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Pirates

Flashback Best of the Web: US, EU and Soros NGOs threaten newly-elected Zelensky with 'political instability' if he enacts electoral promise to seek peace with Russia


Comment: And they even issued their threat via their offices in downtown Kiev...


Zelenskiy
© Reuters / Valentyn OgirenkoUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
When President Volodymyr Zelensky won a landslide victory in the free and undisputed April elections, most accepted that he was given a fairly strong mandate to lead Ukraine. But it seems not everyone is so democratically-minded.

Particularly unmoved by the democratic process are a collection of Ukrainian 'civil society' groups, who have just issued a lengthy list of "red lines not to be crossed" by the new president, lest he risk provoking a new wave of political instability - that they would presumably instigate.

Issuing their catalog of demands on Thursday, the groups claim to be "politically neutral" but "deeply concerned" about the first actions taken by the comedian-turned-politician Zelensky, including his decision to appoint members of former President Viktor Yanukovych's government to positions within his own government.

Comment: Ukraine thus joins the rest of the West in having the coherent democratic will of three quarters or so of its population being told 'nyet' by a minority of deviant elites.

The US imperialists and their ramified networks across the world now 'own' Ukraine, so, while democracy is all well and nice, Zelensky was being reminded that his mandate is what they tell him to do. If he doesn't, they'll whip up political instability and force him out.

See also:


Dollars

German industry to pay 40% more for energy than pre-crisis

German factory
© Lukas Schulze/Getty Images
German industry is set to pay about 40% more for energy in 2023 than in 2021, before the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a study by Allianz Trade said on Monday, citing contract expiries and delayed wholesale pricing effects.

"The large energy-price shock still lies ahead for European corporates," said Allianz Trade, the credit insurer that changed its name from Euler Hermes last year.

In 2022, higher corporate utility bills were contained as long pass-through times from wholesale markets and government interventions mitigated the immediate hit from surging prices as Russia curbed fuel exports to the West.

Comment: Germany managed to whistle past the 2022 winter heating season on previously stored supplies. When they are finally forced to turn to US 'freedom gas' because of their "ally's" destruction of Nord Stream, the sticker shock will be devastating.


Attention

An unexpected insight (for the Élite): The U.S. may be the biggest loser in the war on Russia

Seymour Hersh
© Youtube
"NATO has never been stronger; Russia is a global Pariah; and the world remains inspired by Ukrainian bravery and resilience; in short, Russia has lost, Russia has lost strategically, operationally and tactically - and they are paying an enormous price on the battlefield".

He, (General Mark Milley, U.S. Chief of Defence Staff) doesn't believe a word of that. We know that he doesn't believe it because, two months ago, he said the exact opposite - until he was chastised by the White House for straying off the Joe Biden message. Now he is back, playing on 'Team'.

Zelensky likely also doesn't believe the word of the recent European promise of tanks and aircraft - and he knows it to be mostly a chimera. But he plays on Team. A few extra tanks will make no difference on the ground, and his fifth mobilisation is being resisted at home. The European militaries are waiting-out this episode, their armouries running on 'reserve tank'.

Zelensky repeatedly says he must have tanks and planes by August to sandbag his haemorrhaging defences. But contradictorily Zelensky is warned, It's critical; "make significant gains on the battlefield" now - as it is the Administration's "very strong view" that it will be harder thereafter, to obtain Congressional support (i.e. August is past time; it will be too late).

Clearly the U.S. is preparing the ground for a Spring 'Victory Announcement' - as Milley's delusional comments foreshadow - and a pivot - just a whisker ahead of the U.S. Presidential Election calendar kick-off.

The 'narrative' in the MSM has already begun to transition to that of a coming crushing Russian offensive - and of heroic Ukrainian resistance overwhelmed by crushing force.

"The critical nature of the next few months has already been conveyed to Kiev in blunt terms by top Biden officials — including deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman and undersecretary of defence Colin Kahl, all of whom visited Ukraine last month" (Washington Post) - with CIA Director Bill Burns travelling to personally brief Zelensky just a week ahead of those officials' arrival.

Zelenksky was put on notice. Results now, or else!

But then Seymour Hersh finally says out loud, an unspoken harsh reality - one with hugely complicated political consequences (taken from Hersh's subsequent interview with Berliner Zeitung, (Google translation)). No, not the Nord Stream sabotage (we knew that), but that of reckless misjudgement and rising anger in Washington - and contempt for Biden and his close team of neocons' immature political judgements.

Attention

The war upon us all is the war we will win

John F. Kennedy warned us about the "monolithic and ruthless conspiracy...".
War on Us
© Substack
Mayhem. We have train derailments, massive toxic fires (at least ten counted around the world in the last few days), destruction of food production facilities, hysteria about genders, domestic terrorists and balloons, the relentless war escalation and nonstop pandemic fearmongering... What otherwise would be regarded as random incidents now seems so frequent and pervasive, it's hard not to be suspicious. Something's up.

The monolithic and ruthless conspiracy

More than 60 years ago John F. Kennedy spoke about the "monolithic and ruthless conspiracy" that was using "covert means for expanding its sphere of influence." He also warned us of the "very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon" by the perpetrators of this conspiracy to advance their agenda.

In 2020, the Covid 19 pandemic offered the conspirators an ideal opportunity. The worldwide emergency enabled them to launch the decisive gambit, sidestep the legal strictures of democratic rule and attempt to create a global authoritarian police state. The experience was hugely distressing to the people in almost every nation, but it also revealed the nature, methods and the objectives of the conspiracy.

While the policy response to the pandemic was unscientific and contrary to the established public health norms, it was also nearly identical in most nations, suggesting that the incoherence was not an error, but a deliberate feature of the planned policy response. That policy, together with the media-driven narrative and the draconian censorship of all dissent was clearly coordinated at a global level.

Eye 1

Ex-Barclays exec Jes Staley, Jeffrey Epstein emails revealed: 'Say hi to Snow White'

Barclays' then CEO Jes Staley
© REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File PhotoBarclays' then CEO Jes Staley arrives at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain january 11, 2018.



Comment: Despite Reuters presenting this as new information, the New York Post already covered this in 2021. The mainstream press is probably reporting on this now due to the lawsuit initiated by the United States Virgin Islands against Jes Staley's former employer, JPMorgan.


Former JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Barclays (BARC.L) executive Jes Staley allegedly discussed Disney characters Snow White and Beauty and the Beast in a series of emails with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who also allegedly shared photographs of young women with the banker, according to newly unsealed court documents.

The alleged email exchanges between Staley, who was CEO of Barclays, and Epstein in 2009 and 2010 are contained in a lawsuit filed by the United States Virgin Islands against Staley's former employer, JPMorgan.

The U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned two private islands, alleges that JPMorgan facilitated and sustained Epstein's sex-trafficking over two decades.

Comment: The Daily Mail reported further:
The cache of messages reveal that 'Staley corresponded with Epstein while Epstein was incarcerated' for 15 months for soliciting an underage girl for prostitution.

Mr Staley 'visited Epstein's Virgin Islands residence on multiple occasions' and 'Epstein even advised Staley in connection with Staley's salary negotiations at JP Morgan in July of 2008'.
[...]

On December 4, 2009, Mr Staley told Epstein via email: 'I realise the danger in sending this email. But it was great to be able, today, to give you, in New York City, a long heartfelt, hug'.

The next day, Epstein wrote to Mr Staley: 'You were with Larry, and I had to put up with ...' and attached a picture of a young woman, which is redacted in the court document.
See also: Barclays Bank boss quits ahead of report into link to sex offender Jeffrey Esptein


Arrow Down

White House to hold secret talks with Taiwan

US Navy balloon
© APUS sailors prepare to transport the wreckage of what the government says is a Chinese spy balloon recovered off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
The White House will next week hold secret talks with Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu and national security adviser Wellington Koo as part of a special diplomatic dialogue intended to remain private to avoid sparking an angry reaction from China.


Comment: How is this a 'secret' exactly? Either way, regardless of the content of these talks, they will have a similar effect that the Pelosi visit had on US-China relations; and one imagines that's exactly why these 'secret talks' are not being kept secret at all.


Five people familiar with the secret talks — known as the "special channel" — said Wu and Koo would lead the delegation.

After arriving at the weekend, the Taiwanese team will next week meet Jon Finer, the US deputy national security adviser. One person said Wendy Sherman, deputy secretary of state, would also take part in the meetings.

Comment: Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Chinese Balloon: It's All About The Optics




Colosseum

PM Orbán: If 2022 was the most difficult year, then 2023 will be the most dangerous year since the fall of communism

Viktor Orban
FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
In his annual "State of the Nation" address this afternoon, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán discussed a wide range of pressing issues, including Hungary's stance on the war in Ukraine, our fight against inflation, and the biggest dangers facing Hungary in the next few years.

The prime minister started out by thanking the heroic Hungarian rescue workers who helped save lives in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria.

He praised their bravery and willingness to risk their lives to save others, pointing out that these professionals' service and sacrifice serve as a reminder that in times of crisis, the true character of people and nations comes to light. Hungary has always been a country that can be counted on to help others in need, PM Orbán said, adding that the rescue effort in Turkey was a testament to this.

Comment: Orban's statement about 2023 being 'the most dangerous year' echoes statements made by numerous other officials last year, in particular that of Tajikistan's President who warned it would be the 'most challenging period' in history; he also recommended his people stockpiles two years worth of food.

Russia's Medvedev warned of looming global food shortages due to the West's 'cosmic cretinism', and the UN foresees 'hell on earth' conditions. Even the Pope and Patriarch Kirill have been warning that we are entering an 'end time' scenario: Russian Orthodox Church issues apocalyptic warning that 'the desire to destroy Russia could mean the end of the world'

Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Western Politicians Destroy Civilization in Quest For 'Victory' Over Russia




Attention

The Moment of Greatest Danger

Feast
© RembrandtBelshazzar's Feast
Below I have reposted, in its entirety, an article I wrote almost six months ago. In my estimation, it is one of my most important commentaries yet. I first published it on September 1, 2022 after the bloody repulse of the initial Ukrainian "counter-offensive" in the Kherson region that had commenced in mid-August. It did not foresee the bigger AFU counterpunch that was always planned for Kharkov, where in fact it had already begun even as I posted the essay.

I have written extensively on events as they subsequently transpired. The Kharkov counter-offensive was halted on the Svatovo / Kreminna line, where it has been mauled to the bone over the course of the previous several months.

Along with its shattered remnants elsewhere, this is the second Ukrainian army to be wrecked by the Russians in this war - one largely NATO-equipped and even substantially manned by sheep-dipped NATO troops. And yet now, in the face of the ongoing catastrophe at Bakhmut and relentless attrition all along the line of contact, the Ukrainians are openly begging for yet a third army to be reconstituted from the shockingly depleted pantry of NATO equipment and ammunition.

Of course, what they want most is for the US/NATO to intervene directly.

Comment: USA: They are what they do. Russia: They do what they are. A world of difference.


X

A US-led 'coalition of the willing' foreshadows the splintering of NATO

pipeline
© VectorStockNordstream Pipeline
The destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline was a gangster act that reveals the cancer at the heart of the "rules-based order". How can there be peace and security when the world's most powerful nation can destroy the critical infrastructure of other countries without deliberation or judicial proceedings? If Hersh's report can be trusted — and I think it can — then we must assume that senior-level advisors in the Biden administration as well as the president himself deliberately perpetrated an act of industrial terrorism against a long-term friend and ally, Germany. What Biden's involvement in the act implies, is that the United States now claims the right to arbitrarily decide which countries may engage in commerce with which others. And, if for some reason, the buying and selling of energy supplies conflicts with Washington's broader geopolitical objectives, then the US believes it has the right to obliterate the infrastructure that makes such trade possible. Isn't this the rationale that was used to justify the blowing up of Nord Stream?

Sy Hersh has done the world a service by exposing the perpetrators of the Nord Stream sabotage. His expose not only identifies the people involved but also infers that they should be held accountable for their actions. But while we don't expect any thorough investigation in the near future, we do think the magnitude of the attack has been a "wake up" call for people who cling to the belief that the Unipolar model can produce morally-acceptable outcomes. What the incident shows is that unilateral action inevitably leads to criminal violence against the weak and defenseless. Biden's covert operation hurt every man, woman and child in Europe. It's a real tragedy.

Target

The plot to silence a Fauci critic

Fauce
© AP/KJN
On Jan. 19, joint reporting from The Intercept and The Nation made public a collection of newly unredacted emails between Anthony Fauci, recently retired National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins, and a select few virologists, in which the group discusses the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 originated in a lab - specifically, the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

The hook in the reporting by investigative journalist Jimmy Tobias, beyond its illuminating document cache, is his observation that three of those virologists went on to publish a March 21, 2020, paper in Nature Medicine entitled "The proximal origins of SARS-CoV-2," in which the authors asserted "We do not believe that any laboratory-based scenario is plausible." The emails unearthed by Tobias, however, show a far more conflicted view behind the scenes, with one of the paper's primary authors writing in an email to the group on Feb. 8, 2020:
"I believe that publishing something that is open-ended could backfire at this stage."
Nonetheless, the paper enjoyed a cushy institutional reception a month later. Fauci endorsed it in an April press conference; Collins wrote a blog post promoting it; ABC News ran a story using the study's conclusions to dismiss lab-origin conjectures as conspiracy theories. It is now one of the most-read scientific papers in history and has been cited over 2,700 times.

Whether a product of cynicism or mere panic, this episode serves as a reminder - at a moment in which we seem cautiously willing to reappraise our pandemic response - of just how much power a small number of scientists had over the direction of our early COVID conversations. In this way, it echoes the story of Stanford's Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who has just written two essays for Tablet and the National Post urging that we not forget some of our gravest pandemic missteps.