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Quenelle - Golden

Yemen's Houthis have a hypersonic missile - Russian state media


Al Arabiya
Thu, 14 Mar 2024 14:26 UTC
Yemen houthi ansra allah
© APHouthi fighters stage a rally against the US government designating Houthis as a terror group and against the US-led sustained airstrikes on Yemen, near Sanaa, Yemen, on January 25, 2024.
Yemen's Houthis claim to have a new, hypersonic missile in their arsenal, Russia's state media reported Thursday, potentially raising the stakes in their ongoing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways against the backdrop of Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.


Comment: That's odd wording, because their attacks were against ships owned by, or ferrying to, Israel, because of its genocide in Gaza. The US and UK, which were facilitating the genocide, only became added to the target list because they attacked Yemen. Other ships are free to pass.


The report by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited an unnamed official but provided no evidence for the claim. It comes as Moscow maintains an aggressively counter-Western foreign policy amid its grinding war on Ukraine.

However, the Houthis have for weeks hinted about "surprises" they plan for the battles at sea to counter the United States and its allies, which have so far been able to down any missile or bomb-carrying drone that comes near their warships in Mideast waters.


Comment: Not quite; the West is being humiliated:

Comment: It seems reasonable to assume that the fighters of Yemen have been gifted a hypersonic missile by a multipolar world partner to assist them in their righteous cause - a cause which the other major multipolar world players are, understandably, being more reserved about in order to not escalate the situation.

Notably, Russia and China have demonstrated their hypersonic capabilities, but even North Korea is believed to possess the technology. The US, too, has obtained it, however it appears to be struggling to further its previous achievements, whilst Russia and China just keep advancing:

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Light Saber

Turkey to launch Iraq military assault to secure road-rail project to Gulf

Levent Kemal
Middle East Eye
Thu, 14 Mar 2024 14:01 UTC
middle east trade turkey india
Turkish troops set to launch new assaults on PKK in western parts of Iraq's Kurdistan region in the summer after domestic criticism of military tactics in Iraq's northern mountains Construction of the tunnel that will connect Iraq's coastal region to international trade links through Turkey, in al-Faw 8 February
Turkey intends to use a military assault in northern Iraq this summer to push the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) south and secure a new trade route, sources familiar with the plans told Middle East Eye.

The sources said Turkey will target the Kurdish armed group with a series of operations.

Since late last year, Turkey has lost dozens of soldiers to PKK attacks on Turkish outposts in northern Iraq's mountainous terrain. Those deaths have triggered a domestic controversy and scrutiny of the effectiveness of Turkey's tactics.

Army sources last year told MEE that the Turkish military was deployed in high-altitude temporary outposts, which were manned to prevent the PKK from infiltrating Turkey's border.

Comment: See also: Expelling US troops: Iraq's resistance efforts gain steam in Baghdad

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Whistle

Russia warns UN: Israel deliberately obstructing crimes probe amidst 'probable Gaza genocide', UN not doing enough


PressTV
Tue, 12 Mar 2024 13:30 UTC
UN Maria Zabolotskaya
Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Maria Zabolotskaya
Russia says Israel is deliberately obstructing investigations into crimes it has committed in the besieged Gaza Strip.

In a speech delivered at the United Nations Security Council on Monday, Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Maria Zabolotskaya said Moscow would "welcome any efforts aimed at shedding light on the crimes committed during the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

Israel began the campaign of death and destruction in Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Comment: In the following interview, around the 30-40 minute mark, Pepe Escobar, who has attended numerous conferences with officials and diplomats in Russia in recent months, details how the issue with Israel issue seems to be the most sensitive of them all - which perhaps highlights just unstable those running Israel are, as well as how significant the situation is for the planet - however, he notes that both Russia and China are becoming increasingly frank as to the reality of the situation; rather uncharacteristically for China which is, usually, so diplomatic:



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Caesar

Russia is 'fully prepared' for nuclear war in case of threat to Russia's sovereignty, Putin warns West


PressTV
Wed, 13 Mar 2024 13:27 UTC
Vladimir Putin
© ReutersVladimir Putin speaks during an interview in Moscow, March 12, 2024.
President Vladimir Putin has warned the Western countries that Russia is "fully prepared" for a nuclear war, emphasizing that any deployment of United States troops to Ukraine would be regarded as a substantial escalation of the ongoing military operation.

"From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready," Putin told Rossiya-1 television and news agency RIA in response to a question whether the country was really ready for a nuclear war.

In line with the country's security doctrine, he said on Wednesday that Moscow is ready to use nuclear weapons in case of a threat to "the existence of the Russian state, our sovereignty and independence."

"Weapons exist in order to use them," Putin said. "If the United States conducts nuclear tests, Russia might do the same," he added.

Comment: See also: 'Your Vampire Ball is Over' - Putin to Western Elites

It seems rather unlikely that it will come to a nuclear confrontation, but there are a myriad of other threats, connected to the West's belligerence and warfronts, that are looming on the horizon, and which will prove sufficiently dire for its citizenry, and vassals: PressTV also reported:
Russia deploys 'game changer' weapon as US says Ukraine's ammo shortage costs dearly

Russia's air force has started deploying powerful aerial bombs to counter Ukraine amid Kiev's shortages of ammunition provided by the US and other Western allies.

The Russian defense ministry hailed FAB-500 glide munitions a "game-changer" in the Ukraine war for their destructive potential and deployment range of up to 80 kilometers.

It also deployed the FAB-1500, FAB-1500 - a 1.5-tonne weapon, nearly half of which consists of high explosives.

The bombs are equipped with a unified planning and correction module (UMPC), which turns regular free-falling bombs into guided glide munitions.

In addition to Russian drones, missiles, and artillery, glide bombs have introduced a fresh wave of destructive power to Moscow's operations in eastern Ukraine, exemplified by the recent seizure of the frontline city of Avdiivka.

According to Western experts, these upgraded explosives have demonstrated their remarkable effectiveness against Ukrainian forces, as the troops in Kiev struggle to counter such weaponry as US ammunition shortage bites.

"These bombs completely destroy any position. All buildings and structures simply turn into a pit after the arrival of just one," recalled one fighter of a Ukrainian assault brigade operating near Avdeevka, which was captured by Russian forces last month.

The Ukrainian military also uses guided bombs, including the US made Joint Direct Attack Munition system (JDAM).

But, unlike the Kremlin, Kiev's availability of arms in need is significantly limited.

US President Joe Biden's administration recently unveiled a fresh aid package worth up to $300 million for Ukraine, after facing a financial shortfall in providing weapons to the country two months ago.

The Biden administration confirmed in January that it had run out of those replenishment funds, "unanticipated savings" that the Pentagon negotiated in its weapons contracts freed up money for a new aid package, US national security advisor Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday in a White House press briefing.

"When Russian troops advance, and its guns fire, Ukraine does not have enough ammunition to fire back," Sullivan said. "That's costing terrain, it's costing lives, and it's costing us - the United States and the NATO alliance - strategically."

This comes as the approved Ukraine aid of $113 billion has already been utilized by the administration.

Meanwhile, the house of representatives, controlled by the Republicans, has resisted Biden's request for additional funds, arguing that he is only prolonging the conflict with Russia without providing a clear strategy to end the violence.

Sullivan emphasized Biden's plea for the House to pass a $95 billion emergency spending bill, which encompasses assistance for Ukraine, Israel, and Chinese Taipei - also known as Taiwan.

He highlighted that the "limited" aid package unveiled on Tuesday will solely sustain Ukraine's military capabilities for a brief duration, and it will not avert Ukraine from depleting its ammunition in the near future.

"The world is watching, the clock is ticking, and we need to see action as rapidly as possible, even as we do everything in our power to get Ukraine what it needs in its hour of need," Sullivan added.

Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky said his country has lost ground in recent months due an "artificial shortage" of weapons and urged allies to send arms to Kiev.

Moscow has repeatedly warned the West that flooding Ukraine with weapons and munitions will only prolong the war.
See also:

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Chart Bar

American politics is undergoing a racial realignment

John Burn-Murdoch
Financial Times
Fri, 08 Mar 2024 00:01 UTC
race voter demographic
© FT montage
Democrats are rapidly losing non-white voters as the forces that ensured their support weaken.

Last week, a New York Times poll showed President Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by just 56 points to 44 among non-white Americans, a group he won by almost 50 points when the two men last fought it out for the White House in 2020. As things stand, the Democrats are going backwards faster with voters of colour than any other demographic.

Such startling statistics often meet accusations of polling error, but this cannot be written off as a rogue result. Data from America's gold-standard national election surveys show Democrats' advantage among Black, Latino and Asian voters at its lowest since 1960. Figures from Gallup show the same steepening decline.

Comment: Hence the reason Dems are bent on getting as many people across the border as is possible: to secure votes for their failing demographic shift. It's a strategy that's bound to fail. Hubris will get you every time.

See also:

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Jet1

French Defense Reports: A Ukrainian military victory now seems impossible

Arnaud Bertrand
X (Twitter)
Tue, 12 Mar 2024 15:44 UTC
zelensky macron
This is an exceedingly rare and fascinating article in French magazine Marianne, who got access to "several confidential defense reports" from the French army on the situation in Ukraine: Guerre en Ukraine : de la prudence à l'affolement... Ce que cache le virage de Macron

The situation looks exceedingly bleak for Ukraine, which might in part explain Macron's recent declarations around sending troops to Ukraine. I translated the important parts of the article:

A Ukrainian military victory now seems impossible

The reports Marianne consulted write that Ukraine's counter-offensive "gradually bogged down in mud and blood and did not result in any strategic gain" and that its planning, conceived by Kiev and Western general staffs, turned out to be "disastrous": "Planners thought that once the first Russian defense lines were breached, the entire front would collapse [...] These fundamental preliminary phases were conducted without considering the moral forces of the enemy in defense: that is, the will of the Russian soldier to hold onto the terrain.

Comment: More on the piece from Marianne: Explosive Secret French Military Report Makes Shocking Admissions: "Ukraine Can't Win!"

See also:

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Quenelle

Best of the Web: Explosive Secret French Military Report Makes Shocking Admissions: "Ukraine Can't Win!"

Simplicius
Simplicius76 Substack
Thu, 14 Mar 2024 09:29 UTC
Macron Boneparte
It's come to light that according to sources from the French Marianne paper, Macron's entire recent mental manqué resulted from a secret series of 'assessments' by the French military that not only provided an absolutely disastrous picture of the actual realities on the ground in Ukraine, but in no uncertain terms even concluded quite frankly that:
Marianne magazine
"Ukraine cannot win this war militarily."
"Ukraine cannot win this war militarily," concludes the first report, written in the fall of 2023, following Kiev's disastrous ground offensive. It praises the Russian forces as the new "tactical and technical" standard of how to run defensive operations and debunks the media myth of "meat assaults."

Comment: Good to know that some behind the political class are able to access things a little more realistically. The French military must have choked on their morning croissant, when they heard their president talking about sending French troops to fight Russia.

See also:

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X

'Out of touch with reality' - White House fails to navigate the Israeli Re-calibration

Alastair Crooke
Strategic Culture Foundation
Mon, 11 Mar 2024 00:00 UTC
JoeandNeti
© The Beltway ReportIsraeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu • US President Joe Biden
The inattention to reality is not an electorally 'incidental' and irksome issue that needs better PR management by the campaign team.

Alon Pinkas, a former senior Israeli diplomat, well-plugged into Washington, tells us that a frustrated White House finally has "had enough".The rupture with Netanyahu is complete:
The Prime Minister does not comport himself as 'an U.S. ally' should; he severely criticises Biden's Middle East policies, and now the United States has come to understand this fact.
Biden cannot afford any further Israel-affects to jeopardise his electoral campaign, and so - as his State of the Union Speech makes clear - he will double-down on misconstrued policy frameworks for both Israel and Ukraine.

So what does Biden intend to do about Netanyahu's act of defiance against the 'holy grail' of U.S. policy recommendations? Well, he invited Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's War Cabinet to Washington, and wrapped him around an agenda "reserved for a prime minister, or someone they think will, or should be, premier". Officials apparently thought that by initiating a visit outside of usual diplomatic protocols, they may "have unleashed a dynamic that could lead to an election in Israel", Pinkas notes, resulting in a leadership more amenable to U.S. ideas.

It was clearly intended as a first step to 'soft power' régime change.
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Hammer

How RFK could smash the two-party system. In American politics, upset has become the rule

Dr. Pippa Malmgren
UnHerd
Mon, 11 Mar 2024 00:09 UTC
rfkennedy
© rheannaisabell.blogspotRobert Kennedy Jr. candidate for US president
The surrender of Nikki Haley — long drawn-out but long expected — has set both of America's major parties on the same course: a limp coronation, conducted through process of elimination. Donald Trump's path is clear, competitors fallen away, while Joe Biden is also slipping through effectively unopposed, happily ignoring token challenges by Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson. But the frictionless progress of both candidates through their party's internal processes is concealing a hidden truth about this year's election. Many Americans don't want Joe Biden or Donald Trump. They see the race as a horror-reality show featuring two geriatrics who seem doddery, unwell, and angry at being told so. It is increasingly possible that they support independent candidates who could deprive both Trump and Biden of the votes needed to win the presidency. America could end up with a hung presidential election.

Comment: Author offers a knowledgeable summation of US presidential politics, less explored layers of strategy, what is possible and what is not.

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Arrow Up

The state of our nation no one's talking about: Tyranny is rising as freedom falls

John and Nisha Whitehead
The Rutherford Institute
Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00 UTC
fistchains
© UnknownFist of the People
"Never has our future been more unpredictable, never have we depended so much on political forces that cannot be trusted to follow the rules of common sense and self-interest — forces that look like sheer insanity, if judged by the standards of other centuries." — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
Day by day, tyranny is rising as freedom falls.

The U.S. military is being used to patrol subway stations and police the U.S.-Mexico border, supposedly in the name of national security.

The financial sector is being used to carry out broad surveillance of Americans' private financial data, while the entertainment sector is being tapped to inform on video game enthusiasts with a penchant for violent, potentially extremist content, all in an alleged effort to uncover individuals subscribing to anti-government sentiments.

Public and private venues are being equipped with sophisticated surveillance technologies, including biometric and facial recognition software, to track Americans wherever they go and whatever they do. Space satellites with powerful overhead surveillance cameras will render privacy null and void.
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