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Posts Tagged ‘Russia’
The U.S. Will Have Given Ukraine OVER TWO TIMES The Entire Military Budget of Russia!
Posted by M. C. on December 22, 2022
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: military budget, Russia, Ukraine | Leave a Comment »
What If Someday Russia and/or China Say “We Have A Gold Backed Currency. Let’s Do Business”
Posted by M. C. on December 12, 2022
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Americans Dumbed Down on Russia – Antiwar.com Original
Posted by M. C. on December 6, 2022
Humorist Will Rogers had it right:
“The problem ain’t what people know. It’s what people know that ain’t so; that’s the problem.”
Why are some of you readers just now learning about this – five years after that testimony? Short answer: Adam Schiff (D, CA), chair of the House Intelligence Committee was able to keep Henry’s unclassified testimony secret from Dec. 5, 2017 until May 7, 2020, when he was forced to release it.
https://original.antiwar.com/mcgovern/2022/12/04/americans-dumbed-down-on-russia/
by Ray McGovern
Five years ago today, Congress learned from sworn, horse’s-mouth testimony that there is no technical evidence that Russia (or anyone else) hacked the DNC emails showing how the DNC had stacked the deck against Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton’s rival for the Democratic nomination.
I can almost hear readers new to this website cry out in disbelief: “That cannot be. Official Washington and the media assured us that the Russians hacked those emails in order to help Trump win. And didn’t Obama throw out 35 Russian diplomats in reaction? And what about those 12 Russian intelligence agents indicted for hacking?” Were U.S. officials and media mistaken?
No, not mistaken. They were lying.
“But … but, does this mean Special Counsel Robert Mueller knew there was no concrete evidence of Russian hacking just six months into his 22-month investigation into Trump-Russia collusion?”
Get Him Under Oath
On December 5, 2017, Shawn Henry, head of the cyber security firm CrowdStrike, testified to the House Intelligence Committee that there was no technical evidence that Russia hacked the DNC emails that WikiLeaks published in July 2016. CrowdStrike had been hired by the DNC and the Clinton campaign (with the FBI’s blessing) to investigate “Russian hacking”.
Shawn Henry is a protégé of former FBI Director Robert Mueller (from 2001 to 2012), for whom Henry served as head of the Bureau’s cyber-crime investigations unit before he went to CrowdStrike. What are the chances that Shawn Henry did not keep his former mentor, the Special Counsel, informed of this critical factoid?
Why are some of you readers just now learning about this – five years after that testimony? Short answer: Adam Schiff (D, CA), chair of the House Intelligence Committee was able to keep Henry’s unclassified testimony secret from Dec. 5, 2017 until May 7, 2020, when he was forced to release it. Schiff gave the silencer-baton to friends in the corporate media, who have now suppressed Shawn Henry’s testimony for longer than even Schiff could.
In sum, five years (and counting) after Henry’s testimony, the corporate media are still keeping viewers/listeners in the dark. Were we Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) not banned from corporate media, those interested in the “hacking” hoax could have learned what was going on by reading our Memorandum “Allegations of Hacking are Baseless”, of December 12, 2016 – a year before Shawn Henry, under oath, came clean. Henry’s confession came as no surprise to us. (Updates are available here and here.)
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Adam Schiff, Dumbed Down, Robert Mueller, Russia | Leave a Comment »
The End of Arms Control As We Know It? – by Daniel Larison
Posted by M. C. on December 6, 2022
It is one of the absurdities of international politics that arms control becomes politically toxic at the very moment when it is most needed.
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/the-end-of-arms-control-as-we-know
Russia pulled out of talks over resuming New START inspections, and their government seems unlikely to change its position anytime soon:
Russia accused the United States on Tuesday of toxic anti-Russian behaviour that it said had prompted it to pull out of nuclear arms talks with U.S. officials in Cairo this week.
In strongly worded comments, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also accused the United States of trying to manipulate the New START nuclear treaty to its advantage, although she said Russia was still committed to it.
Zakharova also said that Russia would not discuss New START-related matters with the U.S. as long as it is arming Ukraine. The Russian government must know that there is no chance that the U.S. will halt weapons supplies to Ukraine while the war continues, so this amounts to setting a condition for resuming talks that they know the U.S. will not accept. That makes it all but certain that verification inspections won’t be taking place for the foreseeable future. There have already been no inspections for the last three years because of the pandemic and the war, and it now seems more likely than not that the treaty will be a dead letter even before it expires in 2026. The already poor chances of negotiating a follow-on treaty to replace New START are now even worse.
Arms control is more important than it has been in decades as U.S.-Russian tensions are the worst they have been since the end of the Cold War. It is one of the absurdities of international politics that arms control becomes politically toxic at the very moment when it is most needed. The major treaties that reduced U.S. and Soviet/Russian arsenals over the last thirty years were negotiated and ratified in the waning years of the Cold War or during the post-Cold War era.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Arms control, Russia, START inspections | Leave a Comment »
We Shouldn’t Destroy Our Economy In The Name of Battling Russia or China
Posted by M. C. on November 23, 2022
Neocons, Out-hawking the democrats
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: China, economy, Russia | Leave a Comment »
What If US Policymakers Are Even More Stupid Than We Think They Are? – LewRockwell
Posted by M. C. on November 21, 2022
It goes without saying that the US foreign policy is not wise, not measured, nor even well informed. The US leadership doesn’t even try to hide the hypocrisy and the stupidity.
The Defense Department has been clear about its US foreign policy agenda vis a vis Russia, as discussed here in a 2019 Rand Corp paper, and repeated in the media by people on all sides who take this agenda as fact. Overextending and unbalancing Russia is the rationale for the US proxy war in Ukraine, for the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines, for the unprecedented economic sanctions and financial seizures of Russian assets by western governments, for the CIA instigated color revolutions in Eurasia, and the US naval and extensive US military occupation throughout the world. All acts – hypocritical, terroristic, offensive and dishonorable – are justified under this program. For the elites running the US capital, it’s what war looks like. They have never fought in one, but from what they have read in books and screenplays, this makes sense to them.
“Our leaders” appear to believe in this agenda. It also fits with WEF centralization, maintains the western elite status quo, supports the MICIMATT, and seeks to expand global commodity exploitation by western capitals.
As this information is public, you don’t need to be a PhD or an intel weenie to figure it out. But what if the US is the one being played, and not the other way around?
I was asked the other day by RT if the US can afford to keep sustaining Ukraine’s defense and pay for Zelensky’s fantasies on an annual basis – given that the USG is on track to spend twice as much ($91 Billion) as we spent in Afghanistan per year, and funding the Ukrainian military at a level that is 33% higher than the entire Russian annual military budget? I answered, “Of course we can’t!”
That was my reactive response – I have never believed the US could afford to fund its domestic welfare, entitlement, and military expenses, much less fighting proxy wars.
What if my gut feeling, from a lifetime of trying to understand how things really work, is already common knowledge in the halls of power outside the US? For example, what if the Russians and the Chinese had already assessed and long understood the fundamental weakness of the United States in the areas of fiscal, monetary, economic, military and cultural health?
If this is the case, I might understand the Russia’s “Special Military Operation” in Ukraine better than many of our otherwise objective military and strategy analysts. Pro-Western media claim victories where none exist – and pro-Russian commentators disdain Russian military conservatism. Both sides are constantly disappointed by facts on the ground. Russia has consistently broadcasted Moscow’s simple objectives for the SMO – and they are accomplished now. Nazis in the east are gone, Russians in the east who were intended to be protected under Minsk II are protected now – as Russian citizens, and the ability of Ukraine to organically threaten Russia has been greatly reduced. NATO membership is off the table, and the world has gotten a glimpse of what Zelensky-style democracy and statesmanship looks like. And it looks like “Russia attacks Poland” and “Ukrainian corruption eliminated.” It speaks to the need for a strait-jacket, size tight, not more weapons and cash.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Foreign Policy, Russia, US policy | Leave a Comment »
Watch “Escalation! After Crimea Bridge Blast, Russia Hits Back!” on YouTube
Posted by M. C. on October 11, 2022
See 04:00-05:00. The solution – more US taxpayer dollars!
Just over a day after Kiev crossed Putin’s “red line” and struck the bridge connecting Crimea with mainland Russia, Moscow launched an unprecedented level of airstrikes throughout Ukraine, aiming at the power grid and military command centers. The Biden Administration was convinced that Putin’s talk of “red lines” was a bluff. How far will this escalate? Also today: a Washington Post survey of GOP Congressional candidates reveals that most do not believe the official story on the 2020 elections. What might this mean if control of the House and Senate shifts?
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Bridge Blast, Crimea Bridge, Russia | Leave a Comment »
VIDEO: The Late Stephen F. Cohen Provides Clarity on NATO Expansion and Russia, More Than 10 Years Ago
Posted by M. C. on October 10, 2022
But there’s something even more profound that is a taboo in the United States. NATO expansion represents for the Russians American hypocrisy and a dual standard. They see it this way, and I can’t think of any way to deny their argument.
In this clip from an event held by the Carnegie Council called, “Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War,” on May 19, 2010, Stephen Cohen examines the history between NATO and Russia, detailing how NATO has consistently broken their word and expanded further closer to Russia. Cohen’s analysis is especially topical following the war in Ukraine and the unfolding current state of foreign affairs involving NATO, Russia and the rest of the world.
The late Stephen F. Cohen was a professor emeritus of Russian studies and politics at New York University and Princeton University as well as a contributing editor to The Nation magazine. He was one of the leading experts on contemporary Russia and the Soviet Union, writing 10 books and often speaking with many intellectuals and Russian and Communist Party government leaders including, most notably, Mikhail S. Gorbachev.
Below is a transcript of the video clip. If you’d like to watch the entire talk, you can find it here.
NATO expansion is not over for the Russians. It’s a reality. NATO is sitting on its borders. It’s not about future NATO expansion; it’s about current.
NATO expansion represents the following to Russia: It represents a profoundly broken promise to Russia, made by the first Bush, that in return for a united Germany in NATO, NATO would not expand eastward. This is beyond any dispute.
People say they never signed a treaty. But a deal is a deal. If the United States gives its word—unless we’re shysters, and if you don’t get it in writing, we’ll cheat you—we broke our word. When both Putin and Medvedev say publicly, to Madeleine Albright and others, “We, Russia, feel deceived and betrayed,” that’s what they are talking about.
So NATO represents on the part of Russia a lack of trust: You break your words to us. To what extent can we trust you?
Secondly, it represents military encirclement. If you sit in the Kremlin and you look out at where NATO is and where they want to go, it’s everywhere. It’s everywhere on Russia’s borders.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: NATO Expansion, Russia, Stephen F. Cohen | Leave a Comment »
Russia’s Draft and America’s Draft Registration
Posted by M. C. on October 1, 2022
I find it fascinating how often Americans are being reminded of how similar the United States and Russia have become.
First, there was the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Hey, the U.S. does invasions too. Afghanistan and Iraq come to mind.
Second, there was the recent arrest, prosecution, conviction, and 9-year jail sentence for Brittney Griner for violating Russia’s drug laws. Hey, the U.S. has drug laws too and also sends people away for long periods of time for drug-law violations.
Third, trade restrictions, travel restrictions, and immigration controls.
Fourth, a central bank, fiat (i.e., paper) money, and legal-tender laws.
Fifth, a government-regulated and government-managed economy, including minimum-wage laws.
We could also mention torture, indefinite detention, mass secret surveillance, tribunals, and state-sponsored assassinations. Both regimes engage in all of them.
And now there is the draft. Russian President Vladimir Putin is resorting to conscription to force Russian men to go and fight in his war against Ukraine. Thousands of Russian men are now fleeing the country to avoid being drafted.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Conscription, draft, draft registration, Russia | Leave a Comment »
CBDCs Rising: Russia To Use Digital Ruble In Settlements With China
Posted by M. C. on September 30, 2022
This is how such vast changes to society are implemented without public input: It’s all done to save us from “disaster.”
The fast progression of so many governments towards a cashless society is disconcerting because it could remove the last vestiges of free trade and anonymity from common markets. Paper money might be fiat, but at least its private. This is not the case with digital products of any kind.
BY TYLER DURDEN
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/cbdcs-rising-russia-use-digital-ruble-settlements-china
It has become a regular occurrence within the mainstream media these days to suggest that ties between Russia and China have been “strained” over the conflict in Ukraine and that Russia may lose the support of its ally soon. In most cases these reports are highly exaggerated and based on official comments that are taken completely out of context.
After the recent meeting between Xi and Putin in Uzbekistan, very little was said by China in regard to Ukraine, other than some short and prefabricated appeals for peace and diplomacy. Such comments are generally made for the sake of international appearances and have no bearing on China’s actual agreements with Russia. There is no break in the alliance – The CCP doesn’t care about Ukraine, it cares about its own interests, and those interests include vast supplies of energy resources and other commodities purchased from Russia at a discount.
By extension, Russia/China trade relations have expanded greatly in the past several months alone with bilateral deals that completely remove the US dollar as the world reserve. However, the frenzy of new trade arrangements and financial exchanges may be obscuring a much more important and far reaching event, which is the digitization of national currencies.
According to Russian lawmaker Anatoly Aksakov. Russia is currently pursuing such programs.
“The topic of digital financial assets, the digital rouble and cryptocurrencies is currently intensifying in society, as Western countries are imposing sanctions and creating problems for bank transfers, including in international settlements,” Aksakov said in an interview with Russia’s parliamentary newspaper.
“If we launch this, then other countries will begin to actively use it going forward, and America’s control over the global financial system will effectively end…”
If we treat the Atlantic Council CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) tracker as a reliable reference, at least 100 countries around the world are now developing government backed digital currencies, with 11 countries already using them. Often, CBDC programs are associated more with western central banks and it is assumed that digital currency mechanisms are purely a goal for western elites. This is simply not the case.
Russia and China are both intimately tied to the International Monetary Fund (with China a large part of the SDR global currency program), and Russia’s central bank appears to be operating directly in line with other banks in its development of CBDCs. While their digital efforts could be chalked up to necessity after the nation’s removal from the SWIFT network, there are many central banks that are arguing in favor of digital mechanism as a solution to economic crisis. This is how such vast changes to society are implemented without public input: It’s all done to save us from “disaster.”
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Central Bank Digital Currency, Digital Ruble, Russia | Leave a Comment »
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