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BRICS to surpass G7 in share of global economic growth - Bloomberg

BRICS
© Getty Images
The bloc of developing countries will be a larger driver of development than the Western Group of Seven major economies...

Members of the BRICS group - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - are expected to outpace the US-led G7 in terms of their contribution to the world's economic growth, from this year, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

According to the outlet's calculations - based on the latest IMF data - the BRICS countries will contribute 32.1% of the world's growth, compared to the G7's 29.9%.

The Group of Seven nations (G7) - consisting of the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan - has long been considered the most advanced economic bloc of countries on the planet. Russia was a member, until 2014, when it was expelled due to the fallout from the Western-backed Maidan coup in Ukraine.

The report indicated that in 2020, the contributions from BRICS countries and the G7 to global economic growth were equal. Since then the performance of the Western-led bloc has been declining. By 2028, the G7's contribution to the world economy is predicted to decrease to 27.8%, while the BRICS will account for 35%.

Comment: BRICS has the momentum, the resources and the interest...thanks to the West.


Whistle

IRS whistleblower says Biden Admin interfering in Hunter tax fraud probe

hunter joe biden drugs laptop
Hunter Biden photo recovered from his laptop
(inset) President Joe Biden
Two Biden administration political appointees within the Justice Department are working to block charges against Hunter Biden for tax violations against recommendations, an IRS whistleblower alleged Wednesday, saying the appointees are engaging in "preferential treatment and politics."

Hunter is under investigation by the DOJ for tax fraud, money laundering, and violation of lobbying laws. Trump-appointed U.S. prosecutor David Weiss for months has been weighing if there is sufficient evidence for the grand jury to indict him.

According to the whistleblower's attorney, Mark Lytle, his client wishes to speak with congressional investigators to corroborate his claims of political interference in the probe, which he has reported to the Justice Department's top watchdog, according to a report.

Comment: Fox News comments:


Things could get very messy for the Big Guy. Fox news also reports:
A Republican on the House Oversight Committee is warning evidence of the Biden family's corruption is growing deeper and could lead to impeachment after new revelations from an IRS whistleblower and ex-CIA official in the Hunter Biden probe.

"This is just the very tip of the iceberg. This very brave IRS agent coming forward, I think will just start it. They're talking about impeaching Biden. How could we not impeach Biden if this does, in fact, reach him?" Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said on Mornings with Maria Friday.

The IRS whistleblower, who's reportedly been at the agency for more than 10 years, has alleged the federal investigation into Hunter Biden is being mishandled by the Biden administration. The whistleblower also alleges "clear conflicts of interest" in the investigation.

"Finally, we have one person inside the IRS that's doing it right. He's found something very bad, very troubling, very illegal," Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist also told host Maria Bartiromo.

The president's son has been under federal investigation since 2018. The investigation concerns the presence of suspicious activity reports (SARs) regarding suspicious foreign transactions.

"How could we not impeach Biden" if he's implicated in interfering with Hunter Biden's federal investigation, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., posited on Mornings with Maria Friday.

The lawyer for the whistleblower joined Special Report with Bret Baier Thursday night claiming his client is "not a political person" and does not have a "political agenda," but does have documents to support his allegations that he hopes to bring to both congressional Democrats and Republicans.


"If you delve into it deep enough, there's prostitution rings involved in this. Human trafficking has been rumored to be a part of some of these so-called companies that have allowed the Biden family to profit. It is gross and it is disgusting about what has been allowed to go on," Burchett said.

The whistleblower's attorney said his client has also detailed examples of "preferential treatment and politics improperly infecting decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject were not politically connected."

Reports have suggested the senior political appointee could be in reference to Attorney General Merrick Garland and his testimony on Capitol Hill in March - and last year - that stressed that U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss can conduct the Hunter Biden investigation independently.

"I cannot imagine how the Justice Department allowed this to go on, if not for corruption at the highest level. And they are in some serious trouble right now. I think they know it," Burchett reacted.

Tax watchdog Norquist indicated that the IRS whistleblower is following the law and reporting the concerns appropriately.

"He didn't give it to his favorite journalist. He's not leaking it. He's taking it to the Congress and saying: you need to know the law is not being followed," Norquist said. "This is very important to follow up on. But we really have a lot of respect for this IRS agent who's playing it by the book."

Burchett further warned Chinese "collusion" goes "very deep" with the Biden family and the evidence he's seen in committee is going from "bad" to "worse."

"[China has] so much invested in this White House now, that their cover-up upon cover-ups will continue. But I can assure you that the American people understand what's going on," he said. "And I can assure you that [Oversight] Chairman Comer and Chairman Jordan are steering this in the right direction. As I stated before, this is complete collusion with the communist Chinese. They bought and sold this White House."

Meanwhile, testimony from a former CIA official has revealed that then-Biden campaign senior adviser now-Secretary of State Antony Blinken "played a role in the inception" of the public statement signed by 51 current and past intelligence officials that claimed the Hunter Biden laptop was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morrell revealed that Blinken was "the impetus" of the public statement signed in October 2020 - weeks before the presidential election - that implied the laptop belonging to Hunter Biden was disinformation.

"If I was those 51 people, I'd be lawyering up right now because they're going to be asked in public at some point what they knew and if they knew that all this other stuff was going on, because it is very damning," Burchett said.
Is the Biden family finally falling victim to their greed and hubris, or is this an orchestrated exit for a now-worthless political pawn? Stay tuned . . . .


Eye 2

Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil acceptable - German defense minister

Ukrainian soldiers
© AP Photo/LIBKOSUkrainian soldiers fire a Pion artillery system at Russian positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine
Ukraine has every right to conduct strikes and other military operations on Russian territory, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has argued. He noted, however, that civilians should not be hurt in the process.

Ukraine has regularly shelled several Russian border regions ever since Moscow launched its military campaign last February. Dozens of civilians have lost their lives as a result, with many more injured.

Appearing on Germany's ZDF TV channel on Thursday, Pistorius said that it is "fully normal" that the "attacked [party] also moves into enemy territory, for instance to cut supply routes."

"So long as cities, civilians, civilian areas are not attacked, you will unavoidably have to accept this," the minister clarified.

Comment: How many thousands of innocent civilians have to die in Ukraine and Russia before these politicians actually start to care?


War Whore

US military-industrial complex is main beneficiary of fighting Russia in Ukraine - Moscow

Mikhail Galuzin
© RTRussian Deputy FM Mikhail Galuzin
US policy on Ukraine is inherently cynical and ignores the interests of the Ukrainian people, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin claimed in an interview with RT. Washington is the biggest beneficiary from the hostilities, he added.

The US and its NATO allies "consider Ukraine as just raw material for [fulfilling] their aggressive purposes against Russia," the senior diplomat said in an interview. Washington has declared the "strategic defeat" of Russia in Ukraine as its goal, he noted, with the US and its allies delivering weapons to Kiev on an unprecedented scale.

"The main beneficiary of [arming Ukraine] is the USA. [Its] military industrial complex... is now ensured orders for years to come. They are making profit on the war they conduct in Ukraine against us," Galuzin said.

Snakes in Suits

Real election interference: Ex-CIA chief spills on how he got spies to write false Hunter Biden laptop letter to 'help Biden'

Hunter Biden
© AFP via Getty ImagesHunter Biden
Joe Biden's presidential campaign prompted former acting CIA Director Mike Morell to "help Biden" by organizing 50 colleagues to sign a letter in October 2020 falsely claiming that damning emails from Hunter Biden's laptop published by The Post were Russian disinformation.

In private sworn testimony, Morell told the House Judiciary Committee that Antony Blinken, now secretary of state, was the senior campaign official who reached out to him "on or before" Oct. 17, 2020, three days after The Post published an email from the laptop suggesting Hunter had introduced his Ukrainian business partner to his father, then-Vice President Biden.

Morell, identified as a potential CIA director under Biden, said he organized the letter to "help Vice President Biden ... because I wanted him to win the election."

Comment: Now this is real, actual election interference. Don't expect CNN or the evening news to ever call it that or even talk about this story though.


Red Flag

Sunk cost: Biden willing to damage US economy to counter China

Janet Yellen
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
President Joe Biden will stop at nothing to protect America against security threats posed by China, even if it means damaging the US economy, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has claimed.

"National security is of paramount importance in our relationship with China," Yellen said during a speech in Washington in Wednesday. She gave the example of blocking China from obtaining certain technologies, adding, "We will not compromise on these concerns, even when they force trade-offs with our economic interests."

Yellen accused China of "unfair" economic practices and of "taking a more confrontational posture" toward the US and its allies in recent years. Washington has a "broad set of tools" to deal with security threats from China, she added, such as export controls and sanctions against entities that provide support to the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Comment: It doesn't really matter what the US does, they cannot "counter" China anymore. Just as they couldn't counter Russia with sanctions and proxy terrorists. These are the flailing arms of a dying empire, desperately hoping the same old tricks work. They don't, but the imperial masters have no other tricks up their sleeve.


Bullseye

'Europe' is an American pawn - Turkish minister

Suleyman Soylu
© Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.The west of the continent is merely a "mule" following Washington, Suleyman Soylu has claimed
'Europe's' influence is waning and it is nothing but a "pawn" of the US, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has claimed. The official, who was referring to the EU and UK, delivered the remarks as he met members of a youth association in Istanbul on Tuesday.

Soylu argued that EU leaders are becoming more and more discredited, while the continent is facing numerous issues, ranging from an aging population to dwindling economic output in the west of the continent. He also asserted that 'Europe' lost any international clout long ago, and has become nothing more than an American vassal.

"There is no such thing as Europe. Don't think too much about it. America exists. Europe is a mule in America's convoy. It has no special features."

Comment: See also: Macron refuses to back US line on China


Broom

Dollar losing reserve status at 'stunning' pace, Russia sanctions & asset freeze partly to blame - Eurizon CEO

rubledollar
© Getty Images/Diy13The US currency's share of global reserves fell ten times faster in the last year than in the previous 20, Stephen Jen has said
Western sanctions against Russia have accelerated the move away from the US dollar worldwide, Stephen Jen, the CEO of London-based asset management company Eurizon, warned on Tuesday.

The dollar's share in global reserves fell ten times faster last year than over the past two decades, Jen said, as cited by Bloomberg. The process began as some countries started to look for alternatives after seeing Russia's assets frozen abroad and the country cut off from the global financial messaging system known as SWIFT, according to Jen.

Adjusting for "wild" exchange rate fluctuations last year, the dollar has lost roughly 11% of its market share since 2016 and double that amount since 2008, Jen and his Eurizon colleague Joana Freire wrote in a note.

Quenelle

Iranian navy claims it forced US submarine to surface

submarine
© REUTERS/U.S. NavyFILE PHOTO: The Virginia-class USS North Dakota submarine. The USS Florida was attempting to sail undetected through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Tehran.
The Iranian navy intercepted a US submarine in the Strait of Hormuz and forced it to surface and change its course, Rear Admiral Shahram Irani told reporters on Thursday. However, the US has denied the claim.

According to Irani, the nuclear-powered USS Florida was approaching the strait in complete silence when it was detected by an Iranian Fateh-class diesel-electric submarine. The Iranian vessel "forced this American submarine to come to the surface and cross the Strait of Hormuz on the surface of the water," Irani said, according to Iran's ISNA news agency.

Irani added that the US submarine attempted to enter Iranian waters, but changed its course following a warning from the Fateh. The admiral called on the US to explain why the Florida attempted to violate Iran's borders, and declared that American vessels "must observe all international rules from now on."

Red Flag

WHO treaty debated in UK Parliament

treaty image
What happens when Authoritarianism and Commercialism meet?

Yesterday in Westminster Hall, MPs debated the Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response: International Agreement. Over 150,000 signed the petition to 'not sign any WHO Pandemic Treaty unless it is approved via public referendum.'

Steve Brine MP said, "He was puzzled by the debate." We are too. So, what is the Treaty about, and should we be concerned?

The WHO wants member states to negotiate a new international instrument to advance collective action for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.


Comment: The 'New Improved' Pandemic Scheme: Same time, same place, same results, different year.