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Fri, 05 Nov 2021
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US establishment lies through its teeth to foment hostility against Russia

Hillary Clinton
The same people, Republicans and Democrats, who lied through their teeth for an invasion of Iraq in 2003, are doing it again for an invasion of Russia, sometime soon, so as to 'defend' 'democracy'. The US has by now swallowed up virtually all lands surrounding Russia, at least in Europe, the latest being Ukraine, and is placing its missiles now on and near Russia's borders, which is to Russians like would be to Americans if Russia had swallowed up Canada and were placing its missiles there.

But the lying holier-than-thou US Establishment accuses Russia of being 'aggressive' when Russia holds war-games on and near its borders in order to prepare for a US-NATO invasion, which actually looks increasingly likely to them every day - and not because of 'Russian propaganda', but because of the US Government's actions.

Comment: The likelihood of the United States making any overt moves to actually 'invade Russia' is incredibly small. While they may surround Russia with military bases and inundate Western populations with massive amounts of propaganda, the US has little ability to go beyond such measures. Its military is stretched too thin, they have very little credibility among ordinary Russians, the majority of average Americans are sick of war, and on top of all that the US as a general policy doesn't go head to head with an opponent who can fight back. And Putin just made it clear that Russia can deliver a devastating blow if necessary.


Fire

Stockholm tribunal awards Ukraine a win against Russia in gas dispute, but victory may be hollow

Naftogaz Gazprom Russia Ukraine
In a conflict in which Ukraine repeatedly claims victories which in reality turn out to be defeats, Ukraine did win finally win a genuine victory over Russia at the Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal on Wednesday 28th February 2018.

The victory came in the litigation between Russia's monopoly gas exporter gas exporter Gazprom and Ukraine's national gas company Naftogaz.

After having previously rejected all of Naftogaz's arguments against the legality of its gas supply contracts with Gazprom, and after having ordered Naftogaz to pay Gazprom $2 billion for unpaid gas, the Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal ordered on Wednesday 28th February 2018 that Gazprom owed Naftogaz $4.7 billion for its failure to supply agreed volumes for transit.

Comment: Though Russia may sentimentally view Ukraine as a 'little brother', she is having to apply some tough love to its insane government. Ukraine may need to suffer some more before figuring out their Western 'friends' are only using Ukraine as a battering ram against Russia.

Gazprom finally fed up: Terminates gas supply contract with Ukraine's Naftogaz


Arrow Up

Syrian Army advances further in Eastern Ghouta following string of hard-won successes

Eastern Ghouta shelling
© Agence France-Presse/Stringer
A general view taken from a government-held area in Damascus shows smoke rising from the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of the Syrian capital following fresh air strikes and rocket fire on February 27, 2018
Though the situation in Eastern Ghouta has been deteriorating day after day, ever since February 18, the Syrian regular army appears to be seeing at least some light at the end of the tunnel.

The Syrian government says it has achieved "significant" progress in its ongoing military operation in Eastern Ghouta, a vast suburban area around the capital, Damascus. The authorities reported having seized about one third of the total area held by different armed militant groups scattered all around Ghouta.

Syria's Central Military Media says troops are continuing to advance from the east and are only within 3 kilometers, or 1.8 miles, from the military regiments moving in their direction from the west, which means Eastern Ghouta has been in essence divided into two parts. Syria's SANA news agency reported that the success of the Syrian army has sent terrorists into a state of disarray and collapse.

Rocket

Javelins for Ukraine and American grief over Putin's speech (VIDEO)

Activate English subtitles


Comment: Interesting observations - except that the Javelin deal was already in the making a while back, so it is hard to characterize it as a reaction to Putin's speech. Rather, the deal was part of what motivated Putin to take a tougher stance. See:

Why is The Trump Administration Selling Weapons to Ukraine?

Regarding Putin's landmark speech, don't miss:


Chess

US embassy in Turkey shuts down due to 'security threat'

US embassy Turkey
© Adem Altan / AFP
The US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey
The US embassy in Ankara will be shut down starting Tuesday due to a security threat, it said in a statement. The reopening date is yet to be scheduled. The move comes amid tensions between the US and Turkey.

Starting March 5, the Embassy will provide "only emergency services," the Monday announcement said. Routine actives, including visa interviews will not be held during the period of restrictions. The notice also advised US citizens in Turkey should avoid large crowds, keep a low profile and otherwise be cautious.

Also on Monday, the Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported the arrest of 12 people in Ankara as part of an investigation into suspected jihadists. The 12 were among 20 people in the case, for whom arrest warrants were issued by the state prosecutor's office, the report said. It was not immediately clear whether the arrests were connected to the closure of the embassy. The Anadolu report was published hours after the US announcement.

Propaganda

Russian military: False 'hospital bombing' claims in Ghouta came after Syrian troops repelled pro-US forces

Syria Damascus East Ghouta
© AFP
The Russian military has said allegations of "hospital bombings" in Eastern Ghouta are false, in a statement issued in response to accusations from the White House that Russia is "killing innocent civilians" in Syria.

Washington's claims came after the Syrian Army repelled an attack of the US-backed groups, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

It is the US and not Russia that is violating the UN resolution on the ceasefire in Syria, the ministry added. It accused Washington of doing nothing to constrain the militants it supports in Eastern Ghouta while they regularly shell Damascus, killing civilians.

Comment: It is not hard to see that the accusations against Russia and Syria in regards to Eastern Ghouta are mere propaganda. That is what the West has done since the start of this war, that is what it did in Aleppo. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last one.


Brick Wall

Trump tweets to Canada and Mexico: "Tariffs will only come off if new, fair NAFTA is signed"

US President Donald Trump
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
US President Donald Trump
Trump resumed his now daily trade war and tariff tweetstorm, blasting on Twitter that "we have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs." Specifically, the president added that "Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed."


Comment: Art of the Deal? See also:


War Whore

Young Turks' Cenk Uygur joins the chorus demanding that Trump escalate further with Russia

Cenk Uygur Young Turks
"Reminder that there are two kinds of Trump-Russia stories: those we pay attention to because they serve a narrative, and those we ignore because they don't," tweeted The Real News' Aaron Maté ‏yesterday in response to the news that the Trump administration had authorized the sale of hundreds of anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. "This one falls into latter category."

"That piss-tape kompromat surely dropping any day now," added journalist Mark Ames, a sarcastic reference to the fact that backing off on calls to arm Ukraine was an explicitly named part of the allegations in the notorious Steele dossier as one of the benefits Russia was supposed to have received from its "collusion" with the Trump campaign.

"If US media attitudes re: Russia weren't so hopelessly blinkered, this could be identified as the dangerous escalation that it is - rather than ignored or spun because it doesn't comport with the narrative that so many are now wedded to," said The Young Turks' Michael Tracey.

Comment: Caitlin Johnstone's podcast on the topic, here.


Arrow Down

US media reacts to Jared Kushner's swift rise and long, long fall

Jared Kushner cartoon
© Katie Miranda
Jared Kushner
The press is reporting that Jared Kushner's days as a White House power may come to an end, due to a flurry of reports about his meetings as a Trump adviser with foreign officials and corporate execs who are in a position to help out his family's troubled real estate company - as well as Kushner's considerable innocence when it comes to foreign policy. The knives are out, and the latest reports are that Donald Trump himself wants his son-in-law to disappear.

The New York Times editorial board says Kushner "flames out." It says his only legacy ought to be anti-nepotism laws that would forbid the ascension of someone so unschooled in the ways of Washington.
At this point, the right question to ask is why Mr. Kushner still has any diplomatic role at all.
The Washington Post predicts "the fall of the House of Kushner" (a good Poe pun):
Once the prince of Trump's Washington, Kushner is now stripped of his access to the nation's deepest secrets, isolated and badly weakened inside the administration, under scrutiny for his mixing of business and government work and facing the possibility of grave legal peril in the Russia probe.

Kushner's tensions with chief of staff John F. Kelly have spilled into public view, while other dormant rivalries have resurfaced. Some colleagues privately mock Kushner as a shadow of his former self; one official likened the work of his Office of American Innovation to headlines in "The Onion," the satirical news website. Others said fear of the Russia probe has made some officials wary of interacting with Kushner on sensitive matters. And his reputation as an interlocutor for foreign governments has been undermined by the lowering of his security clearance level, which generated embarrassing headlines worldwide.

Comment: It is interesting that all these media outlets which are loving to see the fall of Kushner - simply because he is close to Trump - do not seem to have any problem with Kushner's biggest problem: He is a Zionist, and therefore he puts Israel before America and everyone else.


Handcuffs

Idaho House passes first-of-its-kind bill that bans federal NDAA indefinite detention

protester barbed wire
© thefreethoughtproject.com

One state is fighting back against the unconstitutional powers granted by the NDAA with a bill that would make it illegal for the government to indefinitely detain citizens without due process.


A state is considering a bill that would counter one law that is rarely mentioned by the mainstream media - which just happens to be the one that gives the president the power to enforce indefinite detention of American citizens - the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

While most states ignore the overreaching power granted by the NDAA, the state of Idaho is fighting back against it. The Idaho House of Representatives passed House Bill 473, the Restoring Constitutional Governance Act, in a landslide vote of 63-4 this week. The bill specifically targets the most egregious constitutional violations that are allowed by the NDAA:
"The purpose of the Restoring Constitutional Governance Act is to restore the constitutional protections usurped by certain provisions in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA"). Sections 1021 and 1022 of the 2012 NDAA, Public Law 50 U.S.C. 1541, authorize the violation of no fewer than 14 provisions of the Constitution including over half of the Bill of Rights. The sovereign government of the Great State of Idaho has a duty to protect the rights of citizens and other persons within Idaho's jurisdiction against such violations and from Federal overreach."

Comment: See also: