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Mexico's president urges end to 'irrational' Ukraine war, wants Russia at peace talks


Reuters
Mon, 31 Jul 2023 12:00 UTC
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
© REUTERS/Henry Romero/File PhotoMexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during an event at the Zocalo square to mark the fifth anniversary of his election victory on July 1, 2018 , in Mexico City, Mexico July 1, 2023.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday called for an end to the "irrational" war in Ukraine, urging upcoming peace talks in the Middle East to include representation from both Ukraine and Russia.

Lopez Obrador said Mexico would only take part in the talks in Saudi Arabia, reportedly scheduled to be held over the coming weekend, if both sides were present.

"If there's acceptance from both Ukraine and Russia to look for solutions to achieve peace, we'll participate," the president told reporters at a regular press conference.


Comment: Russia has repeatedly stated it wants peace, it's the US and UK that have deterred Ukraine from engaging in discussions.


Comment: Obrador's position seems to reflect that of some factions within the US, which have resigned themselves to accepting that they've lost the war on Russia, and that it's time to bow out before even greater losses are incurred; and perhaps they'd also like to redirect their dwindling resources to continue provocations elsewhere, such as against China, or pivoting nations in Africa:

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Snakes in Suits

Trudeau loses it after being asked a simple question about seeking peace in Ukraine

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Wed, 02 Aug 2023 02:40 UTC
trudeau screenshot
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been holding cross-country town halls for the past many weeks, while presenting himself as a "man of the people" — as these events are giving ordinary Canadians a rare chance to ask him unvetted questions. But apparently you'd better ask the "right" questions, or else he'll blow up and attack you personally as the questioner. A new clip has surfaced of a recent exchange centered on a very legitimate question from an audience member about Ukraine, and Canada's refusal to push for peace.

Prominent Canadian political commentator Stephen McIntyre presented the town hall video on Twitter, while providing the following context to the back-and-forth between audience member "Michael" and PM Trudeau:
Someone asks why Canada hasn't put forward a peace proposal to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, even if Trudeau disagreed with the question, his knee jerk reaction is to say "Am going to call you out" and says the individual has been swayed by Russian propaganda and disinformation. Chilling and Orwellian.

Comment: See also:

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Telephone

Devon Archer: Hunter Biden, Burisma execs 'called DC' to get Ukrainian prosecutor fired

Brooke Singman
Fox News
Mon, 31 Jul 2023 16:37 UTC
devon archer hunter biden
© Fox NewsDevon Archer, left, and Hunter Biden, right.
Devon Archer testified for hours at the House Oversight Committee Monday.

Devon Archer testified Monday that Hunter Biden and top executives of Burisma Holdings "called D.C." in 2015 to ask the Obama administration to help fire the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the firm, a source familiar with his testimony told Fox News Digital.

Archer, a former business associate and longtime friend of Hunter Biden, testified for hours before the House Oversight Committee Monday.

Comment: Also from Archer's testimony (from Gateway Pundit):
Today Hunter Biden's best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met with Russia's Yelena Baturina who later invested into $40 million into Hunter Biden's real estate ventures. And she also paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in consulting fees.

Yelena Baturina, the billionaire widow of a corrupt Moscow mayor, was left off of Biden's Sanctions list.


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Attention

Historic: US credit rating downgraded over rising debt, 'deteriorating standards of governance'


Al Jazeera
Wed, 02 Aug 2023 09:29 UTC
whitehouse
© Elizabeth Frantz/ReutersDemocrats and Republicans in June reached an agreement to avoid a debt default by raising the $31.4 trillion borrowing limit after months of political wrangling
Top rating agency Fitch has downgraded the United States's credit rating over its rising debt and a "deterioration in standards of governance", prompting protests from the White House.

Fitch, one of the big three rating agencies, on Tuesday dropped the credit rating to AA+, down one notch from the highest rating AAA.

The lower credit rating, which provides investors with a guide of the risks associated with investing in the debt of a particular country, could over time raise borrowing costs for the US government.

The downgrade comes after Democrats and Republicans in June reached an agreement to avoid a debt default by raising the $31.4 trillion borrowing limit after months of political wrangling over taxes and spending.

Comment: Considering Janet Yellen and Henry Kissinger's recent visits to China, it seems that Fitch's downgrade has merit and that there are serious concerns over their stability, and that's in addition to the threat US provocations against China pose. For further insight on this, check out the following:


100-year-old Henny Kissinger went to China for what reason? It's not about US debt, not about the trade war, not even about Taiwan. In this thread, we find out what Kissinger and Xi discussed behind closed doors, something that will affect us all.

#1/10 The biggest threat to the world is not China, but $31.4 trillion US debt. US bonds price will crash inevitably and nuke many countries' economies. Hundreds of millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in pensions will disappear. Why wouldn't Kissinger ask China to help?

#2/10 When Xi Jinping started his 1st term, he was advised that the Chinese economy couldn't withstand the US bonds crash. China's deleveraging campaign was launched in 2013. It sent the two largest real estate developers to bankruptcy in 2021. Did Xi make a deadly mistake?

#3/10 During my first visit in 2018, everyone in China was in a state of euphoria. Businesses borrowed like crazy to expand. Housing prices were sky-high. Jack Ma was further expanding his empire by giving young Chinese free loans. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

#4/10 By popping its own financial and real estate bubbles, in a controlled manner, the Chinese government defused an economic time bomb. But Western experts say Xi is driving China into the brink of collapse, right?

#5/10 I went shopping for a new condo last week. My agent told me that, yes, local govts had to step in and fund most unfinished building projects. And things weren't great for the last 3 years. But she's busy again. Home buyers are taking advantage of lower housing prices.

#6/10 Here's a gorgeous 100 square meters condo with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms for 1.6 million RMB. But I digress. Back to Kissenger.

#7/10 If a 100-year-old man is going to go on a plane for 14 hours, he'll need a medical team along with him. Kissenger jeopardized his health to travel to China for what reason? It's got to be something about his own legacy.

#8/10 China has spent the past decade insulating itself from the inevitable US bonds crash. It won't be as enthusiastic about saving the US as in 2008. The US economy is near its end. The only exit is war. Kissinger travelled to Beijing to discuss the possibility of war.

#9/10 Kissinger's trip to Beijing has only one purpose - to discuss how to minimize damage when (not if) a war breaks out between China and the US. I hate being so doom and gloom. But here is a Chinese phrase - 危机 Whenever danger lurks, opportunity awaits
See also: 'Most dangerous moment in world politics': US, China heading for conflict, and it's not clear whether it's avoidable - Orban


US state and local governments just experienced the worst decline in income tax revenues ever recorded.

This was the second steepest year-over-year percentage decline in history, with only the GFC having a worse outcome.

Note that Federal tax receipts are also dropped again, now at recessionary levels and approaching -10% on a YoY basis.

This is a clear indication of the continued fundamental deterioration of the economy, which sharply contrasts with overall financial assets that remain at excessively inflated valuations.


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Bad Guys

US cluster munitions will bring more pain and death to Donbass civilians, and Washington doesn't care

Eva Bartlett
RT
Tue, 01 Aug 2023 19:39 UTC
US-made 155mm cluster munitions
© Handout / DVIDS / AFPFILE PHOTO: US-made 155mm cluster munitions
The recent US decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine is immoral, unethical, and criminal. We've already seen the horrific results of the use of such weapons - civilians mutilated and murdered (often decades later) in Iraq and Southeast Asia, for example, and in Lebanon.

In addition to the ethical reasons not to send these weapons to Ukraine, there are pragmatic reasons why, from a military perspective. They are pointless for Ukraine, in spite of Western promises that they will "do more damage across a larger area than standard unitary artillery shells by releasing bomblets, or submunitions."

In reality, while covering a wider area than a conventional high explosive munition, the cluster bomblets do not inflict more powerful damage, certainly not against Russian fortified positions. Their use is mainly for targeting troops in the open and lightly armoured vehicles. Not a game changer for Kiev.

According to former US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter, "these are the worst weapon in the world for trench warfare. With trench warfare, you need a high explosive round that collapses bunkers, that collapses trenches."

If the US knows that cluster munitions won't change facts on the ground for Ukraine, why is it sending them? Because, as President Joe Biden himself has said, Ukraine is "running out of ammunition and we're low on it." So, the US might as well offload its old stock of cluster munitions. They will not, as Biden claimed, "stop those tanks from rolling." Nor will they - as the Biden administration claims - "save civilian lives." They will almost certainly be used to kill, maim, and terrorize more Donbass civilians immediately and for years to come.
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Alarm Clock

Hunter Biden's laptop chock-full of secret agreements and contracts with foreign business partners

Jon Levine
New York Post
Tue, 29 Aug 2023 19:32 UTC
ny post headlines biden corruption hearing
© New York PostHouse Oversight Committee leaders are keen to uncover what contracts found on Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop said.
Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop is filled with contracts and agreements between him and foreign business partners that could shine new light on his business dealings, and potentially implicate his father, insiders around the first son told The Post.

Hundreds of documents are littered among the tens of thousands of emails contained on the laptop — but the files were not downloaded onto the device, and investigators cannot open most of them.

During his father's vice presidency and after, Hunter Biden and his family made millions of dollars from foreign sources trading on the family name, according to whistleblowers and bank records unearthed by the House Oversight Committee.

Through much of the wheeling and dealing — Hunter Biden was a crack addict and alcoholic.
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Bullseye

The Biden 'Brand': Devon Archer details the 'niceties' of influence-peddling

Jonathan Turley
The Messanger
Tue, 01 Aug 2023 19:04 UTC
President Joe Biden, and his son Hunter Biden
© P Photo/Andrew HarnikPresident Joe Biden, and his son Hunter Biden arrive at Fort McNair on June 25, 2023.
"There were niceties." That description by Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) of calls between President Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and Hunter's foreign business associates may, strangely, be the most accurate thing the freshman congressman has ever said.

The almost-two-dozen calls — detailed by Hunter Biden's close friend and former business partner, Devon Archer, during a closed-door interview Monday with House Oversight Committee investigators — were indeed "the niceties" of influence-peddling. The calls presumably were intended to show that Hunter Biden could deliver his father and to support what Archer called "the brand." Hunter had no relevant experience or appreciable business skills, but he had the vice president of the United States on speed-dial.

The selection of Goldman as the only committee Democrat in the interview was ironic. Goldman was a Democratic staff attorney when the House impeached Donald Trump in 2019 largely on the basis of a single telephone call to the president of Ukraine. Now, however, Goldman is calling for an immediate cessation of any further investigation, in an almost comical display of denial and deflection.

Comment: As Twitterati have commented, Goldman is giving Adam Schiff a run for his money in his craven, weasely defense of Hunter and Joe:



Turley has more to say:



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Bad Guys

Trump says Russiagate to blame for Ukraine conflict


RT
Tue, 01 Aug 2023 18:48 UTC
trump 2924 campaign erie pa
© Jeff Swensen / Getty Images / AFPFormer US President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a political rally at Erie Insurance Arena on July 29, 2023 in Erie, Pennsylvania
The investigation triggered mass hysteria that pushed Washington into "a proxy war" with Moscow, the former US president has claimed

A probe into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 American presidential election undermined relations with Moscow and ultimately led to the Ukraine conflict, former US president and current candidate Donald Trump has claimed in an op-ed published on Monday.

Writing for Newsweek, Trump slammed the congressional investigation into his campaign's purported ties with Russia, insisting that the report by special counsel John Durham proved that "the Russia Hoax was the most atrocious weaponization" of the US government in history.

The long-awaited document, which was released in May, found that the FBI should have never launched a probe into Trump's ties with Russia as it was based on biased sources.

Comment: It's clear Trump's knowledge of the history of Ukraine's war is sketchy at best. He seems ignorant of the CIA's covert actions to overturn the country starting with the Orange Revolution in 2004, on through to the Maidan of 2014. But, at the same time he's not completely wrong. Ukraine held Biden's political future in its hands, using it to extract mind-boggling sums of money and aid for attacking Russia. It only helped that the neocons, now headed by uber warharpy Victoria Nuland, are fully on board with it.

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Star of David

How Ron DeSantis puts Israel first and assaults the speech rights of American citizens

Alexander Rubinstein
The Grayzone
Sun, 30 Jul 2023 00:00 UTC
DeSantisNeti
© UnknownFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis • Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
While posing as a defender of free speech, Florida's Ron DeSantis has played point man on the Israel lobby's crusade to criminalize American citizens for their exercising their constitutionally-protected right to boycott Israel.

Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has spent his career as an elected official pushing an array of laws attacking the free speech of American citizens who exercise their constitutionally-protected right to boycott Israel. One anti-boycott bill DeSantis championed sought to send violators to prison for 10 years.

At the same time, the governor has sought to position himself as a champion of the First Amendment. During a 2022 press conference, he stood behind a podium emblazoned with the phrase, "Gov. DeSantis Defends Free Speech." Flanked by medical professionals bearing signs that read "free speech, free state," and "science not censorship," DeSantis slammed the censorship regime erected to enforce public compliance to Covid-19 restrictions.

Yet, when it comes to silencing critics of his major financial benefactors, and limiting the First Amendment rights of American citizens to choose where and where not to spend their hard-earned dollars, DeSantis is more pro-mandate than pro-Madison.

The most recent of DeSantis' many assaults on the right to boycott came this July 17, as he stood before a Christian Zionist group which supports Israel on the basis that it is the future landing pad for the Messiah.

Branding himself the "most pro-Israel governor in the United States," the Florida Republican announced an official investigation into the financial ratings firm Morningstar over allegations related to Florida's ban on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
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Pirates

US backing Kiev's terrorist methods - Russian security chief


RT
Mon, 31 Jul 2023 14:48 UTC
Patrushev
© Sputnik/Viktor TolochkoNikolay Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian security council
The US is using terrorist methods through its proxy Ukraine, after Kiev failed to beat Russia on the battlefield, the secretary of the Russian national security council, Nikolay Patrushev, has alleged.

During a government meeting, he said on Monday:
"In coordination with Western handlers, the Ukrainian special services are conducting numerous attacks with aerial and naval unmanned vehicles against Moscow, Crimea, border regions of Russia and its other parts. The US and its satellites, which realize that warfare alone cannot inflict defeat on Russia, have started to actively use terrorist methods."
Patrushev specifically identified the attack on the Crimean Bridge earlier this month as an example of such crimes, noting that two civilians were killed in the attack.

Citing an anonymous source, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claimed last week that the administration of US President Joe Biden played a "vital" role in that incident as well as the previous one, which happened last October and killed three civilians.

Patrushev mentioned Hersh's reporting, calling it further evidence that "by providing financial support and supplying arms to the Kiev regime, the US and its allies de facto act as sponsors of terrorism."

Comment: It is unlikely Washington will let Hersh's claim remain, shall we say, 'unchallenged'.

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