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Banking Collapse: Bank Deposits Tank by over 50% Across Large Commercial Banks – by Sarah Westall – https://sarahwestall.com/banking-collapse-bank-deposits-tank-by-over-50-across-large-commercial-banks/ – “According to Federal Reserve data we have never seen what we are seeing today. The largest 25 banks are bleeding deposits at historic rates not seen in the 4 decades of data tracked by the Federal Reserve. The chart below shows smaller banks saw a dramatic decline after the banking collapses mid 2023, but have been steadily recovering. The story for large commercial banks is quite different:As reported by Wall Street on Parade: According to Federal Reserve data dating back to July 3, 1985 – a span of close to 39 years – there has not been a time when the largest 25 banks were bleeding deposits on the scale that has been happening for the past 22 months… There has also never been a time comparable to the last 22 months when the largest 25 banks were bleeding deposits while the smaller banks were growing deposits. (See the chart above.).. Why are bank deposits critical for the health of banks?.. Deposits are the lifeblood of banks. All banks. Without deposits, banks cannot lend or invest. They cannot earn money. When banks lose approx. 50% of it’s deposits, like they have over the past 22 months, that has a direct impact on their ability to be profitable. A huge impact… Banks pay you very little for parking your cash in their vaults (or on their digital ledger). The average interest banks pay is .024% interest on the money they store for you. Basically banks are given loans from you and me at ridiculous low rates. Banks use this money mostly to meet capital requirements for lending and receiving money from the Federal Reserve… But, contrary to popular opinion, banks don’t really need your money to loan. Here is a good explanation on how the racket works: The Revolving Money Myth: Your Deposits Don’t Fund Bank Loans – Common mythology says that banks take the money that customers deposit into their savings accounts and lend it out to borrowers for a profit. The bank makes only the smallest interest payments on the deposits it receives, charges much higher interest rates on the loans it extends and pockets the difference as a handsome profit. Basically, in this scenario, banks act as middlemen, playing the matchmaker between savers who want to earn a return on their excess capital and borrowers who are willing to pay for a loan… In painfully simplified terms, that’s sort of true, but only in the most indirect of ways… Banks Create the Money They Lend – Banks don’t need your money to extend loans. The loans themselves create new money… Each and every time a bank makes a loan, the laws of double-entry accounting require them to create a new account for the borrower and make a deposit equal to the loan amount… According to Forbes, this means that banks create money every time they lend money. They’re able to do this because banks are allowed to lend much more money than they have… The Money They Lend Isn’t Really There – Banks operate on a system called fractional reserve, which allows them to keep only a small fraction of the money they lend available on hand as withdrawable cash reserves. Also, the 1913 Federal Reserve Act requires banks to maintain the minimum cash reserves needed to clear outgoing checks… One of the cheapest ways to meet those reserve requirements, according to Resilience, a program under the Post Carbon Institute, is through “retail deposits” — that’s the money you keep in your savings account. If they can’t attract new customers to borrow cheap retail deposits from, banks have to meet their cash reserve requirements by paying more to borrow wholesale deposits from the Fed… In short, banks don’t take the money that you deposit, turn around and loan it at a higher interest rate. But they do use the money you deposit to balance their books and meet the necessary cash reserves that make those loans possible… So why do deposits matter if banks don’t need deposits to lend? The last 2 paragraphs explain why it matters so much to banks. First, deposits are the cheapest way for banks to meet reserve requirements. Its hard to beat a loan at .025% from you. Like all business, if the cost to operate substantially increases, it puts the entire enterprise at risk… Perhaps the most important point of this entire article is the fact that this points to a huge shift in economic activity… People are increasingly leaving the traditional banking systems and moving towards cryptos, gold & silver, and other investments. When major shifts in money management occurs, it represents changes in attitudes and expectations of consumers. This change is massive. A 50% decline in banking deposits is a seismic shift that is almost unimaginable in the past. It cannot be ignored and it is a glaring red flag that significant change is coming.”Active duty airman set himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in Washington DC – Washington, D.C. emergency services took the man to a hospital with “critical life threatening injuries.” – by Nicholas Slayton – https://taskandpurpose.com/news/man-sets-self-fire-israeli-embassy-air-force/ – A newer version of this story was published Monday morning, Feb. 26, “Air Force member who set himself on fire in chilling protest video dies.”.. “An active-duty airman set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. today, in uniform… The District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department confirmed to Task & Purpose that they received a report about a man on fire outside the embassy just before 1 p.m. Eastern Time and dispatched emergency services. The fire had been extinguished by uniformed members of the Secret Service. EMS took the man to an area hospital, saying he was suffering from “critical life-threatening injuries.”.. The incident appears to be in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza. Independent journalist Talia Jane obtained a video of the self-immolation, although it has not been posted online beyond accounts that are quickly taken down. On X, Jane posted that the man in Air Force uniform said he was “an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide.” Filming himself walking, he said that what he was going to do would be minimal compared to what is happening to Palestinians. He then set himself on fire and repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine.”.. In the video, the airman identifies himself as Aaron Bushnell. A spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force confirmed to Task & Purpose that the man in uniform is an active-duty airman, however, the Air Force did not confirm the man’s identity or rank in the military… Law enforcement responded, putting out the fire with three fire extinguishers. Law enforcement also drew a gun on the burning man during the incident, while he was screaming in pain. After emergency services transported the man to a hospital, authorities searched the area around the embassy. The Metropolitan Police Department responded and sent its Explosive Ordnance Disposal team to the scene to search a nearby car; nothing was found. Bushnell’s current status is unknown… A LinkedIn account under Bushnell’s name with a picture matching the appearance of the airman in the video says that Bushnell has been in the Air Force since 2020. Per the account, Bushnell trained as a client systems technician, working in IT management and as a DevOps engineer for the last year. According to his LinkedIn account, Bushnell was pursuing a Bachelor of Science in software engineering at Southern New Hampshire University. He was ‘looking for SkillBridge programs to transfer [his] skills into the software engineering career field.’.. Task & Purpose contacted the United States Secret Service about the incident but as of press time has not heard back… A press officer for the Department of Defense confirmed it was aware of the incident but did not have any information on the individual… The Israeli war in Gaza, which started following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas, has resulted in the deaths of thousands and is still ongoing. In December, a person set themselves on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta in protest of the war – Update 2/25/2024: This story has been updated with confirmation from the U.S. Air Force that the man who set himself on fire is an active-duty member of the Air Force – Update 2/25/2024: This story has been updated with Bushnell’s name and information, as well as statements by the Metropolitan Police Department. – Airman who died after setting himself on fire in protest video identified – Senior Airman Aaron Bushnell died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy to protest the war in Gaza – by Jeff Schogol – “Senior Airman Aaron Bushnell died of his injuries on Sunday after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., to demonstrate his opposition to the ongoing war between Israel and Gaza, Air Force officials said… The Air Force deferred questions about the incident to Washington D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department… Bushnell, 25, was a cyber defense operations specialist assigned to the 531st Intelligence Support Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland, Texas, according to the Air Force. He had served on active duty since May 2020… ‘When a tragedy like this occurs, every member of the Air Force feels it,’ Air Force Col. Celina Noyes, commander of the 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing, said in a statement. ‘We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Senior Airman Bushnell. Our thoughts and prayers are with them, and we ask that you respect their privacy during this difficult time.‘.. In the roughly 3-minute video, Bushnell says he is an active-duty airman and that he will ‘no longer be complicit in genocide.’.. ‘I’m about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but when compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all,’ Bushnell says. ‘This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.’.. Bushnell then puts down his camera, stands in front of the embassy, douses himself with a clear liquid from a thermos, puts his cover on, and tries to ignite himself as someone off camera asks, ‘Hi sir, can I help you?’.. After a few seconds, he sets himself alight and screams “Free Palestine!” several times as the flames quickly consume him. Then he starts screaming… People off camera can be heard yelling: ‘Man’s on fire! Man’s on fire!’.. Bushnell continues to scream as another person off camera yells at him to get on the ground, presumably so he can put out the flames… Sirens can be heard as Bushnell tries to yell “Free Palestine” again, but his screams become unintelligible. People on the scene call for a fire extinguisher. After burning for a minute, the man collapses, and a first responder tries to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher… Bushnell continues to burn as a first responder yells, ‘I don’t need guns, I need a fire extinguisher.’.. About 3 minutes into the video, two officers with extinguishers manage to smother the flames. The video ends when someone picks up the camera and says: ‘What is this? Who is this?’ ” Trump’s VP front-runner just stunned everyone with this move – from TheHornNews.com – https://thehornnews.com/vp-front-runner-visited-mar-a-lago-monday/ – “South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is considered by betting markets to be the front-runner as former President Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate. She’s even been named by Trump as part of his short list… ‘I’ve got my eye on her,’ Trump told NBC News last year, in response to a question about Noem’s chances of becoming vice president… On Monday, Noem made a stunning move that had the political world whispering. The South Dakota Republican traveled to met with Trump on Monday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, an insider told the Daily Caller… Like many governors, Noem boasts a high favorability rating in her current role. She’s also earned a reputation for her charisma, and she’s seen some of her political ads go viral. She’s attracted attention for using a branding iron to veto a bill, and she once played a plumber in a video promoting South Dakota’s apprenticeship programs… In a Kaplan Strategies poll of a swing state, Noem was polled as the most favored prospect for a running mate. As of Friday, she was viewed favorably by 39 percent of the 941 registered voters surveyed in Wisconsin… Noem also fared well in the Conservative Political Action Conference’s straw poll of possible vice presidents. She nabbed 15 percent of the vote, tying biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy for first place. She and Ramaswamy finished ahead of 15 other people… However, she remains untested as a candidate for a role in Washington, D.C… Without confirming anything, Noem described the ideal vice president Thursday on Fox News… ‘I’m all in to do what I can to help the team. He needs somebody that actually is not part of the swamp, I think. He needs a business owner. He needs somebody who’s been a commander in chief, somebody who makes decisions when things get tough. Those are his qualifications, and he needs to know he can have somebody around him that trusts him and he trusts and will fight,’ Noem said… ‘He’s got a lot of jobs to do when you’re president of the United States. He needs to have people on his team that fight for him every single day.’.. At a town hall last month, Trump said that he’d already picked a running mate. However, he didn’t directly name the person, and he declined to say whether he’d even informed him or her… ‘I know who it’s going to be,’ Trump said at the time. He added, ‘I can’t tell you that really.’.. Perhaps on Monday, he finally told someone.”EXCLUSIVE: Take Back the Sky, Your Guide to Unmasking Weather Manipulation – by Reinette Senum – https://reinettesenumsfoghornexpress.substack.com/p/exclusive-take-back-the-sky-your – “Join the movement to detect, document, and deter geoengineering efforts. Discover the tools you need to fight back against weather modification programs over your head!
Please note, THIS WEDNESDAY SWARM WEBINAR HAS BEEN MOVED TO 6 PM PST FRIDAY, MARCH 1ST! – LINK HERE: https://meetn.com/sos – In an enlightening interview with Kathryn Saari, a key member of the Save Our Skies Skywatcher team, this conversation reveals a shared commitment to uncovering the hidden aspects of geoengineering. Saari shares her journey from noticing unusual sky patterns to becoming an active participant in the fight against geoengineering. Her methodical approach includes observing aircraft, collecting rainwater samples, and documenting changes in weather patterns, which has led to the discovery of high concentrations of heavy metals in precipitation… This latest interview, coupled with a 77-slide PowerPoint presentation (at the bottom of this post), delves into the complex issue of geoengineering, aiming to educate the public on how to recognize and take action against weather modification and other related programs — emphasizing the importance of community engagement and empowerment, urging individuals to observe their skies, identify unusual patterns, and take proactive steps to address the environmental and health implications of geoengineering… Our discussion highlights several initiatives aimed at addressing the challenges posed by geoengineering, such as the pursuit of local weather modification companies, known for their solar dimming projects and rain augmentation programs. Saari underscore the necessity of involving local representatives and regulatory bodies to ensure the health and safety of communities are prioritized. Through collaborative efforts, including leveraging technology like Flightradar24 for aircraft tracking and engaging experts like Jim Lee and meteorologist Jeff “Ray,” this interview paints a picture of a multi-faceted approach to combating geoengineering… This is no ordinarly interview, it is a universal call to action, emphasizing the role of individual and collective effort in regaining control over our environment. It is a testament to the power of informed activism, scientific inquiry, and community mobilization in the face of environmental challenges posed by unchecked technological interventions in our atmosphere.” – Excerpt of the How-To Become a SOS Skywatcher PowerPoint Tool Kit below:
Two Years After the Start of the SMO, the West is Totally Paralyzed – by Pepe Escobar – https://www.unz.com/pescobar/two-years-after-the-start-of-the-smo-the-west-is-totally-paralyzed/ – “Exactly two years ago this Saturday, on February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced the launching – and described the objectives – of a Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine. That was the inevitable follow-up to what happened three days before, on February 21 – exactly 8 years after Maidan 2014 in Kiev – when Putin officially recognized the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk… During this – pregnant with meaning – short space of only three days, everyone expected that the Russian Armed Forces would intervene, militarily, to end the massive bombing and shelling that had been going on for three weeks across the frontline – which even forced the Kremlin to evacuate populations at risk to Russia. Russian intel had conclusive proof that the NATO-backed Kiev forces were ready to execute an ethnic cleansing of Russophone Donbass… February 24, 2022 was the day that changed 21st century geopolitics forever, in several complex ways. Above all, it marked the beginning of a vicious, all-out confrontation, “military-technical” as the Russians call it, between the Empire of Chaos, Lies and Plunder, its easily pliable NATOstan vassals, and Russia – with Ukraine as the battleground… There is hardly any question Putin had calculated, before and during these three fateful days, that his decisions would unleash the unbounded fury of the collective West – complete with a tsunami of sanctions – Ay, there’s the rub; it’s all about Sovereignty. And a true sovereign power simply cannot live under permanent threats. It’s even feasible that Putin had wanted (italics mine) Russia to get sanctioned to death. After all, Russia is so naturally wealthy that without a serious challenge from abroad, the temptation is enormous to live off its rents while importing what it could easily produce… Exceptionalists always gloated that Russia is “a gas station with nuclear weapons”. That’s ridiculous. Oil and gas, in Russia, account for roughly 15% of GDP, 30% of the government budget, and 45% of exports. Oil and gas add power to the Russian economy – not a drag. Putin shaking Russia’s complacency generated a gas station producing everything it needs, complete with unrivalled nuclear and hypersonic weapons. Beat that… Ukraine has “never been less than a nation” – Xavier Moreau is a French politico-strategic analyst based in Russia for 24 years now. Graduated from the prestigious Saint-Cyr military academy and with a Sorbonne diploma, he hosts two shows on RT France… His latest book, Ukraine: Pourquoi La Russie a Gagné (“Ukraine: Why Russia has Won”), just out, is an essential manual for European audiences on the realities of the war, not those childish fantasies concocted across the NATOstan sphere by instant “experts” with less than zero combined arms military experience… Moreau makes it very clear what every impartial, realist analyst was aware of from the beginning: the devastating Russian military superiority, which would condition the endgame. The problem, still, is how this endgame – “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine, as established by Moscow – will be achieved… What is already clear is that “demilitarization”, of Ukraine and NATO, is a howling success that no new wunderwaffen – like F-16s – will be able to change… Moreau perfectly understands how Ukraine, nearly 10 years after Maidan, is not a nation; “and has never been less than a nation”. It’s a territory where populations that everything separates are jumbled up. Moreover, it has been a – “grotesque” – failed state ever since its independence. Moreau spends several highly entertaining pages going through the corruption grotesquerie in Ukraine, under a regime that “gets its ideological references simultaneously via admirers of Stepan Bandera and Lady Gaga.” – None of the above, of course, is reported by oligarch-controlled European mainstream media… Watch out for Deng Xiao Putin – The book offers an extremely helpful analysis of those deranged Polish elites who bear “a heavy responsibility in the strategic catastrophe that awaits Washington and Brussels in Ukraine”. The Poles actually believed that Russia would crumble from the inside, complete with a color revolution against Putin. That barely qualifies as Brzezinski on crack… Moreau shows how 2022 was the year when NATOstan, especially the Anglo-Saxons – historically racist Russophobes – were self-convinced thar Russia would fold because it is a “poor power”. Obviously, none of these luminaries understood how Putin strengthened the Russian economy very much like Deng Xiaoping on the Chinese economy. This “self-intoxication”, as Moreau qualifies it, did wonders for the Kremlin… By now it’s clear even for the deaf, dumb, and blind that the destruction of the European economy has been a massive tactic, historic victory for the Hegemon – as much as the blitzkrieg against the Russian economy has been an abysmal failure… All of the above brings us to the meeting of G20 Foreign Ministers this week in Rio. That was not exactly a breakthrough. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made it very clear that the collective West at the G20 tried by all means to “Ukrainize” the agenda – with less than zero success. They were outnumbered and counterpunched by BRICS and Global South members… At his press conference, Lavrov could not be more stark on the prospects of the war of the collective West against Russia. These are the highlights: Western countries categorically do not want serious dialogue on Ukraine…
-There were no serious proposals from the United States to begin contacts with the Russian Federation on strategic stability; trust cannot be restored now while Russia is declared an enemy.
– There were no contacts on the sidelines of the G20 with either Blinken or the British Foreign Secretary.
– The Russian Federation will respond to new Western sanctions with practical actions that relate to the self-sufficient development of the Russian economy.
– If Europe tries to restore ties with the Russian Federation, making it dependent on their whims, then such contacts are not needed.
In a nutshell – diplomatically: you are irrelevant, and we don’t care… That was complementing Lavrov’s intervention during the summit, which defined once again a clear, auspicious path towards multipolarity. Here are the highlights:- The forming of a fair multipolar world order without a definite center and periphery has become much more intensive in the past few years. Asian, African and Latin American countries are becoming important parts of the global economy. Not infrequently, they are setting the tone and the dynamics.
– Many Western economies, especially in Europe, are actually stagnating against this background. These statistics are from Western-supervised institutions – the IMF, the World Bank and the OECD.
– These institutions are becoming relics from the past. Western domination is already affecting their ability to meet the requirements of the times. Meanwhile, it is perfectly obvious today that the current problems of humanity can only be resolved through a concerted effort and with due consideration for the interests of the Global South and, generally, all global economic realities.
– Institutions like the IMF, the World Bank, the EBRD, and the EIB are prioritizing Kiev’s military and other needs. The West allocated over $250 billion to tide over its underling thus creating funding shortages in other parts of the world. Ukraine is taking up the bulk of the funds, relegating Africa and other regions of the Global South to rationing.
– Countries that have discredited themselves by using unlawful acts ranging from unilateral sanctions and the seizure of sovereign assets and private property to blockades, embargoes, and discrimination against economic operators based on nationality to settle scores with their geopolitical opponents cannot be considered guarantors of financial stability.
– Without a doubt, new institutions that focus on consensus and mutual benefit are needed to democratize the global economic governance system. Today, we are seeing positive dynamics for strengthening various alliances, including BRICS, the SCO, ASEAN, the African Union, LAS, CELAC, and the EAEU.
– This year, Russia chairs BRICS, which saw several new members join it. We will do our best to reinforce the potential of this association and its ties with the G20.
– Considering that 6 out of 15 UN Security Council members represent the Western bloc, we will support the expansion of this body solely through the accession of countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
– Call it the real state of things, geopolitically, two years after the start of the SMO.”Trump’s VP front-runner just stunned everyone with this move – from TheHornNews.com – https://thehornnews.com/vp-front-runner-visited-mar-a-lago-monday/ – “South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is considered by betting markets to be the front-runner as former President Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate. She’s even been named by Trump as part of his short list… “I’ve got my eye on her,” Trump told NBC News last year, in response to a question about Noem’s chances of becoming vice president… On Monday, Noem made a stunning move that had the political world whispering. The South Dakota Republican traveled to met with Trump on Monday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, an insider told the Daily Caller… Like many governors, Noem boasts a high favorability rating in her current role. She’s also earned a reputation for her charisma, and she’s seen some of her political ads go viral. She’s attracted attention for using a branding iron to veto a bill, and she once played a plumber in a video promoting South Dakota’s apprenticeship programs… In a Kaplan Strategies poll of a swing state, Noem was polled as the most favored prospect for a running mate. As of Friday, she was viewed favorably by 39 percent of the 941 registered voters surveyed in Wisconsin… Noem also fared well in the Conservative Political Action Conference’s straw poll of possible vice presidents. She nabbed 15 percent of the vote, tying biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy for first place. She and Ramaswamy finished ahead of 15 other people… However, she remains untested as a candidate for a role in Washington, D.C… Without confirming anything, Noem described the ideal vice president Thursday on Fox News… “I’m all in to do what I can to help the team. He needs somebody that actually is not part of the swamp, I think. He needs a business owner. He needs somebody who’s been a commander in chief, somebody who makes decisions when things get tough. Those are his qualifications, and he needs to know he can have somebody around him that trusts him and he trusts and will fight,” Noem said… “He’s got a lot of jobs to do when you’re president of the United States. He needs to have people on his team that fight for him every single day.” – At a town hall last month, Trump said that he’d already picked a running mate. However, he didn’t directly name the person, and he declined to say whether he’d even informed him or her… “I know who it’s going to be,” Trump said at the time. He added, “I can’t tell you that really.” – Perhaps on Monday, he finally told someone.”
It Looks Like Ukraine Will Join NATO. How Will Putin Respond? – by Daisy Luther – https://www.theorganicprepper.com/will-ukraine-join-nato/ – ” Last weekend, a video began circulating on X (Twitter) that got little to no coverage in the MSM. (I know, you’re shocked.) In the clip, Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of NATO, said something that could drive us rapidly off the cliff into WW3. He said, “Ukraine will join NATO.” – Watch it here: https://twitter.com/BRICSinfo/status/1761471966152888777 – This is quite a poke in the eye of Russian President Vladimir Putin… President Putin has repeatedly warned against Ukraine being allowed to join the alliance. He said it back in February of 2022, when the war began… “[T]here will be no winners,” he said, describing a hypothetical future in which Ukraine had joined NATO and then attempted to invade Russian-occupied Crimea, “and you will find yourself drawn into this conflict against your will. You will be fulfilling Article 5 in a heartbeat, even before you know it.” – “Do you realize that if Ukraine joins NATO and decides to take Crimea back through military means, the European countries will automatically get drawn into a military conflict with Russia?” Putin said. “Of course, NATO’s united potential and that of Russia are incomparable.” – Though the Kremlin’s English-language transcript has Putin using, somewhat ambiguously, the term “incomparable,” he also asserted that Russia “is one of the world’s leading nuclear powers and is superior to many of those countries in terms of the number of modern nuclear force components.” – Here’s some video footage of this press conference, with subtitles. – https://youtu.be/RJXwLzII278 – Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty basically says that an attack on one NATO country is an attack on all NATO countries and is a pact of collective defense… The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area… Russia again warned that Ukraine joining NATO would not be well-received in October of 2022… “Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to World War Three,” TASS quoted Alexander Venediktov, the deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, as saying… The Russians have been quite clear. If this alliance is made, they will retaliate… What is Russia’s protocol for using nuclear weapons? – Leaked Russian military documents have exposed that Russia’s threshold for a nuclear attack is lower than we’d previously been told. According to documents that have been seen and verified by the Financial Times: Criteria for a potential nuclear response range from an enemy incursion on Russian territory to more specific triggers, such as the destruction of 20 percent of Russia’s strategic ballistic missile submarines… …Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons, which can be delivered by land or sea-launched missiles or from aircraft, are designed for limited battlefield use in Europe and Asia, as opposed to the larger “strategic” weapons intended to target the US. Modern tactical warheads can still release significantly more energy than the weapons dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945… …The exercises offer a rare insight into how Russia views its nuclear arsenal as a cornerstone of its defence policy — and how it trains forces to be able to carry out a nuclear first strike in some battlefield conditions… In summary, Russia’s policy is to make the first strike and there are guidelines in place for how and when they would do this. The article is well worth a read… Is NATO already involved in the fighting? – According to a Hungarian newspaper, Magyar Nemzet, the Russians believe that NATO military personnel are already involved in the conflict in Ukraine, disguising themselves as mercenaries… In an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, Major General Sergei Rudskoi, the Chief Operations Director of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, spoke about the fact that NATO military personnel take part in the battles in Ukraine disguised as mercenaries, reports the English-language Pravda news portal… NATO soldiers take part in hostilities disguised as mercenaries. They control operational and tactical missile air defense systems and multiple missile launch systems and are part of assault squads, Rudskoi stated. According to him, NATO officers directly shape the military operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine… During the cleaning of Avgyijivka, quite a few interesting details were revealed. In this case, we are dealing with corpses abandoned by Ukrainian armed forces, whose uniforms were sewn with American and Polish markings, Igor Kimakovskyi, adviser to the leader of the “Donetsk People’s Republic”, told TASSSZ… Now, it’s very important to note that Pravda (which ironically means “truth” in Russian) has been accused of being a state-sponsored mouthpiece and a propaganda outlet for the Kremlin. They wouldn’t be the first government that drummed up another “reason” for people to fear and hate “the enemy.” (Looking at you, America.)So, it’s possible that the information printed there is inaccurate. Magyar Nemzet is a conservative-leaning Hungarian newspaper. When deciding whether you believe this report is accurate, take these two things into account… If Ukraine will join NATO, what happens next?… If Ukraine joins NATO, Putin has already made it very clear that he won’t be pleased. And by “not pleased,” I mean he’s threatening to nuke someone. Or maybe even everyone. The Russian government has a “first strike” policy in that they intend to be the aggressors in a large-scale war… By allowing Ukraine into NATO, member states are inviting a larger global conflict… And in a world that has seemed on the verge of the next huge war, that seems akin to throwing a match into a vat of gasoline… This is something to watch very closely. Prepare for the possibility of a nuclear event. (Know that if you are not at Ground Zero, this is survivable, and no, it won’t turn the entire country into a nuclear winter wasteland like in that horrifying book The Road.) Here are some ways to prepare: Read this article… Watch this webinar… Get enough Iosat for your entire family. If you need it, you’ll be glad you bought it. If you don’t, it’s not a ton of money but it’s a great deal of peace of mind. This one has same-day delivery from Amazon. This is a product that rapidly sells out every time there’s talk of nuclear war, and before it sells out, the price skyrockets. (Here’s how to use it after a nuclear emergency.)”
Exposing Western Interference: The Assault on Russia’s Electoral Sovereignty – from The Islander – https://islanderreports.substack.com/p/exposing-western-interference-the – “On a notable day, February 21, 2024, an event of critical importance was orchestrated by the Foundation to Battle Injustice, under the stewardship of Mira Terada, the Foundation’s head. This international online conference, a gathering of minds and media from across the globe, delved into the pressing issue of foreign meddling in the imminent Russian presidential election slated for March 2024. The dialogue, enriched by the perspectives of journalists Tara Reade (United States), Thomas Röper (Germany), Laurent Brayard (France), and Sonja Van den Ende (Netherlands), was not merely a discussion. It was a clarion call to recognize and counteract the escalating attempts by Western entities to undermine Russia’s electoral integrity through sophisticated and aggressive means. The Foundation’s report, can be found here... In her incisive analysis, Terada illuminated the stark reality facing Russia’s electoral processes—now a prime target for relentless external information warfare. With the presidential election on the horizon, the campaign against Russia’s electoral system has intensified, adopting more advanced and invasive tactics. Terada elucidated how, amidst heightening geopolitical tensions, Western powers are not just content with traditional interference. Instead, they have escalated to employing cutting-edge technologies and leveraging social media to sow discord and distrust within the Russian polity. This multi-faceted onslaught seeks to erode confidence in the electoral system, not just domestically but also on the international stage, deploying a barrage of propaganda, misleading official narratives, and unfounded accusations from Western officials… Mira Terada: “”If we analyze a number of statements by top officials of the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, the Czech Republic and Poland in the run-up to the Russian elections, it becomes obvious that the collective West has long ago set itself the task of subjecting Russian electoral processes to maximum discredit. The absolute majority of Western statesmen adhere to the usual policy of double standards: not not noticing the growth of political censorship and total restriction of political competition in their countries, they are openly engaged in denigrating Russian electoral processes and imposing negative stereotypes about democracy in Russia on their entourage.” – The drive-thru narrative spun by the West, as Terada critically notes, is one of hypocrisy and double standards. Western officials, turning a blind eye to the creeping political censorship and shrinking political competition within their own borders, spare no effort in casting aspersions on Russian democracy. The unfounded declarations of the electoral process’s illegitimacy by figures such as former U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul and the speculative boycotts advocated by European politicians like Andrius Kubilius, echo a broader Western agenda. This agenda, meticulously dissected in the Foundation’s analysis, reveals a concerted effort to intimidate Russian voters and tarnish Russia’s image on the global stage, thus straining diplomatic relations… Western politicians and foreign officials are trying to intimidate Russian citizens and dissuade them from participating in the elections by openly declaring the illegitimacy of the electoral process. In December 2023, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said that after the presidential election, a new wave of mobilization in Russia would inevitably begin, and sanctions and persecution of Russian citizens would reach unprecedented levels… Despite the fact that there is no such thing as non-recognition of elections in international law, some European politicians continue to speculate on this topic, calling for a boycott of the Russian presidential elections in 2024. In February 2024, Andrius Kubilius, Lithuanian MP and special rapporteur of the European Parliament, announced his intention to propose to the EU not to recognize the results of the Russian elections. Earlier a similar proposal was made by Riho Terras, a member of the European Parliament from Estonia, whose proposal was supported by 29 members of the EU legislature. Last October, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued a statement calling on European countries to consider the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin illegitimate if he remains in power after the 2024 elections. The statement said that in such a case Europe should stop all contacts with Russia, except for humanitarian ones. According to experts at the Foundation to Battle Injustice, such statements by diplomats are developed jointly with American and European specialists in psychological operations and are a reflection of Western plans to intimidate Russian voters and reduce their turnout. The goal of this Western strategy is to present Russia in the most negative light possible in the international arena and complicate diplomatic relations with foreign countries… Mira Terada also mentioned in her report that against the background of large-scale digitalization and networking of public life, publications in news resources and websites are becoming an important tool of information influence: “The largest Western propaganda publications have launched a full-scale campaign to “denigrate” the Russian elections. Such news resources as The Guardian, Associated Press, The Hill and U.S. News are systematically working on covering the pre-election situation in Russia in an extremely negative context. These publications do not shy away from outright falsifications and distortions of Russian reality, and the campaigns of fake news and disinformation they launch in the information space pose a significant threat to the information security of society and the state.” – An even more serious role in undermining Russian elections, according to the head of the Foundation to Battle Injustice, is played by the ecosystem of Russian-language media sources – foreign agents funded by Western money, such as Meduza, DOXA magazine, HOLOD media, Novaya Gazeta Europe, and so on, which directly use materials provided by foreign sources. Most fakes are created by external actors, many of them are part of large-scale information operations aimed at rapid replication and instant emotional reactions of social media users, including fear, anxiety, doubt, distrust and outrage… According to a study by human rights defenders of the Foundation to Battle Injustice, during the period of socio-political consolidation, the traditional methods of information influence of Western and pseudo-Russian information agencies become less effective and do not bring the desired effect, which forces them to use new technologies to influence Russian citizens in the digital space and more carefully disguise their work. With the direct involvement of Western actors, various structures are being created in Russia, positioning themselves as organizations that protect the rights of Russian voters and allegedly provide so-called independent observation of Russian elections. Referring to non-existent statistical data and critical expert assessments, foreign-funded organizations are directly engaged in discrediting the Russian electoral system and questioning the voting procedure on spurious grounds… However, the greatest danger, according to Mira Terada, for the upcoming Russian presidential election is the direct work of Western intelligence services to prepare subversive activities at polling stations. In early 2024, Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, exposed a U.S. special program to recruit Russian graduates of U.S. exchange programs. Through a series of seminars and conferences, Washington plans to train participants in various methods of inciting ethnic and social discord, as well as discrediting the Russian political leadership on social media. Sergei Naryshkin confirmed the assumption of human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice that as the Russian presidential election approaches, American and European institutions are “inventing more and more sophisticated ways to illegally interfere in democratic processes.” – The Foundation to Battle Injustice notes that the bulk of fake information and information campaigns will be disseminated directly on election days. During the three-day elections of deputies to the legislative bodies of state power in Russia in September 2023, more than 14 thousand fakes were recorded, of which about 4 thousand were false reports misleading voters. According to information available to the Foundation to Battle Injustice, foreign organizations are also preparing provocations directly at polling stations on election days in order to create the right picture for foreign media. One of such organizations outside Russia conducts trainings of pseudo-observers-provocateurs together with specialists in psychological operations aimed at mass intimidation of voters on voting days… American human rights activist and publicist Tara Reade, who received political asylum in Russia because of persecution by the authorities in the United States, revealed in her report that the United States has interfered in elections throughout its history, there have been more than 14 cases of such interference. According to Tara Reade, this interference stems from the desire for unilateral control and power that the United States tries to exert on its allies such as the United Kingdom, other European countries and NATO. The journalist emphasized that the U.S. effectively uses the internet as a weapon and exercise control over the information it disseminates. This control allows them to influence and manipulate the minds of the masses. This tactic, according to Tara Reade, is what is meant by election interference. However, the human rights activist is confident that Russia will be able to resist all manipulations and attacks from the United States and Western countries… “The methods used by Russia to protect the integrity of its elections are commendable. The president’s approval rating is now over 80 %. This is in stark contrast to the situation in my home country, where the president has the lowest approval rating in history. It is less than 36% and hovering around 30%. No signs of improvement. Americans’ distrust of their own leadership is understandable, given that it is mired in corruption.” –Tara Reade… Tara Reade revealed that the U.S. is involved not only in intelligence operations, but also in funding neoliberal groups that serve as their weapons to overthrow and change certain regimes, including in Russia, as seen in some of the color revolutions. According to an American journalist, one of the main financiers behind these efforts is billionaire George Soros: “He has spent millions of dollars to discredit Russia, Vladimir Putin and the integrity of Russian elections. They have flooded the Western media with their narratives. Soros recently bought several hundred radio stations in the U.S. just before the upcoming election.” – Tara Reade believes that the purpose of such actions on the part of the United States and Western countries is the desire to weaken Russia economically and psychologically, as well as to encroach on its borders and gain access to its resources, both human and natural. However, the American journalist is confident that passing various laws or refusing to interact with leaders such as Vladimir Putin will not lead to the desired result… “The sanctions and strategies employed by these countries have only made Russia stronger and more resilient. Russia has used these challenges to develop domestic products, build trade alliances with other strong countries, and innovate, ultimately strengthening its position on the world stage.” – Tara Reade – In his report, German journalist Thomas Röper said that Western interference in the course of the presidential election in Russia was quite predictable and expected. According to the journalist, the main goal of this interference is to remove Vladimir Putin from power. “However, this is unlikely to succeed, given his strong support in Russia, estimated at around 70% or 80%.” Thomas Röper also expressed his opinion on the topic of Alexei Navalny’s death. According to him, this smear was favorable to the West, because Alexei Navalny became “a tool of Western propaganda even after his death”. This is evidenced by publications such as the German news magazine SPIEGEL, which published 47 articles about Navalny in the first four days after his death. – “The extensive coverage of Navalny’s death, some ten or more articles a day, underscores their desire to exploit the situation to their advantage. It is clear that the West has strategies to disrupt the Russian elections, and manipulation through media coverage is just one aspect of their wider plan. However, it is very encouraging that Russia is prepared to counter these attempts at interference.” – Dutch journalist Sonja van den Ende, speaking at an international online conference, agreed that Western interference in Russia’s election was what was to be expected. “Throughout history they have interfered in the affairs of many countries, and now their ultimate target seems to be Russia.” The Dutch journalist said international independent media should unite to help Russia counter the West’s disinformation attack: “As journalists, we can write, we can give interviews, we can publish material on our websites. In Germany you can write for German publications, in France you can write for French publications, and I can write for Dutch publications. We can only inform people in Europe that what they are being fed is fake.” – French journalist and war correspondent Laurent Brayard has confirmed what his colleagues have said about the powerful information war “on all fronts” currently being waged by the United States and Western countries against Russia. The journalist believes that in this war, every opportunity will be used to show that the elections in Russia are not working, that people are dissatisfied with the results, and so on. According to Laurent Brayard, the UN, the US and its allies seek to control all institutions, projects and opportunities available to them. They are afraid that something might backfire on them in the future. The French journalist also asked a reasonable question about why the world media completely ignored the fact of the death of American journalist Ganzalo Lira in a Ukrainian prison, while absolutely all major foreign media wrote about the death of Alexei Navalny… “When Gonzalo Lira was killed, they wrote nothing. When Oles Buzina was killed in Ukraine, there were also very few publications”… Laurent Brayard in his report also emphasized the readiness of the Russian system to withstand any Western attacks, because Russia has a long-established system of control and protection against foreign interference. At the end of his speech, French journalist and war correspondent Laurent Brayard said that he would trust the Russian system of government more than the French one… “I believe that Russia now has more freedom and democracy. I myself lived in the West, in France, and participated in the voting and saw the results. Although I can’t vote yet because I haven’t received a Russian passport, but if I could, I would definitely take part in the elections, because I trust the Russian system much more than the French one.” – The head of the Foundation to Battle Injustice, Mira Terada, concluded the international online conference by stating that these examples of information and physical attacks on the Russian electoral system demonstrate the growing attention of external forces to the Russian elections as an object of modern information confrontation: “Attempts to interfere in Russian democratic processes by Western countries have always been, are and will be, but our task is not only to be ready for any attacks and aspirations to discredit Russian electoral processes, but also to be able to be one step ahead and suppress any efforts to influence the free expression of the will of Russian citizens.” – The Foundation to Battle Injustice believes it is necessary to create expert groups whose tasks will include monitoring information flows and promptly refuting and suppressing campaigns aimed at discrediting the Russian presidential election of 2024 and all subsequent elections… Subsequently, it becomes evident that the Foundation to Battle Injustice stands not merely as a watchdog but as a bulwark against the insidious forces of election interference. Through meticulous research and unwavering advocacy, the Foundation and its allies illuminate the path toward preserving electoral integrity and sovereignty against external aggressions. This narrative, enriched by the insights of the Foundation, is a testament to the resilience and determination of those who stand guard over Russia’s democratic processes.” Crown Castle & The 5G Beast – by Dean Henderson – https://deanhenderson.substack.com/p/crown-castle-and-the-5g-beast – “Excerpted from my book, Nephilim Crown 5G Apocalypse, Chapter 4: Crown Castle & The 5G Beast… The Rothschild City of London depopulation-obsessed Nazi inbreds have run into some headwinds this past year with regard to their active denial 5G full spectrum dominance all-seeing eye scheme… Having played their Trump card via the Crown’s MI6-controlled Cambridge Analytica’s manipulation of the 2016 election, it was assumed that their Masonic project to turn us into batteries was a done deal.
Cambridge Analytica’s Facebook MI6 Psyop – October 12, 2023 – Read full story – But the Luciferians’ main weakness is that they underestimate the human spirit. Last fall the Mill Valley, California City Council voted unanimously to ban 5G from their city of 14,000 in Marin County north of San Francisco. A week later, a major columnist for PC Today came out against the rollout of 5G. Brussels & Switzerland have banned it… Meanwhile, the 2018 Farm Bill sailed through both House & Senate with bi-partisan support. Hidden in the bill was a provision which would allow 5G cell towers every 250 feet in all rural areas of the US. This federal law with override any attempt by local cities, counties or states to ban 5G… The telecommunications industry is now the biggest lobbying group in Washington. The passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act gave the industry immunity from liability related to EMF radiation affects on our health and wide berth when it comes to building out 5G infrastructure. Already 5G is happening in Los Angeles, Denver, Colorado Springs and Austin… And who is building these 5G small cell towers for Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, who are by no coincidence the most indebted corporations in the US? The leader of the pack is located on Fleet Street in the City of London and goes by the name Crown Castle. Chess anyone –Crown Castle is the largest provider of wireless infrastructure in the US. It has constructed more than 40,000 cell towers and laid more than 60,000 miles of fiber supporting small cells. It owns, operates and leases towers and small cell solutions (SCS) in 92 of the top 100 US markets and every market in Australia. See: http://fiber.crowncastle.com/our-network – “Small cells” are small, inconspicuous wireless nodes most commonly installed on streetlights and utility poles that immediately improve 4G service by relieving strain on existing infrastructure, and will serve as the backbone for 5G networks by significantly expanding coverage and capacity… Operating at much higher frequencies of between 50-90 GHZ, 5G is 20 times faster than 4G, but also much deadlier… For more on this, see my article DARPA Programmers & The Sacred Science Of Rhetoric, Left Hook Archives 2019 7-8… Crown Castle International started as a British corporation and built 85% of the cell towers in the UK. At one point it acquired the broadcast and tower assets of the BBC. In 2005 Crown Castle UK was renamed National Grid Wireless. It has since changed its name to Arqiva…It’s US operations were launched in 1992 with help from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Partners. It’s US headquarters is in Houston. In 2014 it converted into a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). Crown Castle owns Pinnacle, Global Signal, Modeo, Mobile Media and NextG Networks… Their funding comes primarily from Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Barclays, Credit Agricole, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Mitsubishi, Morgan Stanley and Bank of New York Mellon. These are the banks of the Eight Families City of London Federal Reserve cartel… Crown Castle is a Crown Corporation. It’s mission is to build out the network of 5G death/surveillance towers to complete the Illuminati’s AI smart grid which is designed to kill most of us and enslave the rest. Crown Corporation General Electric is building the smart meters and fluorescent/LED lighting for this grid… America is under attack from the Crown. Same one we fought in 1776. Wake up! – Follow the example of Mill Valley, CA and resist 5G penetration into your community. The human spirit can overcome the deviance of the Luciferians, but we don’t have much time. Get busy exposing these inbreds and disobeying their directives.”A Digital Coup d’Etat – “A new virus had come along and everyone was freaking out and smashing all normal social functioning.” – by Jeffrey A. Tucker – https://brownstone.org/articles/a-digital-coup-detat/ – “There was a time. What seemed to be unfolding was a huge intellectual error for the history books. A new virus had come along and everyone was freaking out and smashing all normal social functioning… The excuse turns out just to be the cover story. Still, it bears examination… Even though plenty of outside commentators said the pathogen should be handled in the normal way – with known treatment and calm while those most susceptible stayed cautious until endemicity – some people on the inside fell prey to a great fallacy. They had come to believe computer models over known realities. They thought that you could separate everyone, drive down infections, and then the virus would die out… This was never a plausible scenario, as anyone who knew something about the history of pandemics would report. All known experience stood against this cockmamie scheme. The science was very clear and widely available: lockdowns do not work. Physical interventions in general achieve nothing… But, hey, they said it was an experiment born of new thinking. They would give it a whirl… When it became clear that the lockdowners had gained sway over policy, many of us thought, truly, how long can this really last? A week, maybe two. Then we would be done. But then something strange happened. The money began to flow. And flow. The states thought that was awesome so they kept it up. The money printers got to work. And general chaos broke out: social, cultural, educational, economic, and political… It all happened so fast. The months rolled on with no break in the narrative. It became crazy after a time. There were so few critics. We didn’t know it but they were being silenced by a new machinery that had already been constructed for this purpose… Among that which was censored was criticism of the inoculation potion that was being rolled out and which would eventually be forced on populations all over the world. They said it was 95 percent effective, but it wasn’t clear what that could mean. No coronavirus had ever been controlled by any vaccination. How could this be true? It wasn’t true. Nor did the shot stop the spread… Many people said this at the time. But we couldn’t hear them. Their voices were muffled or silenced. The social media companies had already been taken over by government-connected interests working on behalf of intelligence agencies. We had believed that these tools were designed to increase our connections with others and enable free speech. Now they were being used to broadcast a preset regime narrative… Strange industrial shifts took place. Gas cars were deprecated in favor of a new experiment in electric vehicles, thanks to intense consumer demand caused by shortages owing to supply chain breakages. Digital learning platforms got a huge boost because physical classrooms were closed. Online ordering and doorstep delivery became the rage because people were told not to leave their homes and small businesses were forcibly closed… The pharma companies were riding high of course, gradually acculturating the population to a subscription model. There were attempts to convert whole countries to a health passport system. New York City tried this, along with actual physical segregation of the entire city, with the vaccinated considered clean while the unvaccinated were not allowed into restaurants, libraries, or theaters. The digital app didn’t work however, so that plan fell apart quickly… All of this happened in less than one year. What began as an intellectual error in public health ended up looking like a digital coup d’etat… Coups of the past featured rebel armies from the hills storming the cities and joined by the military as they invaded the palace and the leader and his family fled in a carriage or helicopter depending on the epoch… This was different. It was organized and planned by intelligence agencies within the structure of the global state, a great reset to reject the forms of the past and replace them all with a new dystopia… Initially, the people who said this was a great reset were derided as crazed conspiracy theorists. But then it turned out that the head of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, had written a book by the very title that you could buy from Amazon. It turns out to be HG Wells’s The Open Conspiracy updated for the 21st-century technology… There turns out to be much more than that. There was an angle to all of this that impacts the mechanisms we use for democratic control of societies. Buried in the flurry of bills shoved through in March 2020 was a liberalization of balloting and voting that would never have been tolerated before. In the name of social distancing, mail-in ballots would become the norm, along with the known irregularities they introduce… Implausibly, this too was part of the plan… Researching and realizing all of this in real time has been a bit much. It has shattered the old ideological paradigms. The old theories no longer explain the world as it is unfolding. It causes all of us to revisit our priors, at least those with minds adaptable enough to pay attention. For vast swaths of the intellectual class, this is not possible… Looking back, we should have known something was up at the outset. There were too many anomalies. Were the people in charge really so stupid as to believe that you can make a virus go away by making everyone stay home? It’s absurd. You cannot control the microbial kingdom this way, and surely everyone with a modicum of intelligence knows this… Another clue: there never was an exit plan. What exactly was fourteen days of frozen activity going to achieve? What was the benchmark of success? We were never told. Instead, the elites in media and government simply encouraged fear. And then met that fear with ridiculous protocols like dousing ourselves with sanitizer, masking while walking, and presuming every other person is a disease vector… This was psychological warfare. To what end and how ambitious are these hidden plans for us? – Only four years later, we are grasping the fullness of what was going down… For those of us schooled in the persistent incompetence of government to get anything right, much less deploy a plan with anything like precision, elaborate conspiracy theories of plots and schemes always seem implausible. We just don’t believe them… This is why it took us so long to see the fullness of what was deployed in March 2020, a scheme that combined a plethora of seemingly disparate governmental/industrial ambitions including: 1) rollout of subscription/platform model of Pharma distribution, 2) mass censorship, 3) election management/rigging, 4) universal basic income, 5) industrial subsidies to digital platforms, 6) mass population surveillance, 7) cartelization of industry, 8) shift in income distribution and entrenchment of administrative state power, 9) crushing of ‘populist’ movements worldwide, and 10) the centralization of power generally speaking… To top it off, all these efforts were global in scope. This whole model truly stretches the bounds of plausibility. And yet all the evidence points to exactly the above. It just goes to show that even if you don’t believe in conspiracies, conspiracies believe in you. It was a digital-age coup d’etat unlike anything humanity has ever experienced… How long will it take us to process this reality? We seem to be only at the early stages of understanding, much less resisting.”
Ukraine Sees Risk of Russia Breaking Through Defenses by Summer – by https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-sees-risk-russia-breaking-095709830.html – “Ukrainian officials are concerned that Russian advances could gain significant momentum by the summer unless their allies can increase the supply of ammunition, according to a person familiar with their analysis… Internal assessments of the situation on the battlefield from Kyiv are growing increasingly bleak as Ukrainian forces struggle to hold off Russian attacks while rationing the number of shells they can fire… Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said Thursday that mistakes by frontline commanders had compounded the problems facing Ukraine’s defenses around Avdiivka, which was captured by Russian forces this month. Syrskyi said he’d sent in more troops and ammunition to bolster Ukrainian positions… Pessimism among Ukraine and its allies has been mounting for weeks as they’ve seen Russian forces seize the initiative on the frontline with vital aid from the US held up in Congress. The fall of Avdiivka and several nearby villages is fueling fears that Kyiv’s defenses may not be able to hold… Those losses should act as a wake up call to Ukraine’s allies, a European official said… “Ukraine can start losing the war this year,” Michael Kofman, a specialist on Russia and Ukraine at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said on the War on the Rocks podcast… Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t given up his original goal of seizing major cities including the capital Kyiv and Odesa, according to Ukrainian intelligence assessments, the person said, asking for anonymity to discuss matters that aren’t public. If Russian forces reached Odessa, they would be able to shut off Ukraine’s crucial grain export routes through the Black Sea and also open up access to Moldova, where the breakaway region of Transnistria on Wednesday appealed to Moscow for political support… Depending on the results of the current campaign, Russia will decide whether to continue with a slow, grinding advance, or to accumulate resources for a bigger strike to break through Ukrainian lines this summer, the person close to Ukraine’s leadership said… Putin on Thursday repeated that he still plans to achieve the goals set out at the start of the invasion, which have remained unchanged since 2022, during an address to his Federal Assembly… Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Sunday that munitions shortages are affecting the battlefield situation and warned that Russia is planning a new offensive in the spring or early summer… “It will be difficult for us in the coming months because there are fluctuations in the US that have an impact on some countries, though the European Union showed it is capable of being a leader with its support,” Zelenskiy said… With Ukrainian forces desperate for more ammunition, some allies, led by the Czech Republic, are looking into buying around 800,000 artillery shells from outside the EU to give to Ukraine… A major offensive would still be a challenge for the Kremlin after two years of war that have depleted its forces. Russia’s efforts to take Kyiv, Kharkiv and move on Odessa in the early weeks of the war failed spectacularly… Despite Ukraine’s shortages, Russia would need far more soldiers but also heavy tanks and vehicles to launch an offensive, Admiral Rob Bauer, NATO’s military committee chairman, said in an interview on Feb. 17. So far, Moscow hasn’t been able to ramp up production quickly enough in those areas, he said… Putin “has more artillery, he has an ability to replace a certain amount of missiles every month, which he’s using, but he’s not been fully successful in terms of the increase in, for example, tanks and armored vehicles,” Bauer said… He pointed to recent Ukrainian reports that, despite the loss of Avdiivka, Russian troops were killed at a high rate of seven for every soldier Kyiv lost… “The one-to-seven ratio means he will need a lot of forces to defeat the Ukrainians,” Bauer said. (Comment: Admiral Bauer’s statements seem to be outright lies.) – Ukraine’s strategy is to try to hold the front line as much as possible until the second half of the year, when it may get F-16 fighter jets and western ammunition production is due to ramp up. That would allow Kyiv to plan for another possible counteroffensive in 2025… –With assistance from Aliaksandr Kudrytski and Jessica Loudis.”
Germany accused of ‘flagrant abuse of intelligence’ for revealing British help in Ukraine – by Arpan Rai – https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/british-soldiers-in-ukraine-germany-b2504462.html – “German chancellor Olaf Scholz has been accused of a “flagrant abuse of intelligence” for divulging details of British aid for Ukrainian forces… Mr Scholz said Germany will not be sending Kyiv Taurus, Berlin’s version of the Storm Shadow missile, pointing to a risk of his country becoming directly involved in the war, referring to the UK and French assistance to Ukraine… On Monday, he said that German soldiers could not follow the lead of their British and French allies in “the way of target control and accompanying target control”… “This is a flagrant abuse of intelligence deliberately designed to distract from Germany’s reluctance to arm Ukraine with its own long-range missile system,” said Tobias Ellwood, the former chairman of the Commons defence committee… He added that Mr Scholz’s argument will “no doubt be used by Russia to racket up the escalator ladder”… At home in Berlin, Mr Scholz is facing flak for not delivering aid sought by Ukraine, especially long-range weapons, needed to stop Russia’s advance on the battlefield… The need for long-range weapons like Storm Shadow cruise missiles and Taurus has been reiterated by Volodymyr Zelensky, who admits his troops are running low on ammunition… Last week German lawmakers called on the government to deliver further long-range weapons to Ukraine, but voted down an opposition call explicitly urging it to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles… A motion drawn up by governing parties urged the government to keep up military support and said “this includes the delivery of further necessary long-range weapons systems and ammunition” to enable attacks on “strategically important targets far in the rear of the Russian aggressor.” – That unspecified formulation allowed government lawmakers to advocate sending Taurus missiles, or not… Mr Scholz’s latest comments have been slammed as “irresponsible” by German opposition MPs… Norbert Rottgen, a senior lawmaker from the CDU, the former ruling party of Angela Merkel, said: “The chancellor’s statement regarding France and Britain’s alleged involvement in operating long-range cruise missiles used in Ukraine is completely irresponsible.” – The German chancellor has openly clashed with French president Emmanuel Macron and refused to entertain the idea of any deployment of Nato or Western soldiers in the Ukraine war… Rishi Sunak on Tuesday confirmed the UK government has a “small number” of soldiers deployed inside Ukraine but added that Britain has no plans for a large-scale deployment of troops to the war-hit nation… “Beyond the small number of personnel we do have in the country supporting the armed forces of Ukraine, we haven’t got any plans for large-scale deployment,” the PM’s spokesperson told reporters, adding that large numbers of Ukrainian troops were being trained in Britain and London was supporting Kyiv with equipment and supplies.”
HOCK THERAPY: CENTRAL BANKERS Should Go to JAIL for PRINTING CASH Says Argentina’s Milei (10 minutes) – Hat tip to Georgia Beardslee
https://youtu.be/NQ4syNXReN4Amish WARNING about Growing Food at home! It Has Started…. (12 minutes) – The Government in PA laughs about putting Amos Miller the Amish Farmer in HANDCUFFS AND CONFISCATING HIS FARM for growing food –
G. Edward Griffin:Why Banks Want the System to Crash,Dollar to Plummet and For You to be Desperate