Puppet MastersS


Russian Flag

IMF improves Russia's 2024 GDP growth forecast


RT
Wed, 31 Jan 2024 10:49 UTC
russia flag silhouette figures
© Sputnik / Petr Chernov
The economy is projected to expand much more rapidly this year than previously expected

The IMF significantly has raised its growth forecast for the Russian economy in 2024 in its latest World Economic Outlook update released on Tuesday.

The Washington-based institution now expects Russian GDP to grow by 2.6% this year, a sharp increase from its October forecast of 1.1% growth. The forecast for 2025 was also increased by 0.1 percentage point from the October estimate, to 1.1%. The upward revision of Russia's economic growth forecast "[reflects] carryover from stronger-than-expected growth in 2023 on account of high military spending and private consumption, supported by wage growth in a tight labor market," according to the IMF.

"It is definitely the case that the Russian economy has been doing better than we were expecting and many others were expecting," the IMF's chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, told the Financial Times, commenting on the report.

Comment: Russia has done extremely well and the Western sanctions have only helped Russia to reform and become independent. Despite all of this the EU chief just yesterday called for more sanctions on Russia.
EU chief opposes Ukraine truce - wants more weapons, sanctions and war

See also:

Read More...
Bandaid

All nations must ban aid to Israel - BRICS member South Africa


RT
Thu, 01 Feb 2024 13:24 UTC
Naledi Pandor
South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor
The country's top diplomat has condemned military support for West Jerusalem following the World Court's genocide ruling

All countries must refrain from supporting Israel's military in light of last week's International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling concerning the war in Gaza, as they could be making themselves accomplices to genocide, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor has argued.

"The finding, we think, makes it clear that it is plausible that genocide is taking place against the Palestinian people in Gaza," Pandor told reporters on Wednesday in Pretoria. She added that other nations therefore must ensure that they are not aiding such conduct in the Israel-Hamas war. "This necessarily imposes an obligation on all states to cease funding and facilitating Israel's military actions, which as the court has indicated, are plausibly genocidal."

The ICJ, also known as the World Court, ruled on January 26 that Israel must take all necessary steps to prevent a genocide in the Palestinian enclave. West Jerusalem also was ordered to punish members of its military who commit genocidal acts, as well as government officials who call for genocide. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the UN court's finding "outrageous" and vowed that no Israeli soldiers would be "hauled before the international Criminal Court in the Hague."


Comment: It is clear that Israel has no intention of curtailing its genocide and is even looking to expand it.


Comment: South Africa continues to stand up and hold Israel to the fire.

See also:

Read More...
Putin

Plane carrying Ukrainian POWs was shot down by Patriot - Putin


RT
Wed, 31 Jan 2024 22:14 UTC
Ukrainian soldiers reload a Patriot air defense system
© Global Look Press / Sebastian GollnowFILE PHOTO: Ukrainian soldiers reload a Patriot air defense system during a training exercise, December 1, 2023.
The Russian president has said he does not understand why Kiev would attack an aircraft carrying its own servicemen

Kiev's forces used an air defense system supplied by Washington to attack a Russian aircraft carrying Ukrainian POWs for a pre-scheduled swap, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

The attack, which took place last week, led to the deaths of 65 Ukrainians on board, as well as the plane's crew and three Russian military personnel.

"The plane was downed... by a US-made Patriot system," Putin said, calling it a "well established" fact that had been confirmed by an expert review. Russian emergency services had previously stated that fragments of one or more missiles had been found at the crash site.

Investigators have not officially commented on the results of the ongoing probe into the incident. However sources close to the investigation told TASS that an analysis of the plane's black box data showed that it had been intentionally shot down. A source also told the news agency that it was "highly probable" that a US-supplied Patriot surface-to-air missile system was used in the attack.

Comment: Another article from the same source: US-supplied missile downed plane carrying Ukainian POWs - media has:
There is "a high probability" that Kiev's troops used a US-supplied Patriot surface-to-air missile system to down a Russian military transport plane carrying Ukrainian POWs last week, a source close to the investigation into the incident told TASS on Wednesday.

Separately, another source in the Russian emergency services has revealed that "the preliminary examination of the striking elements found in the plane shows that the missile [that hit it] belongs to a Western-made air defense system," according to RIA Novosti. The source, however, did not specify the weapons complex.

[...]

Data from the aircraft's black boxes "excludes all other possible versions of the Il-76 crash and confirms that the plane was subjected to external influence," the source said, adding that it was "shot down in the air."

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has refused to acknowledge that Kiev's forces were responsible for bringing down the plane, and has called for an international investigation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that Moscow will not close off its own probe into the crash from those who "want to learn the truth." He also criticized the West for not initiating the inquiry called for by Zelensky, claiming that Ukraine's "masters... generally dislike international investigations."
To the last point Ukraine's "masters... generally dislike international investigations." Lavrov might be referring to for the Nord Stream bombing, which excluded Russia, with others like Sweden refusing to share what they knew.

See also:

Read More...
AK47

West asking countries to secretly send Russian weapons to Ukraine - Lavrov


RT
Tue, 30 Jan 2024 09:12 UTC
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
© Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; RIA NovostiRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
States that acquire arms from Russia have no right to donate them without Moscow's approval, the foreign minister stressed.

Moscow has become aware of several cases of Western powers asking certain countries to secretly donate Russian-made weaponry to Kiev for use in the Ukraine conflict, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

The Russian diplomat's comments come as Kiev ramps up its demands for more military aid, citing acute shortages in hardware and ammunition. The US and its allies have also been seeking to approve further financial and military support for Ukraine.

Speaking at a roundtable meeting with the heads of foreign diplomatic missions in Moscow on Tuesday, Lavrov stated that Russia has been in contact with "certain countries" that the West has been trying to convince to hand over Russia-supplied weapons to Ukraine, without informing Moscow of such transfers.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Bad Guys

West ignoring BRICS' Ukraine peace proposals - Lavrov


RT
Wed, 31 Jan 2024 09:00 UTC
The meeting of the National Security Advisors on the 'peace formula' for Ukraine in Davos.
© AFP / Gian EhrenzellerThe meeting of the National Security Advisors on the 'peace formula' for Ukraine in Davos.
The US and its allies have shown "complete disrespect" to the opinions of the group's members, the Russian foreign minister has said.

Kiev's western backers are not even discussing initiatives by China, Brazil and South Africa on settling the Ukraine conflict during numerous meetings on President Vladimir Zelensky's so-called peace formula, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

The latest talks were held during the World Economic Forum in Davos two weeks ago and attended by 83 nations, including BRICS members India, Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. China took part in earlier meetings on the Ukrainian proposal, but declined to participate this time.

During the BRICS sherpa and sous-sherpa meeting in Moscow on Wednesday, Lavrov said he recently "had conversations with colleagues from a number of friendly states, including about the role that the Global South has been playing during those meetings."

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Quenelle - Golden

Best of the Web: International Court of Justice REJECTS most of Ukraine's case against Russia


PBS
Wed, 31 Jan 2024 12:30 UTC
International Court of Justice
© Thilo Schmuelgen/ ReutersFILE PHOTO: A general view of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, Jan. 11, 2024.
The United Nations' top court on Wednesday rejected large parts of a case filed by Ukraine alleging that Russia bankrolled separatist rebels in the country's east a decade ago and has discriminated against Crimea's multiethnic community since its annexation of the peninsula.

The International Court of Justice ruled that Moscow violated articles of two treaties — one on terrorism financing and another on eradicating racial discrimination — but it rejected far more of Kyiv's claims under the treaties.

It rejected Ukraine's request for Moscow to pay reparations for attacks in eastern Ukraine blamed on pro-Russia Ukrainian rebels, including the July 17, 2014, downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 that killed all 298 passengers and crew.


Comment: Russia was not responsible. This point is all the more glaring considering how, in just the last few days, Ukraine shot down a plane carrying 65 of its own troops.


Comment: It's telling that the ICJ has issued an order against Russia, but it has yet to do so against Israel over its genocide in Gaza.

Insight from journalist Kit Klarenberg:



Read More...
Bad Guys

Kremlin response to reports Zelensky will fire top general


RT
Wed, 31 Jan 2024 20:56 UTC
Zaluzhny zelensky ukraine military
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief General Valery Zaluzhny
The 'Kiev regime' has a lot of problems, Dmitry Peskov believes

Reports that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is planning to fire the country's top general Valery Zaluzhny are further proof that the country's leadership is in disarray, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Several Western and Ukrainian media outlets reported earlier this week that the Ukrainian leader had asked Zaluzhny to resign from his post and become the head of the country's National Security and Defense Council - an offer he is said to have declined.

Kiev's censorship body, the Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security (CSCIS), has dismissed these reports as "untrue." However, the New York Times said on Tuesday that the dismissal process had simply been slowed down amid a flurry of media leaks. The absence of an obvious replacement for the veteran general was also a reason for the delay.

Comment:

Read More...
Russian Flag

Breakthrough on all fronts in Ukraine: Russia running ahead of schedule

John Helmer
Dances with Bears
Wed, 31 Jan 2024 20:34 UTC
russia map ukraine officer silhouette
© Dances with Bears
When the General Staff have been discussing with President Vladimir Putin the timing of the Russian offensive to force the Kiev regime into capitulation, it has been agreed, understood, and repeated that the strategic reserves of the Ukrainian forces should be destroyed first, together with the supply lines for the weapons and ammunition crossing the border from the US and the NATO allies.

This process, they also agreed, should take as long as required with least casualties on the Russian side, as determined by military intelligence. Also agreed and pre-conditional, there should be no repeat of the political intelligence failures of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) which precipitated the failed special forces operation known as the Battle of Antonov (Hostomel) Airport from February 24 to April 2, 2022.

Taking account of the mistakes made then by the SVR director, Sergei Naryshkin, and the subsequent mistakes of military officers around Yevgeny Prigozhin, the General Staff has also accepted that their tactical operations must run least risk of Russian casualties through March 17, the final day of the presidential election.
Read More...
Gavel

Best of the Web: Pakistani ex-PM Khan, wife, sentenced to 14 years in prison for 'corruption'


RT
Tue, 30 Jan 2024 19:58 UTC

Comment: This is completely outrageous. He's really being locked up because Pakistan has elections next week and Khan keeps talking about how the CIA ousted him - a wildly popular and democratically-elected prime minister - from power...


Imran Khan and his wife
© AFPFormer Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra (left), arrive at a court in Lahore in May 2023.
A Pakistani court has sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan to ten years behind bars. He has been charged with leaking state secrets, according to the spokesman for the politician's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI).

On Tuesday, Zulfiqar Bukhari said, as quoted by AP, that the verdict was announced at a prison in the northern city of Rawalpindi, not far from the capital, Islamabad. The same sentence was also imposed on former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

The charges relate to the so-called cipher, a classified cable sent to Islamabad by the Pakistani ambassador to Washington in 2022, shortly after the start of the Ukraine conflict. The document allegedly suggested that the US wanted to remove Khan over his neutrality regarding the hostilities.

The ex-Pakistani PM called the cipher case on Tuesday "false," adding that it "is being completed in violation of constitutional requirements and legal regulations.""This is not a trial but a fixed match outcome of which was predetermined," he added.

Comment: This is exactly what they'd love to do to Trump. Khan thought he could stave off the CIA's maneuvering to oust him by exposing a cable documenting their efforts. Then, at the outset of the Russian SMO in Ukraine, Khan flew to Moscow in a show of support for Putin and to secure major energy deals because Khan figured, correctly, that energy markets were about to go haywire as the West imposed sanctions on Russia. At that point, Washington's stooges within Pakistani military-intelligence pounced, contriving first a 'vote of no- confidence', then criminal charges, finally his arrest, and now his incarceration.

All because he wanted to finally make Pakistan a real country and not some 'wild frontier outpost' for the Anglo-American empire.

See also:

Read More...
Blue Planet

Hyper-Imperialism

Vijay Prashad
Consortium News
Mon, 29 Jan 2024 00:00 UTC
Mural
Luis Felipe Noé, Argentina “La naturaleza y los mitos II” or “Nature and Myths II,” 1975
"The West is in danger," warned Argentina's new president, Javier Milei at this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

In his dangerously appealing style, Milei blamed "collectivism" - that is, social welfare, taxes and the state - as the "root cause" of the world's problems, leading to widespread impoverishment.

The only way forward, Milei declared, is through "free enterprise, capitalism and economic freedom." Milei's speech marked a return to the orthodoxy of Milton Friedman and the Chicago Boys, who pushed forward an ideology of social cannibalism as the basis for their neoliberal agenda.

Since the 1970s, this scorched earth policy has devastated much of the Global South through the structural adjustment programmes of the International Monetary Fund. It also created factory deserts in the West (what Donald Trump, in his inauguration address in 2017, called the American carnage").

Therein lies the confounding logic of the far right: on the one side, calling for the billionaire class to dominate society in their interest (which produces the social carnage) and then, on the other side, inflaming the victims of said carnage to fight against policies that would benefit them.

Milei is right in his overall judgment: the West is in danger, but not because of social democratic policies; it is in danger because of its inability to come to terms with its slow demise as the dominating bloc in the world.
Read More...