Puppet MastersS


Chess

NATO looks north for expansion

Scott Ritter
Energy Intelligence
Tue, 19 Apr 2022 17:26 UTC
nato flag
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted Finland and Sweden, two long-standing neutral nations, to actively consider joining Nato. But a further expansion of Nato could only stoke Russia's concerns about its national security — concerns that underpinned the Ukraine crisis.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, both Sweden and Finland have begun to actively consider dumping their long-held neutrality in favor of joining Nato. Public support for Nato membership has almost doubled since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to about 50% in Sweden and 60% in Finland. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has assured both nations that their applications would be welcome, and Nato members including the US, UK, Germany, France and Turkey have expressed support. Finland has indicated it may formally apply in time for a June Nato summit in Madrid.

The Russian reaction has been strongly negative, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warning that Russia would have to "rebalance the situation" with its own measures were Sweden and Finland to join Nato, and foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warning of "military and political consequences."
Read More...
Megaphone

The UN must investigate allegations of atrocities by US-led forces in Syria

Bradley Blankenship
RT
Thu, 21 Apr 2022 17:12 UTC
raqqa
© AP Photo/Gabriel Chaim
As we can all admit, the international order is falling into disarray, and a formal inquiry into allegations of atrocities committed by the United States in Syria must be a prerequisite to upholding international law.

According to a Tuesday report by Press TV, the Syrian government has sent letters to UN officials asking for such a formal investigation into alleged atrocities committed by the US-led coalition in the city of Raqqa.

"The time has come to shed light on the humanitarian, political, and legal aspects of the matter," Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote in two identical messages, addressed to UN Secretary General António Guterres and to the rotating president of the UN Security Council, Barbara Woodward.

The ministry noted that virtually the entire city was razed by US bombing runs that took place between June and October 2017, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths.
Read More...
Meteor

Has the West just killed the G20?

Sergey Strokan
RT
Thu, 21 Apr 2022 14:41 UTC
g20 italy
With their demarches against Russia, Western members of the global club are demolishing its purpose

April 20, 2022 has every chance of going down in the history of modern international relations as the day that led to the sudden demise of the G20, which represents the leading economies of the Western and non-Western world.

The events taking place in Washington as part of the meeting - during which the finance ministers of the 'The Big 20', as the group is unofficially referred to, were supposed to look for collective answers to the main challenges facing the world economy - lost their meaning amid the grandiose scandal that broke out in the American capital.

US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak immediately announced they would boycott any G20 events attended by Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. Thus, the dialogue between the leading economies of the East and West - for which, in fact, the '20' was created at one time - was disrupted even before it began.
Read More...
Arrow Down

To fight Russia, Europe's regimes risk impoverishment & recession

Ryan McMaken
Mises Institute
Tue, 19 Apr 2022 00:00 UTC
Europe recession
European politicians are eager to be seen as "doing something" to oppose the Russian regime following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Most European regimes have wisely concluded — Polish and Baltic recklessness notwithstanding — that provoking a military conflict with nuclear-armed Russia is not a good idea. So, "doing something" consists primarily of trying to punish Moscow by cutting Europeans off from much-needed Russian oil and gas.

The problem is this tactic doesn't do much to deter Russia in anything other than the short term because Russian oil can turn to numerous markets outside of Europe. Most of the world, after all, has declined to participate in the US and European embargoes and trade sanctions, opting for more measured approaches instead.

By limiting energy sources for Europeans, however, Europe's regimes are likely to succeed in pushing up the cost of living for Europeans while doing little to cut off Russia's economy from global markets.
Read More...
Jet5

Battle for the Donbass has begun — Ukraine


RT
Mon, 18 Apr 2022 08:20 UTC
A Ukrainian flag in Mariupol
© AP Photo/Alexei AlexandrovA Ukrainian flag in Mariupol, Monday, April 18, 2022.
Kiev says the "second phase of the war" has commenced

The second phase of the Russian offensive in Ukraine and the Donbass has started, President Volodymyr Zelensky and his advisers claimed on Monday evening. Kiev said there were reports of heavy fighting on the Donetsk, Lugansk, and Kharkov fronts, and that Ukrainian troops were holding the line.
"We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbass, which they have been preparing for a long time," Zelensky said in a video posted on Telegram on Monday evening.

"A large part of the Russian army is now dedicated to this offensive," he added.
His chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, said earlier that the "second phase of the war" had started in the east, but urged Ukrainians to "believe in our army, it is very strong."

Russian forces are attacking "along almost the entire front line," said Alexey Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council. "Fortunately, our military is holding on."

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Quenelle - Golden

Solomon Islands signed China security pact with 'eyes open' despite criticism and meddling from US, Australia


France24
Wed, 20 Apr 2022 10:24 UTC
china flag
© Charley Piringi, APThe Chinese national flag flies outside the Chinese Embassy in Honiara, Solomon Islands, April 1, 2022.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said Wednesday his government signed a controversial security pact with China "with our eyes open" but refused to say when it may be published.

The deal, announced by Beijing a day earlier, has faced sharp criticism from the United States and Australia, which fear the pact could lead to China gaining a military foothold in the South Pacific.

Sogavare told parliament it was an "honour and privilege" to announce that the deal had been signed by officials in Honiara and Beijing "a few days ago".
Read More...
Light Saber

Russia successfully test fires 'unique' unparalleled missile - Putin


RT
Wed, 20 Apr 2022 14:50 UTC
ICBM russia unique missile
© Ministry of Defence of the Russian FederationNew ICBM launched in final tests before adoption by military
Russia's new RS-28 Sarmat Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile was launched successfully from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the north of the country, the military reported on Wednesday. The test launch was the first in a series of trials required for the adoption of the new weapon by Russia's strategic forces.

The missile flew across the whole country, touching down at a test site in Russia's Far East. "Inert warheads touched down in a designated area at the Kura training ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula," the military said.

The new silo-based strategic missile is set to replace the R-36M/R-36M2 Voevoda ICBMs. Compared to its predecessor, the Sarmat can carry more weapons, as well as be fitted with new types of warheads, including "hypersonic glider units", the military noted.
Read More...
Megaphone

China blasts West's theft of foreign reserves as a 'violation of sovereignty', says US sending weapons to Ukraine worsening humanitarian crisis


RT
Wed, 20 Apr 2022 14:21 UTC
Zhang Jun
FILE PHOTO: Chinese ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun Beijing’s UN ambassador has blasted arbitrary seizures of countries’ assets
China has called on Western states to refrain from freezing the foreign reserves of other nations, saying that the measure undermines world economic stability.

The Chinese ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, made the remarks at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Tuesday. The call comes a month after roughly half of Russia's foreign exchange reserves, worth over $300 billion, were frozen by Western countries as part of sanctions over Moscow's military operation in Ukraine.

"Arbitrary freezes of foreign exchange reserves of other countries also constitute a violation of sovereignty, and is tantamount to weaponizing economic interdependence," Zhang said.

"Such practices undermine the foundation of world economic stability, and bring new uncertainties and risks to international relations," the envoy said, adding that they should be abandoned as soon as possible.
Read More...
Sherlock

Leaked files expose Britain's covert infiltration of Palestinian refugee camps

Kit Klarenberg
The Cradle
Wed, 20 Apr 2022 20:00 UTC
palestine lebanon
© The CradleUnder the guise of improving the plight of Lebanon's Palestinian refugees, an initiative by the British Foreign Office has ulterior motives that impact Lebanese domestic politics.

The British government has infiltrated Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps, ostensibly to use those demographics to political advantage. Otherwise, why not assist them through UNRWA?
In February, Lebanese journalist Mohammed Shoaib was arrested on suspicion of collusion with Israel's Mossad spy agency. The writer who worked for Al-Jaras, confessed that the notorious spy agency secretly paid him to author "dozens" of anti-Hezbollah articles, receiving a paltry $30 to $70 per article.

In particular, Shoaib was tasked with writing hit jobs on the "Iranian occupation" of Lebanon, and falsely linking Hezbollah with the August 2020 Beirut port blast, drug trafficking, and murder of political activists.

It is also alleged that Mossad specifically requested his work incite hostility towards Palestinian refugees in the country who number almost 300,000. In all, Lebanon hosts more than 1.7 million refugees and has the largest per capita population of refugees in the world.
Read More...
Easter Egg

Staffer dressed as Easter Bunny herds Biden away from answering reporter's question

Steven Nelson
New York Post
Wed, 20 Apr 2022 18:17 UTC
biden easter bunny reporters
© New York Post/TwitterStaffer guides Biden away from unscripted reporters' questions at the White House Easter Egg Roll on April 18, 2022
A staffer dressed in an Easter Bunny costume intervened Monday to stop President Biden from answering a reporter's question on the White House lawn.

Biden, hosting the first White House Easter Egg Roll of his presidency as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, began to answer Afghan reporter Nazira Karimi's inquiry before the bunny showed up and cut him off.

Event attendee Thomas C. Dillon tweeted his footage of the interaction, which wasn't viewable to most spectators.

"Joe Biden quickly interrupted by the Easter Bunny after he starts to comment on #Afghanistan and #Pakistan at the White House," Dillion captioned an 11-second clip.

Comment: Social media couldn't resist:



Read More...