a sort of introducing a Fifth Column — elements
inside or at the top of government — which brings me to, and
I would love to have your personal analysis on the role of
Mario (Goldman Sachs) Draghi now in Italy, which is
something I had been discussing with my Italian
friends. And, there’s more or less a consensus,
among very well informed, independent Italian
analysts that Draghi may be a perfect Trojan
horse to accelerate the destruction of the
Italian state, which will accelerate the
globalist project of the European
Union, which is absolutely non-
state centric.
Let’s put it this way, which is also part of the Great Reset,
so, if you could briefly talk to us about the role of Super
Mario at the moment.
Michael: Well, Italy is a very good example to look at. It had
strings for a long time. When you have a country that needs
infrastructure, plus public, social democratic spending...
you need a government to create the credit. But when the
US and specifically the University of Chicago free market
lobbyists created the the Eurozone financial system, their
premise was that governments cannot create money. Only
banks can create money. Only banks owned by the bond
holders can create money for the benefit of their owners
and bond holders. So, no European government, first of
all, can run a budget deficit sufficient to cope with the
coronavirus or with the problems that have been
plaguing Italy for a decade.
They can’t create their money to revive employment, to revive
infrastructure, to revive the economy. The European Central
Bank only lends to other central banks.
It’s created trillions of euros just to buy stocks and bonds, not
to spend into the economy, not to hire labor, not to build infra-
structure, but just for the holders of the stocks and bonds.
The 1% or 5% of the population gets richer. The function of
the European Central Bank is to create money, to save the
wealthiest 5% from losing a single penny on their stocks
and bonds.
And the cost is to impoverish the economy and to basically
make the economy end up looking like Greece, which was
sort of, the dress rehearsal for how the Eurozone was
going to just essentially reduce Europe to debt
dependency, just like in feudalism, everybody
had to have access to the land by becoming
a serf.
Well now you’re in debt peonage. It’s the modern, finance
capital’s version of serfdom. And so, in Italy we’re going
to need government spending. We are going to need to
do in our way what China’s doing in its way and what
Russia is doing in its way. We’re going to have some
kind of government program. And we can’t have the
economy being impoverished, just because the
University of Chicago has designed a plan for
Europe to prevent the euro ever from being
a rival to the U.S. dollar.
If there’s no European central bank to borrow,
to pump euros into the world economy, then, only dollars will be left for central bank
reserves.
The United States doesn’t ever want a rival. It wants satellites
and so that’s what it’s basically turned Europe into. And I do
not see any response outside of Italy for an attempt to say
we can’t be a part of this system. Let’s withdraw from
the euro.
I know that the Greeks, when I was in Greece years ago, we all
thought can’t we join with Italy and Portugal and Ireland and
say look, the system isn’t working. Everybody else no, no,
the Americans will just simply get us out of office one way
or another.
And in Italy, of course, if you look at what happened after World
War II, the great threat was Italian communism. You had the
Americans essentially say well, we know the answer to
communism, it’s fascism, and, you saw where they put
the money. They essentially did every dirty trick in the
book in order to fight any left- wing group in Italy, just
as they did in Yugoslavia, just as they did in Greece,
wiping out the partisans, all the leading anti-Nazi
groups from Greece to Italy to elsewhere. All of
a sudden, they were all either assassinated or
moved out of office and replaced by the very
people that the US had been fighting against
during World War II.
Well, now Italy is finally coming to terms with this and trying
to fight back and you’re having what’s happening there,
between Northern Italy and Southern Italy. You’re
having the same splits occur in other countries.
Pepe: Yeah. Well, I’m going to bring up, perhaps an even more
extreme case now Michael, which is the case of Brazil, which
at the moment is in the middle of an absolutely out of this
world mix of telenovela and Kabuki theater that even for
most Brazilians is absolutely incomprehensible. It’s like
a fragmentation bomb exploding over and over again,
a Groundhog Day of fragmentation bombs.
In fact, it’s completely crazy. Lula [former President Luiz Inácio
Lula da Silva] is back in the picture as well. We still don’t know
under which terms, we still don’t know how the guys who run
the show, which are the Brazilian military, are going to deal
with him or instrumentalize him, et cetera.
I bring up this case because …essentially it has convulsed
Brazil completely and large parts of Latin America. It is a
telenovela with one cliffhanger after another, sometimes
in a matter of minutes, but it encompasses all the basic
themes of what really interests the 0.01 percent, which
we can identify as a class war against labour which is
what the system in Brazil, since the coup against the
Former President Dilma Rousseff has been waging.
A war on mixed economies, economic sovereignty,
which is something that the Masters of the Universe
of the 0.01 percent cannot wage against Russia and
China. But that was very successfully waged against
Brazil and implemented in Brazil. In fact, in a matter
of 2 years, they completely devastated the country
in every possible sense, industrially,
sociologically, you name it…
And of course, because the main objective is something that
you keep stressing over and over again, unipolar rentier
dominance, in fact.
Brazil, I would say is the extreme case in the world not only in
the Global South, but in planetary terms of let’s say the last
frontier of the rentier economy, when you manage to capture
a country that was slowly emerging as a leader in the Global
South, as an economic leader. Don’t forget that a few years
ago, Brazil was the sixth-largest economy in the world and
on the way to become the fifth. Now it’s the 12th and falling
down nonstop and controlled by a mafia that includes not
by accident, a Chicago Boy Pinochetista, Minister Paulo
Guedes, who is implementing, in the 21st century,
something that was implemented in Chile in the
‘70s and ‘80s. And they were successful.
Apparently, at least so far.
Brazil is so disorganized as a nation, so shattered, so fragmented
& atomized as a nation that it depends on the re-emergence of a
single political leader, in this case Lula to try to rebuild the nation
from scratch. And even in a position where he cannot control the
game he can interfere in the game, which is what happened, like
you know, … when he gave a larger-than-life press conference,
mixed with a representation of himself as a statesman and said,
“Look the whole thing is shattered, but there is some light at
the end of the tunnel.”
But still, he cannot confront the real Masters of the Universe that
have allowed this to happen in the first place. So just to give an
example to many of you who are not familiar with some details
of the Brazilian case, and it involves directly the Obama-Biden
scheme or the Obama-Biden larger operation. When Biden was
vice president in 2013, in May 2013, he visited Brazil for three
days and he met with President Dilma.
They discussed very touchy subjects, including the most important
one, the absolutely enormous, pre-salt oil reserves, which obviously,
the Americans wanted to be part of the whole thing, not by accident.
You know what happened one week later? The start of the Brazilian
colour revolution, and this thing kept rolling and rolling and rolling.
We got the coup against Dilma in 2016, we got to the Car Wash
operation landing Lula in jail. And we got to the election of
[President Jair] Bolsanaro. And now we are in a place where
even if the military controls this whole process, even if
Bolsanaro is becoming bad for business will he become
bad for the rentier class business, for the 0.01 percent in
the U.S. that has all the connections in their new, large
neo-colony in the tropics, which has enormous
strategic value, not to mention, unforeseen
resources, wealth resources, right?
So, this is an extreme case - and I know you follow Brazil
relatively closely. So, your geo-economic and geopolitical
input on the running telenovela I think would be priceless
for all of us.
Michael: Well, this problem goes back 60 years. In 1965, the
former president of Brazil came to New York and we met. He
explained to me how the United States essentially got rid of
him because he wasn’t representing the banking class. And
he said that they built Brasilia because it’s apart from the big
industrial cities, they wanted to prevent industry and
democracy and the population from controlling
the government.
So, they built Brasilia. He said maybe they’ll use it as an atom
bomb site. It certainly doesn’t have an economic thing. Well,
fast forward, in 1980, after Mexico defaulted on its foreign
debt in 1972, nobody would invest in Latin America. And
by 1990, Brazil was paying 45 % interest per year to
borrow the dollars to be able to finance its deficit,
which is mainly flight capital by the wealthy.
Well I think I’d mentioned before, I was hired by Scudder,
Stevens and Clark for the Third World bond fund. 45%:
I mean, just imagine that. It’s a fortune every year. No
American would buy it, no European would buy it. Who
bought it? The Brazilians and Argentineans bought it,
& I get it, they’re the government, they’re the central
bankers. They’re the president’s family. They’re the
1 percent, they’re the only people that are holding
Brazil’s dollar debt.
So when Brazil pays its foreign dollar debt, it’s paying to its own
1 percent who are holding, who are saying well, we’re holding it
off shore in the Dutch West Indies where the fund was located
for tax-exempt purposes and pretending to be American
imperialists, but actually being local imperialists.
Well then, just towards the end of Lula’s reign, the Council of
Economic Advisors brought Jamie Galbraith and Randy Wray
and me down for a discussion. How do we, you know, we’re,
we’re really worried because, Lula in order to get elected,
had to meet with the banks and agree to give them what
they wanted.
They said, look, we can see that, you know, you have the power
to be elected. We don’t want to have to fight you in dirty ways,
but will let you be elected, but you’re going to have to do the
policies and certainly the financial policies that we want and
Lula made a kind of a devil’s agreement with them because
he didn’t want to be killed and he wanted to do some
good things.
So, he was sort of like a Bernie Sanders-type character. Okay,
you have to go along with a really bad system in order to get
something good done, because Brazil really needs something
good done. Well, the fact is that even the little bit he did the
finance couldn’t take because one of the characteristics of
financial wealth is it’s addictive. It’s not like diminishing
marginal utility. If you give more food to an employee or
to a worker you know, at the end of the meal, you’re
satiated, you don’t want much more. If you give
enough money you know, OK, they buy a few
luxuries and then, OK, they save it. But if you
give more money to a billionaire they want
even more... and they grow... even more
desperate. It’s like a cocaine-addicted
person and the Brazilian ruling class
wanted it so desperately that they
framed up and controlled the
utterly corrupt judiciary.
The judiciary in Brazil is almost as
corrupt as it is in New York City.
Pepe: More, even more.
Michael: They framed them up and they want totalitarian control.
And that sort of is what free market is. Totalitarian control by the
financial class. That’s freedom for the financial class, if the
freedom to do what they want to do to the rest of the
economy, that’s libertarianism, it’s a free market,
it’s Austrian economics.
It’s the right wing’s fight against government, it’s a fight against
any governments for long enough who resist the financial and
real estate interests. That’s what the free market is. And Brazil
is merely the most devastating example of this because it
takes such a racial term there. Not only does Brazil want
to make a fortune, tearing down the Amazon, cutting up
the Amazon, selling the lumber to China, turning the
Amazon into soy production to sell to China. But for
that, you have to kill off the domestic population, the indigenous population that wants to use land to feed itself. So you see the kind of race war &
ethnic war that you have, not to mention the
war against blacks in the Brazilian slums -
that Lula tried so much to overcome.
So you have a resumption of the ethnic war there, and on Wall
Street, I had discussions with money managers back in 1990.
Well I wonder whether that’s going to be a model for what’s
happening in the United States with the ethnic war here.
Essentially, it’s a tragedy what’s happening in Brazil, but it’s
pretty much what happened in Chile under Pinochet which
is why they have the Pinochetistas and the Chicago boys
that you mentioned.
Pepe: Absolutely. Coming back to China, Michael, and the
[recent] approval of the 5-Year Plan, which isn't actually the 5-year plan. It’s actually three 5-year plans in one
because they are already planning 2035, which is
something absolutely unimaginable anywhere
in the West. Right?
So, it’s a different strategy of productive investment, of the
expansion of social welfare and solidifying social welfare,
technological improvements. I would say by 2025 China
will be very close to the same infotech level of the U.S.,
This is part of “Made in China 2025,” which is fantastic.
They stopped talking about it, but they're still implement-
ing it, the technological drive in all those standard areas
that they had codified a few years ago. And of course,
this notion, which I found particularly fascinating
because it is, in one sense, socialism with some
Confucianist elements, but is also very Taoist:
The dual development strategy, which is
inversions and expansion of domestic
investment and consumption and the
balancing all the time with projects
across Eurasia, not only affiliated
with the Belt and Road, with the
New Silk Road, but all other
projects as well.
So, when you have a leadership that is capable of planning
with this scope, amplitude breadth and reach, and when we
compare it to the money managers in the West, which
basically their planning goes, not even quarterly in
many cases, it’s 24 hours.
So our dichotomy between rentier capitalism, financialization,
or whatever we want to define it, and state planning with the
view of social benefit is even starker in fact, and I’m not
saying that the Chinese system can be exported to the
rest of the world, but I’m sure that, all across the Global
South, when people look at Chinese policies, long-term,
how they are planning, how they are developed and how they are always fine tuning what they developed and
discuss…. As you said in the beginning, this is a
frontal shock of two systems and sooner or later
we’re going to have the bulk of the Global South
including nations which nowadays are still
American vassals or satrapies or puppets
or poodles, et cetera.
They’re going to see which way the wind is blowing. Right?
Michael: Why can’t the Chinese system be exported to the West?
That’s a good question…. How would you make US industry able
to follow the same productive path that China did? Well for one
thing the biggest element in workers’ budget today is housing,
40 percent. There was one way to get rid of it, get rid of the
high housing prices that essentially, or whatever a bank
would lend. And the banks lend essentially the economic
rent. There’s a very simple way to keep housing prices
down. You tax the land rent, you use your tax system,
not on taxing labor, that increases the cost of labor,
not increasing capital, that leaves less, industrial
capital, but your tax of the land and the real
estate and the banks.
Well, suppose you were to lower the price of housing in
America from 40% to 10% like China has, and this is the
big element in the cost structure difference. Well, if all
of a sudden, people only had to pay 10% of their
income for housing, then all the banks would go under, because 80% of the bank loans,
are mortgage loans.
The whole idea is that the purpose of housing is to force how
many buyers and renters go into debt to the banks so that the
banks end up with all of the lend rent that the landlord class
used to get. This is what’s preventing America from being like
China. What if America would try to develop a high-speed
railroad like China?
Well, then you need the right of way. You’d need to have the
railroads go in a straight line. … They need a right of way
and it doesn’t have a right of way because that conflicts
with private property and most of the right of way is a
very expensive real estate.
So, you can’t have high-speed rail in the United States, like in
China. Suppose you would have a low-cost education. Well
then, you get rid of the whole means of siphoning off labor’s
income to pay for education loans. You could go, suppose
you had private healthcare and prevent Americans from
getting sick like they do in China and Thailand, where
you are.
Well, then the health insurance companies and pharmaceutical
companies wouldn’t be able to make their rent. So you could
not have America adopt a China type industrial program
without what would be really a revolution against the
legacy of the monopoly of private banking, of finance
and all of the fortunes that have been built up
financially really in the last 40 years
since 1980.
Pepe: So, what’s going to happen in the, let’s say, short to
mid-term in the U.S.? Michael, we are seeing the corrosion
of the whole system, not only externally in terms of foreign
policy & the end of the free lunch, but internally with those
70-million-plus “deplorables” being, literally, canceled from
public debate, the impoverishment of the middle classes,
with over 50 million people in the US who are practically
becoming literally poor. Obviously the American dream
ended a few decades ago, maybe, but now there’s not even a glimpse of it, that there could be a renewal of the American dream.
So, we have a larval civil war situation, degrading on a daily basis. What’sthe end game in fact? And what exactly does Wall Street, the US ruling class - guys who have those lunches at the Harvard club -
what do they, ultimately, want?
Michael: Well, what you call a disaster for the economy, isn’t it
a bonanza for the 1%? This is a victory of finance. You look at
it as a collapse of industrial capitalism. I look at it as the
victory of rentier finance capitalism. You’re having
probably 10 million Americans that are going to be
thrown out of their apartments and their homes in
June when the moratorium on rents & mortgages
ends. You’re going to have a vast increase in the
homeless population. It will probably represent
an increase in people who use the subways.
Where else are they going to live?
And all of this, there’s an immense amount of private capital
firms that have all been created in the last year of just wealth
accumulations and they’re saying there are going to be such
great opportunities to pick up real estate at bargain prices,
all of this for the commercial real estate, that’s broken, all
the buildings and the restaurants that have to be sold...
because they can’t meet their mortgage payments and
their rents, all the houses that are going to be under,
private capital can come in and do what was done
after the Obama evictions.
We can do what Blackstone did. We can buy them all out for
pennies on the dollar. So, for them, they’re looking at their
own 20-year plan. And their 20-year plan, is to grab
everything!
consortiumnews.com
The views of individual contributors
do not necessarily represent those
of Strategic Culture Foundation.
__________________________________
Few noted the essence of Putin's inauguration speech and its implications. What do YOU think?
We welcome your thoughts: email us at rayjoseph05@aol.com
TALL ORDER? Russia aims to be world’s 5th largest economy by Paul Antonopoulos May 11th, 2018
The inauguration ceremony of Putin to the presidency took place on Monday, in which he also signed a decree of instructions for the objectives on the development of the country for the next few years.
Putin has instructed the government to make the country one of the five most powerful economies by 2024 . The news was released by the Kremlin press service on Monday.
“The Russian government was instructed to ensure the following national goals for the development of Russia in the period up to 2024 … Russia must become one of the five largest economies, ensuring rates of economic growth above global standards, maintaining macro- economic stability as well as inflation not exceeding 4%,” the decree explains.
In addition, Putin instructed the government to create at least 15 global science and education centres, through the integration of universities and companies, by 2024.
Re-elected for a new six-year term as the Russian president, Vladimir Putin took office as head of state on Monday. It was the fourth presidential inauguration ceremony in his political career.
Putin was re-elected as Russia’s president in 2018 with record support, receiving a vote of more than 56.4 million from people.
It must be noted though, that in 2007, Putin said it would happen in 2017, and then, in 2008, he said it would be achieved by 2020. Russia’s economy is currently ranked 12th, behind the likes of Canada and South Korea.
Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday, that he was ready to do everything for Russia’s development if the parliament approved his candidacy as PM.
“I would like to thank President Vladimir Putin for the trust placed in me and for the proposal to become the head of the government. This is not only trust, but also a huge responsibility, and in the case that the corresponding decisions are made, I am ready to do everything for the development of our country Russia,” Medvedev told a plenary session of the State Duma.
Whether or not Russia is capable of growing to become one of the world’s top five economies in the next decade, is not simply a technical one - it is an ideological & philosophical one. There is an active debate within Russia, about the uses and utilities of market vs. planned economic structures, and secondly – though not entirely separately – the utility and value of Russia integrating into Western economies, and how the costs vs. benefits of that, will play out, in the middle to long term.
(Source - Fort Russ)
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Don't Trust Putin's Kleptocrats – Russia Needs Socialism November, 2017.
Veteran Russian communist DR SLAVA TETEKIN talks to John Foster, about how Russians today view the former Soviet Union and attitudes towards Vladimir Putin.
Asked about current support for communism in Russia, Dr Slava Tetekin, veteran member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, puts the figure at around 30 per cent.
Tetekin, recently in London for the celebration of the October Socialist Revolution, explained --- “our parliamentary representation fell significantly in the most recent Duma elections, to just over 12 per cent — largely as a result of a rigged electoral system.
“But the daily sale of the communist-supporting Pravda is 80,000 and of Sovetskaya Rossiya 120,000. Particularly among the young and the better-educated, interest in our party’s policies and the achievements of the Soviet Union, is increasing.
“This is because life,” says Tetekin, “is becoming increasingly difficult for all in Russia, except the very rich. Real incomes have been declining for three straight years. Twenty-two million people are classified as living in absolute poverty — struggling to get enough to eat. Half the populationis classified as poor.
“Yet people still remember that things were not always like this. Less than 30 years ago there was universal free healthcare.
“Education was free, right through to university, and so was childcare. There were full pensions. There was no unemployment. Housing, energy, transport and basic foods, were all heavily subsidised.
“There is also a growing awareness - of the degradation of Russia’s economy. Russia’s manufacturing industries are virtually dead. The economy is almost entirely dependent on extractive industries that sell to the West: oil, minerals, natural gas.
“In 1990, the Soviet Union produced 1,000 aircraft. Last year... we produced 50. Our airlines lease from the West. Our motor industry is entirely dependent on imported technology and components. The same applies even more to IT and computing. The technological base for independent economic development, has all but disappeared.
“These are some of the reasons why a new generation of Russians are looking again at their own history and particularly at the period following the revolution. In 1917 Russia had a backward, largely agrarian economy. Within just 25 years the Soviet Union was outperforming Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, both in output and the quality of its technology. It was in large part for this reason that the Soviet Union was able to defeat Hitler fascism.”
Asked how he would describe Russia’s current government under Vladimir Putin, Tetekin denied that it should be seen as at all progressive.
“It is embedded in a layer of kleptocratic comprador oligarchs - who are dependent on the West for the sale of their raw materials, for the banking of their money and for the technology needed for their operations in Russia. Immediately below Putin virtually all ministers are of this character.
“The government depends on the oligarchs and the oligarchs depend on the West.
“Putin,” he says, “has now been in power for a very long time. His 18 years exceed those of Brezhnev. It is remarkable how little challenge he offered to Nato and the US, for the great bulk of that time: years, that saw Nato’s eastward expansion into central Europe, the Balkans and the Black Sea. Russia even failed to oppose the invasion of Libya.
“It is only recently, in Crimea and in Syria, that Russia has set down markers against further US advances. This may reflect the directness with which the US was challenging Russia’s interests.”
But, says Tetekin, “there may well be other factors, which we need to consider.
“These might include: perceptions of a decline in the global power of the US, of a shift towards China, and economic rivalries between the US and the EU.
“Russia sells seven times as much to Germany as it does to the US — and buys from Germany in the same proportion.
“In turn, Germany’s own energy costs and international competitiveness against the US depend very significantly on Russian oil and gas. US diplomatic action to impede the construction of new gas pipelines from Russia to Germany & banking sanctions on oligarch companies -- match the increasing conflict between the EU and the US, over steel quotas and corporate taxation.”
Joking, Tetekin says he would be all in favour of US sanctions against Russia --- if they covered technology and spare parts.
“It would force the Russian government to invest in the redevelopment of our productive economy.”
However, he adds, these rivalries also underlie attempts to promote a “democratic opposition“ in Russia similar to that funded by the US in Ukraine, prior to the 2014 coup.
“It has a smaller potential base. It is impeded by its neoliberal ideology. Unlike the time of Yeltsin’s 1991 coup, there are no illusions about free markets. Russians have seen them, and know the consequences. But regime change is increasingly becoming a goal of the US administration.”
This, he says, makes it all the more important to redevelop working-class mobilisation and to ensure that the current reawakening of enthusiasm for the October Revolution is converted into a wider political movement for socialist change.
The young are already leading the way.
Dr Tetekin is currently chief policy adviser to the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, was a communist member of the Duma and previously played an active role in support for the anti-apartheid movement in southern Africa.
(Source - Morning Star)
________________________________________
North Korea: Standing proud for Korea! 30/8/2017 Few foreigners know this but here it is: most South Koreans admire their brothers and sisters in the North, the DPR Korea. The US does not know this, because such feelings are shared in private but then again what can you do if you have a foreign power on your soil controling your policy? Some react, others lie in bed with their master.
After all, the Japanese did it increasingly from 1876, then de facto from 1910 until 1945, by which time the founder of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kim il-Sung, had made a name for himself as an anti-Japanese guerrilla fighter and commander. And hero. After all, the Japanese took five hundred thousand Korean girls and ladies and turned them into "comfort women" to receive the dirty water from tired Japanese imperial invaders. After all, the Koreans provided half a million male slaves to the Japanese invader. It is this that Kim il-Sung was fighting against and the South Koreans know this.
The South Koreans, or the citizens of the Republic of Korea, know that South Koreans took part in the Sinchon Massacre which shows the torture and murder of civilians by mainly South Korean military personnel but also US soldiers, acting under the auspices of Washington. The South Koreans know that the USA deployed 32,557 tons of chemical weapons on North Korean civilians. The South Koreans know that the US and its South Korean puppet planned to invade the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1950. They know that these plans were seized by North Korean agents, and they know that these documents counter the lies used by the US State Department claiming that the war started when the North invaded the South. As was its right under international law, the DPRK defended itself. And so ensued the Korean War between 1950 and 1953. The South Koreans know that in this war, the Americans dropped more bombs on North Korea than it used in the entire Pacific arena in the Second World War. They know that in this war, the United States of America dropped 635,000 tons of explosives as opposed to 503,000 in the Pacific conflict. They know that in this war, the United States of America deployed 32,557 tons of Napalm, a chemical weapon, on N. Korean citizens.
In this war, 3.5 million Koreans were killed.
In this war, Pyongyang was bombed, it was carpet bombed and after three years of day-and-night humiliation, two buildings were left standing.
The South Koreans know that in this war, 20 per cent of the North Korean population was murdered by the United States of America and they know that American soldiers carried out the most barbaric atrocities, strafing air-raid shelters full of women and children, laughing as their screams filled the air as they burned to death. They know that in this war, US soldiers poured gasoline on civilians and stood back watching as they died a horrific death. The South Koreans know that in this war, US military personnel decapitated political prisoners with Samurai swords and they know that in one shelter, nine hundred women and children were incinerated. Korean children. Incinerated. As US soldiers looked on and giggled. Some say a few masturbated.
The South Koreans know that in one massacre of Koreans, 500 civilians were forced into a ditch and doused in gasoline before someone tossed in a match. The South Koreans know that American soldiers were seen pouring fuel down the air vents and that they were seen setting fire to the civilians sheltering below.
The South Koreans know that the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) bans nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space and under water. However, the DPR Korea is not a party to this treaty. Neither is underground testing banned under the treaty, unless radiation is released into the atmosphere. The South Koreans know that the CTBT, or Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (1996) is not in force and the DPR Korea is not a party to this treaty.
The South Koreans know that the DPR Korea did sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1985. This treaty expressly bans the manufacture and testing of nuclear devices, under Article II. However, the DPR Korea with- drew from the treaty in 2003, having given notice to the UNSC, as per Article X (I) which allows member states to withdraw from the treaty. The S. Koreans know this.
The South Koreans know that the Nuclear Disarmanent Declaration made by the DPR Korea is taken by some to be legally binding. This statement was made under the fourth round of the Six-Party Talks on the DPRK nuclear weapons program (PR China, Japan, DPR Korea, Russia, Rep. Korea, USA) in 2005. The declaration by Pyongyang was not a public declaration, but rather, an affirmation, made in private negotiations with five other nations and secondly, where is the evidence that Pyongyang intended to be bound by circumstances, especially after Iraq and Libya spelled a clear lesson: that if you destroy your weapons, then you are invaded.
And here we get to the crux of the matter. If you destroy your weapons, Washington invades you. Ask Iraq. Ask Libya. Ask Syria (proxy invasion by western-backed terrorists).
And if someone tries to use the UNSC (United Nations Security Council) as a legal entity or legal source, then let us ask Washington under which UN law did it invade Iraq? Or did the USA breach the UN Charter and breach international law with its invasion?
And regarding nukes, if the DPR Korea cannot have them, has anyone investigated Israel and found out whether the number of nukes it has is really 80 & with fissile material for a further 200 nuclear missiles?
The point is that the DPR Korea stands up against all these monumental injustices and these attempts to humiliate Koreans. The DPR Korea wants foreign troops off Korean soil and wants peace and reconciliation with the South.
That is all they ask for. From a position of pride & dignity. The South Koreans know this and they also know, in whose bed they lie.
by Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
(Source - Pravda.Ru)
Twitter: @TimothyBHinchey
timothy.hinchey@gmail.com
_____________________________________________
TURNING THE LIGHT ON...
In this year of the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution, and twenty years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it seems that no media in Russia, or anywhere else, ever quotes any serious news or analysis, from or about, the second most powerful political party in Russia, after Putin's United Russia party!
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), is mentioned less than the Russian Communist Party, a fake party, in RT news and other Russian media outlets...
So here's the latest report from the CPRF itself, well worth ploughing through, for what it reveals.
I wonder what you will think about it!
Please drop me a line, at rayjoseph05@aol.com
Political Report of the Central Committee to the XVII Congress of the CPRF
Delegates and guests of the Congress,
We have left behind us the report period, for which the start was made by the XV Congress. This stage was full of highly important, sometimes dramatic events. The time has come to review the results of the work over the past four years and set new benchmarks.
We are holding our XVII Congress in the year of the centenary of the Great October Revolution. The party started preparing for the jubilee in March 2015 at a special plenary session of the Central Committee.
Human history has seen many great events, but only some of them change the course of development of the whole world. Proletarian revolution in our country, dramatically changed the face of the planet. It set Russia on the path to socialism. It solved the national crisis, and saved the country from destruction.
The 'Great October Revolution' rid Russia of capitalist and national oppression. For the people of the Earth it became the lode star and the clarion call --- for the search for a future, worthy of Mankind.
The era of the building of socialism, is written into the biography of our country in golden letters. The unique experience of Lenin- Stalin modernization enabled the country to increase its industrial potential seventy-fold within two decades, a rate of development unprecedented in world history. That experience is still an example of the successful creation of a society of social justice.
The Jubilee of the Great October Revolution is an excellent opportunity to remind the world of its significance and high- light the achievements of socialism. To show an alternative to the omnipotence of capital. To mobilize all the forces, to struggle for the triumph of the bright ideas of working people.
The crisis of capitalism: a sign of decay
Comrades,
The world is immersed in a profound systemic crisis which engenders instability and threatens a new world war. This is the essence of the present stage of capitalism. The inherent contradictions of this system have not gone away: the contradictions between Labour and Capital, between the social character of production and the private form of appropriation of the results of labour. On the contrary, the inborn flaws of this system, have assumed a worldwide character. There is no corner on Earth where the tentacles of the rapacious octopus have not reached. As Marx noted in his time, its very nature, forces it to scour the world in search of maximum profits. Therefore the miasma of over-ripe and decaying capitalism, is poisoning practically all countries and continents.
Crises are an inseparable part of the capitalist economy. Throughout its history capitalism has engendered several major and tens of smaller crises. The current crisis is now into its tenth year. It is the biggest crisis since the Great Depression in the USA and the Second World War. The crisis has affected, not just one individual sector, not one tentacle of the octopus, but the entire system.
The current crisis is a direct consequence of neoliberalism. The US Marxist, David Harvey, came to the conclusion that in the 1970s, speculative financial capital had finally gained an upper hand over industrial capital, so that not production, but the market value of shares of stock, became the aim of economic activity. Financial interests, “the power of the accountants rather than the engineers”, prevailed among the ruling classes and the ruling elites. Indeed, capitalism is drifting further & further away from material production. The imploding financial bubbles, form a characteristic feature of modern capitalism. You will remember that the CPRF has described this phenomenon as financial imperialism, and has provided its extended analysis.
Neoliberalism has led to a revision of the idea of a “social state.” It has cast aside all the vestiges of democracy and human rights. It is relentlessly asserting its class & even caste supremacy. According to Oxfam, the international association of NGOs, 1% of the planet’s population owns more wealth, than the remaining 99 percent. The combined wealth of 62 of the richest people, is comparable to what the poorest half of humankind owns, and that, is 3.5 billion people.
It is impossible to challenge the English philosopher Terry Eagleton, who predicted in his book Why Marx Was Right, that “Capitalism will behave anti-socially, if it is profitable for it to do so, & that can now mean human devastation on an unimaginable scale.”
The number of billionaires increased six times - to 1,810 - between 2000 and 2016. At the same time, more than a billion Earth people live in abject poverty. Nearly 400 million children suffer from malnutrition. This is not a coincidence. There is a direct link between the enrichment of the rich, & the impoverishment of the poor.
During the last crisis, the lower strata were ruined, lost their jobs and dwellings, while banks and corporations drew billions in assistance from governments. This isn't surprising, considering that government institutions have become no more than managers hired by Big Business. While Apple pays, in Europe, a profit tax equal to five- thousandths of a percentage point, ordinary people are choked by high taxes, prices and credits, low wages, and the dismantling of social rights.
The parasitic essence of world capitalism will not disappear - unless capitalism is destroyed. In its quest for maximum profits, the oligarchy stops at nothing: stepping up their exploitation and financial speculation, the unleashing of wars, and the destruction of whole states.
Our XV Congress thus defined the main features of the present-day capitalist system:
First, globalism is the highest form of imperialism.
Second, the world economic crisis is deepening.
Third, capitalism is mounting an attack against human rights everywhere.
Fourth, imperialism is increasingly aggressive in the world arena, and the threat of a new, major war, is growing.
Fifth, financial-oligarchic capital ever more openly puts its stake, on the most vicious and reactionary forces.
Life has vindicated our analysis. During the past four years the beastly snarl of capitalism has manifested itself in all its ugly cynicism. World capital does not tolerate competitors, let alone rivals: it strangles and destroys political regimes that think along national lines.
Over a hundred years ago Lenin drew attention to the crises connected with the transition from the “peaceful” to the non- peaceful stage of the functioning of the bourgeois system. The destruction of the Soviet Union, ushered in another “peaceful” period. Not encountering any serious obstacles, capitalism pursued a policy of globalization. The workers’ and communist movement was weakened. There was an upsurge of opportunism. Absolute impoverishment of the working people was taking place, even in economically developed countries.
That period is now over. New trends have emerged.
First, imperialism is actively provoking internal conflicts in various countries and is using military force to redraw the world map. Examples are Iraq, Libya and Syria.
Second, a tilt to the right is encouraged in the centres of world capitalism. Even the European social-democrats have given up their pacifism and embraced aggressive imperialistic attitudes. Seeing Russia as a competitor, the West is fomenting anti-Sovietism and Russophobia.
Third, right-wing forces, including Fascism, have moved to the forefront of the capitalist world.
We believe it is wrong to assert that Russia has immunity to Fascism. The historical experience of Italy & Germany has shown that in the “weak links” of the capitalist chain, imperialism uses Fascization as an “antidote” to socialist revolutions. That is why Russia is also vulnerable. We communists have to be vigilant.
The scenario of the extreme right coming to power has already been acted out in Ukraine. The Banderovites, backed by the US and the European Union, staged a government coup to establish a terrorist, reactionary nationalist regime that cracks down on communists and all dissenters. The proclamation of the Donetsk & Lugansk People’s Republics was a logical reaction of millions of honest and courageous people. In spite of the Minsk Agreements, the situation in Donbass is extremely tense. Today the CPRF reaffirms: “Donbass, we are by your side.” We come out for the recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and for their further rapprochement with Russia.
The decision of the people of Crimea on reunification with Russia, was a landmark event. At the same time, it has shown that world capitalism won't tolerate attempts by our country, to protect its borders and interests. The Western countries are turning Ukraine into an anti- Russian bulwark. In July 2016, the NATO summit in Warsaw declared Russia to be the main threat -- and “containing Moscow”, to be the key goal.
Having accused Russia of aggression, the North Atlantic Alliance has stepped up the militarization of Eastern Europe. NATO has deployed its military units in Poland, Romania and the Baltic states. NATO is strengthening its presence on the Black Sea. Montenegro has been drawn into the Alliance.
The new US Administration has not renounced its aggressive foreign policy. One of Trump’s early directives was to increase the defense budget by more than 50 billion dollars.
The USA has unleashed expansion in the Middle East under the guise of fighting ISIL. Its aim is hegemony over the key region rich in hydrocarbon resources. The US strike on Shayrat air base on April the 7th shattered the myth of Trump’s “love of peace.” This put paid to Zhirinovsky’s Trumpomania.
While tirelessly instructing the world in democracy, US imperialism is taking part in crimes against humanity. Hundreds of civilians died, during the bombings of Mosul in Iraq, the air strike on a hospital in Kunduz, in Afghanistan, claimed tens of lives. The barbaric operation in Yemen, in which Saudi Arabia has the direct support of Washington, is into its third year. The death toll has topped 10,000, two-thirds of the country’s population are on the brink of starvation.
The process of the decay of imperialism, predicted by Lenin, is unfolding. The link between world capital and religious extremism has grown stronger. The USA and its satellites support such brutal groups as Jabhat al- Nusra and ISIL. Uigur separatist and Islamic groups whose chieftains are based in the US and Western Europe are being used to destabilize China. It isn't surprising, that China is one of the main targets. Acting now by threats & now by cajolery, global capital seeks to weaken the Celestial Kingdom. It is clearly scared of the successes of the new world power. To “neutralize the Chinese threat” the US is cobbling together an alliance against the PRC, trying to drag into it, not only Japan & South Korea, but also the Philippines, India and some other countries. In April, the US military came close to unleashing war on the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang is denied the right to strengthen its national defense.
In Latin America capital continues to oppose “XXI-century Socialism.” When it was embraced by Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua this put hope into the hearts of millions of disfranchised citizens. In response, every trick in the book has been used: sanctions, threats of invasion, and the financing of subversive actions of the right-wing opposition. The globalists have managed to bring about an impeachment of Dilma Russeff in Brazil. They have put Mauricio Macri, as the head of Argentina. Now, these countries open the door to US corporations and the rights of workers are under attack.
However “the right-wing revenge” has stalled. In Venezuela, attempts to depose Nicolas Maduro, the successor to the legendary Hugo Chavez, are failing, although Washington has invested huge resources in it. In Ecuador the left-wing candidate, Lenin Moreno, scored a victory. In Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega comfortably won another term. Late last year the world suffered a heavy loss. Fidel Castro, the symbol and banner of anti-imperialist struggle, died. His like-minded fellow fighters, carry on his courageous cause.
Thus, the international situation is determined by the clash of two trends. The first is the offensive of the forces of capitalism. It is doing all it can to shore up its global dominance. But there is also the second trend, and that is the growing resistance to capitalist hegemony, and the commitment to uphold the right to independent and sovereign existence.
We are for a better world
Opposition to the forces of capital takes various forms.
First, a number of states reject the course imposed by the ideologues of liberalism. The Communist Party of China will hold its XIX Congress in the autumn. The Chinese communists are moving steadily toward achieving their two main goals: to build a middle-level wealth society by the time of the Party’s centenary in 2021 and to create “a powerful, affluent, democratic, civilized, harmonious and modernized socialist state” by the PRC's centenary in 2049. In the international arena Beijing comes out for peace & economic integration and is promoting the One Belt, One Road, project.
Vietnam, Cuba, Laos and the DPRK are developing confidently. Belarus is setting an example to the post-Soviet space. Leftist governments in Latin America, united in the ALBA alliance, are demonstrating staunchness. Their social programs have given millions of people housing, jobs, medial care and education. All these countries prove, that there is an alternative to globalism.
Second, millions of working people are struggling for their rights. In France last year the reform of labour laws involved hundreds of thousands of citizens in protests. Millions of people regularly go on strike against liberal reforms in India. The people of Brazil and Argentina, are actively opposing the offensive of capitalism.
It has to be admitted that the crisis of capitalism tends to increase the influence both of the left and of the right parties. The ideas of euroscepticism are gaining popularity in Europe, as manifested by Brexit, and the electoral success in France of Marine le Pen and Jean-Luc Melanchon. In the heart of world capitalism, the USA, socialist-leaning candidate Bernie Sanders, won active support before the presidential vote and Donald Trump also campaigned on criticism of the dominance of Wall Street.
It is very important for the left to prevent a “right-wing march” on the planet. Possibilities for that do exist. It is clear that after the treacherous destruction of the Soviet Union no “end of history” and no “collapse of communism” have occurred. The influence of the left could not have disappeared, if only because poverty, inequality and injustice did not go away. They force people to fight for a better life. The world communist movement, has not been destroyed. It is building up its strength.
Communists today form part of the ruling coalitions in Nepal, Venezuela, Ecuador, Uruguay, and some other countries. In recent years our comrades in Belarus & the Czech Republic have scored successes. The Labour Party in Belgium, has a chance to win more seats in parliament. Communists have nearly trebled their presence in the parliament of Japan. These are just some examples.
The program of our party determines that the CPRF is part of the international communist and workers’ movement. We are actively promoting cooperation with fraternal parties, pooling our efforts in the struggle against imperialism, and for the interests of the working people.
Socialism is the strategic goal of communists. In their struggle for it, the communist parties are called upon to strengthen their position in the grassroots with due account of the specificities of each country. This task should be solved, through opposing both social-reformism and left-wing sectarianism.
The CPRF is actively involved in the analysis of the modern stage of class struggle, & in developing its forms and methods. During the report period, we initiated a number of academic-practical conferences & round tables, including: International Communist Movement Today & Tomorrow, The Image of Socialism We Are Struggling For, The Party Press, & the Struggle of Communists under Current Conditions.
In May 2015 the CPRF organized in Moscow, a meeting of international democratic organizations, to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Victory Over Fascism. Taking part were...
The World Federation of Trade Unions, The World Peace Council, The Women’s International Democratic Federation, The World Federation of Democratic Youth, The International Federation of Democratic Lawyers, The International Federation of Anti- Fascists and Resistance Fighters. All of them have a corresponding status at UNESCO, the International Labour Organization, and other UN agencies.
This year the activities of the world’s communist parties are dominated by the 100th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Resolutions have been passed, stressing its significance.
Our party takes an active part in International Meetings of Communist and Workers’ Parties. Since 1998, these have been held annually, at the initiative of the Communist Party of Greece. The last one, held in Vietnam last year, brought together 60 parties. In the year of the October Revolution jubilee, we will host the 19th International Meeting of Communist & Workers’ Parties. It will be held in early November in the City of Lenin (St. Petersburg). The participants will set the agenda of the communist movement, in the struggle for socialism. Great responsibility devolves on us, to hold this forum in a worthy manner.
The CPRF takes part in international meetings, seminars & conferences and interacts with left-wing parties on a bilateral basis. We took part in the congresses of the communist parties of the Czech Republic & Moravia, Portugal, Finland, Bangladesh & other countries, & in events staged by left-wing parties. Cooperation agreements have been signed with the communist parties of China and Vietnam. An agreement has been signed with the Workers’ Party of Korea.
These agreements are being successfully implemented, thanks to the efforts of L.I.Kalashnikov, K.K.Taisiyev, V.M.Tetyokin and other Russian comrades.
A Russia-China meeting, '70 Years of Common Victory' was held in Khabarovsk in September 2015. Delegations of young CPRF activists go to China every year to study the experience of reforms conducted in the PRC. Our comrades regularly take part in the festivals of the Portuguese Communist newspaper, Avante (Awake). A joint Russia-Korea photo exhibition, 'A History of Friendship' was held in three stages, in Pyongyang, Moscow and Minsk.
At all the international events the CPRF briefs fraternal parties on its activities. Solidnet posts documents, and other information, about our party.
A great amount of work is being done in the framework of the UCP-CPSU. The Union brings together 17 parties. The high- lights in the report period were: the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Union in Kiev before the Maidan coup, the XXXV Congress of the UCP-CPSU in Minsk, plenums of the Union Council in Moscow, the opening of the Union’s internet site, and so on.
Coordination of activities takes on an added importance, considering that the authorities in some republics of the former USSR, persecute communists. At various times, pressure was brought to bear on the communists in Georgia, Moldavia & Kazakhstan. In the Baltic States, Uzbekistan & Turkmenistan communist parties have to work practically underground. The UCP-CPSU parties, repeatedly come out in support of the Ukrainian communists led by P.N.Simonenko. Some of our Ukrainian comrades had to be rescued from the hands of pro-fascist elements.
On 29 May 2014 a headquarters for humanitarian aid to the citizens of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics was set up. Their population is exposed to severe trials. Within three years the CPRF has sent 60 convoys with humanitarian aid to these republics. This work goes on. Over three thousand children from Donbass, went to the Snegiri complex outside Moscow, to rest and improve their health.
International work is covered in the Vestnik SKP-KPSS. The newspaper Pravda carries a monthly feature devoted to the Union of Communist Parties. The newly opened rubric “Communist Brotherhood” has already carried out talks with the leaders of the communist parties of Portugal, Lebanon, Cyprus, Britain and India.
The CPRF takes an active part in solidarity actions, with peoples that have become the victims of imperialism's aggressive actions. The voice of our party was heard in joint statements against the persecution of communist parties, manifestations of fascism and nationalism, and the offensive on the rights and freedoms of working people. We have come out in defense of Libya and Syria, and against the US blockade of Cuba..
The cohesion of communist &workers’ parties is the guarantee of their success. It is an uphill struggle. Capitalism will never resolve its inherent contradictions on its own. Imperialism is becoming more and more aggressive in the time of crisis. Analyzing the ideas of Marx and Lenin, modern US academic James Petras, writes that capitalism has proved convincingly and indisputably that it prospers thanks to the degradation of tens of millions of workers, & is absolutely deaf to the endless pleas for reform & regulation. The capitalism that really exists cannot, and does not want to, raise the living standards of ordinary people, guarantee their employment, or provide a decent life without fear and humiliation. Capitalism… is diametrically opposed to freedom, equality, democratic decision-making and the common good.
There are only two paths for humanity: either socialism or further decay, wars, instability, the moral degradation of society and the destruction of the environment. Only the power of working people, public ownership of the means of production, & rational planning in the economy, can set humankind on the path of all-round development. It is the duty of our party to actively promote these ideas among the grassroots.
Non-stop crisis
Comrades, after 1991 our country became part of world capitalism. The liberal traitors who came to power cherished the hope of joining the “golden billion.” They obediently followed the instructions of the International Monetary Fund and other global capitalist institutions. Even in the West, they considered the team of Yeltsin’s foreign advisers to be ''economic murderers''.
The Russian bourgeoisie was accorded the dubious honour of supplying the West with raw materials and fulfilling its whims. Many upstart oligarchs raised on Gaidar’s “yeast” were quite comfortable with such a role. They treated Russia as “this country,” in which they were “cowboy builders,” Russia was a place for business, while their safe landing sites were their mansions and hefty foreign bank accounts.
A regressive, parasitic, oligarchic, comprador capitalism established itself in the country. Its basis is the export of commodities and the banking sectors. This proves that Russia is becoming a raw materials appendage, and a market for foreign goods.
However, part of the Russian bourgeoisie wants greater independence. Experessing the aspirations of this part of “the newest Russians” government has ratcheted up patriotic rhetoric and taken some independent steps. The Crimea was brought back to where it belongs. Support was rendered to the legitimate government of Syria. The people of Russia, tired of self-abasement, welcomed these steps. This state of affairs was not to the West’s liking. Sanctions were introduced, and a massive information campaign, leavened with Russophobia and anti-Sovietism, were launched against Russia. If Russia's leadership does not want to repeat the fate of Milosevic, Hussein and Gaddafi, it has no other option, but to strengthen the country’s sovereignty.
However, the Russian oligarchy has neither the strength nor the desire, to break with the system of global capitalism. It has still not recognized the DPR and LPR. “The pivot to the East” policy is clearly marking time. Attacks continue on Belarus, which undermine the process of a closer union between our peoples. The process of integration of the post-Soviet space, which the CPRF has always welcomed, is meeting with serious difficulties.
After the devastating Serdyukov “reforms” many, but not all the problems of the Armed Forces combat ability have been solved. The cuts in the defense budget which have started, run counter to the need to restore military education and science. Our precision weapons still need imported components, while the software built into them, may be set in motion at any moment. It is not possible to effectively protect the country’s sovereignty, without a powerful defense industry independent of foreign suppliers.
On the whole, the quarter century of liberal reforms in Russia has produced an extremely cruel socio-economic model. A peripheral oligarchic-bureaucratic regime has taken shape in the country.
Russia’s joining the World Trade Organization, was a major concession to global capital. Only the CPRF has consistently opposed it. Restrictions on production, reduction of customs duties and other novelties gave an edge to foreign “partners.” During five years of WTO membership, the Russian budget lost about 800 billion roubles due to lower customs duties. Indirect losses topped 4 trillion.
Big owners have been given a free hand in plundering Russia. The economy is being deprived of vitally needed investments. Today they account for a mere 18% of GDP, only half of what they were in the RSFSR in 1990. But the authorities calmly look on as the oligarchs transfer capital to offshore zones and foreign banks. In the last 2 years alone, capital flight exceeded 70 billion dollars. And we are constantly being called to make “civil peace” with those who are simply robbing Russia.
Dependence on foreign capital is beginning to threaten the country’s sovereignty. Companies with foreign capital account for 75% of the communications sphere, 56% of the extractive industries and 49% of the processing industries.
This is highly reminiscent of the situation in the early XX century when Western capital dominated the industry and banking sector in the Russian Empire. That dependence cost Russia dearly: it was drawn into the First World War defending the interests of the Entente capitalists. Russia's GDP has been shrinking for over two years. Since 2014, it has dropped by 8%. The state budget is losing trillions of roubles. Modernization and diversification of the economy have failed. The Government ministries in charge of the economy and finances are unable to cope with the crisis. They are misleading the country. The Ministry of Economic Development reported a 0.4% growth of GDP at the end of the first quarter. However, this data was promptly challenged by Vneshekonombank analysts, who proved that the GDP continues to fall.
The socio-economnic course followed by the government has turned the country into a society of mass poverty. According to official data, real income in Russia dropped by nearly 13%, and consumption has gone down by 15%. The number of paupers has increased by 3 million. Twenty million, one in every seven citizens, live below the poverty line. The CPRF points out that the official living minimum, is 2-2.5 times lower, than the actual level.
Sociology confirms the picture of mass impoverishment. Last year three quarters of citizens significantly cut consumption. Forty percent say they don't have enough money to buy food and clothing. Almost 30% need food stamps to survive.
Russia has become a country of appalling inequality. Dollar millionaires own 62% of Russia’s wealth, and billionaires own 29%. A handful of moneybags own nine tenths of the national wealth. The international research organization The New World of Welfare has concluded that Russia ranks first in the world, in terms of wealth inequality.
During the past year alone the aggregate wealth of 200 of Russia’s richest businessmen increased by 100 billion dollars. ”Income champions” own 460 billion dollars, which is twice the annual budget of a country of 150 million people.
These then are the main problems of the Russian economy:
— its reliance on commodity production,
—the destruction of its industrial potential,
— poverty and the low purchasing power of its citizens,
— a flawed monetary policy,
— inefficient governance.
The sanctions compounded the situation.
The government’s regional policy is extremely ineffective. Receiving only 30 percent of the total national income, the regions are struggling to maintain the social sphere. There are only nine donor regions left. The debt of regional budgets, has already reached 2.5 trillion roubles, of which, over 50% are commercial credits. The budgets are overburdened with commitments.
The CPRF is ready to change the situation drastically. We maintain that the crisis in Russia is man-made. It is created by the government which has no coherent development program. Spinoza said that He who knows not where he is sailing, will never have a fair wind.” So, our government is either full of bad navigators, or they are deliberately leading us into a dead end.
The Russian crisis is, at the same time, part of the global crisis of capitalism. In the framework of this system, our country has no favorable prospect. There is no room for such a Russia in the modern world: it will be torn to pieces and simply swallowed by the sharks of world capital. Our country lived through such an experience before. The brief period when a Provisional Government was in power, in 1917, nearly brought about the demise of Russia. It was rescued by the Red Project of the Great October Revolution. The Bolsheviks restored the country’s sovereignty, and prevented it being “digested” in the insatiable stomach of world capitalism. This lesson is still relevant to Russia today.
One of the main contradictions, is that between the interests of the country and the interests of Russian capital. This can only be resolved by a cardinal change of the socio-economic system. Only a renewed socialism will be able to cope with social inequality, economic disarray and create an effective governance system.
The working majority and false “class peace.”
The question arises, what are the driving forces of socialist change? We turned to this question more than once over the past years. The destruction of socialism and the Shock Therapy of the 1990s, had a negative impact on the social class structure of society. The situation continued to worsen after 2000. The number of workers in industry, dropped by more than 2 million. The past few years alone have seen the closure of the Likhachev Plant in Moscow, the Nickel Plant in Norilsk, the Khimprom chemical plant in Volgograd and other giants. Many enterprises dramatically cut production. The share of the processing industry, fell to a pitiful 13%.
The main change that occurred in the life of the working class and the peasantry is their proletarization. Under the Soviet government the worker and the peasant were co-owners of the means of production and the national wealth. Now, almost two-thirds of the gainfully employed population (64.6 percent), work for the benefit of private capital.
Workers have fewer and fewer chances to rise up the social “lifts.” The degree of class polarization in this country is among the highest on the planet. It is impossible to achieve class peace under such conditions. The exploiters and the exploited have diametrically opposite opportunities and interests.
“The masters of the world” behave like time-servers. It is no accident that capital flight increases. High-ranking officials increasingly behave in a criminal way. More and more governors are charged with corruption. The elite’s inability to “rule in the old way” causes it to swing from liberalism to conservatism, from nationalism to a token crackdown on Russian nationalists, etc.
The past quarter century has seen a sharp growth in the number of those engaged in petty commodity production and speculative-usury sectors. A sizable stratum has emerged of people who live by “gigs.” In the European Middle Ages these people were referred to as “free- lancers.” Most of them are young people in the 20 to 45 age bracket. Their instrument of production is the computer. What they want out of life, is, above all, independence. These new phenomena merit a very close study.
For all that, there are no grounds for saying that the working class in Russia is disappearing. It numbers about 30 million. Does it mean many or few? Much fewer than in the RSFSR, but many times more, than in Russia in 1917.
“The proletariat of workers by brain,” as Engels called it, is being exploited too. It has to get hired by the bourgeoisie for meager pay. There are almost 20 million such people in modern Russia. To this, you have to add small business- men and small farmers. The crisis ruins tens of thousands of small owners, which makes it easier for us to promote our ideology to them.
CPRF is for the working people
Esteemed delegates and guests of the Congress,
To achieve its goals the proletariat needs a political vanguard. Only a modern communist party can rise to this task. In turn, the communists ”have no interests separate from the interests of the proletariat as a whole,” as Marx and Engels wrote.
It is the duty of the CPRF to staunchly adhere to the position of defending the interests of the working class. We have to regularly revisit the decisions of the October 2014 Plenum which was devoted entirely to our goal of increasing our influence in the proletarian milieu. The decisions taken then, are highly concrete and are easily verifiable.
Two and a half years have passed since then. It is high time to ask ourselves, what has been accomplished? Have we strengthened our positions in the midst of the working class? Can we report to the Congress an influx of workers into the CPRF? Let us answer this question looking the truth straight in the face. For the workers’ issue is the key issue in our political struggle for power.
The share of workers in the CPRF's ranks, has risen to 14 percent during the report period. Yet no dramatic change has taken place. Overall, the party influence on the working class is, obviously, insufficient. We have to admit that on that issue, we are still at the start of the road.
Thus, our tasks are directly linked with strengthening the party’s influence on the workers’ and trade union movement, the youth and non-governmental groups.
We have to be more active in seeking freedom of political activity in the street. However, we should breathe new life into various forms of protest even within the existing framework. We value all those who form the nucleus of our actions. We are grateful to them. But we must broaden our ranks if we are to be reckoned with. Big politics is where the millions are. The topics of our slogans should be relevant and specific. We should “strike at the nerve” of the social atmosphere, use the whole arsenal of technologies, to arouse citizens in their struggle for their rights.
About 60% of Russians prefer a “society of social equality” to a “society of individual freedom.” So the ideological component of protest sentiments is growing, turning such actions into class struggle.
The communists must prevent mass protests from being hijacked by pro-Western anti-national forces. Under these conditions it is vital for the CPRF to formulate a clear-cut class position.
The party and the young communist league must pay particular attention to the youth. The youth has shown its readiness for street action. It is not only that the liberals use inexperienced young people while keeping them in the dark. Today, young people are the most vulnerable social stratum. Even pensioners are in a more secure situation, because of what remains of the Soviet system of social guarantees.
Today’s young people are the first to have grown up after the dismantling of the system of Soviet social guarantees. They are defenseless in the face of capitalist society. These young people have no chance to study, work and raise families normally. Housing becomes an insuperable problem for many of them. Feeling like outsiders, they are not ready to reconcile themselves to such a position and plunge into street protests without always understanding the slogans. In Ukraine, the bourgeoisie used popular wrath ...to establish a dictatorial regime. Russia faces a similar danger. It is the task for the CPRF to go to the youth, to help it transform the demand for social justice into massive and resolute protest.
The prerequisites for success are there. According to the Public Opinion Fund, less than 20% of young people are infected with the ideas of liberalism. 73% come out for state ownership of enterprises and natural resources. 28% think of themselves as staunch supporters of socialism. The share of those who support capitalism, is even less among other age groups.
We need to mobilize CPRF supporters to struggle to bring the country back to the socialist path. Each of us must contribute to strengthening the party’s authority, as the only force fighting to assert the people’s rule
Along with the development of the workers’, protest and youth movements, we have often stressed the importance of work with the trade unions, & non-governmental groups.
The nucleus of a new life
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that “stability” in Russia does not have a solid basis. The number of poor people has doubled compared to the pre-crisis period. The dynamic of social inequality has intensified. The gap between the richest 10% and the poorest 10% has reached 30 times. The inequality of access to quality healthcare and education, has deepened. Russian society is in an anxious state, not knowing what the future holds in store for it.
The liberals in government continue to tighten the financial noose around the people’s neck. The only alternative to this disastrous course is consolidation of the healthy forces on the basis of socialism and genuine patriotism. This nucleus will be able to counter the destructive energy of any Maidan, and the ruinous experiments of the “monetarists” in government.
People are having less and less hope that this power will come up with a creative development project. Such a project was proposed by our party at the Oryol Economic Forum in February of last year. Here is our program: Ten Steps toward a Decent Life for a Government of Popular Trust.
1. Russia’s wealth must serve the people. It is high time to rein in the oligarchs, to bring back to the state the oil and gas industry, key banks, the power industry, railways, and defense industries. A powerful state sector will protect the economy from foreign capital pressure. The draft law on nationalization, is ready. It will bring several trillion roubles to the treasury every year. Planning will make the economy more competitive in the world.
2. To guarantee economic sovereignty. The CPRF wants Russia to leave the WTO. We will create an independent financial system, rid the country of the diktat of the dollar, and free the Central Bank from the influence of the US Federal Reserve System. State control over the banking system and currency transactions, will stem the staggering flight of capital. Small and medium-sized businesses and people’s and collective enterprises, will get active support.
3. To develop industry, science and technologies. Russia needs a new industrialization driven by micro-electronics, robotics, and machine tool building. Today the processing industry accounts for 14% of the GDP. It is necessary to double that share within a short space of time. The decimation of the Russian Academy of Sciences is a crime against the future. Financing of science must be increased several times over. We will be able to do away with unemployment.
4. A new life for rural Russia. Russia is not secure in terms of food. It imports half of its food from abroad. A third of arable land is overgrown with weeds. The task of the Government of Popular Trust is to revive large-scale agricultural production and the rural social infrastructure. At least 10% of budget spending should go into agriculture. We are ready to adopt new Land, Forestry & Water Codes, and improve the environmental situation.
5. Credits must be used to revive the country. Russia is in 48th place in terms of transport infrastructure, and in 87th place in terms of air transport. The regions are heavily in debt. The Government complains about a shortage of resources, while at the same time, crediting the US economy. We should direct investments into the development of the Russian economy. To help the regions, the Popular Trust Government will replace commercial loans with subsidies and subventions out of the federal budget.
6. State control of prices and tariffs. As for living standards, Russia has dropped to 90th place in the world, which puts it in the same company with Guatemala and Namibia. The state must control prices. Housing and utilities rates should not exceed 10% of a family's income. The government must regulate the tariffs for electricity, fuel and transportation.
7. The country must have fair and effective taxes. Russia has a distorted tax system. The CPRF proposes to abolish VAT, which will make domestic products cheaper. We are ready to scrap the PLATON system and raise taxes on property and settlement land. Budget losses will be compensated for, by a progressive tax on the incomes of physical persons. It will add an annual 3-4 trillion roubles to the treasury. State monopoly on the production of alcohol will yield another 2-5 trillion. Russia will have a budget of development, not degradation.
8. People are the nation’s main value. The CPRF guarantees an accessible and high-quality education and health service. A law on “war children” will be passed without delay. Youth, children and mothers, disabled people and old folks will receive particular attention. Science, education and health- care will get 7% of the budget each. The CPRF has the corresponding package of laws. The state will build social housing and will be responsible for the state of domestic infrastructure. Levies for the capital repair of housing, will be scrapped.
9. Strong power, secure life. Russia needs a strong defense. It should go hand-in-hand with information and technological security and defense against cyber-weapons. The CPRF is in favour of stronger EAEU, SCO, and BRICS, of integration in the post-Soviet space and protection of fellow-countrymen abroad. We have to make governance more effective, tighten oversight over the activities of government officials, and curb corruption and crime.
10. A country of high culture. We will protect the people from anti-Sovietism, nationalism and Russophobia, from immorality, vulgarity and cynicism. Culture will be reigned by talent, not money. Writers and composers, the cinema and television, can multiply our cultural heritage. Our government will surround us with care museums and theatres, Houses of Culture and philharmonics, libraries and archives. Russian talents, the creativity of young people, physical culture and sport, will be supported.
Seeking to implement this program, the CPRF is engaged in a constant dialog with the country’s citizens. Our proposals have been approved during the course of many election campaigns, over the past year. We held an All-Russia Council of Work Collectives, attended by more than 600 representatives of factories, farms and trade unions, from 82 regions. A program of rural development was presented at the Congress of Russian Agro-Industrial Complex Workers, held at Zvenigovsky centre. The All-Russia Congress of Public-Sector Workers, has approved proposals on how to preserve and develop social institutions.
Concrete steps to implement our programmatic ideas and proposals are critical. Our Duma deputies have a special role to play. In the previous Duma the CPRF deputies secured the adoption of laws On Strategic Planning, On State Defense, Order, and On Industrial Policy, in the RF. The Medvedev government is obviously dragging its feet over fulfilling them. In the meantime we are pressing for the next step; the creation of a State Committee for Strategic Planning.
Practice shows that the anti-crisis measures proposed by the CPRF are highly effective. The key task is to go to the grass- roots and explain this. It is our duty to demonstrate that the results of the party’s work indicate that it has proved to be a credible nucleus of genuine power of the people.
To Struggle for Power
Comrades. The presidential election is fast approaching. It will be held in an atmosphere of growing public discontent and alienation from power. The ruling circles will have to press into service administrative resources and resort to other gimmicks. The regime may exhibit growing Bonapartist traits. Such a regime is a dictatorship of big bourgeoisie, steering its course between opposing classes. Its internal contradictions are mitigated, by foreign policy confrontations.
Russia today is a super-presidential republic. The number one person has more powers than the Tsar and General Secretary combined. Power in the country has not changed hands for more than seventeen years. In fact, a whole generation has grown up under one president and one governing party. During this period the US & France had 4 presidents each.
What are the key features of the political regime in Russia?
First, monopolization of power in the hands of the president and the narrow circle around him. Secrecy in taking key decisions. The political process has turned into a succession of special operations.
Second, the ruling United Russia party has merged with the bureaucratic apparatus. The party is merely the ”driving belt” and not the subject of making key decisions.
Third, opposition exists in and outside parliament, but on an ever smaller limited scale. There is simulation of democratic institutions and procedures, in order to legitimize the ruling group.
Fourth, monopolization of the main media outlets and the introduction of political censorship and “self-censorship.”
Fifth, the absence of truly independent justice coupled with pervasive corruption & political control over the law courts.
Sixth, liberal fundamentalism in the economy remains the bedrock foundation of the current regime. The ruling elite dreads the prospect of being isolated from the Western world, and openly woos the centres of capitalism.
Seventh, the regime is not bound by any ideological principles, its postulates changing, depending on the exigencies of the day. Personal safety calls for a more patriotic policy, which we have been witnessing recently.
The figure of the president is at the centre of the political regime. Official propaganda is at pains to convince the masses of the danger of his departure. However, elections remain as the trappings of democracy. For us taking part in the elections is like wrestling on a small patch of legal opposition activities, and that opportunity should be effectively used.
But, to repeat a well-known idea, it is naïve to put the stake on elections. They may only be crowned with victory when revolutionary sentiments grow. Only then would the party be able to hold on to its electoral victory with the support of millions of activists. An electoral victory is only possible in the event of a major change in the balance of political forces and the active support of the street.
On the face of it, the protest potential among the population is low and the president’s approval rating is high. But the stability of a regime of personal power is not a given that is eternal. The situation may change quickly. The CPRF is duty-bound to use its participation in elections to promote its ideas, to strengthen its structures and attract new cadres and supporters.
In December you read my appeal “Time demands a new policy.” We agreed to thoroughly discuss all candidates for election, in the coming years. This work must continue. At the Central Committee level it is coordinated by the CPRF Headquarters, headed by I.I.Melnikov.
In the report period the CPRF has preserved its status of the main opposition force. The party scored some high-profile victories but also faced some difficulties in the elections. The setback in 2016 is due to the fact that the elections had been turned into a special operation against Russian society. They were not a free expression of the citizens’ will, but a criminal mechanism of delivering the pre- determined result. This is witnessed, among other things, by several dozen criminal cases opened thanks to our activists.
When we brought our voters to the polling stations our candidates won by a comfortable margin. A.Lokot was elected Mayor of Novosibirsk, V.Potomsky Mayor of the Oryol Region, S.Levchenko Governor of the Irkutsk Region.
Seven of our comrades won seats in the State Duma in single- mandate constituencies. They are V.Bortko (St.Petersburg), S.Kazankov (Mariy El), A.Kurinniy (Ulyanovsk Region), D.Parfyonov (Moscow), O.Smolin (Omsk Region), N.Kharitonov (Krasnodar Territory) and M.Shchapov (Irkutsk Region).
In the elections to the Moscow City Duma in 2014, communists won five single-mandate constituencies. One of the highlights was the election of A.Klychkov, who defeated the prefect of the South-Western Electoral District, Zotov.
On the whole, the party’s average result in elections in recent years is 15%. The CPRF never drops below 20-25% in Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Oryol regions and in North Ossetia where we are contesting first place with the governing party, like in Mariy El and the Omsk Region where our result is just shy of 30%. So, it is possible to fight and win. On the other hand, there has emerged a stable zone of election rigging in the Volga Area, and in the North Caucasus.
Our party comes out for democratization of the political system and for fair elections. The tactic of the ruling regime consists in constantly changing the rules of the game in the political field in order to falsify results. Changing the election date to September, greatly affected the turnout. In general, trust in the institution of elections has diminished. Turnout is plummeting. All the parties are losing votes, in absolute terms. The institution of debates has been discredited. Neither the president, nor governors, take part in them. On the whole, the low turnout is the citizens’ indictment of the unfair electoral system.
Power deliberately adjusts the political system in favour of the governing party. We for our part will insist on direct and free elections of the heads of regions. On electing municipal deputies by party lists. On debarring from elections governors who ''retire'', in order to be able to take part in fresh elections.
Battling in parliament
Letters of citizens to the CPRF faction in the State Duma and to the Central Committee, are symptomatic of Russia's problems. They criticize government policy, complain about the plight of the people and about court rulings. Many complaints have to do with the impossibility of getting housing, the unreasonable utilities rates & soliciting financial help for medical treatment.
Protecting the rights of working people is at the focus of our deputies attention. At present, we have 42 deputies at the State Duma and two members of the Federation Council (V.Markhayev and V.Ikonnikov). The CPRF has 81 factions (a total of 342 deputies) in regional legislatures. There are 9,360 communist deputies in local government bodies.
Although the CPRF lost some seats in the State Duma it still spearheads the struggle for the interests of the common people in parliament. I.Melnikov is first deputy speaker of the Duma. Five communist deputies – V.Kashin, N.Kharitonov, L.Kalashnikov, T.Pletneva and S. Gavrilov— head the key Duma committees. S.Reshulsky, N.Kolomeitsev and V.Shurchanov coordinate the work of the Duma deputies, on a day-to-day basis.
Communist deputies did not support the draft federal budgets. Even with amendments, they lead to the degradation of the country and the impoverishment of working people. The oligarchy relentlessly shifts the burden of the economic crisis onto the ordinary working people & onto those who need social help: children, pensioners & disabled people.
For the CPRF, education policy is the key to building up human potential. Without it, modernization in the XXI century, is impossible. At the initiative of deputy O.Smolin the CPRF faction prepared a draft law On Education for Everyone. Although the draft was rejected, in recent years, we managed to bring about a partial reform of the Unified State Examination, the retention of preferential treatment when entering higher education institutions for disabled people, orphaned children and people who saw combat action, an adjustment of pay for places in student dormitories, official fixing of teachers’ salaries at a level not below the average pay in the region; although 75 regions are known to have ignored these regulations.
The CPRF is categorically against raising the retirement age, against dropping the indexation of the pensions of working pensioners and the cut in monthly payments towards accumulative pensions. A pro-government majority stubbornly blocks our draft law On War Children, but we have again submitted it to parliament.
Communists’ work in the regional legislatures is exceedingly important.
The CPRF has increased the number of local deputies by 15.5% to nearly ten thousand. Almost 200 heads of local governments have been elected with the party’s support.
As part of strengthening the body of deputies, the CPRF CC held two All-Russia Congresses of Communist Deputies and Heads of Executive Power Bodies in June 2013 & May 2016. Mandates of the deputies, and their duties to the citizens of Russia, have been adopted.
Of all the parliamentary parties, the CPRF commands the highest level of popular trust. United Russia is unable to hide its face of the party of oligarchs and bureaucrats. The Just Russia party has never managed to shed its role of an appendage to the “governing party.” The LDPR plays a similar function, at the other end of the spectrum
One of the CPRF’s tasks is protecting citizens against arbitrary rule and lawlessness. The profound crisis caused a degradation of the social environment, a criminalization of society, and diminished the level of people’s safety. Key human rights – to life, work and healthcare – are not guaranteed. Over 2 million crimes were registered in Russia, in the past year, and by no means, were all crimes registered.
100th anniversary of the Great October Revolution and our struggle
Esteemed participants in the Congress,
The 100th anniversary of the biggest event in human history, the Great October Socialist Revolution, is drawing closer and closer. The Bolshevik victory in 1917 saved Russia from a disastrous liberal experiment. It pulled our country away from the edge of a precipice, paved the way for progress in the economy, the social sphere, culture and education.
The anniversary is less than months away. It is our duty to celebrate it in a dignified, substantive and spectacular way. Much has already been done. Enrolment of new members to mark the revolution jubilee continues. Mass actions on April 12 and 22, May 1 and 9 were major political events. A Lenin evening has been organized at the Gubenko Theatre. A working group for the preparation of the 19th International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties has had its meeting. The Lenin Prize has been brought back, in tribute to those who are faithful to the working people.
A series of conferences and round tables has been held. Important discussions took place, on Lenin’s theory of imperialism and his April Theses, on the theme “From February to October” and on the experience of building the Soviet Armed Forces. Some interesting films have been released on the CPRF’s Red Line TV channel. To give but some examples, they include The Stalin Model, The World Cabal, To Live without Lying, By Hook or by Crook, Blind Leaders of the Blind, The Soviet Man, Master of the Russian Land. They should be used more actively in our propaganda work. Party media outlets regularly publish materials devoted to the events of 1917, Lenin and Soviet history. Internet projects specifically devoted to the 100th Anniversary of the October Revolution have been launched.
The topic of the socialist revolution must be reflected at the World Festival of Youth and Students in Sochi. The LCYU of the RF is taking part in the preparations for the Festival.
The best proof of loyalty to the ideas of the October Revolution is constant struggle for the interests of the working people, and for a socialist transformation of Russia. However, practical work can only be effective if it rests on a strong, sound theoretical foundation. We have such a foundation in the shape of the Marxist-Leninist ideology, the dialectical materialist method of cognition and the class analysis and assessment of, social facts and phenomena.
The programmatic goal of the CPRF is socialism. It can only be achieved by introducing advanced socialist consciousness into the ranks of the working people.
The crisis in Russia opens the eyes of the masses to the fact that bourgeois recipes for development do not work. This tends to increase the activities of those who would like to “improve capitalism,” to replace “savage” capitalism with a “civilized” market, to combine the best features of capitalism and socialism. We resolutely reject these attempts to gloss over the flaws of globalism.
I would like to remind you of Lenin’s succinct formula, from his book What Is to Be Done: ”It is either bourgeois or socialist ideology. There is no middle road here… Therefore any belittling of socialist ideology, any alienation from it, signifies the strengthening of the bourgeois ideology.”
The CPRF is convinced that socialism alone will save Russia and the world from a catastrophe, a catastrophe that capitalism is preparing by each new step it takes. Therefore a revision of communist ideas cannot be tolerated. As history shows, this path leads to total capitulation to the bourgeoisie. It is not by chance, that many leaders of the Second International, ended up by viciously condemning the October Revolution. Indeed, ineffectual representatives at the top of the leadership of the CPSU, gave up the communist ideology and went on to destroy the party and the state. Some of them openly defected to the anti-communist camp. French writer & philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre, was categorical: ”Every anti-communist, is a rascal.”
Ideological struggle never stops. Seeking to bolster its positions the oligarchy fosters anti-communism, anti-S ovietism and Russophobia. This reveals the genetic link of the liberal bureaucrats with Gorbachev and Yeltsin on the one hand and with the “orange’ opposition, the Navalnys and others. Shying away from socialism, they all play the role of anti-national, anti-people forces.
Russophobia and anti-Sovietism are close relatives, as the CC CPRF proved convincingly at its latest Plenum. The October Revolution and the Soviet system are inseparable from the historical destiny of the Russian people. A fierce campaign is being waged against our history, against our communist ideas. The Svanidzes, Gozmans & Zhirinovskys never tire of pouring venomous lies on the pages and images of our past that we hold sacred. The celebration of the jubilee of Solzhenitsyn, the man who called for aggression against his own country and actively backed the Banderovites, promises to be wider and wider. The building of the Yeltsin Centre in Yekaterinburg did not only “consume” 7 billion roubles of budget money.
It openly calls for the rehabilitation of Vlasov. Is it not because of this, that the Centre has been awarded the 'Best European Museum of 2017' prize?
Here and there, monuments and memorial plaques are put up to Kolchak, Krasnov, Mannerheim and the White Czechs. At the same time Soviet monuments are pulled down or moved. Streets and even cities, are being renamed.
Take the nationwide dictation test. This year the participants were offered a text by the writer Yuzefovich, in which a White general makes scathing remarks about a monument to Lenin. How does that square with condemnation of the illegal Kiev rulers, for vandalism and for dismantling Lenin monuments?.
The authorities cannot afford to ignore mass sentiments. Sociologists have found that there are more supporters of the Soviet political system in this country than there are admirers of the current political system and Western democracy combined. The Immortal Regiment action sent a very clear political and cultural message. The prevailing sentiment of this impressive march was the victorious Soviet spirit. It remains to lament the fact that the Immortal Regiment, unlike the regiments that marched straight to the front in 1941, is marching past the Lenin Mausoleum, that has been covered in drapes.
While resorting to patriotic slogans, the authorities seek to erase the positive perception of socialism from people’s consciousness. We, for our part, should confidently uphold truth and justice, protect the historical memory and make active use of our experience of combating anti-Sovietism, anti-Communism & Russophobia and distortions of history.
Nationalism is another evil for which an antidote is needed. Only the CPRF has a clear-cut program on the nationalities issue. It stresses the value of the friendship of the peoples and the multinational character of our country. Our position was accurately expressed by the October 2013 Plenary Session of the Central Committee which stressed that the main cause of the aggravation of inter-ethnic relations, is the deepening of social & economic problems. Big Capital uses the nationality card, to distract people’s attention, from the widening social schism.
We maintain that socialism alone can make the working people masters of their land and of their destiny. Only then will inter-ethnic conflicts vanish like a nightmare.
Mass events staged by the CPRF help to promote the party’s ideas. A year ago Ufa hosted the All-Russia Forum Friendship and Brotherhood of the Peoples: Guarantee of Russia’s Resurgence in which guests from Belarus, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics took part. Every year in June the party holds Pushkin Days & Days of Russian Language and Culture. The tradition was initiated by North Ossetia's Republican Committee of the CPRF. A big contribution to official recognition of Russian Language Days, was made by the communists in the State Duma and the Russky Lad movement. The CPRF’s proposal to outlaw calls for the dismemberment of Russia, has met with public approval.
The entire edifice of party propaganda should be built on a solid ideological foundation. People under the age of 40 did not study the basics of Marxism-Leninism, at school or university. This is the generation that is joining the party and its consciousness is often littered with pseudo-socialist rubbish. The party education system is called on, to address this.
The CPRF Political Education Centre set up after the Ð¥V party Congress to train our activists has already had 21 enrolments. More than 700 young communists from all the Russian regions as well as Transdniestria, Georgia, South Ossetia, Kyrgyzstan, the DPR & LPR, attended. Many of the Centre’s graduates have been elected as secretaries of the regional and local CPRF branches and head up Young Communist League organizations. The journal Politicheskoye prosveshcheniye, helps the party members to build up their theoretical luggage & train party activists in the provinces.
Lenin never tired of stressing the importance of the party's press and believed that the newspaper should not merely ‘disseminate ideas” but also act as a collective organizer. Important information outlets today are the newspapers Pravda and Sovetskaya Rossiya. Oblast, region and city party branches put out more than a hundred periodicals. Some good experience has been accumulated by the editorial offices of many party newspapers, including Podmoskovnaya Pravda, Krasniy Put’ (Omsk Oblast), KPRF v Nizhnem Novgorode, Leviy marsh (Ulyanovsk Oblast), Priangarye (Irkutsk Oblast), Donskaya iskra (Rostov Oblast), Za narodnuyu vlast’ (Novosibirsk oblast) and Rodina (Stavropol Territory).
Party life is regularly reported on the Central Committee site, politpros.com, regional and local party sites. KPRF.RU has launched such internet projects as Narodnaya initsiativa, Storonniki KPRF, Antikorruptsionniy komitet imeni Stalina. At the end of 2016 the Central Committee site competed convincingly with the United Russia resource. Even so, we are still seriously losing out to the liberals in terms of volume and presentation. That situation should be urgently rectified.
The opening of the Krasnaya Liniya TV channel in the wake of the XV CPRF Congress was a big step forward. Since 2015 it has been broadcast via satellite. This round-the-clock channel is beamed to an audience of nearly 7 million. Krasnaya Liniya has an internet site and accounts in social networks. It puts out daily news bulletins. Among its more popular programs are Special Report, Viewpoint, Soviet-Era Brands, and Politpros, to mention just some.
The Agitpunkt section of Political Education site carries video, audio and photo materials and samples of printed copy. This is particularly important in election campaigns.
To strengthen the party at all levels
Comrades, we must strengthen all the party links. The past four years have seen a growth of the number of primary and local CPRF branches. Today the party has 162,173 members. During the report period, it enrolled over 60,000 new members.
The biggest regional branches are: Moscow oblast — 7528 members, Volgograd oblast — 6536 members, Krasnoyarsk Territory — 6153 members, Moscow City — 5712 members, Dagestan Republic — 5547 members, Stavropol Territory— 5510 members. Last year, we had no regional branches where the rate of admission of new members did not exceed 5 percent of the total membership.
Contrary to the allegations of our opponents, more than half of Russian communists are people of active working age. They include14 percent — workers; 13 percent — salary earners; almost 7 percent — unemployed people; 6.6% — farmers; 4.3 percent — students; 4.2 percent — engineers and technicians; 4 percent — members of the creative intelligentsia; 3 percent — entrepreneurs; 1.2percent — enterprise managers.
The percentage of workers who joined the party increased somewhat. The average age of CPRF members is 55.6, slightly less than the 2013 indicator. Thus the party has both experienced and young members. Still, the share of older members is high. Our distinguished veterans form the party’s “golden fund.” There are 70,000 of them, or 42.5 percent.
Many young people joined the party during the enrolment campaigns to mark the 70th anniversary of Victory and the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution. In the period between the XV and XVII party congresses, almost two thousand people under 30 joined the CPRF to bring their total number to 11.6 percent. Women account for 33 percent.
Our party operates in a society divided by class. Power in Russia is in the hands of oligarchic capital and the top bureaucrats. This sets high demands on the ideological and moral character of its members.
The latest report-and-election campaign makes it possible to formulate the main challenges facing the CPRF organization.
1. Annual admission of 10 percent of the total membership barely keeps the size of membership constant. The figure must definitely increase if the CPRF is to increase its influence in society.
2. Party branches should be more active among workers, there should be more workers, professionals and farmers in the CPRF.
3. Full-scale training of party activists for participation in election campaigns needs to be improved.
4. Our priorities must include work with potential allies and supporters of the CPRF, the creation of a data base of supporters in each regional party branch.
5. The quality of the training of the reserve cadres, especially at the local and primary level, is still a challenge.
On the whole, much remains to be done to improve the style and methods of party work. All these tasks need to be addressed now.
The material base of our work
Esteemed participants in the Congress,
Shortly after the 100th anniversary of the socialist revolution we shall be marking the 25th anniversary of the re-creation of our party. The architects and stewards of national betrayal were aware that our people would still be drawn to the ideals of socialism. That is why they tried to leave the CPRF without its material and technical base and thus limit its influence at a grassroots level. At the time the party was re-created, we were deprived of the basic conditions for daily work, for agitation, communications, and cadre training. And all the while, we were in the authorities’ gunsights and under fire from the left and the right.
In fact, we had to rebuild the economic base of the CPRF from scratch, twice, the first time after the Gorbachev- Yeltsin betrayal and the second time after attempts to privatize the party’s property by the supporters of the “wet congress.”
Today we have not only revived our party, but have provided it with considerable assets. In 2004 the party owned only two buildings in Moscow and some built-in space in Cherkessk. Since then we have acquired 109 offices for regional and local branches. Only 10 regional committees still have to rent space. I think we will be able to solve the problem within two years.
The main sources for replenishing the party budget are: party dues, donations to the party fund, budget financing and 'other'. On the whole, more than 80% of the money goes to regional party branches. This enables them to work more effectively and meaningfully.
The country’s future is the future of the party
One of our key tasks is work with the youth. Only one-third of the people aged 18 to 22 are interested in politics. The blows sustained by the education system, the decline of young people’s educational levels, makes them easy prey for political manipulation.
The state goes through the motions of pursuing a youth policy. Youth councils and parliaments create an illusion of social lift. 64% of university graduates are unsure of their future. One in every two of them cannot find a job for which he/she has been trained. More than 50% of unemployed people in Russia, are citizens between 18 and 35.
For the CPRF the youth is not only the target of electoral battles. It is the future of our country. The party pays particular attention to its youth policy.
The share of young people in the party is growing. Our opponents can no longer claim that the CPRF is a party of elderly people. Leading positions are more and more often occupied by people of young and under middle age. Party cadres are becoming younger due to new members who have gone through serious schooling as members of the Komsomol. D.Novikov, Yu.Afonin and K.Taysyev established themselves as politicians in the past report periods. After the XV CPRF Congress, important jobs at the Central Committee were entrusted to our young workers, A.Klychkov,A.Korniyenko, M.Kostrikov & I.Makarov.
We have many young people who are willing and able to work. Thanks to them we can safely say that the CPRF is a XXI- century party, a party of the future. Let us recall that in 1917, more than half of the Bolshevik party members were under 35.
The LKSM (Leninist Communist Youth Union) is a youth organization that preserves the Soviet traditions. Its track record includes the protection of education institutions from being closed, preventing a rise in payment for student dormitories and transport fares, and the fight against the curtailment of social benefits.
The Leninist Komsomol is the reserve cadre of the party
The nationwide Komsomol action The Banner of Our Victory, is an example of the patriotic upbringing of young people. It included more than 18,000 school lessons where students were told about the heroic exploits of the Soviet people. The project has a follow-up under the title, The October Banner is the Banner of Victory.
Every year hundreds of children are enrolled in the Young Pioneers at a ceremony in Red Square. Today more than 250,000 children and teenagers wear the Young Pioneer red scarves.
On the agenda is the issue of uniting all the Young Pioneers in a single Lenin Union of Young Pioneer Organizations. This end is to be served by the Second All-Russia Meeting of Young Pioneer Guides in which the Party and the Komsomol will take part.
The Komsomol faces the challenging task of increasing our ranks and attracting new supporters. Party and Komsomol members must conduct the difficult but very necessary educational work with the young generation. Strong links with the working class youth, are particularly important.
Next year sees the 100th anniversary of the Lenin Komsomol. The organizing committee “Komsomol is 100” is already active. This date is not only an occasion for remembering the accomplishments of Soviet Power, the outstanding role of the youth in developing and defending the country, but also for encouraging the new generations to uphold their rights and a worthy future.
Keep in mind the main thing
Esteemed delegates and guests of the Congress,
A new stage of history began 100 years ago. The world’s first state of workers and peasants was formed. In the year of the 100th anniversary of the Great October Revolution we recall more and more often the name of Lenin, the revolutionary and statesman, a genuine romantic & an outstanding scholar. It was the great idea of social justice that enabled him to translate a great theory into the practice of great accomplishments.
Lenin constantly stressed that at the end of the day the central issue of all politics is the economic issue. And today Russia is faced with challenges that stem directly from its economic lag and its reliance on commodity production, from technological degradation and a mass impoverishment of its citizens. This is the system that was established in this country ,after the collapse of the USSR.
The authorities are unable to meet these challenges. The incomes of big Russian businessmen are growing at a f antastic rate, even today. This means that the oligarchy has no economic incentives to overcome the crisis. The anti-national essence of such an “elite”, is obvious.
At the beginning of the last century Lenin came to the conclusion that Russia was the weak link in the chain of capitalist states. This fact set the stage for a revolution. Otherwise, Russia would have remained a raw materials appendage of more developed countries. This conviction was reaffirmed by Stalin at the XV Congress of the AUCP(B):
”We must make our country economically self-reliant, independent, based on the internal market. We must build our economy in such a way as to prevent our country from becoming an appendage of the capitalist system.”
The supreme meaning of the socialist revolution was the embodiment of the ideal of social justice. This was achieved through the building of a truly independent state based on new economic relations. As Stalin said, “Soviet power did not have to replace one form of exploitation with another, as did the old revolutions, but to liquidate all exploitation.”
A revolution is genuine only if it leads to a large-scale class restructuring of society. Otherwise it is a “colour” simulation of one, which brings to power liberal “fighters against the regime” guided by foreign principals.
This was the kind of threat that hung over Russia in February 1917. But Lenin came forward with convincing calls: Peace to the peoples, Bread to the hungry,” “Factories to the workers” and “Land to the peasants.” These slogans arose from the deepest convictions of a romantic and politician, a fighter and a scholar. The simplicity and clarity of Lenin’s slogans disguises deep insight into the problems.
Reread Lenin’s works “The Immediate Tasks of Soviet Power,” “On Cooperation,” and “On the Food Tax.” You will find there a massive scientific basis on which Lenin based his practice. Those who run the country today are incapable of such vision. Russia is reaping the bitter fruits of their economic illiteracy and irresponsibility.
Myth has it that by introducing the New Economic Policy, Lenin admitted the need to return to the capitalist market. Some even say that Gorbachev’s line was a successor to the NEP. Only his perestroika led to a dismantling of socialism and the collapse of Russia, while the Soviet State grew stronger under the NEP.
After the First World War and the Civil War and foreign Intervention, production had shrunk by nearly five times and agriculture by half. Crop failures and famine compounded the situation. The NEP saved the country. As for foreign companies, they were allowed at enterprises that accounted for less than 1% of the total industrial output.
The decisions taken then strengthened the state system of controlling the socialist economy. In 1921 the State Central Bank was founded in the country. It issued up to 70 percent of all the credits. The state invested in the economy. During the first five years of the NEP, agricultural output doubled and industrial output trebled. The economy grew by 13% in 1927 and by 19% in 1928. National revenue increased at an annual rate of 18%. Between 1922 and 1929, the USSR built more than 200 big industrial enterprises. Prices were going down rapidly. The world had not ever known, such economic success.
This was Lenin’s New Economic Policy. It is a brilliant example of an anti-crisis program capable of rescuing the country from economic collapse. The CPRF program has echoes of Lenin’s approach. It is becoming more relevant every day. The Moscow Economic Forum confirmed that more and more experts, are proposing measures consonant with our approach.
Russia today needs a financial system that serves the interests of the country and not of transnational capital. The banking system must be put under state control. Only then will it be able to provide effective loans to the national industry and to small businesses. The country needs to replace the flat income tax rate with a progressive one and to exempt the poor from all taxes. Without a fair distribution of national wealth the Soviet State could not have overcome mass poverty and provide the economy with investments. The same is true of today.
Lenin passed away in 1924, but his economic policy lived on. The foundation had been laid for a staggering breakthrough that was Stalin’s industrialization. Think of Stalin’s then amazingly bold words: “We are 50-100 years behind the advanced countries. We must run this distance within ten years. Either we do it or we shall be crushed.”
This appeal was imbued with the Lenin spirit. The titanic task was fulfilled. In January 1932 the French newspaper Le Temps wrote: “The USSR has won the first round, it industrialized without the aid of foreign capital.” This was recognition of the Soviet economic achievements, recognition of the success of Lenin’s ideas and accomplishments.
Lenin’s economic policy is behind the colossal success of Stalin’s industrialization and total liquidation of unemployment by the beginning of the 1930s. The great Victory over Fascism is also the result of Lenin’s policy. So was the Soviet conquest of outer space. So was the level of social guarantees, that one can only dream of, today.
Vladimir Lenin won the Great Socialist Victory which long survived him. Today the country is suffering a crushing capitalist defeat. It may turn out to be a catastrophe. Today the experience of Lenin and Stalin stands in contrast to the Yeltsin-Gaidar legacy of the 1990s. We communists will do all we can to make sure that the creative forces prevail. The number one task is to help the people to become aware of the need to restructure along socialist lines.
* * *
Dear comrades,
The October 1917 Revolution lit the dawn of a new life. Our legacy is grandiose. Next year sees the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx. Great is the power of Lenin’s ideas. The Bolsheviks have colossal experience of opposing capital.
The greatest achievement of Lenin and his comrades- in-arms was the creation of the Bolshevik Party, a party of a new type. Bolshevism linked the proletarian movement in Russia with scientific socialism. It consistently implemented the teaching on the class struggle of the proletariat, on the socialist revolution, on the building of socialism in one country surrounded by capitalism. The party of Lenin put the Russian revolutionary movement in the vanguard of the struggle against capitalism and its leading force, the financial oligarchy.
The Bolshevik Party is the party of socialist revolution, of socialist creative endeavour and the communist perspective.
Bolshevism combines loyalty to principle and flexible tactics, the romanticism of lofty dreams, and pragmatic actions.
Proletarian internationalism is a characteristic of Bolshevism. However, it skillfully combined the general laws of the struggle for socialism with national-historical specificities.
Bolshevism rejects opportunism and revisionism. It upholds the purity of the Marxist-Leninist theory and opposes the falsification of this theory. At the same time it rejects sectarianism and seeks to unite left- wing forces in the struggle against the dictatorship of capital.
In October of 1917 the Russian Bolsheviks aroused the masses and won. They took up the slogan of Marx and Engels Proletarians of all lands, unite” and put it into practice. After the victory Lenin said: “Our socialist republic of the Soviets will stand firm as the torch of international socialism and as an example to all the working masses. There they have fighting, war and bloodshed, here we have a genuine policy of peace and the socialist republic of the Soviets.” That was indeed the case. The Soviet country became a bulwark and a beacon of hope for the working people of the whole planet.
The Soviet Union presented mankind with a unique experience of socialist construction. Its Red Banner became the main symbol of the fighters for justice in all the corners of the world. During the clash with Fascism this red flag called the Soviet warriors into battle and their heroism inspired the Resistance fighters of Europe. The banner with a hammer and sickle was the main symbol of the Great Victory.
Russian communists are proud of their history. Our path draws on the brilliant experience of many units of the international left movement. The wealth of this experience is our great heritage. The heritage of Soviet socialism inspired the members of the Comintern .It found its continuation in the Chinese and Cuban revolutions, in the struggle of Korea and Vietnam against the US military, in the daring exploits of Ernesto Che Guevara and the ХХI-century socialism of Hugo Chavez.
The achievements of the Soviet era are our lode star in the whirlpool of events. Building on the path covered, we have to go further in upholding social justice. Remembering past victories the CPRF has to intensify its struggle against capitalist savagery and degradation. The Party must establish itself as the vanguard of the workers’ movement. It must help hired laborers to become aware of their basic interests, to acquire socialist consciousness, to master the methods of class struggle –this is our task and this is our political and civic duty.
Russia is living through an exceedingly complicated period. To protect the working people, our party has to prove itself day after day by its teamwork and convincing results.
The centuries-old dream of humanity about a better future gives us faith in the triumph of good over evil, the triumph of the values of peace and creative endeavour, justice and progress.
Let us be faithful to the cause of the October Revolution.
The race is won by the running.
Onward toward new heights.
This entry was posted in CPRF Congress, Statements on June 2nd, 2017, by admin.
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Happy Birthday to Magna Carta June 15, 2015, was the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. In his book, 'Magna Carta', J.C. Holt, professor of medieval history, University of Cambridge, notes that 3 of the chapters of this ancient document, still stand on the English Stature Book, and that so much of what survives of the Great Charter, is “concerned with individual liberty,” which “is a reflexion of the quality of the original act of 1215. In the 17th century Sir Edward Coke used the Great Charter of the Liberties to establish the supremacy of Parliament, the representative of the people, as the origin of law. A number of legal scholars have made the irrelevant point that Magna Carta protected the rights of the Church, nobles and free men who were not enserfed: a small percentage of the population in the early 13th century.
We hear the same about the US Constitution -- it was something the rich did for themselves. I have no sympathy for debunking human achievements that -- in the end -- gave ordinary people liberty. At Runnymede in 1215, no one but the armed barons had the power & audacity to make King John submit to law. The rule of law, not the rule of the sovereign, or the executive branch in Washington, acceded to by a cowardly & corrupt Congress and Supreme Court, is a human achievement that grew out of the Magna Carta over the centuries, with ups and downs, of course. Blackstone’s Commentaries in 1759 fed into the American Revolution and gave us the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Geneva Conventions extended the rule of law, to the international arena. Beginning with the Clinton Administration and rapidly accelerating with the George W. Bush & Obama regimes -- & Tony Blair in England -- the US & UK governments have run roughshod over their accountability to law. Both the US & UK in the 21st century have gone to numerous wars illegally under the Nuremberg Standard estab- lished by the US and UK, following Germany’s defeat in WWII and used to execute Germans for war crimes.
The US and UK claim that, unlike Germany, they're immune to the very international law that they themselves established, in order to punish the defeated Germans. Washington and London can bomb and murder at will, but not Germany. Both governments illegally & uncon- stitutionally, (the UK Constitution is unwritten) spy on their citizens, and Bush & Obama's executive branches have eviscerated, with the complicity of Congress and the federal courts, the entirety of the US Constitution... except for the 2nd Amendment, which is protected by the strong lobby of the National Rifle Association. If the gun control “progressives” have their way, nothing will be left of the US Constitution. Washington and its European satellites have subordinated law to a political and economic hegemonic agenda. Just as under the heyday of colonialism when the West looted the non-white world, today the West loots its own. Greece is being looted as was Ireland, and Italy and Spain will not escape looting unless they renege on their debts and leave the EU. Western capitalism is a looting mechanism. It loots labour. It loots the environment, &, with its transpacific and transatlantic “partnerships” it will loot the sovereign law of countries. For example, France’s laws against GMOs become “restraints on trade” & subjects France to punitive law suits by Monsanto. If France doesn’t pay Monsanto the damages Monsanto claims, France is subject to punitive sanctions like Washington applies to Russia when Russia doesn’t do what Washington wants.
A new slave existence is being created in front of our eyes as law ceases to be a shield of the people, and becomes a weapon in the hands of government.
Eight hundred years of reform is being overturned --- as Washington and its vassals invade, bomb, and overthrow governments that are out of step with Washington’s agenda. Formerly self- sufficient agricultural communities are becoming wage slaves for international agribusiness corporations. Everywhere privilege is rising above law, and justice is being lost.
This concentration of wealth and power is reminiscent of the aristocratic era and of Rome under the Caesars. The demise of the rule of law, has stripped ordinary people of security and dignity. Peoples of the world must protect themselves by acting in defense of the Great Charter’s principle: governments are accountable to law. Governments unaccountable to law are tyrannies, whatever they might call themselves, no matter how except- ional and indispensable, they declare themselves to be. On Monday in Westminster in London, the International Tribunal for Natural Justice was forming. If my understanding of this work of Humanitad is correct, we have a cause for hope. Perhaps the Tribunal will try the criminals of our time, (almost all of which, are “leaders” of Western governments), on the Internet, with juries & prosecutors --- so populations everywhere can witness the evil that every Western government represents. Once the West is perceived as the evil force that it is, it will have to reform & again embrace Edward Coke’s vision of the Great Charter, or become an unim- portant backwater while the rest of the world goes on to better things. The world is saved, once the world ceases to bow down to the American Caesar. Paul Craig Roberts, PaulCÂÂraigRoberts.org
Image: Cuba and its glorious people
The Spirit of Our Struggle Leave a Little Light On for Me by FIDEL CASTRO
Fidel Castro sent this message to the Federation of University Students on the occasion of an event commemorating the 70th anniversary of his admission to the University of Havana.
In 2006, as a result of health issues which were incompatible with the time and effort required to fulfill my duties – which I myself assumed when I entered this University on September 4th, 1945, 70 years ago – I resigned from my official positions.
I was not the son of a worker, or lacking in material or social resources for a relatively comfortable existence; I could say that I miraculously escaped wealth. Many years later, a richer and undoubtedly very capable U.S. citizen, with almost 100 billion dollars, stated – according to a news agency article published this past Thursday, January 22 – that the predominant system of production and distribution of wealth would, from generation to generation, make the poor rich.
Since the times of ancient Greece, during almost 3,000 years, the Greeks, without going very far, were brilliant in almost all activities: physics, mathematics, philosophy, architecture, art, science, politics, astronomy and other branches of human knowledge.
Greece, however, was a land in which slaves did the most difficult work in fields and cities, while the oligarchy devoted itself to writing and philosophizing. The first utopia was written precisely for them.
Observe carefully the realities of this well- known, globalized and very poorly shared planet Earth, on which we know every vital resource is distributed in accordance with historical factors: some with much less than they need, others with so much they don’t know what to do with it.
Now amidst great threats and dangers of war, chaos reigns in the distribution of financial resources and social production. The world’s population has grown, between 1800 and 2015, from one to seven billion inhabitants. Can this population increment be accommodated, in this way, over the next 100 years, and food, health, water and housing needs met, regardless of whatever scientific advances are made?
Well, setting aside these perplexing problems, it is astonishing to recall that the University of Havana, during the days when I entered this beloved, prestigious institution almost three fourths of a century ago, was the only one in Cuba.
Of course, fellow students and professors, we must remember that it is not just one now, but rather more than 50 institutions of higher learning distributed across the entire country.
When you invited me to participate in the launch of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of my admission to the University, which I was surprised to learn of, during days when I was very busy with various issues in which I can perhaps still be relatively useful, I decided to take a break and devote several hours to recalling those years.
I am overwhelmed, recalling that 70 years have passed. In reality, compañeros and compañeras, if I were to register again at this age, as some have asked me, I would respond, without hesitation, that it would be to pursue scientific studies. I would say, like Guayasamín: Leave a little light on for me.
In those years, already influenced by Marx, I was able to understand more, and better, the strange, complex world in which it has befallen us to live. I may have harbored some illusions of the bourgeoisie, whose tentacles managed to entangle many students, when they possessed more passion than experience. The topic would be long and interminable.
Another genius of revolutionary action, founder of the Communist Party, was Lenin. Thus I did not hesitate a second when during the Moncada trial, when they allowed me to attend, albeit just one time, I stated before the judges and dozens of high ranking officials of the Batista regime that we were readers of Lenin.
We didn’t talk about Mao Zedong, since the socialist revolution in China, inspired by the same principles, had not yet ended.
I insist, nonetheless, that revolutionary ideas must always be on guard, as humanity expands its knowledge.
Nature teaches us that tens of billions of light years may have passed, and life in all of its expressions has always been subjected to an incredible combination of matter and radiation.
A personal greeting between the Presidents of Cuba and the United States took place at the funeral of Nelson Mandela, a distinguished, exemplary combatant against apartheid who had become friendly with Obama.
It is enough to indicate that, at that time, several years had passed since Cuban troops had decisively defeated the racist South African army, directed by the wealthy bourgeoisie, which had vast economic resources.
This is a story of a conflict which has yet to be written. South Africa, the government with the most financial resources on the continent, had nuclear weapons supplied by the racist state of Israel, as the result of an agreement between this party and President Ronald Reagan, who authorized the delivery of devices for the use of such weapons to attack Cuban and Angolan forces defending the Popular Republic of Angola against racist troops attempting to occupy the country.
Thus peace negotiations were excluded while Angola was attacked by apartheid forces, with the best trained & equipped army on the African continent.
In such a situation, there was no possibility whatsoever, for a peaceful solution. Continual efforts to liquidate the Popular Republic of Angola, to bleed the country systematically with the power of that well equipped and trained army, was what led to Cuba;s decision to deliver a resounding blow to the racists at Cuito Cuanavale, the former NATO base which South Africa was attempting to occupy at all costs.
That powerful country was obliged to negotiate a peace agreement which put an end to the military occupation of Angola, and an end to apartheid in South Africa.
The African continent was left free of nuclear weapons. Cuba was forced to face, for a second time, the threat of a nuclear attack.
Cuban internationalist troops with- drew from Africa with honor.
Then Cuba survived the Special Period in peace time, which has already lasted for more than 20 years, without raising the white flag, something we have never done, and will never do.
Many friends of Cuba know of the Cuban people’s exemplary conduct, and I will explain to them, in a few words, my essential position.
I do not trust the policy of the United States, nor have I exchanged one word with them, though this does not in any way signify a rejection of a peaceful solution to conflicts or threats of war. Defending peace is the duty of all. Any negotiated, peaceful solution to the problems between the United States and peoples, or any people of Latin America, which does not imply force or the use of force, must be addressed in accordance with international principles and norms.
We will always defend cooperation and friendship with all of the world’s peoples, and with those of our political adversaries. This is what we are demanding for all.
The President of Cuba has taken pertinent steps in accordance with his prerogatives and faculties conceded by the National Assembly & the Communist Party of Cuba.
The grave dangers that today threaten humanity must yield to norms which are compatible with human dignity. No country can be denied such a right.
In this spirit I have struggled, and will continue to struggle, to my last breath.
Image: G7 for gee, are you serious?
G7 summit - from Ukraine to Syria
Leaders of the seven major industrial countries at their summit in Brussels, unanimously backed the military operation pursued by the government in Kiev, but strictly condemned Damascus’s fight against radical Islamists and other armed groups.
G7 welcomes the presidential election in Ukraine which took place during ongoing bloodshed, with no participation in the eastern regions, yet brands the presidential election in Syria during terrorism and even the shelling of the capital, as illegitimate. G7 leaders give full support to Ukraine’s actions: describing the ongoing military operation in the country, using heavy artillery and armed fascists incorporated into its National Guard, as balanced actions, aimed at restoring law and order.
They strongly denounce Bashar Assad’s regime which, "fomented the conflict that killed 160,000, making 9.3 million face needing humanitarian aid".
G7 leaders describe Syria's presidential election as "counterfeit" despite a 73.42% turnout, with over 88% supporting the incumbent. While with no reason given, Brussels refuses to recognize the result, concluding by saying that Assad "has no future in Syria", and remaining totally silent about the need to respect a nation’s sovereign choice in determining its future.
The election in Ukraine, with a 60.29% official turnout (independent observers say 40%)... receives an opposite assessment. The summit welcomes its “successful conduct under difficult circumstances”. High turnout figures demonstrate, the statement says, the Ukrainians’ wish to determine their own future.
The leaders approve the unilateral sanctions illegally imposed on Russian companies and individuals and confirm their readiness to introduce new sanctions in the future.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, afterwards, says this issue requires additional discussion and analysis.
G7 leaders call on Russia to cooperate with the Ukrainian government for a stable peace, to recognize the election results, to complete their withdrawal of troops from the border, to stop the flow of weapons and volunteers (sic) across the border, and to use its influence in talks with federalization supporters, to make them surrender and lay down their arms.
G7 welcomes the start of an austerity program in Ukraine, and supports efforts to diversify gas supplies to Ukraine, primarily by reversing the supplies of Russian gas, from Europe.
The summit then beats all its previous comments, by declaring its support for “a free, prosperous & democratic Libya which will play its role in promoting regional stability”. This once-flourishing country slid into the abyss after a NATO air campaign lasting over 9 months, with 30 to 150 assault flights a day, according to the daily NATO reports.
The bombing was stopped almost immediately after the rebels had killed the leader, and Libya is now the main supplier of weapons that have crept across the whole of North Africa from its ransacked military depots. Much of it, ending up in Syria.
Democracy? G7? Don't make me Lol.
Image: LEFT UNITY BANNER
‘Bob Crow died despising what UK Labour Party had become’
In an age when there are few successful heroes willing to fight against neoliberalism, the UK’s Bob Crow stood apart.
He made the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers the UK's fastest growing union.
Who'd have thought he would die so suddenly at the age of 52, of a reported heart attack?
Like most workers’ leaders, he was demonized by the tightly-controlled right wing press in the UK.
Every time he fought for his members, journalists and the commentariat volunteered to defame him by almost any means necessary.
That is a testament to just how dangerous the establishment saw Crow, just as they saw Arthur Scargill a generation ago.
Everything the establishment had in its power was thrown at Scargill, to sabotage his attempt to preserve the most economic coal in Europe.
Today, Britain imports coal mined by children.
With Crow, attention in the media centered on the fact that he lived in a council house despite his earnings. What those who call themselves journalists in the UK didn’t understand, was that Crow favored public over private, society over atomized individuals.
Only a council house could be acceptable.
Then they attacked his salary, even though it was his thousands of members who voted for him to earn in a year, what a CEO of a nationalized bank takes home in a month.
Most recently, they had paparazzi photograph him on holiday in Brazil - as if taking a holiday before preparing for battle wasn’t a wise move.
Since the 1984 Miners’ Strike, UK politicians have become more subservient to the 1% management elite - and that made Crow all the more unique as a voice against prevailing ideas about the organization of society.
Our last interview with Crow was conducted at the RMT’s headquarters in London, in the centre of a toroid table around which the General Strike of 1926 was voted on, and around which, the Labour Party was founded.
He died despising what the Labour Party had become - deeply committed to the Thatcher Revolution of the 1980s.
More interesting to Crow was the broad sweep of worker struggles. RMT HQ is adorned, not just by an alarming amount of Millwall Football memorabilia, it also commemorates workers who died fighting fascism in Spain and those fighting the US-backed coup against Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.
The RMT, under Bob Crow, severed links with the UK's Labour party, soon after it helped launch the catastrophic war on Iraq.
The Union had had ties with Labour for over a century.Crow was preparing to stand as a candidate for a new party that would fight the macro-level neoliberalism of the EU.
He would have been giving speeches in the coming weeks about the US-backed coup d’état in Ukraine.
Crow believed in a great narrative of global history & supported anti-imperialist movements around the world. He sought a vanguard & said he was inspired by the spirit of the Palestinian people, who continue to fight, despite all odds.
He said he wanted a wholesale revolution in the UK, akin to the revolution in Cuba.
One of Crow’s inspirations, Fidel Castro still survives amidst Cuba’s on-going war against the biggest military power on earth, and Bob Crow is no more.
But I think it’s a pretty good bet that Crow will have inspired a new generation who will strive harder for a society that is truly egalitarian, in effect a grander class struggle than just one train or shipping strike.
The UK is in the throes of the greatest economic crisis since the 1930s --- and, unlike the 1%, so memorably evoked by F Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby, those inspired by Bob Crow will beat on, boats against the current, borne forward ceaselessly into the future.
The above article appeared in RT.
Afshin Rattansi is a journalist, author of “The Dream of the Decade – the London Novels” and an RT Contributor. He can be reached at afshinrattansi@hotmail.com.
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LEFT UNITY - NEW PARTY FORMED
RON TODD's GRANDSON:
From an early age, my grandfather instilled in me one key value: never, ever forget your roots.
My grandad was Ron Todd, a lifelong trade unionist and, from 1985 to 1992, the general secretary of the Transport & General Workers' Union – a predecessor of today's Unite.
He lived by that creed.
However high he rose, he stayed living in the same house, in the community where he grew up.
He campaigned for peace, and for the release of Nelson Mandela. He was offered a peerage 3 times – and three times said no. He didn't have Sky TV, because he refused to give a penny to Rupert Murdoch. His was a socialism of the heart, with a great humanity, solidarity and internationalism.
He was a member of the Labour party – but at the time he didn't seem out of place there. Trade union values were Labour values.
That's why Labour's latest "reforms" to the trade union link marked such a sad and historic break.
Ed Miliband bowed to rightwing pressure to distance himself from the unions – and walked right into the Tories' trap.
Let's face it, no one on your street is going to care about the technicalities. But the key point is that the changes turn the decision to affiliate from a collective one by 1.6 million members into an individual choice on a form.
Union members will effectively be asked whether they want their political fund contributions to go to a Labour party that is embarrassed by them, or to be spent on local campaigning instead. Not a hard decision.
As a member of Unite, one of the most exciting things I have been involved in is the union's community membership.
It is organizing at grassroots level, empowering ordinary people to fight against the horrific impact of the cuts on our everyday lives.
Yet so often we find it is Labour councils making these cuts, so we're funding the very people we're campaigning against!
I'm sad not to be part of the Labour party any more, but for me it's simple: if your friend keeps punching you in the face, you stop calling them a friend.
The tragedy is that it was the trade union movement that created the Labour party. We didn't do it because we wanted to, but because we needed to – we needed a political voice to challenge the people in power.
Yet Labour politicians now look and talk the same as every other party – the only difference is the colour of the tie.
Today that need for a political voice hasn't gone away. That's why I'm part of Left Unity, the newly founded party that's working to become a real alternative to Labour, based on putting people before profit.
Already we have branches in more than 40 towns and cities across Britain. More disenchanted Labour members and trade unionists are signing up every day – and I encourage you to give it a try too.
We can't wait for Labour to be "reclaimed" while people are dying in the war on the welfare state. If not now, then when? We need the debate about an alternative to Labour to start being had across the trade union movement.
I feel sure that if Ron Todd were alive today, he would be working to help create that alternative. It's not just me who has joined Left Unity: we took the decision together, as a family.
Ed Miliband's Labour party has forgotten its roots – but we won't.
Karen Hudes is a graduate of Yale Law School and she worked in the legal department of the World Bank for more than 20 years.
When she was fired for blowing the whistle on corruption inside the World Bank, she held the position of Senior Counsel.
She was in a unique position to see exactly how the global elite rule the world, and the information that she is now revealing to the public is absolutely stunning.
Hudes says the elite use a very tight core of financial institutions and mega- corporations to dominate the planet.
Their goal is control. They want all of us enslaved to debt, they want all of our governments enslaved to debt, and they want all of our politicians addicted to the huge financial contributions that they funnel into their campaigns.
Since the elite also own all of the big media companies, the mainstream media never lets us in on the secret that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way that our system works.
Remember, this is not some “conspiracy theorist” who is saying these things.
This is a Yale-educated attorney who worked inside the World Bank for over two decades. The following summary of her credentials comes directly from her website…
Karen Hudes studied law at Yale Law School and economics at the University of Amsterdam. She worked in the US Export Import Bank of the US from 1980-1985 and in the Legal Department of the World Bank from 1986-2007.
She established the Non Governmental Organization Committee of the International Law Section of the American Bar Association and the Committee on Multilateralism and the Accountability of International Organizations of the American Branch of the International Law Association.
Today, Hudes is trying very hard to expose the corrupt financial system the global elite are using to control the wealth of the world.
During an interview with the New American, she discussed how we are willingly allowing this group of elitists to totally dominate the resources of the planet…
A former insider at the World Bank, ex-Senior Counsel Karen Hudes, says that the global financial system is dominated by a small group of corrupt, power-hungry figures centered around the privately owned U.S. Federal Reserve.
The network has seized control of the media to cover up its crimes, too, she explained.
In an interview with The New American, Hudes said that when she tried to blow the whistle on multiple problems at the World Bank, she was fired for her efforts.
Now, along with a network of fellow whistleblowers, Hudes is determined to expose and end the corruption. And she is confident of success.
Citing an explosive 2011 Swiss study published in the PLOS ONE journal on the “network of global corporate control,” Hudes pointed out that a small group of entities — mostly financial institutions and especially central banks — exert a massive amount of influence over the international economy from behind the scenes.
“What is really going on, is that the world’s resources are being dominated by this group,” she explained, adding that the “corrupt power grabbers” have managed to dominate the media as well. “They’re being allowed to do it.”
A Swiss study Hudes mentions, was conducted by a team of researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland.
They studied the relationships between 37 million companies and investors worldwide, and what they discovered is that there is a “super-entity” of just 147 very tightly knit mega-corporations that controls 40% of the entire global economy…
When the team further untangled the web of ownership, it found much of it tracked back to a “super-entity” of 147 even more tightly knit companies – all of their ownership was held by other members of the super-entity – that controlled 40% of the total wealth in the network.
“In effect, less than 1% of the companies were able to control 40% of the entire network,” says Glattfelder.
Most were financial institutions. The top 20 included Barclays Bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and The Goldman Sachs Group.
But the global elite don’t just control these mega-corporations. According to Hudes, they also dominate the unelected, unaccountable organizations that control the finances of virtually every nation on the face of the planet.
The World Bank, the IMF and central banks such as the Federal Reserve, literally control the creation and the flow of money worldwide.
At the apex of this system is the Bank for International Settlements. It is the central bank of central banks, and posted below is a video where you can watch Hudes tell Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com this…
“We don’t have to wait for anybody to fire the Fed or Bank for International Settlements . . . some states have already started to recognize silver and gold, the precious metals, as currency”
Most people have never even heard of the Bank for International Settlements, but it is an extremely important organization.
This “central bank of the world” is literally immune to all national governments laws…
An immensely powerful international organization most people have never even heard of, secretly controls the money supply of the entire globe.
It's the Bank for International Settlements, and it is the central bank of central banks. It is located in Basel, Switzerland, but it also has branches in Hong Kong and Mexico City.
It is essentially an unelected, unaccountable central bank of the world, that has complete immunity from taxation and from national laws.
Even Wikipedia admits “it is not accountable to any single national government.“
The Bank for International Settlements was used to launder money for the Nazis during World War II, but these days the main purpose of the BIS is to guide and direct the centrally-planned global financial system.
Today, 58 global central banks belong to the BIS, and it has far more power over how the US economy (or any other economy for that matter) will perform over the next year, than any politician does.
Every two months, the central bankers of the world meet in Basel for another “Global Economy Meeting”.
During those meetings, decisions are made which affect every man, woman and child on the planet, and yet none of us have any say in what goes on.
The Bank for International Settlements is an organization founded by the global elite... it operates for the benefit of the global elite, and it's intended to be a key cornerstone of the emerging "one world" economic system.
This did not come into being by accident. The global elite have been developing this system for a very long time.
Way back in 1966, Georgetown University history professor Carroll Quigley wrote of the big plans the elite had for the Bank for International Settlements…
"[T]he powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole.
"This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences.
"The apex of the system was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basle, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the world’s central banks - which were themselves private corporations."
And that is exactly what we have today.
We have a system of “neo-feudalism” in which all of us and our national governments are enslaved to debt.
This system is governed by the central banks and by the Bank for International Settlements, and it systematically transfers the wealth of the world out of our hands and into the hands of the global elite.
But most people have no idea that any of this is happening because the global elite also control what we see, hear and think about.
Today there are just 6 giant media corporations that control over 90% of the news watched on televisions in the United States.
This is the insidious system that Karen Hudes is seeking to expose. For much more, you can listen to Joyce Riley of the Power Hour interview her for an entire hour right here:
Below is part of Adam Price's address to the Institute of Welsh Politics' Annual Address, in Aberystwyth, on the 16th November 2009.
I hope you will forgive me a moment of self-parody, but it is almost always necessary in Wales to begin any address with an apology. This is a politics lecture which is two thirds history, and one third psychology. I hope at the end of the address you will agree that there is more logic here than may first appear in giving this address at an Institute for Welsh Politics:
The case for the defence is this: that for a fundamentally new politics to flourish in Wales we need a new psychology which has at its heart the idea of Wales, and of ourselves within it, as making our own history.
History does not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme - said Mark Twain. So it is that Wales, for much of its history an anomaly, today finds itself anomalous again. Before the Act of Union we were a conquered nation that was never fully subdued.
Post-devolution we're a post-colonial country still waiting to be decolonised. It is these contradictions that describe our present predicament: we are a hybrid state living in the cracks between a dependent past and an independent future.
This lecture is unabashedly didactic. It hopes to convince you of three propositions no less revolutionary for all their simplicity; that the longue duree of English imperialism began here in Wales; that the deepest legacy it has left is psychological. And that national liberation, if it is to mean anything, has to be a liberation of the mind. Otherwise we will be condemning ourselves to be not just the first, but also the final colony.
To begin at the beginning. English imperialism can perhaps be described as Wales's greatest and most terrible export. What was tried and tested here, soon became the template for what one English historian has called the "thousand year Reich" of the English empire.
It is a pedigree we appear to have worked very hard to forget. The title of "First Colony" is a crown of thorns more often claimed by the Irish – most recently in setting the scene for the 2005 BBC series of The Sceptred Isle that focused on Empire.
And yet the Normans settled Wales a near century before Ireland, and the Statute of Rhuddlan, formally annexing Wales, predates its Irish equivalent, the Statute of Kilkenny by about the same number of years. Whatever the Irish suffered, we, sadly, suffered first.
A more plausible case for English colonialism's origins perhaps could be made by the Cornish. But Cornwall was merged with Wessex before England as a nation proper had been formed. So though it may be the great unspoken fact of our identity, we in Wales were indeed the first piece in England's empire.
But does enough of our past qualify as colonial in the classical sense, for this to have relevance for us today?
Answering that question means looking in turn at each of the six core features of colonialism: military conquest, settlement, cultural assimilation, political subjugation, economic exploitation and racial discrimination. There is plenty of evidence of all of them at work in Wales over the best part of a millennium, but the most obvious and least debatable is the brutal fact of the conquest itself: Even today, Edward’s I’s ring of iron stands as a potent reminder of our colonial past. The Normans’ castle building programme in Wales remains the most concerted effort at the pacification of an occupied country in European history.
Of course, Wales was to prove, in that classic formulation, an easier country to conquer than to hold. England's new rulers quickly extended their control of the river valleys and coastal lowlands seasonally vacated by a farming people that in the Summer moved their stock to the hills.
In some important sense, they never conquered Wales above six hundred feet, where their heavily armoured knights lost their advantage over Welsh archers and lightly armed infantry.
Indeed the "piecemeal, long-drawn out and uncompleted' nature of the English conquest of Wales was why it had to be done again and again.
The highlands and the forest remained in the hands of a Welsh insurgency using the tactics of guerrilla war- fare as described by that mixed-race Cambro-Norman Gerallt Cymro. Between 1090 and 1415 Wales was a country in rebellion or else under siege, raiding or being raided, celebrating victory or coping with defeat, in a landscape for the English occupying power as hospitable as Helmand, for the Welsh, as merciless as Fallujah.
But the Norman conquest was no mere military affair. Territorial annexation by force was simply the prelude to the entire panoply of measures in colonialism's armoury.
First came the movement into Wales of whole populations of English or Flemings combined with the forced displacement of the indigenous Welsh. Wales was divided into two separate domains: ‘Englishries and ‘Welshries’, a powerful settler minority and a conquered native populace.
This was not the natural, organic shift of population happening all over Europe throughout the Middle Ages. This was a deliberate act of State policy that presaged the creation of ‘Planter’ settlements elsewhere in the tragic unfolding story of colonialism.
Alongside their castlries, the Anglo-Norman invaders created in Wales a powerful bulwark in the chartered town with borough status.
A class of special liberties – the so-called Laws of Breteuil – imported from the town of the same name in Normandy by the Marcher Lords was created to entice settlers in, as surely as the Castle was to keep the Welsh out.
While Carmarthen, Montgomery and even Aberystwyth were soon sites of growth for a nascent property-owning English merchant class, the Welsh became outcasts, confined to the favelas of medieval Wales on the margins of town or in the rural uplands. In this way the Welsh are not just the original inhabitants of these island. They are also the the very first to be socially excluded.
The third vector of colonialism is cultural: the supplanting of inferior local languages and traditions by the supposedly superior culture of the colonial power. The first stage, after all, of any sustained colonial project is to convince oneself that conquest is “ordained of God” and necessary for the ‘civilisation’ of a barbarous people.
The first victim was a slightly anarchic Celtic church soon Romanised into an orderly hierarchy of Bishoprics and Parishes all under the ultimate authority of the State- approved denizen of the Canterbury see.
Ecclesiastical colonialism is the first of the great continuities of Welsh history as it features in all three waves of colonial conquest: Norman, Tudor and Victorian. So we have in the early years of the Norman occupation, the sidelining of ancient abbies dedicated to the names of Welsh holy men by local Benedictine franchises – the religious equivalent of Starbucks or MacDonalds – promoting universal saints with no local connection.
With Cistercian support, Wales was able to rebuild aspects of a national church in the Thirteenth Century, an achievement that Glyndwr sought to consolidate through the programme agreed at the Pennal Synod.
With that dream defeated, the English delegate at the Council of Constance was able to declare when the issue of the Welsh church was raised: “inclyta natio Anglicana Brytannica”, an early Latin rendition of “For Wales, see England ”.
Fast forward five centuries and in the second wave of colonisation – closely tied as it was to the Reformation of Convenience under Henry VIII - and we have a State- funded campaign of iconoclasm targeting such medieval shrines and images of Welsh piety as Derfel Fawr, St. Winifred's Well, our Lady of Cardigan and the Virgin of Penrhys.
The English Bishop of St. Davids’s hates the cult of St. David so much he strips the lead off the roof of the Cathedral and moves the Bishop’s Palace to Abergwili where it remains to this day. (Perhaps in an Act of Penance it’s time the Bishop of St. David’s moved back in.)
An English Book of Common Prayer is then pressed on a monoglot Welsh population with, predictably, little success, shoring up the popularity of old Catholic Rites.
Most people will not realise it but Wales , like Ireland , remained stubbornly loyal to Mother Church long after England had succumbed, much to the frustration of English Puritan missionaries. It wasn't until the Eighteenth Century that the Protestant Reformation – in the sense of a genuine popular attachment and the full rejection of what later came to be known disdainfully as the Marian cult – could be said to have been completed in Wales & only then, because of a Third Wave of ecclesiastical colonisation that drafted in Anglophone Anglican priests in their hundreds into Welsh parishes and drove their long-suffering laity into the enthusiastic arms of the Methodist revivalists.
The Welsh, therefore, - despite inhabiting the only part of the Island of Britain to have an unbroken Christian tradition - must join a long list of colonised peoples forced to change their religion as a consequence of conquest.
Not content to steal our land, they then conspired to steal our soul. No wonder the poet Thomas ab Ieuan Rhys would lament: “We have been changed by the faith of the Saxons. Our hearts are not inclined towards it” and Sion Brwynig would speak in 1550 of the “icy coldness” of the new faith and the ”bitter blow” of witnessing the removal of the altars and adjuncts of Catholic worship.
It is hardly any wonder that when Guido Fawkes went to see Philip of Spain in 1603 – introduced most probably through the auspices of Hugh Owen, Plas Du, Hispanophile and the Continent's leading Catholic spy - to petition him in favour of an invasion, it was Milford Haven he proposed as the landing site since Wales would prove the most fertile recruiting ground for a Catholic army.
It was a change of strategy not a change in purpose that won Wales to the Protestant faith. Elizabethan state sponsorship of the translation of Bible and the Book of Common Prayer should not be mistaken as an altogether altruistic measure.
The final clause of the “Act for the Translation of the Bible and Divine Service into the Welsh Tongue” required that an English Bible be placed in every Welsh Church so that the monoglot Welsh “may by conferring both Tongues together, the sooner attain to the knowledge of the English Tongue”. Whatever William Morgan’s motivation, the ultimate aim was the same as the Acts of Union themselves: Anglicisation and uniformity. The fact that it had the opposite effect was more by accident than design.
The wider attack on the Welsh language probably represents the longest State-sanctioned policy of attempted linguistic genocide in history. A Charter granted to Welshpool in 1406 stated that legal cases could only be pleaded henceforth in French or English. Six hundred years later and we are still pleading for Welsh to achieve equal status in the courts.
The Acts of the Union with their condemnation of “sinister usages & customs”, in Gwyn Alf Williams words, rendered a ”largely monoglot people aliens in their own land”. With friends like the Tudors, who needed enemies?
The Victorians - for all their Celtomania - were determined to finish the job: even the Arch-Celticist Mathew Arnold was to declare “the sooner the Welsh language disappears as an instrument of the practical, political, social life of Wales the better”. With Arnold a senior inspector of schools, it could hardly came as any surprise that the 1870 Education Act made English compulsory. It was to take until 1939 for the first Welsh-medium school to open - here in Aber. By then the damage had been done.
The most telling symbol of all of cultural imperialism in Wales, of course, was a little wooden halter with the letters WN branded in it that hung around the necks of children. The language was literally beaten out of us. But children were forced not just to betray their culture but also their class- mates: the ultimate mental cruelty. The Welsh Not was the model for the corporal punishment of indigenous culture thoughout the Empire; the Nobel prize winning Kenyan novelist Ngugi wa Thiong’o wore a wooden tablet around his own neck as a child which they called 'Monitor'. Any child speaking KiSwahili or Gikuyu would be given the Monitor until he heard another child do the same so he could point them out to the teacher . The child left holding the Monitor at the end of the day would be beaten with a stick. Sounds familiar?
That we were a subject people in political terms is also an objective fact however uncomfortable we may be with its consequences. Wales, unlike the Scots or Irish Parliaments, was not consulted on its own Act of Union. We were to be rendered politically invisible as things turned out until the final year of the final century of the last Millennium.
Our royal house was not conjoined through dynastic marriage; it was murdered. The heir to the English throne, a constituent of mine who admittedly has shown more genuine interest in Wales than all his predecessors put together, has about as much moral right to the title Prince of Wales as Perkin Warbeck did to the English throne in the time of Henry Tudor.
And it wasn't just the descendants of Hywel Dda that were 'disappeared" like the victims of a military junta; his laws too were consigned to the garbage heap of history.
Monmouthshire found itself lumped in with England for no better reason than the English circuits were composed of four counties – and Wales had thirteen, so Monmouthshire was forced to make up the numbers with its three English neighbours.
That said, in the remaining twelve counties the native law of Wales survived two of the three attempts to render them null and void.
The Statute of Rhuddlan in the Welsh circuit courts soon evolved into the Statute of Wales, and a separate Welsh judicature developed which again somehow survived the Act of Union's legal lynching.
Welsh law obviously embodied the spirit of Gwilym Crach of Gower who was hung not once, but twice for his involvement in a rebellion of 1298, and still survived.... The devil simply wouldn't die. So it was that even as late as 1779 Welsh defendants were employing the legal argument - breve regis non currit in Wallam - the king's writ doesn't run in Wales.
It was the last great imperialist monarch that succeeded where Edward I and Henry VIII failed: Queen Victoria abolished the Welsh Court of Great Sessions in 1830 and finally laid the legal legacy of Welsh independence to rest. At least until now.
The reasons for the colonisation of medieval Wales were probably more strategic than economic. Upland Wales helped supply England with beef, milk and wool, but it was acting as a buffer against foreign invasion that was probably the principal attraction. In the third wave of colonisation fuelled by the Industrial Revolution, that position was dramatically reversed when Wales became one of the most industrialised regions on the planet.
As Professor Merfyn Jones has said, Wales from 1850 can be caricatured as one big mine or quarry as some mineral or ore was being extracted virtually every- where. Iron ore was dug & smelted here continuously from the late 1780s; at the same time Anglesey had a virtual world monopoly on copper: Here in Ceredigion the mines were for lead and zinc. And yes, Wales was the only the part of modern Britain ever to see a gold rush , in Dolgellau in the 1880s.
Then there were all the different types of stone quarried here: limestone for the foundries, sandstone, dolerite, granite and, of course, slate where North Wales represented the world's biggest producer for all of the 19th century and much of the 20th. And I haven't even mentioned coal . By 1913, 35% of the tonnage of all Britain’s exports was leaving through south Wales ports: almost all of it coal to fuel the industries of the world.
One of the most striking features of all this impressive economic record is that it was led, with a very few exceptions, by English proprietors. The Dowlais Iron Company, for example, that turned Merthyr into an economic powerhouse was founded by Anthony Bacon from London. He was followed by the Crawshays from Yorkshire and the Guests of Herefordshire. The Ebbw Vale iron works was established by the Homfrays of Worcester. In North Wales, it was John Wilkinson of Lancashire that led the way. The metal industry in Swansea meanwhile was developed by the Vivian family from Cornwall.
There were some exceptions - the Copper and Coal kings, Thomas Williams or David Davies- but on the whole the pattern was clear. John Taylor, the leading figure in the Welsh lead industry, was from Norwich. English landowners were also at the forefront of development. The current Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor family was involved in lead mining in north east Wales.
Another Cheshire family, the Assheton's Smith's of the Faenol estate, made their fortune in slate. The Butes made vast profits not only from coal but from the ports they built to export it.
Even in agriculture the almost feudal level of absentee ownership persisted late into the 19th century. In 1887 less than 5% of the land in Caernarvonshire was owned by its tenants.
With such a high level of English ownership, we bore all of the human and environmental cost but saw little of the profit - with the exception of a few square miles of civic pride in Cardiff.
Instead follies and mock-feudal mansions were built the length and breadth of Wales. This was the Welsh equivalent of what economists call the 'resource curse', the fact that mineral wealth is almost always more trouble than its worth. The 'path dependence' created by an extractive mono-culture is still with us today: our failure to develop an indigenous enterprise culture or, as George Monbiot has recently pointed out, the preponderance of East-West over North-South links, all stem from the colonial exploitation of our economy.
Beyond economic domination and military conquest, as the late Edward Said was able to show, colonialism is also, of course, a discourse of domination: a deep-seated idea that the imperial power has an inherent right to rule and impose its values on the nation that it dominates. The first step, then, in any colonial project is convincing oneself that the colonised are inferior; that the act of conquest itself, for all its brutality, is morally justified, even “ordained of God”. So it was that the Anglo-Norman propagandists opened up a ‘cultural front” in their war against the Welsh which has formed the bedrock to Cambrophobia down the centuries.
So it is that the author of the 12th century English history The Deeds of King Stephen informs us that “Wales is a country of wooded pasture that breeds men of an animal type, swift-footed, accustomed to war, volatile, quick in breaking their word and changing their abode” he omits to mention the fact that the Welsh also lived in towns, until the Normans drove them out and that the need to fight and keep constantly on the move may have had something to do with his kinsmen’s presence.
When Chretien De Troyes says, in writing of Peredur or Perceval – one of a number of Welsh characters to populate the European romantic imagination for the best part of a millennium – not bad for a people ‘on the edge’ – “All Welshmen are, by nature, more irrational than animals in the field” he is not just echoing the views of the Anglo-Norman elite, he is presaging the classic strategy of the coloniser of rendering the colonised as the savage “Other” used centuries later by the European Powers in Africa, Asia or America.
But he also represents a tradition that continues right through to the nineteenth century view of the Celtic personality as irrational, feminine, child-like and impractical and racially inferior to the Saxon.
A second reoccurring theme is our immorality. The Normans justify their Takeover of the Welsh Church by reference to the loose morals of their flock who practiced trial marriage, homosexuality, and inheritance rights for the illegitimate.
We were, it seems, prodigiously modern. It is here that the continuity of colonialism re-emerges. When the infamous Report of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the state of Education in Wales of 1847 (which came to be known by Nonconformist Wales as the Treachery of the blue Books) was published it was again the moral laxity of the Welsh that was held up as the most pressing reason for making English the sole medium of instruction.
In those periods where the Welsh demonstrate passivity and obedience then a different picture of the Welsh is presented as the comically stupid if a little two-faced. In the eighteenth and nineteenth century there was a rich market for this kind of thing – Taffy and his wife sat atop a goat – because they couldn’t afford a horse, leeks poking out of their hats, holding a cheese in one hand, and their pedigree in the other.
There was often a modern sinister undertow. In 1885 John Beddoe, President of the Anthropological Institute developed an "Index of Nigrescence" which claimed to show that the Welsh and western Irish were “Africanoid” in their ‘jutting jaws’ and ‘slitty nostrils’ and thus originally immigrants from Africa.
This idea of the Celts as 'colonials' has been a constant theme since the Age of Discovery:- as one Protestant pamphleteer said in 1651, frustrated at the lack of success in converting the Welsh: “We have Indians at home – Indians in Cornwall, Indians in Wales, Indians in Ireland. ” Forget sending missionaries to the West Indies, he argued - send them to Merthyr.
So it is that prevailing image of the Welsh in England throughout these three colonial periods ranges from submissive and deferential, to lewd and unruly, and even downright perfidious on a par with that of the wild Irish. What never changed was the tacit assumption that we were, by definition, inferior.
The lowest point was the passing of the Punitive Laws in the wake of the Glyndwr Rebellion which introduced a system of racial discrimination equal to Apartheid.
These race laws have fallen prey to a collective amnesia so it is worth recounting them in full: from 1401, no Welshman was to enjoy the privilege of burgess status (an absolute prohibition traditionally reserved for Jews); no Welsh man was to buy land in England; no Welshman was to hold a major office in Wales.
These prohibitions extended to any Englishman who had married a Welsh woman since the revolt began.
No Welshman was to carry arms in any town, market, church assembly or highway. No Welshman was to hold a castle or any other defensible house that had existed in Edward I's time. Garrisons must comprise exclusively Englishmen – not even men of mixed race would be allowed. No Englishman was to be convicted in Wales by, or at the suit of, a Welshman.
As Rees Davies argues, what is particularly striking about these edicts is that they are “specifically racist in character”. An extreme reaction to the shock of the Glyndwr revolt they undoubtedly were – but they were also reinstating the common law practice of three hundred years of English supremacism.
Kidwelly, created in the 1100s, had English, French or Flemish burgesses – but no Welsh (or forinseci) - we were literally foreigners in our own land.
In 1351 the ironically named Hope in Flintshire banned the Welsh from holding burgages and confiscated any that already did - but this was nothing new, Edward I had banned Welshmen from holding land in borough towns in reaction to Llywelyn Bren's revolt of 1294.
The attitudes that underpinned the Punitive Laws have re-emerged at other times in our colonial past, and overt discrimination continued to be part of our experience in Wales right through into the modern period.
For the first part of the Eighteenth Century, for example, the majority of Welsh by virtue of their Nonconformity were banned from any office in the House of Commons.
They couldn’t enter Oxford or Cambridge finally until 1871 - this being one of the principal drivers behind the establishment of the University of Wales.
We were a colony. And now we're in a state of denial. The factual evidence for the reality of colonisation is all around us - indeed it can even be said to be within us.
But to the extent that we acknowledge it, it might as well be invisible. Dilys Davies, a Welsh psychiatrist working at Guy's hospital who has conducted an exhaustive analysis of the Welsh psyche, has called this a form of cultural autism and drawn analogies with child sexual abuse - which for all its pervasiveness, was once met by a wall of silence.
Colonisation is our 'dangerous idea', a "dirty little secret', a 'painful memory' that has to be repressed.
Cambridge University Press' primer on Medieval Wales warns the reader that in Wales’ case “the colonial analogy – may be pushed too far and it must be used with great sensitivity”.
The late great Rees Davies – whose revolutionary tracts 'Colonial Wales' and 'Race Relations in Post- Conquest Wales' were published within a year of each other in the mid 1970s as he moved to Aberystwyth – was very much the glorious exception. He himself was warned that specialising in Welsh history was reputational suicide for a young Welsh historian and, sadly, he never got to teach a course on the history of his own country here at Aberystwyth though he is probably one of the greatest historians that Wales ever produced.
So it was left to Gwynfor Evans to continue where the professional historians left off. When Michael Hechter produced his magnus opus: 'Internal; Colonialism: the Celtic Fringe in British National Development', he was met with a chorus of disapproval from Welsh academics. Alfred Zimmern could have warned him perhaps, of the professional perils of an American prognosticating about issues of Welsh identity.
In some ways the robust rejection of the theory of ‘internal colonialism” was in part a reaction to the myths perpetrated by colonialism itself – that Wales was a backwater, outside the mainstream of modernity, and the Welsh a people whose history was lived perpetually in the passive tense. For Gwyn Alf, Wales ’ global industrial pre-eminence meant the Welsh Working Class – always written in capital letters – were “junior partners in the British Empire ”. Casting back to Tudor times he showed us how that latter-day Merlin, Dr John Dee, uses the Madoc myth to stake a British claim to the New World – and British, mind you, the Welsh at the Tudor Court having reconquered Albion for the Celts. Far from being victims of the British Empire, according to this, we damned well invented it.
There can certainly be no doubt that the Welsh enthusiastically embraced imperialism. Though less prominent than the Scots, the Welsh were well represented among the military and civilian ranks of Imperial Britain.
At one time, both the Chief Justices of Bengal and Calcutta were Welsh-speaking Welshmen. But does the sight of Zulus spearing Welshmen at the Battle of Isandlwhana or Welshmen bayoneting Zulu at the Battle of Rourke’s Drift in return, help or hinder the hypothesis that Britishness was forged by all four nations of these islands in the cauldron of empire which became the Britannic melting-pot, as Gordon Brown’s favourite historian Linda Colley suggests?
Could this not simply be a rather poignant reminder of the practice of empires of time immemorial, of pressing the already vanquished into doing the next bit of vanquishing
Of course, we participated in later imperial adventures. Denied opportunities for advancement at home, we often had little choice.
But this obscures the bigger truth, that where other colonies were the copy, we were the original, where colonialism's die was first minted.
It was the Marcher Lords like the de Lacys who founded Drogheda who sought in the first instance to pacify Ireland, able to draw as they were on a century or more of experience of colonial occupation in Wales. The peopling of Pembrokeshire by Flemings presaged the later Plantation in Ulster.
The Tudors hold up post-conquest Wales as the model for recalcitrant Ireland. As Sir Henry Sidney's secretary William Gerard assured the Privy Council on the occasion of his master's transfer from Wales to Ireland:
"A better president (precedent)..... colde not be founde than to imitate the course that reformed Wales."
Wales was the epicentre for 3 tidal waves of colonial expansion in the history of the Anglo-British State: the insular colonialism of the Norman period, the transatlantic ambitions of the Tudors and the global imperialism of the Victiorians. We supplied the model for the first, the myth for the second, and the material for the third.
In each phase we paid a heavy price for our collusion in our own enslavement, with the progressive colonisation of our own mind & imagination. The first English imperialists were early amateurs at this kind of thing – but come the Treason of the Blue Books... they had learned to deploy it with devastating effect.
Colonialism in any society and in any period is an act of violation which results in a kind of trauma whose effects are felt for many generations. Hence the most long-lasting and deep-seated legacy of colonialism is psychological. It was the mixed-race French- speaking Caribbean Frantz Fanon, practising psychiatry and preaching revolution in occupied Algeria, who first realised this and began to write painfully but eloquently about the psychology of colonialism.
Welsh psychologists and psychotherapists by contrast have been almost completely silent on this theme. Dr Dilys Davies of Guy's Hospital, the only professional psychiatrist to have written at all about colonialism's effect on the Welsh psyche, suggests that - as with Rees Davies the historian - it is not in the professional interests of the Welsh psychiatrist to appear too 'parochial'. Dr Davies, by contrast, stands out as the Frantz Fanon of Wales, and virtually the entirety of what follows is based on her pioneering work .
As with many other things, the Irish have a head start on us in thinking about the psychology of colonialism. An important feature, according to the psychologist Vincent Kenny is the way in which the Irish have internalised their own oppression.
One way of overcoming the feeling of powerlessness that flows from being dominated is to identify with the dominator - sometimes even unconsciously. It is a kind of sociological equivalent of Stockholm syndrome - what Fanon calls 'adhesion' to the dominator, the Brazilian pedagogist Paolo Freire called "housing the other" and the German-jewish psychologist Erich Fromm called an “inner duality”.
It goes by many names but its self-destructive consequences are only obvious: our selves becomes divided against ourselves.
We become self-oppressing.
It should be no surprise therefore that Beriah Gwynfe Evans, the Secretary of Cymru Fydd, was an enthusiastic exponent of the Welsh Not as a young teacher- and that its use was far more widespread among voluntary schools prior to 1870 than in State schools thereafter, implying that parents generally approved of its use.
Was Welsh as the language of the majority murdered or did it commit suicide? The question is in some ways irrelevant as both realities are in fact the parallel outcomes of the selfsame process.
(The Welsh Not was also an early example of the insidious effects of performance related pay - since the teachers were paid by results and Welsh didn't form part of the formal curriculum, the use of Welsh was actively discouraged by the teachers).
That we have been complicit in our own colonisation is undeniable.
As Gandhi said of his own country : “the English have not taken India;- we have given it to them.”.
In developing this theme in his Hind Swaraj, Gandhi drew upon a little know treatise by an 18 year old Frenchman, Etienne de la Boetie written some fifteen years after our own Act of Union: the Discourse on Voluntary Servitude. In it he argues that structures of power in any situation, even where they rely on physical force, depend in the last analysis on consent, however reluctant, of those over whom power is exercised.
As Gandhi went on to say: “It is we the English-knowing Indians that have enslaved India. The curse of the nation will rest not upon the English, but upon us…”
So how has colonialism's curse imprinted itself on the modern welsh psyche? Broadly speaking the effects can be categorised according to 2 dimensions: the way in which we see ourselves, and the way in which we interact with others.
The former flows from the central fact of domination itself. Conquered peoples are often perceived as passive, a little fatalistic, prone to introspection. The writer Rene Marques has written, for example, about the docile nature of his compatriot Puerto Ricans. And how much has been written about the melancholia of the Celts? But as Erich Fromm pointed out, rather than this forming an essential part of our national character, it simply reflects our actual historic experience of being downtrodden. So Welsh music is sung in the minor key, and our poetry adopts an elegiac tone.
In political terms we develop a begging bowl mentality, because we have become resigned to the reality of our own domination.
We feel a sense of helplessness and hopelessness - what J.J. Lee has called, in the Irish case, the 'peasant residue' in our psyche. We abdicate responsibility for our own future because we doubt our ability to act constructively and change our situation.
We avoid taking risks, and prefer security even if that means locking us into relative poverty and unrealised potential.
Above all, we suffer from a profound sense of our own inferiority, a lack of confidence which expresses itself through our failure to show initiative, whether in political or business terms.
It is this deep insecurity that I believe lies at the heart of our still tentative embrace of devolution, and our rejection of what is after all, the normal aspiration of any nation: political independence.
It also, in the economic sphere, explains our over-weaning reliance on public subsidy and our failure, so far, to develop, in sufficient numbers at least, an indigenous entrepreneurial class. We are economically dependent because we are psychologically dependent, and vice versa. And we reject political independence, because of both.
Colonialism casts an equally insidious shadow on the way in which we communicate and relate to each other. We are a nation of indirect communicators, frightened to criticise in case we upset 'the powers that be' and lose face and even worse be punished financially. We are unwilling to be 'pinned down' and fearful of 'being down'. The number of Welsh social scientists, for example, that are prepared to make statements that could be seen as controversial, can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The number of Welsh MPs who have criticised the Welsh National Opera and the British Lions is limited to one - for a country with a rich Nonconformist, anti-Establishment tradition we are, in our own context, incredibly conformist & establishmentarian.
This is a typical survival tactic for a conquered people where direct challenges to authority are to be avoided at all cost.
Instead we learn to be evasive, complaining to each other about someone else instead of tackling the person directly. This is how we earned our reputation of being devious and two-faced. We had to be.
But it also feeds into aspects of community life, especially in Welsh-speaking Wales where a taboo against self-promotion or self-revelation, a tendency to self-censorship and deference to authority among local people contrasts with the assertiveness of the in-migrant population. Welsh speakers are often the majority in public meetings but will often remain stoically silent - even where translation facilities are available - and let others 'dominate' the meeting.
This self-censorship in the 'public realm' is perhaps the flip-side of another aspect of Welsh cultural psychology: a withdrawal to an inner world of self-reflection: "the everlasting Welsh habit has been to sink inwards" according to John Cowper Powys. But how does this fit with the Welsh love of performance on the stage, or the playing field where we suddenly shape-shift from a nation of passive spectators to a nation of exhibitionists. The answer can be found in the theory of constriction' developed by the American George Kelly in the 1950s whereby the realms in which we can “be ourselves” are socially controlled. So it was that the Welsh language came to be limited to the emotive worlds of the sacred, the lyrical and familial and progressively banished from the world of the secular, official or practical.
These psychological manifestations of colonialism are not accidental by-products of broad historical processes. They are the outcome of two quite deliberate strategies of cultural alienation. The first one can be termed manipulation; inculcating within the mind of the dominated the dominator's myths, their version of reality, their language, their values.
So Paolo Freire argues that at a crucial juncture in their existential development members of the dominated group begin to aspire to become part of the way of life of the dominator. So they start to imitate them, to follow them, and talk like them. When Chretien de Troyes' Peredur first sets out for Court, his mother persuades him to leave two of his three javelins at home "because they look too Welsh".
We have been leaving our javelins at home ever since.
(Of course, this comes at a cost. As Aneurin Bevan quipped, when someone accused the late Roy Jenkins of lacking application, no-one who came from Abersychan and spoke like that could ever be accused of laziness.) So we have a succession of groups that anglicise themselves in order to improve their life chances: starting with the "uchelwyr" who become the Welsh gentry and eventually the hated absentee landlords of the 18th century.
But this percolated right the way down the social strata; the Welsh language came to be seen as 'a badge of poverty". Working class parents - like my own - decided consciously not to pass it on to their children, in order to improve their children’s chances in life.
The third wave of Welsh colonisation, thus, was not conducted by military means. There was no need, as John Davies reminds us, the author of a nineteenth century Report on the Condition of the South Wales coalfield: "a band of efficient schoolmasters is kept up at much less expense than a body of police or soldiery".
Our enslavement was sold back to us as the means to our own liberation. So the 1870 Act which actually marked the beginning of the decline of Welsh as a national language was presented as a victory for the Welsh ideal of universal education.
The Act of Union was dressed as being about equal rights for Welsh and English subjects, and the restoration of the rightful Brythonic claim to the throne. Even Edward I appropriated the Arthurian myth to bolster his imperial ambitions - naming his first-born after the most famous of all our messianic figures - though we were less taken in by this chicanery it has to be said than by the Tudors. Come the Reformation, the Anglican Church presented itself as a recreation of the Celtic Church freed from the Romanising influences of Catholicism. Jesus College, Oxford - deliberately designed as a tool in the indoctrination of the sons of the Welsh elite - was presented as an act of munificence on the part of Good Queen Bess.
The second generic cultural strategy of the dominator is summed up by the famous formula: divide et impera. The more a community can be broken up into separate parts, the less their sense of belonging to their own community, the easier it is to maintain dominance. This strategy was used by the British to devastating effect through the caste system in India or tribal divisions in Africa – divisions which have persisted long after independence.
The Normans set about dividing Wales into two opposing camps of urban English settlement and rural Welsh. We have seen ourselves ever since as a country of 2 peoples, two cultures divided between the city and the country, North and South, English and Welsh-speaking. - our divisions magnified and distorted deliberately to play one group off against another.
So it was during the devolution campaign of 1997 that No leaflets in north Wales would say that the Assembly would be dominated by the urban, more populous English- speaking south, whereas No leaflets in the south, you guessed it, warned of an Assembly dominated by Welsh- speaking farmers from Gwynedd.
So if you want to understand Welsh politics today, look to its roots: historical and psychological. We are in a country that has been in an almost permanent state of existential crisis.
We voted ourselves out of existence in 1979, came close to doing it a second time in 1997, and are now worried that we might do it again. Our physical proximity and economic reliance on the colonial power has crushed our autonomy and made us dependent. In fact it has infantilized us.
The arrangements of the Government of Wales Act 2006 - whereby requests for power are scrutinised in London and may be refused - is totemic of an attitude that regards the Welsh polity, and by extension, the Welsh people, as too immature to make their own laws.
Since colonialism, as the Indian theorist Ashis Nandy tells us, is first of all a matter of consciousness, it has to be defeated at the level of the human imagination. Politics alone will not succeed. This struggle must be waged as a battle of ideas, new cultural practices and economic behaviours.
In a sense, outside of the language struggle, our nationalism has been too much focused on nation- building as a process of creating representative institutions, rather than thinking about the Wales we want those institutions to represent.
There is an echo here of Saunders Lewis' parting-shot in his history-shaping lecture Tynged yr Iaith, where he warns that the decline of the language might be actually accelerated - unless we undergo the cultural change in mindset needed before independence itself is achieved.
The Irish experience is clearly implied. The failure of Ireland on bilingualism, and on the economy until the 1980s, I think, points to a much deeper truth: that formal independence is meaningless unless we have first decolonised our minds.
As the Irish historian J.J Lee has written:
“The incapacity of the Irish mind to think through the implications of independence for national development derived largely from, and was itself a symbol of, the dependency syndrome which had wormed its way into the Irish psyche during centuries of foreign dominance”
The first step in national liberation is mental.
Cultural revitalisation always predates political renewal, just as Dafydd ap Gwilym predated Owain Glyndwr. As nationalists the lesson is clear: we should each of us start to think and behave prefiguratively, as if our nation is already free.
We must be the Wales we want to create: a vibrant, self-empowering, dynamic country that emphasises the power of our own initiative.
Of course, we can never escape from our colonial past by refusing to acknowledge it. To liberate our selves we have to learn about ourselves. On the psychology of colonialism itself we need more research. We need to move from a culture of silence to a culture of salience. There is an Irish Journal of Psychology and an Australian Journal of Psychology. A Welsh Journal of Psychology is long overdue., and a Welsh Institute of Psychiatry would be a good idea too.
More generally we have to detach ourselves from the insular intellectual straitjacket in which we find ourselves – in which Welsh literature, psychology, history and politics, are still seen as subaltern specialisms in more mainstream disciplines.
The Institute of Welsh Politics becomes... our National Institute of Politics.
We all stop reading the London Review of Books or re-read Gandhi, Fanon, Nandy, Ngugi and Said, and stop reading London newspapers too. If we have to take a foreign newspaper, we will read Liberation or the Irish independent.
To bypass the dyad of domination between ourselves and the former imperial capital, Wales must find a new context as a European Nation, in the same way that Llywelyn and Glyndwr sought allies in France, Europeanising Wales means that our experience of domination can be understood as by no means exceptional nor ineluctably permanent.
Building on the success of the last fifty years of bilingual education, now is the time to campaign for tri-lingual schools immersing students from Welsh-speaking homes in French, German or Russian, just as effectively as English-speaking children in Welsh. We have long claimed a greater facility in other languages as one of the advantages of being bilingual. It's time to prove it.
In education more broadly, we need what Paolo Freire originally called a pedagogy of the oppressed. Developing Welsh as a medium of instruction was the first vital step; gaining control of the content of the curriculum the next. But the third vital ingredient - transforming the very nature of the teaching process - itself - we are only now beginning to embark upon. But it is here where the truly revolutionary potential of teaching lies.
Education in Wales - informed by a conservative grammarial tradition, and historically taught in people's second language where education was seen primarily not as a route to knowledge, even less self-knoweldge, but, for the lucky few at least, the route out of poverty and all too often the route out of Wales - has also been a domain of prescription, rather than of development . As Dilys Davies has said:
"Education with the ideological intent ....of unquestioning adoption, resists dialogue and critical thought and treats its students as objects. The students are not called upon to know but to memorize the contents narrated by the teacher. "
When Welsh was finally appended to the curriculum, this 'mechanical drilling' of learning-by-rote was then later applied with disastrous ineffectiveness to the teaching of Welsh as a second language to those that had lost it.
In the new Foundation Phase we have the chance of a new start for a new generation. In ditching formal teaching for three to seven year olds and adopting, on the Norwegian model, a strategy of learning through play we have finally broken with the regimented learning of 1870 on. And when I say regimented I choose my words advisedly. The model of formal learning adopted with the advent of compulsory schooling in Britain was the same one that spread throughout Europe following the Prussian model of compulsory education that was first developed in response to their defeat at the hands of napoleon. Schools were to become factories which would turn out obedient soldiers for the army, subservient workers for the mines and submissive civil servants for Government.
Independent thought – and on our case, an independent language – was to be beaten out of our children.. We have finally laid this ghost to rest.
With this new emphasis on developing our innate creativity we have the potential to become a nation of entrepreneurs, both individual and collective. Our only sure means of finally putting paid to the dependency myth is to show, by example, that we can be economically successful - in business, and also in our own unconventional terms - by developing business models that chime more readily with our own collaborative and egalitarian system of values, than the rapacious Anglo-American ideal of heroic individualism.
The Welsh National Dictionary of Biography of the Twenty First Century should be as defined by innovators of every description as the Nineteenth Century version was peopled by Ministers of Religion. One important contribution might be creating an English language version of Menter a Busnes - which has been using a range of techniques to promote enterprise culture among Welsh speakers for two decades, with increasing signs of success.
A final imperative has to be the creation of a new unified pan- Wales sense of identity. This undoubtedly is the biggest failure of the national movement. The language movement did manage in the words of a young Cynog Dafis, “to effect some kind of transformation in the Welsh psychology”, The counter-colonial counter-culture it helped foster has largely been self-contained within the Welsh-speaking community.
Reaching out to the English-language Wales. is partly a political task: the most socially disadvantaged in Wales today, in Hechter’s terms the modern equivalents of “hewers of wood and drawers of water” – unskilled English-speaking women, is the category that is least likely to vote Plaid. We cannot truly claim to be a national party, until we change that.
But at the level of the nation as a whole, we need to transform nation-building into a personal experience. We could usefully learn from the Canadian experiment of Katimavik in the 1980s, a voluntary 12 montb national civilian service programme whereby young people got to spend time working with other young Canadians in the different provinces of Canada.
Huw Lewis has recently suggested immersing Welsh learners in the Welsh language culture by billeting them with families in the West. I agree, but let’s do it in reverse, too, and have young Welsh women and men from the north and the west spending time in the valleys and our cities.
If we do all this, then unlike Ireland in 1921, when independence finally comes, as come it will, we will have a generation that has been prepared for it.
Will we be the final colony? Well, that of course is up to us. In the words of Antonio Machado:
“our footprints are the only road; nothing else; we make the road as we travel”
Somebody said to me recently that Welsh independence is a bit like nuclear fusion: it is always a generation away. But in a sense, it has been ever thus. I am personally hopeful.
If Sion Cent, warming himself with the dying embers of Glyndwr’s memory and what might have been , could still say:- My Hope Is On What Is To Come., then I too can find reasons to be an optimist.
Wales was not just colonised, but re-colonised and then, for good measure, re-colonised again. We somehow survived Norman blitzkreig, Tudor lebensraum and Victorian eugenics. We have survived for a reason. And the reason lies within us, however buried deep within.
Since most in the UK understand that the UK has got less free in many ways... who voted for the EEC, the Iraq war, the "Coalition", the bank "bailouts", the cuts/cuts/cuts ?
Let's open up the debate !
Press the link below to read how perhaps (and I mean 'perhaps') we've all been conned
then email Rhondda Records at rayjoseph2021@outlook.com
and let's start a genuine debate about the real issues... before it gets "too late" !
If you want a really concise analysis of the boom-bust cycle, I think this overview of what happened to the Irish, is it!
Enjoy!
Maireid
Emer O’Siochru is an Irish Architect and Valuer. She co-founded Feasta, the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability in 1998. She has taught architecture, managed a design gallery, redeveloped inner city property, worked in local community development, ran an architectural practice and served on public and voluntary sector boards. She currently directs EOS Future Design that creates real and virtual systems for sustainable living, and farms organically.
Emer has written on monetary, taxation and planning reform. She directed the Smart Tax Network funded by the Irish Department of the Environment and edited “The Fair Tax” book in 2011.
Partial transcript of Emer O’Siochru's presentation at The IU Conference, London 2013 (The International Union of Land Value Taxation), 24 July 2013 http://www.theiu.org/theiu-conference-2013
A liquidity problem quickly turned out to be a solvency problem. 8:25
8:51 …depositors fled, continued to flee. they couldn't manage: The situation was such, essentially, that the Irish government couldn't borrow on the bond market, because they felt that the economy wasn't sound; that it had made a big mistake in underwriting the banks. And, at the end of the day, a bailout had to be accepted from the troika.
That was an austerity, and balancing the books was the price of that bail-out. Bear in mind that our public finances were in surplus, before the bank crisis, but after the bank crisis, not only did we have to pay back the troika, but the receipts - since property had collapsed - had collapsed as well, so the gov. wasn't even bringing in as much tax income as they had before, and things were looking very bad.
So why did it happen?
It did not happen because planning regulations restricted the amount of land that was available, driving up the value of sites. That is not what happened in Ireland. I hear this argument in the UK, saying the reason why property values are going up and are now going up, particularly in London, is because insufficient land is zoned for housing, in particular.
We had 3 to 5 times the amount of land that you could conceivably want zoned in our country around our settlements. And apart from that, we had a situation in which you didn't even need to have land zoned, to getting planning permission in the open country-side. In fact, 30% of all the housing was self-build in the old country-side. So we had no restrictions really on the amount of housing that got built.
So it wasn't because of a restrictive planning regime that land values went up. It went up because of the availability of credit.
Banking regulation.
Some people say that if we'd had better banking regulation, we wouldn't have had the problem. There is no doubt, it would have helped, if we had tidied up on our regulation. In other words, if we had prevented the banks from lending more than 80% of the value of the house, for instance, to first-time buyers, or to buyers generally, that would have, in a way, slowed down the construction and development exuberance, and so on.
The problem was, we are in Europe, with an open market, and we already had european banks competing with Irish banks. In fact, it was the european banks that were the first ones that brought in the 100% mortgages, as far as I know, and everybody then had to catch up. You can't really easily regulate your banks in a small country where the money isn't your own money. You are using a third-party currency. They, banks in other countries, could operate in your country under their own rules. In some cases they operated under Irish rules. It was possible for them to operate in Ireland under the regulatory rules of their base country.
Yes, regulation was important, but it wasn't a sufficient reason. If you look in other EU countries where they had broadly the same regulatory system, they didn't get the same kind of 'boom and bust'. So what else did they have is the question. What was the real cause?
"I have to talk about Home ownership incentives"
This is a quote from Colm McCarthy. He is an economist operating in Ireland who likes to speak his own mind. I don't agree with him in every respect but I respect the fact that he always writes independently and is not politically beholden to anyone. And he said, basically: imputed tax on housing is not taxed in Ireland." We have had mortgage interest relief on mortgages for a long time. They were there consistently. There is no local tax; there are no rates or property taxes on domestic dwellings in Ireland, at all. And if your sold your house, and it is your prime residence, there is no capital gains tax.
So, as he's explained, most of the developed countries may have one or two of these goodies for property owners, but only Ireland had all of them. And not only that, but there were further tax reliefs if you built in certain locations. So if you were to build, say, along the Shannon [river], which is an undeveloped region of the coast, and so on, you could offset the capital cost of the construction against your income tax. Not just the rental income, but your income tax. So we had no real taxes on your own home. And further, we had incentives, basically, to put your money into property.
And I'm quoting here Michael Hudson. He says, "If you don't tax that value that attaches to land, arising from the general wealth of the economy, the banks get it."
That's what happened.
The banks got it. they turned it into a kind of money backed by debt, essentially phoney money, that wasn't backed by real productivity. That essentially led to the boom and that subsequently led... to the bust.
I'm an architect, so I'm interested in the physical effects of this:
Very unsuitable sites were developed around remote villages, flood planes— completely unacceptable sites got planning permission from 'connected' politicians, essentially. And houses were built. And people occupied them, certainly in the earlier part of the boom. In the later part, nobody would buy them, so we now have 'ghost' estates.
Most of our new housing was built speculatively, similar to the UK in that regard. In other words, the builders built them and then they'd look for the buyers. Except for the one-off houses —if you had lived in a rural area or your family had access to land— but most of the rest is built speculatively, so there was very little commissioned, and that has an effect on the final form.
So you get identical houses, practically, cul-de-sac estates. An 'estate' is an invented spacial form, very different from the kind of village or town form that we had in Ireland before. Of course, we had many, many one-off houses arising from the fact that people thought that a large house—a property— is wealth you never lose.
That, in many cases where young people got land for nothing from their parents, instead of saving money and building a normal-sized house- 1500 sq ft., they instead built what they considered a normal-sized house which was 3000 sq. ft.. So they invested all of their money in constructing fancy mansions for themselves - 5 bedrooms. These are young people who aren't even married. And, in general, because of this attitude we got from the Americans, that if you own your land you can do whatever you like with it and that is some how part of our tradition, it was very difficult to oppose them.
The environmental groups that did try to oppose them were demonised. Placards and intimidation and editorials in the newspaper, and so on.
So, during that time, you could make money simply by the conversion of the land from agricultural use to a higher use — to housing use — that's where your money was made.
Or, if you converted an inner city site, an urban site, from a lower use to a higher use, or a higher density use, that's where your money was made.
You lost money on construction and design: that was the view of the developers, generally speaking, so they minimised that. Now, in Dublin, where there was more competition, the design quality did go up because you were using existing sites that had high value already, so you had to distinguish yourself with design and construction quality, but in general, we built 50% of our existing stock during that period of time and we got lousy buildings. We did not build them to the energy standard that… [end of video stream!]
'Let's sanction Russia!' Neil Clark is a journalist, writer and broadcaster. His award winning blog can be found at www.neilclark66.blogspot.com Follow him on Twitter
Israel shells a UN school in Gaza killing 15. It's the sixth time a UN school has been struck. 'Children, women and men killed & injured as they slept in a place where they should have been safe and protected. They were not. Intolerable', says Pierre Krahenbuhl, commissioner general of UNRWA.
Overall, almost 1,400 people have been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces with missiles and military equipment supplied by the US. After the latest UN school attack, it was announced that the US will send more ammunition to Israel. The conclusion is: “Let’s sanction Russia!”
Over 1,000 people have been killed in the east of Ukraine and nearly 3,500 wounded since the US- backed Ukrainian government's brutal military offensive started in April. Around 100,000 people have been forcibly displaced. On Sunday, at least 13 civilians were killed by Ukrainian shelling- including a one-year-old girl killed next to her parents. What do we hear? “Let’s sanction Russia!”
The US and EU supported the violent overthrow of a democratically elected President and government in Ukraine, one year before elections were due, creating the current crisis in the country. “Let’s sanction Russia!”
Ukrainian ultranationalists set fire to a trade union headquarters building in Odessa and kill around 40 people. As people tried to escape they were bludgeoned with baseball bats “Let’s sanction Russia!”
After the illegal unconstitutional coup in Kiev, which brings far-right, Russia-hating ultra- nationalists to power, the people of Crimea vote in a peaceful, democratic referendum to rejoin Russia. “Let’s sanction Russia!”
A passenger plane comes down over Ukraine – the second plane from Malaysia Airlines to be lost in mysterious circumstances in the space of a few months. We don't yet know who was responsible, or even what happened to the first Malaysia Airlines plane. “Let’s sanction Russia!”
4 Palestinian children are playing football on the beach in Gaza. They are murdered by Israeli fire. “This was a cowardly crime,” says the spokesperson of the Gaza Health Ministry. Russia was one of the 29 countries who voted for a UN Human Rights Council probe into alleged Gaza war crimes. EU countries abstained, the US voted against. “Let’s sanction Russia!”
Since 2008, it's been estimated that over 2,400 people have been killed by US drone strikes. The Bureau for Investigative Journalism says that in Pakistan alone the number of civilians killed by drone strikes in the period 2004-2014 ranges from 416 to 957. The number of children killed in Pakistan by US drones is between 168 and 202. “Let’s sanction Russia!”
US launches an illegal war of aggression against Iraq in which up to 1 million people have been killed. The justification for the war was that Iraq possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, which did not in fact exist. Large parts of Iraq are now run by ISIS. Russia strongly opposed the Iraq war. “Let’s sanction Russia!”
Libya: like Iraq, a country destroyed by a Western military intervention in which Russia did not take part. Due to Western aggression, a country which had the highest standard of living in Africa is now a failed state. “Let’s sanction Russia!”
US ally Saudi Arabia is one of several countries in the world where homosexuality is illegal and where gay people can be executed. Russia has no such laws, but isn't one of the allies. “Let’s sanction Russia!”
Western countries fund rebels to violently overthrow the government of Syria, increasing aid and support every time the conflict looks to be coming to an end. “Let’s sanction Russia!”
On July 15th, it was announced that the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) were establishing a $100 billion BRICS development bank and a currency pool worth over another $100 billion. “The big launch of the BRICS bank is seen as a first step to break the dominance of the US dollar in global trade, as well as dollar-backed institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, both US-based institutions BRICS countries have little influence within,” reports RT.
"BRICS Bank will be one of the major multilateral development finance institutions in this world,” announced President Putin. Western elites know that resurgent Russia is a block on their ambitions for total global hegemony and that BRICS and its New Development Bank are a threat to their economic power. Russia is “getting in the way” in other areas too.
Neocons and the West's pro-Israel faux-left wanted war with Syria last summer to topple the Syrian government and break the alliance between Syria, Hezbollah and Iran – a long-term strategic objective of Israel. Russia, along with public opinion in the western countries, helped to block that war, and -- to the frustration of the Permanent War Lobby, the Syrian government is still in power. In short, Russia needs to be weakened, & weakened fast: “Let’s sanction Russia!”
Image: world's longest cigar from Cuba
and for those who like their news red, Cuba has launched the ECURED, its own Wikipedia-style open online encyclopedia with 19,345 items of reference articles, biographies and academic works.
The new site is:
www.ecured.cu
Image: grow food !
THEY'RE HIDING THIS FROM YOU!
Trivia and horror fill the pages of the UK media, yet the truth about the world is being hidden...
Read this article by Fidel Castro and find out WHY Rhondda Records keeps banging on about food.
It's not trivia - but it's the coming horror YOU and I are bequeathing now to our children.
Image: I aspire
WESTERN SCIENCE NOT "ADVANCED" - JUST PREDATORY
The bulk of commercial patents in the world are for cosmetics and other glamorous products.
While millions of people are still dying from malaria and cancer, no patents as yet exist to counteract these diseases.
Fernández Palacio:
"The real common drama concerning the exact and natural sciences, as in the case of the social sciences, is that constant siphoning off of intelligence signified by the persistent brain drain from the countries of the South. Suffice it to say that, at least one third of African researchers are working outside their countries of origin, & that in many Third World countries the existence of certain scientific disciplines – from chemistry to archeology – is threatened."
In an international situation characterized by economic and environmental crises, threats of nuclear war & extreme poverty, higher education is called upon to take action, to guarantee ethical scientific work & support sustainable development.
But not in the UK & Wales, or is it?
Welsh Universities and colleges like Cardiff and the University of Glamorgan have made notable steps to direct their new research into good areas... green energy, transport... and in many other areas great work is done!
and if such research in Welsh universities drops helping the MoD, with research into dubious areas like "conformity"...
or in bending to the "needs" of commerce, Wales & the world could benefit - measurably!
What if research begins to develop an ECONOMY for Wales, based on its communal love, and in confluence with its land, and unique qualities?
Research directly transferable, and RELEVANT to the present and future needs of its youth?
For God's sake - we need an economy !!!
Image: farmer
MOST PEOPLE SEE THIS VISION
Ask people in Wales how they see the future of all that wasted land above the valleys... and most say they see orchards and beauty.
But it's blocked at the moment, by stiff ideological thinking, while Scotland powers ahead with land reform laws that give title to communities to shape their own future...
What can Wales do to make good?
Here's a technical paper delivered recently in Sweden by Scottish University experts that gives a reasonable starting point:- http://www.caledonia.org.uk/land/ documents/Bryden-and-Geisler.pdf
I think this might need a mass grass-roots campaign a la chartists, to happen, mind !
The main parties are too compromised by interest groups and ideology to move...
witness the disgraceful outcome at Maerdy.
THE PROBLEM OF POWER & FREE CHOICE
Of course, ALL change brings problems too! The article below examines how sensitive communities must be as they change - and how sides in an argument must be tolerant. http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/ articles/2003-hebridean3&4-4stages.htm
(“internet version from www.AlastairMcIntosh.com”)
POSITIVELY LEARNING FROM SCOTLAND
It's great having Scotland leading the way, isn't it - like having a big brother - we can admire their achievements, learn from their mistakes, and mix and match our unique differences...