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A hidden 40th candidate? What does Vladimir Putin have to do with the Ukrainian presidential election?


RT
Sat, 30 Mar 2019 10:13 UTC
Kiev ballots
© Workers check ballots for presidential election at a printing plant in Kiev, REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Workers check ballots for presidential election at a printing plant in Kiev
Ukrainians will choose from 39 candidates this Sunday, but one name has received a huge amount of attention despite not being on the ballot - Vladimir Putin. The contenders seem to be unable to stop talking about him.

Of course, the leader of Ukraine's powerful neighbor is not unworthy of the voters' attention. But some candidates may have gone too far shaping their campaigns around Russian President Vladimir Putin.

For instance, Petro Poroshenko, the incumbent Ukrainian president struggling to stay in office, states in non-ambiguous terms that he is running against Putin. "Who is my opponent? I don't hesitate to say this openly, since others are afraid to do it. It's Putin."

The message was also given a prominent place during a big event in which the Ukrainian president announced his candidacy in January. Displays showed banners featuring him and his Russian counterpart with the slogan: "Either Poroshenko, or Putin." Some observers, including Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, snickered, asking if Putin was aware he was running.

Comment: See also:

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Bizarro Earth

How electoral fraud became the cornerstone of Ukraine's 2019 presidential election

Ollie Richardson
The Saker
Fri, 29 Mar 2019 12:00 UTC
Ukraine election billboard

Election candidate billboard in Ukraine
Of course, it comes as no surprise that both state and independent media are currently interested in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election, scheduled to take place on March 31st. But if we are to be honest, this interest isn't so much caused by an eager anticipation vis-a-vis the result. After all, nothing will change much in Ukraine after the election, or rather - the IMF will continue to pick the flesh from the state's rotten bones. Concerning the more actual reason for this interest, the March 28th episode of the RT show "World's Apart", hosted by Oksana Boyko, is very indicative indeed.

Here we see the least pro-"Ukrainism" politician in Ukraine, Viktor Medvedchuk (take note: I don't use the expression "pro-Russia" for a reason - there is no actual political opposition in Ukraine) explain to the host: "Ukraine's authorities are using their resources to bribe voters in preparation for the March 31 election! Everyone knows it, including Russia and the US!" Of course, Medvedchuk is telling the truth here - the presidential election is a competition between oligarchs, where law enforcement, Banderist militants, and the judicial system are willing to sell their services to the highest bidder. But what Medvedchuk doesn't mention is HOW this is happening. Let's try to address this question - briefly, but by no means exhaustedly, since this is an article and not a book - using facts.

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Down

USAF grounds Boeing built B-1 Lancer bomber for the second time over ejection system problems

Corey Dickstein
Stars and Stripes
Thu, 28 Mar 2019 21:11 UTC
B-1B Lancer bomber
© CLAYTON CUPIT/U.S. AIR FORCE
A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber in the air over Qatar during Joint Air Defense Exercise 19-01, Feb. 19, 2019.
The Air Force on Thursday grounded its fleet of B-1B Lancers to inspect the conventional bombers' ejection systems after discovering a parachute rigging problem during a routine inspection, the service announced in a statement.

Air Force technicians will inspect all 62 of the service's B-1B aircraft during the stand down, said Air Force Capt. Earon Brown, a spokesman for Air Force Global Strike Command. The jets will be returned to flying status on a rolling basis as they are inspected and any issues are resolved, he said.

The stand down marks the second such grounding of the Air Force B-1B fleet in about one year due to ejection system concerns. Last May, Lancers were grounded about three weeks after a B1-B from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas experienced an in-flight emergency and its ejections seats failed to deploy. The crew, in that case, landed safely.

Comment: When we take this into account along with the forever faulty F-35s and the tragedies that occurred as a result of the US FAA and Boeing airplanes, and so much more, evidently something is serious rotten in the US:

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Arrow Up

Washington will lose if it refuses to sell Turkey F-35s, Russia can sell them Su-35s


RT
Sat, 30 Mar 2019 23:53 UTC
Sukhoi
© REUTERS/Amir Cohen; Wikipedia/Rulexip
F-35 (L) and Sukhoi Su-35 (R)
Washington risks losing the Turkish arms market if it continues to delay the delivery of F-35s agreed upon with Ankara, as Turkey can simply switch to buying warplanes from Russia, RT was told.

"If the US fails to ship the jets to Turkey, Ankara can certainly buy the Su-35s from Russia instead," Viktor Litovkin, a military analyst with the Moscow-based TASS news agency, told RT.

"The US will end up losing the arms market in Turkey should that happen;"

Both aircraft have comparable characteristics, Litovkin said, adding that Moscow wouldn't risk leaking sensitive military technology because the jet's software is hard to crack. It would not require much effort to smoothly integrate the planes into the Turkish military either.

Comment: See also:

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Quenelle - Golden

Zakharova blasts hypocrites in Washington for projecting their schemes for Venezuela onto Russia


RT
Sat, 30 Mar 2019 15:56 UTC
Russian Foreign Ministry
© Global Look Press / Sergey Kovalev
FILE PHOTO. Russian Foreign Ministry.
The US is projecting its own plans against Venezuela on Moscow, surmising about "military contingents" and "operations," the Russian Foreign Ministry said, adding that Russian specialists have clear and open goals in the country.

"It looks like Washington is judging by itself, trying to ascribe its own plans it has against this country to Moscow. Yet again, they arrogantly announce they have 'all option on the table,'" foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Saturday. She added that Russian specialists in Venezuela are not "military contingent" which Moscow made clear from the very beginning.

The US' unsubstantiated alarm over an imaginary Russian "military contingent" deployed to Venezuela is an example of the utmost hypocrisy, given its own activities in South America.

Comment: It's pretty easy to talk sense when you're telling the truth, and so few in the West can say it like Zakharova:

Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: US Regime Change Operation in Venezuela - This Time It's Legit?

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Megaphone

Globalism's last disgrace: The Army vs. the Yellow Vests

Tom Luongo
Strategic Culture
Wed, 27 Mar 2019 12:00 UTC
Genevieve Legay yellow vests
© Global Look Press / Panoramic
French military police almost killed 73-year-old Genevieve Legay in Nice last week, because she dared defy Macron's ban against protesting
There are few people in this world more odious than French President Emmanuel Macron after his behavior this week. I'm sure there are child molesters who are worse. But as a man who is pivotal in the future of hundreds of millions of people, his decision to order the French military to quell the Yellow Vests protests with live ammunition is simply vile.

Macron outed himself as the very symbol of what animates the globalist elite he represents.

Disdain.

The disdain he holds for the people he leads is palpable. It's as palpable for his disdain for the British who voted for Brexit. To him the EU is all, the EU is inevitable and when faced with the choice of serving France or serving the EU, he chooses the EU every time.

That is what led him to this disastrous decision to deploy the French military to the streets for the first time since 1948 with orders to shoot protestors.

And that disdain is so complete that he doesn't realize what happens if even one of those men goes too far and takes the President at his word. Thankfully, that did not happen.

Comment: Macron tried ignoring France's cries but failing that he then offered compensatory crumbs, and failing that he toured the country with pointless debates, while all that failed to fool people that change for the better was coming, the violence and injustice against protesters, news reporters and medics, only increased: from endless, suffocating and indiscriminate tear gas, water cannons in mid-winter, to flash bombs that maim and rubber bullets that blind. When France truly learns of what Macron and his government have done to the country, as well as to those attempting to defend it, it's likely they will seek for justice to be served: Also check out SOTT radio's:

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Blue Planet

Italy's Embrace of China's Belt & Road Initiative: Hope For Europe

Matthew J.L Ehret
Sott.net
Sat, 30 Mar 2019 21:35 UTC
jinping italy

Deal
It is no secret that the rise of the Belt and Road Initiative has created a positive dynamic for international relations, seriously challenging the Western technocratic system that has come to dominate the Trans-Atlantic region under financial and bureaucratic dictatorship.

While many branches of the Belt and Road Initiative - which officially united with Russia's Eurasian Economic Union in 2015 - have manifested across Europe in the form of rail lines and ports, to this day no actual agreement has been reached between European powers and China.

As President Xi Jinping's trip to Europe from March 22-28 has demonstrated, there is for the first time a sense that the post-industrial society dominant in the West since the 1971 floating of the dollar is no longer the dismal fate of nations.

Xi Jinping has carried the Belt and Road Initiative into the heart of Europe, a lifeline for all patriots who wish to survive the coming financial collapse. As of Saturday March 23, the first G7 country has officially joined this program, with Italy's Prime Minister Conte signing his country onto the historic Memorandum of Understanding with China, setting a great precedent for other member-states trapped within the Euro currency cage.
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Question

German government split on Saudi arms ban


DW
Fri, 29 Mar 2019 21:21 UTC
Tank
The German government cannot decide whether to continue its arms embargo against Saudi Arabia. The ban on exports is due to expire this week, and Paris is pressuring Berlin to lift it.

Germany's government coalition is split on whether to maintain the ban on arms sales to Saudi Arabia in the face of increasing pressure from France.

The temporary embargo, imposed in November, is due to expire at the end of this week, but a meeting of the national security council (Chancellor Angela Merkel and her senior ministers) ended inconclusively on Wednesday, according to the dpa news agency.

The government parties, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), have agreed to discuss the issue further, though it remains unclear when the cabinet will meet again.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

The Transnational Far-Right Network Nobody Is Talking About - Birthed in Ukraine


The Soufan Center
Fri, 22 Mar 2019 20:19 UTC
azov
© Azov/Twitter
In the wake of the New Zealand mosque attacks, links have emerged between the shooter, Brenton Tarrant, and a Ukrainian ultra-nationalist, white supremacist paramilitary organization called the Azov Battalion. Tarrant's manifesto alleges that he visited the country during his many travels abroad, and the flak jacket that Tarrant wore during the assault featured a symbol commonly used by the Azov Battalion. Tarrant's transnational ties go beyond Ukraine, however. Tarrant claimed that he was in touch with Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian terrorist, and he took trips throughout Europe, including the Balkans, visiting sites that symbolized historical battles between Christians and Muslims. During the video of his attack he could be heard listening to a song that glorified Bosnian-Serb war criminal Radovan Karadzic, and his gun featured racial messages and names of white supremacists from around the world.

The Azov Battalion is emerging as a critical node in the transnational right-wing violent extremist (RWE) network. This group maintains its own 'Western Outreach Office' to help recruit and attract foreign fighters that travel to train and connect with people from like-minded violent organizations from across the globe. Operatives from the outreach office travel around Europe to promote the organization and proselytize its mission of white supremacy. In July 2018, German-language fliers were distributed among the visitors at a right-wing rock festival in Thuringia, inviting them to be part of the Azov battalion: 'join the ranks of the best' to 'save Europe from extinction.' It has also established youth camps, sporting recreation centers, lecture halls, and far-right education programs, including some that teach children as young as 9 years old military tactics and far-right ideology. This aggressive approach to networking serves one of the Azov Battalion's overarching objectives to transform areas under its control in Ukraine into the primary hub for transnational white supremacy.

Comment: The similarities with Salafi-Jihadism probably go further than that, too. At least in the States, white nationalist groups have long been infiltrated by elements of the FBI and probably others too, just like the jihadist groups. Whether they know it or not, the RWE are pawns in someone else's game. That doesn't make them any less dangerous, though. Just the opposite. Is it purely a coincidence that Azov-connected Right Sector was behind the sniper attacks on the Ukrainian Maidan in 2014?

For more on the ideology behind Azov and Right Sector, see:

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No Entry

S-300 defense systems: US admits it cannot militarily attack Venezuela

Joaquin Flores
Fort Russ
Fri, 29 Mar 2019 00:00 UTC
S-300 System

S-300 System
The U.S State Department special operator for Venezuela, Elliot Abrams has revealed that Venezuela is already in possession numerous highly effective S-300 (Antey 2500 version) systems. This makes a military campaign against Venezuela highly unlikely, given the high-importance of air-cover for any boots on the ground, and the high effectiveness of the S-300 system. It also explains the decision of OAS member states Columbia and Brazil not to resort to military intervention against the Bolivarian Republic - a jungle war without air-cover would be extraordinarily costly in terms of casualties and the resulting social and political unrest. While the U.S military has known of this, until Abrams statement today there was a reluctance to report the problems posed by this, amid Trump's war-drums surrounding his alleged 'all options' approach to Venezuela.

Previously, FRN relayed a report from a private Israeli satellite giving the locations of the S-300 systems then believed to be in movement to strategic locations. While the source was questionable regarding alleged piece movement, it led to some confusion as to whether Venezuela indeed possessed the systems at all.

Comment: See also:

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