Puppet MastersS

Bad Guys

The West sets a disturbing new precedent over murdered Russian military blogger

Vladlen Tatarsky
© Evgeny Biyatov/SputnikFlowers are placed near a portrait of Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, (real name Maxim Fomin), who was killed in a cafe explosion in St. Petersburg on April 2, 2023.
Apparently terrorism and murdering reporters get a free pass if the Western establishment doesn't like the target's profile - or if the perpetrator risks being linked to an ally.

The radio silence from the West is deafening in the wake of the murder of military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky at a cafe in St. Petersburg. Tatarsky was killed after being handed a statue by a young woman, Darya Trepova, that subsequently blew up the entire venue.

For all of the Western officials' differences with Russia, can they really not at least bring themselves to condemn a blatant act of terrorism in the middle of a major city center? We're talking here about the same folks who spent two decades kicking down doors around the world under the guise of fighting a "Global War on Terrorism."

Just a few years ago, cartoonists and writers for the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were gunned down in broad daylight at their Paris office by jihadists who objected to the publication's portrayal of Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. Western leaders roundly condemned that terrorist act, standing firmly on the principle that you couldn't just go around murdering people who conveyed thoughts and views that you didn't like. Many of these leaders even traveled to Paris to march alongside a massive crowd in defense of freedom of expression and the press.

Now, however, they can't even bother to muster the most meager defense of the same principles in the wake of Tatarsky's murder in an attack that investigators claim is linked to Ukraine.

People

Iran, Saudi Arabia vow to bring 'security, stability' to Middle East

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Faisal bin Farhan
© AFPIran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (right) and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan shake hands in Beijing on April 6.
Top diplomats from Middle East rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia met in Beijing on April 6, pledging to work together to bring "security and stability" to their turbulent region following a surprise China-brokered deal. In a joint statement released after talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the two sides vowed to continue to work together to improve ties.

Bad Guys

Seize property to build wind and solar farms, says JP Morgan chief

Jamie Dimon
© Marco Bello/BloombergMr Dimon said the window for averting the most costly impacts of global climate change is closing.
The chief executive of JP Morgan has suggested that governments should seize private land to build wind and solar farms in order to meet net zero targets.

Jamie Dimon, the longstanding boss of the Wall Street titan who donates to the Democratic Party, said green energy projects must be fast-tracked as the window for averting the most costly impacts of global climate change is closing.


Comment: That darn window. It's been stuck in the closing rapidly position for the past 25 years at least. Someone close it already!


In his annual shareholder letter, Mr Dimon said: "Permitting reforms are desperately needed to allow investment to be done in any kind of timely way.

"We may even need to evoke eminent domain - we simply are not getting the adequate investments fast enough for grid, solar, wind and pipeline initiatives."

Eminent domain is when a government or state agency carries out a compulsory purchase of private property for public use and compensates the asset holder.

Comment: These talking points are straight out of The Great Reset:


Telephone

Pranksters Vovan & Lexus pry shocking admission on Ukraine from France's Hollande

Francois Hollande france president
© Getty Images / Matthias HangstFormer President of France, Francois Hollande
The former French president confirmed that France and the EU are "participants" in the Ukraine conflict

Francois Hollande has confirmed that the European Union and France are directly participating in the armed conflict in Ukraine, despite Paris officially denying such claims.

The former French president unwittingly spoke at length about the situation in Ukraine with Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus, who were pretending to be former Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenko.

During the conversation, Hollande declared that he was on Kiev's side and "fully supports Ukraine," adding that "wherever I can speak, I always ask to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs."

Comment: Sad when some of the best political intel is being produced by a comedy team:


Rocket

Dozens of rockets pound Israel from Lebanon in most serious escalation since 2006 war

Rockets Pound Israel From Lebanon
The prior days of clashes and tensions at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque are spiraling toward broader conflict in Gaza and along Israel's northern border as on Thursday afternoon a barrage of rockets was fired from Lebanon.

Rocket sirens have been sounding in the towns of Betzet and Shlomi in the Western Galilee, close to the border, while the IDF says its Iron Dome system intercepted at least one of the projectiles. There are emerging reports of at least person wounded by shrapnel on the Israeli side.

No group has claimed responsibility for the rockets, but Hezbollah is the prime armed group operating in southern Lebanon. Some reports say the rocket salvo was launched from Palestinian refugee camps, and thus might not have been approved by Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia group backed by Iran.

According to The Times of Israel, it's a likely directly response to the recent Israeli police raids on al-Aqsa Mosque during Muslim holy days:
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the launches came just hours after Lebanon's Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah said it would support "all measures" Palestinian groups may take against Israel after clashes at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Cards

Robert F Kennedy Jr. registers to run for president as Democrat

RFK jr
Robert F Kennedy Jr is reportedly going to run for president. The son of late Sen. Robert F Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy registered his presidential campaign with the Federal Election Commission.

According to RawStory, Kennedy filed his paperwork with the FEC on Wednesday afternoon, which indicated that he would run as a Democrat. His committee is reportedly called Team Kennedy, and is testing to see how much potential support he would receive for the run.

John E. Sullivan, a Florida-based attorney, is serving as the campaign's treasurer, and confirmed to the outlet that the presidential run and the FEC filing are both true.

Network

Best of the Web: Syria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye: Truces, not peace

syria saudi arabia turkiye turkey yemen
© The CradleAs reconciliation efforts sweep through West Asia to mend ties between old foes, the new China- and Russia-brokered deals will not usher in real peace until the US stops prolonging conflict
The mid-March Moscow summit between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was notable for being publicized in advance. Since the outbreak of the Syrian war, Assad's foreign visits have not been publicly revealed until after they have occurred. This small but significant detail suggests the Syrian president has a newfound confidence in the political and security conditions outside his national borders.

While the participants kept a tight lid on leaks, informed sources from both Moscow and Damascus disclosed to The Cradle that the Syrian and Russian presidents discussed the following issues:

Economic ties: With a focus on Syria's energy sector, Putin expressed Russia's readiness to invest in the production of electricity in the Levantine state, which post-conflict, suffers from a 75 percent deficit in production. Putin also expressed Moscow's willingness to help Syria meet its vital grain needs.

Comment: See also: Pepe Escobar: String of pearls: Yemen could be the Arab hub of the Maritime Silk Road


Fire

Fire rips through building near Kremlin as Putin held talks with Belarus President Lukashenko

fire defence moscow
Smoke was gushing from third floor windows in a defence ministry building at 19 Znamenka Street, Moscow
A fire ripped through the Russian Ministry of Defence tonight, just a short distance from the Kremlin.

The blaze broke out as Vladimir Putin was holding talks with the Belarusian despot Alexander Lukashenko.


Comment: Lukashenko is the President of Belarus who, just a few years ago the West was courting for partnership, until Lukashenko turned down the Covid bribes to lockdown his country and then signaled his alliance with Russia.


Dark smoke was seen gushing from the third-floor windows in the defence ministry headquarters at 19 Znamenka Street. Footage shared by state media outlets on social media showed a plume of spiraling smoke. Around 50 people were evacuated as flames ripped through the headquarters.

Emergency services arrived and the small blaze was put out shortly after it started. There were no casualties, the Russian TASS news agency reported.

Comment: Below is just a selection of some of the suspicious fires and explosions reported in Russia of late:


Arrow Down

On the collapse of Antiquity and the Bank Panic

danny haiphong michael hudson economist
The Left Lens' Danny Haiphong (L) Economist Michael Hudson (R)
The following is a transcript of Danny Haiphong's interview with economist Michael Hudson on Haiphong's The Left Lens YouTube channel. They discuss the US banking sector collapse and the deep connections between global economy and geopolitics.

***

DANNY HAIPHONG: Good afternoon everyone, good afternoon. You are tuning in to another episode of The Left Lens. How are you all doing this afternoon?

I am joined by Economist Michael Hudson, as you can see here. I am very honored to have him. How are you doing this afternoon, Michael?

MICHAEL HUDSON: Pretty good. The weather is nice. The sun is shining.

DANNY HAIPHONG: Indeed, indeed. So we have a lot to get to. So everyone, you know what to do. Be sure to like the stream as you're coming in. Hit that share button and share it around where you can. Subscribe to this channel. And of course if you want to support this channel you know where to go. Go to the links in the description, patreon.com/dannyhaiphong being the best place.

But let's get right to it, Michael. I'm going to pull up โ€” you have a new book that has recently released called The Collapse of Antiquity: Greece and Rome as Civilization's Oligarchic Turning Point.

I'm going to pull up your website. Everyone can find this link in the description of this video. But this book traces the roots of this creditor oligarchy.

Right now there is this banking collapse. We've had a few banks in the United States collapse. There's a lot of concern after Credit Suisse was absorbed by UBS, the Swiss bank.

And there's a lot of worry in the financial markets, among these large monopoly creditors. What is going on, and how does your book help us understand how we got to this place?

Binoculars

The World Economic Forum and the West's next act?

Western governments
© Hebestreit/Bundesregierung via Getty ImagesWestern governments are filled to the brim with people entirely lacking in real-world experience or specialized knowledge. In recent decades, a noticeable trend in the West has been to elevate politicians, as young and inexperienced as possible, into offices as high as possible. Pictured: National leaders, including US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau strike a deep, contemplative pose at the G20 summit on November 16, 2022 in Nusa Dua, Indonesia.
If you are a consumer today, inflation is only one of the problems harming you. As prices go up, quality continues to go down. What most stores have to offer you might crassly be called "cheap crap." In fact, economic writer Charles Hugh Smith has repeatedly warned that the "crapification" of the U.S. economy is the natural result of a "neoliberal-hyper-financialization-hyper-globalization model," in which quasi-monopolist manufacturers mass-produce goods with the cheapest possible components, while customers with scant other buying options are forced to accept that few purchases will last.

"Planned obsolescence," combined with a free market "in name only," creates a rigged system in which downstream consumers are forced to pay more over time, while owning little that will maintain value for long. Appliances that used to work for decades now barely make it through legally required warranty periods. Metal tools that could be passed from one generation to the next now tend to rust before they can be used on more than a handful of jobs. When expensive electronic devices survive more than two years, cash-strapped households breathe a sigh of relief. Just about anybody who is old enough to remember the 9/11 terrorist attacks can tell a story about some product that was so much cheaper, yet so much more reliable, when it was purchased long ago.