Puppet MastersS


Cardboard Box

Afghanistan IG calls for more oversight to prevent fraud, avoid 'significant mistakes' in $133B Ukrainian aid

Thomas Phippen
Yahoo News
Sun, 26 Feb 2023 00:35 UTC
John F. Sopko
John F. Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on February 11, 2020, in Washington, DC.
As the U.S. commits to support Ukraine no matter how long it takes, some in government are asking: Did America learn its lessons from Afghanistan?

Ukraine is not Afghanistan, but in terms of how the U.S. approaches aid and oversight of funds, "has that changed?" asked John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR) which tracked billions of dollars of wasted money over the decades-long effort to rebuild that nation.

"We made some significant mistakes in dealing with Afghanistan," he said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

The one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion and Ukraine's defense of its territory came with commitments from President Biden to contribute more than the $113 billion already appropriated for the war, and a near-unanimous chorus of lawmakers promising additional assistance in weapons and money.

"The very worst outcome is that the assistance gets diverted, stolen in such a way that it doesn't accomplish its intended purpose — in this case, providing the Ukrainians with the weapons and the money to win their war against the aggressor, Russia," Sopko told Fox News.
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Bad Guys

Ukraine preparing attack on Crimea - Zelensky


RT
Mon, 27 Feb 2023 00:29 UTC
Ukrainian Army
© Getty Images / John MooreUkrainian Army replacement troops go through combat training on February 24, 2023.
Ukraine is readying an offensive to try and seize Russia's Crimean peninsula, President Vladimir Zelensky said on Friday at a press conference. Kiev is forming new units specifically for the task, with servicemen undergoing training abroad, he revealed.

"We're taking military steps, we are preparing for them. We are mentally prepared already. We prepare technically, with weapons, forces, we form new brigades, we form offensive units of various kinds and types, we are sending people for training not only in Ukraine, you know, but also in other countries," Zelensky stated.

The president, as well as other top officials, has repeatedly pledged to re-capture all of the former Ukrainian territories from Russia, including Crimea. The peninsula broke away from the country back in 2014 in the aftermath of the Maidan coup in Kiev, joining Russia after a landslide referendum.

Comment: Is the Ukrainian military really so stupid as to launch an offensive on Crimea after telling the whole world that they're preparing for an offensive against Crimea? We shall see.

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Arrow Down

Saudi Arabia signs $400 million Ukraine humanitarian aid memorandum as Kingdom's FM visits Kyiv

Tuqa Khalid
Al Arabiya
Sun, 26 Feb 2023 19:54 UTC
Zelensky Faisal bin Farhan
© Twitter/KSAMOFAUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Kyiv, February 26, 2023.
Saudi Arabia signed an agreement and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ukraine, providing the war-torn country with $400 million in humanitarian aid during a high-level delegation's visit to Kyiv, the Saudi foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan led the Kingdom's delegation and was received by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the presidential residence in Kyiv.

The FM also met with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and the head of the Ukrainian president's office Andriy Yermak.


Comment: Notably Zelensky's counterpart, Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman, was absent.


The Saudi top diplomat discussed opportunities to enhance bilateral cooperation in a wide range of fields, in addition to reviewing regional and international developments of common concern, the Saudi foreign ministry said.

Comment: Saudi Arabia's cooperation with Russia on oil prices, in defiance of US pressure, is much more significant in geopolitical terms than this aid package which is unlikely to last Zelensky and his stooges very long.

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Syringe

Sins of the Pfizer

Simon Elmer
The Daily Sceptic
Sun, 26 Feb 2023 21:28 UTC
Pfizer, vaccines, needles, shots, jab
In an interview with CNBC News in September 2020, Dr. Albert Bourla, the veterinarian Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer — the second largest pharmaceutical company in the world by revenue — said that anyone refusing to take the BioNTech vaccine will become "the weak link that will allow the virus to replicate", and assured the public that "we will develop our product, develop our vaccine using the highest ethical standards".

It was a dangerous claim to make, even for a CEO and investor making billions out of the experimental mRNA gene therapy product. Pfizer has a long history of paying out vast sums in out-of-court settlements to avoid not only claims in civil cases but also prosecution on criminal charges resulting from the fraudulent promotion, unapproved prescription and injury, including death, from use of its products. It has also offered millions in payments to doctors and scientists to prescribe, test, approve and recommend them to the public. So let's have a look at what Dr. Albert Bourla means by Pfizer's 'ethical standards'.

Comment:

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Arrow Up

From special operation to full-scale war

Alexander Dugin
Al Mayadeen
Fri, 24 Feb 2023 22:53 UTC
military
© UnknownRussia finds itself at war with modern Western liberal civilization
Russia has changed its paradigm from realism to the Theory of a Multipolar World, has directly rejected liberalism in all its forms, and has directly challenged modern Western civilization, openly denying it the right to be universal.

A year has passed since the start of Russian Special Military Operation in Ukraine. It began precisely as a Special Military Operation, it is clear today that Russia has found itself in a full-fledged and difficult war. The war not so much with Ukraine - as a regime, not with a people (hence the demand for political denazification was put forward initially), but first of all with the "collective West", that is, in fact, with the NATO bloc (except for the special position of Turkey and Hungary, seeking to remain neutral in the conflict - the remaining NATO countries take part in the war on the side of Ukraine one way or another).

This year of war shattered many illusions that all sides of the conflict had.

The West was wrong in its calculations

The West, hoping for the effectiveness of an avalanche of sanctions against Russia and its almost complete cut-off from the part of the world economy, politics, and diplomacy controlled by the United States and its allies, did not succeed. The Russian economy has held its own, there have been no internal protests, and Putin's position has not only not wavered, but has only grown stronger. Russia could not be coerced into stopping military operations, attacking Ukraine's military-technical infrastructure, or withdrawing decisions to annex new entities. There was no uprising of the oligarchs, whose assets were seized in the West, either. Russia survived, even though the West seriously believed that it would fall.

Comment: Dugin offers a measured, but insightful account of past, present and future options for the war in Ukraine and the fate of mankind going forth.

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Nuke

Fyodor Lukyanov: What Russia's suspension of the New START nuclear treaty means for the world

Fyodor Lukyanov
RT
Sat, 25 Feb 2023 13:19 UTC
VPutin
© Sputnik/Maksim BlinovRussian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual address to the Federal Assembly, including lawmakers of the State Duma, members of the Federation Council, regional governors and other officials, in Moscow, Russia.
The suspension of the New START Treaty was the most important news item in President Vladimir Putin's Annual Address and a key signal to international players. This is understandable, as it affects what is commonly known as "strategic stability," i.e. the system of peaceful relations between the nuclear powers.

However, if we try to summarize the main point of the speech, it was mostly a call for Russia to concentrate on its domestic affairs and its own development. There were no plans for the global order in the address. And the outside world in general was given a very minor focus, with a demand (to the West) not to interfere in Russian affairs, and remarks (aimed at everyone else) about opening up new markets and logistical corridors for cooperation.

The pattern of relations with the Western world, as outlined in the message, is disengagement on all fronts: economic, political, financial and ethical. And this is the norm, not an anomaly. Because the Ukrainian issue is at the heart of the dispute, on which Russia and the West have diametrically opposed and irreconcilable views. It has taken a violent form and is likely to drag on for a long time. But the goal remains. And the decision on New START should be seen in this context, as should indications that a resumption of nuclear tests is not unthinkable. We shall leave the military side of the matter to the professionals (and we have brilliant specialists in this field), but this decision is primarily a political one. Let us try to look at it in more detail.

Comment: Will treaties still work? There is zero guarantee the US will uphold its end of the bargain.

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Hammer

Canada's Freedom Convoy crackdown was not the last or the worst one

Rachel Marsden
RT
Sat, 25 Feb 2023 17:09 UTC
protester
© Steve Russell/Toronto Star/Getty ImagesProtester makes his stand as police remove the 'Freedom Convoy' in Ottawa, Canada
The report on the government's use of the Emergencies Act against Covid-19 protesters says it was fair and effective. So expect more like it

The final report on the Canadian government's use of the Emergencies Act amid last year's country-wide trucker protests against Covid-19 vaccine mandates is in, and it's largely a roadmap for greater government control.

Former Canadian Liberal Party top advisor turned justice, Paul Rouleau, has issued the Public Order Emergency Commission's report, which concludes that the government was indeed justified in using the measure, which included the ability to block bank accounts of not just the protesters but also those who donated to them.

There are reasonable limits to free expression, Rouleau points out.

Comment: Was the convoy and subsequent protest illegal? There would have to be a law against it. The key issue was whether the events constituted an emergency when the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act.
Under the Emergencies Act, a national emergency is:

" ... an urgent and critical situation of a temporary nature that (a) seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians and is of such proportions or nature as to exceed the capacity or authority of a province to deal with it, or (b) seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada, and that cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada."

Consistent with Canadian and international law, the rights to peaceful protest and free expression can be temporarily restricted or even suspended in times of declared public emergency.

So the key issue is whether the events constituted a public emergency.
The legislation had never been used before the convoy 'crisis', and the government refrained from sending in the army to restore order during the trucker protest. From all unbiased reports, the convoy didn't match the qualifications of the Emergencies Act.

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Snakes in Suits

White House says 'no indication' of misused Ukraine funds after Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for audit

Chris Pandolfo
Fox News
Fri, 24 Feb 2023 18:32 UTC
John Kirby
© Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesWhite House National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby said Friday there is "no indication" that any of the billions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer aid sent to Ukraine has been lost or misused.
National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby told reporters in a White House briefing on Friday that there is "no indication" that any of the billions of dollars in defense aid the U.S. has sent to Ukraine has been misplaced or stolen as GOP lawmakers push for an audit.

On a call with reporters, Kirby said the White House takes accountability for the funds Congress has appropriated for Ukraine "seriously" and that the American people deserve to know their tax dollars are being spent wisely.

"We have seen no indication to date that any of the resources or weapons we've provided to Ukraine have been misused, misplaced, stolen, sold on the black market or captured by the Russians," Kirby said.


Comment: That is total BS:


Alluding to how war can obscure some of the government's spending for Ukraine, Kirby said the White House is both supportive of and grateful for congressional oversight and welcomes accountability measures, noting that an inspector general is "on the job" to oversee how security assistance funding to the Ukrainians is administered.


Comment: Is the inspector general asleep on the job or just paid to look the other way?

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Russian Flag

Only one potential 'scenario' for Ukraine talks - Moscow


RT
Fri, 24 Feb 2023 22:13 UTC
Nebenzia
© Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesVassily Nebenzia • UN Security Council • February 24, 2023
Russia is only willing to discuss peace in Ukraine if the goals it has proclaimed for its military operation are included in the deal, Vassily Nebenzia, Moscow's permanent representative to the UN, warned on Friday. The diplomat made the remarks during a meeting of the UN Security Council marking the first anniversary of the ongoing hostilities. He stated:
"Russia is ready to negotiate a peaceful realization of the goals of the special military operation, and will not even consider any other scenarios."
The official goals of the operation, according to Moscow, include the "demilitarization" and "denazification" of Ukraine, as well as protecting the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk from Kiev's onslaught, which has been dragging on since the 2014 Maidan events. Russian incorporated both republics, along with the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, after the overwhelming majority of their populations voted in favor of the idea last September.

Nebenzia insisted that Russia never harbored any plans to destroy Ukraine as an independent state. Despite repeated claims by the collective West, a cessation of hostilities by Kiev would only give Ukraine the chance to become a "normal" country again.

Comment: The West's feeding frenzy demands Russia and Ukraine continue the war. The US is the lynch pin. Without it, NATO has scant leverage, insufficient investment and will likely dissolve.

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Stop

Moscow responds to claims of 'secret' talks on Ukraine


RT
Sat, 25 Feb 2023 15:00 UTC
Cassis
© AFP/Fabrice CoffriniSwitzerland’s Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis
Moscow has rejected claims by Switzerland's Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis that unannounced talks on resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have been taking place in Geneva.

He told Le Temps on Wednesday that "secret" negotiations between the two sides were underway on Swiss territory. The diplomat described those contacts as "non-high-level," but stressed that Switzerland was also ready to provide a venue for contacts between top officials from Moscow and Kiev.

When addressed about the issue on Saturday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova referred journalists to a comment made by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky the previous day.
"As far as I know, Russian diplomats, representatives of the administration and government aren't conducting any negotiations of high or any other levels" with the Ukrainians."
Zakharova also rejected the very idea of holding any negotiations on Swiss territory:
"Switzerland, which has joined the West's illegal unilateral anti-Russian sanctions, in our understanding, is no longer a neutral state and can't claim any intermediary role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis."

Comment: Switzerland can't redefine its position and claim the same values.

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