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Thursday, August 31, 2023
No Hope For Peace in Ukraine - Only a War With the United States and NATO - A Son of the New American Revolution
No Hope For Peace in Ukraine - Only a War With the United States and NATO - A Son of the New American Revolution: I will put this as simply as I can — if the recent New Yorker article by Keith Gessen — The Case for Negotiating with Russia — accurately reflects the...
Why the US will decide Ukraine’s fate | The Spectator
Why the US will decide Ukraine’s fate | The Spectator: As Ukraine marked its 32nd national holiday since independence, news from the front lines and the wider world appeared better than perhaps in any week since the recapture of Kherson in November. In Zaporizhzhia, the hard-fought front lines moved a few miles forward. In Crimea, a missile strike took out a Russian S-400 anti-aircraft complex
Sarkozy vilified for speaking uncomfortable truths about Ukraine - Responsible Statecraft
Sarkozy vilified for speaking uncomfortable truths about Ukraine - Responsible Statecraft
New from Anatol today: one might think that even those who disagree with Sarkozy’s specific recommendations would welcome the chance to hold a serious public debate on ways forward. Instead, the response from the great majority of Western (including French) politicians and commentators has followed the wearisomely familiar path of denunciations of the former president as a “Russian influencer” and “friend of Putin” whose remarks were “shameful” and “shocking.”
A survey of Western “news” reports (mostly in fact veiled and hostile opinion pieces) is interesting in this regard. Of the ten top stories about the interview resulting from a Google search, only two focused on Sarkozy's remarks themselves. All the others, in their content and headlines (like “'Shameful’ Nicolas Sarkozy Under Fire for Defending Putin” in The Guardian), highlighted and quoted at length the angry attacks on Sarkozy.
Read more here : https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/08/31/sarkozy-vilified-for-speaking-uncomfortable-truths-about-ukraine/
Israeli Wounded in Jerusalem Stabbing; 14-year-old Palestinian Assailant Shot Dead - Israel News - Haaretz.com
Israeli Wounded in Jerusalem Stabbing; 14-year-old Palestinian Assailant Shot Dead - Israel News - Haaretz.com
The brief HAARETZ news item transmitted below implicitly explains why Israel does not need a formal judicial death penalty -- at least for Palestinians.
In the United States or France, a similar incident would be likely to lead to weeks of demonstrations and riots and an eventual indictment and trial of the off-duty police officer for intentionally shooting dead an unarmed and already subdued 14-year-old who had "moderately" injured someone in a stabbing incident.
In Israel, the assassin has been praised for his "level of vigilance" by the Police Commissioner.
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Meta Removes Accounts Tied to Chinese Influence Operation | EpochTV
Meta Removes Accounts Tied to Chinese Influence Operation | EpochTV: Facebook is removing nearly 8,000 accounts and over 900 pages, all linked to sprawling influence operations tied to Beijing.China is "uninvestible." The U.S. Commerce Secretary's blunt comment to Beiji...
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Pentagon announces new autonomous drones, systems program | The Hill
Pentagon announces new autonomous drones, systems program | The Hill: The Pentagon announced Monday a new program focused on building out thousands of autonomous systems, including drones, as the U.S. seeks to better counter China’s vast military buildup. The U.S. is pledging to build out the self-operating drones and defense systems at a more rapid pace to counter China’s mass procurement of conventional military resources…
US extends science pact with China: what it means for research
US extends science pact with China: what it means for research: But the move is a stop-gap measure, and scientists warn that anything short of a full-scale renewal could damage research collaborations
Living on a War Planet - TomDispatch.com
Living on a War Planet - TomDispatch.com
David Bromwich, The Everlasting Alibi
August 29, 2023
[Note for TomDispatch Readers: With today's piece, TomDispatch will be taking a few days off. The next TD post will be on the Tuesday morning after Labor Day. See you then! And if you're in a giving mood, do visit our donation page and think about offering us a (brief) vacation donation. Tom]
The old anti-Vietnam War song that began, "War, what Is It good for? Absolutely nothing!" couldn't be more on the mark these days. Just imagine that you live on a planet where the truest "war" may be the one we're waging against nature -- and that nature is increasingly waging on us. That "war" could, in the end, simply broil us all.
This summer, the war in Ukraine has finally started to take a backseat to endless headlines about heat waves, fires, floods, and record extreme weather of more or less every sort. As we broil and sweat, as communities are burned down or flooded out, who even notices the latest casualty figures from that other war? Yes, the New York Times recently reported that, based on the estimates of American officials, an almost unimaginable 500,000 Ukrainians and Russians have already been killed or wounded in that conflict which, despite recent lame peace efforts, shows not the faintest sign of resolving itself any time soon.
In fact, escalation continues to be the rule of the... well, under the circumstances, let's not say "game." Russian bombardments of Ukrainian ports and grain storage facilities have worsened recently, while the Ukrainians have begun using -- god save us all -- American cluster bombs in quantity on the front lines of the war. (The Russians had already been doing so.) And the latest news is that the Biden administration has once again (as with those cluster munitions and before them Abrams tanks, among other weapons systems) decided to up the ante on the Ukrainian side by allowing Denmark and the Netherlands to provide that country with F-16 fighter planes. And so it seems to go... and go and go and go some more.
As TomDispatch regular David Bromwich suggests all too vividly today, we now find ourselves on a war planet -- and whether that war is among humans or with nature, it only seems to be escalating by the month. Tom
Is Another Crisis Looming? Reactions to Pope’s Words to Young People About Russia - ZENIT - English
Is Another Crisis Looming? Reactions to Pope’s Words to Young People About Russia - ZENIT - English
The Holy See Press Office distributed the text of the Pope’s words, but in the distribution it omitted a part, which has now become a topic of controversy in Ukraine. It was possible to note the omission thanks to the fact that the Website of the diocese of the Mother of God published in full the Holy Father’s words. The part that the Holy See didn’t refer to was the part where the Supreme Pontiff said to the young people:
“Never forget your roots. You are the heirs of great Russia: the great Russia of saints, of rulers, of the great Russia of Peter I, Catherine II, that great empire, enlightened, of great culture and great humanity, never renounce this patrimony. You are the heirs of great Mother Russia, go forward. And thank you. Thank you for your way of being, for your way of being Russians.”
Communiqué of the Apostolic Nunciature in Ukraine on the Pope’s remarks
Communiqué following the controversy surrounding the Pope’s remarks.
August 28, 2023 05:25ZENIT StaffLocal Church, Pope Francis
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(ZENIT News / Kiev, 08.28.2023).- We offer the press release issued by the Apostolic Nunciature in Ukraine (the Pope’s “embassy” in that country) following the Pope’s words about Russia, which have hurt the sensitivity of the Ukrainian people, especially after the overexposure in the media:
***
The Apostolic Nunciature in Ukraine has observed that in the aftermath of Pope Francis’ telematic interaction with young Catholics from the Russian Federation on 25 August 2023, there have been discussions in Ukrainian and international media regarding certain remarks made by the Roman Pontiff during that event. In particular, according to some interpretations, Pope Francis might have encouraged young Russian Catholics to draw inspiration from historical Russian figures known for imperialistic and expansionist ideas and actions that negatively impacted neighboring populations, including the Ukrainian people.
This Pontifical Representation firmly rejects the aforementioned interpretations, as Pope Francis has never endorsed imperialistic notions. On the contrary, he is a staunch opponent and critic of any form of imperialism or colonialism across all peoples and situations. The words of the Roman Pontiff spoken on August 25 are to be understood in this same context. https://zenit.org/2023/08/28/communique-of-the-apostolic-nunciature-in-ukraine-on-the-popes-remarks/?eti=11130
Ukrainian Greek Catholic leader on Pope’s remarks on Russia: “inspires neocolonial ambitions”
Statement of His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Head and Father of the UGCC, on the debate concerning some of the statements of His Holiness Pope Francis at a meeting with young Catholics in Russia on August 25, 2023.
August 28, 2023 05:28ZENIT StaffChurch and World
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(ZENIT News / Kiev, 08.28.2023).- We offer the statement of the major archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in communion with the Pope, following some statements made by the Supreme Pontiff at a meeting with young Catholics on the evening of Friday, August 25, via video-call. The words have caused controversy in the context of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The Pope said specifically in one part of the speech: “Never forget your roots. You are the heirs of the great Russia: the great Russia of saints, of rulers, of the great Russia of Peter I, Catherine II, that great, enlightened empire of great culture and great humanity. Never give up this heritage. You are the heirs of the great Mother Russia, go forward. And thank you. Thank you for your way of being, for your way of being Russian”. This part was omitted from the original communiqué of the Holy See Press Office.
***
With great pain and concern, we have learned about the words attributed to His Holiness Pope Francis during the online meeting with Russian Catholic youth on August 25, 2023, in St. Petersburg.
We hope that these words of the Holy Father were spoken spontaneously, without any attempt at historical assessment, and certainly not in support of Russia’s imperialistic ambitions. Nevertheless, we share the profound distress they have caused, not only among the bishops, clergy, monks, and faithful of our Church but also among other denominations and religious organizations. At the same time, we are aware of the deep disappointment they have ignited within society.
The words about “the great Russia of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, that grand empire – grand, enlightened, a country of great culture and great humanity” are the worst example of Russian imperialism and extreme nationalism.
There is a danger that these words may be perceived as support for the nationalism and imperialism that have caused the war in Ukraine today, a war that brings death and destruction to our people every day.
The examples cited by the Holy Father are, in fact, contrary to his doctrine of peace, as he has always condemned all forms of imperialism in the modern world and warned of the dangers of extreme nationalism, emphasizing that it is the cause of the “third world war in parts.”
As a Church, we want to affirm that, in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, such statements fuel the neocolonial ambitions of the aggressor country, although we should unequivocally condemn this form of “being Russian.”
To prevent any manipulation of intentions, context, and statements attributed to the Holy Father, we hope that the Holy See will explain this situation.
The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, along with all the citizens of our country, condemns the ideology of the “Russian world” and all forms of criminal “Russian identity.” We hope that the Holy Father will heed our voice.
In a few days, the bishops of our Church will gather in Rome for the annual Synod of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. We will have the opportunity to meet with His Holiness and personally convey the doubts and pain of the Ukrainian people, trusting in his paternal care for them. https://zenit.org/2023/08/28/ukrainian-greek-catholic-leader-on-popes-remarks-on-russia-inspires-neocolonial-ambitions/?eti=11130
White House And Dark Money NGO Hype Hate Crisis To Demand Censorship
White House And Dark Money NGO Hype Hate Crisis To Demand Censorship: The Center for Countering Digital Hate and corporate news media are weaponizing accusations of antisemitism to advance political and financial agendas
Study calls for a shareholder-based carbon tax as 69,700 of the wealthiest US households are found to be “super emitters” of CO2 – The Expose
Study calls for a shareholder-based carbon tax as 69,700 of the wealthiest US households are found to be “super emitters” of CO2 – The Expose: A new study that analysed US household income data over the last three decades found that the bottom 90 per cent of households’ share of emissions has fallen, while the top 10 per cent’s share has increased. The wealthiest 10 per cent are the source of 40 per cent of US national greenhouse gas emissions,…
Monday, August 28, 2023
UAE entry to BRICS+ not 'pivot from the US': Finance Minister
UAE entry to BRICS+ not 'pivot from the US': Finance Minister: The UAE official nonetheless highlighted that Abu Dhabi's primary focus at the moment is to develop ties with the Global South
All the pretty horses that have "died suddenly" this summer
All the pretty horses that have "died suddenly" this summer: A staggering toll reported (piecemeal) since we posted on this subject on June 10
Huge US FEMA cell phone, TV alert test scheduled for October
Huge US FEMA cell phone, TV alert test scheduled for October: On Wednesday, October 4, a test is planned of the entire nation’s Emergency Alert system. Here's what to know.
Doomsday for the Buck? "A Reserve Currency Is No Longer Needed" -
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https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/doomsday-for-the-buck-a-reserve-currency-is-no-longer-needed/
Following Xi’s lead? Russia takes closer look at Chinese ideology. - CSMonitor.com
Following Xi’s lead? Russia takes closer look at Chinese ideology. - CSMonitor.com: Is Russia’s future aligned with China? Many in Moscow think so, seeing the two countries’ visions aligning not just geopolitically, but also ideologically – though it may cost Russia considerably.
Top 10 Croatian songs of all time, according to ChatGPT | Croatia Week
Top 10 Croatian songs of all time, according to ChatGPT | Croatia Week: So what are the best Croatian songs of all time. This is a question which will get you many different answers depending on who you ask. N1 decided to ask ChatGPT that question to see what artificial intelligence thought were the greatest Croatian songs of all time. ChatGPT compiled their Top 10, with a caveat.
11 Marines have died in Osprey training crashes since last year - Responsible Statecraft
11 Marines have died in Osprey training crashes since last year - Responsible Statecraft
A V-22 Osprey crashed during a training exercise in Australia on Sunday, killing three Marines and leaving an additional five in critical condition. The accident is the third deadly crash including an Osprey since 2022.
The tragic incident has reinvigorated debate over the Osprey, which has been plagued by controversy since its prototype was first adopted during the Reagan administration. The aircraft’s unique “tiltrotor” design, which allows it to take off like a helicopter and fly like a plane, has often led to cost overruns and safety issues in its two decades in service.
“It’s probably time to retire the Osprey and look at a new tiltrotor/VTOL option for the Joint Force,” said Michael DiMino, a fellow at Defense Priorities.
Please read the full piece at RS today: https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/08/28/11-marines-have-died-in-osprey-training-crashes-since-last-year/
(2) US policy slowing down China's economy w/ Jeffrey Sachs (Live) - YouTube
(2) US policy slowing down China's economy w/ Jeffrey Sachs (Live) - YouTube: US policy slowing down China's economy w/ Jeffrey Sachs (Live)#TheDuran #TheDuranLiveFollow Jeffrey Sachs: The Center for Sustainable Development (CSD), htt...
Biden Admin Admits Vaccine Error: No Evidence Behind Recommendations｜Facts Matter | EpochTV
Biden Admin Admits Vaccine Error: No Evidence Behind Recommendations｜Facts Matter | EpochTV: After a 7 month long legal battle, the Biden administration conceded that there is no scientific evidence to support an apparent recommendation to receive as many as six COVID-19 booster shots per year...
Seth Harp on X: "A stunning admission. JSOC analysts targeted 100,000 or more Iraqis for death without ever understanding a word of Arabic. It was all based on cellular metadata, pseudoscientific “nodal analysis,” and arbitrary guesswork. https://t.co/6q0Sf6muRS" / X
Seth Harp on X: "A stunning admission. JSOC analysts targeted 100,000 or more Iraqis for death without ever understanding a word of Arabic. It was all based on cellular metadata, pseudoscientific “nodal analysis,” and arbitrary guesswork. https://t.co/6q0Sf6muRS" / X
A stunning admission. JSOC analysts targeted 100, 000 or more Iraqis for death without ever understanding a word of Arabic.
Heating Waters Force Change in Industries That Depend on the Ocean - WSJ
Heating Waters Force Change in Industries That Depend on the Ocean - WSJ: Rising temperatures are disrupting ecosystems around the world—and turning Maine lobstermen into kelp farmers
Sunday, August 27, 2023
ALERT! Please HELP us track the ever-rising global toll of COVID "vaccination"
ALERT! Please HELP us track the ever-rising global toll of COVID "vaccination": This all-important job is now too vast for our researchers to keep doing it entirely on their own
Gina Raimondo Says China Visit Aimed at Protecting U.S. Economic Interests - WSJ
Gina Raimondo Says China Visit Aimed at Protecting U.S. Economic Interests - WSJ: U.S. commerce secretary says she will use a four-day visit to China to ensure an easing in tense relations between the two countries.
A Comment On Stupidity
And let's not forget the following monumental manifestations of stupidity that the good professor fails to mention:
1. President Nixon's pledge to end the Vietnam War by "Peace with Honor" which cost 26,000 American lives over the course of 6 years and ended with a retreat/evacuation that makes Afghanistan look like a Balanchine-choreographed ballet
2. President Regan's programs to fund the Nicaraguan "contras" but selling arms to the terrorist Iranian regime and to the murderous Colombian drug cartels who then, armed with US supplied munitions, inflicted terror and destabilized Central and South American countries and fostered a drug epidemic that took untold American lives. Just say no indeed.
3. President Bush's war in Iraq, unprovoked, a war that intended to accomplish nothing more than to boost Bush's popularity but cost 4,400 American lives and destabilized the Middle East for another century.
4. President Trump's goal to dissolve NATO which signaled to Putin that he could advance his expansionist goals without resistance and opened the way to his invasion of Ukraine.
Stupidity does not recognize political affiliation.
Edward Hughes
ON STUPIDITY
mbren@pitt.edu
Stupidity, stupidity everywhere – and not a word to witness.
“Stupid” is a commonplace term casually used in every-day conversation. Much less so in writing – especially when the subject is political personalities. It is heavily weighted with inhibition. Why this hesitation? Why at a time when there is more manifest stupidity in speech and action, by far, than in recorded American history?
“Stupid” is both blunt and conclusive. Straight-forward Anglo-Saxon. It does not welcome qualification or discussion. It implies: matter settled, closed. Moreover, it suggests a character flaw as well as inadequate intelligence. That somehow makes us uncomfortable. So we prefer: dense, slow, dim or dim-witted, or elaborate euphemisms, e.g. “not the sharpest tool in the kit,” or “out of it.” There are words that disparage intelligence that are even sharper or stronger than “stupid.” Think of these: blockhead, lamebrain, numbskull, In addition, there are those that refer directly to intelligence: moron, imbecile, idiot. They, too, are in currency but suffer from the disability of taking in vain a descriptive word that refers to the poor souls who are born with mental deficiencies.
“Stupid” is used as an epithet 95% of the time. Not as a depiction of someone’s Intelligence Quotient (IQ). To do so in the latter sense is to complicate matters. Intelligence, as we now are aware, is a broad concept that covers 4 or 5 or 6 mental attributes whose correlations are quite low. So, almost no one thinks that through before throwing the word around. To the degree that one might consider basic meanings, it implies lack of logic – the core characteristic of conventional IQ intelligence.
Squirt kerosene on a simmering barbecue – that’s stupid. Sending more troops to Afghanistan when you’ve failed miserably to achieve your objective over the past 8 years with much larger contingents – as Obama did in 2009 – is stupid, i.e. illogical. Threatening North Korea with a military strike by a naval task force and sending said task force in the opposite direction is stupid, i.e. illogical. Bestowing praise and honors on the Saudi leaders as declared brothers in the “war on terror” when in fact these very persons have done more to propagate the fanatical creed that inspires and justifies acts of terror is stupid, i.e. “illogical.” However, they do not derive from sub-par intelligence in the IQ sense.
These instances of stupid behavior draw us to the connections between intelligence and knowledge – between “stupidity” and “ignorance.” Stupid (illogical) behavior is more likely when you don’t know what you’re doing because important information is lacking. Here, though, the information at the heart of logical thinking is known to the parties taking those actions. Not just accessible – it is lodged (somewhere) in the brain of the actor. “Dumb” in popular usage is the word that combines “stupid” and “ignorant” – with the connotation that the ignorance is willful. That notion is of cardinal importance.
Obama’s decision to instigate the Maidan Coup in 2014 had nothing to do wit
h IQ. Rather, it was a matter of flawed judgment. Similarly, his decision to abet the jihadi controlled opposition to Assad in Syria, with all its dire repercussions, derived from a fundamentally flawed understanding of the forces in play and a very narrow strategic perspective. Bill Clinton’s plan to unleash the financial predators who gave us the great Wall Street crash by repealing the Glass-Steagall Act stemmed less from irrationality than from ideological commitment to a dogmatic market fundamentalist ideology reinforced by political corruption.
Assuming that the “stupid’ actors are not mentally deficient, why do they act as if they are? That is the persistent question that crops us as we see and read the antics of public officials, commentators, and a host of celebrity personalities. Several explanations, not excuses, come to mind. Above all, willful ignorance is a form of stupidity. The Biden people chose, in some sense, not to inform themselves about the realities of Russia’s resilient economy and political stability before embarking on it woefully misguided strategy to cut the Putin regime down at the knees by provoking the crisis in Ukraine. Equally, it put on blinders to avoid seeing that the deepening Sino-Russian partnership would be greatly strengthened by the plan to knock Moscow out of the great power game before confronting the ultimate challenge represented by China to America’s global hegemony. Intellectual laziness of this sort is convenient in allowing a simplistic – if mentally and comfortable - mindset to guide behavior undisturbed by dissonant, more complex formulations of reality.
A second noteworthy consideration is that some highly influential players in the policymaking game may be acting on an unspoken implicit logic that is not acknowledged but salient for the person(s) involved. The Pentagon brass may well have been less concerned about “winning” in Afghanistan, whatever that means, than they were living with the intolerable perception that they “lost.” No general cum security policy-maker wants to be saddled with the label of “loser.” That sensitivity can become generalized. Individuals like Generals Mattis and McMaster were in little danger of being blamed for failure in Afghanistan. What seems to have counted is that they did not want the U.S. military to be stigmatized as a failure. They were acutely aware of how much the image of the uniformed military suffered as a result of America losing its first war in Vietnam. It follows that they might hope against hope that the outcome in Afghanistan would be fudged enough so as to escape that fate.*
There is a practical side to this concern, too. Failure, as perceptive in the public eye, could tarnish the splendid image so successfully cultivated during the “war on terror” era. That could translate into less support for bigger budgets, less lucrative consultancies after retirement, and less acclaim. And a weaker voice in policy debates.
A second truth to keep in mind is that governments are plural nouns – or, pronouns with multiple antecedents. The numerous organizations, bureaucracies and individuals involved in decision-making typically leads to a complicated process wherein it is easy to lose track of purposes, priorities and coordination. Where little discipline is imposed by the chief, the greater the chances that the result will be contradictory, disjointed, sub-optimal and often poorly executed policies.
We can observe a related phenomenon of compounded ‘dumbness’ unfold on a far grander scale in regard to the Ukraine-plus exercise in fantasy strategy. There, in the face of manifest failure to achieve the original objectives (and suffering enormous collateral diplomatic damage - formation of the BRICS counterforce to the collective West), our leaders, joined by virtually the entire foreign policy community, plows ahead heedless of the mounting costs, and the foredoomed plight of the Ukrainian forces. This mindless behavior is rooted in a common inability to contemplate not only a national failure of the first magnitude, but also the need for a drastic reworking of profoundly held beliefs about American singularity and predestined place as global supremo.
All of these adverse consequences are more likely to register, and actions to be stupid, when the man nominally in charge lacks the intelligence, emotional stability, self-awareness and advisors to recognize either the requirements for sound policy-making or for implementation. A lack of capacity to accept responsibility and to be held accountable exacerbates matters.
For a President to avoid acting “stupidly,” he need not have an exceptional IQ – or score remarkably high on other dimensions of intelligence. Two things are most important: he must be honest with himself; and he must put in place a policy system that is both logical in process and self-aware as to why decisions are taken with what end in mind. To borrow an analogy from the football terminology favored in the corridors of Washington power: you can win a championship with a mediocre quarterback if the other pieces are in place (e.g. Bart Starr of the legendary Green Bay Packers, Nick Foles of the 2018 Super Bowl winning Philadelphia Eagles). A corollary is that an emotionally handicapped or narcissistic quarterback – however talented – will cripple a team sooner or later. One who suffers from the latter condition(s), along with an utter lack athletic talent, is a guarantor of disaster. “Stupidity” will be the least of the derogatory terms applied to the ensuing performance; that word should be reserved for those who chose him.
Moral: we should not hesitate to call things as they are. Feigned politeness in situations marked by systematic deceit and ill-will serve no good purpose. Concerned about the proverbial “dignity of the office?” Take your shoes off before entering the Oval Office. If “stupidity” displayed by stupid people it what we observe, virtue lies in calling it as such.
*Vietnam is the central reference point for McMaster’s strategic perspective. He wrote his doctoral dissertation at Duke on the topic – the work that has given him the reputation of being the best mind in the Army – the embodiment of the “soldier-scholar.” The book’s thesis is that the uniformed military’s leaders failed in their duty by not remonstrating against Lyndon Johnson misrepresentation of conditions in Vietnam. The premise is that they had an accurate, unbiased understanding while Johnson was a chronic liar who had his political image foremost in mind. This is a very dubious proposition. The top United States’ commanders in Vietnam were as blind to realities as were the civilians in Washington. Their lying about capabilities (theirs and the Communists), the battlefield picture, and what was going down became proverbial. The daily briefing at command headquarters in Saigon was universally called the “Saigon follies’ by the press corps. Today’s daily follies heralding successes in Ukraine is a moveable feast offered at the White House, State, the Pentagon, and at every media site. The difference is that today’s ‘reporters’ don’t recognize the folly, nor dare announce it in the very rare instances that they do.
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Maria Zakharova on Depleted Uranium: Dead Land: Western Depleted Uranium Shells Turn Ukraine into Uninhabitable Territory
Maria Zakharova on Depleted Uranium: Dead Land: Western Depleted Uranium Shells Turn Ukraine into Uninhabitable Territory: Today, Maria’s short article on DU—”Dead Land: Western Depleted Uranium Shells Turn Ukraine into Uninhabitable Territory”—was published by Komsomolskaya Pravda and contains a very interesting historical note along with some excellent empirical information. Yes, it’s a break from further BRICS documentation. Many millions have suffered and died from DU, but NATO continues its campaign to cover up reality just as the Outlaw US Empire continues with Agent Orange and its other chemical WMDs. Here’s Maria:
Saturday, August 26, 2023
U.S. to extend China chip export waivers for Taiwan, Korea chipmakers - Nikkei Asia
U.S. to extend China chip export waivers for Taiwan, Korea chipmakers - Nikkei Asia: WASHINGTON -- The U.S. has decided to extend its one-year exemption allowing South Korean and Taiwanese chipmakers to continue bringing advanced
Toyota invests $78m in Philippines plant to produce 2 new models - Nikkei Asia
Toyota invests $78m in Philippines plant to produce 2 new models - Nikkei Asia: NAGOYA, Japan -- Toyota Motor is boosting investment in the Philippines by 4.4 billion pesos ($78.2 million) to develop two new models designed f
Michael Shellenberger on X: "Elite Crackdown On Free Speech Worldwide Intensifies From North America to Australia to Europe, elites seek censorship, prvacy invasions, and the prosecution of wrongthink as "pre-crime" by @shellenberger The leaders of nations, representatives of international organizations,… https://t.co/m5kWoYfxnC" / X
Investigating the Nord Stream Attack: All the Evidence Points To Kyiv - DER SPIEGEL
Investigating the Nord Stream Attack: All the Evidence Points To Kyiv - DER SPIEGEL: It's a spy thriller that has the potential to change the course of international politics: A year ago, a secret commando blew up the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Since then, investigators have been searching for the perpetrators. The leads they have found are extremely politically sensitive.
Tucker Carlson on X: "The world is realigning at high speed, and turning against the United States. But the Biden Administration is spending its time harassing one of our last sincere allies in Europe, Hungary, for the crime of being too Christian. Watch. (Tucker's Speech in Budapest) https://t.co/yppDft6YIi" / X
AI Is Beginning to Subtract Jobs, Control Needed
AI Is Beginning to Subtract Jobs, Control Needed: The conventional wisdom — don’t you love it? — holds that artificial intelligence won’t cost jobs. But it will. The evidence is mounting. I say this after doing my best to divine the thinking of th…
Why Are There So Many Fires? Dr. David Martin Unveils What He Thinks Is Behind It
Why Are There So Many Fires? Dr. David Martin Unveils What He Thinks Is Behind It: Watch now (4 mins) | These fires may just be the smoke signals of a bigger problem lurking beneath the flames.
Who killed Yevgeny Prigozhin? – Gilbert Doctorow
Who killed Yevgeny Prigozhin? – Gilbert Doctorow
Dear Mr. Rushford,
You intentionally misread my article.
I have only pointed out that for Putin to have directed this assassination would be directly contradictory to his record on keeping promises - going back to 1999 and the promises to Yeltsin to do nothing to the entourage and right up to 2023 and the deal with Lukashenko over Prigozhin's fate and that of the Wagner Group.
I have given good reasons why some other person or group in Russia would have had motives to murder Prigozhin. I have also given good reasons why the United States and France would presently have good reasons to murder him. I could have added to that list Ukraine, where the destruction of 40,000 of their troops by the Wagner group in and around Bakhmut would be reason enough to plot his assassination.
And how do you explain the special attention of U.S.intelligence to what brought down Prigozhin's plane. By dismissing the likelihood of ground to air missiles, they are indicating extraordinary surveillance of all Russian air space. But that is not to say I have alleged Washington was behind the murder. Vladimir Solovyov says that, and I believe that the American foreign policy community should be informed of what Russians are saying among themselves. Hughes' typically snarky comments do not help clarify what may have happened.
As for your wholly unrelated question about Latvia: what is it that the country should remain free from? I have written several times over the past 5 years based on what I learned from visiting Riga during their year as the Cultural Capital of Europe, and from exchanges since with leaders of the stateless (Russian) population in Latvia, which numbered more than 300,000 after 1992 thanks to the discriminatory citizenship laws of that date, that Latvia is THE APARTHEID STATE within the European Union. Until and unless Latvia sobers up and begins to treat its substantial Russian speaking minority with the respect for human rights enshrined in the European Union's acquis, it is a country without a future.
But to directly answer your question, yes, Latvia has a right to exist as an independent state.
all the best
Gilbert Doctorow
On Saturday, August 26, 2023 at 03:34:34 PM GMT+2, G R wrote:
Why did I not know before reading your latest, Mr. Doctorow, that your take would be to exonerate Putin and implicate America?
An answer to one question, just a yes or no would suffice, would be appreciated: Do you agree that independent nations that border Russia, Latvia to name just one country that was formerly occupied by the USSR and is now free --- should remain so?
My answer is an unequivocal Yes.
Greg Rushford
Editor & Publisher
The Rushford Report
www.rushfordreport.com
Friday, August 25, 2023
Could the Chinese government fund construction of huge new dam in Santa Clara County?
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Spiegel und ZDF veröffentlichen eine weitere Folge des Nord-Stream-Märchens – Anti-Spiegel
Spiegel und ZDF veröffentlichen eine weitere Folge des Nord-Stream-Märchens – Anti-Spiegel
August 25, 2023
Spiegel and ZDF publish another episode of the Nord Stream fairy tale - Anti-Spiegel
As an introduction, I would like to briefly remind you of the prehistory: On the 8th In February 2023, Seymour Hersh published his first article that it was the Biden administration that blew up the Nord Streams. However, this did not fit into the narrative of the West at all, because it means that the USA carried out an act of war against its alleged ally Germany.
The Western media have therefore responded with part 1 of their well-known strategy and ridiculed the Hersh research instead of responding to it and refuting it. Consumers of the Western mainstream media have not learned anything about the content of the Hersh research, they have only learned from the Western media that Hersh is allegedly a senish weirdo.
This was followed by part 2 of the well-known strategy of the Western media and they presented another story that was supposed to distract from the Hersh research, whereby the author of the story was the US government. After everything had leaked top secret and nothing at all after the explosion of the Nord Streams, a true stream of supposedly secret information suddenly poured into the media a month after Hersh's publication.
Previously, Chancellor Scholz was on the 3rd. March alone, i.e. without his usual employees and even without the press, traveled to Washington for a very unusual visit to get the instructions for the upcoming media campaign. On the 7th In March, German and US media published the same story at the same time, but citing different sources: Allegedly, a pro-Ukrainian group was responsible for the demolition of the pipelines, which is said to have carried out the terrorist attacks of a small sailboat and only two divers.
This version has been spun on ever since then, whereby I immediately suspected that this will happen and that in the end Ukraine will be blamed to give the West an argument for the public to stop the ruinous support for Ukraine because it committed this "unfriendly act".
The new episode of the Nord Stream fairy tale
The mirror has on the 25th August published a very long article with the headline "SPIEGEL and ZDF research on the Nord Stream attack - The tracks lead in one direction - to Ukraine", the content of which was therefore not surprising. It is not possible to go into the article in detail here, the Spiegel article is simply too long for that. In addition, it is written in the well-known Relotius style, because Relotius was best known for its extremely flowery formulations, which contained no information on the matter, but gave the reader the feeling that there were many interesting details, which should give the articles overall credibility. In the current Spiegel article, for example, this sounds like this:
"It's stuffy in the store, it smells like dried fish. The saleswomen say that the grandmother is now the caretaker of the neighboring house. Five minutes later, Lyubov K. puts her bladder aside and sits down on a bench. She is a little woman with red dyed hair, she speaks Russian. She doesn't want to talk to the press, she says, but stays on the bench."
Since the Spiegel article is a true collection of such contentless filler, I just want to go into the statements that seem important to me.
Everything is top secret
Allegedly, everything related to the Nord Stream shot is top secret. The mirror writes:
What has been discovered so far, especially by German officials, is subject to the strictest secrecy. Nothing should leak out. At the behest of the Chancellery. "This is the most important investigation in post-war history, because of its possible political effects," says security circles. The investigators of the ST 24 unit in the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) entrusted with the Nord Stream case are even prohibited from talking to colleagues about the case. The investigators must log who they talked to and when about which aspect of the procedure - which is highly unusual even for state protectors of the BKA."
Nevertheless, Spiegel and ZDF now want to have new findings and the Spiegel repeatedly refers to the findings of the investigators. Where did the Spiegel get these findings when everything is so top secret? If the investigators secretly spoke to the media, then criminal proceedings would now have to be opened for the betrayal of state secrets and the hunt for the leaks. Of course, this will not happen, which is another indication that the information - as at the beginning of March, at the start of the fairy tale about the "pro-Ukrainian group" - is deliberately pierced to the media because the government wants the story to be known.
"Andromeda" and no end
The largest part of the article deals with the sailboat "Andromeda" and its alleged role in the blasting in tiring details, which hardly anyone should read attentively due to the length of the executions and the really tiring details.
That this is tiring is quite intentional, because by focusing the Spiegel article completely on the "Andromeda" with even the smallest details, it ensures that the reader does not even think about other possible scenarios, such as the one described by Hersh. The tiring details give the impression that it is a well-researched and documented story.
Again, information from secret services?
The fact that the mirror has once again received its information from the secret services and they are not the result of its own research, show many details, for example the alleged search for the backers of the attack. By the way, the Spiegel mentions that he was able to locate one of the men mentioned on the basis of a fake passport:
A research team from SPIEGEL, ZDF and the investigative networks Rise Moldova and OCCRP has found him. The two-storey house in which he lives with his family is the most beautiful in the street. Marcu stares at a note that the reporters show him, a series of numbers, his passport number: 055227683."
If supposedly everything - even on the instructions of the Chancellery - is top secret, a simple question arises: Where, if not from a Western secret service, does the Spiegel have the passport number?
I have repeatedly proven that the Spiegel constantly issues information pierced by secret services as its own research, the last example can be found here.
By the way, one of the most important indications was that the whole story of the "pro-Ukrainian group" and the small "Andromeda" is a fairy tale, the fact that so far almost 500 kilograms heavy bombs have been assumed that could not have been moved and released in a controlled manner without a crane that does not exist on the small "Andromeda". By the way - and by the way, again citing allegedly top-secret investigation results - the Spiegel is now trying to refute this argument as follows:
At Nord Stream 1, Pfeiffer recognized depressions on underwater images, which he interprets "as explosive funnels of larger explosive charges next to the pipeline." However, the investigators assume that a total of less than a hundred kilos of explosives were used and instead the natural gas escaping under high pressure led to the devastation."
The gas flowing upwards is now responsible for the depressions under or next to the pipelines. I leave this remarkable interpretation of physical natural laws, which is supposed to explain to the reader that much smaller explosive devices than thought were used, sometimes uncommented.
It was Ukraine!
According to Spiegel, it is clear that Ukraine is behind the explosions. However, he still keeps President Selensky out of the line of fire - at least so far. This sounds - again, citing actually top-secret investigative findings - like this at the Spiegel:
"The secret letters outline an attack on the Nord Stream pipelines. Six commando soldiers of Ukraine, disguised with false personal details, would rent a boat, dive down to the tubes at the bottom of the Baltic Sea with special equipment and blow them up. The men support the command of the Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valeriy Salushny, but President Volodymyr Zelensky is not informed."
Later, the mirror becomes even clearer in his article - again citing actually top-secret investigative findings:
Behind the scenes there are clearer statements: The investigators of BKA, Federal Police and the Federal Prosecutor General have few doubts that a Ukrainian command blew up the pipelines. Strikingly many traces led to Ukraine, it is said. (...) Much more is known than is publicly known, says a top official. According to SPIEGEL information, the investigators are sure that the saboteurs were in Ukraine before and after the attack."
The political question
The fact that the blasting of the Nord Streams by Kiev, as I already suspected in March, is supposed to call into question Western support for Ukraine, is now clearly addressed in the Spiegel - to my knowledge for the first time - which sounds like this, for example:
"Hardly anyone in the capital wants to finish thinking about how one would have to behave towards Kiev if the participation of state Ukrainian bodies were proven. (...) "E everyone shyes away from the question of consequences," says a coalition. (...) Anyone who asks these days (...) about the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline, as the parties are talking about whether the government is already thinking through scenarios in the event that the Ukrainian leadership knew about the operation, usually looks into rather perplexed faces."
You can find out again and again that it was supposedly Ukraine in the Spiegel article - of course, citing actually top-secret investigative findings:
"All findings pointed in one direction, in the direction of Kiev, say international investigators and agents. At least those who know evidence and traces."
Thus, the "research" of ZDF and Spiegel could trigger the public discussion in Germany about whether aid for Kiev should be reduced or stopped because Kiev has de facto attacked Germany. I have suspected since March that the story about the "pro-Ukrainian group" would lead to this discussion in the second half of 2023, especially since it would fit like another piece of the puzzle into the implementation of the RAND paper from January, which I have been reporting on for a long time.
"Alternative scenarios"
A section at the end of the Spiegel article is entitled "Alternative Scenarios". In the section, a possible perpetratorship of the USA is dealt with as follows:
"For example, the US journalist Seymour Hersh, 86, who blames the USA for the attacks, caused a lot of attention. A Norwegian naval ship secretly transported American combat divers to the Baltic Sea. The alleged motive: Russia should no longer be able to blackmail Germany with gas supplies. Hersh did not provide any evidence for his theses, essential parts of his report later proved to be false. A source in Washington told him that, Hersh justified himself. In any case, the Russian government was delighted and praised the baseless story as proof that the USA was the actual warmongers."
The mirror makes the Hersh research ridiculous once again and indirectly moves it into the field of "Russian propaganda". In addition, there is the untrue claim that "essential parts" of Hersh's research had "later proved to be false." The mirror does not mention which parts these are supposed to be - no wonder, it is simply a lie. The only thing we have are statements from the US government, Hersh spreads conspiracy theories that the US government does not want to comment on.
Anyone who considers it an insinuation of me that it is a lie that "essential parts" of Hersh's research would have "later proved to be wrong" may be happy to prove the opposite to me and show concretely which parts of Hersh's research were refuted.
It is remarkable that the Spiegel article repeatedly clearly states that Russia is eliminated as the perpetrator. While the Spiegel deates a possible perpetratorship of the USA in a single paragraph, the one just quoted, the Spiegel dedicates to the version that Russia could be behind the attack a whole twelve paragraphs, which also end with a lie:
"In international security circles, it is said that a sabotage command was supposed to attack and destroy the "Turkstream" tubes running from Russia through the Black Sea into Turkey. The Federal Government has also received a corresponding indication together with the first warnings of an attack on the Nord Stream pipelines.
Why the alleged attack plan on "Turkstream" was not pursued is unclear."
The Baltic Sea, and especially the waters where the blasting of the Nord Streams took place, is one of the best monitored waters in the world, which is why NATO, for example, naturally knows who blew up the pipelines. Just as NATO monitors the Baltic Sea, so Russia monitors the Black Sea. It is clear that there will be no underwater attack on Turkish Stream there, because the Russian navy would prevent what NATO obviously did not want to do in the Baltic Sea.
The lie in the statement of the Spiegel is that Ukraine "did not pursue" attack plans on Turkisch Stream, because there were several attempted attacks on Turkish Stream, but they took place in Russia, where the pipeline runs ashore towards the Black Sea.
Orban is not Scholz
The fact that there have been no attempted attacks on the pipeline for some time could be due to the clear warning from Hungary, because Hungary has announced that it will not react as passively to an attack on its energy security as Germany. In such a case, Hungary could block all decisions in the EU and also NATO to support Kiev and Orban would certainly do the same. This could be one of the reasons why Turkish Stream should be safe for the time being.
Scholz, on the other hand, was publicly presented and humiliated by US President Biden when Biden announced standing next to Scholz at a press conference in February 2022:
"If Russia invades, i.e. tanks or troops cross the border with Ukraine again, then there will be no more Nord Stream 2. We will put an end to this."
When asked by a journalist how exactly the USA wants to do this, Biden replied:
"I promise you that we will be able to do that."
In contrast to Scholz, Orban would hardly have left such a statement by Biden on Turkish Stream without comment, which says a lot about whose interests Scholz serves.
But don't forget: The USA has nothing to do with the blasting of the Nord Streams, that was a small pro-Ukrainian group with a small sailboat, but of course by no means a special unit of the US armed forces, as Hersh explained with extensive details.
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