The situation surrounding the French elections clearly shows what kind of clever and experienced opponents we are dealing with. The supranational oligarchy and bureaucracy are genuinely dangerous opponents that are not so simple to deal with even if Putin and Trump will agree to cooperate against them.

The most dangerous feature of this supranational oligarchy and bureaucracy which Putin mentioned at Valdai is not its financial resources or its access to the levers of power - although this is very important. The most dangerous aspect is the capability of the Soroses and Kagans to learn. The supranational elites that until only recently completely controlled the US and are now decisively influencing European policy are no decrepit and inadequate late Soviet Politburo. They are a group of clever and experienced businessmen and politicians who can still spill a lot of blood.

Look at what is now happening in France and you'll see just how subtly, effectively, and prudently they've fooled French voters and manipulated their emotions in their favor.

Foreword by the Saker:

Today I am posting a really interesting interview which will sound absolutely outlandish to a lot of you. Get this: the person interviewed is a former KGB General who speaks about restoring the monarchy under the rule of Jesus-Christ! And when I say "KGB General" I am being just as dishonest as the western media when it writes about Putin being a KGB officer. Technically speaking, yes, both Putin and Reshetnikov were in the KGB and they had the little red id card which did say "KGB USSR". But in reality both were part of the KGB's Foreign Intelligence Service, the First Chief Directorate (PGU) of the KGB, a completely separate branch of the KGB which even had its own, separate, headquarters in Yasenevo District in the southwest of Moscow. The First Chief Directorate (in Russian PGU KGB SSSR) did not deal with dissent, crime, or all the other security functions of the rest of the KGB. The PGU dealt with foreign intelligence exclusively (after the end of the Soviet Union the PGU was kept independent and renamed "SVR" or "Foreign Intelligence Service). And it was beyond any doubt the elite, most capable, part of the KGB: only the very best were accepted there. As for Reshetnikov, he was a top level officer responsible for an analytical Department (in Russian "Head of an informational-analytical Department"). In other words, the guy is exceptionally intelligent and exceptionally well-educated. One of the best analysts in Russia. And yet he speaks of monarchy and putting Christ in power. And he lumps Communists and Liberal into one group. How do you figure that one out? You can dismiss him as senile, but if that is the case, his senility manifests itself in a curious way. Besides, having seen his interviews, I can tell you that he is not senile one bit. A clown trying to make statements to be noticed? There are not many clowns in the PGU, even less with a rank of Lieutenant-General (that means a "three-star" general). I won't give you my explanation, I think that I much rather leave you with a question mark and let you ponder this weird phenomenon. I will just say one thing: to me the views of Reshetnikov are yet another solid indicator that Russia is most definitely not part of Europe, at least not culturally. I won't say more :-P Now meet our rather most interesting character!

For months now, long before the 2016 election, I have been warning about a specific social dynamic which is likely to lead to a form of civil war within the U.S.; namely, the reality that people on the left side of the political spectrum would become despondent at the inevitable loss of their candidate, Hillary Clinton, and that they would react by becoming far more militant. In my article 'Order Out Of Chaos: The Defeat Of The Left Comes With A Cost', published November post-election, I stated:

"When I mentioned in my last article the crippling of social justice, I did not mention that this could have some negative reverberations. With Trump and conservatives taking near-total power after the Left had assumed they would never lose again, their reaction has been to transform. They are stepping away from the normal activities and mindset of cultural Marxism and evolving into full blown communists. Instead of admitting that their ideology is a failure in every respect, they are doubling down.

When this evolution is complete, the Left WILL resort to direct violent action on a larger scale, and they will do so with a clear conscience because, in their minds, they are fighting fascism."

I believed at that time that the social-justice cult would lose mainstream influence but that the existing minority would resort to even more insidious tactics and greater violence to get what they want; and, the so-called "moderate left" would cheer them on. As it turns out, I have been proven right so far.

Trump's National Security Advisor Flynn resigned after only three weeks in office. While I am certainly no fan of Flynn or of Trump I find this defenestration a dangerous event. It will hamper any big change in U.S. foreign policy that Trump may envision.

The resignation followed a highly orchestrated campaign against Flynn by intelligence officials, the media and some people within the White House.

After the election and Trump's unexpected win the Obama administration slapped sanctions on Russia and sent Russian embassy officials back to Moscow. This move was intended to blockade a Trump policy of better relations with Russia. Flynn talked with the Russian ambassador and, as a direct result, the Russian's did not respond tit for tat for the sanctions and expulsions. This was an absolutely positive move and in full accordance with announced Trump policies. Henry Kissinger made a similar move and visited the Russian embassy weeks before he became Nixon's NSC. During the 2012 election Obama made a similar "deal" with the Russians in a comparable situation:

President Barack Obama was caught on camera on Monday assuring outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he will have "more flexibility" to deal with contentious issues like missile defense after the U.S. presidential election.

Despite tens or hundreds of claimed White House leaks in the media I am still not sure what really happened next. Trump's enemies and some intelligence officials accused Flynn of lying about the phone calls with the Russian ambassador. It is unclear what the alleged lies really are and especially why they should matter. Obfuscation is part of any White House business. If Flynn had secretly talked with the Israeli ambassador (which he probably did) no one would have attacked him.

The abolition of cash will create nations of medieval wage slaves

Didn't file your taxes on time? Accused of a petty crime? Forgot to pledge your allegiance to Moloch the Almighty? In a cashless society, your life would be over until such time as you "made good" with the government.

This is essentially what legendary investor Jim Rogers warned about during a recent interview with MacroVoices Podcast:

Some states in the US you cannot make cash transactions above a certain amount. Governments love it. Then they can control you. If you want to go and buy a cup of coffee, they know how many you drink, where you buy them, etc., if they can all put it into electronic formats and they will. The world is all going electronic.

When it's done, the governments are going to be very, very happy they are going to say they're doing it for our own good, this is not them, this is for our good. That they're doing this, but it's coming, and it's going to be a whole different world in which we live. Probably we are not going to have as many freedoms as we have now even though we are already losing our freedoms at a significant pace.

How will they justify this incredible invasion of privacy and personal liberty? Terrorism! We have to stop people from using briefcases of cash to fund terrorism! Because of course, it's private individuals — not goverments, like the snakes in Washington or Rhiyad — who fund terrorism. That's the fairy tale we're all supposed to believe, of course.

More than 5,000 rounds of depleted uranium (DU) ammunition were used in two attacks on Islamic State oil tankers in eastern Syria, the US military has confirmed. The US-led coalition previously pledged it would not use the controversial ordnance.

A spokesman for the US Central Command (CENTCOM) told Foreign Policy that 5,265 armor-piercing DU rounds were used in November 2015, during two air raids against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) oil tanker convoys in the Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah provinces in eastern Syria.

A-10 ground attack aircraft fired the projectiles from their 30mm rotating cannons, destroying about 500 tanker trucks, according to CENTCOM spokesman Major Josh Jacques.

In March 2015, spokesman for the US-led coalition John Moore had explicitly ruled out the use of the controversial ammunition, saying that "US and coalition aircraft have not been and will not be using depleted uranium munitions in Iraq or Syria during Operation Inherent Resolve." The Pentagon explained that armor-piercing DU rounds were not necessary because IS did not have the tanks it was designed to penetrate.

The last time a Russian spy ship was spotted in relative proximity to the US, was in September 2015, when shortly after five Chinese naval ships were observed in the Bering Sea, U.S. military satellites identified a Russian spy ship - capable of cutting undersea communications cables and other sensors - off the coast of Kings Bay, Ga., home to the U.S. Navy's East Coast ballistic missile submarine fleet. Needless to say, the US navy - and Pentagon - were quite displeased: after all it is only Russia that is allowed to be surrounded by NATO forces.

Fast forward to today, when two US officials told Fox News that a Russian spy ship has been spotted patrolling off the East Coast of the United States on Tuesday morning, the first such patrol since President Trump took office. According to Fox News, the Russian spy ship was 70 miles off the coast of Delaware, heading north at 10 knots, according to one official. That location means the ship is in international waters. The U.S. territory line is 12 nautical miles. It was not immediately clear where the Russian spy ship was headed.

The ship, the SSV-175 Viktor Leonov, last sailed near the U.S. in April 2015, an official said. The ship is capable of intercepting communications or signals, as well as measuring U.S. Navy sonar capability. The Russian spy ship is also armed with surface-to-air missiles.

"It's not a huge concern, but we are keeping our eyes on it," one official said.

This action by the Russian military follows recent missile test launches by Iran and North Korea.

News media organizations in NATO member countries have no qualms about repeating unfounded, reckless claims of an imminent invasion of Europe by the Russian military, even threatening to ignite World War Three.

Yet when it comes to Russian media presenting valid alternative perspectives on a range of international issues, the Western alliance chokes up with accusations of Russian "fake news."

"NATO says it sees a sharp rise in fake Russian news since the seizure of Crimea," reported Reuters recently, ignorant of the fact that its own headline was itself purveying fake news.

Such ignorance is rampant among Western media and symptomatic of massive group-think demonizing Russia.

For a start, Russia did not seize Crimea, as is routinely stated in Western media as if fact. The people of the Crimean Peninsula voted in a legally constituted referendum in March 2014 to join Russia's jurisdiction. But Reuters in the above headline uses the words "seizure of Crimea" without any qualification as if the historic referendum to join Russia was airbrushed out of history.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has formally rejected a petition calling for US President Donald Trump to be banned from making an official state visit to the UK because it would cause an "embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen."

Responding on Parliament's official website, the government said it will not withdraw its invitation to the US president despite the petition gaining almost 2 million signatures.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said although it understands the signatories' "strong views," it would still extend "the full courtesy of a State Visit" to Trump.

The UK government aims to strip military personnel of their legal protections in order to better protect itself from prosecution in future wars, lawyers have said.

The warning comes after a report into the soon-to-be-closed Iraq Historical Allegations Team (IHAT) urged the UK to derogate from European human rights law on the battlefield.

IHAT was repeatedly accused of pursuing soldier on trumped up charges over allegations of abuse during the occupation of Iraq.