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NPC

More self-destructive virtue-signalling: Poland bans Russian coal


RT
Fri, 15 Apr 2022 19:51 UTC
russia coal mine
© LEC GROUPFILE PHOTO: Russian coal mine. Warsaw did not think through the embargo on Russian coal, a Polish MP says
The new law also allows the assets of businesses that support the country to be frozen

The office of Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Friday that he signed a bill into law that allows the assets of business entities that support Russia to be frozen. The document also provides for a ban on imports of Russian coal.

"The law on special measures" was adopted to protect national security, the document said.
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Russian Flag

At least one American briefing West Point cadets understands Russia

Larry Johnson
Sonar21.com
Wed, 13 Apr 2022 00:00 UTC
Dr. Karber
© UkrinformDr. Phillip Karber, founder and president of the Potomac Foundation
I stumbled across a video of Dr. Philip Karber, a former U.S. Marine and founder of the Potomac Foundation, briefing West Point cadets in April 2018 on the war in the Donbas and Russian capabilities. It is remarkable and worth your time because it lays out in stark terms the delusion of the American military and the harsh reality of Russian military capabilities.


Andrei Raevsky (aka The Saker) provides a helpful summary of Karber's key points:
  • Russia has the most advanced and dense, data-linked air defense on earth.
  • In a war against Russia, U.S. army cannot expect much air assistance for at least the first several weeks. Even stealth aircraft will not be of much use because of the distance they must fly in order to reach targets in Ukraine and/or Russia.
  • Russian EW (electronic warfare) is much more advanced and more 'combat-ized' than in the U.S. RF utilizes it in combat squads whereas U.S. barely has any and only at the divisional level
  • Russian EW shuts down all communications in huge areas along the front, no cellphones, military radios etc. They break GPS links with drones, making them useless and can even fry the fuses on artillery shells midflight.
  • U.S. army produces 10x the frequency emissions of a Ukrainian brigade, which would make it extremely visible to all sorts of Russian EW, drones, advanced weapons.
  • Russia has far more artillery than U.S. and far greater variety of munition types.

Comment: No mystery the West is trying to rally half the world to its side. The only plan feasible is to join ranks and force a global war aimed to stretch Russian military superiority over several enemies on several fronts. Ukraine is the testing ground, the 'shake out' for military assessments. (BTW: A very informative video.)

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Robot

Freedom is Tyranny: Robert Reich goes full Orwellian in anti-free speech screed

Jonathan Turley
jonathanturley.org
Wed, 13 Apr 2022 00:00 UTC
MuskReich
© Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/quotesgram.com/KJNElon Musk • Robert Reich
We recently discussed the gathering of Democratic politicians and media figures at the University of Chicago to discuss how to better shape news, combat "disinformation," and reeducate those with conservative views. The political and media elite shared ideas on how to expand censorship and control what people read or viewed in the news. The same figures are now alarmed that Elon Musk could gain greater influence over Twitter and, perish the thought, restore free speech protections to the site. The latest is former labor secretary under President Clinton, Robert Reich, who wrote a perfectly Orwellian column in the Guardian titled "Elon Musk's vision for the internet is dangerous nonsense." However, the column offers an insight into the anti-free speech mentality that has taken hold of the Democratic party and the mainstream media.

Musk is an advocate for free speech on the Internet. Like some of us, he is an Internet originalist. That makes him an existential threat for those who have long used "disinformation" as an excuse to silence dissenting views in the media and on social media.

Comment: See also:

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Boat

'WWIII has started': Russian state TV says after warship Moskva sinks in Black Sea.


India TV
Fri, 15 Apr 2022 20:00 UTC
Moskva cruiser
© Russian Defence Press Service/APRussian missile cruiser Moskva on patrol in the Mediterranean Sea near Syrian coast in 2015.
Russia Ukraine News: World War III has started, Russian State TV said following reports of the sinking of its warship Moskva in the Black Sea. While Ukraine has been claiming that it destroyed the Russian naval vessel, Russia said that the ship was damaged in a massive fire onboard.

A video clip from Kremlin's main propaganda mouthpiece Russia 1 has gone viral showing the presenter Olga Skabeyeva saying that the military conflict has escalated into what can "safely be called World War III".




Comment: Emotions are running high and accusations abound judging by this video.


Comment: There are conflicting theories, but the truth resides at the bottom of the sea:
The Russian Defense Ministry said the ship sank in a storm while being towed to a port. Russia earlier said the flames on the ship, which would typically have 500 sailors aboard, forced the entire crew to evacuate. Later it said the blaze had been contained.

Zelensky noted: "those who showed that Russian warships can sail away, even if it's to the bottom" of the sea.

The Moskva was reportedly the ship that called on Ukrainian soldiers stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender in a standoff. Ukraine and its supporters consider it an iconic moment of defiance. The country recently unveiled a postage stamp commemorating it.

Maksym Marchenko, the governor of the Odessa region, across the Black Sea to the northwest of Sevastopol, said the Ukrainians struck the ship with two Neptune missiles and caused "serious damage."

Russia's Defense Ministry said ammunition on board detonated as a result of a fire, without saying what caused the blaze. It said the "main missile weapons" were not damaged. In addition to the cruise missiles, the warship also had air-defense missiles and other guns.

The Neptune is an anti-ship missile that was recently developed by Ukraine and based on an earlier Soviet design. The launchers are mounted on trucks stationed near the coast, and, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, the missiles can hit targets up to 280 kilometers (175 miles) away. That would have put the Moskva within range, based on where it was when the fire began.

While the U.S. was not able to confirm Ukraine's claims of striking the warship, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan called it:
"A big blow to Russia. They've had to kind of choose between two stories: One story is that it was just incompetence, and the other was that they came under attack, and neither is a particularly good outcome for them."


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Black Magic

Chest-beating CIA Director Burns warns China's Xi Jinping is silent partner in Putin's 'aggression' in Ukraine

James Gordon
The Daily Mail
Thu, 14 Apr 2022 19:07 UTC
CIA Director William Burns
© Associated PressCIA Director William Burns
The director of the CIA said that China is 'a silent partner' when it comes to Russian President Vladimir Putin's 'aggression' in Ukraine.

William Burns spoke bluntly Thursday and warned China posed the 'greatest challenge' and 'most profound test' the agency has ever had to deal with, as he marked his first year in charge of the agency with a speech at the Georgia Institute of Technology on Thursday.

Burns highlighted the 'immediate threat posed by renewed Russian aggression against Ukraine,' and the 'longer term problem posed by China's ambitious leadership,' declaring it to be 'the single most important geopolitical challenge' of the 21st century.'

Comment: One is tempted to say 'shame on the Daily Mail' for this puff piece, but alas, that's their assigned role in the Empire.

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Magnify

The DOJ is investigating Americans for war crimes allegedly committed while fighting with far-right extremists in Ukraine

Christopher Miller
BuzzFeed News
Fri, 08 Oct 2021 04:18 UTC
Lang
© Oksana Parafeniuk BuzzFeed NewsCraig Lang in Kyiv on February 18, 2021
The probe involves seven men but is centered on former Army soldier Craig Lang, who is separately wanted in connection with a double killing in Florida and is fighting extradition from Kyiv.

One chilly day in February, Craig Lang, a former US Army soldier wanted for allegedly killing a married couple in Florida, pleaded with three stern-faced judges in a Kyiv courtroom to allow him to stay in Ukraine. He first came in 2015 to fight with a far-right paramilitary unit, defending the country from Russia-backed forces. And he believed that if he were extradited back to the US, he could face war crimes charges.

"Any separatist or Russian soldier that I have killed would be a murder charge" in the US, Lang, 31, said in his gruff North Carolina drawl. "Understand that some of my fellow combatants are under investigation by the FBI for war crimes."

That was a stunning statement. It would be extremely rare for the US government to investigate its own citizens for alleged war crimes committed on foreign soil — no one, experts say, has ever been prosecuted, let alone convicted, under the US War Crimes Act. Lang's claim, overheard by this BuzzFeed News reporter, could not be corroborated at the time.
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Stop

Russia formally warns US to stop arming Ukraine

Dave DeCamp
Antiwar.com
Thu, 14 Apr 2022 00:00 UTC
Soldiers guns
© AP/Efrem LukatskyNonstop Military aid to Ukraine from the US
Russia sent a formal diplomatic note to the US this week calling on Washington and NATO to stop arming Ukraine. The note, which was obtained by The Washington Post, said the Western campaign to pour weapons into Ukraine was "adding fuel" to the conflict and could lead to "unpredictable consequences."

The diplomatic note was sent Tuesday, when news broke of a new massive US military aid package for Ukraine. President Biden announced the new aid on Wednesday, which is worth $800 million and includes howitzers for the first time. The package also includes helicopters, armed Switchblade drones, coastal defense drones, armored vehicles, radar systems, and thousands of Stinger and Javelin missiles.

The Russian note was sent to the State Department by the Russian Embassy in Washington. It said the US and its NATO allies were ignoring "rigorous principles" on the transfer of weapons into the conflict zone and said the Western powers are oblivious to "the threat of high-precision weapons falling into the hands of radical nationalists, extremists and bandit forces in Ukraine."
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Stormtrooper

Toeing the Empire's line: Italy rejects ruble payment for Russian gas


RT
Fri, 15 Apr 2022 18:43 UTC
rubles gas russia payments
© Getty Images / Peter Dazeley
The Italian Foreign Ministry says giving in to Moscow's "blackmail" would violate EU sanctions

Russia's demand for ruble payments for natural gas cannot be fulfilled, according to Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, who says doing so would breach EU sanctions.

"We cannot pay in rubles; Russia introduced a double billing scheme from euro to rubles, this is impossible as it would mean bypassing sanctions against the [Russian] Central Bank," Di Maio said in an interview with Italy's Radio 24.

According to him, Russia has imposed an embargo against itself "from a technical point of view."

Comment: Brave words. How will they hold up when winter arrives, and the all the European countries' scramble to secure supplies prove inadequate? It's a seller's market after all. Putin has kindly given Europe the entire summer to contemplate their situation.

These charts are eight and six years old respectively. There have been very few significant new discoveries since then, and the ability to exploit them is a long-term affair.

They tell a clear enough story. Italy is dreaming if it thinks Algeria, or the Congo (which didn't even make the list), will be able to replace its percentage of Russian gas.
gas sources
© EIA
Russia gas exports
© EIA


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Pirates

Taiwan and Ukraine not same, US to ensure Chinese 'invasion never happens' - US National Security Advisor

Keoni Everington
Taiwan News
Fri, 15 Apr 2022 10:56 UTC
Rubenstein Jake Sullivan
© YouTube screenshot)Jake Sullivan speaks with David Rubenstein.
U.S. National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan on Thursday (April 14) said Taiwan is in a different situation to Ukraine and it is U.S. policy to ensure that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan does not occur.

Sullivan was a featured guest at a meeting of The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. hosted by the organization's president David Rubenstein. The discussion mainly revolved around Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but also touched on China's role in the Russo-Ukrainian war and cross-strait issues.

Rubenstein asked whether he was worried that China might consider invading Taiwan and whether the situation in Russia and Ukraine was similar to that in the Taiwan Strait. Sullivan said the Biden administration has expressed concerns about China "taking efforts to unilaterally change the status quo."

Comment: The US is certainly taking every step it can to prevent China reuniting with Taiwan - known officially as Republic of China - that's why they've surrounded China with military bases, however, as evidenced by Ukraine, the game has changed, it's just that the 'reality creators' running the US simply refuse to accept defeat: Also check out SOTT radio's:


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Newspaper

Why the outcome of Russia-Ukraine talks will change Europe's security landscape

Alexander Nepogodin
RT
Thu, 14 Apr 2022 17:12 UTC
Ukraine talks Russia Turkey
© Getty Images / Cem OzdelPeace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine at Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul, Turkey on March 29, 2022. Ukraine may abandon its NATO ambitions and to enshrine a neutral status in the Constitution. What will it get in return?
Six weeks into Moscow's military offensive, Russia and Ukraine do not have a mutually satisfactory agreement. A treaty between the two countries, when signed, could have far-reaching effects that go beyond bilateral relations, transforming the entire landscape of European security. On February 28, Moscow and Kiev kicked off the talks, focusing on four key areas: political aspects, demilitarization, the issue of Crimea and the Donbass, and the subject of NATO expansion.

So far the parties haven't made much progress. The only breakthrough was made when Ukraine said it would be willing to abandon its NATO ambitions and to encapsulate this commitment in the country's Constitution. This didn't come about without conditions, however.

Comment: For further insight into what might become of Ukraine, see: Ukraine is smashed, this is how it will be repaired

Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Kramatorsk False-Flag - Ukraine EU Delusion - Khan Ousted in Pakistan



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