Puppet MastersS


Brick Wall

Russia and the EU's messy energy divorce places both sides in a race against time

Russian gas Germany
© Sean Gallup / Gettyimages.ruA compression station of the Jagal gas pipeline near Mallnow, Germany, April 28, 2022.
For half a century, both sides have benefited from close cooperation, but that era is drawing to a close

The debate over Russian gas is heating up across Europe. For instance, Nord Stream's turbine maintenance procedures would have been a routine issue before, but now it has turned into a major political problem. And then there's the situation regarding pumping gas through the parts of the Ukrainian pipeline system that are not currently controlled by Kiev.

We will let the experts deal with the legal side of things, but as things stand, we can assume this is not the most important aspect. Europe (not just the EU, but the whole geographical region) is facing a massive force majeure situation, which normally serves as a legitimate basis for suspending any contractual obligations. The fact that the players concerned haven't stated it officially is a political game, in which each team is trying not to lose too much (yes, some games don't have a winner at all). Another objective is to postpone a decisive energy battle, which is not inevitable, but very likely.

Eagle

Whistleblowers: FBI manipulating 'domestic terrorism' data to fit Biden narrative

fbi logo
Multiple FBI whistleblowers have stepped forward to House Republicans to claim that the agency's leadership has been pressuring agents to 'artificially pad domestic terrorism data' by inappropriately classifying cases to meet quotas.

"From recent protected disclosures, we have learned that FBI officials are pressuring agents to reclassify cases as 'domestic violent extremism' even if the cases do not meet the criteria for such a classification," wrote Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) in a Wednesday letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray.

"Given the narrative pushed by the Biden administration that domestic violent extremism is the 'greatest threat' facing our country, the revelation that the FBI may be artificially padding domestic terrorism data is scandalous," Jordan continues.

Comment: The FBI has always been subject to the agendas of the 'Deep State'; for many years post-911 the intelligence agency constructed Islamic terror plots - that were almost always revealed to be cases of entrapment and the egregious manipulation of unreliable informants and useful idiots. The enemy du jour, however, are now "domestic terrorists" of the "white anti-government or anti-authority militia" - showing clearly that Totalitarianism of any ilk always requires the fabrication of a "dangerous enemy."


Cardboard Box

Define 'recession': Biden's administration refuses to see economic reality

POUSJB
© Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/Getty ImagesUS President Joe Biden
As anyone with a pulse can attest, times are tough, and every non-millionaire American is struggling with the weight of the economy.

Inflation is now sitting at a 40-year high, and economic conditions are worse than when Jimmy Carter was running the show. And yet, despite all the facts, Joe Biden and his team at the White House insist that everything is fine, like the meme dog in the burning house.

Rather than address all the symptoms of an economy in dire straits, the Biden administration has launched a propaganda campaign intended to convince you that everything is going as planned. Just don't trust your lying eyes. Or blame Russia by calling it the "Putin Price Hike" - yeah, that works.

Comment: It doesn't matter what the Optical Illusion-in-Chief calls it. It is recession.


Heart - Black

Ukraine shells Donetsk detention center holding Azov POWs, kills dozens

Bombed center
© Daniil Bezsonov /TelegramRemains of the DPR detention center
Kiev's forces shelled a detention center holding Ukrainian POWs early Friday morning to "threaten" their own troops who may want to surrender, the Russian Defense Ministry has claimed.

"A large number of Ukrainian servicemen are voluntarily laying down their arms, and know about the humane treatment of prisoners by the Russian side," the ministry said, calling the attack "outrageous."

Authorities in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said that the death toll in the missile strike has grown to 53, while 75 were wounded.

DPR Deputy Information Minister Daniil Bezsonov posted a graphic video on his Telegram channel, which shows multiple mutilated and charred bodies inside the destroyed building.

According to Russia's Defense Ministry and local authorities, Ukrainian troops used US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to strike the detention center near the village of Yelenovka.

Comment: Video of the carnage:








Attention

A bright future for China, a bleak one for Europe where more leaders are expected to fall

Orban
© Council of the European UnionHungarian Premier Viktor Orban
The battle between Russia and the West on the European continent has intensified as fighting continues on Ukrainian soil. Moscow reduces the flow of gas to Germany for the second time in one month, which is heavily suffering the weight of its sanctions. Starting this week, Russia is expected to deliver only 20 per cent, or 33 million cubic metres, out of 65 million cubic metres of gas to Germany for maintenance purposes.

Moreover, the Russian turbine that was in maintenance in Canada and was sent back to Germany is expected to arrive in August, which means a further gas reduction in flow is also expected next month. However, European troubles continue with the emergence of Hungary, standing in opposition to sanctions against Russia.

Hungary Prime Minister Victor Orbán acknowledges that a multipolar world has been born, that Ukraine is losing the war, and that the US erred in all its calculations concerning losses which afflict the West in the first place, rather than Russia.

Comment: Until mesmerized Europe comes to sense, Russia remains the agent of change while the West reaps what it sows.


Nuke

Ukraine seeks to engineer nuclear disaster - Russia

power plant
© Ed Jones/AFPZaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
Drone strikes on Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant by Ukraine appear to be an attempt to engineer a massive industrial disaster, and with the connivance of the West, Deputy Spokesperson for Russia's Foreign Ministry Ivan Nechaev said Wednesday.
"Ukraine's armed forces are obsessively staging strikes on Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which is the largest in Europe, with total disregard for its safety or IAEA's decisions and its resolutions."
Nechaev told a weekly news briefing, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency's numerous rulings that deem attacks against civilian nuclear facilities to be violations of international law.
"It is now obvious Ukraine is deliberately going for a massive industrial disaster. And we're seeing that both the US and their European allies are completely fine with it."
Currently under the control of Russian forces, Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, located in Energodar, southeastern Ukraine, has been a target of several strikes in the past few weeks.

On July 12, Ukrainian drones dropped several 120mm shells on a building located next to the power plant, injuring 11 employees, Energodar authorities confirmed. On July 20 three Ukrainian "kamikaze drones" attacked the plant, with no damage to its structures reported.

Back in April, the head of Russia's Radioactive, Chemical, and Biological Protection Forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, said a 'false-flag operation' could be staged on one of Ukraine's nuclear energy facilities, including on the Zaporozhye plant.

Arrow Down

Reporter exposes White House's blatant redefining of 'recession'

peter doocy karine jean-pierre
"What's the difference other than who's president?"

Fox News' White House corespondent Peter Doocy made Joe Biden's Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre look like a total fool Wednesday by expertly exposing how she and other Biden minions are attempting to redefine what a recession is in order to claim America isn't in one.

As we have highlighted throughout this week, Biden Administration officials are using semantics to avoid admitting how bad the economy is, with some suggesting 'its not a recession, it's a transition'.

Comment: Call it by the name 'recession' or don't, the outcome is the same.


Bad Guys

How Mario Draghi broke Italy

italy police
© ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty ImagesA crisis is brewing on the streets of Europe
Mario Draghi's defenestration has left the Italian — and indeed international — establishment reeling in horror. This is not surprising. When he was nominated as Italy's prime minister at the beginning of last year, Europe's political and economic elites welcomed his arrival as a miracle. Virtually every party in the Italian parliament — including the two formerly "populist" parties that won the elections in 2018, the Five Star Movement and the League — offered their support. The tone of the discussion was captured well by the powerful governor of the Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca (PD), who compared Draghi to "Christ" himself.

Everyone agreed: a Draghi government would be a blessing for the country, a final opportunity to redeem its sins and "make Italy great again". Draghi, they said, simply by virtue of his "charisma", "competence", "intelligence" and "international clout", would keep bond markets at bay, enact much-needed reforms, and relaunch Italy's stagnant economy.

Wolf

Denier-in-chief: Joe Biden really did meet with at least 14 of Hunter's business associates while vice president

hunter joe biden
© Fox NewsPresident Biden has repeatedly said that he has never spoken to his son, Hunter, about his overseas business dealings, despite attending several meetings with Hunter's business associates abroad and in the United States
President Biden met with at least 14 of Hunter Biden's business associates while he was vice president in the Obama White House, casting further doubt on the president's repeated claims that he had no knowledge of his son's foreign business dealings.

"I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings," Biden said in 2019.

But the president met with at least 14 of Hunter's business associates from the U.S., Mexico, Ukraine, China and Kazakhstan over the course of his vice presidency, a Fox News Digital review found.

Comment: A nice summation of the evidence refuting Creepy Joe's insistence that he had no involvement in Hunter's dirty deals. No one would have given Hunter the time of day if he wasn't the vice-president's son.


Airplane Paper

Russia and Turkey to discuss 'military-technical cooperation' - Kremlin

Bayraktar TB2 drone
© Muhammed Enes Yildirim / Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesFILE PHOTO: A Bayraktar TB2 drone lands at Gecitkale Airport.
Military-technical cooperation will be on the agenda when Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meet in Sochi. This was the response by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday, when asked about Erdogan's revelation that Moscow had an eye on Turkey's Bayraktar combat drones, which are currently supplied to Ukraine.

Multiple Turkish outlets reported on Tuesday that Erdogan had told his party leadership about Putin's interest in Turkey's military drone industry. The Russian leader reportedly raised the subject of cooperation with Baykar Makina, the makers of Bayraktar, at the July 19 meeting in Tehran. Asked about it, Peskov did not offer specifics.

"Military-technical cooperation between the two countries is constantly on the agenda," the Kremlin spokesman told reporters. "The very fact that our interaction is developing in such a sensitive area indicates that, in general, the whole range of our relations is at a very high level."

Erdogan is scheduled to meet Putin in Sochi on August 5. While implementation of the July 22 agreement for grain exports via the Black Sea is expected to dominate the agenda, it is now looking likely that the topic of drones will come up as well.