Puppet MastersS


Dollar Gold

Countries accelerate shift away from US dollar


RT
Sat, 01 Jan 2022 08:24 UTC
shattered dollar
© Getty Images/Mike KentThe US Dollar
The holdings of gold in the foreign exchange reserves of the central banks have been growing worldwide, hitting a 31-year high this year. At the same time, US dollar holdings have been dropping.

According to the World Gold Council, the banks have built up their stockpile by more than 4,500 tons over the past decade. As of September, the reserves totaled some 36,000 tons - the largest haul since 1990, and up 15% from a decade earlier.

At the same time, the presence of the dollar in foreign exchange reserves has dropped sharply over the past decade. In 2020, the currency-by-currency ratio of the greenback plunged to the lowest level in a quarter of a century.

Analysts say that the central banks, particularly in emerging economies, are continuing their shift to gold, reflecting global concerns about the dollar-based monetary regime. In the first nine months of 2021, Thailand bought some 90 tons, India 70, and Brazil 60.

Central banks and public institutions started boosting holdings of gold after the global financial crisis of 2008, which caused an outflow of funds from US government bonds, resulting in falls in the value of dollar-denominated assets.

Trust in dollar assets thus "faltered," market analyst Itsuo Toyoshima says, as quoted by Nikkei Asia.

Gold prices have remained firm, trading at the $1,806 level per troy ounce as of December 30.
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Footprints

Choosing Baghdad's new rulers: It's a long road

Elijah J. Magnier
ejmagnier.com
Sun, 02 Jan 2022 00:00 UTC
Burning wreckage
© UnknownThe US Assassination of Haj Qassem Soleimani and Haj Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes
Baghdad Airport, Iraq
The Iraqi Shiite parties decided to remove the barriers, tents, and sit-ins they have displayed for a few months in Baghdad at the gates of the "Green Zone". They are now headed towards engaging the political process and accepting the election results approved by the Federal Supreme Court. This happened only after vigorous inter-Shia contacts between the leaders of the Shiite parties. The objective was to overcome the enduring differences triggered by the preliminary results and the different approaches to critical challenges, mainly the US forces, corruption and the armed militia.

Many political parties lost a significant number of parliamentary seats, limiting their future influence in the future government- but not on the streets. A great pride prevailed among the Sadrist movement when winning the most significant number of parliamentary seats (73 MP seats), with a high expectation of forming a Sadrist government. However, the journey between announcing the results and forming the government remains long and hampered by severe obstacles. For this reason, the first meeting of its kind took place in Najaf, after Baghdad's meeting that broke the ice between Shia political leaders, among the most influential Shiite parties, but with the absence of the former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (33 MP seats). This indicates that although all Shia parties' political understandings and agreements for selecting the country's leaders have not yet matured, nevertheless, they have started seriously to tackle the main points of concern.
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Putin

We've seen the Kremlin ultimatum to NATO, so what is the "or else"? A list of potential options

Patrick Armstrong
Russian Observer
Tue, 21 Dec 2021 20:40 UTC
Russian Federation Alexander Grushko
© Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation / TASSDeputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander Grushko
"Мы как раз даем понять, что мы готовы разговаривать о том, чтобы военный сценарий или военно-технический сценарий перевести в некий политический процесс, который реально укрепит военную безопасность <...> всех государств на пространстве ОБСЕ, Евроатлантики, Евразии. А если этого не получится, то мы уже обозначили им (НАТО - прим. ТАСС), тогда мы тоже перейдем в вот этот режим создания контругроз, но тогда будет поздно нас спрашивать, почему мы приняли такие решения, почему мы разместили такие системы."
"We are making it clear that we are ready to talk about changing from a military or a military-technical scenario to a political process that really will strengthen the military security... of all the countries in the OCSE, Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian space. We've told them that if that doesn't work out, we will create counter-threats; then it will be too late to ask us why we made such decisions and positioned such weapons systems." — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko quoted by TASS

Moscow has issued an ultimatum to USA/NATO. It is this: seriously negotiate on the issues laid out here and here. Some of them are non-negotiable.

Ultimatums always have an "Or Else" clause. What is the "or else" in this case? I don't know but I've been thinking and reading other peoples' thoughts and some ideas/guesses/suppositions follow. They are the order that they occurred to me. Whether Moscow has such a list in front of it or not, it certainly has many "counter-threats" it can use.

Comment: The quote from George Kennan is worth reading in full:
I think it is the beginning of a new cold war," said Mr. Kennan from his Princeton home. "I think the Russians will gradually react quite adversely and it will affect their policies. I think it is a tragic mistake. There was no reason for this whatsoever. No one was threatening anybody else. This expansion would make the Founding Fathers of this country turn over in their graves. We have signed up to protect a whole series of countries, even though we have neither the resources nor the intention to do so in any serious way. [NATO expansion] was simply a light-hearted action by a Senate that has no real interest in foreign affairs."

"What bothers me is how superficial and ill informed the whole Senate debate was," added Mr. Kennan, who was present at the creation of NATO and whose anonymous 1947 article in the journal Foreign Affairs, signed "X," defined America's cold-war containment policy for 40 years. "I was particularly bothered by the references to Russia as a country dying to attack Western Europe. Don't people understand? Our differences in the cold war were with the Soviet Communist regime. And now we are turning our backs on the very people who mounted the greatest bloodless revolution in history to remove that Soviet regime.

"And Russia's democracy is as far advanced, if not farther, as any of these countries we've just signed up to defend from Russia," said Mr. Kennan, who joined the State Department in 1926 and was U.S. Ambassador to Moscow in 1952. "It shows so little understanding of Russian history and Soviet history. Of course there is going to be a bad reaction from Russia, and then [the NATO expanders] will say that we always told you that is how the Russians are — but this is just wrong."

— Thomas L. Friedman, writing for the New York Times: "Foreign Affairs; Now a Word From X", 2 May 1998


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Star of David

Rising hysteria in Israel as UN Human Rights probe picks up pace


Al Mayadeen Net
Sun, 02 Jan 2022 20:21 UTC
Jerusalem Post editor caroline glick
© The Jerusalem PostFormer Jerusalem Post Senior Contributing Editor Caroline Glick, a far-right Israeli American
After the UN approved an open-ended probe against Israeli war crimes, "Israel" continues with its frenzy by calling for a "counter-assault" against the commission on all levels.

Israeli frenzy is picking up pace after the UN approved on December 25 an unprecedented open-ended probe against Israeli war crimes.

The investigation was first set up following "Israel's" latest aggression on Gaza earlier this year. The UN Human Rights Council voted in May to launch the investigation after the UN Secretary-General said Israeli occupation forces may have committed war crimes during their 11-day brutal aggression earlier that month.
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Star of David

Israeli strategists weigh new attack on Gaza, allowing Hisham Abu Hawash to die on hunger strike

Robert Inlakesh
The Last American Vagabond
Sat, 01 Jan 2022 19:54 UTC
2022 gaza bombardment air strikes
© HamidPk/TwitterIsrael opened 2022 with fresh air strikes on the Gaza Strip
This Saturday, perhaps the largest escalation between the Palestinian armed factions and Israeli military occurred, when 2 rockets — allegedly fired by Hamas — struck the sea near Israel's Tel Aviv. With Israel provoking Gaza frequently since the unconditional ceasefire in May last year, the Israelis now threaten war and the murder of a Palestinian political prisoner on hunger strike.

Israel announced, following the fall of two rockets from Gaza in the sea off of Tel Aviv, that their military would be presenting options for retaliation to their political leadership. The rockets seemingly came out of nowhere and shocked many, leading to speculation as to whether they were fired by Hamas, which runs Gaza, fired by another group, or whether it was a mistake due to weather complications.

Regardless of whether the rocket fire was deliberate, it created an entirely new situation strategically between Israel and Gaza. To understand this game of chess, or war, we must analyze the tensions between both sides and the possibilities for one to aggress against the other.
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Eye 2

New York using race to determine access limited supply of life-saving COVID treatments

Glenn Greenwald
greenwald.substack.com
Fri, 31 Dec 2021 19:17 UTC
vaccination clinic florida
© Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty ImagesPatients wait for their treatment inside the Regeneron Clinic at a monoclonal antibody treatment site in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on August 19, 2021
The rationale for prioritizing some races over others for access to COVID medications crumbles upon close examination.

"Monoclonal Antibody Treatments Save Lives," announced the New York City Department of Health in an October 26 public notice. These treatments "are available and lifesaving," the agency said, noting that they "have averted at least 1,100 hospitalizations and at least 500 deaths among people treated in New York City." The agency urged the public to seek out these monoclonal antibody treatments as soon as possible: "When given early after symptom onset, mAb treatments can decrease the risk of hospitalization and death due to COVID-19, which is why it is crucial to get tested for COVID-19 as soon as symptoms begin - the sooner someone is tested, the sooner treatment can begin."

The city's health agency quoted its own Health Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi: "the science shows that monoclonal antibody treatments work and can make all the difference when it comes to the severity of COVID-19 illness." It thus urged that "treatment should be given as soon as possible after someone tests positive for COVID-19." Studies from Pfizer, cited by the agency, independently demonstrated just how effective the company's antiviral treatment, called Paxlovid, can be: it "decreased Covid-19-linked hospitalisation or mortality risk from any cause by 88%."

Comment:

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2 + 2 = 4

SOTT Focus: Mass Formation Psychosis - Dr. Robert Malone / Dr. Mattias Desmet

Robert Malone
Sott.net
Sun, 02 Jan 2022 14:01 UTC
Mass Formation Psychosis
Dr. Robert Malone explains the insights of Dr. Mattias Desmet on Mass Formation Psychosis, an aspect of human psychology when, exploited by corrupt governments, can caused untold damage to individuals, entire populations and the structure of society.
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Cards

If Russia's not bluffing, then what's in the cards?

Finian Cunningham
Strategic Culture Foundation
Sat, 01 Jan 2022 20:35 UTC
Putin office
© en.kremlin.ruRussian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin is renowned as a strategic chess player. Looks like the world is going to see what his skills are for playing poker.

Russia has said it is not bluffing about its categorical security demands ahead of top-level negotiations with American counterparts in Geneva. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov vowed this week that Russia will take a hard line, indicating that the time for vague compromises is over.

History has amply demonstrated that words and promises are expendable when it comes to U.S. and NATO leaders giving assurances to Russia of non-aggression. Three decades of NATO militarism encroaching on Russia's borders is proof enough.

Henceforth, there will have to be legally binding rules to manage security. That still does not guarantee adherence. Several arms control treaties have been jettisoned by U.S. administrations since the Cold War. Nevertheless, a legal framework is a basic premise. However, after that, there must be a credible alternative warning mechanism to enforce rules.
The demands put forward by Moscow stipulate that the U.S.-led NATO military alliance ceases any eastward expansion, including giving membership to former Soviet Republics such as Ukraine and Georgia. Secondly, the U.S. must withdraw strike weapons that have been placed in eastern Europe such as those in Poland and Romania or any others planned for installment in the Baltic states.
That the United States has responded by holding negotiations in Geneva on January 10 as well as NATO talks with Russian officials on January 12 shows that Washington and its allies have registered the gravity of Moscow's concerns. Those concerns have been simmering for years over NATO's relentless expansion since the end of the Cold War. But the recent tensions over Ukraine in which Russia has been baselessly accused of planning to invade have made Moscow's patience boil over.

Comment: See also: What if US, NATO talks are cover for more aggression towards Russia?

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Star of David

A more aggressive Israel lobby is coming in 2022

Philip Giraldi
The Unz Review
Tue, 28 Dec 2021 00:00 UTC
AIPAC
© WJLA/KJN
Those Americans who dare to challenge the strangle-hold that Israel and its friends have over US foreign policy will likely find themselves targeted even more aggressively in the upcoming year. Two weeks ago the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), widely reckoned to be the largest and most powerful component of the Jewish state's lobby, declared that it will now begin directly funding political candidates who are perceived as pro-Israel. Up until now, AIPAC has preferred to operate somewhat in the shadows, representing itself as a organization that is in part "educational" to justify its 501(c)3 tax exempt status which it uses to send all new congressmen on propaganda trips to Israel.

Of course, that has always been a bit of a fiction enabled by a Justice Department that is inclined to ignore all Israeli misbehavior. There are a number of reasons why AIPAC should be regarded for what it is, i.e. an organization that has as a priority the promotion of Israeli interests without any concern for the damage being done to the United States and its institutions. Under US law, specifically the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1937, AIPAC should be compelled to forfeit its special tax status and register, which would permit the government to have full access to its finances and also require a record of its frequent meetings with the Israeli Embassy in Washington as well as with senior Israeli officials in Israel. It would also have to report its significant and unparalleled lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill. AIPAC would deny that it is actually directed or possibly funded in part by the Israeli government, but its website somewhat puts the lie to that conceit where it describes itself as "America's Pro-Israel Lobby" before elaborating how "We are proud to be a diverse movement of passionate pro-Israel Americans."

Comment: In it for the long game with its eye on the prize, Israel wants the US government to annihilate Iran and assume all the blame. As time grows short, its leverage will increase one way or another.

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Mail

RCMP member sent on unpaid leave writes this powerful letter you must read

Corporal Richard Mehner
Easton Spectator
Thu, 30 Dec 2021 00:00 UTC
RCMP
© Royal Canadian Mounted Police-National Division/FacebookRCMP
Hi everyone,

Since most members make a goodbye email before they leave, I figured I should as well, despite the "special" circumstances around my departure. Anyways, my time here in the RCMP is up. For now. The low T wannabe tyrants in Ottawa have decided that I can no longer serve as a police officer because I refuse to tell them if I have submitted to their "vaccine" edict. I've served in the RCMP for 21 years and one of the first things I said to any person I ever arrested was "you don't have to say anything to me." Unfortunately, our government has told me that I have to tell them what's in my body, and if the right drug is not inside me, I have to get it as condition of my continuing employment, human rights be damned. Why did I put vaccine in quotations above you ask? More on that later. Buckle up and tighten the straps on your government mandated shame muzzle, this goodbye email will likely ruffle some feathers.

My journey to this point of our dystopian, medical, apartheid state started like many of yours. Watching the television almost 2 years ago as reports started coming in of some strange virus out of Wuhan. I was a little concerned, but not much. You see, for the last 10 years of my life I had spent a lot of time as an amateur researcher of history and learned to my dismay that the official narrative of most events is usually a little suspect at best. Like weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, or the January 6th "insurrection" in D.C., the examples are sadly numerous.
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