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Will Belarus become the next Banderastan?

The Saker
The Unz Review
Wed, 19 Aug 2020 16:58 UTC
Lukashenko
© Sputnik / Mikhail Klementyev
President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko
The situation in Belarus is evolving very rapidly, and not for the better, to say the least. A lot has been going on, but here is a summary of what are the most crucial developments in my opinion:
  • Last Sunday was a major success for the Belarusian opposition: huge crowds took to the streets of several Belarusian cities and, in most cases, the demonstrations were peaceful.
  • Belarus now has its own "Juan Guaido" in the person of Svetlana Tikhanovskaia - whose only "qualification" to lead the opposition is that is that her husband is in jail. Tikhanovskaia has already declared herself the "national leader" of Belarus.
  • The Belarusian opposition formed a coordinating committee which is staffed by well-known and long-time rabid russophobes.
  • The program of the opposition (they call it "Reanimation package of reforms for Belarus") is simple: new "fair" elections followed by the following goals: Belarus must withdrawn from all the collective agreements she has with Russia (including the union state, the SCO, etc.). Instead, the national goal ought to be, what else, to join NATO and the EU. All the Russian military forces in Belarus must be expelled. The Belarusian language must be reimposed, Ukie-style, on the Belarusian society (including, apparently, the military - good luck with that!). Russian organizations will be banned in Belarus, and Russian TV channels forbidden. The border with Russia must be closed. Next, a new, independent "Belarusian Orthodox Church" must be created. Finally, the Belarusian economy will "reformed" - meaning that whatever can be sold will be sold, then the country will be deindustrialized (like the Ukraine or the Baltic states).
  • At this point, it is pretty clear that the Western-controlled "opposition" has successfully taken over the control of the events from the very REAL local popular opposition. This mechanism (the hijacking of a truly popular and legitimate opposition by western controlled agents of influence) is exactly what happened in the Ukraine, in Syria and in many other places (I would even argue that this is what is happening to the US right now). Some Belarusian ambassadors (Slovakia, Switzerland, Sweden) have now sided with the opposition just like what happened with Venezuela, Syria and other countries.
To be honest, there are more similarities between the recent events in Venezuela and what is now taking place in Belarus, it's not just Tikhanovskaia as the Belarusian Guaido. For example, Lukashenko made at least as many, if not more, crucial mistakes than Maduro and now there is hell to pay for it.
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Better Earth

Long-delayed Afghan peace talks hit new obstacles - but president says all barriers now removed

Frud Bezhan
RFE/RL
Wed, 19 Aug 2020 16:37 UTC
taliban prisoners

Newly freed Taliban prisoners leave Pul-e Charkhi prison in Kabul on August 13.
Afghanistan's controversial pledge to free the last of some 400 Taliban prisoners was supposed to be the final hurdle before the launch of long-delayed peace talks between the two warring sides.

But those talks have been postponed indefinitely after Kabul abruptly halted the release of the remaining inmates, some of whom have been accused or convicted of deadly attacks on Afghans and foreigners since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

At the same time, the Afghan government has accused the Taliban of failing to free all government soldiers in its custody, a claim rejected by the insurgents.

The prisoner swap is supposed to involve a total of 5,000 Taliban militants and some 1,000 Afghan soldiers.

Meanwhile, some foreign governments are strongly urging Kabul not to release specific Taliban inmates because they were involved in killing their citizens on Afghan soil.

A senior Afghan official has also blamed the Taliban for an assassination attempt on a member of the government's peace-negotiating team.

Some Afghan and foreign observers say President Ashraf Ghani could be deliberately delaying a process that has undermined his administration and boosted the legitimacy of the Taliban. "The Afghan government has cited several justifications in order to stall this prisoner release in the past week alone," said Andrew Watkins, a senior analyst for Afghanistan at the International Crisis Group.

Comment: Despite the delays, here's what Ghani had to say today:
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says that "all barriers and excuses have been removed" ahead of expected peace talks between the government in Kabul and the Taliban militants.

In a televised message to Afghan security forces on August 20, Ghani said his government had "met all conditions for a peace with dignity." He called on the Taliban to accept a permanent cease-fire and start negotiations with the government soon.

"We have shown our will and our commitment," he said, citing the release of thousands of Taliban prisoners, a major precondition for the peace talks sought by the United States.


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Bulb

Is Belarus a color revolution? The real problem is that ANY protest these days may be

Nebojsa Malic
RT
Wed, 19 Aug 2020 16:27 UTC
minsk protest
© Getty Images / Misha Friedman
Demonstrators participate in an anti-Lukashenko rally on August 18, 2020 in Minsk, Belarus.
Whenever there is a mass protest against a government somewhere in the world, one of the first questions from skeptics will be whether it's a 'color revolution,' a technique of turning legitimate grievances into a coup d'etat.

The recent events in Belarus are a perfect example. It's not a color revolution, but President Alexander Lukashenko "repeating Soviet mistakes," argues Bradley Blankenship. While he is looking at the behavior of the protesters on the ground, however, Caitlin Johnstone is looking at the State Department. Foggy Bottom's actions and "imperial narrative management" by official US propaganda outlets have her convinced it is a color revolution. She's not the only one.

That's precisely the problem, however: in a world where "color revolutions" have become normalized, it's nearly impossible to tell if a mass protest is a spontaneous, grassroots event or an astroturfed regime-change operation. To the creators of color revolutions, this is a feature, not a bug.

The tactic has been around for two decades now, first tested following the September 2000 elections in Serbia. It involves activists trained by US-backed "NGOs," copious amounts of cash, strategies and tactics outlined in a manual written by the late Gene Sharp. The key element is narrative management, through which the revolutionaries usurp the initial protests and direct them towards their own ends.
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Magnify

Key Belarusian opposition leaders say they want friendly ties with Russia and promise not to dump 'union state' or defense pacts


RT
Wed, 19 Aug 2020 10:59 UTC
Belarus
© REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko
People attend an opposition demonstration to protest against presidential election results in front of the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Minsk, Belarus August 18, 2020.
Belarus' opposition wants to build good relations with all countries and has no plans to cancel existing treaties with Russia. That's according to Maria Kolesnikova, the most prominent leader still active inside the state.

Her comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned his German and French counterparts that interference in Belarus' internal affairs was "unacceptable." Kolesnikova confirmed that other countries have been seeking to establish contact with the opposition in Belarus.

Along with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, she has become the 'face' of the movement seeking to replace long-time incumbent Alexander Lukashenko, and told broadcaster Echo of Moscow that she distrusts the current president's apparent willingness to enter serious negotiations on a new government. She also emphasized that she considers Russia to be a vital ally to her country.

Comment: See also: Belarus 'revolution' is imperialists running the same tired old script, day after day

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Bizarro Earth

Russia denies military convoy is heading to Belarus, Lukashenko sends drones and missiles to western border as 'response to NATO activity'


RT
Wed, 19 Aug 2020 13:26 UTC
Belarus Russia flag
© REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko
FILE PHOTO
Vladimir Putin's spokesman has rubbished speculation that Moscow is either conducting or is preparing to carry out some sort of military intervention in neighboring Belarus, with which it has mutual-assistance agreements.

Dmitry Peskov said that while Russia is treaty-bound to assist Minsk, the conditions for such support don't currently exist.

Both countries form a Union State, under a 1999 agreement, and are also members of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a Moscow-led security alliance that serves as an alternative to NATO. Peskov explained that these treaties "indeed, stipulate a number of commitments of the sides on mutual assistance." He was answering a reporter's question on the circumstances in which such assistance would be possible.

Comment: See also: Belarus 'revolution' is imperialists running the same tired old script, day after day

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Snakes in Suits

Macron says 'can't shut the country down again because damage of lockdown is considerable'


TheLocal.fr
Thu, 20 Aug 2020 12:26 UTC
Macron
© AFP
Emmanuel Macron on the French Riviera.
In an interview that seems to signal that France will not be returning to lockdown, president Emmanuel Macron says that the country 'cannot be put on hold' by coronavirus.

While at the presidential holiday home in Brégançon on the French Riviera, Macron gave an interview to magazine Paris Match - complete with traditional 'at home' style photos of himself and his wife Brigitte in their holiday attire.

And he told the Paris Match journalist: "We can't shut the country down because the collateral damage of lockdown is considerable.

"Zero risk never exists in any society. We must respond to this anxiety without falling into the doctrine of zero risk."

Comment: No country can afford to go into lockdown and yet despite this demonstrable fact many are still threatening to do so - some have already reinforced numerous local lockdowns.

That said, Macron does not comment on the storm troopers out on Marseilles' streets enforcing face muzzles, so perhaps for the country, with all the violations of civil liberties and security state measures, it will be lockdown by another name.

See also: And check out SOTT radio's:

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Flashlight

Trump on QAnon believing he is saving world from pedophiles: 'Is that supposed to be a bad thing?'

Anders Hagstrom
Daily Caller
Wed, 19 Aug 2020 18:47 UTC
trump white house press briefing
© Daily Caller
President Donald Trump questioned whether it was a bad thing that supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory believe Trump will save the United States from Satanists and pedophiles on Wednesday.

Trump's exchange with a reporter came during a press conference on Wednesday, hours before the third night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC).

"The crux of the [QAnon] theory is this belief that you are secretly saving the world from this Satanic cult of pedophiles and cannibals. Does that sound like something you are behind?" the reporter asked.

Comment: This statement by the President is unlikely to have any kind of quelling effect on rabid QAnon followers. If anything, it will bolster them more.

See also:

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Pistol

Operation Legend: More than 200 charged with federal crimes, 1,000 arrested, AG Barr announces

Danielle Wallace
Fox News
Wed, 19 Aug 2020 05:23 UTC
LeGend Taliferro
© Courtesy of FBI
LeGend Taliferro, 4, was shot and killed while he slept in the early morning of June 29 in Kansas City, Mo.
The operation is named for LeGend Taliferro, 4, who was shot and killed while he slept in June.

At least 217 people have been charged with a federal crime, and more than 1,000 arrests have been made in major metropolitan cities since the Department of Justice launched Operation Legend in July, U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced on Wednesday.

Nearly 400 firearms have been seized by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Comment: See also:

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HAL9000

The Great Reset: Where Do We Go From Here?

Derrick Broze
The Conscious Resistance
Tue, 18 Aug 2020 00:00 UTC
Great Reset
As the world of 2020 faces a global pandemic, many powerful nations are also faced with economic turmoil as a result of locking society down. At the same time, nations around the world are using COVID-19 as an opportunity to grab more surveillance and police state powers, institute mask and vaccine mandates, accelerate the push towards a completely digital world, enact more corporate bailouts, and generally, extreme control and involvement in citizens lives.

The sheer magnitude of the COVID-19 response is unparalleled, with the most recent similar event being the attacks of September 11, 2001. As with the 9/11 attacks, the predator class is using COVID-19 as the excuse to push plans and agendas which predate the spread of the novel coronavirus.

It's time to step past the 24 hour fear porn news cycle and ask where we are headed. IT's time to Understand The Great Reset.

The path we are being led down is known as "The Great Reset" and was announced in early June by the World Economic Forum. The launch of The Great Reset was supported by Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum; England's Prince Charles; Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN; and Kristalina Georgieva of the International Monetary Fund. The launch of The Great Reset was also supported by the CEOs of BP, Mastercard, and the president of Microsoft.


Comment: James Corbett discusses the coming centralization and decentralization of money in this elucidating video:



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Quenelle

Local Arab uprisings in northeast Syria may wipe US forces & their SDF proxies out of the region

Ekaterina Blinov
Sputnik
Wed, 19 Aug 2020 20:56 UTC
us convoy syria
© AP Photo / Baderkhan Ahmad
An American military convoy stops near the town of Tel Tamr, north Syria, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019
US bases and personnel have been increasingly attacked by unidentified actors in Syria over the past several months. Political analyst Christopher Assad and US military veteran Mark Sleboda have shed light on the trouble brewing for US occupation forces in the northeastern Syrian provinces of Al-Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor.

In early August, the US base in the town of Ash Shaddadi, in Al-Hasakah province, was shelled by unknown militants, according to Al-Watan newspaper. At the end of May, a military convoy of US troops and the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were reportedly attacked by unidentified fighters in Deir ez-Zor province. A month earlier, on 20 April, a US military vehicle was destroyed in Al-Hasakah governorate.
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