Puppet MastersS


Footprints

UK and France plan to send 30,000 'peacekeepers' to Ukraine


RT
Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:08 UTC
2 soldiers
© Leon Neal/Getty ImagesMilitary in Ukraine
Moscow has warned that the West could occupy the country after deploying troops.

Britain and France are drafting a plan to deploy up to 30,000 "peacekeepers" in Ukraine, depending on whether Moscow and Kiev reach a ceasefire, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing unnamed European officials.

However, that plan depends on persuading US President Donald Trump to commit to a limited American military role, the report said. While Washington has ruled out sending its forces to Ukraine, the UK and France hope the US agrees to supply a limited contingent with critical support, particularly when it comes to air defense, logistics, and intelligence.

European officials interviewed by the paper insist that "without Trump's backing, the European plan to send peacekeepers faces a difficult path."

The envisioned "reassurance force" would be primarily composed of British and French troops, and would focus on safeguarding vital infrastructure, cities, and ports, rather than being positioned along the front lines with Russia. Another facet of the roadmap would be the active use of drones and satellites to monitor Russia's compliance with a potential ceasefire, WSJ reports.


Comment: Trump wont bend to that. Period. That plan would only widen the field and prolong the conflict, suffering, chaos and whining from Kiev.


Comment: Regarding UK's and France's memory misfires: 30K NATO members to occupy Ukraine is a pre-punched ticket to WWIII.

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Laptop

Probes reveal depth of Big Tech complicity in Israel's AI-driven Gaza slaughter

Brett Wilkins
ANTIWAR.BLOG
Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00 UTC
Israeli AI
© IDF spokesperson unitOfficers utilize a range of information and artificial intelligence to process it and identify and locate targets.
Several recent journalistic investigations - including one published Tuesday by The Associated Press - have deepened the understanding of how Israeli forces are using artificial intelligence and cloud computing systems sold by U.S. tech titans for the mass surveillance and killing of Palestinians in Gaza.

The AP's Michael Biesecker, Sam Mednick, and Garance Burke found that Israel's use of Microsoft and OpenAI technology "skyrocketed" following Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Heidy Khlaaf, chief artificial intelligence scientist at the AI Now Institute and a former senior safety engineer at OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, told the AP:
"This is the first confirmation we have gotten that commercial AI models are directly being used in warfare. The implications are enormous for the role of tech in enabling this type of unethical and unlawful warfare going forward."
As Biesecker, Mednick, and Burke noted:
Israel's goal after the attack that killed about 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages was to eradicate Hamas, and its military has called AI a "game changer" in yielding targets more swiftly. Since the war started, more than 50,000 people have died in Gaza and Lebanon and nearly 70% of the buildings in Gaza have been devastated, according to health ministries in Gaza and Lebanon.
According to the AP report, Israel buys advanced AI models from OpenAI and Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. While OpenAI said it has no partnership with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), in early 2024 the company quietly removed language from its usage policy that prohibited military use of its technology.

The AP reporters also found that Google and Amazon provide cloud computing and AI services to the IDF via Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract signed in 2021. Furthermore, the IDF uses Cisco and Dell server farms or data centers. Red Hat, an independent IBM subsidiary, sells cloud computing services to the IDF. Microsoft partner Palantir Technologies also has a "strategic partnership" with Israel's military.

Comment: Netanyahu brags his technologic genocide:
How Israel uses an AI genocide program to obliterate Gaza

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Explosion

You get what they pay for: WAR

William Astore
Antiwar.Blog
Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00 UTC
War scene
© havokjournal.comWAR
Readers here have heard of Ray McGovern'sMICIMATT, the military-industrial-congressional-intelligence-media-academe-think-tank complex. It's gargantuan and lubricated with enormous sums of money.

Consider think tanks. Go to thinktankfundingtracker.org and you'll see useful information like this:

Top 10 Think Tanks That Receive Funding from Pentagon Contractors
  1. Atlantic Council $10,270,001
  2. Center for a New American Security $6,665,000
  3. Center for Strategic and International Studies $4,115,000
  4. Brookings Institution $3,475,000
  5. Hudson Institute $2,240,000
  6. Council on Foreign Relations $2,095,000
  7. Stimson Center $1,555,763
  8. Aspen Institute $1,125,000
  9. German Marshall Fund $871,010
  10. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace $620,008
I wonder why these think tanks tend to favor the agendas and interests of America's various weapons makers? Hard to offer "neutral" or "balanced" advice when so much of your funding is coming from the merchants of death.


Comment: As the Glenn Greenwald video revs up, his guest is quite informative. A tunnel-visioned war-focused system, the MIC dictates the future without limitation or reform. That future is unending wars.

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Nuke

Of all the genius plans - arming Germany with nukes is the nuttiest

Phil Butler
New Eastern Outlook
Mon, 24 Feb 2025 16:41 UTC
The idea of Germany gaining access to nuclear weapons has sparked a strong international reaction and serious concerns about the future of Europe's security.
German Politicians
© New Eastern Outlook
Talk about desperation by the liberal elites. Consider the following - Germany with nukes. While the next generation may have missed the schoolroom history lesson about the carnage left in Europe after WW2, there are those of us still alive who baulk. News that German Chancellor to be Friedrich Merz wants France and the UK to "share their nukes" is a terrible signal. It's also the dumbest idea since the Titanic was billed as unsinkable.

Merz is at the forefront of European leaders who are now openly debating how to address the potential risk of a nuclear attack without relying on American support. This knee-jerk reaction is due to the panic the liberal order has about the strained state of the transatlantic alliance during Donald Trump's leadership. According to the news, discussions include strategies to enhance regional security and cooperation, highlighting a notable shift in priorities for self-reliance during a time of political uncertainty. Merz says Britain and France may need to "share" their nuclear weapons, as America can't be relied on to defend NATO.
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Arrow Down

EU response to US tariffs will backfire - Trump


RT
Mon, 17 Feb 2025 08:38 UTC
TrumpUrsula
© Chris Graythen/www.dna.fr/Getty Images/KJNUS President Donald Trump • European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
The European Commission is reportedly planning to block imports of certain foodstuff from the US.

US President Donald Trump has warned that Brussels' potential move to block imports of American soybeans and other foods would only hurt the European Union. The bloc is reportedly mulling countermeasures in response to Washington's recent tariffs.

The trade row between the US and the EU has been escalating since Trump announced plans to introduce a wide range of import duties in an effort to tackle what he describes as a trade imbalance. The measures include massive tariffs on steel and aluminum, reciprocal country-by-country duties as well as separate levies on cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductor chips.

The Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing officials, that the European Commission is preparing to announce the first round of retaliatory tariffs. These measures are expected to target US crops, including soybeans, that are cultivated using pesticides banned for use by EU farmers.

The US president shrugged off the reported push, saying that "it's just hurting themselves if they do that." Trump stressed that the White House was sticking to the plan to start implementing reciprocal tariffs.

Comment: Ursula von der Leyen bites back:
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed "deep regret" over the decision, stating that tariffs are essentially taxes that harm businesses and burden consumers. EU steel exports to the US have averaged around €3 billion ($3.10 billion) a year over the past decade, according to the latest data.
"Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered - they will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures. The EU will act to safeguard its economic interests. We will protect our workers, businesses and consumers."
Trump's move drew widespread backlash across the EU. The bloc's trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, described the measure as a "lose-lose scenario," warning that it would fuel inflation in the US. He noted that the commission is evaluating the scope of the measures and determining an appropriate response.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also said that Brussels will retaliate against the tariffs.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the parliament:
"If the US leaves us no other choice, the European Union will respond, united," adding: "in the end, trade wars hurt both sides' prosperity."
The trade row between Washington and Brussels began in 2018 when Trump imposed tariffs on European steel and aluminum over national security concerns, prompting retaliation from the EU. The two sides exchanged tariffs on goods worth over $10 billion.


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Igloo

Moscow calls for joint Russia-US projects in the Arctic


RT
Tue, 18 Feb 2025 13:42 UTC
Arctic polar bear
© zanskar/Getty ImagesArctic
The head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund has called for revival of economic cooperation between Moscow and Washington.

Russia and the US should work on all areas of economic cooperation, including projects in the Arctic region, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), has said.

Dmitriev is a member of Russian delegation that flew to the Saudi capital of Riyadh for talks with US diplomats on Tuesday, as Moscow and Washington seek to restore bilateral ties and pave the way for a settlement of the Ukraine conflict.

The head of the RDIF, responsible for economic aspects of the high-level discussions, underscored the need for cooperation and economic opportunities that could contribute to both nations. "We need to pursue joint projects, including, for example, in the Arctic and other areas," the official told journalists.

Dmitriev revealed that the Russian side made several proposals along economic and investment lines, which the US team took time to think about. He expressed hope for progress on the issue within several months.

Comment: Small steps can be the most significant.

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Question

What should a split state expect from the US this time?

Mustafa Fetouri
RT
Fri, 21 Feb 2025 08:45 UTC
Libyan rubble
© Benjamin Lowy/Getty ImagesLibyan civilian in rubble of a war-ravaged city street • March 27, 2011 • Brega, Libya
Western hegemony destroyed Libya, and 14 years later is still unable to fix it.

The British House of Commons in 2016 investigated the UK's involvement in Libya's 2011 civil war. The parliamentary report found that the British conservative government, led by David Cameron at the time, failed to "explain" its Libya policy, describing it as uninformed "by accurate intelligence," overstated "the threat" to Libyan civilians and diligently overlooked that the rebel forces fighting the Libyan government "included Islamist element." When the report was published in September 2016, David Cameroon had already left office and Libya was in tatters, sinking further into regional and tribal divisions, dominated by militias.

Yet Cameron, who refused to give evidence to the parliamentary committee, kept defending his policy. In January 2016 he tried to blame Libyans for the failure. They had been, he said, "given the opportunity" to transform their country into a "stable democracy" but had ignored the offer. Back in September 2011, when the war was winding down, he promised that he would not allow Libya to become another "Iraq" but that is exactly what happened. The parliamentary report highlighted Cameron's "failure" to learn the lessons from Iraq's invasion in 2003.

As veto powers the UK, France and the United States used UNSC resolution 1973 as a cover for their intentions to force regime change in Libya, contravening the resolution itself, which neither allowed regime change nor any boots on the ground in Libya. By the time Libya had become a huge mess, moving fast into a failed state, it was handed over to the UN.

Comment: Libya should expect a fair shake. With guarantees? Not so much.

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Arrow Down

US-Ukraine ties falling apart - former Ukrainian diplomat


RT
Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:22 UTC
Zel and Telizhenko
© RT
Vladimir Zelensky believes he is still backed by the 'Deep State' and seeks to fight the US president, Andrey Telizhenko has told RT.

The relationship between the US and Ukraine is now undergoing "total destruction," with Vladimir Zelensky trying to fight President Donald Trump on behalf of America's 'Deep State', Andrey Telizhenko, former 3rd Secretary at the Ukrainian Embassy in the US, told RT. The 'Deep State' itself, however, appears to be falling apart as well, he warned.

Washington and Kiev have recently engaged in a bitter spat, with Zelensky and Trump, as well as other top officials, publicly trading accusations. Among other things, Zelensky has claimed that the US president was "living in a disinformation bubble" allegedly created by Russia. The Ukrainian leader also rejected a proposed deal that would give the US access to his country's rare-earth minerals to compensate for military aid. In addition, he has refuted Trump's estimates on the amount of aid Kiev has received, claiming it had not received even half of the quoted sum. Trump, for his part, has branded Zelensky a "dictator without elections," claiming the Ukrainian leader had an extremely low approval rating in his country.



Comment: Worth the whole listen.

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Eye 1

No one wants to admit THIS about Ukraine: Neil Oliver & Col Douglas Macgregor


GB News
Wed, 19 Feb 2025 12:30 UTC
mmmmm
Douglas Macgregor sits down with GB News to discuss the real story behind Ukraine, the decline of globalism, and whether Europe and the West can recover from their current crises.

Are we heading toward a new world order, or total economic ruin?

Watch now as Douglas Macgregor breaks down the biggest global issues of our time.

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Eye 1

Home Office contractor collecting data on UK citizens while checking migrants' finances

Lizzie Dearden
The Guardian
Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00 UTC
equifax
The Home Office has been accused of collecting data on "hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting British citizens" while conducting financial checks on migrants.

A report by a private contractor for a routine immigration application was mistakenly sent to a charity by a government official, and contained information on more than 260 people including their names, dates of birth and electoral roll data.

Their only connection to the applicant appears to be that they previously lived or worked in the same address or postcode area, but some of the people listed had left as far back as 1986. The document, seen by the Observer, was generated by the credit reporting firm Equifax on 25 June 2024 and was emailed to a caseworker from the Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London (Ramfel) later the same day.
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