Puppet MastersS


Putin

Flashback Best of the Web: Putin the Risk-Taker

Gordon M. Hahn
Russian & Eurasian Politics
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 17:28 UTC
putin julius caesar
Like Julius Caesar before him, Vladimir Putin is unafraid to take bold, but always calculated, action in service to his country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's entire career, from the Soviet KGB in Dresden to the Russian presidency in Moscow, has displayed bold risk-taking. In situations where he has been under great pressure to make difficult decisions, he has repeatedly demonstrated a propensity or ability to act promptly, decisively, and with considerable effectiveness. A few examples from key turning points in Putin's political life will suffice to demonstrate these points. On the more humorous side, but perhaps no less indicatively, Putin almost married a college girlfriend but at the last minute reneged, leaving her standing at the altar.

Dresden 1989

His first political test came with the fall of the Berlin wall, which threatened the KGB's outpost in Dresden where Putin had been stationed since 1985 to recruit agents undercover as deputy director of the House of Soviet-German Friendship. As mobs of protesters turned their attention to the KGB building after storming Dresden's Stasi headquarters, Putin went outside to confront the "aggressively-minded crowd" and answered their questions. He then went back inside and called the Soviet military base for help but was told that they could do nothing without an order from Moscow and that "Moscow is silent." "Hours" later troops arrived and the crowd quietly dispersed (N. Gevorkyan and A. Kolesnikov, Ot Pervogo Litsa: Razgovory s Vladimirom Putinym (Moscow: Vagrius, 2000), p. 71.]

Comment: Time has proven Mr. Hahn more than correct. Putin has demonstrated patience, forbearance and timing in dealings with enemies foreign and domestic. These are the attributes of the true warrior.

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Bullseye

Vindicated too late: The NYT now admits the Biden Laptop -- falsely called "Russian disinformation" -- is authentic

Glenn Greenwald
greenwald.substack.com
Thu, 17 Mar 2022 16:57 UTC
hunter joe biden
© Andrew Harnik/POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesPresident Joe Biden embraces his son Hunter Biden (L) on stage after delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 7, 2020.
The media outlets which spread this lie from ex-CIA officials never retracted their pre-election falsehoods, ones used by Big Tech to censor reporting on the front-runner.

One of the most successful disinformation campaigns in modern American electoral history occurred in the weeks prior to the 2020 presidential election. On October 14, 2020 — less than three weeks before Americans were set to vote — the nation's oldest newspaper, The New York Post, began publishing a series of reports about the business dealings of the Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, in countries in which Biden, as Vice President, wielded considerable influence (including Ukraine and China) and would again if elected president.

The backlash against this reporting was immediate and intense, leading to suppression of the story by U.S. corporate media outlets and censorship of the story by leading Silicon Valley monopolies. The disinformation campaign against this reporting was led by the CIA's all-but-official spokesperson Natasha Bertrand (then of Politico, now with CNN), whose article on October 19 appeared under this headline: "Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say."

Comment: Kudos to the New York Post for sticking to its story regardless of the smears and suppression it suffered from those media companies in the pocket of the Democrat machine. Also to Glenn Greenwald, for valuing his journalistic integrity over the prestige of having a voice on an influential platform.

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Bad Guys

Polish, Czech & Slovenian leaders visit 'war-torn Kiev', Poland suggests NATO 'peace mission', US to send long range weapons & killer drones


Deutsche Welle
Tue, 15 Mar 2022 12:00 UTC
slovenia ukraine poland czech
From left to right: Slovenian PM Janez Jansa, Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki and his deputy Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and Czech PM Petr Fiala, studying a map of Ukraine prior to departure
The Polish and Czech premiers pledged support for the country's independence after meeting with Ukrainian leadership in Kyiv, while Polish deputy PM Kaczynski called for a peacekeeping force to be sent to Ukraine.

The leaders of three EU countries traveled by train to Ukraine to pledge their support.

The prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday to express EU solidarity as Russia continues its assault on Ukraine's capital city.

Comment: RT reports the US is considering more 'humanitarian aid' in the form of kamimaze drones:
Explosive drones are said to be part of a 'wishlist' of American weapons sought by Kiev

kamikaze drone
© YouTube / AeroVironment Inc.A rendering of a 'Switchblade' drone, seen in a promotional video
The Biden administration is weighing whether to send explosives-laden 'Switchblade' drones to Ukraine, NBC News reported on Wednesday. The aircraft, which can loiter above the battlefield before propelling themselves toward an enemy, are just one weapons system Kiev has petitioned the US for.

The drones, manufactured by Virginia defense contractor AeroVironment, come in two varieties: One that targets personnel and another that targets vehicles. Equipped with cameras, guidance systems, and explosives, the robotic bombs can fly up to 50 miles to strike a target, or can circle above a battlefield before dive-bombing an enemy below.

These "kamikaze" drones are significantly cheaper than larger and more sophisticated vehicles, and have a lower price tag than other single-use munitions that the US has supplied to Ukraine in recent weeks. A single Javelin launch system and missile costs $178,000, according to the Pentagon's 2021 budget, while an anti-personnel Switchblade drone costs $6,000, NBC reported.


Never before has the business of death been so affordable.


It is unclear how many of these drones the US has in its stockpile, how quickly they could be sent to Ukraine, and how much training Ukrainian soldiers would need to correctly operate them. So far, NBC reported, the UK is the only foreign country authorized to purchase the killer robots.

Congressional Republicans meanwhile wrote a letter to Biden and other administration officials on Tuesday, urging them to send to Kiev cash allocated for military aid "without delay," and to include weapons from a "wish list" submitted by Zelensky.

Among the weapons named on the list are "armed drones, anti-ship missiles, 'off-the-shelf' electronic jamming equipment and surface-to-air missiles that can strike aircraft at higher altitudes," NBC reported, citing unnamed sources in Washington. Republicans have also called on the administration to send Soviet-era warplanes recently provided to the US by Poland, although delivering these jets into Ukraine could be seen by Russia as an act of war, and Biden has thus far refused.

President Joe Biden is expected to discuss a new package of military aid for Ukraine on Wednesday, after an address to Congress by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. During his address, Zelensky again called for the US to increase sanctions on Moscow and impose what he termed a "humanitarian no-fly zone" over Ukraine, imploring the American lawmakers: "is this too much to ask?" As an alternative, he asked for S-300 air defense systems or fighter jets.

While imposing this zone would counter Russia's air superiority over the country, there are fears that it would also bring NATO troops into direct conflict with Russia, and in the words of Biden, would lead to a "third world war."

Moscow attacked its neighbor in late February, following a seven-year standoff over Ukraine's failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, and Russia's eventual recognition of the Donbass republics in Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols had been designed to regularize the status of those regions within the Ukrainian state.


Note that, by trying to rope NATO into Ukraine, European leaders are violating the very protocols that other EU countries designed.


Russia has now demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.
RFE/RL reports:
US announces 'unprecedented' new weapons aid to Ukraine
Blinken Hicks Biden ukraine us Russia
Flanked by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about assistance the U.S. government is providing to Ukraine on March 16.
U.S. President Joe Biden has announced $1 billion in new security aid and the deployment of longer-range weapons and drones to Ukraine, while expressing "unprecedented" support for Kyiv in its war with Russia.

But Biden's position remained unchanged over Kyiv's repeated appeals for a Western-imposed no-fly zone over the ex-Soviet state, which NATO has consistently rejected for fear of an escalation that could put the alliance on a warpath with Russia.

The amount includes $200 million allocated over the weekend and $800 million in new funds from an aid package approved by Congress last week.

"These are direct transfers of equipment from our Department of Defense to the Ukrainian military to help them as they fight against this invasion," said Biden.

The U.S. president also announced U.S. help for Ukraine to acquire "additional longer-range anti-aircraft systems."

Biden said Ukraine will receive an additional 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-tank weapons, 7,000 light weapons, and 20 million rounds of ammunition.

The United States will also be providing Ukraine with 100 drones -- or Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems -- which Biden said "demonstrates our commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for its defense."
For further insight into the situation, check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Russian Operations in Ukraine Proceeding as Planned, But Risk of War Contagion Grows



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Info

Jen Psaki is wrong: History will write that India was right for remaining neutral

Andrew Korybko
OneWorld
Wed, 16 Mar 2022 00:01 UTC
modi psaki
Unlike what Psaki claimed, India is standing on the right side of history by remaining neutral in the New Cold War. Those who objectively assess events will agree that it would be detrimental to Indian interests to side against Russia like America arrogantly demands. Its neutrality should be praised, not condemned.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki answered in response to a question about India's interest in purchasing discounted Russian energy that "Our message to any country continues to be, obviously, abide by the sanctions. I don't think this would be violating [the sanctions], but think about where you want to stand when the history books are written in this moment in time. And support for the Russian leadership is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact."

This amounts to yet another attempt by America to meddle in India's sovereign affairs, which includes its foreign policy. It also represents the continuation of increasingly complicated Indian-American relations that first became noticeable in summer 2020. The US is aggressively imposing a false zero-sum choice onto its "fellow" Quad partner whereby India is being pressured to choose between it and Russia even though its national interests are indisputably best served by remaining neutral.

Comment: When you're dealing with the black and white, 'with-us-or-against-us' mentality of the powers in charge, the last thing you can expect would be nuance. To be on the 'wrong side of history' assumes they know who will be writing the history books.

See also:

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Megaphone

Putin reveals how Ukraine bloodshed could've been avoided


RT
Wed, 16 Mar 2022 18:06 UTC
ukraine soldier BMP-2
© Wolfgang Schwan / Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesUkrainian troops load ammunition into a BMP-2 in the Donetsk Region, February 10, 2022.
Kiev was asked to pull out of Donbass but refused, the Russian president said for the first time.

Moscow had asked Kiev to withdraw troops from Donbass republics to avoid bloodshed, but Ukraine refused, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed for the first time on Wednesday.

"I want to say this for the first time: at the very beginning of the operation in Donbass, to avoid bloodshed, we asked the Kiev authorities through various channels to not engage in hostilities but simply withdraw their troops from Donbass. They didn't want to," Putin said in a video call with the governors of Russian regions.

Comment: See also:

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Info

Kremlin responds to Biden calling Putin 'war criminal'


RT
Wed, 16 Mar 2022 20:34 UTC
joe biden
© AP / Patrick Semansky
The US president initially refused to use the term, but then reconsidered.

US President Joe Biden has called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "a war criminal" over the conflict in Ukraine, with the Kremlin responding that such remarks from the United States are "unacceptable and unforgivable."

During a White House event on Wednesday, Biden was asked by one of the reporters if he considered Russia's president a war criminal. Initially, Biden answered "no," but then he asked the journalist to clarify the question and said: "Oh I think he is a war criminal."

Comment: See also:

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Light Saber

China criticizes US' inconsistency on Taiwan at high profile meeting, US fails to impose its stance on Ukraine

Chen Qingqing and Fan Anqi
Global Times
Tue, 15 Mar 2022 12:00 UTC
china taiwan us
© XinhuaYang Jiechi (1st L), a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, meets with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (1st R) in Rome, Italy, March 14, 2022.
China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi met with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in the Italian capital of Rome on Monday, elaborating on China's position on the situation in Ukraine and calling on the international community to jointly support Russia-Ukraine peace talks. The two sides also had candid, in-depth and constructive discussions on China-US relations and agreed on jointly implementing the consensus reached by the two heads of state and managing the differences.

Although some US media described the 7-hour meeting as intense, covering a wide range of issues including the Ukraine situation and China-US ties, the White House summarized the meeting in an 80-word readout. Some Chinese experts said though the high-level meeting between senior Chinese and US officials were a positive signal to the world at such a turbulent time, there are still major divergences between the two sides, particularly on their positions concerning the Ukraine crisis.
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Sherlock

Iran unleashes its fury against US & Israel in retaliation for provocations

Vladimir Odintsov
New Eastern Outlook
Tue, 15 Mar 2022 20:23 UTC
explosion iran
Endless provocations and subversive actions of the US and Israel against Iran lead to the Iranian people getting increasingly bitter towards the two countries and their representatives.

Following the blatant US assassination operation against Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) special forces, killed on the night of January 3, 2020 by the United States near Baghdad International Airport, another similar assassination attempt was carried out on March 7, near Damascus. According to a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, two Iranian officers were killed in an Israeli air strike there: "IRGC Colonels Ehsan Karbalaipour and Morteza Saibnejad became shahids, the responsibility for their deaths lies with the Zionist regime that launched the missile attack on Damascus. The Zionists will answer for their crimes."

As early as 11 March, Israeli media reported, citing US intelligence, "Iran may dare to strike directly at Israel. This is how the Islamic Republic wants to avenge the Jewish state for the deaths of two IRGC officers on the outskirts of Damascus."
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Chess

Germany wants nothing to do with war against Russia: German official says sending NATO troops to Ukraine is 'red line'


RT
Wed, 16 Mar 2022 22:14 UTC
nato meeting
© Getty Images / Anadolu Agency / Contributor
Sending any NATO military to Ukraine for any purpose should be a "red line," Steffen Hebestreit, a German government spokesperson, told reporters on Wednesday.

Hebestreit was responding to Poland's call on Tuesday for a NATO "peacekeeping mission" to Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing military offensive.

The German official said it would be very difficult to distinguish between what would be considered a humanitarian aid operation and what would be seen as a military mission.

"No NATO personnel, no NATO soldier to be sent outside of NATO to Ukraine, that is clear," he said.
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Brick Wall

Russia's media watchdog bans CIA front Bellingcat


RT
Wed, 16 Mar 2022 22:08 UTC
bellingcat
© Wikipedia
Russia's internet and media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has blocked access to the website of the Netherlands-based investigative journalism group Bellingcat, along with 31 other outlets.

According to Roskomsvoboda, an activist group monitoring access restrictions in the Russian segment of the internet, Bellingcat's page was blocked on Wednesday at the request of Russia's prosecutor general's office. The watchdog's own website seems to corroborate that information as well.

Along with Bellingcat, dozens of other lesser-known media outlets, both foreign and domestic, ended up off limits to Russian internet users on Wednesday.

It is not clear yet what the specific reason is for this latest move, though since the start of Russia's offensive against Ukraine on February 24, Moscow has enacted several laws and regulations aimed at preventing the spread of disinformation regarding its military operation.

Comment: Previously:

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