Puppet MastersS


Big Bomb

Russia is at war - Kremlin

Kremlin
© Alexander NEMENOV / AFP
What started as a military operation has escalated after the West became a participant, Dmitry Peskov has said.

Russia's military operation in Ukraine has turned into full-fledged war after the West became a participant in the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with national media published on Friday.

Moscow will continue to pursue its goal of ensuring that the Ukrainian military cannot pose a threat to Russian citizens or territory, the spokesman told the Argumenti i Fakty newspaper, noting that the country now has four new federal subjects which must be protected and fully liberated from Kiev's forces.

Peskov stressed that Russia cannot allow the existence on its borders of a state that publicly claims it will seize the Crimean Peninsula as well as Russia's new territories, referring to the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics and Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

Attention

It's War: The real meat grinder starts now

Crocus City Hall
© Public Domain
Exhibit 1: Friday, March 22, 2024. It's War. The Kremlin, via Peskov, finally admits it, on the record.

The money quote:

"Russia cannot allow the existence on its borders of a state that has a documented intention to use any methods to take Crimea away from it, not to mention the territory of new regions."

Translation: the Hegemon-constructed Kiev mongrel is doomed, one way or another. The Kremlin signal: "We haven't even started" starts now.

Exhibit 2: Friday afternoon, a few hours after Peskov. Confirmed by a serious European - not Russian - source. The first counter-signal.

Regular troops from France, Germany and Poland have arrived, by rail and air, to Cherkassy, south of Kiev. A substantial force. No numbers leaked. They are being housed in schools. For all practical purposes, this is a NATO force.

That signals, "Let the games begin". From a Russian point of view, Mr. Khinzal's business cards are set to be in great demand.

Exhibit 3: Friday evening. Terror attack on Crocus City, a music venue northwest of Moscow. A heavily trained commando shoots people on sight, point blank, in cold blood, then sets a concert hall on fire. The definitive counter-signal: with the battlefield collapsing, all that's left is terrorism in Moscow.

And just as terror was striking Moscow, the US and the UK, in southwest Asia, was bombing Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, with at least five strikes.

Some nifty coordination. Yemen has just clinched a strategic deal in Oman with Russia-China for no-hassle navigation in the Red Sea, and is among the top candidates for BRICS+ expansion at the summit in Kazan next October.

Not only the Houthis are spectacularly defeating thalassocracy, they have the Russia-China strategic partnership on their side. Assuring China and Russia that their ships can sail through the Bab-al-Mandeb, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with no problems is exchanged with total political support from Beijing and Moscow.

Attention

France's megalomaniac Macron is gambling with world peace

Napoleon Wannabe
© Strategic Culture Foundation
It is unequivocally clear that if France or any other NATO member deploys combat troops to Ukraine, those troops will be targeted and killed by Russian firepower.

In that case, the proxy war in Ukraine becomes an all-out war between the U.S.-led NATO alliance and Russia. That is, World War Three will have started, which in all probability leads inexorably to a nuclear conflagration.

Anyone pushing that trajectory is contemptible and criminal. Step up, Monsieur Macron.

This narcissistic wannabe Napoleon figure has been pushing the envelope for several weeks now since he hosted a conference on Ukraine in Paris on February 26 when he began publicly toying with the notion of sending NATO troops to Ukraine to combat Russia.

This week, Russian foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin claimed that a contingent of 2,000 French military personnel were preparing to enter the Ukraine conflict.

France's military commanders vehemently dismissed the Russian intelligence claim, decrying it as an "irresponsible provocation".

Just who is being provocative here?

The alleged French deployment is consistent with the unhinged and belligerent rhetoric of French President Emmanuel Macron over the past three weeks during which he has been hinting at sending troops and of having "no red lines" to make sure that Russia does not win the war in Ukraine.

Macron - like a puerile character - has also taken to goading other European leaders, notably his German counterpart, about not being "cowards" when it comes to supporting Ukraine.

Let's be clear. NATO soldiers and weapons have been in Ukraine since the CIA-backed coup in Kiev in 2014 that installed a Russian-hating NeoNazi regime. The NATO proxy war has been targeting Russia for over a decade and killed more than 10,000 ethnic Russian civilians during a low-intensity war of aggression in formerly Eastern Ukraine. That aggression was finally countered when Russian forces intervened in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Light Saber

Family business partners confirm Joe Biden joined influence selling

Tony Bobulinski biden corruption hearing
© GOP Oversight/YouTubeTony Bobulinsky being sworn in at Joe Biden's corruption hearing, March 20, 2024
House Republicans heard explosive testimony from President Joe Biden's family business partners Wednesday in a public hearing that confirmed the president's personal involvement in global schemes to sell influence over American government.

Tony Bobulinski, a former family business partner turned whistleblower who told lawmakers President Biden was the "brand" sold to foreign governments, doubled down on accusations of corruption with sworn testimony in public.

"I want to be crystal clear: from my direct personal experience and what I have subsequently come to learn, it is clear to me that Joe Biden was 'the brand' being sold by the Biden family," Bobulinski told lawmakers. "His family's foreign influence peddling operation — from China to Ukraine and elsewhere — sold out to foreign actors who were seeking to gain influence and access to Joe Biden and the United States government."

Comment: Just to spice things up, PJMedia reports:
Jessica Tarlov's False Claim About Tony Bobulinski Sparks Lawsuit Threat Against Fox News

On Wednesday, Tony Bobulinski testified before Congress in the ongoing impeachment investigation of Joe Biden. His damning testimony so triggered Jessica Tarlov, the liberal co-host on Fox News Channel's The Five, that she sought to undermine it by accusing Bobulinski of having a pro-Trump PAC pay his legal fees.

"Tony Bobulinski's lawyers' fees have been paid by a Trump Super PAC that's as recent as January," she claimed before rehashing a false claim about Donald Trump. "Do you think that a guy who's invested in how much better off he wants the United States to be — and really getting to the bottom of this — would be taking money from the guy who extorted the Ukrainians to get dirt on the Bidens?" she asked.


In a letter PJ Media obtained, Bobulinski's lawyer demanded an on-air retraction and an apology from Tarlov for making a false claim.

"Ms. Tarlov stated that Mr. Bobulinski's legal fees are being paid by a Trump Super PAC. This is unequivocally false and defamatory. Indeed, no Trump Super PAC has ever paid Mr. Bobulinski's legal fees," reads a letter from Jesse R. Binnall to Jeff A. Taylor, the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the Fox Corporation.
"In fact, Mr. Bobulinski has paid over $500,000, in legal fees to numerous lawyers in law firms out of his own pocket since 2020. We write to demand the immediate retraction, on air, today, of this maliciously blatant lie."
Binnall then threatened a defamation lawsuit against Fox if it did not make an apology or retraction.
"Let me be perfectly clear."

"We will immediately file a defamation lawsuit against Fox, and Ms. Tarlov, if this lie is not retracted by Ms. Tarlov on air today, March 21, 2024. Consistent with her pattern of previous conduct, Ms. Tarlov's comments were intended to be, and are, extremely damaging, making her immediate retraction of the utmost importance."
The letter also served as a demand for the identification and preservation of records, including all forms of written, electronic, and recorded information, such as emails, text messages, spreadsheets, photographs, videos, and more, along with any drafts or proposed drafts of correspondence, memoranda, reports, and other materials, as well as any attachments or enclosures.

"Documents and data of any type, whether hard copy or electronic, draft or final, should not be discarded, destroyed, modified, or altered in any way and should be identified, held and preserved in their current format until litigation, if necessary, is resolved," the letter continues.

"It was a mistake to believe Ms. Tarlov's defamatory comments are without consequence," Binnall concluded. "We will be watching today's show."

The Five airs at 5 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel.

Bobulinski's testimony caused quite a stir on social media on Wednesday for his fiery demeanor and response to Democrat attacks. After accusing Reps. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) of lying, Raskin interrupted Bobulinski's opening statement.

"Am I supposed to say 'it's my time,' Mr. Raskin?" Bobulinski said, prompting laughter from the gallery.

Update 9:29 p.m.: During Thursday's episode of The Five, Tarlov made the following statement:
I would like to clarify a comment I made yesterday during our discussion of Tony Bobulinski's appearance at the congressional hearing. During an exchange with my colleagues about the hearing I said that Mr. Bobulinsk's lawyers' fees have been paid by a Trump super PAC as recently as January. What was actually said during the hearing was that the law firm representing Mr. Bobulinski was paid by a Trump PAC. I have seen no indication of those payments were made in connection with Mr. Bobulinski's legal fees and he denies that they were.
Watch her retraction here.



Gavel

Court of Appeals blocks Texas immigration law SB 4 AGAIN ahead of court arguments Wednesday

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
After the U.S. Supreme Court had lifted a stay on the law, it was blocked again by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday night.

On Tuesday night, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that blocks controversial Texas immigration law, Senate Bill 4, again. That court is set to hear arguments about the law on Wednesday morning.

SB 4 allows local and state law enforcement to detain, arrest and jail migrants who are suspected of entering Texas illegally. That enforcement is historically a federal duty.

The Supreme Court conservative majority's order rejected an emergency application from the Biden administration, which says the law is a clear violation of federal authority that would upset more than a century of immigration authority.

Comment: Texas is embroiled in an endless tug of war with the Biden administration. Who will prevail? The NGO's swing into action:




Bad Guys

CIA is accused of directly meddling in Hunter Biden IRS, DOJ investigations

Hunter Biden
© Phillip Faraone / Gettyimages.ruHunter Biden (center)
The Chairmen of the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, Jim Jordan (R-OH) and James Comer (R-KY) say that a whistleblower has brought them information that 'seems to corroborate our concerns' that the CIA directly interfered with DOJ and IRS investigations of Hunter Biden.

According to the whistleblower, the CIA "intervened in the investigation of Hunter biden to prevent the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) from interviewing a witness," the letter, addressed to CIA Director William Burns, reads.

Specifically, the Committees were concerned at how "the DOJ deviated from its standard processes to afford preferential treatment to Hunter Biden," which they learned "after two brave whistleblowers testified to Congress" that the Justice Department had done just that.

Comment:
Real election interference: Ex-CIA chief spills on how he got spies to write false Hunter Biden laptop letter to 'help Biden'

Regarding Naftogaz issue:


Phoenix

Best of the Web: The Resistance's disruptive military innovation may determine the fate of Israel

isreal iran flags war flames
Whether the U.S. and Europe likes it or not, Iran is a major regional political player.

Looking back to what I wrote in 2012, in the midst of the so-called Arab Spring and its aftermath, it is striking just how much the Region has shifted. It is now almost 180° re-orientated. Then, I argued,
"That the Arab Spring "Awakening" is taking a turn, very different to the excitement and promise with which it was hailed at the outset. Sired from an initial, broad popular impulse, it is becoming increasingly understood, and feared, as a nascent counter-revolutionary "cultural revolution" - a re-culturation of the region in the direction of a prescriptive canon that is emptying out those early high expectations ...

"That popular impulse associated with the 'awakening' has now been subsumed and absorbed into three major political projects associated with this push to reassert [Sunni primacy]: a Muslim Brotherhood project, a Saudi-Qatari-Salafist project, and a [radical jihadi] project.

"No one really knows the nature of the [first project] the Brotherhood project - whether it is that of a sect; or if it is truly mainstream ... What is clear, however, is that the Brotherhood tone everywhere is increasingly one of militant sectarian grievance. The joint Saudi-Salafist project was conceived as a direct counter to the Brotherhood project - and [the third] was the uncompromising Sunni radicalism [Wahhabism], funded and armed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, that aims, not to contain, but rather, to displace traditional Sunnism with the culture of Salafism. i.e. It sought the 'Salifisation' of traditional Sunni Islam.

"All these projects, whilst they may overlap in some parts, are in a fundamental way competitors with each other. And [were] being fired-up in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, north Africa, the Sahel, Nigeria, and the horn of Africa.

[Not surprisingly] ..."Iranians increasingly interpret Saudi Arabia's mood as a hungering for war, and Gulf statements do often have that edge of hysteria and aggression: a recent editorial in the Saudi-owned al-Hayat stated:
"The climate in the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] indicates that matters are heading towards a GCC-Iranian-Russian confrontation on Syrian soil, similar to what took place in Afghanistan during the Cold War. To be sure, the decision has been taken to overthrow the Syrian regime, seeing as it is vital to the regional influence and hegemony of the Islamic Republic of Iran".
Well, that was then. How different the landscape is today: The Muslim Brotherhood largely is a 'broken reed', compared to what it was; Saudi Arabia has effectively 'switched off the lights' on Salafist jihadism, and is focussed more on courting tourism, and the Kingdom now has a peace accord with Iran (brokered by China).

Comment: Cooke provides an interesting lens with which to view the trajectory of Middle East events. Iran and Russia have both absorbed the lesson of strategic patience and self-reliance, coupled with diplomacy. Iran has found a formula to unite Moslems just as Russia appeals to Orthodox Christians around the world. Arms mean nothing when men's souls are dedicated to a cause.


Chess

Leo Varadkar steps down as Irish prime minister in shock move

Leo Varadkar
Leo Varadkar has announced he is standing down as Ireland's prime minister and also giving up his role as leader of the Fine Gael party in the ruling coalition, in a surprise move described by pundits as a "political earthquake" for the country.

Citing "personal and political" reasons, Varadkar, 45, announced his decision at a press conference in Dublin on Wednesday, saying in an at-times emotional speech that he no longer felt he was the "best person" to lead Ireland.

Earlier this month his government suffered damaging defeats in two referendums on references to family and women in the constitution.

Varadkar, who said he was resigning as party leader with immediate effect, is expected to be replaced as taoiseach as soon as his successor as party leader is able to take office.

Putin

Putin addresses nation after election: Result proves Russia is 'one big tight-knot family'

putin
© Valery SHARIFULIN / AFP
The presidential election in Russia has shown that the country remains one big family, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday after securing his fifth term in office. He also thanked the voters for their unprecedented support and vowed to meet their expectations.

Earlier in the day, Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) officially declared Putin president-elect, announcing that he had received over 87% of the vote. Last weekend's election recorded a record-high voter turnout that exceeded 77%. Putin is scheduled to be inaugurated on May 7 for another six years in office.

In his address to the nation, Putin stressed the crucial role of the presidential race in charting the country's course for the future, as it remains locked in the Ukraine conflict and a stand-off with the West.

Chess

Here's why NATO warmongers are hyping up Russia's imaginary attack plans

Polish soldiers
© Wojtek Radwanski / AFPFILE PHOTO.
NATO's peddling of a "Russian threat" is reaching telethon levels of relentlessness - worse than a house alarm salesman in TV advertisements talking up the scary burglar.

Poland's top general, Wieslaw Kukula, said recently that "Russia is preparing for a conflict with NATO, aware that the alliance is a defensive structure." For French President Emmanuel Macron, playing "defense" apparently involves sending a bunch of players deep into the other guy's end-zone to score. Macron has been overtly talking about sending troops to fight Russia while giving the impression that he's personally training to take on Russian President Vladimir Putin by posing for black and white glamour shots complete with boxing gloves and flexed biceps that may or may not have been the result of having Monsieur Photoshoppe as his personal trainer. Estonia's foreign intelligence chief conveniently describes Russia's strategy as "long-term confrontation." The European Union's internal markets commissioner, Thierry Breton, has said "we need to change the paradigm and move into war economy mode." Andre Berghegger, head of the association of German city councils, is talking about reviving the bomb shelter business. "During the Cold War, Germany had more than 2,000 public shelters. Only 600 of these still exist, providing protection for around 500,000 people. There is an urgent need to put decommissioned bunkers back into operation. And we need to build new, modern shelters. In urban centers, underground car parks and subway shafts can certainly be used," the official said.

Sure, why not? If the military industrial complex is going to try convincing taxpayers to let the government take all their money to make weapons, then why shouldn't the bomb shelter business also get in on the action? Not a bad time to resurrect the bunker industry, actually. With energy costs and interest rates becoming a problem for Europeans, maybe everyone can just save some money and move into government-funded bunkers and hang out while waiting for Putin to show up.