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Pirates

US gov't body plots to break up Russia in name of 'decolonization'

Benjamin Norton
Multipolarista
Fri, 24 Jun 2022 09:54 UTC
Russia map
The US government's Helsinki Commission held a Congressional briefing plotting ways to break up Russia as a country, in the name of supposed "decolonization."
A US government body held a Congressional briefing plotting ways to break up Russia as a country, in the name of supposed "decolonization."

The participants urged the United States to give more support to separatist movements inside Russia and in the diaspora.

They proposed the independence of numerous republics in the Russian Federation, including Chechnya, Tatarstan, and Dagestan, as well as historic areas that existed centuries ago such as Circassia.

Comment: See also: Leaked Zoom call shows US, European diplomats secretly planning Ethiopian 'transition government' with rebel TPLF leader

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Arrow Up

Italy's coalition breaking apart over lethal aid to Ukraine

Chiara Albanese
BNN Bloomberg
Fri, 24 Jun 2022 09:51 UTC
Giuseppe Conte Mario Draghi
© BloombergGiuseppe Conte, Italy's outgoing prime minister, left, hands a bell to Mario Draghi, Italy's incoming prime minister, during a handover ceremony at Chigi Palace in Rome, Italy, on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Italys Mario Draghi unveiled his long-awaited government that includes Bank of Italys Daniele Franco as finance minister and taps a state-owned defense company executive for a green job.
Former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is considering quitting Mario Draghi's coalition, according to people familiar with the matter, as government support for Ukraine breaks apart the largest party in Parliament.

While the split would most likely leave Draghi with a majority in both chambers of the Italian legislature, it would make it more difficult for him to push through his plans for fixing up the economy and to turn down requests from other coalition partners. Conte's Five Star Movement would continue supporting the government's decisions on an ad hoc basis, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing confidential deliberations.

Five Star came first in Italy's 2018 elections but has since fallen dramatically in the polls and has been riven by internal divisions over Draghi's staunch support for the government in Kyiv. While Draghi on Tuesday vowed to continue providing aid and defended the European Union's sanctions regime, 57-year-old Conte has called on the government to focus on reviving peace talks and halt weapons deliveries.

Comment: See also: EU member Bulgaria ousts pro-NATO government in no-confidence vote



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Info

EU grants Ukraine candidate status


RT
Thu, 23 Jun 2022 18:30 UTC
EU Ukraine flags
© FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP
The leaders of 27 EU member states have also accepted the bid of Moldova.

The European Council agreed to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova during an EU summit on Thursday. Earlier, Belgium had said that the status would be a major sign of hope to Kiev, but it is, as of now, more of a "symbolic" gesture.

The news on Ukraine becoming a European Union hopeful was broken by Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

Comment: More from RT:
Granting Ukraine EU-candidate status is an important "symbolic message" to support Kiev amid the ongoing conflict with Russia, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Thursday. Actual admission of the country into the bloc, however, will take "many years" and a "lot of reforms," he warned.

Ukraine is expected to be accorded candidate status during the ongoing European Council summit. The EU Parliament overwhelmingly supported the move on Thursday, while last week the EU Commission recommended the granting of such status to Kiev.

Speaking ahead of a bloc summit, De Croo reiterated Belgium's support for Kiev's EU membership aspirations.

"Ukrainians are fighting for our values, for our values of democracy, security and peace. Giving a signal to the Ukrainian population with the candidate status is a very important symbolic message," De Croo said.

Still, the process of actual accession into the bloc will be a bumpy road as the country has to tackle a wide range of issues to meet EU standards, the premier pointed out.

"This does not mean that Ukraine will soon be part of the European Union. It is a process of many years with a lot of reforms which will be very difficult and for us it is very important to give a strong symbolic signal," De Croo explained.
See also:

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Wine

South Africa govt ends all remaining Covid restrictions including vaccine and testing entry requirements

Will Jones
The Daily Sceptic
Thu, 23 Jun 2022 21:10 UTC
Joe Phaahla
The Government of South Africa has announced the end of all Covid restrictions in what it describes as a "very historic day" and a "turning point since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the world and in the country". Minister of Health Dr. Joe Phaahla said:
On May 5th, we published a limited set of Regulations to provide a framework for mitigating against a spike in COVID-19 infections driven by subvariant BA.4 and BA.5 of the Omicron variant. During late April and most of May there was a significant peak in daily infections across the country starting to drive increased admissions to hospitals and daily deaths reported. Daily infections rose from as low as 250 cases per day in early April to just under 8,000 on May 15th 2022 with positivity rate reaching 22% on May 1st and 20% on May 15th.

By mid-June the situation had taken to a very positive direction with:

- Decline in daily cases
- Decline in hospitalisation
- Decline in positivity rate
- Decline in reproductive number
- And decline in reported deaths
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Bad Guys

Police report proves plainclothes electronic surveillance unit members were embedded among Jan. 6 protesters

Patricia Tolson
Epoch Times
Tue, 21 Jun 2022 08:59 UTC
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington
© Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersThe U.S. Capitol building in Washington is seen on May 28, 2021, behind security fencing that was put up after the Jan. 6, 2021 breach.
While there is growing speculation that federal agents and Capitol Police were involved in instigating acts of violence during the Jan. 6, 2021 protests and recording responses for the purposes of entrapment, evidence now proves that "plainclothes" members of a special Electronic Surveillance Unit (ESU) were embedded among the protesters for the purposes of conducting video surveillance. Evidence also points to a day of security deficiencies and police provocation for the purpose of entrapment.

According to a report — First Amendment Demonstrations, issued Jan. 3, 2021, by Chief of Police Robert Contee of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Homeland Security Bureau, Special Operations Division, obtained exclusively by The Epoch Times — the MPD began to activate Civil Disturbance Unit (CDU) platoons on Jan. 4, 2021. Full activation of 28 platoons was scheduled to occur on the following two days.

According to the Department of Justice website, "A CDU is composed of law enforcement officers who are trained to respond to protests, demonstrations, and civil disturbances for the purpose of preventing violence, destruction of property, and unlawful interference with persons exercising their rights under law."

Comment: See also:


And from January 2021:




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Stock Down

UK business confidence 'slumps' to lowest since financial crash of 2008, 'recession imminent' warns economist

Larry Elliott
The Guardian
Thu, 23 Jun 2022 11:20 UTC
uk economy business sale closing down
© Andy Rain/EPALarry ElliottMore than 47,000 UK businesses started 2024 on the edge of collapse
Britain's economy is starting to "run on empty" as post-pandemic order books dry up and the highest inflation in 40 years affects confidence, the latest snapshot of the private sector has shown.

Flash estimates of the economy's performance in June showed business optimism at its lowest since the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 and the sharpest drop in new order volumes for a year.

The monthly survey of purchasing managers produced by S&P and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) said overall business activity across the services and manufacturing sectors was unchanged on the 15-month low of 53.1 reached in May.
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Stock Down

Sri Lanka faces 'complete economic collapse', PM thinks only 'safe' option is talks with IMF

Riyaz ul Khaliq
Anadolu Agency
Thu, 23 Jun 2022 21:11 UTC
sri lanka
Stressing talks with IMF, Wickremesinghe says shoring up foreign reserves only route to financial recovery
The Sri Lankan prime minister on Wednesday warned that the economy of the island nation is facing a "complete collapse."

Addressing the country's parliament, Ranil Wickremesinghe said: "Our economy has faced a complete collapse," adding that shoring up foreign reserves is the route to financial recovery.

"That is the most serious issue before us today. These issues can only be resolved by reviving the Sri Lankan economy. In order to do this, we must first resolve the foreign reserves crisis," said the premier, according to a transcription of his speech delivered in the native Sinhalese language.

In April, the country announced that it had defaulted on all of its foreign debt as the island nation grappled with massive anti-government protests amid its worst economic crisis.

Comment: The IMF is notorious for taking advantage of countries in desperate need of financial assistance, only providing loans to them if they allow privatisation of their national resources, and supporting the the installation of undemocratic leaders who are 'friendly' to the West and its conglomerates: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (Documentary)

And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Confessions of an Economic Hitman: Interview with John Perkins

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Attention

The "Lab-Leak Theory" returns...as yet another fake binary

Kit Knightly
Off-Guardian
Thu, 23 Jun 2022 17:54 UTC
Lab Leak
© Off-Guardian
The theory that "Covid" originated in a bio-lab has been back in the headlines over the last few weeks, serving as a prime example of the type of fake binary OffG has been warning you about.

The "lab-leak theory" - which pushes the idea Sars-Cov-2 was bio-engineered in a lab as a "gain-of-function" program, and then either accidentally or deliberately released on an unsuspecting population - first came to the front pages as early as January 2020.

At the time it was deemed a "racist" "anti-china" conspiracy theory" by the vast majority of the media, and it fell away from the narrative.

It had a resurgence in 2021, suddenly & inexplicably becoming not racist anymore.

In February 2021 the World Health Organization published a report finding the lab origin for Covid19 "extremely unlikely". But WHO chief Tedro Adhanom was obviously keen not to let the idea die completely, publicly stating "more investigation was needed".

Overall, around this time, it suddenly became much less taboo to suggest the "virus" originated in a lab.

The BBC had an explainer article titled "Covid origin: Why the Wuhan lab-leak theory is being taken seriously", the New Yorker reported:
Scientists and political commentators are no longer dismissing the possibility that COVID-19 emerged from a Chinese laboratory.
As the Wikipedia page notes:
Since May 2021, some media organizations softened previous language that described the laboratory leak theory as "debunked" or a "conspiracy theory"
We did a brief coronavirus fact-check on "Covid is a bio-weapon" at the time.

Then, in December 2021, the Daily Mail reported that Dr Alina Chan had told the UK's Science Select Committee that it is 'reasonable to believe [the] virus was engineered in China' and that "the lab origin is more likely than not".

But after a brief furore over that, it again faded from the front pages.

Now it's back. And gaining momentum.
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Dominoes

Glenn Diesen: As propaganda about a Ukrainian 'victory' retreats, is a split emerging in the West?

Glenn Diesen
RT
Wed, 22 Jun 2022 13:40 UTC
Ukrainian soldiers
© AP/Efrem LukatskyDonbas: Ukrainian soldiers follow a US-supplied M777 howitzer to fire on Russian positions.
Germany and France want peace while the US and UK push for more war.

During the Russian Civil War, the journalist Walter Lippman observed the dilemma of propaganda - it had the positive effect of mobilizing the public for conflict, but the negative outcome of obstructing a workable peace agreement.

The British had drummed up public support for intervention in the conflict by reporting on Polish victories, fleeing communists, and the pending collapse of the Bolsheviks. In reality, the opposite was happening. Lippman argued that because the UK public had been promised victory, there was no political appetite for a reaching a diplomatic settlement.

A century later, little has changed. Public support for supplying billions of dollars' worth of weaponry and draconian sanctions was premised on the constructed narrative of a pending Russian defeat in Ukraine. Support for Kiev has been expressed by pushing stories of victories, while any admission of weakness could be ostracized as a hostile denigration of Ukraine's sacrifices. However, two things can be true at the same time: On one hand, Kiev's forces were well-trained, well-equipped and fought better than anyone had expected. On the other hand, the power of the Russian military is overwhelming and superior to the extent it hasn't even had to mobilize its army.

Reality is now catching up with the narrative. Russia has been making steady advancements and the sanctions have backfired terribly. With the situation becoming increasingly unfavorable to Ukraine and NATO, there are growing incentives for seeking a settlement with Russia. However, how can the narrative of a forthcoming victory be changed, and can the US-led bloc maintain its solidarity under a new narrative of defeat?

Comment: When conflicted within, they will eat their own.

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No Entry

No fast track to EU membership for Ukraine - France


RT
Wed, 22 Jun 2022 10:27 UTC
Flags
© Getty Images/Andia/KJN
Ukraine should not expect a fast track to EU membership despite there being a consensus on granting it candidate status, French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement Beaune has cautioned.

Speaking with the host of France's Europe 1 radio station on Wednesday, Beaune said there was "total consensus" among EU members that Ukraine is eligible to become a candidate nation. The official added that he expected this to be formally "confirmed on Thursday and Friday."

On June 23-24, the heads of state and government of all 27 countries comprising the EU will gather in Brussels, with the membership bids of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia high on the agenda.

The French official hastened to warn, however, that "it's a long process, Ukraine will not be a member of the European Union tomorrow morning." Beaune emphasized that Kiev will not be given "accelerated procedure or privilege," adding that the French parliament will have a final say in deciding whether Paris will back granting Ukraine candidate status.
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