Puppet MastersS


Brick Wall

Ukraine fights narrative battle as counteroffensive stalls - NBC

molot
© Libkos/APUkrainian soldier 'Molot' (hammer) who lost his leg in a battle returned with a prosthetic leg, sits in a trench on the Zaporozhye frontline
Kiev and its supporters are reportedly worried about perceptions in the West...

Faced with a lack of progress on the battlefield, the government in Kiev has taken up a public relations battle in the West, NBC News reported on Friday, citing several US and Ukrainian officials.

As some US officials are "frustrated at the pace" of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Kiev and some of its backers "worry about losing control of the narrative," according to NBC.

"If the perception gets out there that the Ukrainians can't win, then we're not going to provide them the stuff they need to win," former US ambassador to Kiev William Taylor told the outlet, warning of a "self-fulfilling prophecy."


Comment: So it is perception, not reality, that is the definer - costing billions.


Nikodem Rachon, spokesman for the Polish embassy in Washington, told NBC that Russia "exploits" Ukraine's lack of battlefield success in propaganda, "aiming to weaken the unity of countries supporting Ukraine."

Comment: Spoiled Brat: It's Russia's fault Ukraine looks so bad and the West's fault it fights so poorly.


Arrow Down

Biden energy secretary torched after Fox News Digital reveals secret talks with top CCP official

'
granholm
© Evan Vucci/APEnergy Secretary Jennifer Grandholm
Why does communist China have more input on US energy policy than the American people under the Biden administration?' GOP Rep. Mike Collins asked...

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was heavily criticized Friday after a Fox News Digital report showed she spoke twice with a top Chinese government official before the White House announced plans to tap emergency oil stocks.

According to internal Department of Energy (DOE) calendars obtained by Americans for Public Trust, Granholm consulted China National Energy Administration Chairman Zhang Jianhua, a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party, Nov. 19, 2021, and two days later on Nov. 21, 2021.

On Nov. 23, 2021, the White House announced a release of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
Rodgers
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers said in a statement:
"Before telling the American people of their plans to undermine our energy security by draining the SPR at record rates for political purposes before the midterm elections, Secretary Granholm reportedly first secretly consulted with the Chinese Communist Party. Since then, DOE — under her leadership — has sold millions of barrels of oil from our SPR to China — the world's biggest polluter. It would appear Secretary Granholm meant it when she said America should 'learn' from what China is doing."

Comment: Don't forget agriculture:




Attention

Zelensky fears peace pressure from West - NYT

BIDJEL
© Sean Gallup/Getty ImagesUS President Joe Biden • Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky
NATO Summit • Vilinius, Lithuania
The Ukrainian president has reportedly told his diplomats that benefactors may push for a negotiated truce with Russia...

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is reportedly worried that Western nations may ramp up pressure to negotiate a peace agreement with Russia, ending a bloody conflict that has killed tens of thousands of Kiev's troops in just the past two months.

The New York Times reported on Saturday:
As furious battles raged across the front lines of Europe's bloodiest war in decades, Mr. Zelensky told his ambassadors on Wednesday that things would grow even more difficult as pressure was likely to build in the coming months to find a negotiated path to peace.
The Ukrainian president described Wednesday's gathering in Kiev with diplomats as an "emergency strategy session" heading into this weekend's Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia, the newspaper said.
The meeting is the starting point of what is expected to be a major Ukrainian diplomatic push in the coming months to try to undercut Russia.
Zelensky told his ambassadors that they must use every available tool - "official and unofficial, institutional and media, cultural diplomacy and the power of ordinary human sincerity" - to convince both allies and neutral nations that "the only road to a lasting peace is complete Russian defeat," according to the report.

Comment: Peace is difficult? Just say 'yes' and work it out. Those spared will be alive to thank you.


Handcuffs

Ex-Pakistani PM Imran Khan jailed for three years

IKhan
© Parker Song/Getty ImagesFormer Pakistani PM Imran Khan
The former cricket star claims his conviction for illegally profiting from state gifts was politically motivated...

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was issued with a three-year jail sentence by an Islamabad court on Saturday after he was found guilty on corruption charges. The verdict means that Khan, who claims the prosecution was politically motivated, will not be able to contest elections later this year.

In a pre-recorded statement released on X (formerly Twitter), Khan told his supporters: "I have only one appeal, don't sit at home silently."

Judge Humayun Dilawar declared in court that Khan, 70, had "deliberately submitted fake details" after he was accused of illegally profiting from the sale of gifts he received while serving as Pakistan's head of state between 2018 and 2022. After issuing the three-year custodial term, the judge also ordered Khan to be banned from politics for a period of five years.

Following the verdict, Khan, who was not in court, was arrested at his home in Lahore and taken into police custody. The claims against the former prime minister are a case of "political victimization," according to his lawyer Intezar Hussain Panjutha.

After the verdict Panjutha said:
"Khan was not given an opportunity to defend himself and say his side of the story. We wanted to provide witnesses in his favor but he was not allowed this opportunity. Khan was not given a fair trial."
Khan's barrister, Gohar Khan, added in comments to The Dawn newspaper that the court's verdict had been a "murder of justice."

Comment: See also:


Bomb

Ukraine attacks Donetsk with cluster munitions - authorities

Fire University
© unknownFire in the first building of the University of Economics and Trade in Donetsk
Civilian targets were affected by Saturday night's shelling, local officials have said...

Ukrainian forces have reportedly fired cluster munitions into Donetsk city, striking a private residence, a university and other civilian targets.

Four rounds of 155mm cluster bombs were fired into the center of the city on Saturday night, triggering fires in three districts, the Joint Center of Control and Coordination (JCCC) for the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said. The cluster munitions reportedly exploded in the air.

The Donetsk University of Economics and Trade was on fire after the shelling, the Mayor of Donetsk Aleksey Kulemzin said in a Telegram post. Fires also were reported in apartment buildings.

The shelling comes after at least three people were killed and ten injured by a Ukrainian bombardment on Monday. The shelling killed another civilian in a nearby town, the JCCC said.

Attention

The Ukraine mess is animal farm in reverse: Starring Blackrock and other pigs

Lying Ursula
© New Eastern Outlook
Recently, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the European Union should double its assistance to Ukraine. She went on to say the EU should create a support fund of 50 billion euros by the end of the year and that everything should be done to ensure victory on the battlefield for the Ukrainians.

The European Union has created a "support package" for Ukraine for 2023 of up to €18 billion. This money, however, is not in the form of gifts, grants, or to create an emergency war chest. These billions are a loan under an EU macro-financial assistance program dubbed the MFA+ Instrument. In the fine print, EU member states are guaranteeing these loans as well as paying the interest for the Ukrainians. The move is extraordinary given that Ukraine is not an EU member and that, even before the current conflict, was one of the most corrupt governments on Earth. This begs the question, "Why?"

The EU is issuing special bonds to be sold to investors for this purpose at a time when many people in the European Union go without proper healthcare, services, and even employment. The European Union, EU Member States, and European financial institutions have already dispersed some €49 billion to President Zelensky's regime. This figure, added to the $76.8 billion already funneled to Ukraine, dwarfs any assistance given to any other country in the world. This very conservative report from the Council of Foreign Relations shows the U.S. alone has shoveled more into Zelensky's coffers than Afghanistan, Israel, Jordan, Ethiopia, and Iraq combined in 2020.

In all, some 47 countries have given money and arms to Ukraine. As of now, EU Institutions (?) handed Zelensky over €30 billion. The UK has forked over about €10 billion as their pensioners worry about what's for dinner next. Germany has given somewhere around €8 billion, and Japan almost €7 billion. The Netherlands, Canada, and Poland have pitched in about €5 billion each, and the list of others about €14 billion. The numbers, as you would expect, do not all add up. A U.S. News & World Reports story from earlier this year claimed total aid to Zelensky's country had exceeded €150 billion as of January of this year. Again, why?

Attention

We've reached the end of western colonialism - Africa's struggle is the struggle of all humanity

On 26 July 2023, Niger's General Abdourahamane Tchiani overthrew the government of the President Mohamed Bazoum and seized power. It was the sixth coup against a western-friendly government in central and western Africa.
African Map
© Alex Krainer's TrendCompass / Substack
The event unveiled some of the underlying causes of the panic that had seized French elites over the recent years, and which drove them to break ranks with the Anglo-American establishment, as I discussed in "France Under Attack." The alliance, which was based on "our shared values" seemed unbreakable, but as it turns out, the French elites prioritized other values.

This, perhaps, was what motivated Macron to ask to be invited to the BRICS Summit in South Africa and why his government invited the leaders of African nations to Paris on 22/23 June for the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact. It was a charm offensive to preserve to colonial status quo in a new and improved LGBT packaging, but always under the auspices of the IMF and World Bank. The initiative did not work as hoped and many African leaders openly berated President Macron. Kenya's William Ruto bluntly told Macron: "You are not hearing us!"

Wine n Glass

Remember that Biden dinner that Joe Biden never attended? Well, he did

complicated table setting
"The Bidens are the best at doing exactly what Chairman wants." That WhatsApp message to a Chinese business associate was the perfect epitaph for the entire Biden corruption scandal. Part of the brilliance of the Biden influence peddling operation was to invest the media in the denial of any scandal. That is no more evident than the much discussed 2015 dinner of President Joe Biden with his son's foreign associates. The alleged dinner demolished Joe Biden's long denials of any knowledge of his son's dealings. Accordingly, the Biden campaign denied he ever attended and the media happily dismissed the account. Well, the dinner meeting reportedly occurred, he attended, and, as usual, most of the media has not fully informed their readers or viewers. Indeed, even though Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates was central to this denial, most of the media cannot be bothered with such trivialities.

In 2020, the New York Post reported that Hunter introduced then-Vice President Biden to a top executive at Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, which was giving him more than $50,000 per month.

Comment: See also:


Info

Former President Trump released on bond under strict rules after not-guilty plea to election conspiracy charges

trump valet
© Alex Brandon | APValet Walt Nauta hands former President Donald Trump an umbrella before Trump speaks at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia, Aug. 3, 2023, after Trump pleaded not guilty to federal charges that allege he conspired to subvert the 2020 election.
Former President Donald Trump entered a not-guilty plea to Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya, who set the date for his next hearing as Aug. 28.

Former President Donald Trump was arraigned Thursday at the E. Barrett Prettyman courthouse in Washington, D.C., on criminal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election.

Trump entered a not-guilty plea to Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya, who set the date for his next hearing as Aug. 28 at 10 a.m. before Judge Tanya Chutkan.

Trump is a leading candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. The first GOP debate in the 2024 presidential race is Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Comment: From Breitbart:
Special Counsel Jack Smith on Friday asked a judge to issue a protective order in the case against former President Donald Trump over his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election after Trump made a post on Truth Social.

On Friday, Trump posted the following message to his Truth Social account: "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU."

Now, Smith is using that post to argue Trump's access to the discovery in his criminal case should be restricted. Smith's proposed order seeks to prevent "improper dissemination or use of discovery materials, including to the public," according to a four-page filing.

"Such a restriction is particularly important in this case because the defendant has previously issued public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him," Smith argued before referencing Trump's Truth Social post. "And in recent days, regarding this case, the defendant has issued multiple posts either specifically or by implication including the following, which the defendant posted just hours ago."

"If the defendant were to begin issuing public posts using details or, for example, grand jury transcripts obtained in discovery here, it could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case," Smith argued.

A Trump spokesperson defended the Truth Social post as "political speech" and denied it was in reference to the criminal case.

"The Truth post cited is the definition of political speech, and was in response to the RINO, China-loving, dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs, like the ones funded by the Koch brothers and the Club for No Growth," the spokesperson said.
More from the Daily Caller:
Former President Donald Trump joked Friday that he would win the 2024 election if he was hit with "one more indictment" during a speech before a dinner held by the Alabama Republican Party.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges during his Thursday arraignment after Special Counsel Jack Smith secured a four-count indictment of Trump relating to his efforts to contest the results of the 2020 election after Smith previously secured a 37-count indictment against Trump in June based on an investigation into allegations surrounding classified documents.


"They wanted to wait, and they did wait," Trump said. "They waited right to the middle of an election and they waited until I became the dominant force in the polls because we're dominating everybody, including Biden in the polls, and then they filed 'em all, every one of of all that essentially one time, including local DA's and AGs that even other cases right in the middle of the campaign, where we're leading by so much and that's not going to make any impact, because every time they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls. We need one more indictment to close out this election, one more indictment and this election is closed out. Nobody has even a chance."

...

Legal experts noted that much of the conduct Smith claimed was criminal in the indictment appeared to be protected by the First Amendment. Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz said that the indictment not only attacked the First Amendment, but also Trump's Sixth Amendment right to counsel.



Pirates

Sanctions cost European companies €100 billion in direct losses from their Russia operations

Zel and Bid
© president.gov.ua/Creative CommonsUkraine President Volodymyr Zelensky • US President Joe Biden: Energy and utility groups have reported more than half the combined losses, according to FT analysis of direct impact of the Ukraine war.
Europe's biggest companies have suffered at least €100bn in direct losses from their operations in Russia since President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, according to analysis by the Financial Times.

A survey of 600 European groups' annual reports and 2023 financial statements shows that 176 companies have recorded asset impairments, foreign exchange-related charges and other one-off expenses as a result of the sale, closure or reduction of Russian businesses.

The aggregate figure does not include the war's indirect macroeconomic impacts such as higher energy and commodities costs. The war has also delivered a profit boost for oil and gas groups and defence companies.


Comment: Note that these European companies are earning a profit whilst European citizens have never been more indebted: Meat consumption hits record low in Germany, soaring inflation blamed