Puppet MastersS


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Only Hypocrites Call Putin's Victory a Fraud

Vladimir Putin
© Photo: Public domain
Any president who serves the interests of the majority of his people and protects the nation from foreign interference will naturally be chosen to remain in power.

The main Western newspapers already had articles prepared in advance about Putin's victory in the Russian elections. With the confirmation of this victory, they just took them out of the drawer and published the barbarities that we already know.

"Orchestrated election", accuses the New York Times. The Washington Post calls the election a "farce." CNN, of "stage-managed election devoid of credible opposition". BBC and The Guardian present the allegations of Golos, an NGO accused by the Russian government of being a "foreign agent" due to its links with European organizations.

This NGO says the elections were not clean because "a significant proportion of Russian society was not represented by any presidential candidate."

But participation in these elections was the highest in Russian history, with 77.44% turnout among voters eligible to vote. This means that less than 23% of voters did not vote.

Comment: Much work awaits the Russian President during his coming term, considering that Russia is at war - Kremlin, Russia now in 'state of war' due to West's entry into Ukraine conflict - Peskov and West wants war with Russia - Dutch journalist to RT

See also:
Putin addresses nation after election: Result proves Russia is 'one big tight-knot family'
'People Are The Power in Russia' Says Putin as he Wins Fifth Term With Record 87% of Votes


USA

Biden's suspension of LNG exports challenged by 16 states

gas tanker ship
© Getty Images / IMAGO/Jens KoehlerFILE
Texas, Louisiana and more than a dozen other US states challenged the Biden administration's suspension of new licenses to export natural gas via ocean-going tankers.

A lawsuit filed against President Joe Biden and the US Department of Energy in Louisiana federal court on Thursday asks a judge to overturn the temporary pause. The action supported by 16 state attorneys general, argues the administration runs counter to Congressional intent and decades of policy.

"The ban will drive billions of dollars in investment away from Texas, hinder our ability to maximize revenue for public schools, force Texas producers to flare excess natural gas instead of taking it to market, and annihilate critical jobs," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote in a statement.


Comment: Considering the challenges that Texas poses to the deep state's agenda, that's at least part of the reason they're doing it.


Comment: It seems that another reason for the restriction of exports is to further cripple Europe's economy, which is now heavily reliant on US LNG: US reconsidering its gas exports, threatening critical deliveries to LNG dependent Europe - CNN


Black Magic

EU to bypass treaty ban on buying lethal weapons for Ukraine, 'most significant shift in policy since start of war' - FT

drone operator Ukraine
© AFP / Sergey BobokA Ukrainian operator uses a drone equipped with a metal detector to clear mines in Kharkov Region, Ukraine, October 1, 2023. Brussels proposes 'legal task force' to explore ways to use the common budget for defence. EU member states agreed in 2022 to finance weapons shipments to Ukraine, but only through a multilateral fund set up outside the EU budget.
Brussels is actively exploring how to work around an EU treaty clause prohibiting arms purchases from the union's budget, as it steps up efforts to increase financing for defence and Ukraine.

The European Commission, the bloc's executive, has proposed that a legal task force revisit a crucial provision — known as Article 41(2) — that stops the EU common budget from funding "operations having military or defence implications", according to four people familiar with the discussions.

Any move to use the budget to purchase lethal weapons would mark the most significant shift in Brussels' defence policy since the start of the war against Ukraine.


Comment: As the terrorist attack in Russia demonstrates, an escalation has evidently been in the making.


Map

France will likely seek to secure Ukraine's Black Sea coast if it conventionally intervenes

Odessa
Romania and Moldova, where France already has troops and just signed a security pact that might soon lead to the same, could easily serve as its launchpad Odessa.

Russian foreign spy chief Naryshkin warned on Tuesday that France is preparing to send 2,000 troops to Ukraine following Macron's claim last month that a conventional NATO intervention can't be ruled out. This statement also coincided with France's top general confirming that his forces are ready to deploy wherever they might be needed, which discredited the Defense Ministry's description of Naryshkin's warning as "disinformation" since there's some objectively existing truth to what he said.

While many members of the Alt-Media Community mocked Macron's claim last month, a prestigious Russian expert just lent credence to it in an interview with Sputnik. Alexander Mikhailov, who's the head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis think tank in Russia, told that outlet on Tuesday that "Macron undoubtedly has access to both the personnel and the resources to send troops to Ukraine." It's therefore not implausible to imagine that France might conventionally intervene there.

Comment: Below there are a number of comments, 1) - 6) which together give some background in case the situation around Odessa develops.

1) Articles related to the same story:

From Sputnik International:
France Preparing to Deploy Military Contingent in Ukraine: Russian Foreign Intel Chief
14:26 GMT 19.03.2024 (Updated: 14:50 GMT 19.03.2024)
[...]
France is preparing to deploy a contingent of troops in Ukraine, with the first echelon to include about 2,000 soldiers, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) chief Sergei Naryshkin has announced.

"The country's current leadership does not care about the death of ordinary Frenchmen and the concerns of the country's generals. According to information received by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, a contingent of troops is already being prepared to be sent to Ukraine. At the initial stage, it will number about 2,000 people," Naryshkin said in a statement Tuesday.

According to the SVR head's information, France's generals are concerned about the difficulty of transferring such a large force to Ukraine and stationing it there unnoticed. Naryshkin warned that any French forces arriving in Ukraine "will become a legitimate priority target" for Russia's military, with the same fate to await them as has already befallen those who fell during previous instances of French aggression against Moscow.
From RT, 19 Mar, 2024 17:29:
French army 'ready for war' - top general
Paris is prepared to fight the "toughest" battles to protect its interests, the chief of staff has declared

France is ready to face whatever developments unfold internationally and is prepared for the "toughest engagements" to protect itself, the chief of staff of the French Army, Gen. Pierre Schill, said in an interview published on Tuesday.

In recent weeks, French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly refused to rule out Western troops being sent to Ukraine at some point to help Kiev in its fight against Moscow, which he described as an "adversary" of Paris.

France's forces are "ready," Schill told Le Monde, stressing that "whatever the developments in the international situation, the French can be convinced: their soldiers will respond."

Schill said France has "international responsibilities" and is linked by defense agreements to "states exposed to major threats," and must therefore have its forces trained and interoperable with allied armies.

He added that nuclear deterrence "is not a universal guarantee" because it does not guard against conflicts that would remain "below the threshold of vital interests." Schill said that the Army must show itself a credible force through responsiveness in terms of force projection and the ability to carry out operations of increased scope.

The general said that France currently has the capacity to commit a division of around 20,000 men within 30 days and has the means to command an army corps of up to 60,000 which includes allied divisions.

In an interview with the TF1 and France 2 channels last week, President Macron said that France is "not waging war on Russia" by supporting Kiev, but labeled Russia an "adversary" and has stood by his remarks that a potential deployment of NATO troops to the country could not be "excluded."

His statements drew a wave of denials from most of France's fellow NATO members and officials - including Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg - about having any intention to deploy their forces to Ukraine.

At the same time, Spain's El Pais reported on Monday that the US-led bloc has already been involved "in virtually every possible aspect" of the conflict and that active and former military personnel from NATO states have been operating in the country overseeing Kiev's use of Western-supplied weapons.
In the article, the suggestion is that France will send troops to Odessa. That is not what the following article says, but notice the connection to Odessa, and of course one deployment area does not exclude the other.

From RT, 20 Mar, 2024 17:21
France considering Ukraine military deployment - Odessa MP
Troops may be sent to the regions bordering Belarus in order to free up Kiev's units to be sent to the front

France is preparing to send troops to Ukraine, Aleksey Goncharenko, a senior Ukrainian MP, wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. The official is currently in France for a meeting of the committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

According to Goncharenko, who represents the city of Odessa in the Ukrainian parliament, Paris is considering deploying a military force to the Ukrainian regions bordering Belarus, discussions about which "are proceeding effectively."

"I'm in contact with my French colleagues. And I can already say that everything is serious... There is talk about a deployment of European soldiers to the border with Belarus, [a mission] that will free the Ukrainian military stationed there and allow it to move to other directions. This will help strengthen our eastern and southern fronts," Goncharenko wrote.
2) Odessa has been visited several times by a well know French person, Bernard-Henri Levi
From Komsomolskaya Pravda there was an opinion piece on March 15, 2022 The Messenger of Evil is walking around Odessa - a French apologist for war and "color revolutions"
He comes to the weak to make them worthless, destroy them, initiate murders and then justify them. On strong ones, he can only yap from places that are relatively safe for himself.

Run, Odessa residents, run. Or drive him away, if you have the strength and desire to do so.
There is little to fear in Odessa, many have since then been rounded up in mobilization drives and sent off to the trenches. That said, the charges above are serious; in comment 3) there are more details about activism.

From the blog or website Topwar: The ideologist of the destruction of Libya and Yugoslavia Bernard-Henri Levy appeared in Odessa March 15 2022
Bernard-Henri Levy came to the Euromaidan, where he promised the Ukrainian people to turn the country into a "new Libya". As you can see, the philosopher turned out to be a serious person and kept his promise... Apparently, in order to check whether everything was going according to plan, he came to Odessa at the height of the military operation of Russian troops in Ukraine.
From the Jewish Chronicle published March 17, 2022: We need no-fly zone now, Bernard-Henri Lévy tells JC from Odessa
Why did you decide to go to Odessa?

Why Odessa? Because I knew the city in times of peace. I have some friends there. I performed my monologue about Europe on the stage of the opera house. And it broke my heart to know that such a war was going on there. I wanted to show solidarity. And I wanted to bear witness. This conflict is so absurd! So meaningless! How can this paranoid Putin speak of denazifying one of the most brilliant cities, in the entire world, shaped by Jewish spirit and culture?
On the topic of Odessa and Jewish history, see other external links:

Laura Janner-Klausner (Wiki) has a blog on Jewish News/timesofisrael.com where she wrote this article:
Why Odessa is a wonder of the modern Jewish world which begins:
These days it isn't an obvious destination, but if I were to write a Jewish equivalent of 100 places to see before you die, Odessa would be among the highlights.
The Jewish Virtual Library has an article on Odessa
Beginnings of the Community

The Russians found six Jews when they took the fortress of Khadzhi-Bei in 1789; the oldest Jewish tombstone in the cemetery dates from 1793. Five Jews were among those who in 1794 received plots for the erection of houses and shops and the planting of gardens. The Gemilut Ḥesed Shel Emet society (ḥevra kaddisha) was founded in 1795. In 1796 Jews participated in the administration of the town. The kahal (community administration) was already in existence in 1798 when the first synagogue was built; the first rabbi to hold office, in 1809, was Isaac Rabinovich of Bendery.

Growth of the Jewish Population

There were 246 Jews (out of a total population of 2,349) in 1795, 6,950 (out of 41,700) in 1831, 51,378 (out of 193,513) in 1873, 138,935 (out of 403,815) in 1897. During the Soviet period, the Jewish population continued to grow: in 1926, 153,243 (of a total population of 420,862), and 200,981 in 1939 (out of 604,217). It was then the second largest Jewish population in Ukraine, after Kiev. After World War II 108,900 Jews lived in Odesa (12.1% of the total) in 1959, and 86,000 (8.4% of the total) in 1979.
JGuideEurope - Cultural Guide to European Jewry has an informative article in about Odessa in their series Ukraine / From Kiev to the Black Sea
The "Gate to Zion"

Historian Steven Zipperstein notes that the history of Odessa's Jewish community is closer to the one of San Francisco than the one of Kiev. In this port city, the Jews lived without the constraints and limitations of the Russian Empire. They were not isolated and were an active part of the city's life. The language barrier didn't apply as well. However, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, the tolerant and multicultural Odessa was nicknamed "Gate to Zion". Indeed, it became one of the centers of the zionist movement, and the city where thousands of Jews left to Palestine.

The center of the zionist activity was the Palestine Committee 12 Nechypurenka Lane, Odessa, Ukraine">"Palestine Committee". This organization helped the relocation of farm workers and craftsmen in Palestine. The committee was initiated in the 1880s by Lev Pinsker, Ahad Haam, Bialik, Klauzner, or Ben Ami were also part of the board. The members also raised funds to buy lands in Palestine. The land were the Hebraic University of Jerusalem was built was purchased by the committee. This is why Lev Pinsker was displaced there in 1934.

One of the most active members of this committee, Meir Dizengoff, was the first mayor of Tel Aviv. This is merely a coincidence. In some respect, Tel Aviv was built in Odessa. Lilienblum, one the yishuv first journalist, wrote that in Odessa, Jews arrived to the shores of the black sea, built a city and developed a port. If they were able to to that in Odessa, they would achieve their goal on the shores of the Mediterranean as well.

Another center of the zionist activity was the Brodsky synagogue. Around 70 houses were built through fund raising executed by the synagogue. Those buildings were the first of the future city of Nes Ziona.

To properly prepare the future emigrants, an Hebrew-only school was opened in 1903. In the same time, the publishing house Moria published school books in Hebrew and sends them to Tel Aviv.

From 1919 to 1927, the boat Ruslan shipped a numerous part of the Odessa intelligentsia to Palestine. Among them, lots were about to become the leaders of the future Israel.
Given the above background, might explain Bernard-Henri Lévy is fond of Odessa, but he has also visited the town more recently. From the Chabad.org July 17, 2023 French Intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy Wraps Tefillin in Odessa, Ukraine
On a recent visit to Southern Ukraine, French Jewish philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy toured Chabad-Lubavitch of Odessa's institutions, including the Mishpacha Children's Home, directed by Rabbi Avraham and Chaya Wolff.
To explain why the authors at Komsomolskaya Pravda and Topwar are unhappy with Bernard-Henri Levy, below are a few more details, as it turns out his actions many times have reflected quite well what happens or might happen later.

3) Comments on Bernard-Henri Levy and the possible motivations of the France to get more involved in Ukraine, excerpts from older articles on SOTT.net
The thinking over the last ten years of Bernard-Henri Levy on the topic of Ukraine might go a long way to understand the motives of France. One could have followed other people, and perhaps reveal a similar pattern, but in his case it is particularly evident, as a few snips, from previous SOTT articles reveal.

In the first article excerpt, the writer after describing the activism of Levy/Levi notes: "But I'm glad to see one more proof of the fact that the French are reasonable people." and gives an example. This is worth keeping in mind also when reading the other excerpts, since many people in France do not support the idea of sending French soldiers to Ukraine, or share all that many of the views of Bernard-Henri Levy, but this is an attempt to understand the part of the population that do or would support the latest moves.

"Manufacturing Consent": Bernard-Henri Lévy, the "new philosopher" selling military adventures of the global elite (15 Feb 2014)
Zealous French intellectual Bernard-Henri Levi visited the maidan in Kiev on February 9 to deliver another fiery harangue. The next day the article Bernard-Henri Levi: We're all Ukrainians (Bernard-Henri Lévy: «Nous sommes tous des Ukrainiens») saw light published by Parisian Le Monde. In his fervor Ukrainian Levi he called Yulia Timoshenko the Dame of Kiev (meaning Yulia Timoshenko who is behind bars at present). I can hardly imagine what Oleh Tyahnybok, another passionate maidan supporter, or Victor Yanukovych thought having heard these bold words spoken by someone born to an Algerian Jewish family. But I'm glad to see one more proof of the fact that the French are reasonable people. The article of «new Ukrainian» was followed by many virulent comments like «We've been Libyans, now we are Ukrainians. Could we just be French, is it so hard?»

Yes, it is hard in the case of Bernard Henri-Levi. He's kind of a human brand. For Europeans he has been a patented stimulant for dozens of years. 65 years old, he has shot a few films and published around twenty books, he became famous as a leader of the «New Philosophers» (Nouveaux Philosophes) movement that reached the peak of popularity in France in the last century, but went out of fashion as any intellectual product which offers nothing but extravagance. He owes his popularity to the fact that Levi is seen as a man of Messiah in some circles.

...Levi saw his first hot spot in 1971 as he travelled to East Pakistan to cover the war for separation of would-be Bangladesh from Pakistan. He has seen many flash points afterwards. In 1981 he made a trip to Afghanistan to meet the mujahedeen fighting the Soviet Army. In 1999 he ardently called for bombing Yugoslavia. In 2001 he supported the US intervention into Afghanistan. During the Georgia's invasion of South Ossetia in 2008 he interviewed the President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili. In 2011 he was a fierce supporter of Libya's destruction. Back then he started to vigorously call for toppling the «bloody regime of Bashar Assad».
Flashback The Rohingya Psyops: Waging Covert War on Myanmar (2017)
NATO has never backed the Palestinians or offered to intervene when they were being carpet bombed by the Zionist regime. But it did back the terrorists and drug dealers of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Iran made virtually no gains from its geopolitical adventure in Bosnia. The pro-US 'independent' Bosnian regime subsequently voted to maintain sanctions against them in the United Nations! Much of the demonisation of Serbs was carried out by Bernard Henri Levi, a fanatical Zionist and 'New World Order' agent of chaos. French Zionist Bernard Kouchner was another key player in the destruction of Yugoslavia.
Bernard-Henri Lévy: Poster boy for the false Europe (Feb 1 2019)
BHL's career did not stop there-he was a vigorous pamphleteer and human rights enthusiast, albeit selectively. Cameras could find him on the barricades of the Maidan or persuading his friend President Nicolas Sarkozy that France must assist the rebels seeking to overthrow Libya's Moammar Gaddafi. Yet not all human rights victims merited BHL's concern, and some blood and soil nationalisms turned out to be more acceptable than others. Late in life, Levy developed a great attachment to Israel. He is now an apologist for whatever the Israeli government feels like inflicting on Palestinians, in Gaza or elsewhere. As Zémmour puts it, noting the contrast between Lévy's media interventions in France and Israel, "BHL got in the habit of playing a double role, Zola in Paris and Barrès in Jerusalem."
In the next article, there is a review of the role France has played in major modern conflicts. The author appears to argue that France is as if under US occupation, and that many policies do not benefit the French people, but international institutions and companies.

Best of the Web: Inside the Yellow Vests: What the Western media won't tell you (Mar 2019)
Part of the parcel of US occupation is being dragged into violations of international law. France played a major role in bombing Yugoslavia and trafficking organs (Bernard Kouchner was heavily involved). It helped to carve the region up and illegally create Kosovo's "independence". France helped America invade Afghanistan (invading Iraq didn't receive enough public support) in Operation Enduring Freedom (nice name, haha). France (Sarkozy) helped America use Georgia as a battering ram against Russia. France was the ringleader in the evaporation of Libya. France helped arm terrorists in Iraq and feed Al Qaeda, which later resulted in the birth of ISIL/ISIS. France helped AFRICOM send weapons from Libya to Syria. France is permanently in Africa, helping the IMF pillage sovereign nations like Mali.

France helped Al Qaeda/ISIS in Sy-Raq unconditionally in the media space and with financing. France helped Riyadh send Yemen back to the Stone Age. France helps Israel massacre Palestinians. France (using Bernard-Henri Lévy as the middle man) helped America overthrow Yanukovych in Ukraine and unleash civil war.

France has consistently parroted America's anti-Russia propaganda on Skripal, MH-17, Crimea, Trump "collusion", etc. And now France helps America bring Venezuela to its knees. Does absolutely any of this benefit France or the French people? No? Then whom does it benefit? The IMF. NATO. Jacob Rothschild (I am "anti-semitic", yes). Apartheid Israel. Lockheed Martin. Raytheon. Boeing. Goldman Sachs. JP Morgan. Disney. Kelloggs. Qatar. Saudi Arabia. Banderists. Wall Street. Soros. Clinton. AMERICA.
Finally more recently he appears, deservedly or not, in Is the Olena Zelenska Foundation covering for sex trafficking? (Nov 2023)
Bernard-Henry Levy is a figure who is fortunately not very well known inside the United States. He represents a particularly odious strain of the French bourgeoisie; he works as a sort of professional warmonger who spends most of his time justifying NATO's murderous interventions overseas.

As the neoliberal order is obsessed with rules, philosophers such as Levy are useful to them, providing them with the ethical justifications to invade countries and slaughter their people. In Ukraine, Levy and his team made documentaries as fundraisers for the Zelenska foundation lionizing the neo-Nazi Azov battalion, most notably the openly neo-Nazi leader of the defense of Azovstal, Denys Prokopenko. Levy is far more than just a propagandist, however. His deep connections to the NATO power structures mean that Levy's words can kill.

To wit, Levy is credited as the architect of NATO's disastrous Libyan intervention. He met with the leaders of the "Arab Spring" uprising before their rebellion, and when the Salafist forces were on the ropes, Levy called in a favor from his friend Nicholas Sarkozy, the far-right Prime Minister of France, to set up a bombing campaign. A few days later, Levy personally orchestrated a meeting between the rebels and then secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
On SOTT.net Bernard-Hneri Levy appears in text, 50+ articles , as Bernard-Henri Levi, 4 articles The above were examples from among those that appear more related to Ukraine and which might show what could motivate France to become more active in Ukraine. Oddly enough, when did we hear people like Bernard-Henri Lévy speak much about the Odessa Massacre

4) The French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs has published statements about Odessa
Ukraine - France condemns the Russian attack on Odesa (7 March 2024)
As Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stéphane Séjourné stated, Russia must be defeated in Ukraine. Therefore, France will continue working in close coordination with its partners to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to defend itself. That was the motivation behind the February 26th conference held on President Macron's initiative, which aimed to enable us to better coordinate our efforts for Ukraine and to take faster and greater action. France will continue to provide Ukraine with bilateral military assistance, in accordance with the commitments made in the Agreement on security cooperation that was signed by President Macron and President Zelenskyy on February 16.
Another article, though only in French, has when translated:
Odessa, the most "French" of Ukrainian cities, in danger
Relations between the city of Odessa in Ukraine and France are old and close. France has participated, since the transformation of Odessa into a real seaport and alongside the authorities, in the development and influence of the city. Twinned with Marseille, Ukraine's third city benefits from the support of the largest Mediterranean city in France. A quick look back at 200 years of Franco-Ukrainian friendship.

A Frenchman behind the development of Odessa
At the beginning of the 19th century, Emperor Alexander I entrusted responsibility for the development of the city of Odessa, which was then a small fishing village on the shores of the Black Sea, to a Frenchman, Armand Emmanuel du Plessis de Richelieu, duke de Richelieu and great-great-grandnephew of the cardinal. Appointed governor of the city between 1803 and 1814, the Duke of Richelieu expanded the port and transformed it into a commercial port, supported the creation of public institutions and had a lasting influence on the architecture of the city, giving it its neoclassical and Mediterranean style. Today, the statue of the Duke of Richelieu continues to stand at the top of the steps of the monumental Potemkin Staircase, sometimes called the 'Richelieu Staircase', which connects the port to the city.

Another Frenchman, the Count of Langeron, who became general of the Russian Empire, succeeded the Duke of Richelieu as governor of Odessa. He then declared the city a free port, which allowed him to substantially increase his exports and thus ensure his prosperity.

Odessa, a major city in the French cultural and influence network
Twinned with Marseille since 1972, Odessa became, after the independence of Ukraine, a major city in the cultural network and French influence in the country. This twinning gave rise to several major cultural projects: the Odessa International Film Festival, the Odessa International Jazz Festival and the exhibition project on Odessa at the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations (MuCEM) of Marseille in 2014. This cooperation continued in 2022 despite Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine: cooperation between Marseille and Odessa intensified and major cultural events were maintained.
For the two French nobles, mentioned above: The Wiki for Armand Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, 5th Duke of Richelieu explains he was a French Royalist and was away from France between 1791 and 1814.
About the Count of Langeron, Napoleon.org writes he left around the time of the French revolution:
promoted up the ranks in the French army to colonel of the Armagnac Regiment in 1788. Langeron joined the Russian Army besieging the Ottoman Fortress of Izmail in 1790. He was awarded a golden sword for his courage and enterprise during the siege, and he remained in the Russian service for the rest of his life.
Imagining these two people today, where would they be? What would they think of the latest French initiatives?

5) From the article:
Honestly speaking, Ukraine's Black Sea coast is France's for the taking, but only if Paris has the political will to go for it and its people don't revolt from the enormous Russian-inflicted casualties that could follow (likely via missile strikes).
Having reviewed some of the available history about Odessa, there can be several reasons, why France would feel pressed or motivated to visit. In a greater context, there may also be the topic of Russophobia:
Western governments and media are using Russophobia to conceal their own social and economic decline
Russophobia: History of Hate | RT Documentary
The Long Roots of Our Russophobia but apart from that in 2015 Saakashvili warns Odessa may soon break away from Ukraine, or was the Georgian Saakashvili the problem, considering: Putin: Saakashvili's appointment as Odessa Governor was 'insult' to Ukrainians from 21 November 2016

6) There can be few illusions left about the benevolence of the west towards Odessa, recall the fire at the Trade Union Center in Odessa on 02 May, 2014? Here are some links to refreshing that horror:
RT spoke to a pro-Russia doctor from Odessa who was jailed by Ukraine for his political views
[...] — Many believe the tragedy of May 2, 2014, was the point of no return in the civil war. What do you think and why?

It wasn't a tragedy, but an act of genocide. And it became the detonator of the civil war. It showed the true intentions of people with respect to the unfolding events.
They are still unfolding, on March 22, 2024, the news was the acknowledgement: Russia is at war - Kremlin
"We are at war," Peskov stated, explaining that while the conflict began as a special military operation, as soon as "the collective West became a participant in this on the side of Ukraine, for us it became a war."



AK47

Poland gearing up to get involved in Ukraine conflict - former US Army officer

Polish soldiers seen at the training ground in Nowa Deba, Poland.
© Artur Widak/Getty ImagesPolish soldiers seen at the training ground in Nowa Deba, Poland.
Stanislav Krapivnik told RT that Warsaw is using claims that Moscow is preparing to attack NATO to justify a preemptive strike of its own.

The Polish government is "mentally" preparing its population for the country's direct involvement in the Ukraine conflict, former US Army officer Stanislav Krapivnik told RT on Thursday. He claimed that recent allegations made by top Polish officials regarding Russia's supposed plans to attack NATO are intended to justify a preemptive military operation.

Over the past several weeks, a number of senior civilian and military officials from multiple NATO member states warned that Moscow could strike the bloc in the coming years. On Monday, the chief of the Polish General Staff, General Wieslaw Kukula, said that "Russia is preparing for a conflict with NATO" in the next decade. He added that Moscow "will exploit any opportunity and any emerging weakness that can be operationalized to achieve its own interests."

Comment: See also:


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: