So what just happened?
In a nutshell: Belarus had Russia’s nukes and they needed to be protected. This Wagner anomaly was a way they could get the Wagner people to Belarus for that purpose: to protect their nukes. All the weird “stuff” in between was a ruse; a distraction.
We’ve reported this before: Russia is talking back their ancestral lands as they define them. Just like China will take back Taiwan, probably without a whimper because many Taiwanese would be hunky dory with a country like China protecting their waters, especially now that China has tuned a corner and aligned it’s mission with “Dragon thinking,” as opposed to “CCP thinking.”
Yay! for the Chinese people! And yay! for the people around the world who aren’t big on surveillance, social credit scores, or the digital currency system.
BTW, I would recommend you are not quick to accept the Central Banks Digital Currency System (CBDCS) unless you trust the now defunct Federal Reserve. The QFS is ALSO being rolled out which is not centrally controlled by anyone. QFS is designed be a way of communicating across currency boundaries so no one entity or group is controlling anything.
QFS = Quantum Financial System (QFS) is building a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for the Cross-Border
Interbank Payment System (CIPS). It’s a network based on Sovereignty and Commerce. To coordinate
a national research effort encompassing Federal agencies the academic community, and industry leaders
already underway. The White House National Quantum Coordination Office (WHNQCO) has released A
Strategic Vision for America’s Quantum Financial System Networks. February 2020, Quantum Financial
System (QFS) provides pristine clean integrity in the movement of funds from Central Banking sources
to destination accounts. The QFS will cover the new global network for the transfer of asset backed funds
and can replace the US- Centrally Controlled SWIFT System. A key benefit of QFS is to protect all parties
from corruption, usury, and manipulation within the banking system and ensure banks are monitored and protected with regard to the agreed upon contract of the transfer fund process. QFS is completely independent from the existing centralized system and makes all other transfer systems obsolete due to its advanced capabilities. QFS is NOT crypto currency but instead it is asset-backed digital currency. QFS reigns supreme in the photonic technology at 3.5 trillion frames per second.. It replaces obsolete IP dynamic routing with the true physical GPS authentication between sender and receiver routing while upholding 100% financial security and transparency of all currency holders. Protocols will be instituted with QFS so that Artificial Intelligence will control the transfers and independently be allowed to control
the global financial network unless the highest level of approval is given. An Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)
program will handle instant settlements in real time without delays. The A.I. assigns a “digital” number to
every fiat Dollar/Euro/Yen in every bank account all over the world. “Digital” numbers are monitored in
real time. The physical GPS location between sender and receiver will be set up to provide unbreakable
security when it was ledger-ed with regard to who sent it, and what account received it. . . https://media.graphassets.com
IMO, the Wagner thing and the date the announced the Titan implosion were used as false flags. The wreckage was discovered on Sunday, but the MSM delayed the news. Delaying the news was a distraction away from something else of importance that was going on at the same time and obviously whatever was going on was planned.
Like a magician who says “lookie here, lookie here,” our attention was being diverted to accomplish an objective.
That the Wagner Group (or any group, really) would challenge Putin in RUSSIA, of all places, is flat out ridiculous on its face. Especially with a group like Wagner who is quite familiar with Russia’s military capability.
The bigger picture is this: They’re waiting for X% (I’ve heard 80%+) of the people in the U.S. (not the crooked, holdout politicians) to abandon the idea of NATO having to rescue Ukraine and dumping the Biden Family Crime Family without it looking like a coup, which it isn’t.
People are legitimately TIRED of living this way. We do not want to be on the edge of our seats when it comes to the potential of nuclear weapons going off. We are more than ready to accept the political landscape has changed, if it means we can live freely and relatively safe from extinction. No one is going to blame anybody going forward. It’s just time to move on.
And not just here in America, around the world. That’s why people are amassing everywhere.
So when Trump came on board, purposely upsetting the applecart so we would all be looking the other way with his tweets and fake news this and fake news that (more false flags, IMO), he was putting together the scaffolding for BRICS.
Thank you, President Trump, for putting this alliance together so there will be a place at the BRICS table for the American people, and their like-minded friends around the world. https://www.monomakhos.com/the-alliance/
When BRICS talks about the NWO, it is not the NWO Schwab envisions. Not even close. The complete opposite, in fact, which may be why Russia took the acronym NWO out of the agreement I read.
Schwab’s NWO was slated to go into affect in 2016 when Hillary was supposed to win. They then bumped it to Agenda 2021, to give he and his cohorts time to launch what they hoped would be an extinction event (the vaccines). And it is now slated for 2030, with their stupid 15 minute cities, fake pandemics, and “you’ll own nothing but be happy” crap.
We are far tougher than he thinks and more determined. Schwab’s WEF and its cousin NGOs (yes, they are just stupid NGOs,) the UN and the WHO, could find themselves on the receiving end of a firing squad for the damage they have done and will do if not stopped.
And when the people reach that 80%+ threshold, where the vast majority are ready to get off this train wreck, they will announce that which has already happened.
It’s not “coming,” it’s happened.
There is a new sheriff is in town and it’s a more a what than a who. The GDP says it all. The five BRICS countries together contribute nearly 31.5 per cent of the global GDP, compared to 30.7 per cent by G7 countries. BRICS is expected to contribute over 50% of global GDP by 2030, with the proposed enlargement (due to countries wanting to join) almost certainly bringing that forward.
Schwab’s NWO is dead, dead, dead. Dead as a door nail.
BRICS — a New World Order
By Azza Radwan Sedky
The acronym BRIC was coined when Brazil, Russia, India, and China joined forces and founded a group of nations in 2009. In 2010, South Africa joined, adding an S to the existing acronym. The BRICS group today is a powerful bloc that allows countries outside the Western developed economies to forge alliances on economic issues.
Opponents of the group at first did not think much of it, labelling the BRICS bloc as being too diverse to succeed. However, despite this diversity and the dissimilarity of its original members, the BRICS group today is a powerful entity that together occupies approximately 28 per cent of the world’s territory and is home to 45 per cent of its population.
Together, the BRICS countries produce over 25 per cent of global oil and 50 per cent of the iron ore used to make steel. They also produce 40 per cent of global corn and 46 per cent of global wheat. This unified strength has resulted in the growth of the BRICS countries in terms of their presence and influence.
The objective of the BRICS group is twofold: to advance the national interests of its members and to gain autonomy. In the process, it counters Western hegemony economically and politically. Against the background of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the intensifying competition between China and the US, the momentum for expanding the BRICS group has been growing.
In 2014, the BRICS nations launched the New Development Bank as an alternative to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and opened their doors to new members. The bank was established with a capital of $50 billion, of which 20 per cent was paid by the countries of the BRICS group, the equivalent of $10 billion.
In 2021, Egypt, the UAE, Uruguay, and Bangladesh took up shares in the New Development Bank. However, the value of these shares was much lower than the $10 billion investment made by the bank’s founding members. Even so, as the BRICS becomes a platform for cooperation, many countries are now more interested to join. Proposed BRICS members include Iran, Argentina, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and many other nations.
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi recently approved an agreement on the New Development Bank allowing Egypt to join it. Such a move is a major shift for Egypt and has the potential to reduce the domestic demand for US dollars. “Egypt’s joining of the BRICS Group’s New Development Bank will relieve the state budget of the pressure of finding US dollars to meet the country’s imports as members of the bank can use their national currencies for trade exchange,” Deputy Chair of the House of Representative’s Economics Committee Mohamed Abdel-Hamid has said.
This is a fundamental shift and is exactly what many nations hope to achieve. Amidst the current global economic crisis, all nations are looking to strengthen their own currencies, and the BRICS group can support them in accomplishing that goal. This is an alternative that could assist these nations in overcoming soaring prices, inflation, and acute dollar shortages.
During the 14th BRICS Summit in 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the BRICS nations would launch a new global reserve currency made up of a basket of BRICS currencies. This would be a direct threat to the dominance of the US dollar and will help to undermine its supremacy.
From the perspective of the global monetary system, such a move could mark a significant development in the trend towards de-dollarisation, as countries try to trade in non-dollar currencies and seek to diversify their foreign-exchange reserves. If the BRICS nations’ goods and services are traded in the new reserve currency, this will become one of the foundations of a new world economy, helping to see a new world order emerge.
Various bombshells have begun to jolt the current world order. Russia is now using the Chinese Yuan in lieu of the US dollar for international payments, and the Yuan is now the most-traded currency in Russia. Brazil and China are ditching the US dollar in favour of their own currencies. Saudi Arabia is also in talks with Beijing regarding using the Yuan for payments. All this is clearly chipping away at the dominance of the US dollar.
Andy Schectman, CEO of US company Miles Franklin Precious Metals Investments, explained the magnitude of the situation. “All it would take would be for Saudi Arabia to stand up on the stage [and declare] we’re now going to consider taking up other currencies for oil. And all of a sudden, bang, all of the countries that have had to hold dollars for the last 50 years no longer have an interest in holding them,” he said.
“And if they all start to dump dollars, and I think it would happen quickly, you would have a tsunami of inflation hitting the shores of the West.”
In addition, the political arm of the BRICS group has also grown stronger with the ongoing war in Ukraine. Since the start of the war, the BRICS members have distanced themselves further from the Western perspective on the conflict. None of BRICS nations – India, Brazil, South Africa, and China – opted to sanction Russia, highlighting a distinct divide between the Western countries and Russia on this issue.
A recent article in Deutsche Welle, the German-owned broadcaster, said that “European and US policymakers worry that the BRICS may become less of an economic club of rising powers seeking to influence global growth and development and more a political one defined by their authoritarian nationalism.”
Azza Radwan Sedky is former professor of communication based in Vancouver, Canada.
Ahram
Interestingly, they’re doing a full-out, high [highest] level investigation.
****
U.S. Coast Guard convenes a Marine Board of Investigation into loss of Titan Submersible
U.S. Coast Guard: “WASHINGTON – The Coast Guard convened a Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) into the loss of the Titan submersible and the five people on board.
The crew of the Polar Prince research vessel lost contact with the Titan submersible 1 hour and 45 minutes into its dive on Sunday, June 18, 2023.
After an extensive search and rescue effort, wreckage of the Titan submersible was located on the ocean floor approximately 500 meters off the bow of the Titanic.
An MBI is the highest level of investigation in the Coast Guard. Upon completion of the investigation, the Board will issue a report to the Commandant with the evidence collected, the facts established, its conclusions, and recommendations.
During the course of the MBI, the Board will work to determine:
The cause of the casualty, including the cause of any death.
Whether an act of misconduct, incompetence, negligence, unskillfulness, or willful violation of law committed by any individual licensed, certificated, or documented has contributed to the cause of the casualty, or to a death involved in the casualty, so that appropriate remedial action may be taken.
Whether an act of misconduct, incompetence, negligence, unskillfulness, or willful violation of law committed by any person, including an officer, employee, or member of the Coast Guard, contributed to the cause of the casualty, or to a death involved in the casualty.
Whether there is evidence that an act subjecting the offender to a civil penalty under that laws of the United States has been committed, so that appropriate action may be undertaken to collect a penalty.
Whether there is evidence that a criminal act under the laws of the United States has been committed, so that the matter may be referred to appropriate authorities for prosecution.
Whether there is need for new laws or regulations, or amendment or repeal of existing laws or regulations, to prevent the recurrence of the casualty.
The Coast Guard MBI is working in close coordination with other national and international authorities including the United States National Transportation Safety Board, Canadian Transportation Safety Board, French Marine Casualties Investigation Board, and United Kingdom Marine Accident Investigation Branch.”
Scott Ritter: “Prigozhin’s Gambit—Treason by any other name”
Reprint with commentary [Video] by Seraphim Hanisch
https://theduran.com/scott-ritter-prigozhins-gambit-treason-by-any-other-name-reprint-with-commentary-video/
‘ … Wagner achieved its well-deserved martial reputation largely because it was able to operate independent of the suffocating bureaucracy of the Russian military. Thus liberated, Wagner was able to best exploit the experience and skill of its veteran fighters, streamlining command and control and tactical decision-making to enable Wagner to seize and maintain operational initiative, allowing Wagner to dominate the battlefield. While Wagner had operational independence, it received its operational tasking from the Russian General Staff, which also provided Wagner with the weapons, ammunition, fuel, and other logistical sustainment necessary to carry out its assigned mission.
The legal status of Wagner was secure so long as the territory it operated on was not Russian. This changed, however, in the aftermath of the September 2022 referendum which saw the Donbas transition from being an independent entity to being part of Russia. Wagner was able to maintain its unique status during the political transition of the Donbas to full Russian constitutional control, but once this transition was completed, sometime in early 2023, reality came home to roost. Logistical requisitions, which used to be treated as special requests approved as part of the general support provided by Russia to the Donbas, were not treated as part of the routine logistical establishment of the Russian ministry of Defense. From a practical standpoint, this meant that the quantities of ammunition, especially in terms of artillery shells, was cut back to reflect the “norm” used to support military formations of a similar size. Wagner tactics, however, were contingent upon the ability to support their operations with overwhelming fire support. Denied the quantities of ammunition they were used to receiving, Wagner’s assault detachment began to take heavy casualties, prompting Prigozhin to initiate a public feud with both Shoigu and Gerasimov, whom he accused of incompetence and corruption. … ‘
Therein lies the root of Prigozhin’s problem with Shoigu and Gerasimov.
He felt Russian law should be no bar to the needs of the Wagner Group.
Once this notion took hold, his fall was inevitable.
Eric Zuesse | Two U.S. Senators Propose Nuclear War Against Russia
https://theduran.com/two-u-s-senators-propose-nuclear-war-against-russia/
‘ U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced on June 22nd a Resolution … to enable the U.S. President to launch a U.S. invasion of Russia if Russia becomes forced to use a nuclear device in order to be able to prevent Ukraine from joining America’s anti-Russian military alliance, NATO. …
The Resolution furthermore says that the U.S. Senate: “(2) views the use of a tactical nuclear weapon by the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, or their proxies, or the destruction of a nuclear facility dispersing radioactive contaminates into NATO territory causing significant harm to human life, as an attack on NATO requiring an immediate response, including the implementation of Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty,” which is the Treaty Article that obligates each member-nation to support NATO’s war. That’s the core passage in this entire proposed document. In other words … an attack against Europe’s biggest nuclear electric-power plant, which is in Zaporozhia in Ukraine and which nuclear-power facility Ukraine’s government has several times aimed missiles at but not yet successfully hit, would trigger a NATO invasion of Russia, even though Ukraine, and not Russia, had done it. …
In other words: this proposed congressional Resolution, if it passes, is actually part of a U.S. Government strategy to enable the government of Ukraine, when and if Ukraine manages successfully to hit that nuclear power plant and thereby causes nuclear radiation to go downwind into a NATO member nation, to spark an “immediate” invasion of Russia by the U.S. Government on behalf of NATO.
So: this Resolution, if it becomes passed by Congress and signed by Biden, will short-circuit not only the requirement to get Ukraine into NATO, but also the requirement for a congressional resolution of war against Russia, in order for the U.S. Government to ‘justify’ a nuclear first-strike against The Kremlin — the start of WW III. ‘
Sheer evil lunacy
It’s got that “Cuban missile crisis” feel to it, doesn’t it?
It’s more General Jack C Ripper in Dr Strangelove, I think.
The Source file to this article is no longer available. The BRICS nations all have central banks.
I read an article this morning from Paul Craig Roberts. He stated, “Perhaps Putin doesn’t use sufficient conventional force to end the conflict in Ukraine because he doesn’t have the troops. If this is the case, then the prospect for nuclear war is more likely than I have thought, and I already thought such a possibility was extremely high. If Western provocations finally cross a line that Putin cannot ignore and his only possible response is nuclear, Armageddon is upon us.” I thought this was an odd statement coming from Paul Craig Roberts.
As for the Oceangate fiasco, there is a great deception taking place. We are certainly living in the age of apocalypses.
Thank you for providing stellar information.
Well, not THE source file. Only our story on Monomakhos and that is because we have been cut off from Google. If you go to Brave, you’ll find it and the rest of the stuff we’ve done there. Try this link for the other: http://infobrics.org/post/38233
Oh my goodness. Thank you!
When I woke up Saturday to news of Prigozhin’s mutiny/coup, something didn’t add up. I thought it was another example of the famed military tactic known as maskirovka.
No air cover for the mutineers. It would take over 20 hours to reach Moscow from Rostov-on-Don. Now we know that the FSB waited 12 hours to go to Wagner PMC’s HQ in St Petersburgh. Then there was Putin’s solid, well-crafted and sober address to the nation.
Things weren’t adding up.
Then of course it was all over in less than 12 hours. And we are to believe that Prigozhin went all Emily Littela, as in “never mind”.
Here’s Larry Johnson’s take: https://sonar21.com/russias-academy-award-winning-performance-for-best-coup-prigozhin-scores-best-actor/
I doubt it.
First of all, Wagner shot down several aircraft and there were crew fatalities. Paying the wergeld doesn’t quite cover that if it was all a Kremlin scheme. Second of all, though I think in the long term Putin looks stronger because of this, in the short term it is doubtlessly embarrassing that he allowed Prigozhin to act up to this extent. Russians banked on the notion that Putin had the oligarchs on a leash.
Sometimes it is exactly as it appears and overthinking creates problematic corollaries. This is one such instance. Bear in mind, those grunts who followed Prigozhin are amnestied but will not be folded into the Russian military. They’re fighting days are over. Prigozhin himself received no amnesty and if he returns from Belarus, he could be prosecuted. Exile is an age old Russian punishment.
Plus, the payoff doesn’t make sense. Everyone now knows that forces have been redeployed to Belarus. What has been achieved that would not have been achieved by simply giving the order to move them? Nothing. It’s all public knowledge. No advantage from making it look like an attempted coup.
No, it was a poorly thought out attempted coup. Prigozhin was checkmated within hours and then Putin, through Lukashenko, worked to turn the situation into a positive – make lemonade out of lemons. And it keeps everyone guessing.
Now, if Prigozhin shows up in command of Wagner 2.0 in Belarus then perhaps I’m mistaken. Or, if Shoigu and Co. are sacked sometime in the near future, perhaps there is something to it. But other than that, there is simply no benefit to be realized from such a masquerade that could not have been done forthrightly by ordering troop movements.
The mole hunt was probably Putin’s immediate reaction to the situation. “Let’s call it a coup and see who flinches.” Using Lukashenko was also smart. Belarus is a security state, more strictly so than Russia. Prigozhin will be under constant surveillance there for the rest of his life unless he leaves Rus’. And, of course, they can still get to him if they want to. It will separate him from Wagner, which is the sine qua non. Without Wagner, he is just another oligarch.
The other thing that is completely inexplicable if it was an inside job is Prigozhin’s change of attitude toward the war in general over the past week or so. He began mouthing Western talking points about how Ukraine did nothing, this was Russian aggression, it was all the oligarchs, etc. Now, that could be part of a mole hunt, to flush out disloyal elements in the government and military. But if the objective were simply to achieve troop movements surreptitiously then there’s no reason to take that narrative. Moreover, if one is attempting to appeal to the Russian government or military, telling them something they know to be untrue is a pretty poor way to achieve their support.
However, if Prigozhin actually thought he might succeed at this thing and then planned to call off the war, make peace with the West, and then reap all the benefits of being their lapdog . . . well, then it makes perfect sense.
Misha, you’re probably more correct. It would make sense if Prigozhin had a psychotic break, because, let’s be honest, you can’t march on Moscow from 800km away with only 4,000 men. Even if you expected more Wagnerites to join you –say 25,000–marching on Moscow with no air cover in long columns would be a recipe for suicide.
Still, anything is possible. It may be as you say that Prigozhin overestimated his popularity and underestimated Putin’s strengths.
This reminds me of the 1961 Algerian crisis, when senior elements in the French Army tried to stage a coup against President DeGaulle. DeGaulle turned the tables on them and came out stronger. That appears to be the case with Putin.
So what I’m hearing is it was a psyop on the CIA using an A.I. generated voice and story. The CIA was conned into paying Wagner 6.2B to turn against Russia. Russia and Wagner purportedly “shook hands and split the money between them.” – Looks like we found the 6.2B error.
Russia is purportedly fond of saying, “Promising to marry someone is not marrying someone.”
(Another reason to dismantle the CIA, especially when it comes to Ukraine: They’re stupid. – Russia, however, is not.)
The CIA is not only corrupt, it’s ideologically driven. Like most of the American Establishment, they believe their own press clippings.
Putin to speak tonight according to Tass.
I’m with Misha here 100%
If this all about ‘making a scene’ for the benefit of something else, the loss of life is a very hard obstacle to get over (there were 15 casualties and their names are known). If you’re engineering something like this it’s not hard to set up decoys and shoot at them, etc. Just make sure a camera’s rolling and the necessary effect is done.
Mercouris breaks this down very well, I don’t want to repeat his (excellent) talking points.
There was absolutely no problem getting Wagner over to Belarus without this ruckus. Russia and Belarus share a border and PMC’s can easily change insignia if necessary. They are allowed to play by their own rules.
The best thing that happened here is that Putin got to see who was ready to be disloyal at the drop of a hat. He was able to weed out the potential traitors in the establishment, when he was fortunate enough to have been facing a hot-headed adversary that clearly overestimated his capabilities at the time. And now he has the excuse to go after them whereas before they were sitting on their hands and waiting for their moment.
From a military standpoint, the Wagner rebels were traveling on a public highway with other cars, and their trucks had anti-aircraft capability. That makes it very difficult to take the vehicles out via air without causing civilian casualties. Putin’s entire strategy here was to avoid the optics of a civil war happening in the backyard of the front.
Igor Strelkov tried to break down Prigozhin’s strategy, and it was banking on the fact that when his men arrived in Moscow they could get people to defect, as well as getting people to defect along the way. Prigozhin had a number of telegram bloggers like Pozdnyakov and Sanya from Florida shilling for him, and they all gave the impression that people were not resisting, that the people in Rostov were excited and supportive, and that units were shifting to his command (I saw these posts as they were happening). All of this was done to give the effect that something big was happening and you either had to join or step aside. Let’s not forget these are experienced fighters and they know all about psy-ops. Also, it’s not excluded some of this help came by way of Zelensky’s boys.
One of the more amusing side-shows that happened was Erdogan phoned up Putin and offered his ‘support’. Moments later he’s having a meeting with his NATO buddies to discuss the situation in Russia. Typical double talker…
RE: “There was absolutely no problem getting Wagner over to Belarus without this ruckus.”
That might have been true if Germany wasn’t headed toward Russia’s borders where they could have been intercepted Prigozhin. But that didn’t happen. He’s now safely in Belarus. The Wagner group still has their contracts. Putin thanked the Wagner fighters who avoided bloodshed and said those who did not participate in the rebellion could sign contracts with the Russian military. Any mercenaries who choose not to join up could go home or follow Prigozhin to Belarus (hint. . . provide reinforcements). This is as close to kissing and making up as you can get. It’s like nothing of importance happened at all. No one was resisted. There are pictures out there of the soldiers getting an earful from women in the streets. This does not look at all as described.
RE: “One of the more amusing side-shows that happened was Erdogan phoned up Putin and offered his ‘support’.”
Turkey is a drone super power! They’re no joke. Erdogan is a good friend to have. I suspect he is going to tell NATO to back off.
Right now we just heard Lukashenko state that Wagner’s men will be a valued asset to them in training their own troops, discussing their experiences at the front in warfare (against the west – my words), etc. Also, he got a lot of nice weapons from them. So he gained bigtime, but it was totally unnecessary to engineer a faux show like this, esp. since it risked lives. I think that this was all a matter of clever redirection at the moment of crisis. There is no way this was some ‘four dimensional chess game’.
Regarding Turkey, I don’t see Erdogan as being a good friend to have for anyone, except neo-Ottomanists. That’s a separate discussion of course, but Erdogan is the most duplicitous fellow out there. He sends drones and mercenaries to Ukraine and assures Putin of friendship on the other.
RE: “it was totally unnecessary to engineer a faux show like this”
Tell the CIA that. They’re the ones who planned it. Wagner and Russia were just the benefactors. 6.2B is a lot of money.
Drones are the way people win wars these days and Turkey’s are the best.
All world leaders are duplicitous, especially within our own government, but Putin works hard for his “friends” and because Erdogan wants to get away from NATO and join BRICS, he’ll be good to Putin.
The CIA has tried I’m sure to plan plenty of coups in Russia and the CIS states, but this was not one of them. Another story that they had advanced notice of it, but Prigozhin acted on his own.
When Prigozhin made his famous 30 minute rant about the war and how he said NATO was NOT provoking conflict, that was a hat tip to NATO that he is hoping they’ll kick some wind into his sails. He didn’t get far enough for that to happen.
If Prigozhin had true western backing from the gate, he would have made his first move much stronger, he would have had at least a major governor or other notable face join forces with him from the outset. He did nothing of the sort.
What concerns Turkish drones, Erdogan’s son in law makes them and sells them to Ukraine, and Turkish PMC’s are in line to fight in Ukraine (because let’s face it, the Turks are the one NATO country that has the most manpower to offer the suffering Ukrainian army). At the same time Erdogan is suggesting he can mediate this conflict. He’s not someone I would ever trust, even in a purely pragmatic relationship.
Wouldn’t mercenaries take money from any side offering it?
Ordinarily, yes. However as Col MacGregor has stated, Wagner PMC is funded by the RF. It serves as a type of French Foreign Legion, a strong arm military/shock troop which is prevented by law from acting within France itself.
“…Prigozhin acted on his own. ”
That, I think, is the truth of it. See
Scott Ritter’s excellent analysis @
https://rumble.com/v2wonoo-putin-just-called-their-bluff-and-they-lost-big-time-redacted-with-natali-a.html
[from 37:00 – 54:16]
‘ … Prigozhin didn’t negotiate anything.
Prigozhin was told: “Leave.”
He was told: “You’re done. Unplugged.
Get out of Russia and Wagner’s finished.” … ‘
Then Scott details just exactly why this happened.
For Prigozhin it was literally just business.
His business model was collapsing
and mutiny was how he tried to save it.
“Progozhin had red flags all over the place.
He had failed businesses. The last, the only
viable business he had left was Wagner.
He makes billion of dollars off this mercenary
bloodlust sacrificing his soldiers. He makes money
off of that and he didn’t want to lose this …
Prigozhin had no help from within Russia.
He had a lot of help from outside of Russia,
which makes him a traitor. …
I don’t think Prigozhin’s going to have
a long and healthy retirement. … ‘
Methinks Mr Ritter makes a lot of sense…
Evidently Prigozhin and Langley wanted to believe that there was a considerable cadre just ready to take the bait.
Woe to those who believe their own BS. Those approval ratings are polled by western Levada and, if anything, understate Putin’s popularity.
Ordinarily, yes. However as Col MacGregor has stated, Wagner PMC is funded by the RF. It serves as a type of French Foreign Legion, a strong arm military/shock troop which is prevented by law from acting within France itself.
Some are waking up to what likely happened:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/was-prigozhins-mutiny-western-intelligence-op-derailed-russian/
Putin used his opponents’ weight and momentum against them. Prigozhin went rogue but the plan was derailed in hours and turned into a mole hunt and demonstration that such intrigues cannot take down the Russian govt.
So according to the logic in this article, you would absolutely encourage a movement by the Native Americans currently living in the USA today to “take back their ancestral homeland as they define them.”
I always get very sad when I read your opinions. It makes life not worth living.
Russia’s intentions have nothing to do with my logic! I was merely stating facts. Their logic has to do with BRICS going to a multipolar world and what the natural boundaries would be based on genetics and other factors.
Personally I do support that, at least making an effort. Every ethnic group should have the right to their homeland, if they can keep it. But I suspect the tribal fat cats are happy with their casino money and the tribal commoners are so strung out on drugs and alcohol (supplied by the feds to pacify them) that it wouldn’t happen.
If anything, the plight of the Indians should be a lesson for not letting your homeland get taken over.
“I always get very sad when I read your opinions. It makes life not worth living.”
What’s sad is that you despair for your life over a blog!
The largest ethnic group in the world without a homeland of their own is the Kurds—and I believe it would be a blessing to the world if they gained a land of their own.
Meanwhile, the Lord is doing good things among the Kurds. After my friend Jeremiah Small, a Protestant missionary, was murdered in 2012 by one of his own students—a teenage atheist—there was a new openness to Christianity among the local Kurdish people of northern Iraq. And this year the first Orthodox priest of Kurdish ethnicity was ordained! Hieromonk Madai (Maamdi), who was born in Tbilisi and studied in Russia under the martyred Fr. Daniel Sysoyev, serves in the North American Diocese of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Larry Johnson is doubling down on yesterday’s assessment that this was a clever ruse.
I’m going to put my tinfoil hat back on and agree with him:
https://sonar21.com/was-prigozhins-mutiny-a-western-intelligence-op-derailed-by-russias-spies/
I actually don’t disagree with what Johnson says here if you read it through all the way. He seems ambiguous on the degree to which Western intelligence got to Prigozhin or the method. Perhaps it was through the Ukrainian intelligence, perhaps through Ukies in Africa. The money shot is that it got turned around almost immediately by Moscow.
I still think Prigozhin is guilty rather than an actor, at least initially. I can’t imagine that it is a Russian stage production from beginning to end. It’s counterproductive. However, the speed of the turn around is enough to give you whiplash which is what has everybody reading the tea leaves.
Another thing that indicates that Prigozhin really did go rogue was his choice of enemies. He specifically challenged Shoigu and Gerasimov, two of Russia’s most effective military leaders during this conflict and the build up preceding it.
https://theduran.locals.com/upost/4210391/putins-speech-post-mutiny
The Duran points out their value in this regard in discussing Prigozhin’s animosity toward them. What better weapon for the West than a “military hero” of Russia attempting to take out Russia’s most valuable assets?
I just had a conversation with a work colleague, he is retired army and believes the whole Wagner “protest” may have been a ruse to get Prigozhin and additional troops into Belarus. Possibly in response to Germany and now the US bolstering their presence in Lithuania.
My colleague said his daughter, who is now in the Army, is being deployed in a week or two to Lithuania to a brand new US NATO base, about 8 miles from the Belarus border. The US base is currently nothing more than a patch of gravel, but barracks, Bradleys, etc. are all being sent in.
Things are heating up – and it won’t take much to trigger some really nasty events.
See, the truth is beginning to trickle out. By next week, everyone will know it was a ruse.
Time will tell . . .
A rather interesting analysis from a commentator on Larry’s blog:
Prigozhin is Acting Within Russia’s Historical Tradition
Thus far, no one has understood the significance of Prigozhin’s Rebellion nor hit upon the true and accurate interpretation of these events. Prigozhin has been pilloried as egotist screaming for attention or a traitor in the pay of Western intelligence agencies. Both of these claims partake of a highly occidental worldview which does not comprehend the cultural antecedents of Prigozhin’s actions. On the contrary, I say that Prigozhin is a Russian and that he is acting within the Russian historical tradition.
The analogues of Prigozhin’s Rebellion are not to be found in 1917 or 1905, but much further back, in the uprising of Stenka Razin (1670) and in Pugachev’s Rebellion (1773).
That curious mixture of brigandry with populist politics (so misunderstood by people in the West); those ill-fated and quixotic marches upon Moscow, chanting death to Tsars and bureaucrats; the gathering and then exile of mercenary forces sympathetic to the reform but equally and patriotically in love with the motherland—it has all happened before. This seems to be the way in which the Russian soul expresses itself in tense moments, just as surely as no American can get angry at his government without the echoes of the Tea Party and Declaration of Independence ringing in his ears.
Prigozhin gave voice to broad undercurrent in Russian society that, while very loyal to the government, wants to see the war prosecuted harder and burns with indignation at every brother Russian who dies in battle while the government plays it safe. Not wanting to appear contentious, they keep their thoughts to themselves until they explode in a great swing in the opposite direction, bringing vengeance and chastisement upon Moscow whom they view as a prodigal son. It is the style of the sudden catharsis, the style of the pogrom, the Russian style.
In each of these explosions a local hero steps forth onto the stage of history, moved towards an end that cannot hep but result in his personal destruction, he impels, focuses, and clarifies all the hidden needs of the Russian heart. We don’t excuse their misdeeds, but we redeem somewhat of their memory in museums and songs, for we are sympathetic to their passion. The same fever burns within us. Razin, Pugachev, Prigozhin—their names belong together forever.
While the West propagandizes itself with tales of Prigozhin’s ego or with utterly baseless calumnies about his subversion by Western intelligence (because that is according to its nature), Russia has been fortified by Prigozhin’s fever, even if he was fated to play the role of the evil humor.
Half hero, half criminal, all Russian—Prigozhin. Remember him with mercy.
There is a degree of truth to this. Prigozhin most reminds me of Zhirinovsky. Google him if you don’t recall him. He was a true character and a half. Prigozhin is sort of a rich version of him. Poor impulse control.
Now, it is true that Russians play harder than Westerners. No autopsy, no foul. And Russian history is filled with intrigue and revolts of various and sundry variety. The False Dmitri’s come to mind, for instance.
Given Prigozhin’s recent statements that fall securely in line with Western propaganda about the war, I would hardly consider the speculation about subversion by Western intelligence to be “baseless”. As a matter of fact, it is difficult to come up with a better explanation than someone got in his ear who either believes such rubbish or, at a minimum, wants it broadcast far and wide.
If it’s demonstrated solidly that he had Western contacts working on him, he should go to prison or be eliminated. If not, exile may be the best option rather than some dramatic trial in wartime. What Putin wished to avoid was significant bloodshed on Russian soil and the spectacle of a trial or series of trials for mutiny or treason in the midst of a war. Better to secure Prigozhin as harmless and sweep it under the rug for the time being. It can always be revived after the conflict has ended.
The Main Thing is not to let it interfere with the war effort. And the Main Thing is to keep the Main Thing as the Main Thing.
George, if it were a “rebellion” would they kiss and make up? Wouldn’t Putin exile the guy to Siberia or something and not to Belarus? Would he trust him with protecting Belarus with his nukes?
That’s my point. It’s possible however that Putin did what Misha said: “make sure that the main event remains the main event”. In other words, he made a prudential choice: better to keep Prigozhin from getting excitable and unleashing open warfare.
Either way, Putin is one cool cucumber.
Gail, I think it was some kind of a ‘ruse’ too. Though, when I was at the gym earlier today, I was watching some news programs between sets. On CNN, the ‘expert’ being interviewed talked about how weak Putin was and that he totally ‘capitulated’ to the rebel [Wagner] group that marched on Moscow. And yet, on another screen, a competing network talked about how Putin would be out of power any day now. (I”m surprised that they didn’t bring up the story again about how Putin was terminally ill. Total BS to the tenth power!
Belarus is practically a police state under Lukashenko. That’s why he exiled him there; that and the fact that Lukashenko and Prigozhin are old buddies. I assure you, Prigozhin will have no access to nukes and probably won’t have much if anything to do with the Wagner exiles there. Word is that they’re all going to end up in Africa eventually.
Typical feudal warlords, like the Roaming Empire.
It only remains for one of them to see a vision telling them to adopt a new religion.
Maybe Bahai.
با این شما پیروزی به دست
مید آوری
bɑzin ʃemɑ piɹ̂uzi bedastmi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great
Diocletian divided the empire again in 293, appointing two caesars to rule over further subdivisions of East and West. Each would be subordinate to his respective augustus but would act with supreme authority in his assigned lands. This system would later be called the Tetrarchy. Diocletian’s first appointee for the office of Caesar was Constantius; his second was Galerius, a native of Felix Romuliana. According to Lactantius, Galerius was a brutal, animalistic man. Although he shared the paganism of Rome’s aristocracy, he seemed to them an alien figure, a semi-barbarian. On 1 March, Constantius was promoted to the office of Caesar, and dispatched to Gaul to fight the rebels Carausius and Allectus. In spite of meritocratic overtones, the Tetrarchy retained vestiges of hereditary privilege,and Constantine became the prime candidate for future appointment as Caesar as soon as his father took the position. Constantine went to the court of Diocletian, where he lived as his father’s heir presumptive
My understanding, and this is from family living in Eastern Europe, is that there is a good deal of discontent within the Russian military about the slow pace of the war. Many people want it over and done with ASAP. It has after all been going on for over a year. This would mean an all-out offensive from the Russian side, and that would mean many more (civilian) casualties and horrible destruction of the landscape. The Russian forces could flatten everything in their path . . . May God bring a quick end to this catastrophe!
There is a case to be made for this, though Russia has succeeded in keeping NATO forces ostensibly out of the war while destroying large quantities of Ukrainian and Western armaments and Ukrainian personnel.
It is the argument that time is fundamental to conflict and the quicker an objective is achieved the better. The enemy gets a vote on how things proceed, though in this case not a strong one. The longer it is drawn out, the more time for Ukraine and the West to figure out better ways to defend and perhaps even retake territory. “Don’t teach your enemy how to defeat you.” This is a maxim in some martial arts.
However, I expect that Russia will stay the current course.
With the huge pressure for a Ukrainian false flag, that is, a nuclear, chemical, or biological attack, intended to change the narrative before the upcoming NATO meeting, now is a good time to watch/rewatch the February briefing by Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov.
Transcript:
Briefing by the Chief of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops of Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov on the West preparations for large-scale provocations involving toxic chemicals in Ukraine
February 28, 2023
On 22 February, an influential U.S. non-governmental organisation held a conference on the events in Ukraine. Within the event, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan made the statement, ‘…Russian troops plan to use chemical weapons in the special military operation area…’.
Russia regards this information as the intention of the United States itself and its accomplices to carry out a provocation in Ukraine using toxic chemicals.
They expect that amid hostilities, the international community will be unable to organise an effective investigation, with the result that the real organisers and executors may escape accountability and the blame is going to be placed on Russia.
Supply of safety equipment for Ukraine
In our opinion, the preparations are in full swing. In early 2023, the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre planned a large shipment of individual protection means to Ukraine. In order to substantiate the situation, ‘…Russian troops have already used phosphorus ammunition and could use the poisonous substances in a foreseeable escalation of the situation…”.
The list of supplied equipment includes more than 55,000 sets of personal protective gear, 55,000 gas masks, 13,000 individual gas casualty first-aid kits. Priority is given to antidotes for organophosphorus agents such as sarin and soman — 600,000 ampoules, anti-seizure medications — 3 mln tablets, detoxification preparations for mustard gas, lewisite and chloroacetophenone inhibitors of hydrocyanic acid — 750,000 vials.
Toxic chemicals delivered to Kramatorsk
In addition, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation received information that on 10 February 2023, a rail transport arrived in Ukraine (Kramatorsk) with a cargo of chemicals in one of its cars, accompanied by a group of foreign nationals.
The car was detached and towed to the territory of the Kuybyshev Iron and Steel Works in Kramatorsk, where it was unloaded under the control of the Security Service of Ukraine and the AFU command representatives.
The consignment consisted of 16 sealed metal boxes, eight of which were labelled with a chemical hazard symbol, BZ inscription and marked with two red bands, corresponding to the class of poisonous substances of temporary incapacitation action. Five of the boxes were labelled as ‘C-S-RIOT’, three were labelled as ‘C-R-RIOT’ with a single red band, which corresponds to substances with an irritant action.
The cargo was placed on the U.S.-manufactured armoured vehicles, which moved to the combat line of contact as part of the convoy.
On 19 February, 11 cars of specially marked shrapnel ammunition have been unloaded in Kramatorsk. The unloading took place at night on a platform in the suburbs, with the car labelled as ‘Building materials’, ‘Cement’.
According to the information of the Russian Ministry of Defence, the U.S. Army has previously upgraded its shrapnel rounds to be loaded with ready-to-use, liquid formulated irritant acids.
The facts of the simultaneous delivery of toxic chemicals and protection means indicate an attempted large-scale provocation using the BZ psychotropic warfare agent during the conflict.
Threats posed by using BZ
Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, BZ agent is a controlled chemical and its use is prohibited under Article 1 of the CWC.
This chemical causes acute phrenoplegia, disorientation, hallucinations, and memory impairment.
BZ agent is a standard war gas for the U.S. Army. It was used extensively during the Vietnam War.
The United States and its allies have repeatedly used chemical munitions in the military conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
The U.S. declared a total destruction of stocks of BZ as early as 1990. Fifty tonnes of the substance have been disposed of, but samples were left behind.
In addition, the possibility of synthesising BZ precursors from pharmaceutical production facilities in the volume of up to several dozen tonnes per year is now retained.
Examples of U.S. provocative actions
We have repeatedly noted that Western leadership regularly make provocative statements about the possibility of Russia using weapons of mass destruction.
However, similar projects have been implemented many times by the USA itself to achive political goals.
For example, a vial of ‘washing powder’ in the hands of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell prompted the invasion of Iraq and the deaths of over half a million Iraqi citizens.
In 2017, photos of the White Helmets replicated by news agencies, showing people wearing ordinary gauze bandages taking samples at the site of the alleged use of sarin, led to a U.S. missile strike on Shayrat airbase in Syria.
In 2018, staged shootings of allegedly chlorine-poisoned children in Douma (Syrian) caused the destruction of a research centre in Barzah and Jamraya.
I would like to remind that no one has been held accountable for these crimes so far.
International legal assessment of the use of toxic chemicals in the conduct of hostilities
U.S. compliance with its obligations under the CWC is distinctly selective. Any restrictions under this treaty that threat to U.S. national interests are ignored with the direct connivance of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
For example, in violation of Article 1 of the Convention and the 1925 Geneva Protocol, the United States Department of Defense has legalised the use of a range of chemicals as weapons of war. Its use is envisaged with a wide range of standard ammunition.
I would like to warn you that the Russian stationary and mobile CBRN monitoring complexes deployed in the area of the special military operation make it possible to identify chemical threats in a timely manner and to respond to them promptly. It is therefore a mistake for the West to count on successful provocations with toxic chemicals in a warfare environment.
The analytical capabilities of the Russian Ministry of Defence chemical laboratories can reliably determine not only the type of chemical used, but also the country of manufacture.
For example, the information presented on the slide about the use of improvised munitions against Russian troops by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is widely known. Investigations proved that it was a thermal ammunition that contained flammable oxidisers and additives, some of which were produced in the Czech Republic.
We warn that in the event of provocation using toxic chemicals, the true culprits will be identified and punished.
We will continue to work to expose the Western criminal activities in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
With the huge pressure for a Ukrainian false flag, that is, a nuclear, chemical, or biological attack, intended to change the narrative before the upcoming NATO meeting, now is a good time to watch/rewatch the February briefing by Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov.
Transcript:
Briefing by the Chief of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops of Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov on the West preparations for large-scale provocations involving toxic chemicals in Ukraine
February 28, 2023
On 22 February, an influential U.S. non-governmental organisation held a conference on the events in Ukraine. Within the event, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan made the statement, ‘…Russian troops plan to use chemical weapons in the special military operation area…’.
Russia regards this information as the intention of the United States itself and its accomplices to carry out a provocation in Ukraine using toxic chemicals.
They expect that amid hostilities, the international community will be unable to organise an effective investigation, with the result that the real organisers and executors may escape accountability and the blame is going to be placed on Russia.
Supply of safety equipment for Ukraine
In our opinion, the preparations are in full swing. In early 2023, the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre planned a large shipment of individual protection means to Ukraine. In order to substantiate the situation, ‘…Russian troops have already used phosphorus ammunition and could use the poisonous substances in a foreseeable escalation of the situation…”.
The list of supplied equipment includes more than 55,000 sets of personal protective gear, 55,000 gas masks, 13,000 individual gas casualty first-aid kits. Priority is given to antidotes for organophosphorus agents such as sarin and soman — 600,000 ampoules, anti-seizure medications — 3 mln tablets, detoxification preparations for mustard gas, lewisite and chloroacetophenone inhibitors of hydrocyanic acid — 750,000 vials.
Toxic chemicals delivered to Kramatorsk
In addition, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation received information that on 10 February 2023, a rail transport arrived in Ukraine (Kramatorsk) with a cargo of chemicals in one of its cars, accompanied by a group of foreign nationals.
The car was detached and towed to the territory of the Kuybyshev Iron and Steel Works in Kramatorsk, where it was unloaded under the control of the Security Service of Ukraine and the AFU command representatives.
The consignment consisted of 16 sealed metal boxes, eight of which were labelled with a chemical hazard symbol, BZ inscription and marked with two red bands, corresponding to the class of poisonous substances of temporary incapacitation action. Five of the boxes were labelled as ‘C-S-RIOT’, three were labelled as ‘C-R-RIOT’ with a single red band, which corresponds to substances with an irritant action.
The cargo was placed on the U.S.-manufactured armoured vehicles, which moved to the combat line of contact as part of the convoy.
On 19 February, 11 cars of specially marked shrapnel ammunition have been unloaded in Kramatorsk. The unloading took place at night on a platform in the suburbs, with the car labelled as ‘Building materials’, ‘Cement’.
According to the information of the Russian Ministry of Defence, the U.S. Army has previously upgraded its shrapnel rounds to be loaded with ready-to-use, liquid formulated irritant acids.
The facts of the simultaneous delivery of toxic chemicals and protection means indicate an attempted large-scale provocation using the BZ psychotropic warfare agent during the conflict.
Threats posed by using BZ
Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, BZ agent is a controlled chemical and its use is prohibited under Article 1 of the CWC.
This chemical causes acute phrenoplegia, disorientation, hallucinations, and memory impairment.
BZ agent is a standard war gas for the U.S. Army. It was used extensively during the Vietnam War.
The United States and its allies have repeatedly used chemical munitions in the military conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
The U.S. declared a total destruction of stocks of BZ as early as 1990. Fifty tonnes of the substance have been disposed of, but samples were left behind.
In addition, the possibility of synthesising BZ precursors from pharmaceutical production facilities in the volume of up to several dozen tonnes per year is now retained.
Examples of U.S. provocative actions
We have repeatedly noted that Western leadership regularly make provocative statements about the possibility of Russia using weapons of mass destruction.
However, similar projects have been implemented many times by the USA itself to achive political goals.
For example, a vial of ‘washing powder’ in the hands of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell prompted the invasion of Iraq and the deaths of over half a million Iraqi citizens.
In 2017, photos of the White Helmets replicated by news agencies, showing people wearing ordinary gauze bandages taking samples at the site of the alleged use of sarin, led to a U.S. missile strike on Shayrat airbase in Syria.
In 2018, staged shootings of allegedly chlorine-poisoned children in Douma (Syrian) caused the destruction of a research centre in Barzah and Jamraya.
I would like to remind that no one has been held accountable for these crimes so far.
International legal assessment of the use of toxic chemicals in the conduct of hostilities
U.S. compliance with its obligations under the CWC is distinctly selective. Any restrictions under this treaty that threat to U.S. national interests are ignored with the direct connivance of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
For example, in violation of Article 1 of the Convention and the 1925 Geneva Protocol, the United States Department of Defense has legalised the use of a range of chemicals as weapons of war. Its use is envisaged with a wide range of standard ammunition.
I would like to warn you that the Russian stationary and mobile CBRN monitoring complexes deployed in the area of the special military operation make it possible to identify chemical threats in a timely manner and to respond to them promptly. It is therefore a mistake for the West to count on successful provocations with toxic chemicals in a warfare environment.
The analytical capabilities of the Russian Ministry of Defence chemical laboratories can reliably determine not only the type of chemical used, but also the country of manufacture.
For example, the information presented on the slide about the use of improvised munitions against Russian troops by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is widely known. Investigations proved that it was a thermal ammunition that contained flammable oxidisers and additives, some of which were produced in the Czech Republic.
We warn that in the event of provocation using toxic chemicals, the true culprits will be identified and punished.
We will continue to work to expose the Western criminal activities in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Speech available on Rumble
“Did the US Blink?” An analysis by Larry Johnson (https://sonar21.com/did-the-us-blink/).
Here’s the kill-shot:
“President Biden was either somewhat out of the loop on this decision, or forgot what was being done by the State Department, or simply was not capable of realizing when he should keep quiet. This is shown by Biden’s attempt to walk-back his comment and claim that it was no big deal, just some hysteria. The “Powers” are now on notice that the President is a major problem and that something needs to be done to prevent any more such missteps.” (Emphasis added.)
An interesting turn of events:
“Funny, but all Western media has gone totally silent on the Copenhagen Summit.
However one of the readers of the Sonar 21 claimed in his post, that when it was clear that Pregozhin´s mutiny had failed in Russia, Germany changed stance during the Copenhagen summit, and suddenly proposed a peace plan on behalf of a handful of EU Nations.”
In some ways, pundits and analysts have it exactly backwards regarding the rivalry between the United States and the Sino-Russian Alliance (SRA). The conventional wisdom is that the real fear is of China while Russia is just a steppingstone on the way to getting to China. China has the largest economy and therefore poses the greatest threat. Russia is the “gas station posing as a country” which doesn’t know its place and needs regime change and to be “decolonized”; i.e., broken up and subdued so the natural resources can be exploited by the West.
That is the story that the West reiterates constantly and tries to sell as the ultimate truth.
But it’s actually the opposite, which is why they are lying about it. Russia is actually the prime target, the main locus of the West’s fears and China is increasingly an enabler of Russia and that is the origin of the growing, but previously uncharacteristic, animus of the Establishment toward China.
Until recently, the Democrats and Establishment Republicans (the Uniparty) have been just fine with China and have shouted down anyone like Trump who had a problem with their growing economic power and political influence in the US. The Uniparty was all on the take and they were, for the most part, fine with China. This was the basis of Steve Bannon’s misguided demonization of the Communist Party of China as the bedfellow and enabler of the DNC.
But any damage from China was all self-inflicted by the US allowing it. “She can’t take you any way you don’t already know how to go.”, as the Eagles sang. The Chinese are really just nationalists, not globalists. But the fact that they are secular and nominally communist actually comforts the left and center left that makes the decisions in America on such matters. You have both government officials and businessmen engaging in China envy on several topics, including the legendary “social credit system”. You can find praise coming from the strangest corners: Bill Gates, Charlie Munger, Elon Musk etc.
The real threat to America in terms of dislodging it from global hegemony is Russia. China has influence in the West, but only as much as the West gives it because Westerners are political/financial whores. China’s main ambitions are in the South China Sea and in East Asia, not the Heartland (Central Europe). The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would give them an avenue of trade right into the Heartland, but that is, again, a matter of mutual consent and not necessarily a destabilizing force so long as Europe administers some policy of fair trade vis a vis the Middle Kingdom. They need not build Fortress Europe to protect themselves from China.
Russia, on the other hand, poses several clear and present dangers to America and the Western elite and is far more dangerous and ambitious in a sense than China. First of all, Russian energy export is a menace to American hegemony in Europe. Trump warned the Europeans of as much and Biden has attempted to shut down economic intercourse between the two regions. Russia’s gas and oil export potential make it the natural, most convenient, and only economically efficient supplier of European energy needs. That is the elephant in the room casting its shadow over everything having to do with American Russia policy – and it’s not going to change. Oil and gas are the blood and breath of industrial economies and if the heart that pumps the blood is located in Moscow, then that is the de facto capital of the body. Medium and long term, Europe cannot do without Russian energy.
That is one major clear and present danger from Russia. The other is religion.
For purposes of this comment, I’m going to treat religion as an ideology. It is not, it is something far more powerful than ideology, with far longer lasting power. However, religion can also operate on the level of ideology. And that is the way that the Uniparty elite perceive Russian Orthodoxy since they are secularists who do not believe in God. They can’t say it openly, but it is no secret that the Western Establishment loathes Orthodox Christianity because of its decided opposition to feminism and condemnation of perversion; i.e., its patriarchal nature. That is part of the purpose of the demonization of the ROC and the creation of the OCU under that agency of the US State Department known as “the Fanar”.
What Russia has become is a beacon of religious traditionalism, encouraging other countries with traditionalist sentiments to stand up to Western moral hegemony. And that is an unforgivable sin for Western liberals. They cannot conceive of a world that is not “progressing” from their point of view and in terms of their ideology. It would be as if Truth were strangled in the darkness if traditional sentiments prevailed on earth. That dual threat: economic hegemony in Europe and ideological hegemony of traditionalism – that is a horrifying prospect for the powers that be in the West. It runs so counter to their worldview that it is actually unthinkable to them.
The West can’t consciously face the fact that it is terrified of Russia taking over global hegemony with the enablement of China and India. The thought causes so much anxiety that they mask the whole endeavor as some belated realization that China is overtaking them economically and that China is the true enemy of their precious global hegemony. But China is not a direct challenge to the West, only an indirect one as an intimidating economic force. And historically, its ambitions have been solely to remain secure, prosperous and dominant in East Asia.
Russia has been in Paris (under Alexander I) and, within living memory of anyone over the age of about 40, owned all of Eastern and much of Central Europe. That was much less intimidating to the liberals and the left when Russia was part of the Soviet Union, a secular, socialist state. Now, as a religious/economic power but still retaining the largest nuclear arsenal on earth (over 6,000 warheads, dwarfing China’s of several hundred), it has become a Grendel whose true nature cannot even be addressed in polite company. “Speak not of the devil.”
You must try to think like the enemy to appreciate what he is doing. I consider the Uniparty the enemy and, though they won’t admit it even to themselves in public, that is really what is animating them.
” I consider…and…that is really what is animating them.”
Apart from that, I agree with everything you say… 🙂
The UK Deep State moves against Nigel Farage…
Nigel Farage says he may have to leave UK after bank closes his accounts
https://archive.ph/hYHL3#selection-2833.4-3104.0
‘ Nigel Farage has said he may be forced to leave Britain after his bank closed his accounts and others refused his custom.
The former UKIP leader said his personal and business accounts with a major retail bank have been closed because of a “commercial decision” and other high street firms have refused to allow him to transfer his funds to them.
Mr Farage told The Telegraph he may have been the victim of “blatant corporate prejudice” because of his campaigning for Brexit, or fallen foul of “politically exposed person” rules designed to lower banks’ exposure to bribery and money-laundering.
Asked what he plans to do in response to his accounts being closed and debit cards rendered defunct, he said: “Leave the country? I haven’t decided. I’ve really got to think about this.”
The decision comes after other Right-wing figures including Richard Tice, the leader of Reform UK, and Toby Young, who established the Free Speech Union, said their accounts had been closed or restricted.
In a video posted to his Twitter account on Thursday, Mr Farage admitted his bank gave him two months notice that it was closing his accounts. He has refused to name the bank and said he was speaking to lawyers in the hope they can convince it to restore his access.
A bank can close a customer’s account at any time and for various reasons, sometimes without notice.
Under the payment accounts regulations, banks can close an account if a person has knowingly used, or attempted to use the account for illegal purposes. The bank can also take action if incorrect information was given when applying for the account or the account holder is no longer legally a resident of the UK.
There is also increased scrutiny from banks regarding politically exposed people, individuals who are more susceptible to being involved in bribery or corruption because of their profession or position.
Under money-laundering regulations, banks are required to apply enhanced due diligence to politically exposed individuals to ensure that they are not using their institution for money-laundering or accepting cash from illegal sources.
In 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority, the City watchdog, said it was aware that “some banks no longer offer services to categories of customers they deem to be at high risk of money-laundering”.
Mr Farage said: “I got a phone call a couple of months ago to say ‘we are closing your accounts’. I asked why – no reason was given. I was told a letter would come, which will explain everything. The letter came through and simply said ‘we are closing your accounts, we want to finish it all by a date’, which is around about now.
“I didn’t quite know what to make of it. I complained, I emailed the chairman, a lackey phoned me to say that it was a commercial decision, which I have to say I don’t believe for a single moment.
“So I thought, well there we are, I’ll have to go and find a different bank, I’ve been to seven banks, asked them all ‘could I have a personal and a business account?’, and the answer has been no in every single case.
“There is nothing irregular or unusual about what I do. The payments that go in and come out every month are pretty much the same, I maintain in my business account quite a big positive cash balance, which I guess with interest rates where they are is pretty good for the bank too.”
Mr Farage also suggested the reason his account was closed may have been because Chris Bryant, a Labour MP, claimed he had been paid more than £500,000 by the Russian state. There is no evidence for such a claim.
He added: “I’m beginning to think that perhaps life in the United Kingdom is now becoming completely unlivable because of the levels of prejudice against me.” ‘
Nigel Farage was the chief architect of Brexit.
They want him out of politics and/or the UK…