Connexion
One might ask, was this “out-of-control” situation planned and prepared by the Zionist-dominated west?
Peter Koenig
17 April 2024
Israel’s Minister of War, Joav Galant, told his troops the Iranian attack was not successful; that of about hundred drones and rockets, Israel downed them all but four, thanks to our good preparation. This is a lie on many levels.
Both Netanyahu and Galant expressed their determination to retaliate, after a well-thought-out plan. Netanyahu qualified, it needs to be a “clever response”.
Likewise, army chief Halevi is crystal clear in his attempt of launching a response for Iran’s retaliation attack on Israel, but he does not want to cause a war.
The Israeli Cabinet is also “mulling” over what they call a “political offensive” – whatever that may mean.
Interesting though, is that both sides, Israel and Iran, do not seem to want war, or better a HOT WAR, where sable rattling could surreptitiously convert into a mushroom cloud. They know, when NATO gets involved, Russia and China may get involved – and then – the sky is open and Armageddon is on the table – or, rather, all over Mother Earth.
If indeed, Israel goes ahead with such a counter-attack, however benign or non-benign it may be, it is like giving Biden the finger. Because, according to the latest news, Biden backtracked from his earlier limitless commitment to support Israel and to always fight for Israel’s security. Biden’s “back-stoppers” must have told him otherwise: “America is not going to war with Iran for Israel.” – Israel – you are on your own, so to speak.
That was a smart decision. Will they stick to it? The US is divided. There are the Zionists, who so far have called the shots in Washington and in the Pentagon. But the balance is gradually shifting in favor of the more level-headed thinkers, those who do not want to risk WWIII which could become nuclear – and global.
Similar messages of “caution” seem to emanate from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a strong supporter of Zionism. He called Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting prudence in any further action he may take. An escalation – that could spin out of control, is in nobody’s interest.
Nevertheless, PM Sunak assured Netanyahu of UK’s support to “guarantee Israel’s security”.
If this sounds like a game of words, probably it is a game of words. Maybe hiding a surprise – and perhaps during the days of “thinking about prudence”, something much bigger may be under preparation. Knowing the Israel-Zionist’s own supremacy concept, they will not let the Iranian attack, even if well justified, go unanswered.
Just to refresh memories, because they are systematically wiped out by the bought mainstream media: Iran launched a measured, but well calculated retaliation attack on Israeli military targets in the early morning hours of 14 April. The drone and ICBM missile assault of some 300 projectiles was a response for Israel’s unprovoked attack of 1 April on Iran’s Consulate in Damascus, leaving 7 people dead, including 2 high ranking Iranian military officers.
By the multitude of rockets Iran fired on Israel in sequence, first the drones than the missiles, Iran suppressed Israel’s and their allies air defense system that concentrated on intercepting drones and was unable to intercept the subsequently launched hypersonic missiles.
Tehran having entered a new stage of political and military stature beyond the Middle Eastern boundaries, had to react to Israel’s Damascus provocation of 1 April, in terms of a clear message, “Don’t mess with Iran – or else”.
Iran, now militarily speaking, one of the three key members of the newly ten BRICS nations, must assure the west that sanctions and threats and random unprovoked attacks will not cut it anymore.
The 14 April attack by Iran, was not just a retaliatory strike, but established a new order, depriving Israel of her absolute impunity, which until recently had been guaranteed by the US.
Important to note is, that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief, Hossein Salami, said that from now on, if Israel attacks the interests of Iran and Iranian citizens, Tehran will strike it again (RT – 16 April 2024).
This means, that if Israel now hits back, Iran will not just swallow whatever Israel does to harm Iran. And there is the danger – a real risk of escalation out of control.
One might ask, was this “out-of-control” situation planned and prepared by the Zionist-dominated west?
Let us not forget, whatever Zionist-Israel does in pursuit of her ultimate goal, the establishment of Greater Israel, is to control the Middle East’s inexhaustible energy resources.
Achieving Greater Israel depends very much on Israel conquering Iran, not only because Iran is literally in “command” of the oil and gas rich Middle East, but also, a Greater Israel needs control over the Strait of Hormuz, now controlled by Iran.
Currently about 30% or more of the world’s total oil and gas consumption is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz. See this
With a Greater Israel, the bulk of Middle Eastern hydrocarbons would be under Zionist-Israeli control — and, with the Strait of Hormuz under Israeli control, shipments of the energy resources, how much and to whom, would be under Zionist command.
Not to forget, Zionist-Israel is already in the process of appropriating the enormous gas reserves off-shore of Gaza – conservatively estimated already some 20 years ago at about a trillion cubic-feet, worth between 2 and 3 billion dollars, depending on the market price. And as we know, he, who controls the resource, decides its “market” price.
An updated assessment of the Gaza off-shore reserves may be exponentially higher. Of course, kept secret, given the current war and expropriation scenario by Zionist-Israel.
The huge port that is rumored to be planned just outside Gaza – maybe construction has already begun, has little to do with food delivery to Gaza (certainly not), or “exporting” the remaining Gazans to unknown destinations.
Much more likely will this be the port for handling the Gaza off-shore hydrocarbons through a yet to be built (but planned since 1971) Ben-Gurion Canal, all the way to the Red Sea. The new canal, would probably bankrupt the Suez Canal, possession of Egypt, an Arab state.
The Suez Canal is already suffering due to lack of transshipments of at least 20 European countries, who are afraid the Yemeni-Houthi attacks on US and Israeli controlled merchandise vessels could also target their ships.
’Twas the night afore Armageddon
This Big Picture vision speaks for Israel not letting go. From their point of view, they MUST conquer Iran. The Zionists may be so blinded by their delusion of “grandeur”, that they may not see the Mushroom Cloud that may wipe them out along with much of the rest of the world.
The reality is that Iran is no longer alone. Iran wants to make sure that their power and presence is accounted for by Israel, the US, its European vassals, and the west at large – because they are now a member of the new BRICS which is not just an economic association.
Their membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – a strategic and economic Chinese agency – protects them from outside attacks, the same way NATO members are protected. Attack one NATO member you attack them all.
Attack One BRICS state, you attack them all.
Retaliation in the case of an attack on Iran can come from all or selected members of the ten BRICS countries, especially from Russia and China; which would pretty much mean WWIII.
This may be the reason for Iran’s relatively benign retaliation against Israel. It was a warning.
Iran does not want war. They may follow the Tao philosophy, as expressed by Sun Tzu in ancient times, “To fight 100 battles and win 100 battles is not the height of skill. The best way to win is not to fight at all.” This is Iran’s strategy. Its strike against Israel was not so much a military response as a grandmaster’s move in a big chess game. And the game is not over yet (RT, 16 April 2024).
May President Putin’s words resonate and be taken seriously, “I hope WWIII can be avoided” – meaning that an Israeli assault on Iran would not remain unanswered by Russia – which would bring in NATO – and WWIII could explode overnight.
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Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020)
Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).
He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.
Israel is now vowing to respond to Iran’s retaliatory attack, and while the Biden regime claims to have told Netanyahoo that the U.S. won’t aid in any offensive action, they are still promising to provide air defense… just like they did when Tehran retaliated for Israel’s deadly attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria.
Journalist and Editor-in-Chief of The Cradle, Sharmine Narwani, reported that an Iranian military security official revealed exclusively to The Cradle that the U.S. reached out and asked Iran to allow Israel “a symbolic strike to save face,” which was “outright rejected” and met with warnings that any attack from Israel targeting Iran will be met with immediate action.
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Choreographed retaliations impacting Iran proper, or its interests anywhere else, as during the mild and lawful Round One Iranian barrage, were rejected by Iran for Round Two.
Iran warned ANY support of Zion’s aggression by the deranged West (such as needed aerial refueling and air defense) will bring retaliation on their bases throughout the region, and closing Hormuz, perhaps selectively a la Houthis?!
Zion is committed to regaining permanently lost deterrence. F-UKUS is committed to Zion. The circle is about to be squared
Garland Nixon interviews Laith Marouf — West Asia update — on a seismic week which changed our world. Le roi est mort, vive le roi!
Iran’s retaliation is historic for Palestine, the region, our world. Zio-USUK suffered a strategic defeat, on top of moral defeat of Gaza
the regional war has moved from non-state actors to state-on-state [with the implications of aligned alliances a la 1914]
Iran forced Anglo-Zionist-NATO alliance to reveal their air defenses (AD), including radars, locations, capabilities, occult allies (GCC), tactics, etc. It made clear Franco-Brits are vassals; the combined West is a totalitarian Empire under a single diktat, for those oblivious the last six months of Genocide…
Iran has started bleeding both their budgets/treasure ($3+ BILLION cost in a few hours!) and air defense interceptors/warjets wear & tear/munitions through massive unprecedented swarm of cheap drones
Iran demonstrated, in addition to precision of its older drones/missiles (! Thx Comrades BeiDou & GLONASS), significant deterrence
Israel demonstrated its survival is dependent on combined West – demoted to abject vassal like Bahrain from its former optical strut
even this western defense is proven worthless, as in 404. US funded and part-built air defenses were thoroughly exposed.
as they proved they could take down western AD using older drones and Scuds, in real war they would rapidly degrade airbases and hardware required for the sole remaining advantage of Anglo-Zionists – air power; Hamas has exposed ground war inadequacy and Houthis the lost naval force projection.
Everything in Israel today exists by Grace of Iran (!!!). It can be leveled
Hezbollah today salted the wounded by blasting another “Iron” Dome AD complex in north occupied Palestine
during the Iranian aerial slap, Netanyahoo hid in the Jerusalem bunker of the messianic Jewish billionaire funding the Red Heifer sacrifice, destruction of Al Aqsa Masjid and building of the Third Temple on its ruins. The crazed want Armageddon. The Danger remains
A lesson learned by multipolar Global Majority during this measured & mild Iranian deterrence action: the US will need to bring all its forces for zionazi proxy to have a chance! Thus dominoes will quickly fall everywhere else, whether 404, Korea, etc.. [unfortunately, this INCREASES risk of total West Asian war.. all now have a vested interest in finishing off the Last Satanic Empire in such a distant and predictable weak theater, also given its tenuous logistics and abject emotional messianic devotion. iow, an emotional albatross]
As Houthis have same weaponry as Iran, they are shown to have pulled their punches in Red Sea.. more proof of imperial lunacy to keep fighting a lost war, merely for optics
if USUK persist, they will end up third world countries at the end of this mad devotion to Zion [AHH: actually, a best case scenario at this point]
Jordanian compradore regime will soon cease to exist; its fate is linked to zionism now
the Arab region now plans for the day after collapse of Zion, and eviction of USUK (provided we’re still alive); this is not merely Greater Syria but other natural agglomerations which used to exist prior to arrival of West or even Turks
Garland: the strike on Israel was an Exclamation Point of the [arrival] of the Multipolar World
Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel were not conducted alone. Strategic partners Russia and China have Tehran’s back, and their role in West Asia’s conflict will only grow if the US doesn’t keep Israel in check.
By Pepe Escobar at The Cradle.
A little over 48 hours before Iran’s aerial message to Israel across the skies of West Asia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov confirmed, on the record, what so far had been, at best, hush-hush diplomatic talk:
The Russian side keeps in contact with Iranian partners on the situation in the Middle East after the Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria.
Ryabkov added, “We stay in constant touch [with Iran]. New in-depth discussions on the whole range of issues related to the Middle East are also expected in the near future in BRICS.”
He then sketched The Big Picture:
Connivance with Israeli actions in the Middle East, which are at the core of Washington’s policy, is in many ways becoming the root cause of new tragedies.
Here, concisely, we had Russia’s top diplomatic coordinator with BRICS – in the year of the multipolar organization’s Russian presidency – indirectly messaging that Russia has Iran’s back. Iran, it should be noted, just became a full-fledged BRICS+ member in January.
Iran’s aerial message this weekend confirmed this in practice: their missile guidance systems used the Chinese Beidou satellite navigation system as well as the Russian GLONASS system.
This is Russia–China intel leading from behind and a graphic example of BRICS+ on the move.
Ryabkov’s “we stay in constant touch” plus the satellite navigation intel confirms the deeply interlocked cooperation between the Russia–China strategic partnership and their mutual strategic partner Iran. Based on vast experience in Ukraine, Moscow knew that the biblical psychopathic genocidal entity would keep escalating if Iran only continued to exercise “strategic patience.”
The morphing of “strategic patience” into a new strategic balance had to take some time – including high-level exchanges with the Russian side. After all, the risk remained that the Israeli attack against the Iranian consulate/ambassador’s residence in Damascus could well prove to be the 2024 remix of the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Marco Polo with elephants and camels arriving at Hormuz on the Gulf of Persia from India – Boucicaut Master
And don’t forget the Strait of Hormuz
Tehran did manage to upend the massive Western psychological operations aimed at pushing it into a strategic misstep.
Iran started with a misdirecting masterstroke. As US–Israeli fear porn went off the charts, fueled by dodgy western “intel,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) made a quick sideways move, seizing an Israeli-owned container ship near the Strait of Hormuz.
That was an eminently elegant manoeuvre – reminding the collective west of Tehran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz, a fact immeasurably more dangerous to the whole western economic house of cards than any limited strike on their “aircraft carrier” in West Asia. That did happen anyway.
And once again, with a degree of elegance. Unlike that ‘moral’ army specialized in killing women, children, and the elderly and bombing hospitals, mosques, schools, universities, and humanitarian convoys, the Iranian attack targeted key Israeli military sites such as the Nevatim and Ramon airbases in the Negev and an intel center in the occupied Golan Heights – the three centers used by Tel Aviv in its strike on Iran’s Damascus consulate.
This was a highly choreographed show. Multiple early warning signs gifted Tel Aviv with plenty of time to profit from US intel and evacuate fighter jets and personnel, which was duly followed by a plethora of US military radars coordinating the defense strategy.
It was American firepower that smashed the bulk of what may have been a swarm of 185 Shahed-136 drones – using everything from ship-mounted air defense to fighter jets. The rest was shot down over Jordan by The Little King’s military – the Arab street will never forget his treachery – and then by dozens of Israeli jets.
Israel’s defenses were de facto saturated by the suicide drone-ballistic missile combo. On the ballistic missile front, several pierced the dense maze of Israel’s air defenses, with Israel officially claiming nine successful hits – interestingly enough, all of them hitting super relevant military targets.
The whole show had the budget of a mega blockbuster. For Israel – without even counting the price of US, UK, and Israeli jets – just the multi-layered interception system set it back at least $1.35 billion, according to an Israeli official. Iranian military sources tally the cost of their drone and missile salvos at only $35 million – 2.5 percent of Tel Aviv’s expenditure – made with full indigenous technology.
A mural in Palestine Square, Tehran, reads in Hebrew: “The next slap will be harsher”
A new West Asian chessboard
It took only a few hours for Iran to finally metastasize strategic patience into serious deterrence, sending an extremely powerful and multi-layered message to its adversaries and masterfully changing the game across the whole West Asian chessboard.
Were the biblical psychopaths to engage in a real Hot War against Iran, there’s no chance in hell Tel Aviv can intercept hundreds of Iranian missiles – the state-of-the-art ones excluded from the current show – without an early warning mechanism spread over several days. Without the Pentagon’s umbrella of weaponry and funds, Israeli defense is unsustainable.
It will be fascinating to see what lessons Moscow will glean from this profusion of lights in the West Asian sky, its sly eyes taking in the frantic Israeli, political, and military scene as the heat continues to rise on the slowly boiling – and now screaming – frog.
As for the US, a West Asian war – one it hasn’t scripted itself – does not suit its immediate interests, as an old-school Deep State stalwart confirmed by email:
That could permanently end the area as an oil-producing region and astronomically raise the oil price to levels that will crash the world financial structure. It is conceivable that the United States banking system could similarly collapse if the oil price rises to $900 a barrel should Middle East oil be cut off or destroyed.
It’s no wonder that the Biden combo, days before the Iranian response, was frantically begging Beijing, Riyadh, and Ankara, among others, to hold Tehran back. The Iranians might have even agreed – had the UN Security Council imposed a permanent ceasefire in Gaza to calm the regional storm. Washington was mute.
The question now is whether it will remain mute. Mohammad Bagheri, chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, went straight to the point:
We have conveyed a message to America through the Swiss Embassy that American bases will become a military target if they are used in future aggressive actions of the Zionist regime. We will consider this as aggression and will act accordingly.
The US dilemma is confirmed by former Pentagon analyst Michael Maloof:
We have got some 35 bases that surround Iran, and they thereby become vulnerable. They were meant to be a deterrence. Clearly, deterrence is no longer on the table here. Now they become the American’ Achilles heel’ because of their vulnerabilities to attack.
All bets are off on how the US–Israel combo will adapt to the new Iranian-crafted deterrence reality. What remains, for the historic moment, is the pregnant-with-meaning aerial show of Muslim Iran singlehandedly unleashing hundreds of drones and missiles on Israel, a feat feted all across the lands of Islam. And especially by the battered Arab street, subjugated by decrepit monarchies that keep doing business with Israel over the dead bodies of the Palestinians of Gaza.
Sweet coordinated moves in our Juntaland, West African Sahelian branch, among the Axes of Resistance!
Little noticed, just after Niger officially kicked out US troops (turning on the ticking clock, as with Frenchie earlier), and right after Russian advance troops arrived in town, China swooped in to provide sanctions-busting liquidity and lucrative deals. This effectively seals off Plunder Inc from one of most stupendous resource-rich regions on earth, easily to rival Russia itself. And Niger is projected to be Africa’s top growth economy this year….
Niamey, Niger protests against French occupation troops, July 2023.
@Arab_Africa:
The day after Russian troops arrived, Niger signed a $400 million oil deal with China. China asked for $400 million for the sale of crude oil. The official signing ceremony of the agreement between Niger and CNPC took place on April 12. It was attended by the Prime Minister of Niger, Mahamane Zein Lamin, and the Chinese Ambassador to Niamey. |video|
Niamey, Niger protests against French occupation troops, July 2023.
@Africa Intel:
Hundreds rally in Niger’s capital to push for U.S. military departure
Hundreds took to the streets of Niger’s capital on Saturday to demand the departure of U.S. troops, after the ruling junta further shifted its strategy by ending a military accord with the United States and welcoming Russian military instructors.
Marching arm in arm through central Niamey, the crowd waved Nigerien flags in a demonstration that recalled anti-French protests that spurred the withdrawal of France’s forces from Niger last year after the army seized power in a coup. |media|
Oh, the Chinese fan the flames. And the key Junta leaders were trained in the famous USA torture academy AKA “School of the Americas,” located in Georgia, LOL!!!! 
Iran’s Retaliation: Implications of the Attack on Israel | Syriana Analysis W/ Mohammad Marandi
Join us as we explore the recent unprecedented Iranian attack on Israel, which consisted of a wave of drones and missiles launched in retaliation for an attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria. Dr. Mohammad Marandi, a Professor at the University of Tehran, provides insights on the implications of this attack.
“The era of strategic patience is over.” As with Bears forced to awaken over Genocide in Novorossiya, it is active deterrence from now on.
Peter Koenig
14 April 2024
The warning was on the wall. Ever since Israel attacked “out of the blue” on 1 April 2024 the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing 7, including two generals, an Iranian retaliation was to be expected.
The New York Times (NYT) reports “Iran mounted an immense aerial attack on Israel on Saturday night, launching more than 200 drones [other sources talk about 300 drones] and missiles in retaliation for a deadly Israeli airstrike in Syria two weeks ago, and marking a significant escalation in hostilities between the two regional foes.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say there were over 300 aerial threats, including some 200 drones, 100 ballistic missiles, and 30 cruise missiles. See this.
Israel and her western friends claim that many of the drones were intercepted by IDF and the help from allied military support. The latter apparently include the UK, France, and Jordan – and most likely also US-NATO forces that have long been stationed in the region.
Nevertheless, according to several RT reports, a large-scale missile and drone attack against Israel has been a success, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said in a statement published by IRNA news agency. The Islamic Republic’s military managed to “hit and destroy” some “important military targets,” it added, without providing any further details.
Short video clips published by Iranian media on social networks, viewing Islamic Republic’s missiles hitting their targets in Israel. Several missiles appeared to have been striking targets in a settlement, RT reports, however without being able to confirm the veracity of the clips.
The Guardian informs, that it was the Islamic Republic’s first-ever direct attack on the Jewish State, a development that brings the two countries to the brink of all-out conflict after more than a decade of shadow war and soaring stress six months into Israel’s war in Gaza, following the Hamas attack last October.
It was reported on Israeli television that Iran had launched more than 100 drones as well as cruise missiles towards Israel, and Iran later said it had fired a “first wave” of ballistic missiles. See this.
This latest war theatre is in full development. At this point it is unclear what exactly happened and to what level the conflict may escalate. A regional war – that could expand to a WW-scenario is a real danger. It depends largely to what extent foreign – non regional – players, will get involved. Arab states have already warned against any “foreign”, meaning non-regional, intervention. Specifically, that means the US / NATO. The latter would include of course almost all of the spineless European nations.
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Iran has many reasons for retaliation. Other than the Syrian Consulate event, the killing of General Qasem Soleimani with a targeted US drone attack on 3 January 2020 in Baghdad. This assassination was still carried out under President Trump, but the question remains, did he act on behalf of Israel – as many analysts suspect?
After a public mourning of Major General Soleimani, Iran launched missiles against US military bases in Iraq wounding at least 110 troops. Deaths were not officially reported.
Over the past several decades Israeli provocations on Iran abounded no end. Israel’s intent is to wipe out Iran as part of its “master plan” towards “Greater Israel”, and control of the Gulf of Hormuz with access to the Arabian Sea – and ultimately Asia. And in the north, where Israel is currently attempting to brutally genociding Palestinians – evicting them from their homeland, an atrocious slaughter supported by most western un-human leaders (sic).
This is not only Apartheid “social cleansing” – it is also taking possession – stealing – of tens or hundreds of billions worth of Gazan off-shore gas reserves.
To be sure, Israel is an illegal state, on Palestinian land stolen through the 1917 UK-sponsored Zionist-initiated Balfour Declaration, with the support in 1948 of the then 52-member young US-dominated United Nations. See this.
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For the past 100 years or so, Washington was – and still is – tacitly as well as openly manipulated by a strong worldwide Zionist movement. Zionists control the world’s – at least the western world’s – financial system, Big Finance, Wall Street, and not least the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), in Basle Switzerland, also called the Central Bank of all central banks, controlling about 90% of the worldwide monetary flow. All in Zionists command.
There is a strong symbiotic relationship, an interdependence between the Zionists, today’s Israel, and the US. The Zionists, the self-declared Chosen People, wield the scepter of Big Finance, aspiring for world domination through Greater Israel (see provisional map, below), with the might of military power by the United States.
Iran is the major stumbling block for Israel’s Zionists to achieve their goal. Once Iran is conquered, they dream, Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States will fall in place.
Zionist-Israel has been allowed by the discreet influence of the US and UK secret services to become a “clandestine” nuclear power. They know they can count not only on the US tax-payers financial support, but more importantly, also with the Pentagon’s military might. By the way, US tax-payers have been footing a considerable portion of Israel’s budget for its 75-year existence.
Sounds controversial, doesn’t it – with the Zionists in control of worldwide Big Finance.
Israel’s provocations on Iran are openly or tacitly supported or even encouraged by Washington. The Washington war-mongers would love to go to war with Iran, a military and economic heavy weight, way beyond the Middle East.
And now, as a new BRICS member (BRICS-plus 5 [the sixth nation, Argentina, dropped out]), Iran’s strength has expanded almost exponentially, with such heavy-weight allies like China and Russia.
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Israel’s assault on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, may have been the spark that lit the fire. The extent of the “fire” cannot be assessed yet, as it will depend on clear-thinking and levelheadedness – or not – of western decision makers – specifically NATO countries.
President Biden has been clear, so western media: “Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad. The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran.”
How serious is this American promise? – There is more at stake than words, especially considering Israel’s ever deeper falling within the world’s sympathy for her non-stop onslaught against Gaza and Palestine in general – having killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, about 70% of whom are women and children.
Strategically speaking, can the US afford this “unwavering” support for an outright genocide nation? And secondly, Washington knows that Iran has full support from Russia and China, Iran’s BRICS allies. BRICS association has similar meaning to that of NATO’s: Attack one country means you attack them all – and retaliation may be massive.
Are there still a few clear-thinking western political human strategists left, not to risk total destruction of civilization as we know it? – As President Putin has warned on several occasions, A Third World War, turning nuclear has no winner.
Let us hope reason and the sense for Peace will prevail.
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Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020)
Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).
He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.
As Surgeons, We Have Never Seen Cruelty Like Israel’s Genocide in Gaza. We urge anyone who reads this to publicly oppose sending weapons to Israel as long as this onslaught continues.
By Feroze Sidhwa and Mark Perlmutter at Common Dreams.
On March 25 the two of us, an orthopedic surgeon and a trauma surgeon, traveled to the Gaza Strip to work at Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis. We were immediately overwhelmed by the overflown sewage and the distinct smell of gunpowder in the air. We made the short journey from the Rafah crossing to Khan Younis, where Gaza European Hospital stands as one of the last remaining semi-functional hospitals for the 2.5 million human beings—half of them children—in the Gaza Strip. As humanitarian surgeons we thought we had seen all manner of cruelty in the world, but neither one of us has ever experienced anything like what we found when we arrived in Gaza.
We exited the van into a sea of children, all shorter and thinner than they ought to have been. Even over their screams of joy at meeting new foreigners, the snowmobile-like hum of Israeli drones could be heard overhead. It quickly became background noise, an omnipresent reminder that violence and death can rain down on anyone at any time in this besieged and ransacked territory.
Our limited sleep was constantly interrupted by explosions that shook the hospital’s walls and popped our ears, even well after the United Nations Security Council declared a cease-fire must be implemented. When warplanes screamed overhead, everyone braced for a particularly loud and powerful explosion. The timing of these attacks always coincided with “iftar,” when families in this overwhelmingly Muslim county broke the daily fast of Ramadan and were most vulnerable.
We as Americans must acknowledge that we are responsible for this crime against humanity, now in its seventh month and unfolding in full view of the entire world.
We walked through the wards and immediately found evidence of horrifying violence deliberately directed at civilians and even children. A three-year-old boy shot in the head, a 12-year-old girl shot through the chest, an ICU nurse shot through the abdomen, all by some of the best-trained marksmen in the world. Every square inch of the hospital’s floor is taken up with makeshift tents where displaced families live, desperate to find some semblance of safety. They are the lucky several hundred who get to live indoors, unlike the tens of thousands sheltering outside on the hospital’s grounds.
As we got to work we were shocked by the violence inflicted on people. Incredibly powerful explosives ripped apart rock, floors, and walls and threw them through human bodies, penetrating skin with waves of dirt and debris. With the environment literally embedded in our patients’ bodies we have found infection control to be impossible. No amount of medical care could ever compensate for the damage being inflicted here.
As humanitarian trauma surgeons we have both seen incredible suffering. Collectively, we were present at Ground Zero on 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Boston Marathon bombing, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti on the first day of these disasters. We have worked in the deprivation of southern Zimbabwe and the horrors of the war in Ukraine. Together we have worked on more than 40 surgical missions in developing countries on three continents in our combined 57 years of volunteering. This long experience taught us that there was no greater pain as a humanitarian surgeon than being unable to provide needed care to a patient.
But that was before coming to Gaza. Now we know the pain of being unable to treat a child who will slowly die, but also alone, because she is the only surviving member of an entire extended family. We have not had the heart to tell these children how their families died: burned until they resembled blistered hotdogs more than human beings, shredded to pieces such that they can only be buried in mass graves, or simply entombed in their former apartment buildings to die slowly of asphyxia and sepsis.
The United States has heavily funded and overwhelmingly armed what is called “the occupation” of Palestine, but the term is misleading. Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, declared that the existence of the Palestinians was simply “a matter of no consequence.” Thirty years later, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan told the Israeli cabinet that the Palestinians “would continue to live like dogs…and we will see where this process leads.”
Now we know: This is where it leads. It leads to Gaza European Hospital, and to two surgeons realizing that the blood on the floor of the trauma bay and the operating room is dripping from our own hands. We Americans provide the crucial funding, weapons, and diplomatic support for a genocidal assault on a helpless population.
The two of us continue to hope against hope that American politicians, and especially President Joe Biden, will abandon their support for Israel’s war on the Palestinians. If they do not, then we have learned nothing from the history of the past hundred years. Polish poet Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quipped that “no snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible,” but we as Americans must acknowledge that we are responsible for this crime against humanity, now in its seventh month and unfolding in full view of the entire world.
By December, the Israeli Air Force had dropped so much American ordinance on Gaza that it exceeded the explosive force of two of the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima. Nearly 14,000 children have been killed in Gaza in the past six months, more than were killed in all war zones in the entire world in the past four years combined. No conflict of any size in history has ever been this deadly to journalists, healthcare workers, or paramedics. Indeed, we and our entire team lived in constant fear that Israel would attack Gaza European Hospital directly, as it has with so many others. The complete and utter destruction of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, along with the killing, kidnapping, and torture of the healthcare staff, only heightened this sense of dread.
We came to Gaza as two individual snowflakes trying to stop this avalanche of death and horror, and yet we also feel responsible for it. We urge anyone who reads this to publicly oppose sending weapons to Israel as long as this genocide continues, until the Israeli siege of Gaza is lifted, and until an end to the occupation can be negotiated.
the main discussion begins around 30 min; the preamble is worthwhile too. He discusses the first glimmers of dawning realization of absolute defeat in the messianic madmen — a Haaretz article from yesterday (paywall). Nothing new to the “Reality-based” but the limits appear to have been reached in saner liberal quarters — beyond the cope of drugs, hedonism and mindless chest-thumping.
What happens when conventional means are no longer sufficient, effective attrition and siege have been laid, and one’s sugar daddy is shown to be a naked, flaccid and geriatric dementia-patient long denied admittance to the padded sanitary homes for the criminally insane?? We are about to find out…….
Israel Has Been Defeated – a Total Defeat
The war’s aims won’t be achieved,
the hostages won’t be returned through military pressure,
security won’t be restored
Israel’s international ostracism won’t end
In this interview, we are joined by the renowned geopolitical expert Pepe Escobar, who delves into the pages of his latest book “Eurasia v. NATOstan”. Brace yourself for an insightful exploration of the imminent collision between the Western Empire of Chaos and the emerging multipolar world order led by Eurasia. @SyrianaAnalysis
A Brief History of Bullshit in America – Everything, that is EVERYTHING, is presented counter to reality. There aint NO Money for nothin’ and NO chicks for free. And that’s the whole enchilada …
with thanks from FiveGunsWest and penned by Bones!
Judge Napolitano: “I told Trump, ‘you promised you would release the records of the JFK assassination.’ He said to me ‘If they showed you what they showed me, you wouldn’t have released it either.’ I said ‘Who’s they? What did they show you?’ Trump said “Someday when we’re not on the phone and there aren’t 15 people listening to the call, I’ll tell you.'”
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs: “It has been said that after the Kennedy assassination, there has been no president. They have only been factotums of the system since then.”
Lake Flaccid
Notes on the Magic Christian
Guy Grand, an eccentric billionaire prankster, is rich enough to do whatever he likes. And what he likes is to carefully execute projects where he can cauterize by ridicule what the rest of the world ignores: complacency, greed, corruption, and idiocy.
Determined to “make it hot for people,” Grand spends his billions staging a series of hilarious, sometimes bewildering stunts, lampooning along the way the American holy cows of money, status, power, beauty, media, and stardom.
Concocting deliciously perverse mayhem, he throws a million one-hundred-dollar bills into an enormous vat of steaming offal, proving just what people will do for money, and he promotes a new silky shampoo that turns hair to wire and a deodorant that becomes a time-released stench-bomb.
He inserts subliminally suggestive and perverse images into well-loved classic films, takes a howitzer on safari, and brings a panther to a kennel club dog show.
His most elaborate adventure is an ultra-exclusive cruise aboard the S.S. Magic Christian, where elite passengers are treated to a series of madcap indignities.
The Jackal Gargles With Plasma
A Brief Review of ‘A Brief History of Bullshit in America’
Bullshit can be so many things. It could be anything from a degree in Gender Studies to something simple as a three-word campaign slogan, or even something as complicated as our nation’s 6,550-page tax code.
Political speeches, self-help books, marketing, press conferences, tax code, song lyrics, conspiracy theories, many college majors, Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the multi-billion-dollar diet industry, medicine, and even the Constitution of the United States itself are all some form of bullshit in one way or another.
Bullshit is everywhere all around us. It influences the clothes we wear, shapes our political views, and even determines what food we eat.
Bullshitters are beautiful highly intelligent individuals, and they play a vital role in our world.
They start almost all of our wars, make our drugs, sell us our cars, raise and lower our taxes, regulate our economy, they tell us what to wear, and in many instances what to believe. You should develop some basic bullshit strategies that you can use in your own life as well.
April is Confederate History Month.
‘Good Foot in Heaven, Bad Foot in Hell’
Musings of a Crippled Writer Concerning Post-Modern Mesmerism with our hero James LaFond
Lori, a physical therapist of 30 years, choked back tears as she told me, “You are strong, but you have a serious injury. We can’t have you do anymore work then you are doing until the spinal specialist examines you… In the mean time, when taking the stairs, remember this, ‘Good foot in heaven, bad foot in Hell.’ It’s easy to remember that way. Put the weight on the good foot.”
In the week since then, as I have crawled, shrimped, crab walked, crutched, used a walker, wall walked and counter crawled around the Brickmouse House, and out at my mother’s house whom I visited in Whitebreadistan, I had a prawn’s eye view of the world passing bye. The news is all positively delusional and has the same exact messages as the ball games, the TV dramas, the movies and the commercials.
Everything, that is EVERYTHING, is presented counter to reality.
Worried about crime?
The news profiles dangerous white supremacists being brought to justice on hate crime charges. The news paints a picture of the last likely type of American violence, Ghost on Gawd, as the most likely.
Back to school shopping?
Well, the commercials depict the most common concerned parent, a black man shopping for his son. Would you like to vacation on a ranch in your four-wheel drive vehicle? Black cowboys will be there wrangling cattle.
Is there a threat to world peace?
No, it is not the nation that has 931 military bases in other countries. It is the nation that is the largest exporter of fuel and grain to less well off nations, ruled by a cartoon dictator, who makes all military decisions based on how mean and cruel the result would be for enemy civilians.
The news broadcast to the people of Goodland, is full of images of tyrannical nations that are utterly evil threatening world peace. Materialism, or utility, having the best most recent gadget, serves as a great handle for inculcating falsehoods, such as most cowboys, combat soldiers, and truck drivers are black and most violent criminals are white.
The Magic Christian is a 1969 British satirical black comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, with appearances by John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Raquel Welch, Spike Milligan, Christopher Lee, Richard Attenborough and Roman Polanski. It was loosely adapted from the 1959 comic novel of the same name by American author Terry Southern, who co-wrote the screenplay adaptation with McGrath.
Here’s the whole enchilada …
James continued …
… WWII was so expensive, that it cost so much valuable time and material to be spent on wiping out not enough working class Аrуаns to achieve hive stability, that the Plutocrats decided that war on human flesh and artifacts would only be a stage prop in the real war waged to control the human mind.
When I see the ridiculous news that Doctor Evil is targeting, not tanks and soldiers with his missiles, but “blood banks” “hospitals” and “civilians,” it is clear that the phony war is the one where Eastern Europeans are actually getting killed, and the real war is on the TV and the Smartphone.
Le 10 avril, une réunion s’est tenue à la Maison-Blanche entre le président américain Joe Biden et le Premier ministre
L’article Les États-Unis et le Japon transforment leur alliance militaire est apparu en premier sur STRATPOL.
Tremendous weakening of the combined West in the Holy Land and the Ukraine has already led to unraveling of odious UNSC sanctions and their enforcement against North Korea, ridiculing of unilateral threats vis-a-vis Russia, and pitiful kowtowing to China in order to obtain breathing room anywhere. The Imperial Vampire Ball transitions to the Danse Macabre
Just a couple of adults in a room in Beijing..
with appreciation to Dr. Karl at karlof1’s Geopolitical Gymnasium.
Today Lavrov finished two days of intensive talks with the Russian delegation’s counterparts in Beijing, intensive because there’s so much to cover in such a short time. Further work will be done by Deputy Ministers between now and the next major meeting that will likely be a Putin/Xi Summit. What follows are two documents, a statement by Wang Yi, “the ‘Five Always’ of China-Russia Relations,” followed by Lavrov’s remarks to the press and short Q&A session:
On April 9, 2024, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister of the Communist Party of China, jointly met with reporters after holding talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Beijing.
Wang Yi said that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia. Over the past three-quarters of a century, China-Russia relations have gone through ups and downs, endured strength, and become increasingly mature, tenacious and deep. The two sides regard each other as priority cooperative partners, uphold the spirit of permanent good-neighborliness, friendship and comprehensive strategic coordination, elevate bilateral relations to the highest level in the history of the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era, and set an example of friendly exchanges and win-win cooperation between major countries and neighboring countries. Looking back on the past and looking forward to the future, in order to further consolidate and develop Sino-Russian relations, we must achieve “five always”:
The two sides should always follow the strategic guidance of the diplomacy of the heads of state. President Xi Jinping and President Putin have grasped and mapped China-Russia relations from the depth of history and the height of the times, and have continuously injected new impetus into the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era. This year, the two heads of state will continue to maintain close exchanges through various means, and the two sides will follow the consensus reached by the two heads of state as the fundamental principle to promote the steady and long-term development of bilateral relations.
The two sides should always adhere to the principle of “non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third party”. China and Russia have gone through ups and downs, and the two sides have summed up historical lessons and found a correct path to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations. Today’s good relations between China and Russia are not easy to come by, and they deserve to be cherished and meticulously safeguarded by both sides.
The two sides must always stick to the right path in the face of major issues of right and wrong. As permanent members of the UN Security Council and major emerging powers, China and Russia should take a clear-cut stand on the side of historical progress and fairness and justice, actively respond to the universal aspirations and legitimate concerns of the people of all countries, advocate that all countries follow a new path of state-to-state exchanges based on dialogue, non-confrontation and partnership, oppose all acts of hegemony and bullying, oppose the Cold War mentality and inciting division and confrontation, and actively promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
The two sides should always pursue win-win results in cooperation. China and Russia will more actively seek the convergence of the interests of the two countries, give full play to their respective advantages, carry out mutually beneficial cooperation, and achieve mutual achievements. China and Russia will continue to focus on the well-being of the two peoples, advocate inclusive economic globalization, jointly oppose unilateralism and protectionism, oppose “building walls and barriers” and “decoupling and breaking chains”, work together to maintain the stability of international industrial and supply chains, and cultivate new drivers for global development and progress.
The two sides should always promote a multipolar world in an equal and orderly manner. Both China and Russia believe that the current world is undergoing great changes and the “Global South” is gaining momentum, and that it is necessary to uphold the equality of all countries, big or small, oppose hegemonism and power politics, oppose the monopoly of international affairs by a few countries, and earnestly promote the democratization of international relations. Both China and Russia support the central position of the United Nations in the global governance system, and the two sides will further strengthen international cooperation. Russia will assume the chairmanship of the BRICS this year, and China will take over the rotating chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this year. The two sides will support each other’s presidency and light up the “South moment” of global governance.
We should all hope that the progress to the “South moment of global governance” isn’t derailed by the Zionist megalomaniacs and their sponsors who through their sponsorship have revealed what they really are and their true values. Now for Lavrov’s statement:
Ladies and gentlemen,
First of all, I would like to once again express my gratitude to my colleague and friend, Foreign Minister Wang Yi of the People’s Republic of China, for the invitation and warm welcome to our delegation.
Yesterday and today, we held detailed and specific talks on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. As Minister Wang Yi has just noted, we paid special attention to the schedule of contacts at the highest level, since the diplomacy of the leaders, without exaggeration, is the central element of the Russian-Chinese comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation. It is thanks to the diplomacy of the leaders (first of all) that bilateral relations have reached an unprecedentedly high level and continue to develop dynamically in a very difficult situation in the world.
As I have already said, the focus was on the schedule of contacts at the highest level, the upcoming meetings of our leaders on the sidelines of various international events, including the BRICS summit in Kazan in October of this year and the SCO summit in Astana in June of this year.
We talked about contacts between the Foreign Ministry. In your presence, we have just signed another plan for inter-ministerial consultations for 2024 and briefly touched upon certain issues of intergovernmental cooperation in practical areas. This set of tasks will be considered in more detail during the upcoming five intergovernmental commissions headed by deputy prime ministers this year in preparation for the next regular meeting of the heads of government.
The issues that we are addressing in the economy, trade, investment, and the introduction of new technologies are directly related to the struggle to establish a just multipolar world order, where there is no place for dictates, hegemony, neocolonial and colonial practices, which are now being used with might and main, by the United States and the rest of the “collective West,” which has unquestioningly submitted to the will of Washington.
China and Russia will continue to advocate the need to rectify this situation in international economic relations, advocate the democratization of these relations and a return to the principles that were once proclaimed and consist in the need to respect market processes, fair competition, the inviolability of property, the presumption of innocence and many other things, which the West is now grossly undermining with its practical steps in imposing illegal sanctions against a number of countries, including Russia. But the same policy is beginning to be actively applied to the People’s Republic of China. In particular, in the desire to limit its opportunities for economic and technological development, or, to put it simply, for the sake of eliminating competitors.
We reviewed the upcoming Russia-China Cross Years of Culture. Their opening is expected in the very near future. We also talked about other areas of humanitarian cooperation, including the preparation of new events, such as the Intervision International Song Contest, the Open Eurasian Film Award and a number of sporting events. Following the Games of the Future held in Kazan in February-March of this year, where Chinese athletes took an active part (a Chinese delegation was sent), the BRICS Sports Games, the Children of Asia Games, and the World Friendship Games will be held. There are many sporting events that, unlike some others, will be based on the very ideals of Olympism that are enshrined in the Olympic Charter and which the current leadership of the International Olympic Committee, to its shame (I hope), despises and tramples on in favor of the same hegemons who are trying to preserve this role of hegemons by hook or by crook.
As dear Minister Wang Yi mentioned, we talked about the upcoming 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. Let me remind you that the Soviet Union was the first to recognise the People’s Republic of China literally the day after its formation and actively cooperated in resolving the issue of restoring the Chinese state. We have agreed to prepare a series of events for this anniversary. We also discussed possible events for the upcoming 80th anniversary of Victory over German Nazism and Japanese militarism next year. The peoples of the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China made a decisive contribution to the defeat of Germany and militarist Japan.
For obvious reasons, we devoted a lot of time to coordinating our actions in the international arena. This coordination is based on a broad convergence of interests and approaches to key international issues. In the light of Russia’s BRICS chairmanship, we focused on the prospects for the further development of this association, taking into account the inclusion of new members, the formation of a new category of partner countries and, in general, the prospects for the summit in Kazan, which will be held in October this year. We will consider the key issues that are being submitted for consideration by our leaders.
We talked about cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, where, following Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China will assume the chairmanship in June of this year. There are good prospects for harmonizing the agendas of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on the development of this vast Eurasian region, on the one hand, and the BRICS programmes, which promote the same ideals and principles at the global level. In fact, it is promoting the interests of the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America at a time when globalization, created according to the model of the West, is degrading and completely discrediting itself.
Of course, we discussed our cooperation at other venues, including the UN, the G20 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Everywhere we have established close, useful and productive ties.
We talked about the current state of affairs around the Ukrainian crisis. We are grateful to our Chinese friends for their objective and balanced position and for their readiness to play a positive role in the political and diplomatic settlement. The well-known “12 points” that China singled out in 2023 clearly formulate the need, firstly, to take into account the root causes of this conflict, and secondly, to seek to eliminate these causes in the efforts to resolve them, primarily in the context of ensuring equal and indivisible security, including in Europe and in the world as a whole.Our Chinese friends clearly state the need to take into account the legitimate concerns of all parties involved, primarily in the field of security. In this context, together with our Chinese colleagues, we confirmed the conclusion that any international events that not only do not take into account Russia’s position, but completely ignore it and promote the absolutely empty, ultimatum “Vladimir Zelensky’s peace formula” and thus are completely detached from any realities.
We talked a lot about the tasks of ensuring security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region against the backdrop of the US policy of creating closed military-political alliances of a narrow size there. They have an openly anti-Chinese and anti-Russian orientation and, among other things, are aimed at breaking the security architecture that has been developing around ASEAN for many decades within the framework of the very formats that this association has proposed to its partners, and which are based on inclusiveness, consensus, mutual respect and the rejection of unilateral actions. All this does not suit the United States and its allies. As I have already said, they are promoting bloc approaches here and declaring the need to introduce the North Atlantic Alliance into this region.
With regard to the situation around Taiwan, which is an inalienable part of China, we are united with Beijing in rejecting any outside interference, since this is an internal affair of the People’s Republic of China. We talked about the situation on the Korean Peninsula. We are interested in peace and stability in this region, as are our Chinese friends.
We discussed in detail the Middle East settlement and what is happening around the Gaza Strip. We also have common positions here, which we defend in the UN Security Council.
In a broader context, we exchanged views on the prospect of forming a new security structure in Eurasia against the backdrop of complete stagnation and self-destruction of Euro-Atlantic mechanisms.
The talks were held in the traditional atmosphere of friendship in Russian-Chinese relations and once again demonstrated the commonality of our countries’ views on the main global processes and our desire to strengthen bilateral ties in the interests of peace and stability in the region and on the planet as a whole. We will continue the dialogue on the basis of the plans that we have just approved in your presence. Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to our Chinese friends.
Question: The “collective West” uses aggressive methods of “dual deterrence” against Russia and China in order to prevent their development and prevent the implementation of sovereign policy. Are you and your Chinese partners considering “double counteraction” retaliatory measures? What are these steps?
Sergey Lavrov: I won’t tell you a big secret – yesterday Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi came up with the formula “double counteraction against dual deterrence.” Our leaders, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, have repeatedly emphasised the determination of Russia and China to resist attempts to slow down the formation of a multipolar world and the long-overdue processes of democratisation and justice that are knocking on the door of the modern world order. The United States and its allies, in an effort to perpetuate their unjust position in the international system, are trying to stop us and the Global South. We remember how our leaders formulated the task of standing “back to back” and “shoulder to shoulder” in the path of attempts to slow down the objective course of history.
My colleague spoke at length about the specific economic problems created by the illegal policy of unilateral sanctions. We will resolve them within the framework of BRICS and the SCO. At a time when the United States and its satellites can at any time bring down stable financing chains, logistics, transport and investment chains, it is time to address the issue of ensuring that all these tasks can be considered and resolved within other structures – the transition to national currencies, talks about the need to create alternative payment platforms, including the decisions taken in this regard within the framework of BRICS. the activities of regional organizations, such as the SCO and CELAC, mentioned today.
The West has proved that the system of functioning of global financial and economic relations that it has created and offered to the rest of the world is unreliable. Because at any moment, while leading and holding the levers of this system in his hands, he can begin to “punish” anyone who disagrees with his neocolonial policy.
These processes are taking place in almost all spheres of public life. This applies to both the economy and security issues. We have a common goal of strengthening security in Eurasia. For a long time, there was a Euro-Atlantic security structure in the form of NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. They are removing themselves from the list of relevant structures within which it is possible to conduct meaningful negotiations and agree on something on the basis of a balance of interests.
The task of forming Eurasian security suggests itself. President Vladimir Putin mentioned this in his address to the Federal Assembly. We have agreed with our Chinese friends to start a dialogue on this issue with the involvement of other like-minded people.
Question: I would like to focus on Ukraine’s drone strikes on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The situation clearly calls for decisive action. What could be the answer?
Sergey Lavrov: As for another terrorist attack by the Ukrainian regime, this time on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Statements were made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, our representative to the IAEA, and our representative to the UN Security Council. We are bringing this issue to special meetings of the IAEA Executive Board and the UN Security Council. We will insist on the need to get a direct assessment of the actions of the Ukrainian regime without any prevarications.
When we agreed to the permanent presence of IAEA experts at the ZNPP, we were guided, among other things, by the need to give an objective assessment of what is happening there, how the plant is managed, and how nuclear and security is ensured. We proceeded from the assumption that such attacks against the largest nuclear power plant in Europe would be recorded. Until now, provocations on the part of the Ukrainian regime, to our great regret, have only caused “regret” and “concern” in the statements of IAEA Director General Robert Grossi and his staff, without stating the obvious – where and by whom the terrorist strikes were prepared and carried out. I think that this time it will not be possible to evade responsibility.
We are interested in cooperation with the IAEA and the UN Secretariat, but we will seek from them an honest recognition of what is happening not only around the ZNPP, but also around Ukraine as a whole.
Until now, international officials’ assessments of all aspects of what is happening around this country and within the framework of the special military operation in response to the hybrid war unleashed against us by the West at the hands of Ukrainians have been, to put it mildly, one-sided. This position needs to be corrected. Regrettably, it reflects the situation when the secretariats of many intergovernmental and interstate organizations are becoming subordinate to the West and oversaturated with employees of Western countries to the detriment of the equitable geographical representation of the world’s majority countries. This issue was raised last year. We will actively promote the reform of this system. [My Emphasis]
What we’re seeing in too many areas is the increasing “privatization” [Lavrov’s term] of the UN that continues despite major Global South resistance. Do note Lavrov’s language use: “My colleague spoke at length about the specific economic problems created by the illegal policy of unilateral sanctions. We will resolve them within the framework of BRICS and the SCO.” That informs us about the current focus of work being done at those two organizations. The other key initiative is Global Security and how the members of such a structure are to be treated equally regardless of size, while no one nation of group of nations will act as hegemons. As I’ve written before, to make such a structure reality means two Blocs will be formed as it cannot be avoided due to the clear resistance shown by the Outlaw US Empire, its vassals, and their hegemonic structures—NATO, etc. This would appear to go against the need to move beyond the “Cold War Mentality,” of Bloc confrontation, but reality dictates its inevitability. IMO, over time realistic geoeconomic forces will cause the NATO/EU hegemonic structures to fracture and eventually dissolve. Yes, that will take time, and I see no way of its avoidance. IMO, the Global Majority’s peoples have learned to be patient as through their trials and struggles to defeat colonialism, which isn’t quite finished although the term Neocolonialism’s now being used; the reality is it’s that same old deal using somewhat newer tools.
As I alluded to above, the great danger currently comes from the megalomaniac Zionist peoples in West Asia as they’re clearly out-of-control. Somehow that conflict must be solved and the megalomaniac peoples neutralized so they no longer pose a threat to Humanity. I wish Lavrov or Yi had elaborated more on their discussions of that crisis, but all we’re told is they share the same position, although that position must have changed with the further gross violation of international law by the Genocidalists.
≈≈≈
The adults in the room.
Will engage together on Eurasian security.
Will go for “dual opposition” to the West’s “dual deterrence”.
Will be countering attempts to “slow down the natural course of history”.
Putin and Xi will hold at least two bilaterals in 2024.
At the SCO summit in June and the BRICS summit in October.
The dogs of Forever Wars bark while the Eurasian caravan marches on.
US Ambassador April Glaspie with Saddam Hussein, 1990: ‘[W]e have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait…’
Israel is provoking an expanded regional war that it cannot win
By Abdel Bari Atwan at Rai Al Youm.
When and how will Iran retaliate?
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a man of few words. When he publicly threatens a harsh response to Israel’s attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus — which killed seven people including senior Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) commanders — that means retaliation is impending.
The question is whether it will be immediate or postponed for few days; and, also, if it will be carried out directly by the IRGC or by its paramilitary allies in South Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen, or both.
If there’s a war, there is no need for the element of surprise, and it may be militarily or politically unwise to defer it. The decision to retaliate was already taken by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council at an emergency meeting convened immediately after news broke of the airstrike on the consulate, according to a source close to the council. This could entail launching hundreds or thousands of missiles at Israeli targets, and even striking Israeli diplomatic missions in the Gulf region or elsewhere.
The demonstrations held by thousands of Iranians in Tehran to condemn the Israeli attack were different to previous rallies held in support of Gaza. This time, demonstrators criticised their own political leaders for their failure to respond firmly and directly to a succession of earlier Israeli assassinations and attacks, and demanded they retaliate decisively this time. Iranian leaders are bound to take account of this growing frustration with their policy of ‘strategic patience’.
Allied resistance groups are likely to play a role in this retaliation. Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah has said retaliation is certainly coming. Abu Ali al-Askari of Iraq’s Kataeb Hezbollah spoke of thousands of armed fighters prepared to cross from Jordan into occupied Palestinian to join the struggle there. As for the Yemenis, they have no need for a call-to-arms. They began their battle against Israeli-linked shipping — and then the US navy — in support of Gaza months ago.
The reference to Jordan was significant. Some weeks ago, tens of thousands of Iraqi Hashd ash-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) members rallied at the Iraqi-Jordanian border and chanted calls for it to be opened so they could reach Palestine and fight in defence of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In the event of an expanded war, US military bases in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and the Gulf region could also be targeted. Washington had reached secret understandings with Tehran not to expand the Gaza war into a regional one. But it did not live up to its side and failed to restrain its Israeli ally. By carrying out a succession of deliberately provocative attacks against Iranian targets, and further escalating the genocidal war against civilians in Gaza, Netanyahu belittled and humiliated Biden, and demonstrated that it is he who calls the shots in the White House.
If the Iranian state join the prospective war directly alongside its Lebanese, Iraqi, and Yemeni allies, I expect that the Syrian army will do to. Shortly after the al-Aqsa Flood operation, the Iranian foreign minister visited Damascus to sound the Syrian president out about the need to join the war on all fronts in support of the Palestinian resistance. According to high-level Syrian sources, President Bashar al-Asad replied: “Syria is a state, not a front. If the Iranian state enters into this war, we will be by its side, without hesitation.”
Iran is a regional superpower with a huge arsenal of missiles, drones, and submarines. It has been a nuclear breakout state for three years and may have already manufactured nuclear weapons. If it enters a war that Israel forced on it by attacking its consulate — a blatant violation of its sovereignty — it may prove to be the region’s last war, and the beginning of the end of the Zionist occupation state in its current form.
It would probably be a rolling conflict, starting with a limited retaliation and escalating into all-out war. The occupation state has been reopening public shelters. Its settlers have been stocking up on food and cash. The military has been placed on alert, air defence reservists have been called up, and home leave for combat units cancelled. Its current leaders want a war and are preparing for one.
But it is a war it cannot win. It failed, despite the full backing of the US, to overcome the resistance fighters of the miniscule and vulnerable Gaza Strip after six months of merciless bombardment. Can it withstand a war against the Axis of Resistance led by Iran?
A sweet & succinct debunking of perennial Anglo-Zionist wetdream meme of the “irreplaceability of Russian/Iranian generals” — as rationale for engaging in self-defeating terrorism against potent civilizational-states. Meanwhile, the latter remain focused and busy burying the sinking Legion.
by Julian Macfarlane at News Forensics
Ritter? Wrong?
When experience and training trip you up
I read Scott Ritter a lot and regard him as an intelligent and well-informed reporter of events. On occasion, however, his analyses are somewhat lacking – not that my own aren’t also.
Most recently, he was interviewed by Danny Haiphong about the Israel strike on the Iranian embassy— as well as the WCK humanitarian convoy atrocity.
In the interview, Ritter “puts on his military hat” to say that Israel has dealt Iran a crushing blow by assassinating the Quds team in Damascus, coordinating Iranian military assistance to Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Hamas. This team was led by Gen. Zahedi— who Ritter notes has had 20 years of experience in the region— according to him, drinking tea with everyone who matters. These people, he says, are irreplaceable.
He also says that the Americans must have known the Israelis would be hitting the WCK food aid workers. That the Americans and the Israelis— well, share more than just pizzas, as he used to do with Israeli intelligence colleagues.
The US and Israeli militaries are highly integrated, he suggests.
What’s wrong with this analysis?
What’s wrong with it is Ritter’s “military hat”—which is old issue and worse for the wear.
Ritter joined the military as a private in 1980 and was commissioned as an officer in 1984 eventually becoming the Marine Corps Rapid Deployment Force lead analyst for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iran–Iraq War. He worked as a weapons inspector for the United Nations Special Commission from 1991 to 1998.
So, he has both training and experience.
But sometimes training and even experience gets in the way of accurate assessment. Things change – especially in war. And suddenly what you thought was the case just isn’t anymore.
This has been shown to be the case especially in Ritter’s strategic analysis of the war in Ukraine. He thinks as American military people do— his perceptions shaped by military doctrine passed down as truth over the years. Keep in mind his experience is more than 30 years old. Putting on that “military hat” invites trouble.
The American military is an authoritarian top-down system with great emphasis on seniority rather than competence. If Lloyd Austin were assassinated, things might actually improve with the US military! But he will be protected at all costs. And keep on doing stupid stuff.
In other countries, military leadership is different. Russia has lost a lot of generals who are expected to lead from the front, exposing themselves to risk – something that does not happen with Western militaries.
When a Russian general is killed, he is replaced by either his second-in-command which is often an improvement because these people are used to handling the details of command rather than executing policy as it’s handed down from above—or a younger commander who may not have years but has demonstrated real ability. The leadership in either case often turns out to be pragmatic, practicable, and innovative.
Ritter is wrong about the Iranian generals being “irreplaceable”.
Command will shift to capable leaders who may not have been drinking tea with Hezbollah leaders for 20 years—but are knowledgeable, flexible and motivated— and can cooperate tactically and think strategically. That’s what the Quds Force is all about.
The Americans may be sending the Israelis long-range F-15 fighters to threaten Iran —but these aircraft cannot change the military balance in a conventional war between Iran and Israel, given Iran’s rapidly developing air defense system and its strategic position.
It’s a bit like sending F-16s to Ukraine. Good for the US defense industry – but nothing else.
In a worst-case scenario, the Iranians will close down Persian Gulf—which could precipitate an economic crisis that would sink the American economy already dog paddling frantically.
As I said before, Israel is surrounded. Its economy is already tanking and it’s managing its two-front war with Hamas and Hezbollah very badly.
So far, the Russians do not use their air defense systems – such as the S 400 – in Syria except to protect their own bases. But their attitudes towards the Israelis are hardening— as we can see with the new treaty between Russia and Iran. The Russians can use proxies, too.
Sorry Scott – this aint 1995.
The advent of the Zircon missile means the end of American naval supremacy. If push came to shove, the Americans could leaves every one of their aircraft carriers on the high seas– within hours. Billions of dollars gone and thousands of lives lost. The capability of Chinese long-range hypersonic missiles has always been questioned but the Zircon has demonstrated efficacy. Apart from its warhead, it delivers a 2000 kg punch with kinetic energy alone! And it cannot be intercepted.
My criticism of Ritter should in no way diminish his excellent work in other areas and his huge contributions. Nor should it be taken as denying that the US and Israel are not bedmates—they do cooperate where their needs and interests will align.
They have been married a long time – but that doesn’t mean they can’t be divorced.
I am quite sure that Israel forewarned the US that it was conducting a strike on “Hezbollah assets”in Syria – which usually means the Quds force.
I’m equally sure that they did not tell the US they were attacking an embassy.
Now, the US is in the unenviable position of not only defending genocide but violations of international law which will put its own international missions at risk. No US Embassy, no Israeli Embassy is now safe.
As for the attack on the humanitarian convoy, Larry Johnson has the best take on that! It’s obvious that Israeli commanders knew what they were doing. It is also unlikely that they shared this information with the US – any more than they would share information on other atrocities.
As I and many others have pointed out, the faux mea culpa of Israel rings quite hollow because this kind of criminal behavior has been a Standard Operating Procedure of Israel since the start of hostilities on October 7. The following video is quite good. Looks like some key Brits are now pissed off enough that they will pressure the Rishi Sunak’s Government to cut off aid to Israel.
The US will keep on doing what it’s doing – or rather what is not doing. Because it really doesn’t allow itself any options. The Israelis will keep on doubling down on stupid.
The Axis of Resistance will continue doing what it’s doing. But with an up side.
Yes, a lot of Palestinians are dying and things may get worse before they get better. But Palestinians have been dying since 1948. They have nothing to lose – and everything to gain through resistance. At some point, the international community will step in and there will be elections in Palestine – which will confirm the will of the Palestinian people 20 years ago – that Hamas is the rightful government.
Israel is by definition a rogue state—determined not to abide by the UN’s 1967 resolutions. But, by the time Palestine achieves statehood – which appears inevitable – it will also be a failed state.
Maybe the US will give Israel Rhode Island.
Le siège de l’OTAN à Bruxelles a célébré jeudi le 75e anniversaire de l’alliance. Le secrétaire général de l’OTAN, Jens
L’article L’OTAN fête ses 75 ans est apparu en premier sur STRATPOL.
It’s about hiding planned years-long Genocide in Gaza. The current war against Tik-Tok has nothing to do with the US or Americans. It is the Jews who want Tik-Tok either dead or under their control.
By Larry Romanoff at Blue Moon of Shanghai.
I will explain, but first let me back up a step.In 2023, there was a first war launched against Tik-Tok, and that war was American. The reason was simple:China was eating America’s lunch, and the Americans were infuriated. The French news site Le Monde published an interesting article titled, How Chinese apps have conquered the planet, [1] noting that “three of the four most downloaded apps on Android phones in the US are Chinese”, with Tik-Tok having more than 170 million Americans logged onto it. That is more than 50% of all Americans, and of course this made the Americans crazy.
It’s bad enough that China’s EV cars are flooding the world while the Americans can’t seem to build one, that China has engineered and repeatedly tested hypersonic missiles while the American hapless versions keep exploding.It’s bad enough that Huawei can suddenly make its own high-powered chips without copying American technology, that China has mastered the basics of quantum computing while the Americans fail, that China leads the world in solar energy, that DJI has taken over the world for small drones, and so many other cutting-edge technologies, but now all of America is running to a cute Chinese video app.
This was the last straw. The American government was livid. No “fourth-rate country” like China could be permitted to challenge the Americans who are #1 in the Universe for everything, so something had to be done. The result was the first Tik-Tok war, and the push to make ByteDance sell it to an American. Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post told us, “America’s foremost adversary has no business controlling a dominant media platform in the United States”. [2] That attempt failed and, although supported by a lot of media hype, eventually the matter was dropped because forcing a sale of a foreign company for no reason, was legally complicated.
But then we had the war between the Arabs and the Jews in Palestine, and everything changed. The reason is that the Jews were committing the most horrid and inhuman crimes against the Palestinian people and they didn’t want the world to know. You will have read much of this in your local media, but there is much more that hasn’t reached it.
For one thing, the Jews bombed all the hospitals in Palestine to rubble, and prohibited any medical supplies or staff from reaching the wounded. During the Vietnam war, Jews at the RAND Corporation advised the US military that American soldiers should not shoot to kill, but should shoot Vietnamese in the abdomen or the bowels so as to strain the enemy’s medical resources. This does the greatest damage to an enemy; dead bodies are relatively easy to dispose of, but millions of severely wounded will place such a strain on the nation that society itself will collapse. The Jews (or their US puppet-military) did the same in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, and other nations, and they are following the same pattern for Gaza.
Sidebar —
Middle East Eye: “Former Israel general says ‘severe epidemics’ in Gaza would help Israel win the war”
WSWS: ““Slow death”: Israel weaponizes disease in the Gaza genocide“
One result was that hundreds of small children who had been severely injured and required amputation of one or more of their limbs,had to undergo those amputations without anesthetic because the Jews destroyed all the medical supplies and wouldn’t permit any to be delivered. Dr Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, said, “I’ve never seen so many amputees in my life, including among children.” [3] [4] [5] [6]. There is much more, even more horrid, that is well-documented but that hasn’t reached your media.
To ensure that these atrocities would never reach the world’s people, the Jews began killing all the journalists, not only the Palestinians but all foreign journalists as well. The UK Guardian told us “Almost 100 journalists killed and 400 imprisoned in 2023 alone”, [7] and it’s become worse in 2024. And of course, Jews own or control virtually all of the Western mass media, and also in much else of the world, and they also control Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and others, so there was an effective “news embargo” on what was really happening in Palestine and especially in Gaza.
But then along came Tik-Tok. And not only journalists but Palestinian and other foreign citizens were able to film many of the Jews’ atrocities and post them for the entire world to see. Tik-Tok hasbypassed the Jewish-owned mass media and brought much of this immense tragedy to the attention of the whole world, and that is the reason for the new intense war against Tik-Tok.
Palestinian and foreign reporters posted photos and videos of the atrocities committed by the Jews in Gaza, and people from all around the world picked them up and re-posted them on Tik-Tok. So, there was no way to hide what was happening.
The Wall Street Journal began this with an article titled, How TikTok Brings War Home to Your Child. [8] The Jewish Forward was there with, Young Americans are turning against Israel — and you can thank TikTok. New analyses show that pro-Palestinian content dwarfs all others on the app, and China is likely making it worse. [9] The Jewish Chronicle told us, How TikTok is turning young minds against Israel and the West. Older people have little conception of the influence of the platform – and through it the toxic Chinese Communist Party – on a younger generation. [10] The Jewish Forward asked, How fast does TikTok send users down the antisemitic rabbit hole? A new report out today from the National Contagion Research Institute, which studies the spread of online hate, reveals substantial evidence that content on TikTok is “promoted or muted” depending on “whether it is aligned or opposed to the interests of the Chinese government.” [11]
House set to vote on bill that could trigger TikTok ban, with support from major Jewish group.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency published an article saying “(US) House set to vote on bill that could trigger TikTok ban, with support from major Jewish group.” [12] The Times of Israel tells us, “Major US Jewish group backs bipartisan bill that could see TikTok banned.” The Jewish Federations of North America says it supports the proposed law due to concerns of antisemitism proliferating on the platform. [13] And it isn’t that Jewish groups in the US are “supporting” the ban against Tik-Tok; they are leading the charge. A Florida Congresswoman blamed the Israel lobby for the vote to ban TikTok. “This is AIPAC at work”, she said. [14] This is partly what is responsible for the recent flood of retaliatory accusations against China for “human rights violations”; it is all coming from the same source: the Jews. [15] China has been prominent among all the nations in the world in calling for a cease-fire in Palestine and the creation of a real Palestinian state – and that makes China a bitter enemy of Israel and the Jews because they will never permit such a thing to happen. All their plans for a World Government controlled by the Jews would be destroyed if Palestine becomes a state.
And where is this leading? You should already have guessed. The Jews want to force ByteDance to sell Tik-Tok to an American, but who is the “American” who is planning to buy it? Not an American, but a Jew, Steven Mnuchin. [16] He says, since he cannot tell the truth, that a platform like Tik-Tok “should belong to an American”, not to a Chinese. [17][18]
And that’s the whole story.
*
Mr. Romanoff’s writing has been translated into 32 languages and his articles posted on more than 150 foreign-language news and politics websites in more than 30 countries, as well as more than 100 English language platforms. Larry Romanoff is a retired management consultant and businessman. He has held senior executive positions in international consulting firms, and owned an international import-export business. He has been a visiting professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University, presenting case studies in international affairs to senior EMBA classes. Mr. Romanoff lives in Shanghai and is currently writing a series of ten books generally related to China and the West. He is one of the contributing authors to Cynthia McKinney’s new anthology ‘When China Sneezes’. (Chapt. 2 — Dealing with Demons).
His full archive can be seen at
https://www.bluemoonofshanghai.com/ and https://www.moonofshanghai.com/
He can be contacted at:
2186604556@qq.com
*
NOTES
[1] How Chinese apps have conquered the planet
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2024/03/15/how-chinese-apps-have-conquered-the-planet_6620317_19.html
[2] TikTok told to break with China’s Communist Party or lose access to US users
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3254303/us-lawmakers-seek-force-chinas-bytedance-divest-tiktok-or-face-ban
[3] ‘Never seen so many amputees in my life’
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/9/israel-war-on-gaza-blinken-arrives-in-israel-as-fighting-continues?update=2606470
[4] As a Gazan doctor, I’m having to amputate children’s legs without anaesthetic
[5] “Absolutely Unimaginable”: Children in Gaza Face Amputations Without Anesthesia
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/12/28/palestinian_children_gaza
[6] A kitchen table amputation without anesthetic in Gaza is one of many
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/20/gaza-healthcare-crisis-amputation-anesthesia/
[7] Almost 100 journalists killed and 400 imprisoned in 2023
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/dec/08/journalists-killed-imprisoned-2023-ifj
[8] How TikTok Brings War Home to Your Child
https://www.wsj.com/tech/tiktok-israel-gaza-hamas-war-a5dfa0ee
[9] Young Americans are turning against Israel — and you can thank TikTok
https://forward.com/opinion/574346/freepalestine-tiktok-israel-china/
[10] How TikTok is turning young minds against Israel and the West
https://www.thejc.com/lets-talk/analysis/how-tiktok-is-turning-young-minds-against-israel-and-the-west-q21dxrb3
[11] How fast does TikTok send users down the antisemitic rabbit hole?https://forward.com/culture/577326/tiktok-antisemitic-hate-speech-rabbit-hole-experiment/
[12] (US) House set to vote on bill that could trigger TikTok ban, with support from major Jewish group
[13] Major US Jewish group backs bipartisan bill that could see TikTok banned
https://www.timesofisrael.com/major-us-jewish-group-backs-bipartisan-bill-that-could-see-tiktok-banned/
[14] Florida congresswoman blames Israel lobby for Democrat vote to ban TikTok. ‘This is Aipac at work,’ wrote Keith
https://www.thejc.com/news/usa/florida-congresswoman-blames-israel-lobby-for-democrat-vote-to-ban-tiktok-lbek8s6l
[15] Commentary: Israel’s bizarre human rights accusations
http://en.people.cn/n3/2024/0125/c90000-20126634.html
[16] Steven Mnuchin Says He Is Putting Together a Group to Buy TikTok
https://www.wsj.com/tech/steven-mnuchin-says-he-is-putting-together-a-group-to-buy-tiktok-3aac4a33
[17] Ex-US treasury secretary Mnuchin says he’s putting together investors to buy TikTok
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-us-treasury-secretary-mnuchin-says-hes-putting-together-investors-to-buy-tiktok/
[18] As TikTok faces possible U.S. ban, former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin looks to buy the company
https://nationalpost.com/news/world/steve-mnuchin-looks-to-buy-tiktok
Garland Nixon interviews Laith Marouf — West Asia update: ISRAEL ATTACKS IRANIAN CONSULATE – RUSSIA FURIOUS
wide ranging talk includes:
Anglo-Zionist terrorism on sovereign diplomatic territory of Iran in Damascus
— use of F-35 and weaponry just delivered by the US to attack Iran [a double provocation, carrying imprimatur of Anglo-Americans]
— the calculated savagery in holy time, at time of breaking fast, among top military cadre of Iran in a protected establishment [the banner photo on right is of the martyred General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, assassinated yesterday in Damascus, with future Leader Ayatollah Khamenei during Iran-Iraq war frontline in the 1980s. This was the highest ranking general killed since Soleimani, and a personal friend of Khamenei]
— Iran directly blames the USA
— Israel admitted they obtained permission from USA for the terrorism (!!)
— Likely retaliation at either Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan or Jordan [this is debatable. I disagree. If so, Jordan, to speed along the fall of its odious regime, would be more likely. No need to stir up the gung-ho Azeris tied at the hip to the Sultan in the fragile Transcaucasia as well]
Jordan is tottering and not for long in current condition and regime; Iraq is mobilizing Jordanian Resistance with arms for initial 12,000 cadre as well as severing the “Abraham Accords” land bridge running through the kept GCC concubines
Israel has lost the battles in both Gaza and Lebanon; all this is a provocation to draw in USA, directly against Iran. They are losing the attrition war and are on precipice of Collapse. Lunatics count on dramatic war expansion to the entire region, involving the equally sinking USUK, to save them
Zionism will be conclusively defeated, having already morally defeated itself. A global civilizational siege is on
The occupied Golan height is a front that has been shaped by Hezbollah, Iraqis and Syrian resistances. They degraded much of the installations and hardened military sites. In major upcoming war expansion, these critical height will be an objective, and to deny Israel its tremendous water resources.
Iraqis, like Yemenis, have upgraded missiles and drones which now overcome Jordanian, US, and Israeli air defenses, hitting the most sensitive sites in occupied Palestine with pinpoint precision! The building of the naval commander in Eilat was struck a night ago..
Zionists appear to hit targets in civilian areas within Lebanon due to lack of up-to-date knowledge. Some are Hezbollah offices abandoned since 2006! They just lash out for the optical value, and to harm civilians, focusing on first responders and civil defense teams, due to the usual viciousness
ISIS, Zionists, UkroNazis — rabid imperial tools, are thoroughly exposed, and condemn their USUK patron
ISIS in Syria is on last legs — why Idleb largely ignored, to focus on Damascus and major population centers; and for depleted Syria to regain strength. Russia is also busy on so many other fronts, chiefly 404 but also Sahel, Transcaucasia, Asia-Pacific, etc..
Erdogan: punished at local elections due to anger over his two-faced Palestine policy, which no longer fools Turks…
the sheer satanism of Al Shifa Hospital
the purposeful targeting of medical and humanitarian aid (food delivery) workers in Gaza
the shelf life of the Zionist project: sayonara! Put a fork in the bastards
the future consolidation of region around Greater Syria — with the end of the zionist project, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Palestine (and northern KSA) will disappear to return into the historic Greater Syria of the Holy Land, connectivity center of the Afro-Asian World Island.
the moral midget Little Blinkie returns to Saudi today to push them to normalize with the Zionists (!) And zionazi-controlled western media also is pushing Saudi normalization with Zionists. Unbelievable. You can’t fix Stupid
The West is fatally sucked into West Asia — as its last gasp and energy is fully devoted to zionism– other regions such as the Sahel, 404, slip through the dripping claws…
the contraction of Empire began at Syria, with the loss of that war during [official] Obama days
the loss of Israel will mean the loss of this Empire’s crown jewels, as with the Brits losing India.. a retreat across the Pond..
China is an active member of the Axes of Resistance — backstopping Russia, Iran, the Sahel, and others through its hefty wallets and protecting them from vicious imperial sanctions tool. There is a Global-Resistance. The two major civilizational states built up Iran, Yemen, other middlings to serve as firebreaks of Armageddon. The delusional Empire will exhaust and shatter itself long before it can get to a direct contest..
within the next two weeks, the messianic madmen will try to engineer Armageddon through ritual sacrificing of a Texan GMO red heifer, demolishing the Al Aqsa Mosque and turbo-charging a contrived civilizational war
mankind will come to appreciate and thank the 1.5+ century anti-imperialist sacrifice of the Palestinian nation. Being part of Greater Syria, they were simply the rock that could not be budged from the middle of the road
The Axis of Resistance in the Sahel is a multipolar counterpart of the Axis of Resistance in West Asia. Everyone needs to keep the focus on Resistance across the spectrum. A long and winding road – but we will prevail.
By Pepe Escobar at The Cradle.
The African Sahel is revolting against western neocolonialism – ejecting foreign troops and bases, devising alternative currencies, and challenging the old multinationals. Multipolarity, after all, cannot flower without resistance paving its path.
The emergence of Axes of Resistance in various geographies is an inextricable byproduct of the long and winding process leading us toward a multipolar world. These two things – resistance to the Hegemon and the emergence of multipolarity – are absolutely complementary.
The Axis of Resistance in West Asia – across Arab and Muslim states – now finds as its soul sister the Axis of Resistance spanning the Sahel in Africa, west to east, from Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger to Chad, Sudan, and Eritrea.
African Sahel states
Unlike Niger, where the change in power against neocolonialism was associated with a military coup, in Senegal, the power change comes straight from the polls.
Senegal plunged itself into a new era with the landslide victory of Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 44, in nationwide elections on 24 March. A former tax inspector who had just spent a fortnight stint in jail, Faye emerged with the profile of an underdog pan-African leader to turn the ‘most stable democracy in Africa,’ under French puppet incumbent Macky Sall, upside down.
The incoming Senegalese president now joins Ibrahim Traore, 36, in Burkina Faso, Aby Ahmed, 46, in Ethiopia, Andry Rajoelina, 48, in Madagascar, as well as future superstar Julius Malema, 44, in South Africa as part of the new, young pan-African generation focused on sovereignty. In his election manifesto, Faye pledged to reclaim Senegal’s sovereignty no less than eighteen times.
Geoeconomics is key to these shifts. As Senegal becomes a substantial oil and gas producer, Faye will aim to renegotiate mining and energy contracts, including the largest ones with British Petroleum (BP) and UK gold mine operator, Endeavor Mining.
Crucially, he plans to ditch the exploitative CFA franc – the French-controlled currency system used in 14 African states – even setting up a new currency as part of reshaping relations with neocolonial power France, Senegal’s top trading partner. Faye, echoing Comrade Xi Jinping, wants a “win-win” partnership.
(L): Niger’s military ruler General Abdourahamane Tchiani with Malian counterpart Colonel Assimi Goita, Bamako, Mali; (R): Niger’s Tchiani with Burkinabè counterpart Captain Ibrahim Traoré, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; November 23-24, 2023.
Enter the Alliance of the Sahel States
Faye has not yet been clear on whether he intends to kick the French military out of Senegal. Were that to happen, the blow to Paris would be unprecedented, as embattled Petit Roi Emmanuel Macron and the French establishment consider Senegal the key player when it comes to blockading landlocked Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, which have already left Paris in the (Sahel) dust.
The three latter states, which have just formed an Alliance of the Sahel States (Alliance des Etats du Sahel, AES, in the original French), are not only a major Paris nightmare after serial humiliations but also a big American headache – epitomized in the spectacular breakdown of military cooperation between Washington and Nigerien capital Niamey.
The culprit, according to the US Deep State, is, of course, Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Obviously, no one in the US Beltway has been paying due attention to the Russia–Africa diplomatic flurry since last year, involving all key players from the Sahel to the new African BRICS members Egypt and Ethiopia.
In sharp contrast to its prior regard of Niger as a staunch ally in the Sahel, Washington is now forced to present a calendar date to get its troops out of Niger – after a military cooperation deal was annulled. The Pentagon cannot be involved in military training in Nigerien territory anymore.
There are two key bases – in Agadez and Niamey – which the Pentagon spent over $150 million to build. Niamey was finished only in 2019 and is managed by the US military’s African Command, AFRICOM.
Operational objectives are, predictably, shrouded in mystery. The Niamey base is essentially an intel center, processing data collected by MQ-9 Reaper drones. The US Air Force also uses the Dirkou Aerodrome as a base for operations in the Sahel.
Now things get really exciting, because the presence of a de facto CIA drone base in Dirkou, manned by a handful of operatives, is not even acknowledged. This dark base allows intel collection everywhere in Central Africa, from west to north. Call it another classic example of former CIA director Mike Pompeo’s “We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal.”
There are roughly 1,000 US troops in Niger who may soon face ejection. The Americans are trying everything to stem the bleeding. Only this month, US Undersecretary of State for Africa Molly Phee visited Niger twice. Losing bases in Niger will translate into Washington following Paris in losing control of the Sahel – as Niger gets closer to Russia and Iran.
These bases are not essential to exercise surveillance over the Bab al-Mandeb; it’s all about the Sahel, with drones operating on their limit and violating every sovereign air space in sight.
Incidentally, a hefty delegation from Niamey visited Moscow in January. Then, last week, Putin discussed security cooperation in phone calls with Mali’s interim President, Assimi Goita, and Niger’s military junta President Abdourahmane Tchiani before talking to the Republic of Congo’s President Denis Nguesso.
(L): VVP with Burkinabè interim leader Traoré, St. Petersburg, July 2023; (R): Russian Deputy PM Alexey Overchuk with Nigerien PM Ali Lamine Zein, Moscow, January 2024.
Ivory Coast: The Empire turn-around
Pro-west puppet regimes are dwindling fast all across the African continent. The Alliance of the Sahel States – Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger – may be the vanguard of an African Axis of Resistance, but there’s more, in the form of South Africa, Ethiopia, and Egypt as full BRICS members – not to mention serious candidates for the next wave of BRICS+, such as Algeria and Nigeria.
Russia, diplomatically, and China, commercially, plus the full weight of the Russia–China strategic partnership, are clearly focused on the long game – counting on Africa as a whole as a key multipolar player. Additional evidence was provided once again during the multipolar conference last month in Moscow, where charismatic pan-African leader Kemi Seba from Benin was one of the superstars.
Pan-Eurasian diplomatic circles even allow themselves to joke about the recent hissy fits by Le Petit Roi in Paris. The utter humiliation of France in the Sahel is likely one of the drivers of Macron’s chest-thumping threats to send French troops to Ukraine – who would be turned into steak tartare by the Russians in record time – and his eagerness to support Armenia’s current Russophobic stunts.
Historically, the fact remains, that Africans considered the former USSR much more pliable and even supportive when it came to siphoning natural resources; that goodwill has now also been transferred to China.
As a regional integration platform, the Alliance of the Sahel States has everything it takes to become a game-changer. Senegal under Faye may eventually join, but Guinea already offers the geographical capacity to provide the alliance with credible maritime access. That will lead to the progressive extinction of the western-controlled, Nigeria-based ECOWAS.
Yet, never dismiss the Hegemon’s mighty tentacles. The Pentagon master plan does not entail abandoning Africa to a multipolar Russia–China–Iran sphere of influence. Yet no one across the Sahel’s Axis of Resistance buys the US ‘terror threat’ card anymore. There was virtually zero terror in Africa until 2011, when NATO turned Libya into a wasteland, then put boots on the ground and erected military bases across the continent.
So far, the Alliance of the Sahel States is winning the sovereignty-first information war, hands-down. But there’s no question the Empire will strike back. After all, the whole game is tied to the Beltway’s supreme paranoia of Russia taking over the Sahel and Central Africa.
Enter the Ivory Coast, now that Senegal may be about to start flirting with the Alliance of the Sahel States.
Ivory Coast is more strategic to Washington than, for instance, Chad because Ivorian territory is very close to the Sahel alliance. Still, Chad has already recalibrated its foreign policy, which is no longer Western-controlled and comes with a new emphasis on getting closer to Moscow.
What lies ahead for Empire? Perhaps US ‘anti-terror’ drones shared with Paris at the French base in the Ivory Coast to keep the Sahel alliance in check. Call it the humiliated Gallic rooster embracing the Hegemon in West Africa without receiving even the crumbs of a stale croissant.
Terror Attack on Moscow & Why the US Stands as the Prime Suspect
US use of terrorism to advance foreign policy objectives is based on decades of evidence and includes support for militants in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union, Chechen separatists inside Russia in the 1990s and 2000s, and Al Qaeda and ISIS in Syria against Syrian, Iranian, and Russian forces;
More recently, US foreign policymakers have laid out plans to use listed terrorist organizations as proxies to carry out attacks in targeted nations like Iran and Pakistan;
Ukraine has already carried out an extensive terror campaign aimed at Russian civilians deep within Russian territory including in Belgorod, St. Petersburg, and Moscow;
US media admits collaboration between US intelligence and Ukrainian intelligence from 2014 onward while also admitting Ukraine has carried out a number of attacks on civilians inside Russia including Darya Dugina and Vladen Tatarsky;
US media also admits that despite the US claiming to have warned Russia of an impending terrorist attack, information was withheld due to the “adversarial relationship” between the US and Russia;
Leading up to the deadly Moscow attack, US foreign policymakers had repeatedly stated the need to make ordinary Russians “feel the pinch” of the conflict;
References:
NYT – Why Russia’s Vast Security Services Fell Short on Deadly Attack (March 28, 2024)
RAND Corporation – Extending Russia (2019)
The New Yorker – The Redirection, by Seymour Hersh (2007)
NYT – C.I.A. Said to Aid in Steering Arms to Syrian Opposition (2012)
NYT – Arms Airlift to Syria Rebels Expands, With Aid From C.I.A. (March 2013)
Washington Post – ‘Al-Qaeda is eating us’: Syrian rebels are losing out to extremists (2017)
BBC – Islamic State and the crisis in Iraq and Syria in maps (2018)
Brookings Institution – Which Path to Persia? (2009)
BBC – US removes Iran group MEK from terror list (2012)
Foreign Policy – Two Cheers for Syrian Islamists (2012)
Russia Matters – Claim (in 2004, 2015 and 2017): The U.S. government supported Chechen separatism
RFE/RL – Chechen Separatist Fighters Defend Ukraine Against ‘Common Enemy’ Russia (November 2022)
NY Times – Why Russia’s Vast Security Services Fell Short on Deadly Attack (March 28, 2024)
NYT – U.S. Believes Ukrainians Were Behind an Assassination in Russia (October 2022)
NYT – The Spy War: How the C.I.A. Secretly Helps Ukraine Fight Putin (February 2024)
Where to Find My Work:
The Patriotic War of 1812 ended with the expulsion of the invaders from Russia (Napoleon’s army apart from its French troops also included units from all across continental Europe) and served as a prologue to the so-called Big European War of 1812-1815 with the capture of Paris by the Russian army on March 31, 1814, as one of its major highlights.
This campaign came to be known among Russian historians as the Foreign Campaigns of the Russian Army. Together with its allied armies, namely Prussia, Austria, Sweden, and Great Britain, Russia liberated European countries from the French oppression.
When the Russian Army entered France in December 1813, Emperor Alexander I issued an order. Here’s a quote from it:
“Warriors! You have already saved your Motherland and brought it glory, and enabled Europe to recover its liberty and independence. Crowning this feat with the much-desired peace is all that remains.”
With Paris seized by the Russians, Napoleon abdicated in Fontainebleau on April 6 under pressure from his marshals, and was exiled to the Island of Elba off the Italian coast.
Russia played an instrumental role in France’s remaining within its pre-war borders, and took French cities under its protection by preventing Prussian and Austrian troops from pillaging them. Following Alexander I’s orders, the Russian troops also ensured that the collections of the Louvre and other French museums, as well as historical monuments, remained intact.
On June 9, 1815, a new European security architecture was established a the Vienna Congress, which became one of the main outcomes of Russia’s Foreign Campaigns.
“We honour the memory of our heroic ancestors, finding strength and inspiration in their valorous deeds. We’d like to advise the contemporary Western leaders and the emerging “Napoleons” who once again harbour intentions of sending troops eastward to remember the lessons of history”
From Maria Zakharova’s briefing:
“These days we mark the 210th anniversary of the triumphant conclusion of the Foreign Campaign of the Russian Army of 1813-1814. Following the defeat of Napoleon’s Grande Armée during the Patriotic War of 1812, Russian forces, bearing the banner of freedom for the nations and peoples of Europe from Napoleonic tyranny, embarked on a journey of thousands of kilometres from the scorched walls of Moscow. After intense battles, they reached the French capital, which capitulated to the mercy of the victors on March 31, 1814. We suggest honouring this event with well-researched historical narratives.
The Paris Peace Treaties and the Congress of Vienna delineated the political and diplomatic trajectory following a quarter-century of incessant wars that ravaged Europe. Thus, less than two years after the grandiose announcement of the campaign against Russia by French propaganda, France was defeated. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Napoleon abdicated the throne.
As we revisit this illustrious chapter in Russian history, juxtaposed with the ignominious one in French history, we honour the memory of our heroic ancestors, finding strength and inspiration in their valorous deeds. We’d like to advise the contemporary Western leaders and the emerging “Napoleons” who once again harbour intentions of sending troops eastward to remember the lessons of history and not to forget how the aspirations of their predecessors to inflict a strategic defeat on our country always ended.”
Jon Elmer of the Electronic Intifada with his weekly update, focused on guerrilla war around Al Shifa Hospital. Kevork Almassian, originally from Aleppo, Syria, reviews the Anglo-Zionists’ return to bombing Aleppo in coordination with Al-Qaeda, Jordan, and the US base at Al Tanf; back to the sordid future! Does a criminal ever deviate far from a favored MO? Will it matter in the end, as during the last decade?
The public humiliations being experienced by both USUK and the UNSC are astonishing! The first video makes clear the Zionist Occupation Government (ZOG) is turned into a global pariah against its own interests, domestic laws and the future of the Democratic party.. the second video makes clear the same process as done to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is underway at the UNSC: binding demands to cease and desist from unfathomable crimes against humanity are not merely ignored but escalated with open sense of contemptuous impunity. What will these actions do to the Old Order largely crafted by the 1941 Atlantic Charter system? How to return international law to primacy in the face of nuclear powers turned rogue parasited entities? For now, it appears only regional solutions are available — for those willing to fight to the death for dignity and liberty.
Lost in the thunder of the two incendiary battlegrounds of the Ukraine and the Holy Land, the end of the western Age of Plunder is vividly demonstrated in the West African Sahel. Calm business arrangements are conducted with friendly states, even as the last US garrisons are dismantled, one by one.
@Intel Slava Z:
SENEGAL: how Russia is destroying French neocolonialism
Historical events are brewing in another West African country, Senegal. Getting rid of the country’s neocolonial dependence on its former official metropolis – France.
Over the weekend, presidential elections took place here, in which the opposition candidate Bashiru Jumaye Faye is confidently leading (and may even win them in the first round, which will become known tomorrow), who, as part of his election promises, promised to review oil and gas deals with Western campaigns, including agreements with British Petroleum, Endeavor Mining and Kosmos Energy.
He also advocates a radical revision of relations between Senegal and France. And as part of this, Faye is going to follow neighboring Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to leave the French currency system (by abandoning the CFA franc). And the French military will have to leave the country. By the way, sensing something was wrong, Paris had already announced a little earlier that it was sharply reducing the military contingent in the country (probably so that it would not be so shameful later). In return, he promises to take a course towards rapprochement with Russia.
Thus, France’s next major foreign policy defeat on the African continent looms on the horizon. Moreover, Senegal was a key player in the issue of the blockade of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, which had previously freed themselves from the influence of Paris. And the departure of Senegal from the CFA franc zone puts a final and fat cross on this system (which brought huge profits to France) and on which the entire system of French neocolonialism was essentially built.
And hence all of Macron’s current anti-Russian hysteria. He, like a plucked rooster, understands that he is losing to Russia and therefore becomes hysterical. And Ukraine for him is the last chance to spoil Moscow. But I think he will be disappointed here too.
@Russian MFA:
President Vladimir Putin spoke over the phone with President of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland of the Republic of Niger Abdourahamane Tchiani, who expressed solidarity with the Russian people and heartfelt condolences over the numerous victims of the heinous terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.
In discussing the bilateral agenda, the Leaders expressed determination to step up political dialogue and develop mutually beneficial cooperation in various spheres.
They also exchanged views on the developments in the Sahel-Sahara region with an emphasis on coordination of security and counterterrorism efforts.
@Sputnik Africa:
US will plan for the “disengagement” of troops from Niger after its military pact with Washington ends, Niger’s interior minister says.
The statement was published on social media after Mohamed Toumba hosted US Ambassador Kathleen FitzGibbon for talks.
A spokesperson for the Nigerien military said in mid-March that the country’s transitional government, which took power in a coup last July, ended the agreement with immediate effect, citing the interests of the Nigerien people.
@Africa Intel:
Putin discusses security cooperation with West and Central African leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed security and economic cooperation with Mali’s junta leader Assimi Goita by phone on Wednesday, both countries said, a day after Putin held a similar call with the junta leader in neighbouring Niger.
“We discussed bilateral issues, particularly the security and economic areas,” Goita said. “We agreed to cooperate further in the fight against terrorism.” The Kremlin confirmed.
The call appeared to be part of a round of diplomatic exchanges Putin has made with West and Central African leaders since his re-election earlier this month.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday Putin and the leader of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, had agreed in a phone call to deepen political, economic and humanitarian ties.
On Tuesday, Putin spoke by phone with Niger’s junta leader, Abdourahamane Tiani and discussed a need to reinforce their security cooperation, according to Nigerien state television.
@Arab_Africa:
The US is worried that Niger will replace its military with Russian mercenaries
This was stated by the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers, at a hearing on the US military posture in the Middle East and Africa.
According to him, the recent expulsion of the US military from Niger may be linked to security talks with Iran and Russia that took place the day before.
“It looks like Niger will soon join Mali, Libya, Sudan, Mozambique and Burkina Faso in welcoming Russian troops and mercenaries into their country,” Rogers suggested. He also noted that China is at the same time seeking to expand its military presence beyond the PLA naval base in Djibouti.
“And they set up bases on the west coast to give the PLA strategic access to the Atlantic. China has already built and currently operates several major trading ports along the west coast of Africa,” the Republican reported.
Finally, Rogers warned that the US could lose the initiative due to inaction on the continent.
“Africa is of vital strategic importance to the United States. We cannot allow China or Russia to become their preferred security or business partner,” the American worries.
#нувыпонимаете
LOL
@Sputnik Africa:
“Atomexpo-2024,” the largest international forum on nuclear energy, was held on March 25-26 in Russia. Here are our publications not to be missed
Atomexpo-2024 nuclear industry forum breaks attendance record;
Rosatom signs roadmaps for developing cooperation on nuclear energy with Mali, and Burkina Faso and Algeria; NOTE: the first two are members of the Sahelian Junta Belt..
“Russia will be able to better support Burkina Faso towards its energy independence,” a Burkinabe minister reveals details of the roadmap with Rosatom;
“Gold mined in Mali should be processed in Mali,” Malian minister of mines comments on the gold processing plant project with Russia;
Cooperation with Russia can help eliminate power shortages in Africa and advance Zimbabwe’s healthcare system, says minister;
Russia attracted Africans’ interest in nuclear energy because it’s a reliable partner, says a Rosatom official;
With the help of the agreements with Rosatom, Burundi intends to have a nuclear power plant that will help launch the country into industrial production, says a minister from the African country.
All eyes are on Rafah as Israel prepares to mount an invasion to expel Palestinians or decimate them. It is this pivotal battle that will either force Israel into a ceasefire or thrust the region into an all-out, multi-front war.
By Tawfik Chouman at The Cradle.
The Battle of Rafah: a short step to regional war
The temporary truce struck on 24 November between the Hamas resistance movement and the Israeli government could have paved the way toward successive truces and potentially a sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
But the opportunity was squandered by Tel Aviv, who viewed the continuation of its genocidal war as a means to reshape Gaza’s political and security landscape under the guise of ‘restoring deterrence’ and mitigating domestic fallout from Hamas’ 7 October Al-Aqsa Flood Operation.
Now, nearly six months since the commencement of what Israel calls a ‘war of survival and existence’ against Gaza, it has become clear that the occupation state’s military aggression cannot unseat Hamas from either the Strip or the broader Palestinian political arena.
The recent flurry of indirect Hamas–Israel negotiations held in Paris, Cairo, and Doha have revealed a stark political reality: Hamas is the primary Palestinian negotiating party where Gaza is concerned. This tacit acknowledgment by Tel Aviv marks the strategic failure of one of Israel’s dual objectives set forth last October, aimed at eradicating Hamas and its allied resistance factions in the Strip.
Bibi’s political interests v domestic backlash
This reality raises questions about the potential pathways available to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he struggles with immense international pressure to stop the carnage. Will he persist with the war on Gaza and risk global pariah status, or will he be compelled to pursue a politically costly settlement? The latter option, it should be noted, will not be an easy fix. It could potentially unleash a storm of domestic backlash within Israel, with various political factions eager to hold him accountable from multiple angles.
Since Netanyahu abandoned the truce in November, prominent Israeli political commentators and even former prime ministers have been surprisingly unanimous in their assessment. They argue that Netanyahu’s decision to prolong the war serves mainly his personal political interests, allowing him to project an illusion of victory while evading political, security, and judicial scrutiny.
Accordingly, Netanyahu’s stance remains firmly opposed to a war settlement. He has instead doubled down on the necessity of eliminating the military capabilities of Hamas and its allies, and is ostensibly pursuing an ‘absolute victory’ through total war.
The prime minister’s roadmap hinges on continuing the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. In this scenario, he envisions the Battle of Rafah as the decisive climax that will definitively render the already terminal ‘two-state solution’ obsolete and permanently sever any ties between Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
The Battle of Rafah thus emerges as a pivotal juncture, delineating two competing trajectories: one driven by regional and international efforts towards a negotiated settlement, and the other dictated solely by Netanyahu’s ambitions.
Regional ramifications and Egypt’s dilemma
This raises complex questions about whether Netanyahu can prolong the war and influence regional and international actors – to buy time, if you will – all while factoring in the delicate balance of power involving Egypt and the wider regional war against other members of the Axis of Resistance.
Indeed, the Battle of Rafah presents a multi-level challenge for Egypt, encompassing political, security, and popular dimensions. Should the Israeli army invade Rafah, it will have significant implications for Cairo’s relations with Tel Aviv, in addition to severely impacting Egypt’s domestic security landscape.
A recent poll by the Washington Institute for Near East Studies revealed that three-quarters of Egyptians view Hamas positively. This popular sentiment influences Egyptian policy regarding potential Israeli actions in Rafah.
On 10 March, The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported warnings from Egyptian officials on the potential suspension of the Camp David Accords if Israel were to attack Rafah.
Diaa Rashwan, head of the Egyptian Information Service, emphasized the seriousness of Israel’s occupation of the Philadelphi Corridor – a buffer zone on the Sinai–Gaza border designated by the Camp David agreement – stating it poses a grave threat to Cairo–Tel Aviv relations.
Dealing with the potential mass influxes of Gazan civilians seeking refuge and Palestinian fighters crossing into Egyptian territory also poses significant logistical and security challenges. This scenario also raises questions about the Israeli army’s potential incursions into Egyptian territory and how the Egyptian military would respond.
Moreover, any intensification of pressure on Rafah or a full-scale Israeli invasion will lead to widespread regional ramifications, potentially including the unraveling of the Abraham Accords. The Axis of Resistance has made it clear that the elimination of Hamas is unacceptable and, if threatened, may trigger a regional war.
Complicating matters further is the lack of substantive US pressure on Israel to halt its actions in Gaza. While the Biden White House seeks a ‘credible operational plan,’ it has not unequivocally opposed an attack on Rafah. This ambivalence enables and even emboldens Netanyahu to continue his military operations.
Rafah could reshape the region
Regardless of the outcome of the Battle of Rafah, both Israeli and US perspectives interpret it as a campaign directed against Hamas, which they view as an extension of Iranian influence in the region. This narrative aligns with what Thomas Friedman, writing for the New York Times, referred to as the new “Biden Doctrine,” which emphasizes confronting Iran and its allies in West Asia. This marks a significant shift in US strategy since 1979.
The convergence of US and Israeli interests casts suspicion on ongoing efforts to bring about a long-term ceasefire, with all eyes focused on the current round of talks in Doha. Amos Harel, writing for Haaretz, frames the discussions as a race toward either a negotiated ceasefire or a potentially expansive regional conflict involving multiple fronts.
Yemen’s Ansarallah movement, which last week expanded its naval operations into the Indian Ocean, has issued a stark warning against a Rafah invasion, threatening a sharp escalation in both sea and air operations, including the closure of the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Similarly, the Lebanese front remains sensitive to developments in Rafah. Despite the northern front’s expansion since the onset of 2024, recent Israeli attacks targeting Baalbek, over 100 kilometers from the southern border, suggest Tel Aviv’s misguided willingness to escalate.
This possibility could spill over into reality if Israel invades Rafah, as the occupation army may resort to preemptive actions to mitigate perceived threats from Lebanese resistance forces.
Overall, the Battle of Rafah will likely reshape the regional conflict, adding new layers to existing pressure fronts. Importantly, it challenges the notion that Hamas stands alone, abandoned in Rafah, as various regional actors, including Iran and its allies, are closely watching and prepared to intervene.
La Haute Cour de Londres a autorisé le fondateur de WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, à faire appel de son extradition vers
L’article Julian Assange pourra faire appel de son extradition vers les États-Unis est apparu en premier sur STRATPOL.
Ansarallah has single-handedly disrupted global shipping power dynamics. Yemen is launching attacks against Israeli-linked vessels deep into the Indian Ocean to cut off the last waterway route to the occupation state.
By Khalil Harb at The Cradle.
Our people are ready to send hundreds of thousands of mujahideen to Palestine. Okay, geography might pose a problem. It could be a problem for our people to go there in large numbers. Nevertheless, and despite all the obstacles, we will not hesitate to do whatever we can. We are completely coordinated with our brothers in the Jihad and resistance front to do anything and everything that we can do. — Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, 10 October 2023
Since Abdul-Malik al-Houthi’s proclamation three days after the launch of the Palestinian resistance’s 7 October Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, Yemen’s Ansarallah movement, under his leadership, has undergone a remarkable transformation.
Ansarallah’s maritime reach has surpassed all initial expectations, now extending to the distant shores of the Indian Ocean in its ambitious plan to besiege Israel by targeting the occupation state’s shipping interests.
Yemen’s strategic position not only serves as a beacon of hope for Palestinians enduring Israel’s brutal military assault on their lives, homes, and livelihoods but has also become a crucial pillar in the Axis of Resistance’s fight against US hegemonic machinations in West Asia.
In late February, al-Houthi vowed to expand the scope of attacks against Israel-linked vessels, stating, “We have surprises that the enemies do not expect at all,” before announcing the successful testing of a new hypersonic missile.
This stands in stark contradiction to western narratives trumpeting their own containment efforts to encircle Yemen and thwart its ability to intercept Israel-bound vessels. If anything, the naval operations undertaken by the Ansarallah-aligned armed forces are instead rippling outward, spanning a remarkable distance of over 6,000 kilometers from the Yemeni coast to the Indian Ocean.
Failure of ‘Prosperity Guardian’
Crucially, Yemen’s defiance has drawn widespread, popular support from its once-warring nationals, not just in support of Gaza and the Israeli blockade but also against the relentless US and British airstrikes launched under the fig leaf of Operation ‘Prosperity Guardian‘ – an extrajudicial imperial project which aims to cripple Ansarallah’s military capabilities under the guise of securing international shipping and trade routes.
Yet al-Houthi’s unequivocal declaration on barring the passage of ships associated with Israel, or those engaged in commercial ties with it, from traversing the Indian Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope shows that Washington and London have been dealt a resounding strategic defeat.
By targeting these two new critical waterway passages, Yemen imposes a new reality on global shipping routes. This phase of the naval battle presents a significant threat to the world’s established maritime corridors, compelling commercial vessels traveling to and from Southeast Asia to navigate lengthier and more costly routes around the southern tip of Africa to reach the Mediterranean Sea.
Iran’s partner, not a proxy
Al-Houthi’s message is clear: “Do the Americans, British, and the Zionists expect that any aggressive act against Yemen will distract us from defending Gaza?” Ansarallah recently announced the targeting of over 70 commercial ships with ties to Israel, alongside military battleships across the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean.
Moreover, Yemen’s stance challenges western reports of secret talks brokered by Oman between the US and Iran, purportedly aimed at containing the conflict, preventing it from spreading further from the ‘Yemeni front.’
Despite Washington’s announcement that it has released $10 billion in frozen Iranian funds and its ferocious intimidation and enticement maneuvers behind the scenes, Sanaa’s strategic move towards the Indian Ocean should dismiss any rumors about an impending ‘US–Iran deal.’
Instead of acquiescing to US pressure, Tehran is working to maintain stability and avert all-out war through its ‘support fronts’ in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. The escalation in Yemen poses a greater regional challenge, overshadowing any temporary truces in Iraq by some factions.
While the Biden administration attempts to portray its diplomatic efforts as successes, particularly through indirect negotiations with Tehran and plans to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza, the situation in Yemen remains a humiliating inconvenience for a White House heading into an election cycle. This comes against the backdrop of a White House also frantically trying to manage the Iraqi and Lebanese arenas, which are equally pushing back against US hegemonic interests.
As the spokesman for the Iraqi resistance Al-Nujaba movement, Dr Hussein al-Musawi, tells The Cradle:
Our principles are clear and firm regarding the American presence on Iraqi soil, which is a complete exit without any interference in our political, economic, and other affairs; ending its control over the aspects of Iraq’s politics; and liberating its land and wealth; and political and economic independence.
Economic ramifications for Israel
Sanaa’s strategic maneuvering in the Red Sea–Gulf of Aden–Indian Ocean corridor not only poses a distraction for US and British naval forces but also presents unforeseen challenges. While US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Israel after announcing his ‘Guardian of Prosperity’ operation, the Yemeni resistance was busy adding millions of square kilometers to their area of missile confrontation.
The 12 percent of global trade passing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait has already suffered a blow to the core. The resulting disruptions, including increased shipping costs and insurance premiums, are anticipated to fuel inflation and potentially paralyze Israeli ports such as Eilat and decrease traffic in Haifa.
While the full extent of damage to Israel’s foreign trade remains unclear, initial estimates suggested losses exceeding $180 billion, considering pre-existing trade figures from 2022.
Yemen’s growing naval capabilities
Simultaneously, the question arises: how will the ‘Guardian of Prosperity’ forces, previously tasked with monitoring just the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to counter Yemeni missile threats, manage the vast expansion required to monitor the thousands of ships traversing to and from the Cape of Good Hope across the Indian Ocean?
While the US and UK do not reveal the number of naval vessels assigned to their almost impossible mission, numbers circulating claim the participation of several US battleships, including the USS Laboon, USS Carney, and USS Mason – and from the British, the destroyer HM Diamond. Greece is estimated to have one frigate involved, France contributes naval vessels under US command, and Italy claims to have a frigate that operates outside the operation’s banner. Although the coalition publicly announced the inclusion of more than twenty countries in its mission, the actual naval commitment from its members appears negligible.
Furthermore, it’s hard not to notice the fundamental inefficiencies inherent to the western naval operation: the US “is launching $2 million defense missiles to stop $2,000 Houthi drones.” It was no surprise then when a Pentagon spokesman acknowledged a few days ago that despite ongoing western strikes on Yemen, Ansarallah’s capabilities have not been undermined.
And then Abdul-Malik al-Houthi comes along and adds the Indian Ocean to the US’ horror scenario with an area exceeding 70 million square kilometers.
Ali al-Qahum of Ansarallah’s Political Bureau characterizes this expansion as a “shocking and unexpected surprise” for the resistance’s adversaries. At the same time, it amplifies Yemen’s globally strategic significance as a military force – one that can successfully execute a comprehensive siege on Israel.
It is not clear whether the announcement of including the Indian Ocean in the Yemeni naval operations is related to the tests of the hypersonic missile. It would make Yemen one of only a small handful of nations to possess this unique military capability – Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
Regardless, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi’s ability to take the enemy by surprise showcases Yemen’s capacity to disrupt established power dynamics, particularly in the West Asian region. By supporting Gaza unequivocally, the Yemeni front within the Resistance Axis is further diminishing US influence amid the waves of the Indian Ocean, unless a lasting ceasefire is imposed in Gaza.
Donetsk, Avdeyevka, Mariupol – on the Road in Electoral Donbass
By Pepe Escobar at Sputnik.
They have waited 10 long, suffering years to vote in this election. And vote they did, in massive numbers, certifying a landslide reelection for the political leader who brought them back to Mother Russia. VVP may now be widely referred to as Mr. 87%. In Donetsk, turnout was even higher: 88,17%. And no less than 95% voted for him.
To follow the Russian electoral process at work in Donbass was a humbling – and illuminating – experience. Graphically, in front of us, the full weight of the collective West’s relentless denigration campaign was instantly gobbled up by the rich black soil of Novorossiya. The impeccable organization, the full transparency of the voting, the enthusiasm by polling station workers and voters alike punctuated the historical gravity of the political moment: at the same time everything was enveloped in an impalpable feeling of silent jubilation.
This was of course a referendum. Donbass represents a microcosm of the solid internal cohesion of Russian citizens around the policies of Team Putin – while at the same time sharing a feeling experienced by the overwhelming majority of the Global South. VVP’s victory was a victory of the Global Majority.
And that’s what’s making the puny Global Minority even more apoplectic. With their highest turnout since 1991, Russian voters inflicted a massive strategic defeat to the intellectual pigmies who pass for Western “leadership” – arguably the most mediocre political class of the past 100 years. They voted for a fairer, stable system of international relations; for multipolarity; and for true leadership by civilization-states such as Russia.
VVP’s 87% score was followed, by a long shot, by the Communists, with 3.9%. That is quite significant, because these 91% represent a total rejection of the globalist Davos/Great Reset plutocratic “future” envisioned by the 0.001%.
Avdeevka. Ukrainian Nazi vehicle – literally.
Avdeyevka: Voting Under Total Devastation
On Election Day Two, at section 198 in downtown Donetsk, not far from Government House, it was possible to fully measure the fluidity and transparency of the system – even as Donetsk was not spared from shelling, in the late afternoon and early evening in the final day of voting.
Afterwards, a strategic pit stop in a neighborhood mini-market. Yuri, an activist, was buying a full load of fresh eggs to be transported to the nearly starving civilians who still remain in Avdeyevka. Ten eggs cost the equivalent of a dollar and forty cents.
Side by side with Pushkin: The extraordinary Ludmilla Leonova in Yasinovata, the main polling station in town.
At Yasinovata, very close to Avdeyevka, we visit the MBOU, or school number 7, impeccably rebuilt after non-stop shelling. The director, Ludmilla Leonova, an extraordinary strong woman, takes me on a guide tour of the school and its brand new classrooms for chemistry and biology, a quaint Soviet alphabet decorating the classroom for Russian language. Classes, hopefully, will resume in the Fall.
Close to the school a refugee center for those who have been brought from Avdeyevka has been set up. Everything is spotlessly clean. People are processed, entered into the system, then wait for proper papers. Everyone wants to obtain a Russian passport as soon as possible.
For the moment, they stay in dormitories, around 10 people in each room. Some came from Avdeyevka, miraculously, in their own cars: there are a few Ukrainian license plates around. Invariably, the overall expectation is to return to Avdeyevka, when reconstruction starts, to rebuild their lives in their own town.
Then, it’s on the road to Avdeyevka. Nothing, absolutely nothing prepares us to confront total devastation. In my nearly 40 years as a foreign correspondent, I’ve never seen anything like it – even Iraq. At the unofficial entry to Avdeyevka, beside the skeleton of a bombed building and the remains of a tank turret, the flags of all military batallions which took part in the liberation flutter in the wind.
Avdeevka.
Each building in every street is at least partially destroyed. A few remaining residents congregate in a flat to organize the distribution of essential supplies. I find a miraculously preserved icon behind the window of a bombed-out ground floor apartment.
Avdeevka. The icon by the window that survived everything.
AVDEEVKA. A local resident who refuses to leave.
FPVs loiter overheard – detected by a handheld device, and our military escort is on full alert. We find out that as we enter a ground floor apartment which is being kept as a sort of mini food depot – housing donations from Yasinovata or from the military – that very same room, in the morning, had been converted into a polling station. That’s where the very few remaining Avdeyevka residents actually voted.
A nearly blind man with his dog explains why he can’t leave: he lives in the same street, and his apartment is still functional – even though he has no water or electricity. He explains how the Ukrainians were occupying each apartment block – with residents turned into refugees or hostages in the basements – and then, pressed by the Russians, relocated to nearby schools and hospitals until finally fleeing.
Avdeevka. He will NOT leave.
The basements are a nightmare. Virtually no light. The temperature is at least 10 degrees Celsius lower than at street level. It’s impossible to imagine how they survived. Another resident nonchalantly strolls by in his bicycle, surrounded by derelict concrete skeletons. The loud booms – mostly outgoing – are incessant.
Avdeevka. The miraculously preserved church of Mary Magdalen.
The miraculously preserved church of Mary Magdalen.
The miraculously preserved church of Mary Magdalen.
Then, standing amidst total devastation, a vision: the elegant silhouette of the Church of Mary Magdalen, immaculately preserved. Dmitry, the caretaker, takes me around; it’s a beautiful church, the paintings on the roof still gleaming under the pale sunlight, a gorgeous chandelier and the inner chamber virtually intact.
View of Mariupol from within the Pakrovska Church — with Azovstal and the Russian Sea of Azov in the background
The Mariupol Renaissance
The final election day is spent in Mariupol – which is being rebuilt at nearly breakneck speed: the new railway station has just been finished. Voting is seamless at school number 53, housing district 711. A beautiful mural behind the ballot box depicts the sister cities St. Petersburg and Mariupol, with the legendary Scarlet Sails from the Alexander Green story right in the middle.
Mariupol. School 53. Complete with gentleman on the voting booth, ballot box and a lovely painting featuring a ship with red sails…
I revisit the port: international cargo is still not moving, only ships coming from the Russian mainland. But the first deal has been reached with Cameroon – fruits in exchange with metals and manufactured products. Several other deals with African nations are on the horizon.
The Pakrovska church, a Mariupol landmark, is being carefully restored. We are welcomed by Father Viktor, who hosts lunch for a group of people from the parish, and a fine conversation ensues ranging from Christian Orthodoxy to the Decline of the West and the LGBT agenda.
We go to the roof and walk around a balustrade offering a spectacular 360-degree view of Mariupol, with the port, the destroyed Azovstal iron works and the Russian Sea of Azov in the deep background. The massive church bells ring – as in a metaphor for the resurrection of a beautiful city which has the potential to become a sort of Nice in the Sea of Azov.
Mariupol. Azovstal with the restored monument to the Great Patriotic War – restored by Wagner – in the foreground.
Back in Donetsk, going to a “secret” school/museum only 2 km away from the line of fire – which I first visited last month – has to be canceled: Donetsk continues to be shelled.
With Avdeyevka in mind, as well as the shelling that refuses to go away, a few questions on numbers pop up on the long 20-hour drive back to Moscow.
In Chechnya, led by uber-patriot Kadyrov, turnout was 97%. And no less than 99% voted for VVP. So, unlike in the past, forget about any ulterior attempt at a color revolution in Chechnya.
Same pattern in the Caucasus, in the region of Kabardino: turnout was 96%. No less than 94% voted for VVP.
Between Kazakhstan and Mongolia, in Tuva, turnout was 96%. And 95% voted for VVP. In the autonomous Yamal-Nenets, turnout was 94%. But VVP got “only” 79% of the votes. In lake Baikal, Buryatia had 74% turnout and 88% of votes for VVP.
The key, once again, remains Moscow. Turnout, compared to other regions, was relatively low: 67%. Well, Moscow is still largely Westernized and in several aspects ideologically globalist – thus more critical than other parts of Russia when it comes to the patriotic emphasis.
Avdeevka. Nella zona pericolosa. Gli FPV indugiano nel cielo. Foto del giovane fotoreporter Denis Grigory.
And that brings us to the clincher. Even with the resounding success of Mr. 87%, they will never give up. If there ever is a minor chance of a successful Hybrid War strategy provoking a color revolution, the stage will be Moscow. Quite pathetic, actually, when compared to the images of Mr. 87% saluted by a packed Red Square on Sunday like the ultimate rock star.
The Kremlin is taking no chances. Putin addressed the FSB and went straight to the point: attempts to sow interethnic trouble – as a prelude to color revolutions – must be strictly suppressed. The FSB will go for the next level: traitors will be identified by name and targeted without a statute of limitations.
After the electoral euphoria, no one really knows what happens next. It has to be something hugely significant, honoring the historical VVP electoral landslide. He has carte blanche now to do anything. Priority number one: to finish once and for all with the Hegemon-built terror mongrel that has been attacking Novorossiya for 10 long years.
“… and all linked to zionists…”
Richard connects a terrible dot on the back of my mind! Yemen didn’t merely extend the Gauntlet to the Indian Ocean for the zionists, but to the same western parties they currently fight in the Red Sea. They closed the South Africa route to USUK and those of the combined West that partake of the aggression against Palestine and/or themselves in the Red Sea or hinder the Gauntlet in the Red Sea! They emphasized this on day one by droning or missiling two US ships in the Indian Ocean………..
Let’s see if they can carry it off. Assuming they will be as resourceful as only motivated Yemenis can be.. and that several civilizational-states work to ensure they get accurate targeting and manifests of cargo ships to be targetted, what would be the consequences for severing the India/China sea trade to Europe and to the eastern US seaboard?? The US has the Pacific coast option, but Europe.. would be reduced to railroads, mostly through.. Russia as they helped torch West Asia, the Ukraine, and currently stoke Transcaucasia. This is unliveable
Putin presented the West with a bill of exchange that it is not able to repay
By Irina Alksnis, RIA Novosti columnist.
“In an interview with Dmitry Kiselyov, Vladimir Putin stressed that the West will not just have to offer Russia guarantees of compliance with the agreements, but these guarantees: a) must be spelled out; b) suit Moscow; and c) the Russian leadership must actually believe in them.”
In an interview with Dmitry Kiselyov, Vladimir Putin paid great attention to the issue of potential negotiations with the West over Ukraine. At first glance, this might even seem somewhat unexpected, but the topic is really becoming more and more relevant and is increasingly heard in the public field, which means that it is time to clarify Russia’s position as clearly as possible. Which the president did.
The reality of the situation on the Ukrainian front, which is unpleasant for the West, is reaching more and more people on the other side. This entails quite natural consequences: the voices demanding to negotiate with Moscow are getting louder and louder. And if initially they were mostly marginal figures, on whom it was very convenient to hang the label “Russian agent” or “useful idiot of the Kremlin”, now the most mainstream and very influential forces – the media, think tanks, politicians and statesmen – up to the Pope are saying the same thing.
This point of view has not yet become dominant there and still meets impressive resistance, but it can no longer be called marginal. And judging by the way events are developing in Ukraine, the moment when it will become dominant on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean is not very long away.
However, these changes worry the politically active patriotic part of Russian society. The reason is obvious: people fear that in the course of negotiations, Russia will lose the achievements for which our soldiers pay with their blood and lives. Either the West will simply deceive us, as it has done so many times in the past, or a part of the Russian elite that remains pro-Western will be inclined to make concessions, surrendering our military victory. But no one is immune from mistakes and failures in the negotiation process – even the most ardent patriot of his country.
This is probably why the president gave a detailed and detailed commentary on this issue, touching on very different aspects that affect Russia’s position. And this is the answer primarily for us-the citizens of the country. But it can also be very useful for the West, if there are still smart enough and qualified people there who are able to hear and understand what is said, and not invent their own version of Putin’s answer in accordance with the agenda and personal beliefs (and with this there are more and more problems lately). Well, for the insufficiently nationalized representatives of the domestic establishment, who are hoping to turn the stuffing back, the president’s answer is also very useful – and makes them understand that you should not dream of the impossible.
The West, in the form of Ukraine as anti-Russia, prepared a very powerful weapon against our country, but when it did not work as expected, it had to openly enter the war itself – and this became its huge, downright fatal mistake, because it turned on the patriotic war regime in our people. Putin said that “deep Russian society”, ordinary citizens, had long been waiting for their demand for the country and the state, and the war of the West against us was exactly the situation that turned on the mechanism of national consolidation.
This means that the state has a free hand in relying on powerful and active (literally combative) popular support. He is not under pressure from public opinion, which insists on ending the fighting at any cost and as soon as possible – on the contrary, citizens consider it right to solve the issue radically, eliminating the threat to Russia in the south-western direction once and for all. This means that the SVO can continue for as long as it takes, until the West is not just ripe for negotiations (this will happen soon), but reaches the point where it hears Moscow’s position and accepts its conditions (but this may take much longer).
By the way, the president’s words made it clear why Russian officials are so actively pedaling the topic of deception on the part of the West, which Moscow has encountered many times in recent decades. You can often hear criticism of this position – saying that it exposes Russia as weak and stupid. However, it has now provided the state with an extremely comfortable and strong negotiating position: what are your guarantees, gentlemen? Because the old and, alas, unkind principle of “gentlemen take their word for it” has finally broken down.
Putin stressed that the West should not just offer Russia guarantees of compliance with the agreements, but these guarantees should: a) be spelled out; b) suit Moscow; and c) the Russian leadership should actually believe in them.
In fact, in the sphere of reputation and moral authority, the West finds itself in exactly the same situation as with the American debt, which is storming to astronomical heights and whose mere maintenance is increasingly shaking the financial system. Everyone has already realized that this is just a pyramid scheme, but it still holds, and the world is watching with curiosity (although not without concern about the consequences) what will become the “pebble” that will start the crash.
Well, by demanding guarantees at the talks, Putin swung the “pebble” of another tower – the tower of Babel of Western hypocrisy and lies.
Perhaps this is understood by American and European hawks, who are now actively rocking the topic of the need to introduce a Western contingent to Ukraine. Realizing that Moscow will not be able to push through or deceive in negotiations, they see direct participation in the conflict as the only remaining option to try to reduce the conflict to a more or less acceptable outcome for NATO countries.
However, Putin also had words for these hotheads – in particular, the word “interventionists”. Moreover, the president explicitly stated that it is precisely as an intervention on the territory of Russia that we will regard the entry of Western troops into Ukraine. And he reminded that our country has a rich experience of successfully solving this problem, which everyone in the West should remember.
In essence, Ukraine has become a conflict in which the bankruptcy of Europe and the United States – military, moral, economic – threatens to turn from expected to actual. And in his interview, Putin presented the West with a bill of exchange, which in principle it is not able to repay.
Those who travel to Russia and see the reality for themselves, from any part of the world, are consistently astounded and pleased with what they see. This consistent discrepancy between reality and media-driven myth underlines the potency of the mindwashing western Big Lie Media, which most of humanity continues to foolishly imbibe.
Visiting Russia is a key antidote, until the Global South / Global Majority drops safeguards against western media, referred to as “informational hygiene” by Russians. Otherwise Forever Wars are permanently baked in as this Big Lie Media forever sews discord, false impressions between natural allies, and works to divide humanity along false lines.
An interesting pattern developed during yesterday’s first of three main voting days. Let the following 11 African election observers from 10 different African countries tell you in their own words. The selections are from the Sputnik Africa Telegram channel.
“International observers for the Russian presidential elections plan to visit at least 52-53 regions, they will be provided with all the necessary assistance, said the head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova. Currently 333,600 people are monitoring the Russian presidential election, including over 700 from 106countries,” Pamfilova noted.
The process of voting is “proceeding normally,” she added.”
Everything you need to know about Russia’s 2024 presidential elections
Russian citizens will head to the polls on March 15-17 to vote in 2024 presidential election. There are 112.3 million eligible voters inside Russia, and around 1.9 million eligible voters reside abroad. Voter turnout is expected at 71%, as per the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM).
What’s new about 2024 elections?
E-voting, a remote electronic voting system, is being used for the first time to elect a Russian president. Voters in 29 Russian regions will be able to cast their ballots remotely.
Electronic ballot processing system uses a special scanner to read and process marked paper ballots and tally the results.
Mobile Voter mechanism provides online voting.
Elections state automated system is information software that ensures that ballots are counted in an accurate and rapid manner.
There are four candidates vying for the top office:
Self-nominated candidate and incumbent President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin;
Communist Party nominee Nikolay Kharitonov;
Liberal Democratic Party nominee Leonid Slutsky;
New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov.
Who will observe the voting process?
Election observers are Russian citizens who monitor compliance of election procedure with the law, supervise the process and record possible violations.
200 parliamentary international observers have been accredited to monitor the elections in Russia, delegations from 36 countries are already arriving.
Follow this link to learn more
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A Kenyan observer for the Russian presidential elections, who’s watching the voting process in Russia’s city of Perm told Sputnik that “the election process has started well” and “the election officials are well set”
“It’s very cold, [but] I am very happy to be here,” he added.
Fast and secure procedure: a Burundian observer appreciates the advantages of voting electronically in the Russian presidential election
“When I was told what happens electronically, I congratulated you, I saw that you had succeeded,” President of the National Assembly of Burundi, Honorable Gelase Daniel Ndabirabe, told Sputnik Africa.
Ndabirabe noted that once a person is identified in the system, the voting process takes “very little time,” adding that such an option saves “a lot of time and energy” for people.
Lastly, the observer praised the excellent security of the electronic voting.
“I was told that to date there have been no complaints about the security of the electronic trial. Which is another great success, because that’s what’s so frightening. I say: “congratulations”. Because there can’t be any hacking. That’s a very good thing,” Ndabirabe concluded.
Cameroonian observer speaks about Russian presidential election. African observers who are inspecting polling stations across Russia will return home genuinely satisfied with what they have seen, Serge Espoir Matomba, the first secretary of the Cameroonian United People for Social Renovation, told Sputnik Africa.
According to him, at a time when “the world wants to be multipolar, we have an obligation to know what’s going on without waiting to be told what’s going on. There is this growing misinformation that is being used today as a lever for manipulation.”
“That is why I am in Moscow today, to see with my own eyes how the elections are going, how the buzz around the elections is going, how the process itself is being set in motion,” Matomba said.
“The image that Africa has often had of Russia in the past is changing exponentially,” the politician concluded. “Africans are now realizing that Russia is not the country they were presented with. And that’s a good thing.”
An observer from Kenya in the Kherson region praised the Russian electronic voting system
“In Russia you can vote from home. In other countries, especially in African countries, with electronic voting you have to go to the polling station to register,” said Ezekiel Kanagi Mutes.
“Absolutely fair”: Ethiopian observer impressed by Russian presidential elections
“Really, it is well planned, well organized. I have seen the voters, how they are electing. As to my observation up to now, it is absolutely fair. I appreciate it,” Dr. Petros Woldegiorgis, an observer from Ethiopia and President of Bonga University, told Sputnik Africa.
He particularly noted the accessibility measures in place, including the option for citizens in distant locations to vote via telephone—a novel experience for him.
“The general feeling I have is wonderful,” the observer remarked. “From Alpha to Omega, what I have seen now, honestly speaking, I’m very much excited.”
“Very open and freely”: Tanzanian observer from the ruling party on the Russian presidential election
“The voting process here is very interesting. […] It takes very small time, just 3 to 5 minutes you are done, is very open and freely,” Joseph Mgaya told Sputnik Africa.
Furthermore, the observer pointed out that Russian citizens are voting “freely” and they can do it in every corner of the country – you just need to have an ID with you.
Mgaya also praised the “high-end” online voting technology that simplifies the whole election process.
“I’m very interested in it because it’s high-end [and] […] it’s very open,” he added.
“The process is more than transparent”: Comorian observer on presidential elections in Russia
The Russian presidential election has a number of advantages, including security cameras to ensure transparency, candidate representatives at each polling station, “a more efficient electronic system combined with a reliable manual system,” Ahmed Said Mdahoma, head of the Independent National Electoral Commission of the Comoros, told Sputnik Africa.
He also noted “maximum” security to ensure the calm of the electoral process and “constant communication at the level of the Central Electoral Commission to inform citizens, observers and actors about the electoral process.”
In addition, Mdahoma emphasized a 3-day voting period that would allow “everyone who wants to exercise their right to vote to find the right time” to do so.
Chairman of CAR National Electoral Commission praises organization of Russian presidential elections
Mathias Moruba visited three polling stations in Russia and noted their compliance with international electoral standards, the Russian Embassy in the Central African Republic (CAR) said.
According to the embassy, the delegation from the Central African Republic arrived in Russia to observe the presidential election at the invitation of the Russian Central Election Commission.
“Russia is already ahead,” says Madagascan observer on electronic voting in Russia
Russia’s presidential election is taking place “calmly and also within the norm,” which has highlighted some advances, such as automated voting, which saves voters’ time, Ralaisoavamanjaka Andriamarotafikatohanambahoaka, the first general rapporteur of Madagascar’s Independent National Electoral Commission, told Sputnik Africa.
“The computerized system is a novelty. The whole world will choose this system. The choice of the virtual system, which the majority of people will make, is mainly to save time for them,” the observer explained.
He added that “it’s obvious that we’ve respected the principle of electoral sovereignty and the electoral norm in Moscow and Russia in general.”
[His name is not a typo!! Another example here.]
“No violations”: an observer from Angola about the Russian presidential elections
“We didn’t find any problems, no violations. [Everything went] very well, without problems. And everything was peaceful,” said Manuel Camati, member of the National Electoral Commission of Angola.
He also noted that elections are part of the sovereignty of each state, and therefore it was important for him to be personally present in this process.
Speaking about the technological innovations of the Russian elections, Camati said that they help to quickly resolve any issues, and the electronic voting option allows “to minimize the number of errors and speed up electoral processes.”
Voting in Russia “proceeding normally, as in other countries,” says Malian observer
The ability to vote electronically is important for people who cannot travel, such as the disabled and the elderly, Nana Aïcha Cissé, the first vice-president of Mali’s Network of Women Parliamentarians, told Sputnik Africa.
She came to observe the elections in Russia for the first time and said she was impressed by the organization.
The observer also called Mali “a friend of Russia,” noting that “people know Russia, they know the ties that exist between Mali and Russia, and that’s very important.”
On the healing power of the Holy Russian General Staff
By Marat Khairullin
What Europe is doing today is literally incomprehensible to the mind. I emphasize: the mind of a modern, civilized, well-informed person, brought up on humanitarian values. Today we all have the opportunity, as they say, online, live to watch as Europe once again slides into the era of savagery and primitive cruelty. The worst thing is that today we can clearly see how huge chunks of modern Europe are peeling off the veneer of civilization that our neighbors have been so proud of in recent decades. And, probably, even more frightening here is that you can clearly see how thin this raid was.
Decades of peace after the Great Patriotic War allowed all of humanity to forget that for centuries Europe was a source of threat to all of humanity. There is no abomination that European civilization does not invent and embody in relation to Man – any form of oppression, genocide, mass burning of women, concentration camps, slavery and the destruction of entire peoples by starvation, colonialism and neocolonialism, the mass introduction of homosexuality as a form of “soft genocide” against the entire human race, etc. so on and so forth…
And the pinnacle of all this: Europe has unleashed two world wars and is now rapidly unleashing a third… That is, some satanic gene that seeks to destroy humanity is embedded in the very structure of European civilization.
Two world wars and tens of millions of innocent victims did not cure Europe of this monstrous genetic disease, and now, before the eyes of the whole world, it is trying to ignite a Third World War, which threatens to destroy this time everyone on the planet, including the planet itself…
Probably, now many of my readers will ask the question-why this philosophical speech from a reporter working exclusively on earth. And the fact is that here on earth, and specifically in the trenches, I discovered that the cure for this satanic European gene has long been developed by our country in the form of fundamental concepts on which domestic military science is built.
Of course, I draw conditional parallels, but the point is that our strategic planners assume that sooner or later Europe will once again attack us. And based on this, they make their own plans. Moreover, as I understand it, based on historical experience, a clear gradation of signs of the coming European invasion has been developed. They fit into a fairly simple formula: as soon as Europe starts moving its borders towards Russia, expect an attack. It’s always been like this. And, as I understand it, the entire current foreign and domestic policy of Russia is based on the fact that a future war with Europe is inevitable.
I have repeatedly written about the profound signs that indirectly indicate this assessment of the situation by our authorities. For example, the country’s defense sector has been sent a clear signal from the highest level that the current rate of financing for the industry will continue for at least a decade. So that production workers are not afraid to deploy additional capacities, realizing that they will always find sales.
However, today, against the background of the fact that Europe has already openly announced another campaign to the East, it makes sense to talk about what cards we are playing in this escalation. Especially in comparison with the situation on the eve of the first two World Wars.
So, the main difference, from my point of view, is that both the first and Second World Wars were not only inevitable for us, but, obviously, we entered them with a much smaller set of trump cards than our opponents. Roughly speaking, the actions of our opponents dictated our moves. For example, the enemy not only deployed its military capabilities before us, but also tested them much earlier.
The German Army in ‘ 41 already had considerable combat experience. This was its main difference from the Red Army. A very important factor is that at the beginning of the war, we were inferior not in terms of the number or quality of armored vehicles, but in terms of the number of experienced, shelled crews.
The same applies to aviation, infantry, artillery, and so on.
Today, the situation is just the opposite, and our moves are already imposing behavior on the enemy. Our army has not just accumulated combat experience, which determines its effectiveness. A powerful single grouping of under a million people has been created, which is unfolding in ever-increasing directions. This is evidenced, for example, by yesterday’s events in the Belgorod-Kharkiv direction.
The enemy tried to simply move in our direction and immediately received losses of one hundred people, not counting equipment – this is comparable, for example, to the daily losses of Ukrov in such a hot direction as Kherson.
In other words, Russia has managed to deploy a full-fledged military group with real combat experience in this area in just six months. This is, by the way, to the question of rumors about the breakthrough of our troops in the Kharkiv direction. Obviously, the declared operation Ukrov had primarily intelligence purposes. Well, we’ve scouted it.
Russia today has not only real combat experience, we have well-trained and war-tested specialists at all levels. For example, our command did not just let most of the officers through the front line. Our army, which is much more important, in two years managed to grow from scratch a whole generation of front-line middle-level officers (or, probably, tactical-dear readers, tell me) – this is clearly seen in the example of my native “Slavyanka”. I won’t talk about the mechanism in detail, but anyone who closely follows my publications can see what serious combat work is going on in terms of raising future great commanders from young combat soldiers.
This is a very difficult, sometimes frankly difficult and cruel process, but it is going very fast. I, for example, see how a conditional thirty-year-old battalion commander came to the brigade three months ago-a boy, yesterday’s platoon and company commander, and how he becomes after running in continuous battles in the experienced, well-coordinated Slavyanka brigade.
You probably shouldn’t write about this in live reports, but you, my dear readers, can watch this process in an artistic presentation in essays and stories.
And now I look at this cohort of “Slavyanka” battalion commanders and imagine what they will do from the European army. Do not forget that each battalion commander of the “Slavyanka”, which I write about, is already a ready-made squadron – you can appoint it right now.
What is also important here is that these young people, in general, are also well trained and educated. And” Slavyanka ” is not the only one at the front. Today, only the potential of such (let’s call them “super-experienced”) units as my “Slavyanka”, which have an excellent officer backbone, capable of fighting in any conditions, is estimated at 100 thousand bayonets.
The peculiarity of such units is that they are assigned to newly formed units (usually three or four), which, in conjunction with an experienced unit, adopt combat experience in practice.
And today, thanks to such a system, I see that once raw units are being transformed into strong combat regiments and brigades. And in addition, there are also special shock-assault units, also constantly fighting since the beginning of the SVO and having a huge accumulated combat experience. These are mostly our paratroopers and Marines. The potential of these forces is estimated at 150 bayonets.
That is, we have only in the first line “super-experienced” pure infantry troops numbering about 250 thousand. But there are also exactly the same “super-efficient” and experienced purely artillery, rocket, engineering, aviation, etc. units. What are the Europeans going to do with all this?
Moreover, it is necessary to emphasize once again what constitutes the “super-efficiency” of these teams. On the example of Slavyanka, I have already written more than once how in the summer, just to keep the front in our direction, the Ukry kept the number of troops in the ratio of one to three in front of our position in a defense zone about 10 kilometers deep. That is, for one of our three dill just sat in the trenches. The calculation was that when we go on the offensive (even with a total advantage in aviation and art), our losses in personnel will exceed Ukrop. And we will simply drown in our own blood (who counts dill-no one cared about them, the main thing is our losses).
It’s like a classic: the attackers always suffer heavy losses. Simply due to the fact that the Ukry diligently dug into the ground. In the end, everything turned out exactly the opposite – the Nazis suffered enormous losses.
And if in Bakhmut, according to Prigozhin’s estimates, the losses were one to three in our favor. Even during the counteroffensive in Zaporizhia, dill losses were, according to official estimates, one in eight. And now clearly more. According to my feelings, somewhere one in ten, at least, if not more-there are also a number of indirect signs that are clearly visible to a person who is inside the process.
And this actually put the entire military science of NATO in a stupor – how are they going to fight with such soldiers and with such an army vehicle?
Let’s imagine what the NATO countries can put up against us. For example, the same France, which, through the mouth of Macron, announced the first readiness to march to the East.
France has two divisions of constant combat readiness. The conditional number of real combat bayonets (without real combat experience) is about 7 thousand. At the same time, an extreme check revealed that the combat kit in tanks and armored vehicles is half of what it should be. This is, I emphasize, in the troops of constant combat readiness.
And for this unprecedented power, the whole of France has several dozen artillery barrels and less than a dozen MLRS barrels.
For comparison, according to some estimates, the density of our barrel artillery near Avdiivka was about 60 barrels per kilometer (including self-propelled guns), plus twenty MLRS installations. Plus tanks, UAVs and aircraft.
An even more interesting picture emerges if you know that about 20 percent of French men are homosexuals. Among young people, this percentage exceeds 30 and confidently tends to 40.
You can imagine how homosexuals are fighting – dill, which is strongly moving towards European values, has not been able to gather a single blue battalion.
Few people know, but one of the problems of the Israeli army is a very high percentage of homosexuals (the second problem is religious people who do not want to take up arms). Therefore, the IDF that is destroying Gaza today is not doing it as effectively as the one that fought for the freedom and survival of Israel. Homosexuals make good executioners, but warriors are not so-so.
And what kind of advertising would it be, imagine, in the case of dill: gay fighters tear up the defense of the totalitarian army of Russia and plant a rainbow flag in Donetsk. But it didn’t work out, although they tried repeatedly – the perverts don’t want to fight, and that’s it.
And if so, who will the French send to die on the Eastern Front – the very Arabs who regularly burn their suburbs?
I imagined it: a French Arab immigrant in the winter, but with a bare bottom in a cold puddle in the same trench on the Eastern Front. Such a gay Verdun with an Arabic accent. Very funny.
Or let’s imagine how England will send its Sasu to the Eastern Front, which it is so proud of (that’s all it has). Which will fall, for example, into the clutches of my “Slavyanka”, where there is such a gambling social competition between bats – drive the special forces to the grave. Oh, how much fun it will be – English special forces, with English toilet paper in English backpacks, guys will line up to fight with them. You know, in an aggressive queue like this.
This is not a joke, I told you how the 36th marine brigade of Ukropia lost a battalion of the same special forces trained by the same British sasa in Opytne. As if it wasn’t there, they pretended it wasn’t.
Or how we ate a special forces company of the 3rd assault brigade with diplomas of the American Delta Force near Avdiivka for an afternoon snack. No matter how you look at it, special forces in the southern Russian steppes are not fighting against Russian infantry.
Of course, you can also talk about the Poles, imagine how they will sit in the trenches – these are the very farmers who are now blocking the border with dill. Oh, sorry, but they’ve been here before. Bold ones, flags were openly hung here last summer. We hung there for exactly two weeks, then we went on the attack once – I’m not lying-exactly once, at night, we lost five people to our only position. The next morning, the flags were quickly removed and we did not see them again. No flags, no Poles. In short, Poles, ay, come, we are waiting. You haven’t answered us yet for Susanin.
Speaking in general, the third campaign of the Europeans themselves, who decided not to hide behind dill like a fig leaf anymore, against Russia is still starting so-so. Let’s see what happens next.
As for our side, our Supreme Leader once said [not] in vain that he preferred the prevention of disease to doctors and pills.
We thought that the GDP was talking about human health, but it turns out that it is about our General Staff, which at the moment, like some medieval saint, is preventing Europeans from the Third World War by applying healing bombs and shells to dill.
It will not help, well, then that very gambling and fun Russian infantry will go directly to the treatment. The only thing I would personally wish for here, this time to make Europe healthier for good, is to cut out the damn gene once and for all, with all their gonorrhea, genocide and homosexuality, so that it will never be customary to interfere with the life of normal humanity again.
Marat Khairullin
And both options lead to same defeat.. Brian Berletic breaks down the Ukraine’s Manpower Crisis: No Amount of Money or Aid Can Solve It
He uses the US Army’s own [admittedly inadequate] doctrine to explain why the Ukraine is finished in terms of manpower, even if further financing and weapons resupply were possible. They lack the time, especially seasoning top cadre, in order to be combat effective. And the ideal environment in which to train within the Ukraine, already involved and enveloped in the hellscape of war. No place on the Ukraine is safe from Russian stand-off weaponry.
The options confronting the sinking West are bitter indeed: double down into nuclear war, as NATO itself lacks the tools and manpower to halt much less defeat the Russian Armed Forces. Or accept defeat and the end of their centuries-old Hegemony.
More detail from The New Atlas:
Ukraine is suffering from a growing military manpower crisis in addition to a lack of arms and ammunition;
Trained military manpower takes up to half a year to produce, new brigade-sized units can take up to 30 months to stand up;
Ukraine and its Western sponsors simply cannot produce trained military manpower faster than Russia is removing it from the battlefield;
This leaves the collective West with the choice of either accepting it has lost its proxy war with Russia, or attempting to intervene more directly;
References:
NEO – Ukraine’s Manpower Crisis: No Amount of Money or Aid Can Solve It (March 5, 2024):
The Kyiv Independent – Ukraine struggles to ramp up mobilization as Russia’s war enters 3rd year (March 3, 2024):
The Washington Post – Front-line Ukrainian infantry units report acute shortage of soldiers (February 8, 2024):
US Department of Defense – The National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) (2023-2024):
NEO – Fatal Flaws Undermine America’s Defense Industrial Base (February 15, 2024):
US Department of Defense – Press Release: Evaluation of Sustainment Strategies for the Patriot Air Defense Systems Transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (DODIG-2024-056) and Evaluation of the DoD’s Sustainment Plan for Bradley, Stryker, and Abrams Armored Weapon Systems (February 20, 2024):
Reuters – Ukraine considers proposal by army to mobilise another 500,000 for war (December 2023):
Reuters – Who are the forces involved in Ukraine’s counteroffensive? (June 2023):
US DoD – Defense Officials Hold Media Brief on the Training of Ukrainian Military (March 2022):
The US Army War College Quarterly – Expanding Brigade Combat Teams: IS the Training Base Adequate? (2017):
Where to Find My Work:
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A continuation of the thought of “Zionism, Arrogance & World War III” — why a rising Orthodox Russia is fated to bury both Messianic Judaism and the hired western muscle in the Holy Land — from the perspective of geopolitics and geoeconomics. The eschatological consequences of lose-lose predicaments are profound
By Jamal Wakim at Al Mayadeen.
What is happening in the Middle East is a major battle centered on the main axis: Palestine
Gamal Abdel Nasser announced in 1969 that the battle on the banks of the Suez Canal would decide the fate of the world. This piece explains how.
Russia’s victory in struggle with collective West will be achieved in Middle East, not Eastern Europe
This article discusses the importance of what is happening in the Middle East and the battle taking place there specifically in the region extending from Egypt in the west to Iraq in the east to determine the fate of the world. When we talk about this region, there is a connection between the battle taking place in the Middle East and the battle that has always been taking place in the heart of Eurasia, specifically against Russia.
In the past two centuries, Russia was the one facing the so-called collective West, and it was the spearhead in confronting this collective West. In the early nineteenth century, this collective West was represented by Napoleon, and after that, during World War II, the collective West was represented by Nazi Germany, and after World War II, the collective West was represented by the United States of America.
Napoleon and the Grande Armée retreat from Moscow, 1812
Experience facing Napoleon
In the face of Napoleon’s invasion, we must understand that there was a project for this collective West, represented by global hegemony, and this collective West began its attack in Egypt and the occupation of Egypt in the year 1799. France’s failure in Egypt two years later was what determined Napoleon’s fate, and therefore his defeat was a matter of time in the confrontation against Russia. After that, Napoleon did not succeed in isolating Russia after the Battle of Austerlitz in December 1805, despite his victory in this battle. After that, Napoleon had to invade Russia in an attempt to subjugate it, and in this way, he recruited an army from various parts of Europe to begin his invasion of Russia.
On June 24, 1812, and the following days, the first wave of the multinational French Grande Armée crossed the Niemen River, beginning the French invasion of Russia. Despite the great advance of the French forces inside Russian territory, and despite their tactical victory over the Russian army in the Battle of Borodino, and then Napoleon’s occupation of Moscow itself, he was unable to achieve victory over Russia and began his withdrawal five weeks after his entry into Moscow, only to be defeated tactically in the battle. Bonaparte began his retreat before the Russian forces, which pursued him until Paris, where he was forced to abdicate and accept exile to the island of Elba, off the coast of Corsica. Despite his desperate attempt to return to power in early 1815, Napoleon was actually defeated by Russia, but his strategic defeat had begun with his failure in Egypt a decade and a half before that date.
German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at El Alamein, Egypt, 1942
World War II experience
Then, during World War II, Nazi Germany launched a military campaign in North Africa as part of its larger strategic goals. This campaign, led by General Erwin Rommel, was known as the North African Campaign. However, Nazi Germany’s primary focus in Eastern Europe was not initially directed toward the Russian heartland. Instead, it invaded Poland in 1939, which led to the outbreak of the war in Europe. Later, in June 1941, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, a massive invasion of the Soviet Union, with the intention of capturing key cities like Moscow and Leningrad.
At the time, the advance of Erwin Rommel’s forces in North Africa constituted an attempt to isolate it and reach the Suez Canal and cut off British access to the Middle East. In parallel, Nazi forces had begun to invade the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. They advanced toward major cities like Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad; where they faced tough resistance from the Soviet military and encountered numerous logistical challenges due to the vastness of the territory and the harsh conditions. But it was Erwin Rommel’s failure in the Middle East that sealed the final failure for Nazi Germany, and it was only a matter of time before Nazi Germany was defeated.
Rommel’s defeat at the Battle of El Alamein in the fall of 1942 represented a colossal failure. Therefore, this defeat in the Middle East was followed by the Soviet victory in the Battle of Stalingrad in February 1943. The Battle of Stalingrad weakened the German army and boosted Soviet morale, contributing to the eventual Soviet counteroffensive. Then, the Battle of Kursk occurred in July 1943 and was a major offensive launched by Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union. The battle ended in a decisive Soviet victory and marked the beginning of a series of successful Soviet offensives that pushed German forces back toward Eastern Europe. The defeat of Nazi Germany was announced in May 1945.
Brezhnev’s geopolitical shortsightedness
The Soviet Union emerged victorious in the war against Nazi Germany, only to find itself facing the United States, which would take the banner of leadership of the collective West from Nazi Germany. According to the divisions of the Yalta Conference, the Soviets expanded their influence into Eastern and Central Europe, securing a defensive depth in the heart of Russia. But Soviet leader Joseph Stalin did not have the opportunity to reach the eastern Mediterranean after the defeat of the communists in Greece in the civil war in 1947, nor did he have the opportunity to reach the Adriatic Sea after a dispute broke out with Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito, who accepted generous offers from the West to stay away.
“The Leader and the Nationalization of the Canal” (1957) by Egyptian artist Hamed Owais
About the bloc of socialist countries
Here, the United States began to encircle the bloc of socialist countries by establishing NATO in 1949, which was supposed to besiege the communist bloc and contain the communist influence in Southeast Asia. The Baghdad Pact, also known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was established in 1955 among Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom. It aimed to foster cooperation and mutual defense among its member states, particularly in the face of perceived Soviet expansionism and influence in the Middle East. However, the main target of the United States was to attack the Soviet interior. What hindered this plan was the coup led by Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt, which brought him to power. Abdel Nasser declared his blatant opposition to the policy of Western alliances and declared his own policy of non-alignment in the Cold War, and, at the same time, he began to take rapprochement initiatives toward the Soviet Union and the bloc of socialist countries in order to balance Western support for “Israel”. After his victory against Britain, France, and “Israel” during the tripartite aggression, Abdel Nasser was able to overthrow the Baghdad Pact in 1958 after the coup that he supported against the Hashemite monarchy in Iraq in the summer of 1958.
The Soviet rapprochement with Abdel Nasser contributed to opening the African arena to the growth of African-Russian relations and led to the liberation of African countries from Western colonialism.
But after the year 1965 and the coup against Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in the Soviet Union, the arrival of a bureaucratic class with a “Eurocentrism” orientation in the Soviet Union that gave priority to Moscow’s relations with Europe led to the neglect of Soviet-Arab relations and pushed them to second place in terms of importance. What made matters worse was the communist dogmatism of short-sighted Soviet leaders, which made them neglect the geopolitical dimension. Unfortunately, during the Cold War, the Soviet Union, and specifically the leadership that took power after 1965, did not realize the importance of what was happening in the Middle East as a result of its European-centric vision. Therefore, they were content and happy with what was happening with their share of influence in Eastern and Central Europe, and they neglected their influence in the Middle East.
After 1965, the United States took advantage of the short-sightedness of the new Soviet leadership to resolve the battle in the Middle East. The defeat of the Arab countries in 1967 was not against “Israel”, but it was in fact against the collective West, primarily the United States of America, which supports “Israel”. It also constituted the first major defeat for the Soviet Union. Then, the American attack began in Eastern Europe via the destabilization of Czechoslovakia and Poland. And when the Soviet Union left the region, and after Egypt turned toward the United States under Anwar Sadat, the issue of defeating the Soviet Union was only a matter of time. This brings us back to what the late Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser said in 1969 when he announced that the battle on the banks of the Suez Canal would decide the fate of the world. Therefore, the defeat of the progressive Arab countries, led by Egypt, constituted a defeat for the Soviet Union as a whole, making it lose strategic superiority in favor of the United States, which began achieving one victory after another, leading to victory in the Cold War.
In summary
Now what is happening in the Middle East is also a renewed attempt launched by the collective West, led by the United States, to win global hegemony. They began this attack by occupying Afghanistan in 2002, then Iraq in 2003, before heading to the Russian heartland. They began their attack in Afghanistan, occupying Afghanistan, and then invading Iraq, only to begin shortly after the process of the so-called “Arab Spring” aimed at changing regimes through the use of soft power. After the outbreak of the “Arab Spring”, an indirect war was launched against Russia in the year 2014. Therefore, what is happening in the Middle East, in my estimation, is that any victory in Eastern Europe will not be decisive until the Middle East is done, and, therefore, the Eurasian powers led by Russia must focus their attention on the battle currently taking place in the Middle East because this is the one that could end American influence.
If the Americans win this battle, all the victories that Russia could achieve in Ukraine or Eastern Europe will have no strategic benefit, because the main battle would have been lost, as it happened during the Cold War. Therefore, in the year 1969, during a visit by the late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser to the Suez Canal, when Sinai was occupied and the Israeli enemy was on the other side of the canal, he said that on the banks of the Suez Canal the fate of the world was decided, and unfortunately the fate of the world was decided not in our favor, but in their favor. What he meant was the American hegemony with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Now, the focus must be on this battle. What is happening in the Middle East is a major battle centered on the main axis: Palestine. What is happening in Palestine is something mentioned in religious books. I may have my own interpretation. Hence, we find that some of the signs mentioned in the Bible are being witnessed now: the killing of children at the hands of Rhodes two thousand years ago is being repeated at the hands of Netanyahu in Gaza. The attempt to deport the Palestinians to Egypt is similar to the story of the Virgin Mary and her son Jesus taking refuge in the land of Egypt. It is worth mentioning that the Resistance in Palestine receives assistance from Iran, similar to the gifts that the Three Magi gave to the child Jesus in the cave. Note that what led the three wise men to the cave was mainly the North Star seen in the Middle East as Russia. Could it be a sign that guides the current Russian leadership toward the region to achieve a decisive victory in the contemporary battle of Armageddon?
The eschatological consequences of lose-lose predicaments
This eschatological presentation was filmed before the zionists commenced the land invasion of Gaza. It aged really well. It helps us understand why Zionism CANNOT retreat, and must ever escalate. This has nothing to do with the risible front of Netanyahoo’s political career. Even if he is deposed today, far worse will succeed him, as also appears with his dear cousin “Toria” Nuland..
A cogent argument, having significant agreement with merely observed ongoing geopolitics. In the next phase, the two key battleground regions of 404 and Palestine will coalesce into a single front CENTERED AROUND SYRIA. Palestine is itself a subsidiary of Greater Syria, slyly cut up by the British Empire into the five extant pieces. In other words, Turkey will come off its fence; it was prudent of the Sultan to just say that he will soon retire! Turkey is ‘No Country for Old Men’..
Damascus is ground zero of Armageddon. Why the Axes of Resistance have been so careful not to involve Syria so far — it is for the last phases, when both the Jews and Russians drop their masks and wage open war on each other. The West has become irrelevant already!
The time is ripening now, with Russia having been given all the time it needs to exhaust a fair arrangement with the West. All such were sabotaged by zionist technocrats fronting all major western countries..
The two central actors in our strange End Times are Orthodox Russia and Jewish Israel. The Israelites split into two irreconcilable groups at the time of the First Coming — into Christianity and Jewry.. The West serves as adjunct to the messianic-satanic Jewish side; in the other camp, the key civilizational-states function the same for Russia..
Both sides know the real Messiah’s Second Coming will be in Damascus and prepare for the contest..
You can see how the Jews started the softening up phase of Syria already — focusing on relentless aggression, attriting Iranian advisers, as well as the medieval starvation-economic siege and PsyWar against Syria to keep her down. They stopped deconfliction channels with Russians inside Syria, are sending more dangerous weapons to 404 to help defeat Russia, and various of their UN diplomats and parliamentarians openly threatened Russia.
Russia started its moves via deeper Iranian defense interpenetration, coordinating the economic siege and pauperization of the combined West via Yemen’s Red Sea, preparing for interdicting Gibraltar and the West’s soft underbelly as well as energy-starvation via General Armageddon’s work in Algeria and the Sahel, and Kadyrov’s armies prepositioned inside Syria.. How much of their world-leading air-defense has spread by now via Iran to Hezbollah, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and others??
Everything’s about prepositioning for these imminent next moments. This informs why Europe MUST wage nuclear war on Russia, to try to not only consume her, but to take Russia out of the Holy Land (Greater Syria) and deny the Rest of humanity the world best Russian armory. That is even more important than reclaiming Khazaria on the north coast of the Black Sea. This is crucial too, for rising Unholy Israel overtly seeks to control one of the main breadbaskets of mankind, as already leveraged by BlackRock, Monsanto, Cargill and Big Ag into owning most of the Ukraine. Many narrations foretell the AntiChrist will use food and weather as weapons to control or humiliate nations. Witness Gaza, the fate of us all if they succeed.
“When we sat there in The Hague, the feeling in my heart was for the first time Israel’s impunity is visible to the world.”
The bravery of South Africa bears repeating. It is ironic the second to last official Apartheid state started the firestorm to burn down the Old Order, due to outrage over the brazen criminality of the last official Apartheid state.
The legal case and law maneuvers may not be fast enough to save the dying Palestinians, but the price to the accomplices will be TOTAL in the hearts, wallets, and chosen politico-social relations of 85% of Mankind. Note among the questions asked of the eloquent South African foreign minister: (1) we need enforcement powers of international law and where to obtain it, and (2) why are not all accomplices of this savage annihilation ousted from top international decision-making bodies, such as the UN Security Council??
Gaza by itself will help birth the fairer new multipolar world
The World Youth Festival in southern Russia was a stunning achievement — a Special Cultural Operation (SCO) encompassing the young Global South
By Pepe Escobar at Sputnik.
It starts with the incomparable setting – the 2014 Olympics park of science and art, nested between snowy mountains and the Black Sea – all the way to the stars of the show: over 20,000 young leaders from over 180 nations, Russians and mostly Asians, Africans and Latin Americans, as well as assorted dissidents from the sanctions-obsessed Western “garden”.
Among them are scores of educators, PhDs, public sector or culture activists, charity volunteers, athletes, young entrepreneurs, scientists, citizen journalists, as well as teenagers from 14 to 17, for the first time the focus of a special program, “Together into the Future”. These are the generations that will be building our common future.
President Putin is once again quite sharp: he emphasized how a clear distinction applies between citizens of the world – including the Global North – and the intolerant, extremely aggressive Western plutocracy. Russia, a multinational, multicultural civilization-state, by principle welcomes all citizens of the world.
The World Youth Festival 2024, taking place seven years after the last one, renews a tradition that harks back to the 1957 World Festival of Youth and Students when the USSR welcomed everyone on both sides of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.
The idea of an open platform for young, committed, very organized people attracted by Russian conservative/family values permeates the whole festival – in sharp contrast to the artificial, cancel culture-obsessed “open society” P.R. incessantly sold by the usual hegemonic foundations.
Each day at the festival is dedicated to a main theme. For instance, March 2 was on “responsibility for the fate of the world”; March 3 was for “unity and cooperation among nations”; March 4 was for “a world of opportunities for everyone”.
No less than 300,000 youngsters from around the world applied to come to the festival. So obviously to select a little over 20,000 was quite a feat. After the festival, 2,000 foreign participants will travel to 30 Russian cities for cultural exchange. Exactly what comrade Xi Jinping defines as “people to people’s exchanges”.
It’s no wonder the festival organizers, Rosmolodezh, the Russian federal agency for youth affairs, call it “the largest youth event in the world”. Director Ksenia Razuvaeva noted, “we are destroying the myth that Russia is isolated.”
Putin’s Address to Youth Festival: ‘It’s Up to You to Create Safe World’
Vladimir Putin declared the World Youth Festival open in an address to the participants. The main message of his speech:
"I am sure that the festival participants will return home with love for Russia";
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) March 2, 2024
The Pitfalls of “Asynchronous Multipolarity”
The festival is all about networking among youth groups, intercultural/business ties ranging from the sustainable community level to the larger geopolitical level.
I had the huge honor and responsibility to address a truly multi-Global South audience at the Belgorod oblast pavilion, invited by the Russia Knowledge Foundation, alongside a consultant from Hyderabad, India.
The Q&A session was terrific: ultra-sharp questions from Iran to Serbia, from Brazil to India, from Palestine to Donbass. A true microcosm of the multicultural Young Global South, eager to know everything about the current geopolitical Great Game as well as how national governments can facilitate international cultural and scientific cooperation among young people.
Pepe at the World Youth Festival with comrades of the Donbass Orthodox Christian batallions
“After my talk at the World Youth Festival: Palestine, Pakistan, Iran, Donbass, Brazil, all points South.”
“I had the huge honor and responsibility to address a fab audience from all points Global South at the Belgorod oblast pavilion”
Sidebar: immersion at #WYF2024
The Valdai Club is running a particularly attractive daily program at the forum, The World in 2040.
A workshop on Sunday, for instance, focused on “The Future of a Multipolar World”, anchored by the excellent Andrey Sushentsov, dean of the School of International Relations at MGIMO, arguably the best international relations school on the planet.
The discussion on “asynchronous multipolarity” was particularly useful to the audience (a solid Chinese presence, mostly PhDs), and elicited ultra-sharp questions by researchers from Serbia, South Ossetia, Transnistria and of course China.
Srikanth Kondapalli, a professor of China studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, elaborated on the key concept of “Asian multipolarity” – the many Asias within Asia, something that totally baffles simplistic Western categorizations. After the session we had an excellent exchange about it.
Yet nothing at the forum compares to going from room to packed room, getting a glimpse of the in-depth discussions and then wandering the pavilions in total networking mode. I was approached by everyone from Sudan to Ecuador, from New Guinea to a group of Brazilians, from Indonesians to an official of the Communist Party of the United States.
And then there’s the special prize: the stands of the several Russian republics. That’s when you get the chance to be immersed in a Yamal tea ritual; to receive first-hand information on the Nenets Autonomous Region; or to discuss the procedure to embark on a trip in a nuclear icebreaker in the Northern Sea Route – or Arctic Silk Road: the connectivity channel of the future. Once again: multipolar Russia in effect.
Now compare this peaceful, pan-global gathering focused on all forms of sustainable community programs, drenched in hopes and dreams, to NATO launching a two-week, massive warmongering exercise dubbed “Nordic Response 2024”, carried out by Finland, Norway and newcomer Sweden less than 500 km away from the Russian borders.
Russian President Putin’s Day Down on the Farm in Stavropol Territory
with thanks to Karl at karlof1’s Geopolitical Gymnasium
Clearly not a traditional farm; rather, it’s a bio-organic non-gmo “food factory” that produces much more than tomatoes. All the open ground at the top of the pic is for the next expansion phase. Krasnodar region is at the same latitude as Crimea and boasts 300 days of sunshine annually. From its website:
Solnechniy Dar is one of the largest greenhouse farms in Russia. We use the latest innovative technology to provide fresh produce year-round. We operate 83.27 hectares of high-tech greenhouses that produce more than 38 000 tons of high quality fresh vegetables annually. [My Emphasis]
Impressive rows of hydroponically grown tomatoes at the Solnechny Dar greenhouse complex of the ECO-Culture agro-industrial holding in Stavropol Krai.
Exquisite tomatoes grown year-round.
One of the most impressive aspects of Russia’s import substitution project since the illegal sanctions assault escalated in 2014 is its food production that made Russia sovereign regarding its food security—something that has always plagued it and gave leverage to its opponents. In relation to Putin’s visit, TASS ran an article announcing “Russia becomes 4th country for agricultural exports with revenues of $43.5 bln.” Putin noted that amounts to a 30-fold increase since 2000—not percentage but 30X.
After touring the facility, Putin shared lunch with the workers and discussed their work. Afterwards, Putin participated in the opening ceremonies of new industrial facilities in the Leningrad and Belgorod regions and the Republic of Mordovia:
PhosAgro Group’s mineral production complex was put into commercial operation in the Leningrad Region. fertilizers, including an innovative product – pure water-soluble ammophos.
Plant of EFKO Group of Companies for deep processing of soybeans and other oilseeds began work in the Belgorod region.
In addition, the Talina Group of Companies for the production of meat and sausage products was opened in the Republic of Mordovia.
All are members of what’s known in Russia and the Agro-Industrial sector. Putin then met with the Stavropol Territory Governor Vladimir Vladimirov and capped his day by meeting with representatives of the agro-industrial complex of Russia. The three main events will not fit into one article, so the last meeting will be provided in part two.
There was a lot more talking than eating during the discussion as the video shows. Of course, much traditional farming occurs throughout Russia, even in Siberia where many think it stays frozen all the time. Here’s what they had to say:
Vladimir Putin: Hello!
Remark: Good afternoon!
Vladimir Putin: Please sit down. How are you?
Remark: Good.
Vladimir Putin: I looked at your farm, which is impressive, to be honest. A whole city was built. Five years of building, right?
Alexander Rudakov: Yes, five years.
Vladimir Putin: They said it was the biggest farm in Europe, right?
Alexander Rudakov: The most important thing is that it is the biggest in Russia. Europe has not been so long ago for us.
Vladimir Putin: Do you like working here?
Remark: Yes.
Vladimir Putin: What questions do you have?
Remark: There are some sore spots.
Vladimir Putin: Come on.
Vladimir Kultyaev: Let me get started. Vladimir Kultyaev, power engineer.
Vladimir Vladimirovich, I read that in your youth you worked in a student group.
Vladimir Putin: Exactly, there was such a thing.
V. Kultyaev: Share a memory?
Vladimir Putin: What’s there to share? Take more – throw more.
I have already mentioned this, there are no secrets here, we worked in the Komi ASSR, near Syktyvkar, in some other places, and I went there for several years in a row. At first we were engaged in construction, not even construction, but major repairs of wooden houses. You know, wooden houses, designed for two families, with a veranda on both sides. So we demolished these verandas and demolished the roofs, leaving the center.
Replica: Box.
Vladimir Putin: Well, yes. Added verandahs and roofs were made. But the work was quite stressful. It was necessary to carry such healthy logs, to drag them up.
Vladimir Kultyaev: Thank you. Could you recommend that modern students practice in our greenhouse? We are very much waiting for them.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, with pleasure. How much is your average salary?
A. Rudakov: 56 thousand.
Vladimir Putin: This is more than by region.
[Stavropol governor] Vladimir Vladimirov: We have 49.
Vladimir Putin: In the conditions in which we worked, the conditions were difficult: construction, and then cutting down power lines – this is hard work, it was necessary to thresh. There was someone older, I was still snotty, of course, but why, I just came, and we mostly took guys after the army or with work experience, in my opinion, at least three years. So the guys were stronger after the army, and I came right after school. I thought that I was an athlete, honestly, I was a candidate or a master of sports, what do I need there, what nonsense, but it turned out that I wasn’t: by the end of the day I was barely dragging my feet. And the older guys were stronger.
You know, I can [tell you] – a household thing, but curious. I remember when we worked for a week, sorry, we went to the bathhouse – it was as if I had come to the Hermitage, to this bathhouse. It was a feeling of rest, absolute, complete.
But we made a decent living there – I asked for a salary for some reason. We worked, of course, very hard – for 12 [hours], and even [more]. No one followed any norms or labor legislation. And when the power lines were cut down in the taiga, and when the houses were repaired, we probably worked for 15 hours. But on the other hand, we earned decent money, which at that time was very decent money: 900, 1000 rubles, some even more.
But nevertheless, these were different forms of construction teams, they are still different, and we revived this system of construction teams. And the guys are working in agriculture now. But it’s certainly a pleasure to work at a facility like yours. Especially, probably, for specialists who plan to work in agriculture in the future. It is becoming more and more interesting, high-tech, and requires a good education and special knowledge. Now it is difficult to achieve such results without this knowledge, without these technologies: here both genetics and biology are included-what is not. This is a very interesting type of activity.
A few years ago, when my Administration started talking about high technologies, they created special groups. To be honest, I’m ashamed, but it seemed to me that this is somehow redundant, one direction is purely in agriculture. I even asked my colleagues: “How is high technology?” “Of course! Without this, it is impossible to develop.”
And indeed, a lot has been done, the Ministry is doing a lot in this direction, supporting science. In this regard, of course, construction teams are a practice. Although I know for sure that people from different fields work at agricultural enterprises in the summer, they work with pleasure. It is important to create an appropriate atmosphere here. I am sure that this is possible with such managers. Why do I say “with such managers”, because if they are so creative that they have created such a huge enterprise – it takes your breath away! By car we go, we go, I think, where does it end? No end in sight. It’s not for my arrival here so cleaned? So everything is clean.
Remark: This is always the case with us.
Vladimir Putin: Everything is clean, everything is clean, everything is working. Now we have looked at and shown new cleaning devices, also made with the help of artificial intelligence and robotics, which will clean up four times more than one person. But it won’t make you unemployed, will it?
Alexander Rudakov: Absolutely not. We’ll build more.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, the company will expand. This is great!
We are talking about this now, and the media will process it all and issue it accordingly.: a) advertising and b) attracting possible construction teams to work for you.
Vladimir Kultyaev: Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you, it’s so cool and beautiful here.
S. Gubaz: Good afternoon!
Vladimir Putin: Good morning.
S. Gubaz: Leading agronomist-agrochemist of “Sunny Gift” Gubaz Sabina Lavrentievna.
Vladimir Vladimirovich, I would like to start by saying that our company devotes a lot of time to improving the prestige of working in greenhouse complexes. People come to us who are really in love with working with plants. But we also understand that it is important to feed this love, for example, with care on our part. I think that such issues as benefits for purchasing housing, perhaps the construction of houses for young professionals, are taken care of to attract personnel, of course, not far from the place of work.
Vladimir Vladimirovich, are any projects being considered for the construction of apartment buildings for specialists or preferential conditions for the purchase of housing for agronomists in our region?
Vladimir Putin: Yes, for everyone, we also have preferential mortgages for agriculture. Moreover, they are different for different categories, but from 0.1 to 3 percent per annum. They also work. Don’t they build anything here?” (To Vladimir Vladimirovich.) Don’t build anything?
Vladimir Vladimirov: Alexander Sergeyevich [Rudakov] and I have a joint project specifically for Sunny Gift – to start construction on a preferential mortgage. Therefore, we are entering the next cycle of the national project and will also build it. It is under a preferential mortgage.
Vladimir Putin: After all, why did so much housing was built in Russia last year? This is an absolute record, never seen before in the Soviet Union – over 110 million square meters of land. Mainly because of mortgages and preferential mortgages. And we decided to keep the preferential mortgage for agriculture, it will work.
So you just need to get organized here, Mr Putin.
Vladimir Vladimirov: That’s it!
Vladimir Putin: Of course, do it. And as soon as you get organized, we will do everything possible to work out these tools for you. Here, at such enterprises, how many employees do you have?
A. Rudakov: 2400.
Vladimir Putin: 2400. Especially for specialists.
By the way, the second option that you need to use is service housing for the duration of work. We do this in order to increase the mobility of labor resources. It goes on and on, it is being used more and more widely and is in quite high demand. And from all that we are building, we are now starting to use wooden housing construction more and more widely. It’s probably great to build something out of wood in an area like this. Moreover, they also build apartment buildings from wooden structures. Very eco-friendly.
So all options are possible here, Mr President, and we must do it. Of course, we will support you. I will tell Marat Shakirzyanovich [Khusnullinu], you will call him, work with him. The funds we have are allocated, and they are very decent. And the banks work flawlessly. Moreover, they do not want the volume of housing construction to decline. It’s a good business for them.
However, due to the fact that a lot of housing is being built, and on this preferential mortgage, there are already concerns on the part of regulators who deal with the financial market, cash flows, as if there is too much money supply, this leads to inflation, and so on. Therefore, we have to adjust a little now.
But we still keep these benefits for the village.
Irina Enina: Managing Technologist of Sunny Gift Irina Enina.
Vladimir Vladimirovich, I was curious to ask you. Do you prefer cucumbers or tomatoes?
Vladimir Putin: It depends on what we eat.
If in a serious way, then both.
Irina Enina: We recommend you to try our tomatoes. They are the best here.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, I’ll try. Just put it there. “He asked me to come visit and said that the old lady-mother would be very happy, but he didn’t leave an address” – there is such a thing in our classics. I will definitely try it now.
In general, it’s hard for me to say, both are delicious. After all, we have tomatoes relatively recently. They came to us, as you probably know, from Latin America. They were brought to Europe by the Spaniards in the XVI century. And only under Catherine the Great, which is already, in my opinion, the XVII-XVIII century, they appeared in Russia. Very popular dish. So let’s give it a try.
It’s just from these twigs where we were just now, isn’t it? Delicious.
Alexander Rudakov: Thank you. We are very pleased. We try our best.
N. Batrak: Foreman of the vegetable growing brigade, my name is Natalia Batrak.
Today, ECO-culture produces the largest amount of tomatoes in Russia.
Vladimir Putin: In an enclosed area?
N. Batrak: In the closed ground, yes.
Alexander Rudakov: There will be even more, don’t worry.
N. Batrak: The Stavropol Territory is our homeland. We can say that it is practically the birthplace of tomatoes, because here is the largest greenhouse complex in Russia – almost 122 hectares.
Vladimir Putin: That’s great.
N. Batrak: Many regions and cities have their own business cards. Somewhere they celebrate the tomato festival, the cucumber festival, and we even have an All-Russian Onion Day.
I previously worked at Domodedovo Airport, and a lot of Russians use the North Caucasus for vacations. As a rule, this is the Black Sea coast. We would very much like the Stavropol Territory to attract tourists, in addition to tourists, so that they know about us and hear about us.
How do you like the idea of creating a tomato festival in the Stavropol Territory?
Vladimir Putin: You probably know, you probably know…
N. Batrak: In Spain, right?
Vladimir Putin: Yes, they throw tomatoes.
N. Batrak: No, we want beautiful things.
Replica: We will eat.
Vladimir Putin: But why? Why not?
N. Batrak: So that some fairs can be included in this festival.
Vladimir Putin: The local authorities should help you. Not even regionally, but locally. What’s the name of the district here?
V. Vladimirov: Izobilnensky city district.
Vladimir Putin: Talk to your superiors. There are no local bosses here?
N. Batrak: No.
Vladimir Putin: Why do you discriminate? I should have invited him.
Vladimir Vladimirov: He went to the SVO.
Vladimir Putin: By the way, I looked at the portraits of your guys – vegetable growers, standing with machine guns, vegetable growers are strong. Don’t forget about our children, especially their families. We have just spoken with the managers.
And the idea itself is a great, cool idea. I don’t think we have one yet, do we?
N. Batrak: No.
Vladimir Putin: Well, why not do it?
Vladimir Vladimirov: We have a Watermelon festival, a wine festival, and a grape festival.
Vladimir Putin: We need to combine the wine festival with the tomato festival. But then they will throw themselves, of course. But the idea is good, wonderful, let’s do it.
Vladimir Vladimirov: Very well.
Vladimir Putin: And if you need to help-come on, what’s the problem?
Vladimir Vladimirov: We’ll manage.
Vladimir Putin: (To Dmitry Medvedev).To Patrushev). Dmitry Nikolaevich?
[Minister of Agriculture] D. Patrushev: I support it. Very good initiative.
Vladimir Putin: Of course. What kind of events do we have? Cucumber festival, what else is there?
Dmitry Patrushev: We have a cucumber festival, we have an onion festival.
Vladimir Putin: The onion festival?
Dmitry Patrushev: Yes, it is held in different regions. In general, we have “Tastes of Russia”, we did all this within the framework of your instructions, and there any products, including vegetable growing, can be presented and receive appropriate medals, win competitions and continue to develop exactly those industries where these products are produced. We have done a very good job, we have been holding this competition for the last three years, and the regions and small businesses are happy to take part. This is a large enterprise, but nevertheless also, I think that if they participate, then there is every chance to take first place and further promote their products.
Vladimir Putin: And what will this first place give?
Dmitry Patrushev: Well, first of all, we will also provide financial support for the development of this brand, and we will promote it, including by making it easier to enter export markets. And this gives certain advantages for further promotion. Often regional brands, they are not widely known on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Vladimir Putin: The advertising will be good.
Dmitry Patrushev: Yes, this allows almost the whole of Russia to know about this brand.
Vladimir Putin: Please support us.
Dmitry Patrushev: We’ll do it.
Vladimir Putin: Vladimir Vladimirovich [Vladimirov] will help his colleagues, and you are from the ministry.
Dmitry Patrushev: Yes.
Vladimir Putin: It won’t hurt to involve the media and various agencies that could help organize this beautifully. It’s a good idea.
A. Rudakov: And the growth of consumption will be very useful, the popularization of the product.
Vladimir Putin: It is good that there is an increase in consumption, only then we will need to ensure an increase in supply in the market, so that we do not ask our friends from Turkey, as in some other types, from other countries, to urgently supply us with this or that product.
Dmitry Patrushev: We will study.
Vladimir Putin: Our tomato production has grown significantly in recent years, right?
D. Patrushev: In general, we grew up very well on greenhouse vegetables. We didn’t have such an industry at all until 10 years ago. In fact, we re-organized it, and in my opinion, we collected more than 1.5 million tons of vegetables from the closed ground last year. This is also, in principle, one of our records and achievements.
Vladimir Putin: What is important is that we have our own production of this equipment, right? Where did you say it was produced?
Alexey Rudakov: In Lipetsk, in the Lipetsk special Economic Zone, as you probably know, the plant is modern and new. We provide for our own projects and our partners who build in Russia, and there are no problems with this, Mr Putin. Russian equipment – 90% of our production is made in Russia.
Even the film, we have a film complex, there is a slightly different technology, probably you know. It was the best in Greece. We made a film in Lipetsk, tested it in Switzerland, it surpasses this Greek one, the best, in terms of light transmission capacity. We produce everything ourselves, everything that makes economic sense. Well, we bribe something in China, some fees. There are no problems with this.
Vladimir Putin: You’re doing everything you can, aren’t you?
Alexander Rudakov: Yes.
Vladimir Putin: That’s great.
Alexey Rudakov: If we have a stronger dialogue with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, we need them to support us a little bit.
Vladimir Putin: What do you need?
Alexey Rudakov: At least by 10 percent, as the Ministry of Agriculture supports us in every possible way.
Vladimir Putin: What do you need?
Alexander Rudakov: Metalworking is their industry.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course.
A. Rudakov: There is also some kind of preferential financing there, and so on. We are trying to build a dialogue, but so far we have to use our own resources to implement all this.
Vladimir Putin: And the benefits and tools that we envisage for agriculture cannot be applied there?
Dmitry Patrushev: Mr President, we only have support for the production of food products, agricultural producers, but if they produce food, food. And if they do something else, we do it carefully.
Vladimir Putin: And on all sorts of investment platforms and so on?
Dmitry Patrushev: You can watch it. I think that Alexander Sergeyevich [Rudakov] and I will just think about what programs the Ministry of Industry and Trade can integrate into in order to have some benefits in terms of, perhaps, soft loans, perhaps there are some grants.
There is an industry support fund, I do not know, I am currently fantasizing whether it will be possible to use it or not, but we will think about it and join forces.
Vladimir Putin: Why is it impossible? We also have various investment platforms. Here, not just any investment platform will be used, but for agriculture. Let’s talk to Manturov.
Dmitry Patrushev: All right.
Vladimir Putin: Agreed. So you did the right thing.
N. Batrak: We will wait.
Irina Morozova: Irina Morozova, Chief Specialist of the HR Department.
I have a question, probably more of a request than yours. We have a large greenhouse complex, as already announced, 2,400 employees, but most of the employees live outside the village of Solnechnodolsk, these are rural areas and remote areas. Delivery of our employees is carried out by official transport. What’s the point? Personnel reserve. We are always waiting for people, we are always happy to see them, we have covered a large radius of settlements in order to attract people.
Vladimir Putin: How many employees do you have in total?
I. Morozova: 2400.
A. Rudakov: This was collected from a radius of 100 kilometers.
Vladimir Putin: I understood.
Irina Morozova: Even in some places there are more than 100 kilometers.
Our municipal roads are not very comfortable. There are a lot of people who want to go, but it’s not very comfortable to get there. Not only do we create conditions, people want to work, there are people who want to, but the road is not very comfortable. And especially in the off-season, it is not very convenient and problematic. I would like your help in repairing inter-municipal roads. Such a problem.
Vladimir Putin: You know, I’m going to turn back to the governor. I’ll tell you why. Vladimir Vladimirovich [Vladimirov] knows this, and we have divided our competence between the federal center and the regions. And it is divided as follows: the federal center deals with federal roads, and the money comes from the federal budget. There we have a task: to bring 85 percent of these federal roads into a standard state, and in principle the task is fulfilled.
As for the regional ones, I didn’t mention this in my Address just now, because the financial authorities there are somehow worried about the amount of funding. But now I will say that there is nothing here that is not a state secret, especially since this figure has already been mentioned, 60 percent of interregional roads need to be brought into a standard state. And appropriate finances are allocated. Whether it will work or not, I just didn’t want to get ahead of myself right now, because there are certain restrictions, because we have a lot of money allocated in other areas, in the social sphere, and we need to understand how much and what it will be possible to do there. But nevertheless, the reference point is approximate.
This is the responsibility of the regions. But we also help the regions with this, and we allocate money from the federal budget. In my opinion, 300 billion rubles were allocated last year for inter-municipal roads in general. But this is still the task and responsibility of the regions of the Russian Federation, in this case, of course, the Stavropol Territory itself.
I will ask you now, and Mr Putin will say a few words about what they are planning there. But we provide assistance from federal funds, from the federal budget.
I think that it is necessary, of course, to pay attention – not just to all the sisters in the same earrings, but in this case, when you have a large enterprise, then you absolutely need to collect employees from the district, so let’s say, of course, you need to pay primary attention to such situations.
Vladimir Vladimirovich, Izobilnensky city District is part of the Stavropol agglomeration. When you gave instructions to create the national project “Safe, High-quality Roads”, the Stavropol agglomeration was included in this project. We have received about 15 billion rubles in 6 years, in addition to the fact that our road fund has grown to 19 billion. Currently, the regulatory status of inter-municipal, i.e. regional roads in this agglomeration corresponds to 81 percent.
I think that we will work with the management, in addition to the direction of where, what is not covered. You correctly say, you cannot “by earrings”. Overall figures always look nice – we are the third best road quality company in Russia.
Vladimir Putin: So, by the way, I forwarded it.
Vladimir Vladimirov: In addition to the direction where there are difficulties on the roads…
Vladimir Putin: Until you praise yourself, not a single piglet will say a good word.
V. Vladimirov: I never promise anything, we won’t do it in a year, but within a year and a half, taking into account the design, I think that we will decide on the direction that is very important for ECO-culture.
Vladimir Putin: This is a specific enterprise.
Vladimir Vladimirov: Direction – meaning from where? Where is the bad road? You just tell me.
Vladimir Putin: It’s just a specific enterprise here. They use a vacuum cleaner to collect people from all over the area – of course, this is important.
I. Morozova: I can tell you that much. Novoaleksandrovsky district, Vorovsky farm. Problematic.
Vladimir Putin: Do you also need specialists from there?
Irina Morozova: Wait a minute. We have a large number of vegetable growers. Such work is carried out, these are the people who support production. After all, tomatoes are a colossal work. So we are waiting for everyone. Even from such a locality. And the people there are wonderful employees, by the way.
Vladimir Putin: I don’t doubt it, I don’t question it in any way.
Why did I just say that this is a regional level of responsibility? Because even when we give money from the federal budget for support, we give a transfer, we don’t ask the region where it wants to send it, it is the region itself that decides. We are sitting here right now, Vladimir Vladimirovich is listening, and of course, I am sure that he understands this very well: if an enterprise has been established, it needs to be provided with labor resources, people need to be brought in.
The same applies to transport, by the way, and we also allocate money for this.
Vladimir Vladimirovich Vladimirov: 260 buses, thank you very much, we have received them. Thank you very much for this decision, because today we cover almost all economically impractical routes with so-called municipal transport. Thank you so much.
Vladimir Putin: In six years, 40 thousand [units] of transport should be delivered additionally [to the regions].
Vladimir Vladimirov: We have just received the first ones.
Vladimir Putin: So it’s not for nothing that we discussed it.
Irina Morozova: We are expanding the talent pool of Sunny Gift and we are very much hoping for Vladimir Vladimirovich.
Vladimir Putin: Mr Putin will tell us later what exactly he decided to do.
Vladimir Vladimirov: I already remember Vorovsky.
Vladimir Putin: We need specialists from there to work at the enterprise.
With.Vorontsov: Sergey Vorontsov. I work as an agronomist here at the complex. I like my job, I like working in this industry, but when I communicate with my peers and peers, many people simply do not know what kind of job it is, what kind of profession it is, and what I do. Before I got a job here, I didn’t know that agronomists worked here.
Vladimir Putin: What did you finish?
With.Vorontsov: I’m a chef.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, but you love tomatoes.
With.Vorontsov: Yes, I love tomatoes. What do you think, maybe it’s time to somehow modernize the name, rename, maybe, the agronomist? Maybe a plant-growing designer of some sort?
Vladimir Putin: No, it doesn’t inspire confidence – the designer is a plant breeder. The content is needed, not the appearance. I do not know, you know better. I think an agronomist sounds proud. If memory serves, this word is of Greek origin. Agros is land, arable land, and nomos is a norm or law. Arable land, land and law. And this makes a lot of sense. I do not know if you think it doesn’t sound like it, but in my opinion, it is…
With.Vorontsov: Closer to the youth, maybe.
Vladimir Putin: Suggest something. I wouldn’t change it at all. The agronomist-this is me as if in jest, but I say it without joking: it sounds so solid, you know. If you know what this means and what a person does, especially in modern conditions, what is modern arable land, what is modern science about agriculture. Agronomists are in hot demand in the country today.
Dmitry Patrushev: Absolutely true.
Vladimir Putin: There is a huge shortage of good specialists. This is a very prestigious job, it requires both knowledge and good experience, and the ability to gain this knowledge again and again, because in such an area as agriculture, of course, at the pace that is gained in agriculture, in world agriculture. You know, this is also breeding, this is the same genetics, there are a lot of such high-tech things there. They require deep knowledge and the ability to constantly work on yourself.
With.Vorontsov: Can we somehow popularize this profession?
Vladimir Putin: Yes, that’s another matter, of course.
Here you are absolutely right, to show what kind of work it is, not just to walk around in knee-high rubber boots…
With.Vorontsov: Many people don’t know, really.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, you are right here. I don’t mind any innovations, but where they are needed, I don’t see the need here. But popularization, show development prospects, prospects for creative and industrial growth – this is of course. The significance of this type of activity today for the country, its charms are diverse. I repeat, from the point of view of career growth – this, of course, needs to be discussed. It’s true.
The Ministry initiated these things at that time.
To be honest, it all sounded a little unusual for me, this question, this suggestion. Because I thought that against the background of a large deficit, the demand for agronomists in the country, in the industry, I thought that this issue would be solved.…
With.Vorontsov: Maybe that’s why there is a shortage, because few people know?
Vladimir Putin: No, there is a shortage, because there is rapid development, very rapid development. How much land have we introduced recently?
Dmitry Patrushev: Mr President, we have introduced millions of hectares over the past few years. We now have a sown area of about 84 [million hectares]. It increases regularly, so, of course, specialists are needed.
We have a certain problem. Our specialized universities do not always train specialists who are in demand in agriculture. There were fashionable certain professions in their time-economists, lawyers, and they retrained. True, it was all done for extra-budgetary funds, but it was still blurry. Now we are still retraining our universities, and the main focus, the main emphasis is on those professions that are in demand in our industry, in the agro-industrial complex.
And you are absolutely right, a high-quality, professional agronomist is a profession that is currently in great demand. Alexander Sergeyevich knows that serious, professional, competent people with this profession, indeed, there is a very competitive struggle between large enterprises for them. Therefore, on the contrary, we will introduce more hours for training such specialists.
Vladimir Putin: As for the training of specialists, we do it in all industries, pay attention to the training that is in demand on the labor market and production. And these universities were transferred from you, right?
Dmitry Patrushev: No, these are our universities.
Vladimir Putin: What prevents you from restoring order then?
Dmitry Patrushev: Mr President, we are doing this. This work is being carried out quite actively, and our students who are graduating are in demand. We train high-quality guys.
Vladimir Putin: Then, you see, the result largely depends on agronomists. If not 100 percent, at least more than 50 percent, that’s for sure. And the result is what we have-such results have never been! Last year, how much, 157 [million tons of crop], right?
D. Patrushev: 147 [million tons].
Vladimir Putin: And the year before last?
Dmitry Patrushev: The year before last – 157 [million tons], in my opinion.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, 157 [million tons], then 147 [million tons] in the last year of harvest. There have never been such harvests! You see, we have become the fourth country in the world to export agricultural products. And for wheat – the first country in the world. Revenue was what-45 billion?
Dmitry Patrushev: 43.5.
Vladimir Putin: $ 43.5 billion in revenue from sales of products on the foreign market alone.
We have become one of the first countries in the world to produce meat, and this is also related to agronomic activities, because feed is needed, this is the same chain. There have never been such results in the country’s agro-industrial complex. I do not know, even under the tsar-father, probably, there were no such results.
Dmitry Patrushev: It wasn’t. There were no such technologies there.
Vladimir Putin: Everything is becoming more and more high-tech. But popularization is needed, it’s quite obvious, it’s for sure. We’ll do it, try, and say it more accurately.
Mikhail Dorokhov: Hello. I am a specialist in civil defense and emergency situations Dorokhov Maxim Vitalievich.
Vladimir Putin: What is a specialist in?
M. Dorokhov: On Civil Defense and Emergency Situations.
Vladimir Putin: It’s clear.
Mikhail Dorokhov: Our colleagues mostly talk only about their work and problems. I also have a question, but I would like to start with something positive.
Vladimir Putin: We also talk about positive things.
Mikhail Dorokhov: I want to tell you a little bit about myself. I live in a private house in a rural area. I’ve been waiting for more than five years for the gas line to come to my house. Since I had electric heating, it was very difficult for the family pocket.
Finally, in 2022, as part of the social gasification program, gas came to my house right on New Year’s Eve, December 31. I want to say thank you to the guys, gas workers, who turned on the power at 10 o’clock…
Vladimir Putin: It was a New Year’s gift.
Mikhail Dorokhov: Yes. Comfort came to the house.
When I found out that I would have the opportunity to see you, I was delighted, and I want to personally thank you from the bottom of my heart for the changes in my life that have come to my house.
Vladimir Putin: Thanks to Gazprom, not me. A little bit and they worked.
Mikhail Dorokhov: And now I have a question, a very relevant question, which concerns all the residents of our village, nearby villages and settlements. This is more than 30 percent of the residents of the Izobilny city district.
This question is “on the pencil” with our governor, but we want you to also pay attention to it and help in this matter. Our question is as follows. “ECO-culture” constantly supports our city district in financial and social matters, and it has renovated our hospital, brought it into a modern form, and there are no doctors in it. There are no doctors. We have to travel to Izobilny, often to Stavropol. The main issue is that life is solved in minutes, and Izobilny is 30 kilometers away. We ask that intensive care, surgery, and therapy return to us as before. We even had gynaecology, I’m sorry, it was the most advanced in the surrounding areas. That’s what I wanted to ask you.
Vladimir Putin: The clinic itself, or what is it?
Mikhail Dorokhov: No, this is a hospital. There used to be a maternity hospital here, and I think some of them were born here.
Vladimir Putin: Is the hospital in order now?
Mikhail Dorokhov: Yes, ECO-culture helps the village a lot. We now have a modern overhaul done, even ahead of time, before the New Year, and our governor knows, in my opinion. So what we’re asking is very important. Moreover, we already have more people in the village, it is growing, the village itself.
Vladimir Putin: How many people live there?
Mikhail Dorokhov: Well, last time there were more than 12 thousand people. And it increases.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, look, first of all, as for gasification. The program is good, we are extending it, first for a certain category of households, we did it, then expanded it to social facilities. And now, perhaps you noticed, I said in my Message that we will also distribute it to horticultural areas and partnerships. Over a million households have already used this project, one million and one-tenth. The networks are already connected to them. And we will continue to do so. I am very pleased that there are concrete results. This is the first one.
Now, the second thing is that as far as healthcare and education are concerned, by the way, it’s the same. Of course, this is one of the most important areas of rural social development. I’m not going to list everything that is being done here, but you’ve probably heard that we have introduced such tools as additional payments to rural paramedics, rural doctors, and so on. But now, I also said this quite recently, we are adding more to this (I did not accidentally ask how many people live in your village), in localities we are adding less than 50 thousand doctors to what we did before, we are adding another 50 thousand to this increase for doctors and 30 thousand for the average medical staff. In localities from 50 to 100 thousand inhabitants, the increase will be smaller: 29 and 13 thousand, respectively.
We have a big program to develop the so-called primary health care system. These are FAPs, including midwifery centers, and so on. But what should I mention? We give this money, but regional leaders should also determine priorities.
I was recently in the Tula region, came to the FAP – this is a paramedic and midwifery center, it is simple, but everything should be there in order to provide primary care to people – and the manager says to me: “And we still have several FAPs that need urgent support, restoration or even new construction”.
But the Federation only gives money, and the local leadership determines to whom in the first, second, third place and how much to give. It’s not up to us to decide, it’s up to the governor and his team, and they have to do it. We give this money to doctors and nurses, and the regional and local authorities should determine who should use these support tools first and how. They are there.
Since we are both here, the two Presidents, so I think that the Governor and I will have a separate discussion today and decide what can be done specifically for your object, for your locality.
Mikhail Dorokhov: Thank you very much.
Elena Apalkova: Mr President, your visit is a great honor for us. Once again, I would like to ask you what impression you got from visiting our greenhouse? What did you like? Or maybe, in your opinion, we need to work on something else?
Vladimir Putin: Alexander Sergeyevich said that they plan to develop and develop new areas. We must do what we can. I understand that these construction companies are also yours, right? In Lipetsk. This is a mixed type of activity being mastered.
We have now shown representatives of a young, small, but very interesting company that deals with robotics. I have already mentioned this. Apparently, you know the vending machine that collects these tomatoes. This is the second direction you have. It’s already two, three. There may actually be a lot of them. But, of course, those who are engaged in business, first of all, look at making it efficient, in order to pay salaries, in order to create jobs, in order to develop markets at home and abroad.
Since both the Minister and the governor are here, I think that we will support any initiative that will benefit you, the region, and the country as a whole. Only you formulate what you want.
Elena Apalkova: Thank you.
Alexander Rudakov: Mr President, please take this opportunity to follow up. We are building two large projects – in the Omsk region and in the Rostov region. By the way, Governor Khotsenko reported to you for our Omsk project, which we are building in Siberia. They are fully illuminated.
Could you help us with the issue of direct connection to the Federal Grid, because we are deployed at IDGC, where kilowatt-hour is twice as expensive, and we will not have savings. If possible.
Vladimir Putin: You know, it would be better if you whispered this in my ear right now. I’ll tell you why.
Alexander Rudakov: I was too shy.
Vladimir Putin: I shouldn’t have. Because connecting to these networks, as a rule, the vast majority of consumers want to be directly connected. Then who will connect to other networks and how do I maintain other networks? But it doesn’t matter, we’ll talk to you separately.
Alexander Rudakov: Thank you very much.
Vladimir Putin: Please.
Elena Apalkova: We will have a request for you.
Vladimir Putin: Please.
Elena Apalkova: Can I take a photo with you as a keepsake?
Vladimir Putin: With pleasure. [My Emphasis]
The banter in this discussion was rather hard to follow in places, particularly with Putin referring to himself in the third person. As I’ve written many times, Russia remains a developing nation in many areas that were neglected during the Soviet era. Roads are just one instance. Russia also shares the global problem of their being too few doctors in rural regions, which is related to an overall shortage of doctors. Now, in Russia the problem isn’t sky high tuitions that require massive loans to finance and then repay; rather, it’s the demographic problem that sees shortages of trained people in many areas—new specialized agronomists as noted here. The USSR tried to deal with this shortage by directly assigning people to their positions. Now that’s being done by incentive programs in pay and housing, but that still doesn’t solve the underlying problem of too few people. Putin could probably bemoan that issue everywhere he goes but doesn’t. Success at times breeds problems. The agro-industrial complex is growing rapidly and competes for workers with other areas. The problem isn’t in the lack of rural regions to develop; the problem is infrastructure of which the potential workforce is one component that can’t be manufactured. IMO, the one nation most likely to become close to having the robotic density described in Asimov’s Foundation will be Russia.
Meeting with Stavropol Territory Governor Vladimir Vladimirov.
The discussion between the two Vladimirs, one Russia’s President, the other Stavropol’s President, probably went well beyond what the transcript provides as what we read deals with some of the issues raised at the farm.
Vladimir Vladimirov: I would like to draw your attention to two aspects. As always, according to the standard report about today. Now we are on the threshold of spring field work. In general, we have almost 4 million hectares of land – 3 million 924 thousand hectares. Two million we sow for winter, winter crops, two million we sow for spring. 84 thousand pieces of equipment, and I want to say that the Ministry of Industry and Trade helps us very well here. Every year, we replace imported equipment by 10 percent. Now we have increased 10 percent again, bought 8 thousand units of Russian or Belarusian equipment, and, accordingly, we have literally 16 thousand units of imported equipment left. Everything is going well.
On seed production. We also discussed breeding work at the meeting. All from 7 to 19 percent of the replacement of imported seeds. Now we were in teplitsy, a regional investment park that we created in 2015. There is an American plant for the production of corn here, the Americans have not left, they are also working, they have mimicked the Russian jurisdiction, they are working calmly and we are already almost 50 percent provided with corn. On grain completely on 100 percent.
Socio-economic indicators. I specifically gave you six years, why? National projects, after all. We have received 131 billion rubles for national projects over 6 years. Almost all indicators are either double growth or two and a half times growth. Our exports have grown from 400 million this year to 2 billion. And here I thank the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture, because both there and there are a billion rubles each.
By salary. Also growth, we entered 30 thousand, now we have 49 thousand salaries. GRP per capita increased by two and a half times. It was 200 thousand rubles, and today it is 450 thousand rubles per capita. Everything goes, everything turns out slowly.
By budget efficiency. The most important element, but in terms of numbers.
Vladimir Putin: Let’s see how it turns out.
Vladimir Vladimirov: Mr President, we have a record. This year, for the first time, we have passed the budget of 200 billion rubles. 10 years ago, it was 55 billion.
Vladimir Putin: And the debt load has decreased?
Vladimir Vladimirov:The debt burden has decreased: it was 130 percent, but today we have reached 23 percent. And then, 23 percent is not because we borrow something somewhere, thank you very much for the investment and budget loans. As for infrastructure, we transfer it through investment and budget loans, so they appear in the structure as over-credited, but we haven’t taken out a single ruble of loans since 2018. We go and slowly everything is replaced.
I can’t help but focus on supporting a special military operation. During this time, 19 billion rubles were allocated to support families and children who are fighting. We pay for rewards, injuries, and the loss of a breadwinner. We took over the children’s education completely. Today, we encourage contract work by making lump-sum payments through our regional budget. Now we have taken the food, the uniform, and the tuition fees have already been taken care of.
We meet people. On your behalf, I also held a meeting with the widows of our departed children. There are instructions there – they asked to increase the preparation for school, they asked me to double the payments, all this is being resolved. There were questions about registration, and now we are making changes to our legislation. We try to respond quickly to all requests that come from people. 19 billion rubles were allocated for social support, 9 billion-this is our business support for children: copters, uniforms, clothing, weapons – all that is necessary for them to be able to fight today. And about 9 billion rubles have been allocated to our sponsored territories today.
By your Decree, we had the city of Anthracite and the Anthracite district. We have restored 384 objects there since 2022, and now the third season is starting. Now, by your order, we have entered the city of Stakhanov together with the Omsk region, with Vitaly Pavlovich Khotsenko. I visited there on February 21, the same situation as in Anthracite, where Russians were deliberately killed.
Everything is ruined, everything is killed. I’m asking: what’s happening? We haven’t invested a penny in 30 years. We went to the House of Culture – honestly, there are no such people even in Stavropol. Apparently, Stakhanov was, broke through the situation at the time-he was just there in the recruit was standing. A good House of Culture – unfortunately, it arrived on purpose. Apparently, they were bombed with Hymars, and one part of the House of Culture was bombed. We will now undertake to restore it.
If you want to see – a real Stalinist Empire style. It was from 1936 to 1945 that they built it. There’s a decent House of Culture right there, and we’re going to restore it now. The pool was requested – there are a lot of questions.
Issues are resolved here. Vladimir Vladimirovich, I can’t help but stop-criticize me, of course, on the roads – I know that from the farm Vorovsky.
Vladimir Putin: Well no…
Vladimir Vladimirov: 81 percent of [roads] meet [the standards], I will deal with Vorovsky exactly, there will be no problems.
Vladimir Putin: There is a large enterprise there. Employees need to be delivered…
V. Vladimirov: BCD [“Safe, high-quality Roads”] is our most recognizable national project. Another major renovation of schools and BCD. As I have already reported to you, there are 19 billion rubles for the BCD. For an agglomeration, this is a crazy leap. 81 percent of roads in the agglomeration meet the standard, and 87 percent are located within the urban agglomeration. This is a good result. We are here-honestly – in a leading position in Russia. For private matters, it doesn’t matter: now the patching will also go. We will try to [solve it].
Vladimir Putin: Is it 30 percent higher than in the Russian Federation as a whole?
Vladimir Vladimirov: It worked, in general. Thank you to the Ministry of Transport.
Education. The most important element. I really want to say a big thank you for the school. What we have today…
Vladimir Putin: What a colleague just said at the meeting: there is not just an external update, but really deep work.
Vladimir Vladimirov: We went to the school, stripped everything down to the bare walls, and if the walls – we still have many people thrown on the crate – the crate was stripped off, everything was completely re – made – water, sewerage, electricity, weak power, fire – everything was re-made. Actually a new school. The windows, roofs, facade, and entire territory were tried [to improve] – everything works out here.
3.6 billion rubles were allocated for major repairs of schools a year – this is simply an incredible figure. Today, thank God, it works.
Rural schools – now we can go to Solnechnodolsk, each rural school has 347 growth points. This is 347 places, and children are engaged in additional education. It turns out perfectly. We have launched Sirius, we have two Avangard schools, one Warrior school, eight IT cubes and two places for robotics classes. All this is the national project “Education”. [My Emphasis]
As I said, there seems like more is there but was cut. It seems like the Governor is on top of his job. The region has certainly grown and progressed, and as with many rural Russian regions there remains lots of work to do.
An Interview with Sergei Glazyev, guru extraordinaire of multipolar geoeconomics… ‘the dogs bark — the Caravan of the Global Juggernaut moves on‘
By Pepe Escobar at Sputnik.
Very few people in Russia and across the Global South are as qualified as Sergei Glazyev, an academic with a prominent role within the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU), to speak about the drive, the challenges and the pitfalls in the road towards de-dollarization.
As the Global South issues widespread calls for real financial stability; India inside the BRICS 10 makes it clear that everyone needs to think seriously about the toxic effects of unilateral sanctions; and Professor Michael Hudson keeps reiterating current policies are not sustainable anymore, Glazyev graciously received me at his office at the EEC for an exclusive, extensive conversation, including fascinating off the record odds and ends.
These are the highlights – as Glazyev’s ideas are being re-examined, and there’s huge expectation for the green light from the Russian government for a new trade settlement model – which for the moment is in the final stages of fine-tuning.
Glazyev explained how his main idea was “elaborated a long time ago. The basic idea is that a new currency should be first of all introduced on the basis of international law, signed by the countries which are interested in the production of this new currency. Not via some kind of conference, like Bretton Woods, with no legitimacy. At the first stage, not all countries would be included. BRICS nations will be enough – plus the SCO. In Russia, we already have our own SWIFT – the SPFS. We have our currency exchange, we have correspondent relations between banks, consultation between Central Banks, here we are absolutely self-sufficient.”
All that leads to adopting a new international currency:
“We don’t really need to go large scale. BRICS is enough. The idea of the currency is that there are two baskets: one basket is national currencies of all countries involved in the process, like the SDR, but with more clear, understandable criteria. The second basket are commodities. If you have two baskets, and we create the new currency as an index of commodities and national currencies, and we have a mechanism for reserves, according to the mathematical model that will be very stable. Stable and convenient.”
Then it’s up to feasibility:
“To introduce this currency as an instrument for transactions would not be too difficult. With good infrastructure, and all Central Banks approving it, then it’s up to businesses to use this currency. It should be in digital form – which means it can be used without the banking system, so it will be at least ten times cheaper than present transactions through banks and currency exchanges.”
That Thorny Central Bank Question
“Q: Have you presented this idea to the Chinese?”
“We presented it to Chinese experts, our partners at Renmin University. We had good feedback – but I did not have the opportunity to present it on a political level. Here in Russia we promote the discussion via papers, conferences, seminars, but there’s still no political decision on introducing this mechanism even on the BRICS agenda. The proposal by our team of experts is to include it in the agenda of the BRICS summit next October in Kazan. The problem is the Russian Central Bank is not enthusiastic. The BRICS have only decided on an operating plan to use national currencies – which is also a quite clear idea, as national currencies are already used in our trade. Russian ruble is the main currency in the EAEU, trade with China is conducted in rubles and renminbi, trade with India and Iran and Turkiye also switched to national currencies. Each country has the infrastructure for it. If Central Banks introduce digital national currencies and allow them to be used in international trade, it’s also a good model. In this case crypto exchanges can easily balance payments – and it’s a very cheap mechanism. What is needed is an agreement from Central Banks to allow a certain amount of national currencies in digital form to participate in international transactions.”
“Q: Would that be feasible already in 2024, if there is political will?”
“There are some start-ups already. By the way, they are in the West, and the digitalization is conducted by private companies, not Central Banks. So the demand is there. Our Central Bank needs to elaborate a proposal for the summit in Kazan. But this is only one part of the story. The second part is price. For the moment price is determined by Western speculation. We produce these commodities, we consume them, but we do not have our own price mechanism, which will balance supply and demand. During the Covid panic, the price for oil fell to nearly zero. It’s impossible to make any strategic planning for economic development if you do not control prices of basic commodities. Price formation with this new currency should get rid of Western exchanges of commodities. My idea is based on a mechanism that existed in the Soviet Union, in the Comecon. In that period we had long-term agreements not only with socialist countries, but also with Austria, and other Western countries, to supply gas for 10 years, 20 years, the basis of this price formula was the price for oil, and the price for gas.”
So what stands out is the effectiveness of a long-term, long view policy:
“We did create a long-term pattern. Here in the EEC we are looking at the idea of a common exchange market. We already prepared a draft, with some experiments. The first step is the creation of an information network, exchanges in different countries. It was rather successful. The second step will be to set up online communication between exchanges, and finally we move to a common mechanism of price formation, and open this mechanism for all other countries. The main problem is that the major producers of commodities, first of all the oil companies, they don’t like to trade through exchanges. They like to trade personally, so you need a political decision to make sure that at least half of production of commodities should go through exchanges. A mechanism where supply and demand balance each other. For the moment the price of oil in foreign markets is ‘secret’. It’s some type of colonial times thinking. ‘How to cheat’. We must create legislation to open all this information to the public.”
The NDB in Need of a Shake-up
Glazyev offered an extensive analysis of the BRICS universe, based on how the BRICS Business Council had its first meeting on financial services in early February. They agreed on a working plan; there was a first session of fintech experts; and during this week a breakthrough meeting may lead to a new formulation – for the moment not made public – to be put into the BRICS agenda for the October summit.
“Q: What are the main challenges within the BRICS structure in this next stage of trying to bypass the US dollar?”
“BRICS in fact is a club which doesn’t have a secretariat. I can tell it, from a person that has some experience in integration. We discussed the idea of a customs union here, on the post-Soviet territory, immediately after the collapse. We had a lot of declarations, even some agreements signed by heads of state, over a common economic space. But only after the establishment of a commission the real work stated, in the year 2008. After 20 years of papers, conferences, nothing was done. You need someone who’s responsible. In BRICS there is such an organization – the NDB [New Development Bank]. If the heads of state decide to appoint the NDB as an institution which will elaborate the new model, the new currency, organize an international conference with the draft of an international treaty, this can work.
The problem is that the NDB works according to the dollar charter. They have to reorganize this institution in order to make it workable. Now it works like an ordinary international development bank under the American framework. The second option would be to do it without this bank, but that would be much more difficult. This bank has enough expertise.”
“Q: Could an internal shake-up of the NDB be proposed by the Russian presidency of BRICS this year?”
“We are doing our best. I’m not sure the Ministry of Finance understands how serious this is. The President understands. I personally promoted this idea to him. But the chairman of the Central Bank, and ministers are still thinking in the old IMF paradigm.”
‘Religious Sects Don’t Create Innovation’
Glazyev had a serious discussion on sanctions with the NDB:
“I discussed this issue with Mrs. Rousseff [the former Brazilian President, currently presiding the NDB) at the St. Petersburg Forum. I gave her a paper about it. She was rather enthusiastic and invited us to come to the NDB. But afterwards there was no follow-up. Last year everything was very difficult.”
On BRICS, “the financial services working group is discussing reinsurance, credit rating, new currencies in fintech. That’s what should be in the agenda of the NDB. The best possibility would be a meeting in Moscow in March or April, to discuss in depth the whole range of issues of BRICS settlement mechanism, from most sophisticated to least sophisticated. It would be great if the NDB sign up for it, but as it stands there is a de facto gulf between the BRICS and the NDB.”
The key point, insists Glazyev, is that “Dilma should find time to organize these discussions at a high level. A political decision is needed.”
“Q: But wouldn’t that decision have to come from Putin himself?”
“It’s not so easy. We heard statements by at least three heads of the state: Russia, South Africa and Brazil. They publicly said ‘this is a good idea’. The problem, once again, is there is no task force yet. My idea, which we proposed before the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, is to create an international working group – to prepare in the next sessions the model, or the draft, of the treaty. How to switch to national currencies. That’s the official agenda now. And they have to report about that in Kazan [for the BRICS annual summit]. There are some consultations between the Central Banks and Ministers of Finance.”
Glazyev cut to the chase when it comes to the inertia of the system:
“The main problem for bureaucrats and experts is ‘why they don’t have ideas?’ Because they assume the current status quo is the best one. If there are no sanctions, everything will be good. The international financial architecture that was created by the United States and Europe is convenient. Everyone knows how to work in the system. So it’s impossible to move from this system to another system. For businesses it will be very difficult. For banks it will be difficult. People have been educated in the paradigm of financial equilibrium, totally libertarian. They don’t care that prices are manipulated by speculators, they don’t care about volatility of national currencies, They think it’s natural (…) It’s a kind of religious sect. Religious sects don’t create innovation.”
Now Get on That Hypersonic Bicycle
We’re back to the crucial issue of national currencies:
“Even five years ago, when I spoke about national currencies in trade, everybody said it was completely impossible. We have long-term contracts in dollars and euro. We have an established culture of transactions. When I was Minister of Foreign Trade, 30 years ago, at the time I tried to push all our trade in commodities into rubles. I argued with Yeltsin and others, ‘we have to trade in rubles, not in dollars’. That would automatically make the ruble a reserve currency. When Europe moved to the euro, I had a meeting with Mr. Prodi, and we agreed, ‘we will use euro as your currency, and you will use rubles’. Then Prodi came to me after consultations and said, ‘I talked to Mr. Kudrin [former Russian Finance Minister, 2000-2011], he didn’t ask me to make the ruble a reserve currency’. That was sabotage. It was stupidity.”
The problems actually run deep – and keep running:
“The problem was our regulators, educated by the IMF, and the second problem was corruption. If you trade oil and gas in dollars, a large part of profits is stolen, there are a lot of intermediate companies which manipulate prices. Prices are only the first step. The price for natural gas in the first deal is about 10 times less than the final demand. There are institutional barriers. A majority of countries do not allow our companies to sell oil and gas to the final customer. Like you cannot sell gas to households. Nevertheless, even in the open market, quite competitive, we have intermediates between producer and consumer – at least half of the revenues are stolen from government control. They don’t pay taxes.”
Yet fast solutions do exist:
“When we were sanctioned two years ago, transfer from US dollar and euro to national currencies took only a few months. It was very quick.”
On investments, Glazyev stressed success in localized trade, but capital flows are still not there:
“The Central Banks are not doing their job. The ruble-renminbi exchange is working well. But the ruble-rupee exchange doesn’t work. The banks that keep these rupees, they have a lot of money, accrue interest rates on these rupees, and they can play with them. I don’t know who’s responsible for this, our Central Bank or the Indian Central Bank.”
The succinct, key takeaway of Glazyev’s serious warnings is that it would be up to the NDB – prodded by the leadership of BRICS – to organize a conference of global experts and open it for public discussion. Glazyev evoked the metaphor of a bicycle that keeps rolling along – so why invent a new bicycle? Well, the – multipolar – time has come for a new hypersonic bicycle.
Gaza’s Day of Infamy: Queuing for Aid, Met with Bullets and Bloodshed
In an odious display of sheer barbarism, Israeli forces have massacred at least 77 Palestinians in Gaza City, civilians who dared to hope for desperately needed humanitarian aid. This monstrous act is not just a violation but a deliberate obliteration of every vestige of international law and human decency. Hospitals, gasping for resources in the stranglehold of a siege, are swamped with the wounded, their corridors a harrowing testament to the unending cruelty inflicted on an oppressed people. This is not warfare; it is a methodical extermination under the mockery of ‘self-defense’.
The blood of Gaza stains the hands of the US and its vassals, whose unyielding diplomatic cover and arms fuel Israel’s contempt for human life. This sick historical irony, where those who once suffered atrocities are now the perpetrators of unspeakable barbarism, reveals a chilling betrayal of memory and morality. The Western client media, complicit in their silence, whitewash these war crimes, painting a sick veneer of legitimacy over actions that are nothing short of state-sponsored terror. Their duplicity in the face of such clear evidence of atrocities lays bare their own moral bankruptcy.
Israel, in its sociopathic rage, has not only committed an act of unforgivable violence against Palestinians but has also sown the seeds of its own destruction as a viable state. By allowing its response to October 7th to degenerate into barbarism, Israel exposes a damning contempt for the principles it purports to uphold. The massacre in Gaza is a grotesque indictment of Israel and its enablers in the US and Western capitals, demanding not just condemnation but immediate action to halt this descent into savagery. We must strip away the facade of diplomacy to reveal the monstrous truth: a strategy of annihilation against a besieged people, crying out for justice to a Western world too craven to act.
– Gerry @TheIslanderNews
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Every next day, we see more unimaginable and newer horrors. The Satanic depravity is bottomless. And they keep plumbing the depths with ever more eager passion. What is happening in Gaza will destroy our world……. Listen carefully to the last video and last words by Owen, “after this, Anything will be possible.” Precedents are being set. Gaza is the signal Ritual of our era. The Interregnum Labors mightily, gently rocking the cradle of the Moshiach
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se5ZExZb34E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLVGcWUpnok
Do Netanyahu’s coalition partners want an all-out regional war? Ehud Olmert claims Gaza is just the first step.
Join the discussion with Elijah J. Magnier and Mohamad Hasan Sweidan on the potential “Armageddon”.
Former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert wrote an article in Haaretz claiming that Netanyahu’s coalition partners want an all-out regional war and Gaza is just the first step. Syriana Analysis discusses the potential “Armageddon” with Elijah J. Magnier and Mohamad Hasan Sweidan.
The unity of the Resistance from the river to the sea is not only inspiring from afar, but has yielded practical results for the Palestinians.
By Ganna Eid of Al Mayadeen
Daud Abdullah wrote an erudite and comprehensive analysis of Hamas’s foreign policy which was released by the Afro-Middle East Center (AMEC) in 2020. The majority of the writing was done in 2019, and thus there are a few lacunae based on the last 5 years of world affairs.
On the world scale, the Covid-19 pandemic rocked production, distribution, and public health sectors; the Russian special military operation in Ukraine gave us the first of a series of likely wars in the decline of Atlanticist hegemony. In Palestine, the “Unity Intifada” — also known as Seif Al-Quds battle–highlighted the connectivity of the various Resistance factions within Palestine.
Now, today, Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and its aftermath have changed the regional geometry, with even more unity among all factions of the Axis of Resistance across the region.
I will first analyze some of Abdullah’s policy prescriptions for Hamas based on the world situation in 2020, and then see to what extent these policy prescriptions have been undertaken by the Islamic movement or to what extent they still require action. In this article, three elements of Hamas’s foreign policy stick out to me: their relations with Russia and China, the shifts and reconfigurations of the Axis of Resistance, and finally, Hamas’s ability to politically and diplomatically maneuver after October 7th.
Russian FM Lavrov meets with Hamas politburo members Khaled Meshal and Osama Hamdan, Moscow, circa 2015
The first topic to discuss revolves around Hamas’s relations with Russia and China.
Abdullah’s analysis of Hamas’s relations with Russia and China is one of the most honest, sober, and important analyses I have read in some time. With reference to Russia, Abdullah points out that early on in Hamas’s existence, Russia was willing to break with the iron grip of the Quartet and defend Hamas from the ‘terrorist’ label. Hamas officials and delegates have gone to Moscow on a number of occasions, the latest being in early 2024. At these meetings, Hamas has been treated as a regular political party and a representative of the Palestinians, which has afforded the movement and its leaders meetings with high-ranking officials in Russia, such as Sergey Lavrov.
Yet, the two-headed eagle of Russia stands at a crossroads still. While Ukraine has fallen out of the news cycle, the war is slowing down and there have been some signals of a peace treaty in the near future. Putin–and Russia–understand that the Ukrainian regime are puppets of the imperialists tasked with bringing down the Eurasian superpower, yet this analysis is not extended to “Israel”. Why is this? Is it that a great many “Israeli” citizens are of Russian origin? Is it because Putin, like the double-headed eagle of Russia’s standard, is balancing his role as the post-Soviet liberal statesman and his role as the Eurasianist Hercules whose sword hovers over the Gordian Knot of NATO imperialism? This delicate balancing act will have to come to an end, especially with the carnage wrought by “Israel” and the USA in Gaza today.
Armed Fatah militants reading copies of ‘Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung,’ Jordan, 1970
With reference to China, Abdullah does not spare the People’s Republic from criticism of their position vis-a-vis Palestine and Hamas. While China–like Russia–has from the start shielded Hamas from the ‘terrorist’ label, and has treated Hamas as a legitimate governing party, they are involved in their own balancing act.
China has extensive trade relations with the Zionist colony, and uses this along with their recognition of Hamas as a means to try and enter the region as a ‘fair and honest peace broker’. While their brokering of rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia is laudable, China is yet to use their global clout to help isolate and sanction the Zionists. It still clings to the dead and buried ‘two-state’ solution as their official position.
Yet as Abdullah points out, the relationship between the more radical Chinese intelligentsia and the Chinese state is a close one, and one which Hamas should exploit:
As things stand, China’s intelligentsia are increasingly questioning whether the ‘keep a low profile’ policy is fit for purpose in the twenty-first century. In this context, Hamas has nothing to lose and everything to gain by positioning itself to benefit from changes that seem imminent in China’s foreign policy.
The above quote from Abdullah is one with which I agree; Chinese intellectuals, such as Zhang Weiwei and Minqi Li, are theorizing multipolarity and the ongoing fall of US hegemony. The Chinese intelligentsia are also involved in President Xi’s ideological campaigns in the PLA, which aim to politicize the army and involve them further in socialist construction. The growing rift in Sino-US relations is an opportunity for Hamas and the Palestinian national movement.
Hamas’s reconciliation with the Assad government in Damascus is an important development after the two parties had differing stances on the civil war and eventual proxy war in Syria in 2012. This subsequently improved relations between Iran and Hamas, which had suffered after 2012 as well. The ability of Hezbollah, and indeed Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah himself, to orchestrate this reconciliation shows the seriousness and importance of the Arab strategic depth.
A driving force of this reconciliation was the 2021 ‘Unity Intifada’ and the shifts on the ground in the region which have strengthened the Resistance. The 2021 ‘Unity Intifada’ is important for a number of reasons, primarily that the Resistance in Gaza–the liberated land base from which the national liberation struggle is being launched–and the Resistance in the occupied territories went hand-in-hand into battle for the first time since the Hamas-Fatah split in 2007.
The unity of the Resistance from the river to the sea is not only inspiring from afar, but has yielded practical results for the Palestinians. The internal crises of the Zionist colony highlight the contradictory trend: while the Palestinians are uniting after years of division, the Zionists are at each other’s throats. The unity of the Resistance and the disintegration of social relations in the colony continue today, in the midst of Operation Al Aqsa Flood.
Since October 7, Hamas and other Resistance factions inside Palestine (notably PIJ, PFLP, and DFLP) have relentlessly unleashed a guerilla war on the Zionist colony. This has not led to military victories alone; Hamas has the potential to come out of this in a better position diplomatically. As with all things, this depends on the balance of forces. Hamas has insisted that the only end which they see fit in any ‘ceasefire’ is an all-for-all prisoner swap. The magnitude of Palestinian prisoners compared to “Israeli” ones is already a numeric victory if this is to happen, and it seems that the Zionists may have to concede to this because their American masters are attempting to tighten the leash. Yet, why should Hamas stop there? The Ansar Allah forces in Sanaa have shown their willingness to disrupt global trade in support of Palestine.
Hezbollah is showing signs of escalating battles on the northern front, which is not an irrational fear for the Zionists given what happened in 2000 and 2006. So how could Hamas secure a larger victory? If the Resistance is able to enfeeble the Zionists and settle a temporary truce at the 1967 borders, that then increases the size of the land base and improves the logistics for launching a war of total liberation because there will be some territorial contiguity. This would also shift internal developments in Palestine, such as the potential formation of a unity government which gets rid of the comprador elements of Fatah. Indeed, PCPSR polling shows that the corrupt PA is as unpopular as ever.
The potential creation of a unity government then opens diplomatic space for powerful countries like Russia and China to support one democratic state, which they currently do not. As the battle for Palestine rages on, we will indeed see how Hamas’s foreign policy space waxes and wanes. As always, the patient and calculated tenor of the Axis of Resistance will provide us with a beacon toward total liberation.
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This is a timely article reviewing internal political maneuvering and realigments amongst the Palestinians. In two days, on February 29th, all Palestinian factions are hosted in Moscow in the attempt to create a unity government presenting a common political front.
As oppressors worldwide are in solidarity, a Palestinian calls for solidarity among the oppressed.
By Ganna Eid of Al Mayadeen
In the past decade, whenever there is an uptick in Palestinian revolutionary activity or Zionist aggression, calls come from the USA, Canada, and Western Europe to activate or otherwise recognize historical Black-Palestinian solidarity.
While there are certainly bases for this solidarity, often they are defined in the negative. The argument follows that our common oppressors–the imperialist USA and the Zionist genocidaires–collaborate in repressing our movements through joint police training exercises, weapons trade, colonialism, and criminalization of revolutionaries. This negative solidarity is based on the fact that our oppressors are in solidarity with one another, therefore we must do the same. Undoubtedly true, this argument does not get to the root of the issue.
Which Black people and Black movements are in solidarity with which Palestinian people and movements historically and in the contemporary juncture? The question must be asked again in light of Kenyan President Ruto’s statement in support of “Israel”, other African states’ relations with the colony, and the existence of groups like IBSI, which promote “Black-Israeli” solidarity. The question must be asked again, also, in order to clear the air and answer the fundamental question of politics and war posed by Mao Zedong: “who are our enemies? Who are our friends?”
In this article, I hope to look at concrete examples of Black-Palestinian solidarity, with an eye toward class and nation, which are often erased in the general call for Black solidarity with Palestine. This is done in order to define exactly what Black-Palestinian solidarity has been, is, and what it can be.
In 1964, Malcolm X (Al Hajj Malek El Shabazz) wrote a piece in the Egyptian Gazette, where he detailed the relationship between Zionism and imperialism.
“The Israeli Zionists are convinced they have successfully camouflaged their new kind of colonialism. Their colonialism appears to be more “benevolent” more “philanthropic” a system with which they rule simply by getting their potential victims to accept their friendly offers of economic “aid,” and other tempting gifts, that they dangle in front of the newly independent African nations, whose economies are experiencing great difficulties.”
The Honorable Malcolm X understood the international element of imperialism and its counterpart in the internationalist movements of the day. This statement is particularly true today as the Zionist regime is trying to dangle economic aid in the face of the Malawian government in exchange for migrant farm labor.
Martyr Malcolm continues:
“The number one weapon of 20th-century imperialism is Zionist Dollarism, and one of the main bases for this weapon is Zionist Israel. The ever-scheming European imperialists wisely placed Israel where it could geographically divide the Arab world, infiltrate and sow the seed of dissension among African leaders and also divide the Africans against the Asians.”
The imperialist strategy of “divide and conquer” is present in much of the early Zionist writing, which saw Palestine as the “gate to Africa and bridge to Asia.” The division of Arabs and Africans along racial lines and the conflation of pre-modern slavery in the Islamic world with American chattel slavery is part and parcel of this imperialist strategy.
Although Malcolm X did not live to see the 1967 war and its aftermath, the Black Panther Party took up this mantle of Black anti-Zionism after his martyrdom.
After the 1967 war against the Zionists, the plight of the Palestinians was injected into the consciousness of many anti-colonial groups worldwide. The Black Panther Party (BPP) in the USA made its first statement in support of Palestine in 1970, according to Dr. Greg Thomas.
The statement reads:
“We support the Palestinian’s just struggle for liberation one hundred percent. We will go on doing this, and we would like for all of the progressive people of the world to join in our ranks in order to make a world in which all people can live.”
The BPP was a Marxist-Leninist formation, inspired by the ideas of Juche in the DPRK, as well as other Marxist tendencies of the day. Their ideas of inter-communalism came in part from this revolutionary Marxist understanding, paired with their own revolutionary understanding of being members of the Black nation in the USA. Thomas continues, showing that the BPP was in “daily communication” with the PLO through their office of international affairs in revolutionary Algiers.
The Panthers’ second statement in 1974 not only called for a Zionist retreat to pre-67 borders but also called for a form of revolutionary inter-communalism and a “people’s republic of the Middle East.” Indeed, many Palestinian and Arab revolutionaries share this vision of a region liberated from Zionism, colonialism, and imperialism.
While revolutionary Black organizations after the Panthers continued to support Palestine vocally, the realities of COINTELPRO and mass incarceration have had a profound impact on the organization and scale of Black resistance inside this country. From his cell in “Ramon” prison, PFLP Secretary-General Ahmad Sa’adat highlights the prison as a tool of the oppressors and a site of struggle for the oppressed:
“From Ansar to Attica to Lannemezan, the prison is not only a physical space of confinement but a site of struggle of the oppressed confronting the oppressor. Whether the name is Mumia Abu-Jamal, Walid Daqqa or Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, political prisoners behind bars can and must be a priority for our movements.”
This statement by Sa’adat is written as part of the introduction to a new printing of Huey Newton’s book Revolutionary Suicide. Sa’adat continues in his introduction, stating that the message and necessity of the Black Panthers is still alive today with mass incarceration and police violence coloring the relationship between the police and the Black masses in America. While movements such as Cooperation Jackson exist today – headed by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and some former leaders of the Black Liberation Army – we cannot help but call for a rejuvenation and reuniting of revolutionary Black forces in this country after years of repression.
We must renew the calls for a Republic of New Afrika in the Black Belt as one possible solution to the political necessities of ending the settler colonial entity of the United States. Max Ajl comments in his response to Patrick Wolfe’s work on settler colonialism that “Palestinians from Hamas to the PFLP to Islamic Jihad are using land from which they forced settlers, as the physical land-base for an armed nationalist struggle.”
So while we Palestinians can and must learn from and collaborate with revolutionary Black movements worldwide, we must also shine as a beacon of light on the other side of the revolutionary field of action. Our liberation is incomplete without the liberation of Africa and the Black masses of the Americas.
Russian victory against NATO and personal approach won over the Taliban and Central Asian stans
By Amb. MK Bhadrakumar at Indian Punchline
Russia’s stunning victory in the battle of Avdeevka and the rout of the Ukrainian military, boosts the credibility of Russia as provider of security for the Central Asian region. The point is not lost on the erudite Central Asian mind that Russia has single-handedly put the NATO on the back foot.
This becomes a defining moment, as it complements the comfort level stemming out of the new normalcy in Afghanistan, thanks to Russia’s effective diplomatic engagement with the Taliban.
Yet another vicious cycle of western propaganda is petering out — predicated on the false assumptions that Russia’s influence in Central Asia is in “decline” (Wilson Centre); that the Central Asian states are “are emerging from Russia’s shadow and asserting their independence in ways not seen since the collapse of communism in 1991” (Financial Times); that in the wake of the war in Ukraine, Central Asian leaders “might well be now considering how long Putin will be able to remain in power in Russia” (Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty).
In reality, the economic performance of the region in 2023 registered an impressive GDP growth of 4.8%. And Russia contributed to this success story. The Ukraine war led to the vacation of western firms from the Russian market, which created new opportunities for regional states. At the same time, the conditions under sanctions prompted Russian firms and capital and Russian citizens to relocate their businesses to the Central Asian region.
Central Asian entrepreneurs haven’t missed the lucrative opportunities to source Western goods and technology for the Russian market — walking a very tight rope by ensuring compliance with Western sanctions, while also nurturing their interdependence and integration with Russian markets. The recovery of the Russian economy and its 3.6% growth last year created business opportunities for Central Asian countries.
Moscow’s policies aim at a ‘Renaissance’ in the region’s relations with Russia. The new thinking in Moscow meant that Putin took a hands-on role to maintain a high momentum of contacts with the Central Asian leaderships at a personal level, making use of all available formats of interaction bilateral as well as regional. The Russian approach allowed space for the regional states to adopt a ‘neutral’ stance on the war.
A comprehension problem for outsiders is very often that the Central Asian attitudes are seldom in overt mode, and under specific circumstances (such as Ukraine war), they need to be discerned in terms of preferences. Thus, the political message out of the May 9 parade in Moscow last year when all the Central Asian presidents joined Putin at the ceremonies on the Red Square was a massive gesture of support for Russia — and for Putin personally.
Throughout 2023, the Central Asian states found themselves targeted in an unprecedented diplomatic effort by the West to uphold the sanctions against Russia. The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French President Emmanuel Macron visited the region. Two historic summits in the ‘C5+1’ format were hosted by President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz respectively in Washington and Berlin.
But the western interlocutors refused to see the writing on the wall. Blinken’s Kazakh counterpart told him that Astana ‘does not feel any threats or risks from the Russian Federation.’ The joint statements issued after the two ‘C5+1’ summits did not even mention Ukraine!
Putin’s new thinking puts the great game on the back burner and instead prioritises the accretion of content in Russia’s relations with the Central Asian states, especially in economic and humanitarian spheres. This approach has palpably dissipated the ‘Big Brother’ syndrome. Putin’s meetings with his counterparts from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in Kazan on Wednesday took place in a palpably relaxed atmosphere. (here, here and here)
Interestingly, Emomali Rahmon, Tajik president, wished not only Putin’s success “in everything you do” but his “nerves of steel” as well. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazakh president underscored meaningfully that “under your (Putin’s) distinguished leadership, Russia has achieved notable, impressive successes. In fact, your statements and actions are shaping the global agenda.” Tokayev’s remark is particularly noteworthy, as western analysts had spotted him as a potential mutineer against Putin in the steppes!
However, in the final analysis, if Russia’s security relationship with the Central Asian region has transformed during the past couple of years, it is because Moscow’s coordinated efforts to forge ties with the Taliban has gained traction lately. They helped diminish the threat perceptions regarding Afghanistan in the Central Asian region.
If the traditional pattern of addressing the threat perceptions was to resort to military means and by sequestering the region from Afghanistan, Russian diplomacy switched to a radically different approach by constructively engaging with the Taliban (although Taliban continues to be a proscribed organisation under Russian law) and strove to make the latter a stakeholder in building cooperative ties within a matrix of mutual interests. It paid off.
Moscow estimated that Taliban rule has stabilised the Afghan situation significantly and it is in Russian interests to help the Kabul administration to effectively counter the extremist elements in the country (especially the Islamic State, which is known to be a legacy of the US occupation of Afghanistan.) Russia leveraged its influence with the Central Asian states to ensure that western-backed anti-Taliban ‘resistance’ forces did not get sanctuaries.
Of course, the strategic objective is that the western intelligence will not be able to manipulate free-wheeling Afghan elements to destabilise the Central Asian region or the Caucasus all over again.
Taliban has been most receptive to the Russian overtures aimed at strengthening the Afghan statehood. Recently, Taliban went to the extent of boycotting a UN-sponsored conference on Afghanistan on February 18-19 in Qatar, which was, in reality, an invidious attempt by the US to re-engage the Taliban on the pretext of promoting “intra-Afghan dialogue” (which essentially meant the return of the West’s Afghan proxies living in exile in Europe and America.)
To be sure, the Taliban saw through the western game plan to rebuild their intelligence network in Afghanistan and countered it by setting conditions for its participation in the Doha conference, including that it be the sole representative of Afghanistan at the meeting. The Taliban also opposed the appointment of a UN special envoy to Afghanistan, whose main task would be to promote “intra-Afghan dialogue”.
The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement ahead of the Doha meeting, accused the international community of “unilateral impositions, accusations, and pressurisation.” The most interesting part of the pantomime playing out in Doha was that at the Taliban’s request, the Russian delegation that participated in the Doha meeting refused to meet the so-called ‘civil society representatives’ from Afghanistan. It signalled that Russia has begun working with the Taliban as the de facto rulers of Afghanistan.
Indeed, the Central Asian states heartily welcome this brilliant diplomatic initiative by Russia to strengthen regional security and stability. The region’s confidence level vis-a-vis the Taliban rulers has already reached a point that at the meeting with Putin in Kazan on Wednesday, Uzbek president Mirziyoyev raised the “important question” of Uzbekistan and Russia moving ahead with the construction of a new railway via Afghanistan connecting Central Asia with the adjacent regions and the world market.
Say whatever you wanna say,we know those who are pulling the strings. Personally , I ain’t got nothing to say! I have said enough. I rest my case! pic.twitter.com/f8jJH9sBQr
— Sy Marcus Herve Traore (@marcus_herve) February 24, 2024
Do you remember all the 
Thunder & Lightning 
starting with the overthrow of the French poodle Bazum of resource-rich Niger late last summer (rapidly forgotten after October 07)?? The roars of the French peacock and ECOWAS about the inadmissibility of another Junta coup overturning west-built “Freeum & Demokracy” in “our Africa?”
Well, after they were stared down as they wet themselves, and Frenchie’s troops duly kicked out, and a political-economic-military merger made among the Junta Belt, and trade was rerouted elsewhere to friendly neighbors, and the trio left ECOWAS, the latter just rolled over onto its naked back and cried “Uncle!” btw, this is a preview of the best-case scenario for the combined West in 404 too.
@Arab_Africa:
ECOWAS lifted sanctions on Niger. Local sources report this.
On February 24, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced the lifting of sanctions imposed on Niger, which include border closures, suspension of financial transactions, and a ban on the import of food and medicine.
@Sputnik Africa:
ECOWAS has decided to lift a number of sanctions against Niger, the head of the bloc’s commission says
The measures include the closure of borders, ban on financial transactions, and the freezing of Niger’s assets. The measures are lifted with immediate effect.
Earlier, ECOWAS Chairman and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said it was important to “re-examine our current approach to the quest for constitutional order in our member states.”
ECOWAS leaders met Saturday in Abuja to discuss the crisis in the region, which has recently seen military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. In response, ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Mali and Niger.
In January, the three countries declared their pullout from ECOWAS. They called the bloc a “threat” to its member states and criticized it for applying “illegal, illegitimate, inhumane” sanctions against them.
ECOWAS has decided to lift financial and economic sanctions against Guinea, the head of the bloc’s commission says
In 2022, the media reported that the ECOWAS countries, at an emergency summit held on the sidelines of the UNGA, decided to introduce “phased sanctions” against Guinea, which had underwent a coup d’etat in 2021.
The Vladimir Putin Sambo Tournament kicks off in Burkina Faso
The martial art is becoming increasingly popular in this West African country. The Burkinabe Sambo Association, founded in September 2020, today has 18 clubs across the country.
The Association plans to offer internships for Burkinabe sambo wrestlers in Russia, where athletes will be able to better understand and master this Olympic discipline.
”They say that sambo is power, sambo is leadership. Vladimir Putin is an example of the power of leadership,” the secretary general of the Burkina Faso Sambo Association
The Russian President has been a champion in this discipline, he has a great interest in martial arts and he is a “fervent amateur” of sport in general, Amidou Guindo recalled.
“His name must be a part of the event,” he added.
About fifty athletes from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Russia will compete for medals in several categories. |video|
LOL! Russians aren’t the only ones who know how to impale the Yemeni dagger and rotate it with glee.
Two years after the start of the SMO, the West is totally paralyzed … The geopolitical moment: “You are irrelevant, and the Global South / Global Majority don’t care”
by Pepe Escobar at the Strategic Culture Foundation.
Exactly two years ago this Saturday, on February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced the launching – and described the objectives – of a Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine. That was the inevitable follow-up to what happened three days before, on February 21 – exactly 8 years after Maidan 2014 in Kiev – when Putin officially recognized the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
During this – pregnant with meaning – short space of only three days, everyone expected that the Russian Armed Forces would intervene, militarily, to end the massive bombing and shelling that had been going on for three weeks across the frontline – which even forced the Kremlin to evacuate populations at risk to Russia. Russian intel had conclusive proof that the NATO-backed Kiev forces were ready to execute an ethnic cleansing of Russophone Donbass.
February 24, 2022 was the day that changed 21st century geopolitics forever, in several complex ways. Above all, it marked the beginning of a vicious, all-out confrontation, “military-technical” as the Russians call it, between the Empire of Chaos, Lies and Plunder, its easily pliable NATOstan vassals, and Russia – with Ukraine as the battleground.
There is hardly any question Putin had calculated, before and during these three fateful days, that his decisions would unleash the unbounded fury of the collective West – complete with a tsunami of sanctions.
Ay, there’s the rub; it’s all about Sovereignty. And a true sovereign power simply cannot live under permanent threats. It’s even feasible that Putin had wanted (italics mine) Russia to get sanctioned to death. After all, Russia is so naturally wealthy that without a serious challenge from abroad, the temptation is enormous to live off its rents while importing what it could easily produce.
Exceptionalists always gloated that Russia is “a gas station with nuclear weapons”. That’s ridiculous. Oil and gas, in Russia, account for roughly 15% of GDP, 30% of the government budget, and 45% of exports. Oil and gas add power to the Russian economy – not a drag. Putin shaking Russia’s complacency generated a gas station producing everything it needs, complete with unrivalled nuclear and hypersonic weapons. Beat that.
Russian Winter Soldier
Ukraine has “never been less than a nation”
Xavier Moreau is a French politico-strategic analyst based in Russia for 24 years now. Graduated from the prestigious Saint-Cyr military academy and with a Sorbonne diploma, he hosts two shows on RT France.
His latest book, Ukraine: Pourquoi La Russie a Gagné (“Ukraine: Why Russia has Won”), just out, is an essential manual for European audiences on the realities of the war, not those childish fantasies concocted across the NATOstan sphere by instant “experts” with less than zero combined arms military experience.
Moreau makes it very clear what every impartial, realist analyst was aware of from the beginning: the devastating Russian military superiority, which would condition the endgame. The problem, still, is how this endgame – “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine, as established by Moscow – will be achieved.
What is already clear is that “demilitarization”, of Ukraine and NATO, is a howling success that no new wunderwaffen – like F-16s – will be able to change.
Moreau perfectly understands how Ukraine, nearly 10 years after Maidan, is not a nation; “and has never been less than a nation”. It’s a territory where populations that everything separates are jumbled up. Moreover, it has been a – “grotesque” – failed state ever since its independence. Moreau spends several highly entertaining pages going through the corruption grotesquerie in Ukraine, under a regime that “gets its ideological references simultaneously via admirers of Stepan Bandera and Lady Gaga.”
None of the above, of course, is reported by oligarch-controlled European mainstream media.
“Parade on Red Square in Moscow on November 7, 1941” — Konstantin Vasilyev
Watch out for Deng Xiao Putin
The book offers an extremely helpful analysis of those deranged Polish elites who bear “a heavy responsibility in the strategic catastrophe that awaits Washington and Brussels in Ukraine”. The Poles actually believed that Russia would crumble from the inside, complete with a color revolution against Putin. That barely qualifies as Brzezinski on crack.
Moreau shows how 2022 was the year when NATOstan, especially the Anglo-Saxons – historically racist Russophobes – were self-convinced thar Russia would fold because it is a “poor power”. Obviously, none of these luminaries understood how Putin strengthened the Russian economy very much like Deng Xiaoping on the Chinese economy. This “self-intoxication”, as Moreau qualifies it, did wonders for the Kremlin.
By now it’s clear even for the deaf, dumb, and blind that the destruction of the European economy has been a massive tactic, historic victory for the Hegemon – as much as the blitzkrieg against the Russian economy has been an abysmal failure.
All of the above brings us to the meeting of G20 Foreign Ministers this week in Rio. That was not exactly a breakthrough. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made it very clear that the collective West at the G20 tried by all means to “Ukrainize” the agenda – with less than zero success. They were outnumbered and counterpunched by BRICS and Global South members.
At his press conference, Lavrov could not be more stark on the prospects of the war of the collective West against Russia. These are the highlights:
In a nutshell – diplomatically: you are irrelevant, and we don’t care.
That was complementing Lavrov’s intervention during the summit, which defined once again a clear, auspicious path towards multipolarity. Here are the highlights:
Call it the real state of things, geopolitically, two years after the start of the SMO.
World War III is here, playing out asymmetrically in military, financial, and institutional battlefields, and the fight is an existential one. The western Hegemon, in truth, is at war against international law, and only ‘kinetic military action’ can bring it to heel.
By Pepe Escobar at The Cradle.
The Axis of Asymmetry is in full swing. These are the state and non-state actors employing asymmetrical moves on the global chessboard to sideline the US-led western rules-based order. And its vanguard is the Yemeni resistance movement Ansarallah.
Ansarallah is absolutely relentless. They have downed a $30 million MQ-9 Reaper drone with just a $10k indigenous missile.
They are the first in the Global South ever to use anti-ship ballistic missiles against Israel-bound and/or -protecting commercial and US Navy ships.
For all practical purposes, Ansarallah is at war with no less than the US Navy.
Ansarallah has captured one of the US Navy’s ultra-sophisticated autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV), the $1.3 million Remus 600, a torpedo-shaped underwater drone able to carry a massive payload of sensors.
Next stop: reverse engineering in Iran? The Global South eagerly awaits, ready to pay in currencies bypassing the US dollar.
All of the above – a maritime 21st-century remix of the Ho Chi Minh trail during the Vietnam War – spells out that the Hegemon may not even qualify as a paper tiger, but rather as a paper leech.
from the Resistance archives: Ho Chi Minh trail
Lula tells it as the Global South sees it
Into the Big Picture – linked to the relentless ongoing genocide perpetrated by Israel in Gaza – steps a true leader of the Global South, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Lula spoke in the name of Brazil, Latin America, Africa, BRICS 10, and the overwhelming majority of the Global South when he cut to the chase and defined the Gaza tragedy for what it is: a genocide. No wonder the Zionist tentacles across the Global North – plus its Global South vassals – went bonkers.
The genocidals in Tel Aviv declared Lula as persona non grata in Israel. Yet Lula did not assassinate 29,000+ Palestinians – the overwhelming majority of whom were women and children.
History will be unforgiving: it’s the genocidals that will eventually be judged as personae non grata to all of humanity.
What Lula said represented BRICS 10 in action: this was obviously cleared before with Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, and, of course, the African Union. Lula spoke in Addis Ababa, and Ethiopia is now a BRICS 10 member.
The Brazilian president was extremely smart in timing his Gaza fact-check to be on the table during the G20 meeting of Foreign Ministers in Rio. Way beyond BRICS 10, what’s happening in Gaza is a consensus among the non-Western G20 partners – who are actually a majority. No one, though, should expect any serious follow-up inside a divided G20. The heart of the matter remains in the facts on the ground.
Yemen’s fight for “our people” in Gaza is a matter of humanistic, moral, and religious solidarity – these are foundational tenets of the rising eastern “civilizational” powers, both domestically and in international affairs. This convergence of principles has now created a direct link – extrapolating to the moral and spiritual spheres – between the Axis of Resistance in West Asia and the Slavic Axis of Resistance in Donbass.
Extreme attention should be paid to the timescale. The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) forces and Russia have spent two hard-fought years in Novorossiya just to arrive at the stage where it becomes clear – based on the battlefield and cumulative facts on the ground – that “negotiations” mean only the terms of Kiev’s surrender.
In contrast, the job of the Axis of Resistance in West Asia has not even started. It’s fair to argue that its strength and full sovereign involvement have not been deployed yet (think Hezbollah and Iran).
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, with his proverbial subtlety, has hinted there’s, in fact, nothing to negotiate on Palestine. And if there would be a return to any borders, these would be the 1948 borders. The Axis of Resistance understands that the whole Zionist Project is unlawful and immoral. But the question remains how to throw it, in practice, into the dustbin of History?
Possible – avowedly optimistic – scenarios ahead would include Hezbollah taking possession of the Galilee as a step toward the eventual retaking of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Yet the fact remains that even a united Palestine does not have the military capability to reconquer stolen Palestinian lands.
So the questions posed by the overwhelming majority of the Global South that stands with Lula may be: Who else, apart from Ansarallah, Hezbollah, Hashd al-Shaabi, will join the Axis of Asymmetry in the fight for Palestine? Who would be willing to come to the Holy Land and die? (After all, in Donbass, it’s only Russians and Russophones who are dying for historically Russian lands)
And that brings us to the way towards the endgame: only a West Asian Special Military Operation (SMO), to the bitter end, will settle the Palestinian tragedy. A translation of what happens across the Slavic Axis of Resistance: “Those who refuse to negotiate with Lavrov, deal with Shoigu.”
Operations Prosperous Genocide (USUK) & Viperous (EU)
The menu, the table, and the guests
That out-of-his-depth closet neocon, Secretary of State Tony Blinken, let the cat out of the bag when he actually defined his much cherished “rules-based international order”: “If you’re not at the table, you are on the menu.”
Following his own hegemonic logic, it’s clear that Russia and the US/NATO are on the table while Ukraine is on the menu. What about the Red Sea? The Houthis defending Palestine against US–UK–Israel are clearly at the table, while Western vassals supporting Israel in a maritime way are clearly on the menu.
And that’s the problem: the Hegemon – or, in Chinese scholarly terminology, “the crusaders” – have lost the power to place the name cards at the table. The main reason for this authority collapse is the build-up of serious international meetings sponsored by the Russia–China strategic partnership during the past two years since the start of the SMO. It’s all about sequential planning, with long-term targets clearly outlined.
Only civilizational states can do that – not plutocratic neoliberal casinos.
Negotiating with the Hegemon is impossible because the Hegemon itself prevents negotiations (see the serial blocking of ceasefire resolutions at the UN). Additionally, the Hegemon excels in instrumentalizing its client elites across the Global South via threats or kompromat: see the hysterical reaction of Brazilian mainstream media to Lula’s verdict on Gaza.
What Russia is showing the Global South, two years after the start of the SMO, is that the only path to teach a lesson to the Hegemon has to be kinetic, or “military-technical.”
The problem is no nation-state can compare to nuclear/hypersonic/military superpower Russia, in which 7.5 percent of the government’s budget is dedicated to military production. Russia is and will remain on a permanent war footing until Hegemon’s elites come to their senses – and that may never happen.
Meanwhile, West Asia’s Axis of Resistance is watching and learning, day after day. It’s always crucial to keep in mind that for all the resistance movements across the Global South – and that also includes, for instance, West Africans against French neo-colonialism – the geopolitical fault lines could not be starker.
It’s a matter of the collective West versus Islam; the collective West versus Russia; and sooner rather than later, a substantial part of the West, even reluctantly, versus China.
The fact is we are already immersed in a World War that is both existential and civilizational. As we stand at the crossroads, there is a bifurcation: either escalation towards overt “kinetic military action,” or a multiplication of Hybrid Wars across several latitudes.
So it’s up to the Axis of Asymmetry, cool, calm, and collected, to forge the underground corridors, passages, and trails capable of undermining and subverting the US-led, unipolar, rules-based international order.
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