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“There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches.”—Ray Bradbury

What we are witnessing is the modern-day equivalent of book burning which involves doing away with dangerous ideas—legitimate or not—and the people who espouse them.Seventy years after Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 depicted a fictional world in which books are burned in order to suppress dissenting ideas, while televised entertainment is used to anesthetize the populace and render them easily pacified, distracted and controlled, we find ourselves navigating an eerily similar reality.

Welcome to the age of technocensorship.

On paper—under the First Amendment, at least—we are technically free to speak.

In reality, however, we are now only as free to speak as a government official—or corporate entities such as Facebook, Google or YouTube—may allow.

Case in point: internal documents released by the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government confirmed what we have long suspected: that the government has been working in tandem with social media companies to censor speech.

By “censor,” we’re referring to concerted efforts by the government to muzzle, silence and altogether eradicate any speech that runs afoul of the government’s own approved narrative.

This is political correctness taken to its most chilling and oppressive extreme.

The revelations that Facebook worked in concert with the Biden administration to censor content related to COVID-19, including humorous jokes, credible information and so-called disinformation, followed on the heels of a ruling by a federal court in Louisiana that prohibits executive branch officials from communicating with social media companies about controversial content in their online forums.

Likening the government’s heavy-handed attempts to pressure social media companies to suppress content critical of COVID vaccines or the election to “an almost dystopian scenario,” Judge Terry Doughty warned that “the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth.’

This is the very definition of technofascism.

Clothed in tyrannical self-righteousness, technofascism is powered by technological behemoths (both corporate and governmental) working in tandem to achieve a common goal.

The government is not protecting us from “dangerous” disinformation campaigns. It is laying the groundwork to insulate us from “dangerous” ideas that might cause us to think for ourselves and, in so doing, challenge the power elite’s stranglehold over our lives.

Thus far, the tech giants have been able to sidestep the First Amendment by virtue of their non-governmental status, but it’s a dubious distinction at best when they are marching in lockstep with the government’s dictates.

As Philip Hamburger and Jenin Younes write for The Wall Street Journal: “The First Amendment prohibits the government from ‘abridging the freedom of speech.’ Supreme Court doctrine makes clear that government can’t constitutionally evade the amendment by working through private companies.”

Nothing good can come from allowing the government to sidestep the Constitution.

The steady, pervasive censorship creep that is being inflicted on us by corporate tech giants with the blessing of the powers-that-be threatens to bring about a restructuring of reality straight out of Orwell’s 1984, where the Ministry of Truth polices speech and ensures that facts conform to whatever version of reality the government propagandists embrace.

Orwell intended 1984 as a warning. Instead, it is being used as a dystopian instruction manual for socially engineering a populace that is compliant, conformist and obedient to Big Brother.

This is the slippery slope that leads to the end of free speech as we once knew it.

In a world increasingly automated and filtered through the lens of artificial intelligence, we are finding ourselves at the mercy of inflexible algorithms that dictate the boundaries of our liberties.

Once artificial intelligence becomes a fully integrated part of the government bureaucracy, there will be little recourse: we will all be subject to the intransigent judgments of techno-rulers.

This is how it starts.

First, the censors went after so-called extremists spouting so-called “hate speech.”

Then they went after so-called extremists spouting so-called “disinformation” about stolen elections, the Holocaust, and Hunter Biden.

By the time so-called extremists found themselves in the crosshairs for spouting so-called “misinformation” about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines, the censors had developed a system and strategy for silencing the nonconformists.

Eventually, depending on how the government and its corporate allies define what constitutes “extremism, “we the people” might all be considered guilty of some thought crime or other.

Whatever we tolerate now—whatever we turn a blind eye to—whatever we rationalize when it is inflicted on others, whether in the name of securing racial justice or defending democracy or combatting fascism, will eventually come back to imprison us, one and all.

Watch and learn.

We should all be alarmed when any individual or group—prominent or not—is censored, silenced and made to disappear from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram for voicing ideas that are deemed politically incorrect, hateful, dangerous or conspiratorial.

Given what we know about the government’s tendency to define its own reality and attach its own labels to behavior and speech that challenges its authority, this should be cause for alarm across the entire political spectrum.

Here’s the point: you don’t have to like or agree with anyone who has been muzzled or made to disappear online because of their views, but to ignore the long-term ramifications of such censorship is dangerously naïve, because whatever powers you allow the government and its corporate operatives to claim now willeventually be used against you by tyrants of your own making.

As Glenn Greenwald writes for The Intercept:

The glaring fallacy that always lies at the heart of pro-censorship sentiments is the gullible, delusional belief that censorship powers will be deployed only to suppress views one dislikes, but never one’s own views… Facebook is not some benevolent, kind, compassionate parent or a subversive, radical actor who is going to police our discourse in order to protect the weak and marginalized or serve as a noble check on mischief by the powerful. They are almost always going to do exactly the opposite: protect the powerful from those who seek to undermine elite institutions and reject their orthodoxies. Tech giants, like all corporations, are required by law to have one overriding objective: maximizing shareholder value. They are always going to use their power to appease those they perceive wield the greatest political and economic power.

Be warned: it’s a slippery slope from censoring so-called illegitimate ideas to silencing truth.

Eventually, as George Orwell predicted, telling the truth will become a revolutionary act.

If the government can control speech, it can control thought and, in turn, it can control the minds of the citizenry.

It’s happening already.

With every passing day, we’re being moved further down the road towards a totalitarian society characterized by government censorship, violence, corruption, hypocrisy and intolerance, all packaged for our supposed benefit in the Orwellian doublespeak of national security, tolerance and so-called “government speech.”

Little by little, Americans are being conditioned to accept routine incursions on their freedoms.

This is how oppression becomes systemic, what is referred to as creeping normality, or a death by a thousand cuts.

It’s a concept invoked by Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist Jared Diamond to describe how major changes, if implemented slowly in small stages over time, can be accepted as normal without the shock and resistance that might greet a sudden upheaval.

Diamond’s concerns related to Easter Island’s now-vanished civilization and the societal decline and environmental degradation that contributed to it, but it’s a powerful analogy for the steady erosion of our freedoms and decline of our country right under our noses.

As Diamond explains, “In just a few centuries, the people of Easter Island wiped out their forest, drove their plants and animals to extinction, and saw their complex society spiral into chaos and cannibalism… Why didn’t they look around, realize what they were doing, and stop before it was too late? What were they thinking when they cut down the last palm tree?”

His answer: “I suspect that the disaster happened not with a bang but with a whimper.”

Much like America’s own colonists, Easter Island’s early colonists discovered a new world—“a pristine paradise”—teeming with life. Yet almost 2000 years after its first settlers arrived, Easter Island was reduced to a barren graveyard by a populace so focused on their immediate needs that they failed to preserve paradise for future generations.

The same could be said of the America today: it, too, is being reduced to a barren graveyard by a populace so focused on their immediate needs that they are failing to preserve freedom for future generations.

In Easter Island’s case, as Diamond speculates:

The forest…vanished slowly, over decades. Perhaps war interrupted the moving teams; perhaps by the time the carvers had finished their work, the last rope snapped. In the meantime, any islander who tried to warn about the dangers of progressive deforestation would have been overridden by vested interests of carvers, bureaucrats, and chiefs, whose jobs depended on continued deforestation… The changes in forest cover from year to year would have been hard to detect… Only older people, recollecting their childhoods decades earlier, could have recognized a difference.Gradually trees became fewer, smaller, and less important. By the time the last fruit-bearing adult palm tree was cut, palms had long since ceased to be of economic significance. That left only smaller and smaller palm saplings to clear each year, along with other bushes and treelets. No one would have noticed the felling of the last small palm.

Sound painfully familiar yet?

We’ve already torn down the rich forest of liberties established by our founders. It has vanished slowly, over the decades. The erosion of our freedoms has happened so incrementally, no one seems to have noticed. Only the older generations, remembering what true freedom was like, recognize the difference. Gradually, the freedoms enjoyed by the citizenry have become fewer, smaller and less important. By the time the last freedom falls, no one will know the difference.

This is how tyranny rises and freedom falls: with a thousand cuts, each one justified or ignored or shrugged over as inconsequential enough by itself to bother, but they add up.

Each cut, each attempt to undermine our freedoms, each loss of some critical right—to think freely, to assemble, to speak without fear of being shamed or censored, to raise our children as we see fit, to worship or not worship as our conscience dictates, to eat what we want and love who we want, to live as we want—they add up to an immeasurable failure on the part of each and every one of us to stop the descent down that slippery slope.

As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, we are on that downward slope now.

*

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This article was originally published on The Rutherford Institute.

Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at [email protected].

Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.

They are regular contributors to Global Research.

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The Day Australian Sovereignty Died

August 2nd, 2023 by Dr. Binoy Kampmark

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If a date might be found when Australian sovereignty was extinguished by the emissaries of the US imperium, July 29, 2023 will be as good as any. Not that they aren’t other candidates, foremost among them being the announcement of the AUKUS agreement between Australia, UK and the US in September 2021. They all point to a surrender, a handing over, of a territory to another’s military and intelligence community, an abject, oily capitulation that would normally qualify as treasonous.

The treason becomes all the more indigestible for its inevitable result: Australian territory is being shaped, readied, and purposed for war under the auspices of closer defence ties with an old ally. The security rentiers, the servitors, the paid-up pundits all see this as a splendid thing. War, or at least its preparations, can offer wonderful returns.

The US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin III, was particularly delighted, though watchful of his hosts. His remit was clear: detect any wobbliness, call out any indecision. But there was nothing to be worried about. His Australian hosts, for instance, proved accommodating and crawling.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles, for instance, standing alongside Austin, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, declared that there was “a commitment to increase American force posture in respect of our northern bases, in respect to our maritime patrols and our reconnaissance aircraft; further force posture initiatives involving US Army watercraft; and in respect of logistics and stores, which have been very central to Exercise Talisman Sabre.” To the untutored eye, Marles might have simply been another Pentagon spokesman of middle-rank.

The acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines was a process that was well underway (Marles seemed untroubled by grumbling voices in the Republican Party that the US Navy was short-changing itself by transferring three Virginia-class boats to the Royal Australian Navy) and taking place “in terms of an increased force posture of America within Australia.” Speaking with confidence, Marles was also looking forward to “an increased tempo of visits from American nuclear-powered submarines to our waters as we look towards the establishment of a US submarine rotation, HMS Sterling, later in this decade.”

Australian real estate would be given over to greater “space cooperation”, alongside creating “a guided weapons and explosive ordnance enterprise in this country, and doing so in a way where we hope to see manufacturing of missiles commence in Australia in two years’ time as part of a collective industrial base between the two countries.” Chillingly, Marles went on to reiterate what has become something of a favourite in his middle-management lexicon. The efforts to fiddle the export-defense export control legislation by the Biden administration would create “a more seamless defence industrial base between our countries.” Seamless, here, is the thick nail in the coffin of sovereignty.

Moves are also underway to engage in redevelopment of bases in northern Australia, in anticipation of the increased, ongoing US military presence. The RAAF Base Tindal, located 320km south-east of Darwin in the Northern Territory, is the subject of considerable investment “to address functional deficiencies and capacity constraints in existing facilities and infrastructure.” The AUSMIN talks further revealed that scoping upgrades would take place at two new locations: RAAF Bases Scherger and RAAF Curtin.

Australia’s Defence Intelligence Organisation will also be colonised by what is being termed a “Combined Intelligence Centre – Australia” by 2024. This is purportedly intended to “enhance long-standing intelligence cooperation” while essentially subordinating Australian intelligence operations to their US overlords. Marles saw the arrangement as part of a drive towards “seamless” (that hideous word again) intelligence ties between Canberra and Washington. “This is a unit which is going to produce intelligence for both of our defence forces … and I think that’s important.”

In the pro-war press outlets such as The Australian, Greg Sheridan complained that AUSMIN talks had revealed “the appalling state of our defences”. What bothered him was the expectation that Washington do everything in terms of addressing such inadequacies, while leaving the Australian defence base reliant and emaciated. “Under the Albanese government we have reverted completely to our worst selves on defence. We’re going to do almost nothing consequential over the next 10 years other than get the Americans to do more on our land.” Well, Sheridan, don’t give up hope: Australia might be at war with China under US-direction before a decade is up, vassalized warriors eager to kill and be killed.

From his vantage point as the Australian Financial Review’s international editor, historian James Curran glumly noted that, “The permanent American military presence on Australian soil is now at a scale unprecedented since the Second World War.” While the US-Australian relationship had previously stressed the value of deterrence, the focus seemed increasingly on the “projection” of power. “The change from the mid-1990s has been nothing short of staggering.”

The most striking matter in this whole business was the utter absence of parliamentary outrage in Canberra. There was no registered protest, no red mist rage in the streets, and no debate to speak off, nor even an eloquent funeral oration. You might even say that AUSMIN 2023 was one of history’s most successful coups, implemented in plain sight by all too willing collaborators. Its victim, Australian sovereignty, has been laid to rest.

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Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge.  He currently lectures at RMIT University.  He is a regular contributor to Global Research. Email: [email protected] 

Featured image: Penny Wong (Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Despite the tremendous pressure by the western imperialist governments placed upon the African Union (AU) member-states and the Russian Federation, the second Russia-Africa Summit was held on July 27-28 in St. Petersburg.

Many of the African heads-of-state present came from the leading countries across the continent of 1.4 billion people.

Heads-of-state such as Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa, Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, Adel-Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, Felipe Nyusi of Mozambique, Macky Sall of Senegal, Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville, among others, were present and intensely engaged in the proceedings. The Summit consisted of open plenary sessions along with one-on-one meetings between African leaders and President Vladimir Putin.

Media reports in the United States made much of the fact that 17 heads-of-state attended the Russia-Africa Summit compared to 43 at the previous meeting in 2019. However, there were 49 delegations which attended representing a majority of African governments on official ministerial levels as well as regional organizations such as the African Union (AU), Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the New Development Bank (NDB), headed by former Brazil President Dilma Rousseff.

The Summit took place during an intensification of the military conflict in eastern and southern Ukraine as the United States and the European Union (EU) has pledged in excess of $100 billion to continue its efforts to maintain the dominant status of imperialism throughout the globe. U.S. President Joe Biden has focused heavily on the foreign policy imperatives of weakening the Russian Federation through sanctions and the recruitment of Eastern European states into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

In Africa, the impact of the Ukraine war is resulting in high rates of inflation triggered by the shortages in agricultural products. Rising prices and a deteriorating security crisis in several West African states has prompted military interventions in political life and the attempted realignment of domestic and foreign policy away from France and the U.S. towards Russia and China.

This is the first full meeting of the Russia-Africa Summit since the inaugural gathering in 2019. Over the last four years the world underwent a global pandemic whose magnitude has not been experienced for a century. The commencement of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 grew out of the reemergent Cold War initiated by Washington and Wall Street against Russia and the People’s Republic of China.

Over the last year-and-a-half since the beginning of the special military operation, the administration of President Joe Biden has sought to pressure AU member-states to support its position in Ukraine. U.S. Congressional figures drafted a bill designed to punish African states who maintain cordial political and economic relations with Moscow. The government in the Republic of South Africa led by the African National Congress (ANC) was accused by the U.S. ambassador of supplying arms to the Russian Federation to utilize in the Ukraine theater.

Russia has been subjected to widespread sanctions aimed at bringing about the collapse of its economy. During the Summit in St. Petersburg, Putin announced the cancellation of $23 billion in debt owed by African countries.

Russia-Africa Summit delegates in front row (Source: Abayomi Azikiwe)

Outcomes of the Russia-Africa Summit

Consequently, the proceeding of the recent gathering provided an opportunity for both Russia and the AU to present their views on a myriad of issues impacting the international situation. Both the host, President Vladimir Putin and the AU delegates emphasized their interests in building closer relations in the cultural, economic and political spheres.

In a report on the Summit published by Tass news agency it says:

“The global importance of the second Russia-Africa Summit, held in St. Petersburg on July 27-28, continued to reverberate over the weekend. On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held meetings with several counterparts from the continent. As well, St. Petersburg native Putin hosted four African leaders at his hometown’s annual Navy Day parade on July 30 along the Neva River, Vedomosti writes. Putin said at his final press conference on July 29 that, ‘in general, the African continent is friendly and positive towards Russia.’ A 74-point declaration was the principal document to come out of the summit, where the signatories spoke out in particular against ethnic and racial discrimination and announced plans to coordinate a range of joint political activities, including within the United Nations Security Council.” 

Russia and its relationship with the African continent have been mutually cooperative since the era of imperialist conquest when the country under the monarchy provided military assistance to Ethiopia during its war against Italy in the late 19th century. During the period of the Soviet Union, the official foreign policy position of Moscow was to aid the national liberation movements struggling for freedom and independence. The post-colonial years in Africa were marked by solidarity with the newly independent states through the granting of educational opportunities, trading projects along with military training.

A continuing pledge of security assistance was made clear during the Summit. In addition, scholarships for education will be enhanced for African students in Russia. The Russian government acknowledged the legacy of colonialism, imperialism and neo-colonialism and pledged to stand in solidarity with the African people in their struggle for genuine independence and sovereignty.

Testimony by African leaders were recorded in a Tass news report saying that:

“Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera underscored that Russia’s support helped save democracy in his country. ‘Fearing no geopolitical problems, Russia provides aid to our country, our armed forces and security agencies in their fight against terrorist organizations,’ he said. Mali was able to reinforce its armed forces and ensure its security thanks to Russia’s aid, said Interim President Assimi Goita. ‘Mali has a military partnership with Russia, and we thank it for its support and friendship. […] The Malian Armed Forces are currently on the offensive; we have significantly reduced the number of [terrorist] attacks on [our] military bases, we were able to ensure security in many places,’ he noted.” 

AU Leaders Emphasize Peace Plan

An underlying theme throughout the concluding phase of the Summit was the quest for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. The withdrawal of Russia from the Black Sea Grain Deal was based on the failure of the imperialist states to lift their sanctions against Moscow.

The actual volume of grain produced and exported by Russia far exceeds that of Ukraine. Putin offered to supply grain to several African states free of charge in an effort to meet the current challenge of burgeoning food insecurity.

Tass summarized the discussions on the African Peace Initiative for Ukraine as follows:

“South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that ‘negotiations and dialogue, as well as commitment to the UN Charter are necessary for a peaceful and fair resolution of conflicts.’

‘The African initiative deserves the greatest attention, and it should not be underestimated,’ President of the Republic of Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso said, calling to ‘end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. This conflict affected the entire world in a negative way, African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat said. ‘Of course, we are concerned over the grain supply issue,’ he said, adding that it is ‘necessary to immediately and promptly resolve the problem of food shipments to countries in need.’” (https://tass.com/politics/1653945)

Putin reiterated to the African delegations that Russia has been willing to hold constructive negotiations with Ukraine. However, Moscow has been met with refusals by Kiev which is operating at the behest of Washington and the NATO states.

Overall, the Summit further revealed the escalating conflict between the proponents of western imperialist domination and those advocating for a multipolar world system. This ideological and material conflict could very well be resolved in a protracted global conflagration which would portend much for the long-term stability and sustainable development of the majority of peoples and nations of the globe.

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Abayomi Azikiwe is the editor of the Pan-African News Wire. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from Abayomi Azikiwe

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August 2nd, 2023 by The Global Research Team

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Nineteen months after the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, many people are still wondering: what is the war really about? Ukraine considers it exclusively defensive against Russian aggression. For the Western bloc (as they inconsistently try to demonstrate) the war is a defense of Western values and countering the military threat from Moscow. For Russia, this war is a serious geopolitical challenge, in which it is necessary to protect the fraternal people and eliminate the ultra-right neo-Nazi forces that seized power at all levels in 2014 and are acting with a tough anti-Russian policy. However, as always happens in big politics, the question “who benefits from this war?” is much deeper, both literally and figuratively.

Firstly, the massive infusion of weapons into Ukraine has already led to the disarmament of the West. So, in June of this year, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, in an interview with the Washington Post, said that the stocks of military equipment that the West can transfer to Ukraine are running out.

Joe Biden also said that the United States is experiencing a shortage of some ammunition to be sent to Ukraine, and at the end of July, the German Defense Ministry did not approve the transfer of Taurus cruise missiles.

The weakening of the Western military arsenal is primarily beneficial to China in the confrontation with Taiwan supported by Western countries: the more weapons and money will be poured into Ukraine, the less it will be in Taiwan. Perhaps, in the current game, Beijing, staying on the sidelines, will win even much more than the Russian Federation itself.

Secondly, as in any war, it is necessary to look under your feet, because besides mines, useful resources are hidden underground, huge reserves of which are located in Ukraine.

In its recent article, the Financial Times links the conflict in Ukraine with opportunities to significantly advance the current “green” agenda. Even despite the possible return of Donald Trump to the White House in the upcoming elections and the subsequent arrival of right-wing forces, it is highly likely that the issue of “green the planet” will still not be curtailed.

The recent visit of Swedish eco-activist Greta Thunberg to Kiev, during which she met with Zelensky to discuss “Russia’s environmental crimes in Ukraine”, also confirms the West’s interest in Ukrainian resources.

"Green" Values: What Is The West Really Fighting For In Ukraine

Click to see full-size image

Let’s take a look at what exactly in Ukraine may be of interest to supporters of the green way? For example, lithium, which is extremely in demand in the production of batteries for electric cars.

According to Ukrainian scientists, there are about 500,000 tons of lithium in the country – more than in Portugal, which is the largest source of lithium in Europe. Moreover, in Ukraine there are commercially significant reserves of 117 of the 120 most useful industrial minerals, including titanium, iron, uranium, neon, nickel, lithium and many others. The total cost of Ukrainian resources is estimated at 11.5 trillion dollars, which, for example, is 3 times higher than Germany’s GDP.

The development of Ukrainian reserves is particularly relevant against the background of the West’s struggle against its dependence on Chinese and Russian minerals and make the so-called energy transition.

So, at the moment China is the 3rd largest lithium producer in the world, and about 50% of all manufactured batteries for electric vehicles are produced there. Russia, of course, is also aware of the importance of these fossils – many of them are already in the territories controlled by Russia.

Given the close relations between the countries, the West is categorically not ready to allow the strengthening of the energy dominance of the alliance of Moscow and Beijing.

"Green" Values: What Is The West Really Fighting For In Ukraine

In the scenario when Ukraine will be completely destroyed, the population will desperately need jobs, and the leadership will agree to any conditions for receiving external investments, the West will be able not only to get all these minerals, but even to establish its local production.

And here there is one curious nuance. The strict requirements for industrial production are in force on the territory of the European Union.

For example, Elon Musk came up with the idea to launch lithium recycling, but he is unlikely to be able to obtain a license in the EU for such an extremely dirty production. In this scenario, Ukraine can become an ideal colony.

Firstly, it will be loyal to the West and, as mentioned above, is ready to do anything for the sake of investing in the war-torn economy.

Secondly, it is not a part of the EU (and barely likely will ever be), which allows to locate there any harmful production outside the Union laws. Thirdly, unlike the old European colonies and the current production facilities in China, Ukraine is located on the territory of Europe, which makes it extremely logistically convenient.

Thus, with any outcome of this war, Ukraine is nothing more than a bargaining chip in big politics and a resources springboard for other countries in the future.

The current leadership of Kiev understands this for sure, therefore, it will try to extract maximum benefits for itself until the country finally loses its independence – whether from the previously fraternal, and now hated Russia, or from its European “friends”.

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July 28, 2023 – Two Albertans, ages 34 and 35, Jonah Swen and Greg Gaudette were found dead after going missing during a hike along North York Creek Plane Crash Trail outside of Coleman. The were both fully COVID-19 vaccinated PARAMEDICS (click here).

July 22/23, 2023 – Nevada – 29 year old Diana Rivera and 34 year old Jessica Rhodes (a very fit athlete) died while hiking Valley of Fire State Park. “Nobody knows what actually happened but nobody could’ve been in better shape” (click here).

July 18, 2023 – 27 year old former MSU Baseball player Matt Byars “fell” while hiking at Rock Park outside of Denver (click here).

July 17, 2023 – 16 year old Simon Mirkes was on a Camp Tamarack hiking trip in Alaska for Jewish families & children. 3.7 miles into the Harding Icefield trail outside of Seward in Kenai Fjords National Park he collapsed, paramedics from LifeMed helicopter attempted to resuscitate him with CPR but he died on the trail of cardiac arrest (click here).

July 10, 2023 – Whistler, BC – 28 year old nurse and member of her local search and rescue team, died while hiking in BC. She collapsed at 11:15am. She was an experienced hiker (click here).

June 26, 2023 – Texas – 14 year old boy fell ill and died unexpectedly during hike while his 31 year old stepdad died while trying to get him help. (click here)

June 24, 2023 – The remains of 65 year old British actor Julian Sands were discovered on a mountainside in Mount Baldy, California. He died while he was hiking. Autopsy could not determine what caused his death (click here).

May 7, 2023 – 20 year old Clarissa Nicholls from London, UK, died suddenly from cardiac arrest while hiking in France.

April 29, 2023 – 25 year old Eli James Olson died in a “tragic hiking accident on El Capitan mountain in Texas” (click here).

April 26, 2023 – 37 year old NBC News Correspondent Morgan Chesky developed shortness of breath while hiking in Zion National Park. He almost died after developing “high altitude pulmonary edema”. He had done tougher hikes before and never had it. (click here)

Feb. 21, 2023 – 41 year old Irish paramedic working in Australia, Fiona Lavelle went missing and was found dead on a hike in Cape Le Grand National Park, Western Australia (click here).

Sep. 2022 – 32 year old doctor and Neurology Resident Dr.Evan Dishion died suddenly while hiking hear Cave Creek, Arizona (click here).

May 29, 2022 – 53 year old celebrity doctor and obstetrician Jay Goldberg died suddenly of a heart attack while on a hiking trail in Los Angeles Park (click here).

May 24, 2022 – 43 year old AFL personal trainer Jason Januszke had a cardiac arrest while running the Mount Lofty hiking trail. (click here)

Four fully COVID-19 vaccinated Canadian doctors have died hiking or climbing:

My Take…

Last year, while banned from Twitter for warning about mRNA jabs in kids, I wrote a post on Gettr about three Canadian hikers dying suddenly in the United States. (click here)

Every COVID-19 Vaccinated person must re-evaluate their physical activities.

I believe cardio-intense activities such as marathons, swimming, cycling, running and hiking are far too dangerous for the COVID-19 vaccinated who have not had a full cardiac work-up in the US.

The risk of myocarditis post COVID-19 vaccination is about 1 in 30 and the risk of sudden cardiac death with these activities is simply much too high.

Look at these 24 deaths: paramedics, doctors, nurses, athletes and personal trainers. Even the fittest, most experienced hikers are dying suddenly.

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Dr. William Makis is a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Governor General’s Medal, University of Toronto Scholar. Author of 100+ peer-reviewed medical publications.


The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.

“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”

ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0,  Year: 2022,  PDF Ebook,  Pages: 164, 15 Chapters

Price: $11.50 FREE COPY! Click here (docsend) and download.

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First published July 29, 2023

The hypothesis that the Anglo-Saxon axis is pivotal to the proxy war in Ukraine against Russia is only partly true. Germany is actually Ukraine’s second largest arms supplier, after the United States. Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged a new arms package worth 700 million euros, including additional tanks, munitions and Patriot air defence systems at the Nato summit in Vilnius, putting Berlin, as he said, at the very forefront of military support for Ukraine. 

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stressed, “By doing this, we’re making a significant contribution to strengthening Ukraine’s staying power.” However, the pantomime playing out may have multiple motives. 

Fundamentally, Germany’s motivation is traceable to the crushing defeat by the Red Army and has little to do with Ukraine as such. The Ukraine crisis has provided the context for accelerating Germany’s militarisation. Meanwhile, revanchist feelings are rearing their head and there is a “bipartisan consensus” between Germany’s leading centrist parties — CDU, SPD and Green Party — in this regard. 

In an interview in the weekend, the CDU’s leading foreign and defence expert Roderich Kiesewetter (an ex-colonel who headed the Association of Reservists of the Bundeswehr from 2011 to 2016) suggested that if conditions warrant in the Ukraine situation,  Nato should consider to “cut off Kaliningrad from the Russian supply lines. We see how Putin reacts when he is under pressure.” Berlin is still smarting under the surrender of the ancient Prussian city of Königsberg in April 1945. 

Stalin ordered 1.5 million Soviet troops supported by several thousand tanks and aircraft to attack the crack Nazi Panzer divisions deeply entrenched in Königsberg. The capture of the heavily fortified stronghold of  Königsberg by the Soviet army was celebrated in Moscow with an artillery salvo by 324 cannons firing 24 shells each.  

Evidently, Kiesewetter’s remarks show that nothing is forgotten or forgiven in Berlin even after 8  decades. Thus, Germany is the Biden Administration’s closest ally in the war against Russia. The German government has stated its understanding for the Biden administration’s controversial decision to supply Ukraine with cluster ammunition. The government spokesman commented in Berlin, “We are certain that our US friends did not make their decision lightly, to deliver this sort of munition.” 

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier remarked, “In the current situation, one should not obstruct the USA.” Indeed, the top CDU figure Kiesewetter suggested in an interview with the Green Party-affiliated daily “taz” that not only should Ukraine be given “guarantees, and if necessary, even provided with nuclear assistance, as an intermediary step to NATO membership.” 

Coinciding with the NATO summit in Vilnius (July 11-12), Rheinmetal, the great 135-year old German arms manufacturing company, has disclosed that it is opening an armoured vehicle plant in western Ukraine at an undisclosed location in the next twelve weeks. To begin with, German Fuchs armoured personnel carriers will be built and repaired while there are plans afoot to manufacture ammunition and possibly even air defence systems and tanks. 

Rheinmetall’s CEO told CNN on Monday that like other Ukrainian arms factories, the new plant could be protected from Russian air attack. Germany has more than doubled the 2022 allocation of €2 billion for upgrading Ukraine’s armed forces. It now touches around €5.4 billion with further plans to increase to €10.5 billion.

Now, is this all about Russia? Germany cannot be unaware that Ukraine has simply no hope on earth to defeat Russia militarily.

Germany is playing the long game. It is creating equity in western Ukraine where it is not Russia but Poland that is its contender. Ever since the Tsarist army advanced into Galicia in 1914, Russia has had a difficult history with Ukrainian nationalists. If the current war in Ukraine spreads to western Ukraine, that cannot be Russia’s choice but out of some necessity forced upon it.  

The Soviet victory in Ukraine in October 1944, the Red Army’s occupation of eastern Europe, and Allied diplomacy resulted in a redrawing of Poland’s western frontiers with Germany and Ukraine’s with Poland. Simply put, with compensation of German territories in the west, Poland agreed to the cession of Volhynia and Galicia in western Ukraine; a mutual population exchange created for the first time in centuries a clear ethnic, as well as political, Polish-Ukrainian border. 

It is entirely conceivable that the ongoing Ukraine war will radically change the territorial boundaries of Ukraine in the east and south.

Possibly, it can re-open the post-World War 2 settlement with regard to western Ukraine as well. Russia has repeatedly warned that Poland aims to reverse the cession of Volhynia and Galicia in western Ukraine. Such a turn of events will most certainly bring to the fore the issue of the German territories that are part of Poland today. 

Perhaps, it was in anticipation of turbulence ahead that last October, eight months after the Russian intervention began in  in February, Warsaw demanded WWII reparations from Berlin — an issue which Germany says was settled in 1990 — to the tune of €1.3 trillion. 

Under the Potsdam Conference (1945), the “former eastern territories of Germany” comprising nearly one quarter (23.8 percent) of the Weimar Republic with the majority ceded to Poland. The remainder, consisting of northern East Prussia including the German city of Königsberg (renamed Kaliningrad), was allocated to the Soviet Union.   

Make no mistake about the importance of the Eastern border for German culture and politics. Indeed, there is always something volatile about a “handicapped” Great Power when a whole new intensity appears in political, economic and historical circumstances, which prompts those in power to turn ideas into reality, and revanchist and imperialistic discourses that were quietly but steadily streaming below the surface of the carefully considered diplomatic efforts begin to probe pan-nationalist expansion.

In retrospect, Germany’s — in particular, then foreign minister and current president Steinmeier’s — diabolical role to align Germany with the neo-Nazi elements during the regime change in Kiev in 2014 and the subsequent German perfidy in the implementation of the Minsk Agreement (“Steinmeier formula”), as admitted recently in February by former Chancellor Angela Merkel should not be forgotten. 

Suffice to say, even as Russia is winning the Ukraine war, the concern of the German foreign policy makers once again faces the need to redefine what was German. Thus, the war in Ukraine is only the means to an end. Recent reports suggest that Berlin may be moving, finally, toward meeting Ukraine’s pending demand for Taurus cruise missiles with a range exceeding 500 kms and unique “multi-effect war head” that can be a game changer in the the combat dynamics on the battlefield and create the prerequisites for victory. 

Equally, German soldiers already comprise about half of the Nato battlegroup already present in Lithuania. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said two weeks ago while on a visit to Vilnius that Germany is preparing the infrastructure to permanently base 4,000 soldiers (“a robust brigade”) to Lithuania so as to have the capability to maintain military flexibility at the Eastern flank. The decision has support from both Germany’s governing coalition and its main opposition.

The CDU foreign policy expert and member of the Bundestag, Kiesewetter called the idea of establishing German base in the Baltics a “decision of reason and reliability.” Indeed, there have been past attempts, historically speaking, to create German rule in the Baltics based on revisionist claims towards the new states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania where German colonists had settled as far back as in the 12th and 13th centuries. 

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Featured image: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (L) met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of NATO summit, Vilnius, Lithuania, July 12, 2023 (Source: IP)

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No, thankfully the malady has not yet overtaken the entirety of the West, but it certainly has seized hold of the element within it that sets the tone and shapes minds.

The precise matter that currently exercises the establishment is not motherhood so much literally as symbolically, insofar as the powers that are dismissed with undisguised contempt is the inviolability of motherhood’s most precious issue, innocent children. That is close enough.

The opinion dictators’ unhinged reaction to the newly released film “Sound of Freedom” highlights a seeming paradox.

It is that in the presumed epicentre of global civilisation and humanistic values, loathing for and condemnation of the kidnapping and enslavement of children is shown to be neither automatic nor unanimous.

Although not a Hollywood production (soon after release, the notorious den of corruption unequivocally disowned the film and one readily suspects the reasons why) and notwithstanding malicious denigration in the controlled media, “Sound of Freedom” has played in packed theatres across the US. Its earnings thus far have exceeded cost of production by over ten-fold, while concurrently released Hollywood blockbusters are failing miserably at the box office. It was a remarkable achievement, in particular because word of mouth publicity apparently was enough to overcome every conceivable obstacle erected by the enraged establishment.

Commercial success data however are a very minor detail. Far more significant is that the temporarily stunned establishment, itself deeply involved in every known form of amorality, has managed to turn the exposé of a phenomenon that should have been  universally repugnant into a controversial issue.

By slyly introducing ambivalence into the absoluteness of the distinction between good from evil, it has registered a modest success of its own.

The popularity and massive viewership of the “Sound of Freedom” against all odds is, of course, comforting evidence that the vast majority of Americans remain normal and decent people. The critical question, however, is whether in the long run the film’s undeniable triumph, if judged merely by movie industry metrics, will have a substantive impact beyond that? In other words, will it leave a mark on public policy, or will it be no more than a flash in the pan?

Regrettably, there is no indication that ultimately the film will be anything more than a flash in the pan.

True, paid establishment shills posing as film critics, many of them with a personal background of involvement in paedophilia and therefore in clear conflict of interest, have been trashing the “Sound of Freedom” relentlessly for weeks since its  release without achieving for their trouble any visible box office results.  

It is true also that by massively flocking to the movie theatres to see a film so strongly frowned upon by their overlords, to use a metaphor from bygone days, the plebes have voted with their feet. That is a method of voting that Dominion vote counting machines are unable to influence or reverse.

Yet on the policy level the public referendum on child trafficking in movie theatres has had no resonance in the ranks of the governing class or among any of their courtiers and minions.

As recently as two or three decades ago politicians and other public figures would have been competing to garner political brownie points by pretending to identify with the social outrage.

They would be echoing popular sentiment and promising effective legislation and other palliative measures to deal with the scandal. This time around however nothing of the sort is taking place. Politicians, religious and cultural leaders, and public figures of most diverse profiles from whom a reaction should naturally be expected, have remained totally and conspicuously silent regarding a matter of the highest public concern and an outrage of extraordinary magnitude.

What does that tell us about the condition of the society where this is possible?

It tells us at least two things. First, that there is an unbridgeable moral chasm separating the rulers from their subjects. Pence’s honest admission to Tucker Carlson that the long list of domestic issues the latter ticked off is “not my concern,” presumably because of their insignificance compared to the “internationalist obligation” of sustaining Zelensky’s regime, is emblematic of the ruling elite’s alienated mindset. (In Europe, an identical sentiment, almost verbatim, was expressed by Germany’s stupid foreign minister.)

The nomenklatura no longer feel the need to even feign commonality of values with the masses they deceitfully rule.

As a result, there has been no acknowledgement from the “servants of the people” class of the child trafficking and enslavement pandemic.

No legislative or police strategies to deal with it are being publicly contemplated nor do the rulers perceive a need to present an action plan to mollify the incensed masses, who are viewed from on high as marginal, no more than a minor nuisance. The human trafficking scandal may greatly bother Joe So-and-So out on the street, but as insider Pence helpfully explained it is not their concern. Confidently and patiently, they are waiting for the sordid revelations to blow over. Meanwhile, in their public opinion modelling laboratories, as this is written distractions are being devised to memory hole them and then, as quickly as practicable, to change the subject.

The other thing this tells us about the ruling elite is that what has long been suspected of their utter degeneracy most likely is true.

The abuse depicted in “Sound of Freedom” is not confined to the streets and alleys of large metropolitan centres or the jungles of Colombia. It is endemic to the lifestyle of powerful people, and at all levels.

Willing participation in depravity is often the entry ticket for joining the ranks of the Western power elite. The credible revelations of Dutch banker Ronald Bernard, who opted out when as a condition for further advancement he was asked to participate in child blood sacrifice (12:48 to 14:05), speak for themselves and are borne out by a mass of other similar testimonials (and here).

 

 

Child trafficking and exploitation, including blood sacrifice, reaches into the highest levels of authority, both secular and religious. They are the ultimate consumers of the horrors depicted in the “Sound of Freedom.” The expectation that those circles would do anything about it other than cover it up is therefore naïve and unrealistic.

The euphemistic white-washing in public discourse of this particularly heinous variety of perversion, by relabelling its criminal protagonists innocuous “minor attracted adults,” gives the game away. There is an ongoing systematic effort to normalise the abhorrent and to promote it as a regular and accepted feature of everyday life. Without backing from within the apparatus of power, which in reality is the network of psychopaths who hold Western societies in their iron grip, aggressively reshaping it in their own corrupt likeness and image, this normalisation of evil could not take place.

Unless a thoroughgoing perestroika is carried out in the West and the psychopaths infesting all spheres of public life and social influence are locked up and the keys are forever thrown away, prisons and asylums will soon be filled with decent people, conscientious whistle-blowers and moral heroes such as the makers of the “Sound of freedom”.

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Stephen Karganovic is president of “Srebrenica Historical Project,” an NGO registered in the Netherlands to investigate the factual matrix and background of events that took place in Srebrenica in July of 1995. He is a regular contributor to Global Research. 

State of the World: “Political Treachery, Deceptions, Lies and Criminality”. Colonel Pedro Baños

By Peter Koenig, August 01, 2023

In his presentations, Pedro Baños demonstrates that today’s situation is not different from what it was six centuries ago. The state of the world today is one of political treachery, deception, lies and crime of utmost proportion, including mass genocide. The propaganda means of today are of course much more sophisticated than in the Middle Age, englobing the entire world at once, with medias amply paid by a corporate elite attempt to take total control of the world and its population.

U.S. Media Calls for New PATRIOT Act Against So-called “Domestic Terrorists”

By Ben Bartee, August 01, 2023

A few years back, I (and many others) picked up on an emerging trend which has only intensified over time: the framing of “domestic terrorists” (meaning, in practice, any political opponents of the Deep State regime) as something on par with foreign terrorists of the Islamic persuasion.

Thinker, Poet, Philosopher Giordano Bruno Devoted to the Truth, Condemned by the Roman Inquisition, 475 Years Later

By Prof. Sam Ben-Meir, August 01, 2023

In the early morning hours of February 17, 1600, a man was carted to Rome’s Campo d’Fiori where, chained by the neck, he was stripped naked, hung upside down and burned at the stake, the culmination of seven long years of confinement in the Prison of the Roman Inquisition. His ashes were thrown into the Tiber River.

Gender and Politics

By Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirović, August 01, 2023

The text has aim to investigate the situation of female representation in politics in the industrialized contemporary Western democracies. Though women are more and more visible in politics, we can not yet say they have taken an equal position compared to men. Of course, they have had to take a long road and there is certainly a positive evolution, but there are still some mechanisms that lead to different kinds and levels of political discrimination.

mRNA COVID Vaccines May be Triggering ‘Turbo Cancers’ in Young People: Experts

By Megan Redshaw, August 01, 2023

Experts are seeing a puzzling rise in cancer in people under 50 that appears biologically different from late-onset cancers. While some claim cancer rates have been rising for decades and attribute the increase to sugary drinks, lifestyle, and sleep disruptions, others say mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have caused an emergence of “turbo cancers”—and U.S. regulatory agencies have not addressed the ever-growing problem.

Measuring the Mandates: Assessing the State’s Response to COVID-19

By Richard Cox, August 01, 2023

Politicians around the world insisted that they needed to restrict human freedom and mandate medical interventions—all in order to keep us safe. They had the power and claimed the wisdom to know this was the right thing to do. Much of the population agreed, yearning only for stronger restrictions on their liberty.

Liberation Philosophy. The Convergence of Catastrophes Facing the West. Youssef Hindi

By Alexander Wolfheze, August 01, 2023

The aim of this present review of Hindi’s Guerre is to assist the Eurasianist and Multipolar Movements – the former movement relates as a matrix and reference point to the latter movement – in creating a fully-fledged, stand-alone worldview and a comprehensive, all-encompassing metanarrative, as they will eventually be required to do if they are to ever to successfully oppose and overcome the globalist-nihilist worldview.

Algeria Will Play An Important Role If West Africa Descends Into War?

By Andrew Korybko, August 01, 2023

Security and ideological interests account for why the Algerian Chief of Staff just flew to Moscow. His country wants to coordinate with its strategic partner in responding to this regional crisis as well as the wider war that might soon break out.

Western Weapons sent to Ukraine End Up in the Hands of African Terrorists

By Lucas Leiroz de Almeida, August 01, 2023

Reports suggest that Western weapons sent to Ukraine are being redistributed to terrorists around the world, particularly in Africa. According to the interim President of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traore, Western military equipment ends up in the hands of African terrorists instead of supplying Ukrainian forces, thus generating instability and insecurity for Africa, and further increasing the need for cooperation with Russia.

mRNA Vaccine: The COVID-19 Spike Injury You Need to Know About

By Dr. Joseph Mercola, August 01, 2023

McCullough and his team systematically reviewed all autopsy reports involving COVID-19 jab-related myocarditis published through July 3, 2023. Fourteen papers detailing 28 autopsies fit the inclusion criteria.

The Deep State Is All Too Real

August 1st, 2023 by David Bernhardt

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There are two competing conceptions of American governance: the version students are taught in the classroom, and the one that exists in the real world. Grade-school civics teaches that Washington is designed to operate under a system of checks and balances, constrained by the Constitution and empowered by the consent of the governed. In practice, however, power has become concentrated in the executive branch and largely wielded by unaccountable career bureaucrats. The notion of a “deep state” isn’t a conspiratorial talking point but a manifest political reality. 

Click to read the article on WSJ.

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A few years back, I (and many others) picked up on an emerging trend which has only intensified over time: the framing of “domestic terrorists” (meaning, in practice, any political opponents of the Deep State regime) as something on par with foreign terrorists of the Islamic persuasion.

You may recall these fighting words from Former CIA Director John Brennan, now an MSNBC talking head, directed at “far-right” “domestic extremists” back in 2021:

“[The Biden intelligence services] are moving in laser-like fashion to try to uncover as much as they can about what looks very similar to insurgency movements that we’ve seen overseas

It brings together an unholy alliance of religious extremists, authoritarians, fascists, bigots, racists, nativists, even libertarians. And unfortunately I think there’s been this momentum that generated as a result of unfortunately the demagogic rhetoric of people that’s just departed government, but also those who continue in the halls of Congress and so I really do think that the law enforcement, homeland security, intelligence, and even the defense officials are doing everything possible to root out what seems to be a very very serious and insidious threat to our democracy and our republic.”

“Even libertarians”!

And remember: “white supremacists” need not be white any longer; opposing racist government policies makes you a racist; “nativists” are individuals who don’t want endless foreign wars with no benefit to the taxpayers who finance them. These terms’ definitions are nothing if not malleable.

Now, reading off the same Deal State script, Paul Rieckhoff is calling for a new-age PATRIOT Act, the ultra-draconian legislation that enabled the worst excesses of the Bush-era, post-9/11 national security state.

“A lot of Americans are up for grabs. I wouldn’t dismiss it as just something only people on the right or watching Fox News latch on to. We are in a battle for hearts and minds and there people are on the fence.

You got to have leaders and messages and messengers and programs to get to those people that bring them over into community organizing and into non-profit organizations and away from the Patriot Front and Oathkeepers.

I think the parallels of 9/11 are important. We talked about this before. After 9/11, the laws didn’t work. They made massive changes to respond to a new threat. I think we have to face the fact that many structures, laws and policies may not work. After 9/11 we created the Department of Homeland Security, there was the PATRIOT Act. There was massive change in our entire society to face the number one threat, or at least what was communicated as the number one threat.

We need the same kind of tectonic shift.”

Let this be a lesson to us all (one that was actually offered by the Founders but that apparently we haven’t absorbed properly): granting sweeping new powers to any government, no matter how apparently benevolent, to conduct law enforcement activities in the dark with no accountability, under the guise of national security, is always, without fail, a Trojan Horse that ultimately comes back to bite the frightened, propagandized people who allowed it to happen in the first place.

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This article was originally published on Armageddon Prose.

Ben Bartee, author of Broken English Teacher: Notes From Exile, is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs. He is a regular contributor to Global Research. 

Featured image is from Global Look Press / Jaap Arriens

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In the early morning hours of February 17, 1600, a man was carted to Rome’s Campo d’Fiori where, chained by the neck, he was stripped naked, hung upside down and burned at the stake, the culmination of seven long years of confinement in the Prison of the Roman Inquisition. His ashes were thrown into the Tiber River. If you make your way to the bustling and lively square today you will find at its center a statue honoring that man, Giordano Bruno. Described as the ‘most militant statue in Rome,’ the monument was erected in 1889 and presents the hooded Bruno in the cowl of a friar, facing toward the Vatican, as if silently reprimanding the Roman Catholic Church for his execution.

This year marks the 475th anniversary of Giordano Bruno’s birth in 1548 in the small town of Nola, a short distance from Naples. The intervening years since his death have seen Bruno’s status grow – as a thinker and poet, astronomer, philosopher and master of mnemonics, or the art of memory. It is now acknowledged that in claiming the universe was infinite, with infinite suns like our own, the Nolan was some 400 years ahead of his time. But what finally had him condemned by the Roman Inquisition was that the “apostate monk demanded free inquiry into truth, unprejudiced and unaffected by theologic authority.” According to a more recent biographer, Bruno was delivered to the flames because he ultimately refused to acknowledge the authority of those who sat in judgment over him.

Bruno deserves to be remembered for his devotion to truth, and the freedom of thought to bravely follow wherever the truth may lead. His intrepid constancy was immense, his vision of reality was profound and anticipated the greatest minds of the early modern era, including especially Baruch Spinoza. Bruno can be a very difficult read unless one is well-versed in the controversies of late renaissance thought. He can be daunting but he could also write clearly, pointedly, and with withering irony. He could also be outrageously funny.

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The trial of Giordano Bruno by the Roman Inquisition. Bronze relief by Ettore Ferrari, Campo de’ Fiori, Rome. (Licensed under the Public Domain)

In terms of his metaphysics, Bruno was, in a word, a pantheist. This is why it is often said that he was a forerunner to Spinoza, the true ‘father of modern naturalism,’ as Richard Bernstein has recently argued. As Hegel would characterize Bruno’s conception of ultimate reality: ‘The things which appear to be different are only modifications of one single thing which includes in its existence all other existence.’ Schopenhauer once wrote that both Bruno and Spinoza would have been at home on the banks of the Ganges. Schopenhauer was referring to the theoretical or theological kinship between Bruno’s One, Spinoza’s Substance and the monistic conception of Brahman that we find, for example, in Advaita Vedanta, where it is an entirely pantheistic, homogenous (undifferentiated) principle of Reality.

Bruno is, among other things, a great thinker of the One, putting him in a tradition going back to Parmenides. As he writes in the dedication of his comedic play, Candelaio (The Candlemaker): “Time takes away all and grants all, everything changes, nothing is destroyed; only one thing cannot change, one, alone and eternal, and only one can abide eternally, consistent and identical. With this philosophy my spirit grows large, and my intellect is magnified… everything that is, is either here or there, near or far, now or later, sooner or later. Rejoice, then, and if you can, be well, and love the one who loves you.” Bruno represents the indomitable power of thought, its irreducibility, its freedom to rise above the present, to see beyond the horizon, and grasp the infinite.

For Bruno, there is no limitation to which thought is irremediably bound. There is nothing that in principle cannot be known. The fatal problem for every philosophy of finitude is that when it says thought can travel this far and no farther it has already gone beyond the limit. As Theodor Adorno would point out, once you assign limits to reason, “is there not a sense in which you already raise yourself beyond these limits? And if reason claims to tell you how far you may go and how far you may not go, does this not already imply that reason somehow stands beyond the limits which are set by reason itself?” This is also Hegel’s fundamental objection to Kantian idealism: as soon as you say that we cannot have knowledge of the world as a whole you’ve gone beyond the limit, because that requires you to make a judgment about the whole. Indeed, there is nothing that is intrinsically unknown or unknowable.

I have a modest claim to make: we need Bruno today more than ever. This is because he represents an intellectual antidote to the prevailing ideology of today which tells us that we are doomed to finitude, which comes down politically to the assertion that there is no alternative to the reign of global capitalism. Of course, Bruno did not know about capitalism, globalization or neoliberalism. What he did know however is that humanity is infinite. That we are limited only by our own narrowness of vision.

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The monument to Bruno in the place he was executed, Campo de’ Fiori in Rome (Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Bruno is a militant for truth: he “raises the human measure of faithfulness and strengthens reverence for what is of highest and best in man.” What would it mean to remain faithful to the truth his life embodies? In a word: resist. It would mean to refuse to accept what is, to accept the given. Bruno was not a revolutionary as such, but his fidelity to the universal compels him to meet his enemies, who have all the power of authority on their side, with steadfastness and fidelity born of the truth. Copernicus’s heliocentric model of the solar system “appeared to him an inspiration of genius. Therefore, he defended it, extended it further than its originator dared extend it, and finally died for it and for all that it meant to him.”

Bruno fully grasped and embraced the philosophical implications of Copernican theory, including the homogeneity of substance between the earth and the celestial bodies, and the identity of laws governing their motion. There was no need for a first mover external to the material world, as movement was intrinsic to extended bodies. Bruno asserted that the universe was infinite, with infinite solar systems like our own; he even claimed that the universe was teeming with life. These were shocking claims for his era. “To Bruno and to Bruno alone the suggestion of Copernicus entered into the pattern of a completely new cosmological order.” He did not simply anticipate Galileo and Kepler, but went beyond them, envisioning an “entirely new world which had shed all the dross of tradition.”

We need to revive his legacy, because Bruno’s life and thought evince the virtues of which we are in such short supply. What is so important about his cosmological and speculative daring is not simply that it is centuries ahead of his time. Bruno stands in eternal defiance of any effort to give finitude the last word. We are Immortals, not because we continue to live after our bodies die, but because we can participate in immortal truth. Or as Bruno wrote, “The wise feareth not death; rather she sometimes striveth for death, she goeth beyond to meet her. Yet eternity maintaineth her substance throughout time, immensity throughout space, universal form throughout motion.” If it is the denial of eternity that is at the basis of the nihilism that we are witnessing today, then we have need of Bruno. We need Bruno not to propose us an afterlife of the soul, but to remind us that there are eternal truths, that ‘the mind is eternal to the extent that it grasps the things from the perspective of eternity,’ and in the final analysis it is only by keeping faith with what is eternal do we truly become Immortals.

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Sam Ben-Meir is an assistant adjunct professor of philosophy at City University of New York, College of Technology. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Portrait of Giordano Bruno Rare Books Keywords: Giordano Bruno (Licensed under CC BY 4.0)

Gender and Politics

August 1st, 2023 by Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirović

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Preface

The text has aim to investigate the situation of female representation in politics in the industrialized contemporary Western democracies. Though women are more and more visible in politics, we can not yet say they have taken an equal position compared to men. Of course, they have had to take a long road and there is certainly a positive evolution, but there are still some mechanisms that lead to different kinds and levels of political discrimination.

The focal goal of this text is then, trying to find out what the factor processes are that lead to these discriminations, and which solutions there can be put forward.

In this text, I will try to explain firstly what gender is. We will see the difference between sex and gender. While sex is about the biological differences between men and women and their consequences, gender is much more of a social phenomenon. It is about how people are socialized based simply on the fact that they are a man or a woman. It is about the differences in treatment and their consequences. We will try to find where those differences in treatment come from, and which things maintain the existence of this different treatment.

Further, I will focus on the gender problems, or the problems with which women have to deal with simply because they are women. My focus will not be on the poor situation of women in the less developed countries of the south – which would also be interesting, but on the problems that women still have today in the industrialized Western democracies, where the history of women’s rights already covers a long road.[1]

What Is Gender?

What is it to be a man? What is it to be a woman? You might think that being a man or woman is ultimately associated with the sex of the physical body we are born with. However, the nature of maleness and femaleness is not so easily classified, explained, and understood. 

Historically, the study of gender has its roots in the anthropology of women and, therefore, is very often mistaken to be only about women. Gender studies are concerned with the cultural construction of embodied human beings, both women and men. They examine the differences and similarities as experienced and interpreted in various contexts, taking this to mean all relationships whether they involve subjects of the same or different genders. Gender has often implied and/or been contrasted to sex, the biologically defined categories of male and female.[2]

Before explaining what gender is, we need to make some important distinctions, between sex and gender. In general, sociologists use the term sex to refer to the anatomical and physiological differences that define male and female bodies. A person’s sex is determined based on primary sex characteristics essential to reproduction. Sex is thus a biological concept for the biological distinction between men and women.

Gender, by contrast, concerns the psychological, social, and cultural differences between males and females. Gender is a social distinction based on culturally conceived and learned ideas about appropriate appearance, behavior, and mental and emotional characteristics for males and females, linked to socially constructed notions of masculinity and femininity. It is not necessarily a direct product of an individual’s biological sex.

The terms ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’ are gender terms that signify the ideal physical, behavioral, mental, and emotional traits believed to be characteristic of males and females. The distinction between sex and gender is a fundamental one since many differences between males and females are not biological in origin. Individuals who are born as biological males or females are usually expected to develop ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ character traits and behave in ways that are appropriate to their gender.[3]

In general, there are several academic points of view in explaining gender differences. 

Some authors hold that aspects of human biology are responsible for initiating differences in behavior between men and women. Thus, they claim that the difference in sex lead to differences in social behavior. These differences, they claim, can be seen in some form across all cultures. They believe that the behavioral differences between males and females are ‘hardwired’ in our genetic code just as surely and permanently as the differences in reproductive organs. Sociologist Steven Goldberg, for example, argues that some gender characteristics are universal; for example, males are more aggressive and control leadership positions. Goldstein believes this is the result of biological and genetic inheritance, but not of socialization or learning.[4] 

Theories of “natural differences” (for example, why men are more aggressive and women are, in general, more gentle and passive) are often grounded in data on animal behavior; critics point out, rather than in anthropological or historical evidence about human behavior, which reveals variation over time and place. Moreover, they add, because a trait is more or less universal, it does not follow that it is biological in origin. Rather, however, there may be cultural factors of a general kind that produce such characteristics. For instance, in the majority of cultures, most women spend a significant part of their lives caring for children and could not readily take part in hunting or war.

Although the hypothesis that biological factors determine behavior patterns in men and women cannot be dismissed out of hand, nearly a century of research to identify the physiological origins of such an influence has been unsuccessful. There is no evidence of the mechanisms which would link such biological forces with the complex social behaviors exhibited by human men and women.[5]

Nevertheless, all theories which see individuals as complying with some kind of innate predisposition neglect the vital role of social interaction in shaping human behavior.

Most sociologists argue that gender roles are entirely learned. Such an opinion takes us to a second view about gender. Gender can be explained by understanding the origins of gender differences through the study of gender socialization, and the learning of gender roles with the help of social agencies such as the family and the media. Through contact with various agencies of socialization, both primary and secondary, children gradually internalize the social norms and expectations which are seen to correspond with their sex. Gender differences are not biologically determined, they are culturally produced. According to this view, gender inequalities result because men and women are socialized into different roles.[6]

In practice, this socialization goes through the learning of “sex roles” by positive and negative sanctions. For example, a small boy could be positively sanctioned in his behavior (like “What a brave boy you are!”), or by the recipient of negative sanctions (like “Boys don’t play with dolls”). These positive and negative reinforcement aid boys and girls in learning and conforming to expected sex roles. Research by child specialist Beverly Fagot and her colleagues showed that this socialization already started very early; grownups who interacted with a group of toddlers did that in a gender-polarized way. They were more likely to respond to girls when the girls communicated in gentle, “feminine” ways and to boys when the boys communicated in assertive, “masculine” ways. As they did not find real sex differences in the interaction styles of 12-month-old boys and girls, the differences in communication styles by the time these toddlers reached two years of age were quite dramatic.[7]

However, critics of this view argue that gender socialization is not an inherently smooth process as different “agencies” such as the family, schools, or peer groups may be at odds with one another. Moreover, socialization theories ignore the ability of individuals to reject, or modify, the social expectations surrounding sex roles. It is important to remember that humans are not passive objects or unquestioning recipients of gender “programming”. But while we should be skeptical of any wholesale adoption of the sex roles approach, many studies have shown that to some degree gender identities are a result of social influences.[8]

Clearly, gender socialization is very powerful, and challenges to it can be upsetting. Once gender is “assigned”, society expects individuals to act like “females” and “males”. It is in the practices of everyday life that these expectations are fulfilled and reproduced.

According to Joseph F. Healey, gender is a source of differentiation, such as race, ethnicity, and class. Like race, gender has both a biological and a social component and can be a highly visible and convenient way of judging and sorting people. J. F. Healey speaks of gender roles, which highly resemble A. Giddens’ sex roles. From birth, the biological differences between the sexes form the basis for different gender roles or, in other words, societal expectations about proper behavior, attitudes, personal traits, and proper ethical behavior based on gender background.[9] In virtually all societies, including those at the advanced (post)industrial stage, adult work roles tend to be separated by gender, and boys and girls are socialized differently in preparation for these adult roles.[10]

There is also a third possible approach to understanding gender differences that combine nature and nurture. In this view, genetic inheritance and socialization experiences work together in a variety of ways, some exquisitely subtle, to produce the commonly observed gender differences in adults. For example, sociologist Robert Udry argues that the biology of sex – in particular, he focuses on the male hormone testosterone – may predispose or sensitize males and females in very different ways and prepare them for differential socialization experiences. R. Udry notes that these findings do not invalidate or refute explanations of gender differences that stress socialization or nurture. They do, however, require the recognition that biology sets some limits on the effects of gender socialization.

According to Joya Misra and Leslie King, gender is mainly about power. Norms, traditions, and values concerning gender have served to maintain a system of inequality in virtually every society. From the moment a child is born, the state is involved in upholding and maintaining gender as an institution. State policies often reflect patriarchal norms and may constrain both men’s and women’s choices. Yet states may also serve as arenas for challenging traditional gender norms.[11]

General Problems Concerning Gender Inequality

We have seen that gender is a socially created concept that attributes differing social roles and identities to men and women. Yet, gender differences are rarely neutral – in almost all societies, gender is a significant form of social stratification.[12] Gender is a critical factor in structuring the types of opportunities and life chances individuals and groups face and strongly influences the roles they play within social institutions from the household to the state. Gender roles and relationships vary across time and from society to society, but gender and inequality have usually been closely related, and men typically claim more property, prestige, and power.[13]

Although the roles of men and women vary from culture to culture, there is no known instance of a society in which females are more powerful than males. Men’s roles are generally more highly valued and rewarded than woman’s roles: in almost every culture, women bear the primary responsibility for childcare and domestic work, while men have traditionally borne responsibility for providing the family’s livelihood. The prevailing division of labor between the sexes has led to men and women assuming unequal positions in terms of power, prestige, and wealth.[14] Power, prestige, and wealth are scarce values that people seek. Because women tend to be labeled with an inferior status simply on the basis of their gender, however, this reduces their chances of achieving these values in competition with men.[15]

The societies of West Europe and the USA have a strong tradition of patriarchy, or male dominance, throughout the social structure. In a patriarchal society, men have more control over the economy and more access to leadership roles in religion, politics, and other institutions. Nevertheless, despite the advances that women have made in countries around the world, gender differences continue to serve as the basis for social inequalities and men’s enduring dominance over women in the realm of economics, politics, the family, and elsewhere.

Women’s gender problems are situated in everyday life, in differences in health and aging, in the family, in their lower places in the class structure, in organizations, in the labor market, in their educational outcomes, and so on. Some theories worked out negatively for the position of women, like a functionalist theory that says it is perfectly logical and desirable to divide the tasks in outside work for men and inside work for women; or the theory of maternal deprivation which says that a child who isn’t socialized by its mother, by her absence, would possibly have serious social and psychological difficulties later in life. Such theories have been justly criticized by feminists and other scientists as there is no biological basis to the division of labor and nothing natural or inevitable about the allocation of tasks in society. Rather, humans are socialized into roles that are culturally expected of them. There is a steady stream of evidence, however, to suggest that the maternal deprivation thesis is questionable. There is no basis for the belief that the “expressive” female is necessary for the smooth operation of the family – rather, it is a role that is promoted largely for the convenience of men.[16]

As a matter of very fact, the gender problem is a very complicated one, and in practice, it is very hard to change it as processes of prejudice and stereotyping are playing still a significant role in gender stratification and throughout history are rooted in the social system.

Women face stigmatization on a number of fronts and the practical consequence of an individual being stigmatized can include the reduction of the person’s social acceptability, a blocking of important social and economic opportunities, and a diminishing of the overall life chances. This person may come to see even himself as inferior when there is an absence of validation by others and this person is socialized to accept the beliefs and values on which the stigma is grounded. In this way, women even can get caught in a web of self-defeating behavior.[17]

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Sources

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) (2009). Democracy and Gender.http://www.idea.int/gender/  

Krolokke, C. & Sorensen, A.S. (2005). Gender Communication Theories and Analyses: From Silence to Performance. Sage.

European Commission (Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) (2009, 23 February). Gender Equality.
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=418&langId=en

European Commission (Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) (2008, 2 June). European network set to boost women in power.
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=681&langId=en&newsId=133&furtherNews=yes

European Commission (Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) (2009, January). Women in European Politics – Time for Action.
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/publications/booklets/equality/pdf/ke8109543_en.pdf

European Commission (Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) (2008, January). Women and Women in decision-making 2007.
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/publications/2008/ke8108186_en.pdf

Notes

[1] See, for instance [Shoemaker R., Vincent M. (eds.), Gender & History in Western Europe, London: Arnold, 1998].

[2] See more in [Reiter R. R. (ed.), Toward an Anthropology of Woman, London, 1975; Atkinson J. M., Errington S. (eds.), Power and Difference: Gender in Island in Southeast Asia, Stanford, CA, 1990].

[3] Giddens A., Sociology, Cambridge−Oxford: Polity Press, 2004, p. 107; Ferrante J., Sociology: A Global Perspective, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States: Thomson Wadsworth Ferrante, 2006, pp. 332−336; Steans J., Gender and International Relations, Second Edition,  Polity, 2006, pp.7−8; Clements P., Spinks T., The Equal Opportunities Handbook: How to Deal with the Everyday Issues of Unfairness, Fourth Edition, London−Philadelphia: Kogan Page, 2006, pp. 79−80.

[4] See, for instance [Giddens A., Sociology, Cambridge−Oxford: Polity Press, 2004, pp.107−108; Healey J. F., Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group Conflict and Change, Thousand Oaks−London−New Delhi: Pine Forge Press, 2006, p. 25].

[5] See more in [Reeser W. T., Masculinities in Theory: An Introduction, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010].

[6] Healey J. F., Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group Conflict and Change, Thousand Oaks−London−New Delhi: Pine Forge Press, 2006, p. 25.

[7] Ferrante J., Sociology: A Global Perspective, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States: Thomson Wadsworth Ferrante, 2006, p. 347.

[8] Giddens A., Sociology, Cambridge−Oxford: Polity Press, 2004, p. 108.

[9] About ethics in general, see [Kainz P. H., Ethics in Context, Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1988; Shafer-Landau R. (ed.), Ethical Theory: An Anthology, Second Edition, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013].

[10] Healey J. F., Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group Conflict and Change, Thousand Oaks−London−New Delhi: Pine Forge Press, 2006, p. 19.

[11] See more in [Janoski T. et al. (eds.), The Handbook of Political Sociology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005].

[12] About social stratification and power, see [Brennan C., Max Webber on Power and Social Stratification, London: Routledge, 1997]

[13] Healey J. F., Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group Conflict and Change, Thousand Oaks−London−New Delhi: Pine Forge Press, 2006, p. 23.

[14] Giddens A., Sociology, Cambridge−Oxford: Polity Press, 2004, p. 112.

[15] Schur E. M., “The Devaluation of Women”, Rubington E., Weinberg M. S. (eds.), The Study of Social Problems: Seven Perspectives, Sixth Edition, New York‒Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003, pp. 186‒193.

[16] Giddens A., Sociology, Cambridge−Oxford: Polity Press, 2004, pp. 111‒113.

[17] Schur E. M., “The Devaluation of Women”, Rubington E., Weinberg M. S. (eds.), The Study of Social Problems: Seven Perspectives, Sixth Edition, New York‒Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003, pp. 186‒193.

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Experts are seeing a puzzling rise in cancer in people under 50 that appears biologically different from late-onset cancers. While some claim cancer rates have been rising for decades and attribute the increase to sugary drinks, lifestyle, and sleep disruptions, others say mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have caused an emergence of “turbo cancers”—and U.S. regulatory agencies have not addressed the ever-growing problem.

Although there is no official medical definition for what doctors are calling “turbo cancers,” the term is commonly used to define aggressive, rapid-onset cancers resistant to treatment—primarily in young, healthy individuals following COVID-19 vaccination. These cases often present in a late stage with metastasis and quickly turn fatal.

“What’s happening is these cancers we’re used to seeing, their growth patterns and their behavior are completely out of character … So ‘turbo cancer’ is something that wasn’t there and, all of a sudden, it’s everywhere,” Dr. Ryan Cole, a pathologist and CEO of Cole Diagnostics, said in an interview on EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders.”

Dr. Cole told The Epoch Times in a later interview that he first noticed an uptick in certain types of cancers after the vaccine rollout in December 2020 and believes researchers are starting to understand how these cancers are occurring.

“Physicians are seeing multiple types of cancers in their day-to-day practices—and in young patient cohorts where you typically don’t see cancer. Although the increase in cancer has been blamed on missed screenings, you know it isn’t due to missed screenings because young people don’t typically get screened,” Dr. Cole said.

Cancers are increasing at a rate above what’s expected, and countless doctors and clinicians around the world have confirmed this. Their patients are cancer-free for years, but then after a booster, cancers “pop up,” he added. What’s unique about turbo cancers is that they do not respond to traditional treatment because the cells have been altered in the bone marrow, and the cells “aren’t doing what they’re supposed to.”

Studies and Case Reports of Cancer Following COVID-19 Vaccination

Studies and case reports of various cancers following mRNA vaccination are helping experts understand the potential mechanisms that may be allowing these cancers to proliferate.

In a recent Belgian study published in Frontiers Oncology, researchers presented the first case of malignant lymphoma in mice. Malignant lymphoma is a rare adverse event reported following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.

Two days after receiving a booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, one of 14 mice suffered spontaneous death. Upon examination, the 14-week-old mouse had abnormally large organs and cancerous lymphoma in the liver, kidneys, spleen, heart, and lungs. Although showing direct causality is complex, the authors said their findings add to “previous clinical reports on malignant lymphoma development following novel mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.”

In a January 2023 paper in Medicina, researchers presented the case of a 66-year-old man who developed swollen lymph nodes 10 days after receiving his third dose of Pfizer. After further testing, the patient was diagnosed with stage 2 non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). A literature review found eight additional cases of NHL that developed shortly after COVID-19 vaccination. Five lymphoma cases occurred after vaccination with Pfizer, one case after vaccination with AstraZeneca, one after the Johnson & Johnson shot, and one after vaccination with Moderna.

In an August 2022 Letter to the Editor in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology & Venereology, physicians described two patients diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma that developed from swollen lymph nodes following vaccination with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

The study’s authors found that diffuse large B-cell lymphoma “may rapidly grow” after vaccination with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and urged dermatologists to pay attention to swollen lymph nodes or masses near the injection site.

Swollen lymph nodes, or lymphadenopathy, is considered a common side effect of COVID-19 vaccination, more often observed following immunization with novel COVID-19 mRNA vaccines than other vaccines.

Lymphadenopathy is also an acknowledged “non-serious” adverse event of COVID-19 vaccination listed in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) fact sheets for health care providers for both Moderna and Pfizer’s monovalent and bivalent vaccines. However, pharmaceutical companies and U.S. regulatory agencies have not assessed whether there’s a link between vaccine-related lymphadenopathy and cancer.

A year after the vaccine rollout, researchers published a case report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) of a healthy 39-year-old woman diagnosed with “vaccination-associated reactive lymphadenopathy” following vaccination with Pfizer’s vaccine. Six months later, she was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in her right breast—the same side of the body where she received her vaccination and experienced swollen lymph nodes.

Urgent Need to Determine Underlying Causes of Turbo Cancers

The exact mechanism giving rise to turbo cancers is unknown, and it’s unclear whether one or multiple mechanisms are responsible for these cancers, Dr. William Makis, an oncologist, cancer researcher, and nuclear medicine radiologist, told The Epoch Times in an email.

Dr. Makis provided the following several possible hypotheses for how mRNA COVID-19 vaccines could cause turbo cancers:

1. The current COVID-19 mRNA vaccines contain pseudouridine-modified mRNA, which attenuates or alters the activity of key proteins in the innate immune system, impairing cancer surveillance.

When activated, these key proteins, called toll-like receptors, can prevent tumors from forming and growing.

2. Vaccination alters T-cell signaling that induces profound impairment in type 1 interferon and cancer surveillance.

T-cells, a type of white blood cell, help the body’s immune system prevent cancer. Studies show that getting multiple shots increases the level of a particular antibody called IgG4, causing T-cell and interferon suppression, leading to an inability to keep cancer in check, Dr. Cole told The Epoch Times.

“Everyone gets atypical cells in their body every day, and having a surveillance system is important, but when the surveillance system is shut off, that allows these cells to go haywire. How long it stays suppressed, nobody knows, and these are the studies NIH (the National Institutes of Health) should have been doing,” said Dr. Cole.

3. The shift of the antibody IgG4 caused by repeated mRNA vaccination could create a tolerance for spike protein and impair the production of the antibodies IgG1 and IgG3 and cancer surveillance.

4. The spike protein produced by the body after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination may interfere with important tumor suppressor proteins—P53, BRCA 1, and two tumor suppressor genes.

5. The spike protein may interfere with DNA repair mechanisms.

6. The RNA from the COVID-19 vaccines may be reverse-transcribed and integrated into the human genome.

7. Pfizer and Moderna vials found to be contaminated with plasmid DNA containing SARS-CoV-2 spike protein may integrate into the human genome.

8. The presence of the simian virus 40 (SV40) in DNA discovered in Pfizer mRNA vaccine vials may lead to cancers—most notably, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other lymphomas—as it did with SV40-contaminated polio vaccines.

9. mRNA-based vaccines may be triggering the release of oncogenes—oncomiRs or microRNAs, which can enhance or inhibit cancer development and participate in cancer biological processes, such as proliferation, invasion metastasis, angiogenesis, chemoresistance, and immune escape.

“I believe there is an urgent need to determine the underlying mechanisms of turbo cancers because, at this time, oncologists have nothing to offer patients who have developed a turbo cancer, and conventional cancer treatments offer minimal or no benefit,” Dr. Makis told The Epoch Times.

Mr. David Wiseman, a research scientist in pharmacy, pharmacology, and experimental pathology, told The Epoch Times in an email that neither Comirnaty—Pfizer’s fully approved version of its COVID-19 vaccine—nor Spikevax by Moderna has been evaluated for its potential to cause cancer.

On March 30, 2023, Mr. Wiseman and four other experts submitted a 27-page document to the National Academies Committee, an ad hoc committee tasked with reviewing relevant adverse events associated with COVID-19 vaccines.

Using the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)—a database co-managed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and FDA used for reporting vaccine adverse events—Mr. Wiseman and his coauthors found an excess of cancer signals for COVID-19 vaccines from Dec. 14, 2020, to July 24, 2023, compared to all other vaccines for all years beginning in 1990.

A safety signal indicates a condition may be linked to a vaccine but requires further analysis to confirm an association.

The findings complemented the CDC’s Proportional Reporting Ratio (PRR) analyses obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that assessed adverse events reported from Dec. 14, 2020, to July 29, 2022.

A PRR compares reports of specific adverse events experienced after receiving Moderna or Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to those following vaccination with any other vaccine or all non-COVID-19 vaccines. The CDC’s PRR report detected cancer signals for colon cancer, metastatic breast cancer, metastasis to the liver, bones, central nervous system, lymph nodes, breast masses, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, B-cell lymphoma, and follicular lymphoma.

Mr. Wiseman said it’s clear from the FOIA documents that the CDC is aware of cancer reports and isn’t being forthcoming.

“Government agencies knew there were going to be cancers with these shots, and they were trying to cover it up, but the data is trickling out,” Dr. Cole told The Epoch Times, referring to 490 pages of communications obtained from the NIH through a FOIA request.

The CDC is supposed to report on morbidity and mortality—and when a pathologist diagnoses anything, he or she uses a diagnosis code, and it goes to the federal basis that’s reported to federal tracking agencies, Dr. Cole explained.

“All these data subsets should be easy to find if agencies would report what they have,” he said. “We could see statistical changes in diagnosis in the past two and a half years since shots were rolled out. The question is, why are other governments around the world not doing this?”

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Megan Redshaw is an attorney and investigative journalist with a background in political science. She is also a traditional naturopath with additional certifications in nutrition and exercise science.

Featured image is from Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock


The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.

“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”

ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0,  Year: 2022,  PDF Ebook,  Pages: 164, 15 Chapters

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‘In the past politicians promised to create a better world. They had different ways of achieving this, but their power and authority came from the optimistic visions they offered their people. Those dreams failed, and today people have lost faith in ideologies. Increasingly, politicians are seen simply as managers of public life, but now, they have discovered a new role that restores their power and authority. Instead of delivering dreams, politicians now promise to protect us—from nightmares.’ – Adam Curtis

The above quotation is from Adam Curtis’ documentary series, The Power of Nightmares. In the next line Curtis states that politicians: 

‘Say that they will rescue us from dreadful dangers that we cannot see and do not understand.’

Given the context of this document, you would be forgiven for thinking that The Power of Nightmares is a documentary criticising the political response to COVID-19. It is not.

Produced in the aftermath of September 11th, it is actually about the nightmare of international terrorism. On a deeper level however, Curtis’ work is about COVID-19. It is about financial crises, drug trafficking and violent crime too. If we look beyond his specific example, it is about all claims that the state is the sole entity capable of protecting us from such evils.

In 2020, the announcement of a pandemic saw the implications of this claim manifest in the most pronounced and consequential manner since the Second World War.

Politicians around the world insisted that they needed to restrict human freedom and mandate medical interventions—all in order to keep us safe. They had the power and claimed the wisdom to know this was the right thing to do. Much of the population agreed, yearning only for stronger restrictions on their liberty.

The human cost of these policies has been as horrendous as it was predictable—a fact not even their most ardent defenders can seriously contest. We’ve witnessed the closing down of businesses, the coercion of medical treatments, the loss of jobs, the separation of families, elderly people dying alone in care homes and starvation levels increasing around the world. For this, we have been landed with a bill that we will be paying off for generations to come.

Yet much like the Great Wars of the 20th century, the argument goes that if the state hadn’t intervened the situation would have been much worse. The implementation of these draconian measures means that millions of people are now alive who otherwise wouldn’t have been. However brutal, the price was worth it.

Is this position defensible? Were any of the state mandates actually justified, even given the limited information available at the time? With hindsight, were they beneficial, or did they end up making matters worse? If they did worsen the situation, are there a different set of general principles that politicians could be guided by when future nightmares arise? These are the questions this document seeks to address.

Pandemic or Democide: What Caused the Excess Deaths?

‘Democide means for governments what murder means for an individual under municipal law. It is the premeditated killing of a person in cold blood, or causing the death of a person through reckless and wanton disregard for their life.’ – Rudolph Rummel

For many people, any initial feelings of cynicism regarding the dangers of COVID-19 dispersed in April of 2020, when excess mortality figures suddenly spiked around the world. England and Wales experienced nearly sixty thousand excess deaths during a three month period:

At the same time, excess mortality spiked across various European countries:

The identification of a novel coronavirus had been announced by the world’s media, then suddenly vast numbers of people started dying across multiple countries. Whilst correlation alone does not prove causation, surely the new virus must be the sole culprit for these deaths.

Two voices that were early in cautioning against an unguarded leap to such a conclusion were Dr. Claus Köhnlein and journalist Torsten Engelbrecht. Köhnlein and Engelbrecht are co-authors of the book Virus Mania, which critically examines the foundations and assumptions of virology. In an article published in October of 2020, they claimed that a comparison of excess mortality across countries actively disproved the viral hypothesis

They point out the striking contrast between neighbouring countries Spain and Portugal, where the former had 157% excess deaths, at the same time the latter’s peaked at 21%.

The same situation exists between Italy and Slovenia. During this initial period, Italian excess mortality peaked at 86%, whilst the Slovenian reached 11%. Italy’s excess was entirely concentrated in the North of the country, where Bergamo reached a 1,000% excess

Germany also contrasts sharply with her high excess neighbours. Belgium’s excess peaked at 105%, the Netherlands was 70, whilst France hit 61. Germany’s only reached 12% during this initial period.

A similar picture emerges in the United States. At the time New York was experiencing an over 130% increase in excess mortality (over 630% in some parts of New York City), neighbouring Vermont and nearby New Hampshire and Maine experienced little to no excess:

Köhnlein and Engelbrecht assert that: 

‘A virus pandemic, which afflicts countries so differently, cannot actually exist, especially in today’s times.’

Is this true? Köhnlein and Engelbrecht provide no comparison to historical data to support their claim. Making such a comparison would also be difficult, due to the unprecedented steps taken to counteract COVID-19. We were truly living through unique times. The data is perhaps intriguing enough however, to at least look and see if any other factors could have been feeding into the excess mortality. 

Out of concern for this situation, Claus Köhnlein submitted a letter to the German Ärzteblatt medical journal, stating: 

‘In view of the fact that very different mortality rates are reported in different European countries, it is reasonable to assume that a differently aggressive therapy could be responsible for this.’

Köhnlein and Engelbrecht focus on drug trials, stating that:

‘This is why there can only be a non-viral explanation for this temporary massive excess mortality. And there is solid evidence that the massive and high-dose administration of highly toxic drugs plays the decisive role—drugs that have been used in worldwide trials and also beyond these trials, costing the lives of tens of thousands of test persons. In the course of time the “patient supply” dried up which explains the rapid drop in the curves creating these “prongs.”’

In opposition to the viral hypothesis, this position has become known as the iatrogenic (medically induced) hypothesis of COVID-19.

In a paper supporting the iatrogenic hypothesis, Dr. Denis Rancourt draws attention to comments made by World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on March 11th 2020, when declaring a pandemic:

‘I remind all countries that we are calling on you to activate and scale up your emergency response mechanisms; communicate with your people about the risks and how they can protect themselves – this is everybody’s business; find, isolate, test and treat every case and trace every contact; ready your hospitals; protect and train your health workers.’ [emphasis added]

Tedros Adhanom’s advice is consistent with WHO pandemic preparedness documents

The COVID-19 virus is reckoned to have been spreading over the world for months at this point, yet there was no sign of excess mortality anywhere except possibly China. Immediately after the WHO declares a pandemic and makes reference to making hospitals ready, the death rate dramatically spikes in various European countries, US States and Canadian provinces. These spikes are unprecedented in both their scale and the fact that they take place outside of the usual flu season. They occur simultaneously in geographic areas separated by thousands of miles, yet not necessarily in neighbouring countries or even provinces. 

Various explanations are offered as to how the virus could spread without noticeably affecting mortality rates, then suddenly transform itself into the worst killer in a century. None of these explanations can account for the WHO’s seeming ability to predict the onset. Dr. Rancourt proposes that it is far more likely that the excess mortality was due to the implementation of pandemic preparedness across the regions that suffered with it.

This is the excess mortality for all of Europe, with a red line added to indicate the date of the WHO announcement.

And this is the United States:

Although COVID-19 was apparently circulating, there was simply no excess prior to this point outside of the annual flu season. Europe is more similar to the United States than France is to Germany, Spain to Portugal, or New York to Vermont.

We will now examine what the various implications of readying hospitals were for excess mortality. 

Denial of access to hospitals and other medical services

In October of 2020 Amnesty International published a report titled As if Expendable: The UK Government’s Failure to Protect Older People in Care Homes During the COVID-19 Pandemic. It makes for a truly harrowing read. Amongst many issues, the report highlights elderly people being refused medical care after the declaration of a pandemic:

‘Amnesty International has received multiple reports of care home residents’ right to NHS services, including access to general medical services (GMS) and hospital admission, being denied during the pandemic, violating their right to health and potentially their right to life, as well as their right to non-discrimination. Care homes managers have pointed out that such reluctance or refusal to admit older care home residents to hospital could not be explained by need, as hospital bed capacity was never reached.’

‘The problem was widely reported early on in the pandemic, and was seemingly exacerbated by guidelines published by NHS England on its website on 10 April advising that some care home residents “should not ordinarily be conveyed to hospital unless authorised by a senior colleague.” The guidelines caused a controversy and were withdrawn a few days later but the damage lingered.’

‘Official figures show admissions to hospital for care home residents decreased substantially during the pandemic, with 11,800 fewer admissions during March and April compared to previous years.’ 

‘The son of one care home resident who passed away in Cumbria said that sending his father to hospital had not even been considered:

“From day one, the care home was categoric it was probably COVID and he would die of it and he would not be taken to hospital. He only had a cough at that stage. He was only 76 and was in great shape physically. He loved to go out and it would not have been a problem for him to go to hospital. The care home called me and said he had symptoms, a bit of a cough and that doctor had assessed him over mobile phone and he would not be taken to hospital. Then I spoke to the GP later that day and said he would not be taken to hospital but would be given morphine if in pain. Later he collapsed on the floor in the bathroom and the care home called the paramedic who established that he had no injury and put him back to bed and told the carers not to call them back for any Covid-related symptoms because they would not return. He died a week later.

“He was never tested. No doctor ever came to the care home. The GP assessed him over the phone. In an identical situation for someone living at home instead of in a care home, the advice was “go to hospital”. The death certificate says pneumonia and COVID, but pneumonia was never mentioned to us.”’

‘Reduced possibility to send care homes residents to hospital compounded another long-standing issue, that of care homes residents’ limited access to GPs. Obtaining access to GPs got markedly more challenging during the pandemic, as GPs throughout the country switched to phone/online consultations and stopped visiting care homes. NHS England advised GPs to begin the roll out of remote consultations on 17 March 2020, prioritising vulnerable groups but limiting face-to-face consultation to only “when absolutely necessary.” However, Amnesty International received multiple reports from care homes managers and staff and relatives of care home residents throughout the country of doctors refusing to enter care homes and only being available for consultations by phone or via video calls, no matter what the residents’ symptoms were and even in regard to end-of-life support.’

‘The daughter of a care home resident who died in Liverpool described the lack of medical care her father experienced:

“In the file it says that dad complained of chest pain on 28 March and asked to see a doctor but there was no follow up in the file … In the file it also says that dad had fallen on morning of 1 May and banged his head and had a swelling. I was never told and there is no record of a doctor being called for this. On 1 May a carer told me they had rang the doctor but the doctor was not going in [to the care home] and had prescribed antibiotic and end of life drugs. Then I spoke to the GP and he said he suspected COVID or chest infection and that I should go see him. Dad died on 2 May and a staff member told me she was there when dad died and he was gasping for breath and holding his chest.”’

It is self-evident that the withdrawal of medical care will cause excess deaths. It is also worthy of note that a GP was willing to prescribe end-of-life drugs over the telephone.

Misuse of ‘do not attempt resuscitation’ (DNAR) forms

Amnesty quote Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights from September of 2020 as saying:

‘The blanket imposition of DNACPR notices without proper patient involvement is unlawful. The evidence suggests that the use of them in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic has been widespread.’

And go on to report that:

‘Care home managers reported to Amnesty International and to media cases of local GP surgeries or Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) requesting them to insert DNAR forms into the files of residents as a blanket approach.

‘Asked about any blanket approaches to DNARs, one care home owner in the north of England told Amnesty International, “We had a letter to that effect from the practice. I refused to sign it and handle it like that.” Another reported that they were asked to insert DNAR forms into a number of residents’ files. A family from Lancashire told Amnesty International that their relatives had been asked to sign a DNAR form without having understood what it meant.

‘“The nurse from the GP surgery rang me up to say they decided mum is DNR. I asked why and she said “we did this across the home”, and I said “no, this should be done on individual cases and I don’t agree to it”. So I had it taken off … She also said that they would not take mum to hospital and again I said that is something that would have to be decided if and when need arose on the basis of the situation at the time. They had asked mum about the DNR and she had agreed to it but then I spoke to mum and she had not really understood the issue.”’’

Discharge of patients from hospitals into care homes

Amnesty reports that: 

‘On 17 March 2020 NHS England announced the decision to urgently discharge patients, including those who were infected or who may have been infected with COVID-19, from hospitals into care homes and the community. This was among the most crucial decisions that adversely affected care homes across the country.’

‘According to the National Audit Office, this policy led to 25,000 people being sent untested from hospitals into care homes between 17 March and 25 April, putting at risk the health and indeed the lives of care home residents. The DHSC did not collect data on the extent to which care homes successfully isolated residents with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 and did not require local authorities to collect data either.’

‘The discharge of thousands of patients from hospitals to care homes in the days following 17 March was extremely rushed, leaving little or no time for consultations and assessments. “We had 500-600 empty beds and nobody coming into A & E so there really was no need for such rushed discharges,” a member of a discharge team at a hospital in the south of England told Amnesty International. A care home manager recalled: “Families learned their relatives came to care homes on the spot. There was no time for them to discuss with hospitals or with us. Families had no chance to choose which care home, to visit the place, to meet us. People’s teeth and glasses went missing in the rush.”’

In addition to infection risk, this also represents the denial of (presumably necessary) hospital care to thousands of elderly people—an action guaranteed to raise the death rate. 

Increased workload, reduced staffing levels and removal of oversight for care homes

Compounding the medical problems, Amnesty’s report identified how COVID regulations reduced the number of staff, whilst increasing the workload of the remaining ones:

‘According to the National Audit Office, workforce shortage in the care sector pre-pandemic was already estimated at 122,000 and staff absence increased significantly during the pandemic, with absence rates in care homes between mid-April and mid-May 10% on average, and considerably higher in certain care homes or areas. The lack of testing exacerbated this problem as it was impossible to know if some of those self-isolating were COVID-19 free and could in fact work. Staff shortages in turn impacted the ability of care homes to adequately manage infections and the quality of care they were able to provide for residents, both those infected with COVID-19 and others. This was exacerbated by a situation where care home staff had to perform a number of additional tasks—from assisting residents to communicate with their relatives who could no longer visit them, to enforcing social distancing among residents unable to understand the requirement because of dementia, to cutting residents’ toenails because chiropodists stopped visiting care homes, to interpreting and communicating residents’ symptoms to GPs who were no longer visiting care homes, etc.’

This coincided with the removal of oversight from care homes, with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) suspending inspections and family members banned from visiting:

‘Beginning on 16 March 2020, the CQC announced that it would be ceasing its routine inspections of care homes, leaving open only the possibility of visits “in a very small number of cases when we have concerns of harm, such as allegations of abuse.” In its announcement, CQC said its primary objective was supporting providers “to keep people safe” and so there would be a “shift towards other, remote methods to give assurance of safety and quality of care.” Notably, this decision meant that at a time when older people in care homes were most vulnerable—because of the virus and because those who usually advocated on their behalf could no longer visit them—the regulator was largely absent.

‘The lack of official visits occurred at the same time as a ban on other visits—from family and friends, as well chiropodists, hairdressers, nurses, and others—which were normally an important source of information for the CQC. Expert noted that “[CQC] have been unable to rely on the ‘eyes and ears’ of visitors to raise the alarm and care workers have been frightened to speak out.”’

In other countries

Reports from the various countries experiencing high excess mortality at this time tell a similar tale. They were all engaged in isolating their elderly population and denying them medical care. In a report into the care home disaster in Sweden, the BBC quote a nurse as saying:

‘They told us that we shouldn’t send anyone to the hospital, even if they may be 65 and have many years to live. We were told not to send them in.’

In Spain, soldiers were brought into care homes and found residents dead in their beds, abandoned. In French homes, Reuters reported that ‘bodies have been left decomposing in bedrooms’. In Canada, the C2C Journal reported that: 

‘Quebec’s Health Ministry issued a directive on March 19 – barely a week after the global pandemic had been declared – instructing nursing homes not to send residents to hospitals unless in exceptional circumstances. Conversely, hospital patients who were not in critical condition were to be either sent home or transferred to care homes. This practice was adopted in multiple jurisdictions: Quebec, Ontario, several U.S. States including New York and New Jersey, and in England.’

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s order to nursing homes to admit COVID-19 patients was found by the State Bar Association to have increased the death toll among residents. New York also made extensive use of ventilators, which are estimated to have killed tens of thousands of Americans unnecessarily

End-of-life drugs

In 2020, British journalist Jacqui Deevoy began documenting stories of people who contended their family members had been effectively murdered by the NHS, through being involuntarily put on ‘end-of-life pathways’. This would be unbelievable, had it not already happened within the past decade, with the infamous Liverpool Care Pathway being phased out as recently as 2014.

Ms. Deevoy placed particular emphasis on the sedative drug, midazolam. She documented family members’ accounts in her film, A Good Death? The documentary is a harrowing yet informative watch, where family members back their observations with data regarding the doses of midazolam being administered. They highlight a paradoxical effect, where the drugs given to treat an ailment actually produce the symptoms of that ailment, leading to the delivery of more drugs. The following quotations illustrate the families’ experiences:

‘Because they said “you can’t feed your wife”, as I was feeding her I was looking out the door. She said, “what do you keep looking at?” I said “I’m making sure the nurses aren’t coming in.”’

‘I’ve since found out that he was starved as well. His routine diet was discontinued three days before his death, with no water either.’

‘I think what happened was, because they neglected her, and they gave her a high dose of midazolam and morphine, because it is a respiratory suppressor, and they dehydrated her for such a long time, those drugs compounded and they were magnified in terms of potency, because she just couldn’t get the oxygen, she just suffocated.’

‘The last thing she said to me was: “get me out of this hospital, they’re trying to kill me.”’

‘What does it say on his death certificate that he died of?’

‘COVID-19 pneumonia

‘And what do you think he died of?’

‘The midazolam.’

‘He was killed?’

‘Yes’

As we’ll see in a moment, midazolam use spiked in April of 2020. Was this because so many people were dying of COVID, or were people dying because of the increased use of a respiratory suppressant drug?

In a presentation titled Euthanasia in the Pandemic? Dr. John Campbell addressed this question by referring to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) COVID treatment guidelines, published on the 3rd of April 2020. The key line that jumps out in the Managing Breathlessness section is:

‘Sedation and opioid use should not be withheld because of an inappropriate fear of causing respiratory depression.’ 

Dr. Campbell questions whether a fundamental mistake was made in transferring the guidelines for incurable conditions onto a potentially completely recoverable one. He points out that if an opioid and a benzodiazepine (such as morphine and midazolam, respectively) are given together, they will have the effect of stopping the recipient breathing. He states that:

‘Opioids and benzodiazepines will depress respiration. A lot of these people were breathless anyway, they had acute respiratory distress syndrome. If you have a lot of fluid in your alveoli you’ll breathe more quickly to try and compensate and that can get enough oxygen into your body to mean that you survived the acute episode. But if you give these drugs, and you get respiratory depression, I don’t think you need me to spell out the consequences of that. Not enough oxygen, tissue hypoxia, and death would be the result.’ 

Dr. Campbell goes on to say:

‘So they said “consider an opioid and a benzodiazepine like midazolam combination for patients with COVID-19 who are at the end-of-life.” But how many patients with COVID-19 would be at the end-of-life, unless they had some intractable condition at the same time? And how do you know if they’re at the end-of-life? I’ve looked after hundreds of patients where I’ve thought “good grief they’re not very well”, but the vast majority of them survive with an infectious condition. You can’t really tell whether it’s the end-of-life or not.’

And:

‘Even with moderate breathlessness people might have looked ill but had a virus that their immune system could have overcome. They could have recovered, but could well have been given these medications that resulted in suppressing their breathing.’

Serious concerns over the NICE guidelines were raised as early as the 20th of April 2020, in a letter to the British Medical Journal signed by two professors and nine doctors. They warned:

‘The combination of opioid, benzodiazepine and/or neuroleptic is used in specialist palliative care settings for symptom control and for ‘palliative sedation’ to reduce agitation at the end of life. It takes great skill and experience to use palliative sedation proportionately so that extreme physical and existential distress are palliated, but death is not primarily accelerated. NG163 states: “Sedation and opioid use should not be withheld because of a fear of causing respiratory depression.” If COVID-19 infection were uniformly fatal, this would be an acceptable statement. But for people not previously known to be at the end of life, there is potential risk of unintended serious harm, if these medications are used incorrectly and without the benefit of specialist palliative care advice.

‘Another concern is that the recommended doses for morphine and midazolam are sometimes higher than current guidelines state for non-specialist use; and moreover there are inconsistencies between the maximum doses recommended by the oral or subcutaneous routes.’

Vastly increased use of midazolam is not only apparent, it corresponds with the increase in excess mortality seen in 2020.

Dr. Campbell goes on to demonstrate a similar spike in prescriptions for the drugs levomepromazine and haloperidol, the latter of which is not approved for use in older adults due to ‘risk of death’.

There is also evidence for increased midazolam use in Italy and Sweden. Israel National News reported comments from Swedish Professor of Geriatric Medicine, Yngve Gustafson: 

‘“Living in a nursing home is not a diagnosis. By itself it can never be a medical basis for deciding whether to live or die”. Gustafson said that nutrient drip treatment, blood clot prevention, oxygen and bacterial pneumonia treatment with antibiotics would help the elderly. “Instead, giving morphine and midazolam regularly to elderly people with lung infection is active euthanasia, if not something worse. We gave up the elderly who could have had a chance of survival”.’

Decrease in antibiotics prescriptions

In 2008 none other than Dr. Anthony Fauci himself co-authored a paper on postmortem studies of victims of the pandemic of 1918. The paper found that:

‘People who died of influenza during 1918–1919 uniformly exhibited severe changes indicative of bacterial pneumonia. Bacteriologic and histopathologic results from published autopsy series clearly and consistently implicated secondary bacterial pneumonia caused by common upper respiratory-tract bacteria in most influenza fatalities.’

And concluded that:

‘The majority of deaths in the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic likely resulted directly from secondary bacterial pneumonia caused by common upper respiratory-tract bacteria. Less substantial data from the subsequent 1957 and 1968 pandemics are consistent with these findings. If severe pandemic influenza is largely a problem of viral-bacterial copathogenesis, pandemic planning needs to go beyond addressing the viral cause alone (e.g., influenza vaccines and antiviral drugs). Prevention, diagnosis, prophylaxis, and treatment of secondary bacterial pneumonia, as well as stockpiling of antibiotics and bacterial vaccines, should also be high priorities for pandemic planning.’

Given this, in combination with Dr. Fauci’s prominent role during the pandemic, it is surprising that we haven’t heard more about the dangers of secondary bacterial infections over the past three years. What role have they played in COVID-19 deaths?

In actual fact it is no secret that prescriptions for antibiotics fell dramatically through the COVID era, once again in a manner that correlated with rising excess mortality:

Antibiotic rates in March of 2020 are comparable with the previous two years. Prescription rates decrease in April, then remain low until 2022. The previous winter spike is simply not present in January of 2021, at exactly the time an unusual spike arises in excess mortality.  

A similar situation is observable in the USA:

This data led Dr. Denis Rancourt to propose:

‘It is not unreasonable to ask whether the logic has not been inverted: Is COVID-19-assignment an incorrect cause-assignment for what is in fact bacterial pneumonia?’

‘If COVID-19 is largely misdiagnosed bacterial pneumonia (using a faulty PCR test: Borger et al., 2021; or not using any laboratory test), or if co-infection with bacterial pneumonia is not appropriately recognized (Ginsburg and Klugman, 2020), or if bacterial pneumonia itself goes otherwise untreated, while antibiotics (and Ivermectin) are withdrawn, in circumstances where large populations of vulnerable and susceptible residents have suppressed immune systems from chronic psychological stress induced by large-scale socio-economic disruption, then the state has recreated the conditions that produced the horrendous bacterial pneumonia epidemic of 1918 (Morens et al., 2008) (Chien et al., 2009) (Sheng et al., 2011), in COVID-era USA.’

Conclusion

The aim of this chapter has not been to demonstrate what caused the increase in excess mortality over the past several years. Instead, it has been to identify that multiple factors have been at play, and it is not easy (perhaps impossible) to point to one of them as causal. 

Perhaps Claus Köhnlein and Torsten Engelbrecht will ultimately be proven correct, that all excess deaths were iatrogenic. Maybe Denis Rancourt’s view that a virus was involved, but not necessarily a novel one, will win out. Maybe the deaths are a split between a novel coronavirus and iatrogenic factors. It is certainly far beyond the scope of this document to come down on any side of a line.

What is well within scope, is to propose that this question—the question of what caused the excess deaths—is undoubtedly one of the most important in the world right now. Without answering it, societies around the globe will be doomed to repeat the devastating mistakes of the COVID era. 

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Measuring the mandates: Assessing the State’s Response to COVID-19

This document is an international version of one originally created for submission to an inquiry on the Isle of Man. It was composed by citizens who share a deep concern over how states responded to COVID-19, and what the implications of that response herald for the future. These concerns centre around the issue of mandates: the unprecedented coercing of behaviour that began in March of 2020. This document is intended to question whether these mandates succeeded even on their own terms.

Quotations, especially those taken from speech, have sometimes been slightly altered to favour readability. The meaning is never affected. An effort has been made to—wherever possible—provide sources that are openly accessible on the internet.

If this document proves helpful, the reader is at liberty to republish any part of it they wish to, or submit it to their own nation’s inquiries.

Inquiries regarding the report can be made at: https://www.deepstateconsciousness.com/contact

Click here to read the document.

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Since Russia announced on July 17 that it would not renew its Black Sea Grain Initiative agreement brokered by Turkey and the UK, to allow Ukraine grain exports with safe passage from Odessa and two other Ukraine Black Sea ports, mainstream Western media claim that the refusal will create global starvation and soaring food prices.

A Ukrainian strike on the major bridge linking Russia’s mainland with the Crimean Peninsula, timed precisely for the ending of the grain agreement provoked a massive retaliation strike by Russian forces severely damaging the Odessa and nearby grain shipping ports. What is indeed the situation with food supplies from the “Breadbasket of Europe” as Ukraine used to be called?

On July 19 the Indian Express carried the headline, “World facing prospect of ‘hunger games’ as China hoards grains and Russia withdraws from deal.”

They stated further,

“A hunger crisis could be in store for the world next year due to the withdrawal of Russia from a major food grain deal with Ukraine, the impact of the food-grain hoarding by China, the world’s largest consumer of rice, warned an analyst.”  The LA Times was similarly alarmist, “Russia halts deal allowing Ukraine to export grain, in a hit to global food security.”

CNN, Yahoo and other Western media carried similar alarmist stories. None of them bothered to go into detail on the current situation. It is far less alarming than claimed. The world may face grain shortages soon, but it will not be because of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. 

On July 19 two days after the cancellation, world grain futures prices spiked higher by some 8%, on news that Russia now considered any ship landing at Odessa or other Ukraine ports to be suspected weapons freight and a target for Russian missiles. Western media has since claimed that Russia is causing world potential famine by ending the Ukraine grain export deal. What are the actual facts?

Why Russia Stopped It

The Black Sea Grain Initiative deal was agreed in July 2022 following charges that Russia’s military actions in Ukraine were creating severe grain problems for African and other poor countries. Russia agreed, with UN participation, to a deal in which a safe Black Sea passage from Ukraine grain ports such as Odessa would be guaranteed by Russia in return for the West’s lifting sanctions on export of Russian wheat and fertilizers, including lifting the SWIFT ban for the major Russian state grain export bank.

Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the United Nations reached the agreement on July 22, 2022 to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships carrying food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. On May 18, 2023, Russia extended the deal, called the Black Sea Grain Initiative, for 60 days, until July 17.

There was a major problem. The West refused to honor the Russian part of the deal. According to the state Russian Sputnik news portal,

“The deal is an integral part of a package agreement. The second part — the Russia-UN memorandum, designed for three years — envisions the unblocking of Russian exports of food and fertilizers, the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT, the resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery, spare parts and services, the restoration of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline (which Ukraine sabotaged in June-w.e.), and a number of other measures. Moscow says this part of the package agreement has not yet been implemented.” 

On July 17, the day Russia announced it would not renew the deal, Ukraine, aided by US and UK intelligence, launched a deadly attack on the sole bridge linking Crimea, where the Russian Black Sea naval fleet is based, to the Russian mainland.

The vehicle spur was badly damaged by a Ukrainian naval drone and two civilians were killed, with a third in a coma. Moscow launched deadly reprisals over the next several nights with major bombing attacks that destroyed much of the port infrastructure of Odessa and other Black Sea ports nearby. 

Grain terminals and port infrastructure in Ukraine were targeted in Russian attacks on the night of July 18 and 19, causing major damage that will take at least a year to fully repair, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

A significant portion of infrastructure of the port of Chornomorsk was knocked out, and 60,000 tons of grain also was destroyed. Grain infrastructure of international and Ukrainian traders and carriers such as the Luxemburg-Ukrainian Kernel, Viterra, a part of the huge Swiss-based Glencore group, the world’s largest commodity trader, and the French CMA CGM Group were damaged. 

Moscow also charges that not only did the UN and the West refuse to honor the Russian part of the agreement. The West was also using the protected ships to deliver NATO and other weapons to Ukraine to feed the war, hardly a humanitarian act.

Wheat for the EU?

While the West claimed that the Russian blocking of ship traffic from Odessa and other Ukraine ports was creating a humanitarian disaster in Africa and other poor countries, the wheat, as well as Ukraine corn and sunflower oil, was not ending up in the countries of the poorer South. Instead, until a major farmers’ revolt in Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and other EU countries forced Brussels to temporarily ban import of the very cheap Ukraine grain. According to the UN, the EU was the main beneficiary of the Black Sea Grain Deal: 38% of all Ukraine grain was sent to Europe despite the fact that the EU is a net exporter of wheat. Another 30% went to Turkiye, and 24% to China. A mere 2% went to nations of the Global South.  

In April, facing major farmer revolt against a flood of cheap Ukraine grain imports, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria introduced a temporary ban on Ukraine’s agricultural products after failing with their repeated demands that the Brussels EU impose a general ban and allow the grain to go to Africa and other states according to the original agreement.

Some Hard Facts from USDA

While most US Government statistics are today not worth much, owing to decades of political manipulations, those of the US Department of Agriculture for global wheat production are generally regarded as fairly accurate as the world grain cartels depend on the data to price the grain. In their report of July 12,  just prior to ending the Russian Black Sea renewal, the USDA report, titled Grain: World Markets and Trade, noted the following: “As the 2022/23 trade year draws to a close, Russia has solidified its standing as the world’s top wheat exporter.” They noted, “Russia is estimated to export 45.5 million tons in 2022/23. Its primary destinations are in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia… Russia wheat exports are forecast to reach another record of 47.5 million tons in 2023/24.” 

The USDA report continues, for Ukraine where the fighting has impacted their best grain growing regions, “Ukraine planted area is down significantly as a result of the war with Russia. Production in 2023/24 is forecast at 17.5 million tons, the smallest crop in over a decade. With sharply reduced supplies and uncertainty surrounding the future of the Black Sea Grain Initiative , 2023/24 Ukraine wheat exports are forecast lower at 10.5 million tons, down over 40 percent from the pre-war average. While the BSGI helped Ukraine export 16.8 million tons of wheat in 2022/23, 39 percent of wheat moved outside of the grain corridor (primarily via land shipments to Eastern Europe).”

If we then subtract the 6.6 million tons wheat that went to the EU over land routes, then some 10.2 million tons of Ukraine grain is now not available to world markets via the Black Sea. However that almost exactly equals the volume of Ukraine wheat that was flooding the EU local markets in the past year. 

Russia Pledges Grain to Africa

On July 27 at the Second Annual Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, Russian President Putin pledged that Russia would provide grain for free to select African countries that had been receiving Ukraine grain:

“We will be ready to provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea with 25-50,000 tons of free grain each in the next 3-4 months.” 

The NATO and mainstream Western media are manipulating a one-sided  narrative to blame Russia for something their own corrupt actions brought about. The Russian suspension of the grain deal, which they declare ready to reopen providing there are guarantees of the Russia part being met, is not creating a global catastrophe. What is far more dangerous to the world are the deliberate actions of the EU and Biden Administration to impose severe cuts to world fertilizer production under their so-called Green Zero Carbon Agenda.

*

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F. William Engdahl is strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and geopolitics.

He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).


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***

 

 

 

 

 

Preliminaries

Frame

On 29 March 2023, Geopolitica.ru launched [1] the First Global Conference on Multipolarity. This conference, largely organized online, brought together over a hundred prominent dissident activists and publicists in the fields of geopolitics and political philosophy from all over the world, [2] 

One of the more incisive speeches of the conference was given by French-Moroccan scholar (religious historian) and publicist (geopolitical analyst) Youssef Hindi (b. 1985): it dealt with the geopolitical implications of the ‘convergence of catastrophes’ currently facing (Western) Europe.[3]

An important voice in the as-yet informal but rapidly rising Multipolar Movement, it is important that Hindi’s work becomes accessible outside the Francophone world as well: this review of Hindi’s as-yet untranslated 2023 work La Guerre des Etats-Unis contre l’Europe et l’avenir de l’état, ‘The United States’ War on Europe and the Future of the State’, serves this purpose.

Those readers committed to the Eurasianist and Multipolar Movements will find that Hindi’s lucid analysis of present-day geopolitics is grounded in a solid Traditionalist Weltanschauung as well as consistent adherence to the seminal teachings of political-philosophical and geopolitical masters such as Carl Schmitt and Karl Haushofer – teachings he expands and applies to the ‘Crisis of the Modern World’, which has been spiralling out of control right in front of our eyes during the last few ‘Great Reset’ years.

Aim

The aim of this present review of Hindi’s Guerre is to assist the Eurasianist and Multipolar Movements – the former movement relates as a matrix and reference point to the latter movement – in creating a fully-fledged, stand-alone worldview and a comprehensive, all-encompassing metanarrative, as they will eventually be required to do if they are to ever to successfully oppose and overcome the globalist-nihilist worldview.

In this regard, much preparatory work has already been done – especially by Aleksandr Dugin, the present intellectual leader of both movements: he has created the philosophical tabula rasa on which a viable ‘Fourth Political Theory’ will eventually be written.

Hindi’s Guerre is providing some of the outlines and preliminaries for the comprehensive metanarrative that needs to be worked out. The reviewer estimates that the combination of the collective experiences of the recent ‘Great Reset’ years, plus the individual pioneering work of those thinkers and publicists who managed to avoid these years’ conformity pressures and rabbit-hole pitfalls (as Hindi has), has already created a minimum roster of reference points for that as-yet undefined metanarrative. These reference points include the absolute and resolute rejection of key globalist-nihilist program items such as

(1) biomedical ’emergency rule’ (shutdown of the economy, lockdown of social life, suppression of critical science),

(2) digital ‘surveillance state’ (‘vaccine passports’, ‘social credit scores’, ‘Central Bank Digital Currencies’),

(3) transhumanist ‘identity fluidity’ (gender-bending ‘sex re-assignment’, gene-editing ‘mRNA’, AI-based ‘virtual reality’),

(4) body-invasive legislation (‘abortion’,  ‘euthanasia’, ‘vaccination’),

(5) state-sponsored degeneracy (‘LGBT’ rightism, ‘co-educative’ misandry, ‘post-family’ pornocracy) and

(6) state-imposed atheism (‘secular law’, human rightism, follow-the-science idolatry).

If the Eurasianist and Multipolar Movements are ever to attain the status of truly revolutionary forces, and to gain the trust and support of the globalist-enslaved masses around the world, they will have to manifest these minimum points as part of their manifest. Hindi’s Guerre includes many analyses useful to the eventual formulation of such a manifest.

Caveat

It should be noted that Hindi’s Guerre consistently identifies the present-day globalist-nihilist power centre, i.e. what may otherwise be accurately described as the ‘hostile elite’ or the ‘ruling cabal’, as historically originating in the mixed Judeo-Anglo money power, which rose to power in Britain after the Protestant Revolution, and as essentially shaped by a mixed Judeo-Protestant heresy of a (initially hidden) antinomian nature.

The reviewer has deliberately chosen not to touch upon Hindi’s quite substantial analysis of the cultural-historical genesis of the globalist-nihilist hostile elite, not because he would stoop to any (self-)censorship on the ‘JQ’ – on which the reviewer has extensively written elsewhere, giving his own Traditionalist take[4] – but because he intends this review to contribute to the future strategy rather than the historical grounding of the Eurasianist and Multipolar Movements. It should also be noted that the reviewer does not necessarily agree with all of Hindi’s many analyses: where applicable, the reviewer has added notes to that effect.

Organization

The reviewer understands that, given the prevailing combination of ‘Great Reset’ conditions, i.e. the exponential speeding up of unprecedented and global-scale developments, and ‘social media’ conditions, i.e. the 24-hour news cycle- and peer pressure-driven semi-permanent ‘reactivity’, readers’ time allowances and attention spans are bound to be brief. He has therefore decided to strip down his review of Hindi’s Guerre to its bare-bone essentials and to give the reader a taste of its lucid wording and penetrating thinking.

Thus, the review is limited to six paragraphs of specific purpose that can be read separately: the reader can set his own priorities. The first paragraph,

(1) Diagnostics, sketches the outlines of Hindi’s multi-disciplinary analysis. The second paragraph,

(2) Mechanisms, sketches Hindi’s interpretation of three key pillars of the globalist-nihilist hostile elite’s Great Reset project, viz. Covidianism, Ecologism and Ukrainianism – note that the third term has been improvised by the reviewer to cover Hindi’s analysis of enemy demonization. The third paragraph,

(3) Conclusions, summarizes Hindi’s main findings and recommendations. The fourth paragraph,

(4) Remedies gives Hindi’s most important geopolitical recommendations. The fifth paragraph,

(5) Terms, lists some Hindi-specific vocabulary: the reviewer deems it important to include Hindi’s neologisms because they allow old words and new phenomena to be reconsidered and reframed. As such, they are valuable additions to the cognitive arsenal of the Eurasianist and Multipolar Movements, now engaged in a life-and-death Weltanschauungskrieg. The sixth and final paragraph,

(6) Quotations, gives the reader a taste of some of Hindi’s more memorable phrases. The substance of these six paragraphs, while logically ordered by the reviewer, consists of quotations from Hindi’s original French text – the translations are the reviewer’s.

Language

Many if not most of the published analyses, whether spoken or written, that have come out of the great – Eurasianist, New Right and other – dissident movements over the last decades have been written in the language of the globalist-nihilist Anglosphere-based hegemon, i.e. in the English language.[5]

On the one hand, this can be explained by the obvious and entirely legitimate need to dissect and deconstruct the globalist-nihilist metanarrative – and to address key (aspirant- and proto-)dissident audiences within the ‘Five Eyes’ heartland of the hegemon. On the other hand, this – partially inevitable – reliance on the English language (and the reviewer does not exempt himself from this criticism) has given rise to a ‘Catch-22’ situation in which the increasingly formidable forces opposing the globalist-nihilist hegemon are still using, or even forced to use, the language of that hegemon, trapping them in the thought- and expression-world of the enemy (Heidegger aptly described the ‘frame’ imposed by any  language the Haus des Seins[6]). But, of course, simply being aware of this trap holds the key to its opening.

Another simple remedy is to balance reading and writing in English, which, it should be remembered, is the hegemonic elite’s lingua franca but not its home language, by restoring reading and writing in French, which had the status of ‘world language’ before the bi-polar and uni-polar epochs (1945-1991 and 1991-2022, respectively) during which English usurped that status. Thus, ‘the author of the present work has chosen to retain the original French text of [the work under review]. There are two reasons for this double French-English presentation strategy. First, the author… hopes that young European will re(dis)cover French as Europe’s foremost language of intellectual discourse. Second, the author shares the view of his fellow Dutch publicist Alfred Vierling that Francophone culture is essentially different from Anglophone culture, to a degree that virtually precludes one-on-one ‘translation’. This means that French language skills are indispensable for any attempt at a conscientious studia humanitatis. The lack of such skills among the younger generations of the West, however, is not primarily due to any intellectual complacency: it can be directly attributed to the hostile elite’s anti-education policy of deliberate ‘dumbing down’.

The [reviewer] has therefore chosen to meet younger readers of Rupes Nigra halfway by presenting [the] original [French] text as well as his own, somewhat ‘free’ English translation.'[7] Because even the simple use of French, in however modest a dose, is to deny and fight the hegemonical Atlanticist ‘mono-culture’ of the globalist-nihilist hostile elite.

Assessment

Hindi’s Guerre should be obligatory reading for all geopolitical analysts in the Eurasianist and Multipolar Movements because he provides a comprehensive and fully up-to-date assessment of the predicament of Europe that arose with the full imposition of the globalist Great Reset.

The economic havoc and social division following the globalist-imposed ‘Covid’ regime (March 2020) and the energy suicide and military tribute imposed following the neocon-engineered ‘Ukraine’ crisis (February 2023) have fundamentally altered the geopolitical power equation in Europe – Hindi’s Guerre is the first comprehensive overview of this new reality.

Almost 400 pages long, Hindi’s Guerre sketches the full – and catastrophic – implications of the failure (better: refusal) of Europe’s leadership to pursue the interests of Europe’s nations and peoples – and he explains the reasons for that failure, i.e. the deep historical background of (almost all of) Europe’s current status as vassal to the Anglosphere-based globalist hegemon. Hindi does so by applying the teachings of the founders of modern geopolitics (Karl Haushofer, Friedrich Ratzel) and modern political philosophy (Carl Schmitt, Giorgio Agamben) to Europe’s present predicament – and he cites extensive quotations to support his various theses. Hindi also gives his own, entirely original ‘theo-political’ analysis of Europe’s present predicament, linking it to Europe’s historical shift from Tradition- and religion-based politics to secularism- and economy-based politics.[8]

Finally, Hindi’s Guerre contains several detailed investigations into the largely hidden machinations of the globalist regime, such as his analysis of the recent take-over of large European enterprises by American predatory investors (Belgian maritime transport Euronav by American Frontline, British biotech ReViral by American Pfizer, Italian Telecom Italia and Dutch Acell by American Kohlberg-Kravis-Roberts, p. 77ff.) and his listing of European politicians in key decision-making positions compromised as collaborators with New World High Finance (p. 250ff.). As a result, Hindi’s Guerre constitutes a truly multi-disciplinary – one could even say: holistic – study that provides a solidly Traditionalist assessment of Europe’s present position as a ‘scorched earth’ sacrifice during the retreat phase of globalist-nihilist hegemon’s crusade against the rising power of its multipolar challengers. It substantially contributes to what must be the metapolitical goal of the Eurasianist and Multipolar Movement: the formulation of a fully-fledged Liberation Philosophy.

Diagnostics

(*) Macro-historically speaking, Europe’s current predicament, i.e. globalist-engineered deindustrialization (through the mechanisms of the Covidianist ‘lockdown’ regime, Ecologist ‘green’ transition and the Ukrainianist energy-suicide) and Atlanticist-enforced co-belligerence (economic sanctions against Russia and military tribute to Ukraine), is a function of a much larger and older land power-versus-sea power dialectic,[9] presently incarnated in the divide between (A) Anglosphere-based Neo-Atlantean Thalassocracy and (B) Heartland-based Neo-Eurasianist Tellurgy:

(Ad A) L’Etat est une émanation terrestre par excellence. La vie de la famille, des sociétés, des royaumes, des empires, des états, est terrestre. L’enracinement est exclusivement terrestre. Ainsi, originellement, les organisations politiques, la cité comme l’empire, l’ordre et le droit, sont liés à la terre. La terre que l’on travaille, d’où l’on tire notre substance, sur laquelle nous bâtissont nos maisons, nos villages, nos cités, a une limite, naturelle ou articifielle. La propriété privée a une délimination précise et l’état a des frontières. Le terme grec nomos renvoie à la notion de partage, de division, d’organisation de l’espace. L’on peut ainsi parler d’ordre de la terre et du monde. …[Chaque] pouvoir terrestre est par nature limité, par les frontières naturelles ou artificielles.

‘The state is an eminently terrestrial phenomenon. The life of families, societies, kingdoms, empires [and all] states is terrestrial. Rootedness is exclusively terrestrial. Thus, originally, [all] political organizations, [from] city-state [to] empire [as well as all forms of] law and order are tied up with the land. The land that we work on, that we obtain our sustenance from [and] that we build our houses [and] cities on, has precise boundaries and the state has [precise] frontiers. The Greek word nomos derives from the notion of partition, division [and] spatial organization. Thus, we may speak of the order of the land and the world. …By its very nature, [every] terrestrial power is limited by natural or artificial frontiers.’ (p. 28-9)

(Ad B) La mer, sans frontière, est un monde de l’indistinction. C’est un espace liquide, mobile, instable, tantôt calme, tantôt agitée. Il est en cela diamétralement opposé au monde de la terre, au continent européen, celui de la frontière naturelle ou artificielle, de la limite, de la distinction, de la stabilité, de l’ordre et donc du droit.

‘The borderless sea is a world of non-distinction. It is a liquid space, mobile, unstable, sometimes calm, sometimes agitated. It is diametrically opposed to the world of the land, to the European continent, to [the world] of natural or artificial border[s], of limit[s], of distinction[s], of stability, of order and, thus, of law.’ (p. 14)

(*) Political-philosophically speaking, the land power-versus-sea power dialectic that Europe finds currently caught up in is simultaneously paralleled in two other dialectics, viz.

(A) the empire-versus-hegemony dialectic (historically epitomized by the land-based Roman Empire and the sea-based Delian League, respectively), presently expressed in contest between the land-based Shanghai Cooperation Council and the sea-based North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and

(B) the law-upholding-Katechon-versus-law-upending-Antichrist dialectic presently expressed in the contest between the land-based rump-empire of Third Rome Holy Russia and the sea-based global hegemon of Neo-Atlantean Great Satan America:

(Ad A – for Hindi’s definitions of empire and hegemon, cf. Paragraph 6 below) L’Etat qui tente de freiner l’expansion de cet hêgemôn liquide qui envahit chaque millimètre de la société, est considéré comme un ennemi, un frein à l’unification du monde, à l’instauration d’un nouvel Eden terrestre, …[de] la marche vers la paix universelle [et] le millenium qui tente d’instaurer les Etats-Unis, pour le ‘bien’ de l’humanité. 

‘Any state that attempts to halt the expansion of this liquid hegemon, which invades every millimetre of society, is considered an enemy, a brake on the unification of the world, the establishment of a new earthly Eden, … [of] the march towards universal peace [and] the millennium that the US is attempting to impose for the ‘good’ of [all of] humanity’. (p. 15)

Il n’y a pas de frontière physique, politique, juridique et économique selon l’hêgemôn offshore.

‘There exists no boundary, whether physical, political, legal or economic, for the offshore hegemon.’ (p. 43). (Ad B – cf. the point theo-politics below)

(*) Theo-politically speaking, Old World Europe, which is the historical embodiment of the Christian Tradition, represents the sacrificial lamb sought by New World America, which is the history-erasing embodiment of Antichristian Modernity: the latter must slay the former for its inverse anti-Law system and its inverse-Israel vision to become fully realized:

Dans la logique historique anglo-protestante, l’Amérique, terre colonisée par les Européens, devait devenir un nouveau royaume d’Israël dominant. Cette Amérique qui était une terre a conquérir exempte de loi, finira par considérer le reste du monde comme terre de conquête… en faisant fi du droit international.

‘In the historical logic of Anglo Protestantism, America, land colonized by Europeans, is bound to become a new dominant Kingdom of Israel. This America, which was territory to be conquered in the absence of law, is bound to regard the rest of the world as territory to be conquered, voiding international law.’ (p. 295)

[Cet] providentialisme animera la géopolitique américaine lors du passage de la ‘destinée manifeste’ circonscrite au territoire des Etats-Unis à celui de la ‘destinée manifeste’ universelle. 

‘[This] providentialism has animated American geopolitics across the passage from the [original] ‘manifest destiny’ limited to US territory to the [later] universal ‘manifest destiny’. (p. 20)[10]

La laïcisation de la destinée manifeste universelle [est] la sécularisation de l’exceptionnalisme religieux. …Par sa sécularisation, l’exceptionnalisme américain a élevé cette nation au rang de divinité sur terre. [Mais, d]e notre point de vue, …c’est un état-démiurge violant le droit international, ne respectant jamais ni sa parole ni les accords écrits, et imposants aux nations des règles qu’il n’applique pas lui-même. L’Amérique et devenue un agent du chaos plus proche de l’Antéchrist que de l’esprit évangélique.

‘The lay-version of universalist manifest destiny [is] the secularisation of religious exceptionalism. …[But], from our point of view, …it is a demiurge-state violating international law, never respecting either its wording or [any] written agreements and imposing on [other] nations rules that it does not apply to itself. America has become an agent of chaos that is closer to the Antichrist than to the spirit of the Gospel. ‘ (p. 25)

Les Etats-Unis sont… devenues une sorte de supra-état souverain, trônant comme une divinité, tel Zeus, dans un panthéon d’états-démiurges qui lui sont inféodés. …[S]es pouvoirs s’exercent dans les pays occidentaux… par la suspension de la loi et la production de ‘lois’… antinomiques (en opposition à la loi naturelle), mais… dans le monde non-occidental, par la suspension de loi internationale, s’autorisant à prendre la place de Dieu, en détruisant des pays entiers.

‘The US has… become a kind of sovereign super-state, divinely enthroned, in the manner of Zeus, in a pantheon of demiurge-states subject to it. …Within the Western countries, [its] powers are exercised… by the suspension of [natural] law and the production of antinomian ‘laws’ ([i.e. laws] opposed to natural law), but… outside the West by the suspension of international law, where it authorizes itself to take the place of God by destroying entire countries.’ (p. 287)[11]

La terre entière est devenue pour l’Amérique un espace anomique, sans droit. Se comportant tel un Etat-dieu, l’Amérique abolit le droit international et fait pleuvoir sur les peuples des déluges de feu. La violation continuelle du droit international par les Etats-Unis – et Israël – ne doit pas nous surprendre, dans la mesure où le reste du monde est considéré comme habité par des hommes inférieurs que l’on peut bombarder, exterminer et réduire par la stérilisation de masse. Les habitants de la planète terre sont devenus, au regard des Etats-Unis, les Indiens qu’ils ont exterminés. La planète est donc transformée par les Etats-Unis en immense espace anomique où l’usage de la force est placée hors du droit tel que l’était l’Amérique lorsqu’elle a été découverte.

‘For America, the whole Earth has become a lawless, anomic space. Behaving like a God-State, America has abolished international law and it has rained a deluge of fire over the [other] peoples. The continual violation of international law by the US – and Israel – should not come as a surprise to us, in as far as the rest of the world is considered to be inhabited by inferior peoples who can be bombed, exterminated or reduced by mass sterilization. Thus, the US has transformed the planet into an immense anomic space where the use of force takes place outside the law, in the same way as it was in America when it was discovered.’ (p. 296)

(*) Economically speaking, the Western comprador-capitalist financial system and the Atlanticist hegemon’s global power, have reached their utmost (political, social, environmental) limits (‘to growth’):

[L]’Angleterre et les Etats-Unis sont les vecteurs de la globalisation économique, de la consommation individualiste et jouisseuse, de la société de l’indistinction, sans frontière ni attache, du capitalisme libéral financier sauvage, étendu par le système de libre-échange. Tout ce qu’ils ont imposée au monde.

‘[T]he UK and the US are the [main] vectors of economic globalization, of societal indistinction, borderless and detached, of wild [high] finance liberal capitalism, expanded outward through the system of free trade. They have imposed all that on the [entire] world’ (p. 14-5)

[Maintenant], le capitalisme et le libéralisme doivent, pour perdurer, dépasser leurs contradictions internes en se transformant. Le système capitaliste financier transnationale et libre-échangiste a atteint ses limites.

‘[Now], to endure, capitalism and liberalism must overcome their internal contradictions – and transform. The capitalist system of transnational and free-market finance has reached its limits.’ (p. 234)

* Politically speaking, after four decades of nihilist neo-liberalism and three decades of globalist transnationalism, the nation-state (described as an organic spiritual entity by Hegel and as an ethnic habitat and physical biotope) has been destroyed. Hindi gives a solidly Traditionalist analysis of its rise and fall, through its origin as a semi-divine (‘Leviathan’) sovereign nation-state in the wake of the religious wars (finalized in the 1648 Treaties of Westphalia), its gradual capture by High Finance (finalized in the 1919 Treaties of Paris)[12] and its technology-driven expansion into totalitarian (public-private distinction erasing) form (finalized – or ‘socialized’ – in the 2004 World Wide Web 2.0), all the way up to its replacement by transnational biopolitical control mechanisms (finalized in the 2020 Covid regime). From that point onwards, the remaining powers and structures of the former nation-state have been ‘repurposed’: they have been transformed into instruments of a new transnational and transversal ‘class struggle’ between the ruling globalist oligarchy and the about-to-be-enslaved rest:

Nous serions alors sur une frontière floue entre lutte de classes et guerre privée de type médiévale. Car ce qui reste de l’état, dépouillé de ses prérogatives régaliennes par l’UE et l’OTAN, c’est la police, le ministère de l’intérieur, la capacité de répression, non pas des délinquants, mais de la classe moyenne élargie, ennemie principale du pouvoir politique.

‘Thus, we will find ourselves at the fluid boundary between class struggle and medieval-style private warfare. Because what remains of the state, deprived of its sovereign prerogatives by the EU and NATO, are the police, the interior ministry [and] the repressive apparatus, no [longer aimed at] criminals but at the middle class in its largest sense, which is the main enemy of political power.’ (p. 229)

In Hindi’s view, the primary battlefield of the presently unfolding ‘class struggle 2.0’, between the oligarchy and the rest, is the attempt by the people – Yellow Vest, anti-lockdown, J6, anti-vax, anti-Ukraine, anti-pension-reform protests – to regain control of the levers state power.

L’objectif implicite du peuple est a reprise de contrôle de l’état, afin de rediriger sa tête vers l’intérêt collectif. L’état ne peut perdurer que dans la poursuite de buts qui sont exclusivement collectifs.

‘The implicit goal of the people is to regain control of the state [so as] to redirect it to the collective good. The state can only endure in pursuit of aims that are exclusively collective.’ (p. 231)

In Hindi’s view, the oligarchy is committed to preventing exactly that: the restoration of the political intervention power of the state on behalf of the collective. The oligarchy will grasp at any pretext to maintain and expand the ‘state of emergency’ that has been de facto in effect across the West ever since ‘9/11’:

cet état d’exception permanent produit les germes d’une guerre civile entre un pouvoir, qui s’est extrait de la loi en la suspendant, et un peuple dont les droits sont bafoués.

‘this permanent state of emergency creates the seeds of civil war between a power that has detached itself from the law by suspending it and a people that sees its rights flouted.’ (p. 6)

That power will never let a good crisis go to waste (for Hindi’s analysis of the Covidianist, Ecologist and Ukrainianist ’emergencies’, cf. Paragraph 2 below).

(*) Legally speaking, simultaneously with the nation-state, nation-state-based international law has been destroyed, reducing international relations to the ‘might is right’ principle.

L’édification de l’état moderne a conduit aux Traités de Westphalie (1648) établissant le droit international européen qui place les états dans un rapport d’égalité, du moins au théorie. Tout cet édifice a été détruit au cours du XXe siècle, précisement à partir du Traité de Versailles (1919). La fin de la Première Guerre Mondiale coïncide avec le basculement définitf des Etats-Unis de l’isolationnisme vers l’hyper-interventionnisme qui a apporté, non pas la paix ou un utopique gouvernement mondial, mais la guerre civile mondiale.

‘The construction of the modern state led to the Treaties of Westphalia (1648), which established European international law, placing states in equal relation to each other, at least theoretically. This entire construct was brought down in the course of the 20th Century, [or] more precisely starting with the Versailles Treaty (1919). The end of WWI coincides with the final tipping over of the US from isolationism into hyper-interventionalism, leading not to [world] peace or a utopian world government, but to a global civil war.’ (p. 5)

In Hindi’s view, the outbreak of a fully-fledged, all-against-all global ‘jungle war’ dates back to the 2000 neocon coup (Bush ‘election’) and the 2001 neocon false flag (‘9/11’), resulting in a ‘world state of emergency'[13] and a de facto suspension of international law. Arguably, ‘Ukraine’ marks the point at which that ‘jungle war’, previously restricted to the ‘rest’ (Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Sudan), reached the West.

(*) Realpolitik-ally speaking, ‘the West’ is now just an empty word: a ‘trophy name’ with remnant prestige that the transnational power of the High Finance hostile elite likes to associate to. That power may have its home base in the ‘Western’ Five Eyes countries of overseas Anglosphere, but seems to be abandoning – or rather sacrificing – the rest of the West, i.e. the ex-Catholic and ex-Protestant parts of Europe. Similarly, the hostile elite’s much-vaunted ‘Western values’ are now nothing but a projection of its own (ever-shifting) globalist interests and (infinitely malleable) nihilist ideas:

Ce que l’on appelle aujourd’hui ‘l’Occident’ est une construction idéologique et politique. La soumission de l’Europe à Washington s’est concrétisée par la création de structures supranationales, à savoir l’Union Européenne et son pendant, l’OTAN, le bras armé des Etats-Unis. L’Occident est l’autre nom de l’intégration de l’espace européen au système de domination idéologico-politique anglo-américain. La réforme religieuse et l’adoption du calvinisme par l’Angleterre ont accompagné une expansion économique et géopolitique de nature messianique.

‘That what is nowadays called ‘the West’ – in fact, a zombie version of the former West[14] –  is an ideological and political construct. The submission of Europe to Washington was realized through the creation of supra-national structures, viz. the EU and its military counterpart, NATO, which is the armed wing of US [power]. ‘The West’ is another name for the integration of the European space into the ideological [and] political system of Anglo-American hegemony. The religious reform and the adoption of Calvinism by England went hand in hand with an economic and geopolitical expansion of a messianic nature.’ (p. 9)

(*) Geopolitically speaking, Europe now faces a double war:

(A) a geo-economic war, triggered by America’s assault on Europe, cutting off Europe’s near and cheap Russian energy supplies, replacing them with far and expensive American imports, triggering the asphyxiation of European industry and its partial relocation to America, as well as

(B) an intra-economic ‘class struggle 2.0’, triggered by (Five Eye-based) High Finance’s assault on the (Continental Europe-based) haute bourgeoisie, resulting in zero-sum game competition between the fictional (i.e. financialized, virtualized) economy and the real (i.e. agricultural, industrial) economy). This assault is conducted through the Great Reset mechanisms (‘mass formation’ psy-op cults) of Covidianism, i.e. ‘health’ agenda, Ecologism, i.e. ‘green’ agenda, and Ukrainianism, i.e. ‘demonological’ agenda (cf. Paragraph 2 below).

(Ad A) Au fur et à mesure qu’advenait l’inéluctable monde multipolaire, l’hêgemôn étasunien, affaibli, s’est transformé en monstre prédateur dévorant ses propres vassaux, affaiblissant l’Europe, sa principale sphère d’influence. La destruction économique de l’Europe, par les Etats-Unis, est une des conséquences de l’échec du projet hégémonique universel face aux grands-espaces qui lui tiennent tête. …Le vieux continent est conduit par Washington vers l’abattoir économique et militaire. …La politique étatsunienne en Europe aujourd’hui conduit à la guerre militaire et à la guerre civile. L’Amérique et son capitalisme décroissant, de prédation, apparaît de plus en plus comme un problème et un danger de mort pour les Européens.

‘As and when approaches the inevitable multipolar world, the weakened American hegemon is transformed into a monstrous predator that devours its own vassals, weakening Europe, [which] is its main sphere of influence. The economic destruction of Europe by the US is one of the consequences of the failure of its project of universal hegemony in the face of the great space [powers] that stand up to it. …The Old World is led by Washington to the economic and military slaughterhouse. …US policy towards Europe today is leading to military conflict and civil war. America and its anti-growth, predatory capitalism appear more and more as a problem and as a mortal danger to Europeans.’  (p. 57-8, 364, 366)

(Ad B) C’est une nouvelle configuration socio-politique qui dessine les contours d’une lutte des classes inédites, transversale, une lutte existentielle. Transversale car elle divise le sommet de la pyramide oligarchique, entre les tenants de l’économie réelle et ceux qui la détruisent, les maîtres de l’économie fictive.

‘It is a new socio-political configuration that is sketching the outlines of a transversal struggle between unheard-of classes. [It is] transversal because it divides the top of the oligarchic pyramid between the supporters of the real economy and those that destroy it, [viz.] the masters of the fictional economy.’ (p.4)

Mechanisms

Les pouvoirs politiques occidentaux… ont, de nos jours, déclenché les hostilités contre les peuples – certes au prêtexte de la lutte contre le terrorisme et le Covid-19 – comme par anticipation de leur révolte. Cet état d’exception est concrètement utilisé par la classe dirigeante pour ostraciser, neutraliser et isoler (emprisonner) ses enemis. …Chaque grande crise – terrorisme, épidémie, guerre – est l’occasion d’une synchronisation, d’une accentuation de l’état d’exception, de la soumission de l’Europe à l’hêgemôn étatsunien et donc à l’oligarchie qui est à sa tête.

‘The political powers of the West… have, [starting] from our days, commenced hostilities against the[ir] peoples – certainly under [such] pretexts as the ‘war on terror’ and ‘Covid-19′ – in anticipation of their revolt. In concrete terms, the leading class is using this state of emergency to ostracize, neutralize and isolate (imprison) its enemies. …Every major crisis – terrorism, pandemic, war – is an opportunity to synchronize [and] accentuate the state of emergency and the submission of Europe to the American hegemon and hence to the oligarchy that heads it.’ (p. 278, 281)

(A) Covidianism:[15]

Le covidisme a été le moyen pour l’hégémonisme anglo-américain libéral et financier d’opérer un virage forcé dans un monde qu’il ne peut dominer.

‘For the liberal Anglo-American financial hegemon, Covidianisme has been a means to enforce a turning upon a world that it can no [longer] dominate.’ (p. 130)

Le covidisme a été un formidable moyen d’instaurer une tyrannie policière et numérique… [et] ce processus tyrannique [s’]accentuerait… avec l’instauration future d’une monnaie dématérialisée qui permettra le contrôle étroit des personnes, et leur déconnexion du système monétaire en cas de désobéissance. …[P]our neutraliser les populations, la tyrannie monétaire. Une monnaie pour surveiller et punir. 

‘Covidianism has been a formidable tool for establishing a police [state] and a digital tyranny… [and] this tyrannical process will be accentuated… by the future establishment of immaterialized money, which will allow for the tight control of persons and their disconnection from the monetary system in case of disobedience. …To neutralize populations [there will arise a] monetary tyranny. [With] money [serving as] surveillance and punishment.’ (p. 145, 147)

L’oligarchie occidentale a avalisé, dans ses discours et sa politique, la fin de la liberté individuelle, de la société de production et de consommation.

‘The Western oligarchy has approved, in word and deed, the end of individual freedom [and] of producer-consumer society.’ (p. 235)

A la faveur du covid, nous avons vu les dirigeants occidentaux s’efforcer de détruire l’économie, le système de santé et par suite les populations dont ils sont censés défendre les intérêts. Un comportement qui s’explique… par le vide religieux qui a ramené l’Occident aux temps de l’archaïsme sacrificiel.

‘For covid, we have seen Western leaders dedicate themselves to the destruction of the economy, the health care system and finally the peoples whose interests they are supposed to defend. This behaviour is explained… by a religious void that has taken the West back into the times of archaic sacrifice.’ (p. 203)

Dès lors que l’état de droit disparaît, et la justice avec elle, la violence sacrificielle ressurgit. [Il y a un] lien entre effondrement de la religion traditionnelle, abolition de l’état de droit et résurgence du sacrifice des innocents. Un sacrifice de masse, opéré par le pouvoir politique qui a… rendu quasiment obligatoire les injections par millions d’un produit expérimental qui s’est avéré dangereux.

‘Since the disappearance of the state of law, and justice with it, sacrificial violence has resurfaced. [There is a] link between the collapse of traditional religion, the abolition of the state of law and the resurgence of the sacrifice of innocents. A mass sacrifice, enacted through the political power that has… rendered semi-obligatory injections, by the million, with an experimental product that has turned out to be dangerous.’ (p. 304)

B. Ecologism:[16]

[La] destruction programmée de l’économie réele est justifiée, au sens religieux, par l’utopie écologique. Cette religion verte, épousée par la haute finance, n’est pas sans rappeller les projets des idéologies messianiques laïcisées qui voulaient à la fois restaurer sur terre un Eden perdu et instaurer un monde utopique. …Pour ‘sauver la planète’, les tenants de la finance occidentale sont en train de détruire les entreprises, les richesses et les hommes.

‘[The] programmed destruction of the real economy is justified, in a religious sense, by an ecological utopia. This green religion, espoused by High Finance, brings to mind [earlier] projects of messianic but secularized religions that sought to restore the lost [Garden of] Eden to Earth as well as inaugurate a utopian world. …To ‘save the planet’ the captains of Western High Finance have embarked on the destruction of industry, wealth and people.’ (p. 129)

C. Ukrainianism: Note that this term is not Hindi’s: the reviewer has coined it to stand parallel to Hindi’s terms Covidianism and Ecologism. ‘Ukrainianism’ covers the hostile elite’s ‘state of emergency’ pretext that is most impactful at the time of writing of Hindi’s Guerre as well as this review and it is characterized by the full-blown, ‘witch-hunt’-level demonization of the hostile elite’s chosen outer enemy: Russia. As everyone who has read Orwell’s Nineteen Eight-Four knows, the designation and demonization of an outer enemy, no matter how crudely done, is an essential tool in the formation and maintenance of totalitarian power. Following Hindi’s legal analysis set out in Paragraph 1, the utter – even irrational and counter-productive – demonization of the outer enemy is a logical consequence of the de facto end of international law:

La crise de l’état moderne et souverain – qui a été fondé en réaction aux guerres de religions – a pour corollaire le boulversement du droit international et de l’encadrement légal de la guerre. Le droit européen moderne mettait, sur le papier, les deux belligérants sur un pied d’égalité; or, sous l’influence des puissances anglo-américaines inégalitaires, nous sommes entrés, au XXe siècle, dans l’ère de la criminalisation de l’ennemi, de sa diabolisation. L’ennemi est ainsi exclu de l’humanité.

‘The crisis of the modern sovereign state, which was founded in reaction to the religious wars [of the 16th and 17th Centuries], has as its corollary the overthrow of international law and the laws of war. Modern European law assumed, on paper [at least], two belligerents of equal status, but under the influence of the inequalitarian Anglo-American powers we have entered, in the 20th Century, the era of criminalisation of the enemy [and] of his demonization. Thus, the enemy is excluded from humanity.’ (p. 198)

In addition, the degree of dehumanization and demonization of the outer enemy is also a function of the development of the technology of warfare: new technology – in this case multidimensional warfare, including biotechnological and cognitive warfare – requires a moral (self-)justification for its use, irrespective of the flimsiness of that justification:

La guerre… incitera le belligérant qui se trouve en possession des armaments supérieurs à diaboliser son ennemi, à le priver du statut d’ennemi, pour n’y voir plus q’un monstre a éliminer. [N]ous avons… [vu] les Américains à l’oeuvre; détruire des états jugés illégitimes, maléfiques, massacrer des populations civiles par millions en invoquant la lutte pour la liberté, contre l’axe du mal.

‘War… encourages the belligerent who finds himself in possession of superior weaponry to demonize his enemy [and] to deprive him of ‘enemy’ status [itself] – to see only a monster that must be eliminated. [W]e have… seen the Americans at work, destroying states judged illegitimate [and] evil, massacring civilians by the million, invoking the struggle for freedom against the ‘axis of evil’.’ (p. 199)

Conclusions

In the West, the nation-state has broken down and the state apparatus has been captured by the globalist-nihilist hostile elite:

Compte tenu des faits que nous observons depuis une vingtaine d’années, et de leur parfaite correspondance avec les concept juridiques d’état d’exception, …nous pouvons en conclure que les pays occidentaux sont, depuis la guerre contre le terrorisme, entrés dans un mouvement révolutionnaire modifiant la nature des états. Par crises artificielles successives, cette révolution étatique nous a fait passer de l’imperium de la démocratie bourgeoise à celui de la tyrannie, de l’état d’exception permanent.

‘Taking into account the events that we have been observing over the last twenty years and their perfect correspondence with the legal concept of the state of emergency, …we can conclude that, since the ‘War on Terrorism’, Western states have entered into a revolutionary cycle that is altering the very nature of these states. By successive artificial crises, this state revolution has made us pass over from the empire of bourgeois democracy to that of tyranny [and] the permanent state of emergency.’ (p. 255)

In the West, a transversal class struggle has begun: the fictional-economy-(High Finance) based transnational hostile elite is seeking the enslavement and/or annihilation of the rest. After the elimination of (1) the working class (Reagan-Thatcher destruction of the labour movement and welfare state) and (2) the middle class (Clinton-Blair destruction of education-based meritocracy and social mobility) the transnational hostile elite now seeks the elimination of (3) the industrial haute bourgeoisie (Biden-Sunak destruction of free market capitalism and independent capital).

La géo-économie américaine anti-éuropéenne et la guerre menée par la haute finance contre… l’économie qui fait vivre les sociétés – et non pas la finance, qui vit aux dépens de la société – dessinent les contours d’une lutte des classes inédites, transversale.

‘The anti-European American geo-economics and the war that High Finance is waging on… the [real] economy, which keeps society alive, unlike finance which lives at the expense of society, are sketching the outlines of an unprecedented [new], transversal class struggle. (p. 158-9)

Nous sommes entrés dans une ère nouvelle où la lutte des classes traditionelle n’a plus de correspondance avec la réalité sociopolitique et économique du monde occidental. Il nous faut donc actualiser le concept.

‘We have entered a new era, in which [the] classical [concept of] class struggle no longer corresponds to the socio-political and economic reality of the Western world. So, it is necessary to update the concept.’ (p. 158)

At a global level, the transversal class struggle in the West is mirrored in a de facto state of worldwide civil war with distinctly eschatological overtones:

L’état d’exception et la guerre civile fride en Occident opposant peuples et oligarchies, la guerre civile mondiale, et l’opposition entre Etats-Unis – puissance destructive – et la Russie – puissance d’équilibre – recouvrent une confrontation de nature théologique-politique, parfois méconnue des principaux protagonistes. …D’un côté, des Etats-démiurges anomiques, l’Amérique à leur tête, qui se sont érigés en divinités ayant aboli la loi, et des peuples (d’Occident et d’ailleurs) qui luttent pour leur survie, pour le rétablissement du nomos (la loi) à l’échelle nationale et l’établissement d’un nouveau nomos (partage) de la terre à l’échelle mondiale.

‘The state of emergency and the cold civil war in the West, opposing peoples and oligarchs, the global civil war and the opposition between the US – a power for destruction – and Russia – a power for balance – cover a confrontation of a theo-political nature, sometimes unrecognized by its principal protagonists. …On the one hand, there are the anomic demiurge-states led by America, which claim divinity after having abolished the law, and, [on the other hand,] there are the peoples (in the West and elsewhere) who are fighting for their survival, for the re-establishment of the nomos (law) at the national level and the establishment of a new nomos (division) of the Earth at the global level.’ (p. 314)

In the final analysis, the transversal class struggle and the global civil war recently initiated by the globalist-nihilist hostile elite, based in the Five Eyes countries of the overseas Anglosphere and ‘Neo-Atlantean’ in character, are theo-political in nature:

C’est à ce démiurge, animé par le pouvoir politique oligarchique, auquel les peuples occientaux sont confrontés. Cette confrontation prend la forme de luttes contre le déclassement, l’appauvrissement, la destruction de l’hôpital, elle prend la formed d’une opposition aux lois liberticides, aux pass sanitaires, vacinnale et demain écologique. Les peuples ne le savent pas, mais cette confrontation dans laquelle ils sont engagés est de nature fondamentalement politico-religieuse.

‘It is this demiurge, animated by oligarchic political power, that the peoples of the West are confronted with. This confrontation takes the form of the fight against social demotion, impoverishment [and] health care destruction [and] it takes the form of the opposition against freedom-squashing legislation and passes [of all kinds], sanitary, vaccine and – tomorrow – ecological. The people do not know it, but the confrontation they are engaged in is fundamentally theo-political in nature.’ (p. 299)

La théologie politique n’a, paradoxalement, jamais été aussi utile pour comprendre les évolutions de l’état que dans l’Occident athéiste. L’état moderne a usurpé la souveraineté divine; en conséquence, les peuples occidentaux vivent sous l’imperium de ce démiurge tout en niant l’existence de Dieu et en étant aveugle à la nature de cet état qui s’est octroyé les pouvoirs divins de législation. …L’etat moderne, en tant que détenteur de la souveraineté divine, peut suspendre la loi, remettre en question la loi naturelle et émettre des lois contraires à la loi de Dieu et au bien commun.

‘Paradoxically, political theology has never been so useful for the understanding of state evolution as it is [now] in the atheist West. The modern state has usurped divine sovereignty. As a result, the Western peoples live under the imperium of that demiurge[-state], denying the existence of God and blind as to the nature of that state, which has patented divine powers of legislation… The modern state, which has assumed divine sovereignty, can suspend the law [at will], question natural law and promulgate laws that are contrary to the law of God and the common good.’ (p. 298)

Le société s’autodétruit à mesure que la morale – qui est un frein – disparaît, à mesure que l’état rejette la loi naturelle. A l’heure du LGBTisme promu par l’education nationale, de l’athéisme triomphant, le taux de suicide chez les jeunes… augmenté. …[I]l y a là coïncidence entre vide religieux, tyrannie anomique, augmentation du nombre de sociopathes au pouvoir, crise de régime, décomposition de la société, à commencer par la famille, destruction de l’économie, intensification de la violence politique et déclenchement d’une guerre civile froide en passe de devenir chaude.

‘Society self-destructs to the extent that morality – which functions as a brake – disappears [and] to the extent that the state rejects natural law. At this moment, LGBTism is promoted in the national education curriculum, atheism is triumphant [and] the suicide rate among young people… has risen. … Here, a a religious void, an anomic tyranny, a rise in the number of sociopaths in power, a crisis of governance, a decomposition of society starting at the family [unit], a destruction of the economy and an intensification of political violence coincide – a descent into a cold civil war that is bound to become hot.’ (p. 358-9)

Remedies

Hindi argues that all sea-power hegemonies, from the Delos League to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, have specific weaknesses that may be exploited by land-power empires:

(A) Hegemonies cannot distinguish friend and foe: in the final analysis, all parties outside the hegemonic centre are enemies, whether declared or undeclared. ‘Friends’ will be ruthlessly sacrificed by the centre: Ukrainian manpower is merely cannon fodder and German industry is merely collateral damage. This means that enemies of the hegemon may find such betrayed ‘friends’ amenable to switching sides;

(B) Hegemonies cannot unify state and economy: in the final analysis, hegemonic public political power is a mere function of private economic power, as is shown by the fact that the present Atlanticist hegemon applies its ‘free market principles’ of economic jungle warfare competition even against the clear interests of the nations and peoples of its home base nation. Although geographically based there, the hegemon does not serve the interests of the American and British peoples, but only those of Big Banking, Big Tech, Big Pharma, etc. This means that, as socio-economic strain builds, the mass of the population in these countries will, at some point, become alienated from the ruling elite;

(C) Hegemonies are vampiric in nature: in the final analysis, they leech off their subjects and victims without caring about the ultimate sustainability of that ‘business model’ and, as time passes, their power shift from reality to perception. Thus, Atlanticist hegemony is based on the largely fictitious power of things such as the ‘reserve currency’ dollar, ‘MSM’ propaganda, ‘Hollywood’ mythology and the ‘woke-fied’ US Army. This means that, once certain stress levels are tested, the whole house of cards, carefully crafted over decennia, may collapse over an unexpectedly short span of time.

Hindi points out more specific weaknesses in the Atlanticist hegemon’s position in Europe, which is intricately bound up with the fate of its two most important – and increasingly intertwined – hegemonic structures, the EU and the NATO. In the face of a semi-direct confrontation with its formidable SCO-BRICS adversary, the hegemon has engaged a high stakes gamble because it requires

(A) the permanent docility of 447 million Europeans, despite their increasing impoverishment;

(B) the permanent synchronization of the EU’s 27 EU member states, despite their evident divergence in terms of vital national interests;

(C) a modicum of political stability, despite its unfolding all-out transversal class struggle assault on both the middle class and the industrial bourgeoisie; and

(D) a modicum of military prestige, despite the eminent risk of defeat in Ukraine, coming on top of its defeat in Afghanistan.

Hindi also point out the hegemon’s (potential) greatest weakness: the ‘weakest link in the chain’. Germany, which has been America’s most docile vassal since its 1945 defeat and was rewarded with caporegime status in Europe in 1990, is now subject to unprecedented domestic strains and international challenges:

Les dirigeants [allemands] ont mentalement intégré la soumission aux Etats-Unis, …sous couvert d’idéologie écologique, de droit-de-l’hommisme, d’auto-flagellation éternelle pour exorciser le nazisme, de féminisme et de wokisme…

‘The [German] leadership has mentally integrated [its] submission to the US, …under cover of ecologism, human-rightism, eternal self-flagellation to exorcise nazism, feminism and wokism…’ (p. 118)

[Ainsi l]es Etats-Unis avaient choisi Berlin pour tenir le rôle de Gauleiter en Europe, en lui permettant de tirer profit dus système économique appuyé sur l’euro.

‘[Thus], the US chose Berlin to play the role of Gauleiter in Europe, permitting it to profit from the Euro-based economic system.'(p. 122)

[Mais] les Américains ont poussé le patronat allemand dans ses derniers retranchement. Il n’y avait plus que deux issues: la mort ou un virage économique. Et visiblement, c’est la seconde option qui a été choisie, instinct de survive oblige. …C’est une question de vie ou de mort économique.

‘[But] the Americans have pushed Germany’s captains of industry with their backs against the wall. There are no more than two [possible] outcomes: death or an economic turn. Visibly, the second option has been chosen, as survival instinct kicks in. It is a question of economic life or death.’ (p. 113-4)

[La] tension au sein de l’Allemagne entre industriels et pro-américains, incarne la lutte actuelle entre les puissances maritimes et les puissances terrestres, entre l’économie fictive, financière, et l’économie réelle, industrielle.

‘[The] tension within Germany, between industrialists and pro-Americans, mirrors the ongoing struggle between the sea powers and the land powers, [as well as] between the virtual economy of finance and the real economy of industry.’ (p. 120) In this way, Hindi argues, Germany is fast becoming the focus point of the stresses caused by the globalist-nihilist hostile elite’s double war on Europe, with internal fracturing compounding external pressure.

Hindi suggest that one way to defeat the Atlanticist hegemon is to create an alliance between its natural allies:

La désignation simultanée d’ennemis intérieur – les peuples européens – et extérieur – la Russie – pourrait conduire à une alliance objective de ces deux ennemis communs.

‘The simultaneous designation of internal enemies – the European peoples – and external [enemies] – Russia – should lead to an objective alliance between these two common enemies.’ (p. 235)

Such an alliance should, therefore, be the strategic aim of the Dissident Right movement inside the West and the Eurasianist and Multipolar Movement outside the West.

Having ruthlessly diagnosed Europe as ‘the sick man of the world’, Hindi prescribes the only medicine that he thinks may yet save the states, peoples and civilization of Europe: a theo-political revival. Hindi clearly states the nature of Europe’s fatal disease:

L’athéisme conduit l’Europe sur une voie dangereuse, celle du nihilisme, de politiques suicidaires, que ce soit dans le domaine sociétale, économique ou géopolitique. La stabilisation de l’Europe passe par une réforme théologique-politique et un repositionnement stratégique de la France qui a une responsabilité historique et un rôle futur à jouer. Il en va de l’avenir et de la stabilité de l’Eurasie.

‘Atheism is guiding Europe onto a dangerous path, [viz. the path] of nihilism [and its resultant] suicidal policies in the domains of social life, economic life and geopolitics. The stabilization of Europe depends on a theological-political reform and a strategic repositioning by France, which has a historic responsibility and a future role to play. The same applies to the future and stability of Eurasia [as a whole].’ (p. 7)

Le vide religieux a produit à la fois une société atomisée et, avec un temps de retard, son reflect à l’échelle politique: un système des parties éclatés puis fondus en un seul. C’est ce parti unique de l’oligarchie qui contrôle l’état, et c’est ce qui rend le pouvoir politique particulièrement dangereux.

‘The religious void has produced an atomized society as well as – with some delay – its reflection at the political level: a system of parties that have molten down to subsequently become fused into one. This is the oligarchic uni-party that controls the state and this is what makes its political party particularly dangerous.’ (p. 225)

Finally, Hindi issues an important warning befitting the old proverb that ‘the wounded snake bites deepest’, in casu the nuclear arms-fanged serpent that is the hegemon’s ‘Empire of Lies’:

Arrivés en bout de course, ruinés, affaiblis, faisant face à de grandes puissances rivales qui remettent en cause son hégémonie militaire et monétaire, les Etats-Unis deviennent extrêmement dangereux, car ils ne peuvent accepter l’échec qui impliquerait la remise en question de ce qu’ils ont toujours cru être, une nation messianique destinée à régner sur le monde.

‘Having reached the end of its journey, ruined, weakened [and] face to face with rival great powers that challenge its military and monetary hegemony, the US has become extremely dangerous, because it cannot accept [any] failure that would create doubt about what it has always believed itself to be, [viz.] a messianic nation destined to rule the world.’ (p. 26)

Concluding this review of Youssef Hindi’s La Guerre des Etats-Unis contre l’Europe et l’avenir de l’état, it is necessary to remind the reader that the author has non-European roots but that, in writing this highly timely work, he has done far more for Europe than most Europeans have done at this hour. The reviewer, therefore, has a recommendation of his own to add to Hindi’s highly valuable prescriptions. It is this: that the enslaved peoples of Europe should from now on refuse their American fast food rations, shed their American jeans rags, break their chains of American sensual bondage and wake up from their American virtual reality spell. That they should recapture their ancestors’ spirit and pull their ancestors’ sword out of the stone of history.

Ein Volk, das keine Waffen tragen will, wird Ketten tragen. – Ernst Jünger

Definition of Terms

‘Hegemon’ – …renvoie… à une nation, une puissance, qui exerce un commandement, une domination souveraine sur d’autres nations et peuples sans pour autant les assimiler. L’hêgemôn maintient une distinction nette entre le peuple dominant et les peuples dominés. ‘…refers to a nation [or] power that exercises command [authority and] sovereign dominion over other nations and peoples, but without assimilating them. The Hegemon maintains a clear distinction between the dominating people and the dominated peoples.’ (p. 29);

‘Imperium’ – …signifie en latin… [u]n commendement qui s’exerce sur un territoire. Le territoire de l’empire s’étend en intégrant d’autres peuples, états ou royaumes, à son système de domination, …[qui est] suffisamment ‘égalitaire’ pour assimiler les peuples conquis à une entité politique unique, centralisée ou du moins fédérale. ‘…signifies, in Latin, …command [authority] exercised over a [certain] territory. The territory of an empire expands while integrating other peoples, states or kingdoms into its system of domination, …[which is] sufficiently ‘egalitarian’ to assimilate conquered peoples to a [single], unique, or at least confederated political entity.’ (p. 29);

La mystique de la laïcité – ‘the mystique of secularism’, referring to subliminal dimension of (French) republicanism as secular religion;  

‘NATO-fication’ – the ‘weaponization’ of the hegemon’s old alliances, part of its ‘total war’ mobilization of all its vassals’ resources;

‘Pan-polemos’ – Les Etats-Unis mènent une guerre géopolitique et géoéconomique à l’Europe, et l’oligarchie occidentale mène une guerre de destruction des classes moyennes, de tous les producteurs, européens et américains.  La guerre civile mondiale est une poupée russe. Une guerre dans une autre, une guerre civile sociale dans une guerre internationale, une guerre inter-étatique dans une guerre continentale. La guerre civile mondiale est pluridimensionnelle et elle se déroule sure plusieurs échelles : …[c’est] le pan-polemos. ‘The US is waging a geopolitical and geo-economical war against Europe and the Western oligarchy is waging a war of destruction against the middle classes, against all producers, European and American. Th[is] global civil war is a Russian doll: a war inside a war, a social civil war within an international war [and] an intra-state war within a continental war. Th[is] global civil war is multi-dimensional and it unfolds at multiple levels [simultaneously]: [this is] the pan-polemos’ (p. 291-2)

‘Zombie-state’ – note that this term is not Hindi’s: the reviewer has coined it to summarize Hindi’s diagnosis of the post-Great Reset Western state. [Après] la prise en main de l’état par [l’]oligarchie et ses reseaux, que l’on doit distinguer de l’état lui-même, … [l]e pouvoir politique [oligarchique] a dévoyé le rôle de l’état en l’utilisant pour défendre des intérêts privés, aux détriment des intérêts publics. S’en est suivi une privatisation du monopole de la violence étatique; …le pouvoir politique utilise la police comme une milice privée contre le peuple. ‘After the take-over of the state by the oligarchy and its networks, which should be distinguished from the state itself, …le political power [wielded by the oligarchy] has perverted the role of the state by using it to defend private interests, to the detriment of public interests. What followed was the privatization of the monopoly on violence [wielded by the] state: …the political power uses the police as a private militia against the people.’ (p. 204-5)

Quotations

Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus:

L’arkhè politico-religieux… de l’hêgemôn américain… se trouve dans l’Angleterre calviniste. …Le calvinisme était une doctrine religieuse bourgeoise, taillée pour le commerçant et le banquier. …Le capital, le crédit, la banque et le grand commerce étaient reconnus presque comme des articles de foi. …La prédestination… prit une forme socio-économique hégémonique en fusionnant avec l’anthropologie anglaise (famille nucléaire, inégalitaire, avec une mobilité spatiale des individus très importante) au moment de la transformation de l’île en hêgemôn maritime.

‘The politico-religious archetype of the American hegemon is Calvinist England. …Calvinism was a bourgeois religious doctrine, tailor-made to fit traders and bankers. …Capital, credit, banking and big business were practically recognized as articles of faith. …Predestination… took a hegemonic form [in] social [and] economic [life] as it fused with English anthropolog[ical reality] (nuclear family, [caste-like] inequality and individual spatial mobility) at the moment of the island’s transformation into a maritime hegemon. ‘ (p. 8, 12-3)

Z nového světa:

L’Amérique était le lieu où même l’homme civilisé retournait à l’état de nature et ‘redevenait’ un loup pour l’homme.

‘America was the place where even civilized man returned to the state of nature and became again wolf to man.’ (p. 293)

La géopolitique étatsunienne est mythique et sacrificielle.

‘US geopolitics are mythical and sacrificial.’ (p. 289)

From Umvolking to Entvolkung:

La transformation nouvelle du capitalisme occidental vise à réduire purement et simplement une partie de la population appauvrie et en révolte, c’est ce que nous appelons la société de consumation qui remplace celle de la consommation.

‘The newest transformation of Western capitalism aims, simply and sternly, at the reduction of the impoverished and rebellious part of the population: this is what we shall term the ‘consummation society’ that is to replace the ‘consumption society’. (p. 235)

Credo:

Tout corps privé d’une âme meurt, tout état privé d’une religion ou d’une croyance collective, est voué à l’affaiblissement, voire à la décomposition.

A body deprived of a soul [and] a state deprived of a religion or collective belief [system] are bound to weaken and decompose.’ (paraphrasing Gustav Le Bon, p. 203)

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This article was originally published on Geopolitica.RU.

Alexander Wolfheze received his MA in Semitic Languages and Cultures in 2004 and his cum laude PhD in the Humanities in 2011, both from Leiden University, Netherlands. With extensive research experience in the fields of Assyriology and Cultural Anthropology, he subsequently authored several publications in the field of Near Eastern cultural history. His current interdisciplinary specializations are pre-modern epistemology and Traditionalist philosophy; his earlier book The Sunset of Tradition and the Origins of the Great War applies these specializations to the cultural-historical background of the First World War. 

Notes 

[1] ‘Worldview Warfare’, the reviewer here uses this term in its most literal sense, following the Abbau, ‘deconstruction’; ‘demolition’, counter-hegemonic strategy promoted by Jason Jorjani.

[2] The reviewer’s spoken and written contributions to the Multipolarity Conference may be found at ‘Alexander Wolfheze (Netherlands/Hungary) on Multipolarity’,  Paideuma.tv 29 April 2023 and Alexander Wolfheze, ‘Operation Belisarius: Eurasianist Strategy for the West’, Geopolitika.ru 4 May 2023, respectively.

[3] Youssef Hindi’s spoken and written contributions to the Multipolarity Conference may be found at ‘Youssef Hindi (France) – Speech at the Global Conference on Multipolarity’, Paideuma.tv29 April 2023 and Youssef Hindi, ‘Western Civil War in the Multipolar World’, Strategika.fr 1 May 2023, respectively.

[4] Cf. Alexander Wolfheze, Rupes Nigra. An Archaeo-Futurist Countdown in Twelve Essays (Arktos: London, 2021) 247ff.

[5] Cf. Alexander Wolfheze, Rupes Nigra. An Archaeo-Futurist Countdown in Twelve Essays (Arktos: London, 2021) 393ff.

[6] Die Sprache ist das Haus des Seins. In ihrer Behausung wohnt der Mensch. Die Denkenden und Dichtenden sind die Wächter dieser Behausung. Ihr Wachen ist das Vollbringen der Offenbarkeit des Seins, insofern sie diese durch ihr Sagen zur Sprache bringen und in der Sprache aufbewahren. ‘Language is the House of Being’. Within its walls lives man. Those who think and write are the guardian of this shelter. Their guardianship involves the completion of the revelation of Being, in as far as their speech expresses it and preserves it in language.’ – Martin Heidegger, translation Alexander Wolfheze.

[7] Cf. Alexander Wolfheze, Rupes Nigra. An Archaeo-Futurist Countdown in Twelve Essays (Arktos: London, 2021) xli-ii.

[8] For the reviewer’s Traditionalist cultural-historical and Sacred-Geographical analyses cf. Alexander Wolfheze, The Sunset of Tradition and the Origins of the Great War (Cambridge Scholars: Newcastle upon Tyne, 2018) and  Alexander Wolfheze, A Traditionalist History of the Great War, Book II: The Former Earth (Cambridge Scholars: New Castle upon Tyne, 2020), respectively.

[9] Cf. the reviewer’s concept of the ‘Global Modernist Thalassocracy’: Alexander Wolfheze, A Traditionalist History of the Great War, Book II: The Former Earth (Cambridge Scholars: New Castle upon Tyne, 2020) 70ff.

[10] For the reviewer’s Sacred-Geographical analysis of America’s ‘Manifest Destiny’, cf. Alexander Wolfheze, A Traditionalist History of the Great War, Book II: The Former Earth (Cambridge Scholars: New Castle upon Tyne, 2020) 192ff.

[11] For an example of Atlanticist hegemonic ‘pyro-politics’ in action, cf. the reviewer’s ‘Serbian Triptych’ analysis of the destruction of Yugoslav: Alexander Wolfheze, ‘Eagle in the East’, ‘The Yugoslav Crucible Revisited’ and ‘US-NATO’s War against Yugoslavia’, Globalresearch.ca 22-28 July 2023.

[12] For the reviewer’s critique of the Atlanticist hegemon’s liberal-normativist ideology and its politicidal effects, using the analyses of his Low Countries fellow-publicist Robert Steuckers, cf. Alexander Wolfheze, Rupes Nigra. An Archaeo-Futurist Countdown in Twelve Essays (Arktos: London, 2021) 11ff.

[13] Note that many aspects of this present-day ‘world state of emergency’ were accurately predicted by American-Iranian philosopher Jason Jorjani: cf. his thus-titled book The World State of Emergency (Arktos: London, 2017).

[14] For the reviewer’s analysis of the ex-West’s ‘zombification’ process, cf. Alexander Wolfheze, ‘The White Whale’, Geopolitika.ru 4 November 2022.

[15] For the reviewer’s first assessment of the Covidianist cult, cf. his two-part ‘eye-witness report’ Alexander Wolfheze, ‘Decamerone Redux: Reader’s Digest for a Post-Modern Plague Season’, Arktos Journal (Arktos.com) 4-7 April 2020.

[16] For the reviewer’s cultural-historical perspective on anthropogenic climate change (through his key concept ‘Ecocide’), cf. Alexander Wolfheze, The Sunset of Tradition and the Origins of the Great War (Cambridge Scholars: Newcastle upon Tyne, 2018) 127ff.


Guerre des États-Unis contre l’Europe

By Youssef Hindi

ASIN‏B0C5LS4S6S

Language: French

Pages: ‎392 pages

ISBN-13: ‎979-1041515721

Youssef Hindi gathered there what allows him to establish the story of a permanent, vital, economic war, that which opposes the United States to Europe. This war has a history, but it also has a genealogy, and to reconstruct it, we must go back to Athens and its maritime hegemony. Secondly, the author shifts the point of view. We leave the materialist stratum of this conflict to move towards the terrain of “political theology”. We have to ask ourselves the relationship between divine election and the “Manifest Destiny” of the United States. The author continues his reflection by analyzing the end of the rule of law, a consequence of the war that America is waging against us.

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Security and ideological interests account for why the Algerian Chief of Staff just flew to Moscow. His country wants to coordinate with its strategic partner in responding to this regional crisis as well as the wider war that might soon break out.

While Algeria’s role isn’t as important as Nigeria’s could be in leading the NATO-backed ECOWAS invasion of Niger nor Chad’s in possibly being the kingmaker, it’s still pretty significant and shouldn’t be ignored or downplayed.

West Africa Is Gearing Up For A Regional War” as it bifurcates into two clearly defined blocs over whether to invade or defend Niger, which experienced a potentially game-changing patriotic military coup last week. The preceding hyperlinked analysis explains the rapidly emerging military-strategic dynamics more in detail, but they can be summarized as setting the stage for what might soon become the next proxy battleground in the New Cold War.

NATO supports a Nigerian-led ECOWAS invasion to reinstall Niger’s ousted leader while Russia backs Burkina Faso and Mali, which have de facto merged into a federation and jointly announced that any attack on that neighboring nation will be regarded as a declaration of war against both of them. Those two are trilaterally cooperating with Guinea, which is also under military rule like they are and just threw its political weight behind the Nigerien junta, but it’s unclear whether it’ll militarily defend it too.

The Interim President of regional military powerhouse Chad earlier traveled to Niamey in an attempt to broker a compromise that could avert war, but he appears to have been unsuccessful, though his country also hasn’t yet committed to supporting either side of this potentially coming conflict. This places Chad in a kingmaker position since its decision whether and when to intervene could greatly determine the outcome.

Amidst these fast-moving developments, Russian publicly financed international media flagship TASS confirmed on Tuesday that the Algerian Chief of Staff arrived in Moscow the day prior to meet with his host’s Defense Minister. They also added that the President visited St. Petersburg in June to attend the International Economic Forum there, during which time he met with President Putin to clinch an enhanced strategic partnership deal, while the Prime Minister was there last week for the Africa Summit.

It deserves mentioning that Russia is Algeria’s top military partner and has remained so for decades, with this relationship persisting in spite of Moscow neglecting most of Africa until just a few years ago. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) confirmed in this spring’s “Trends In International Arms Transfers” report that a whopping 73% of Algeria’s military imports from 2018-2022 were from Russia, which testifies to the enduring strength of their military ties.

Accordingly, Algeria has one of the largest, best-equipped, and most modern militaries anywhere in Africa, which is why it’s rightly regarded as among the continent’s most powerful countries. For that reason, its Chief of Staff’s latest visit to Russia in the current regional context isn’t any small matter since it suggests that Algiers intends to coordinate with Moscow regarding the wider war that might be about to break out upon the expiry of ECOWAS’ ultimatum this Sunday to reinstall Niger’s ousted leader.

Although Algeria and Russia both condemned the Nigerien coup late last week, each of their respective statements were shared prior to ECOWAS making its ultimatum that was subsequently supported by France and the US, both of which have troops in that country. The previously mentioned Burkinabe-Malian joint statement importantly warned that an invasion of Niger risks repeating the Libyan scenario by destabilizing the entire region and thus exacerbating terrorist threats to everyone.

This is an accurate assessment that justifies Russia and Algeria working together to avert that worst-case scenario and jointly coordinating their response to it if this conflict ends up becoming inevitable, thus explaining why the Algerian Chief of Staff decided to visit Russia right after his Prime Minister just did. The reason for his visit is clearly to discuss the planned NATO-backed Nigerian-led ECOWAS invasion of Niger, which also happens to border Algeria for those readers who aren’t aware.

It’s likely that Algeria will play an important role if West Africa descends into war by virtue of its geography and military prowess. At the very least, Algiers might refuse to allow French warplanes to transit through its airspace, thus forcing them to risk being fired at if they violate this possible order or find another route to Niger via Libya (which might also be formally closed off to them) or somewhere else. The point is that Algeria can greatly complicate France’s military logistics in any upcoming conflict.

Not only that, but this North African nation could allow Russia to transit through its airspace (provided that NATO doesn’t impede this through dangerous brinksmanship over the Mediterranean) to reliably supply the de facto Burkinabe-Malian federation with arms, food, and whatever else it might need. In a sense, this would be spiritually similar to the erstwhile Soviet Union’s intervention in support of Ethiopia during the Ogaden War when it was invaded by Somalia, though of course key differences exist.

Moving along, the other role that Algeria could play is a direct one, though it can’t be taken for granted that its leadership will feel comfortable with this since it could fear that any significant deployment towards or into Niger could be taken advantage of by its long-time Moroccan nemesis. If it decides to do so, however, then moving its forces – including air defense systems – closer to the frontier could possibly deter France and Nigeria. Should those two still attack Niger, then Algeria might intervene in its support.

The Burkinabe-Malian joint statement warning about a repeat of the Libyan scenario scares Algeria since it struggled against terrorism during what’s regarded as its “Black Decade” from 1991-2002, not to mention more recently but to a much lesser extent since the NATO War on Libya in 2011. Its objective national interests are therefore served by at the very least complicating France’s military logistics in any upcoming conflict even if it ultimately decides not to get directly involved like Burkina Faso and Mali will.

Additionally, many might not know that Algeria has consistently espoused a revolutionary ideology throughout the decades despite the radical changes in the world order since its independence. This explains why it retained ties with Russia despite the latter’s difficult decade after the USSR’s dissolution and also didn’t cut off relations with Syria over the past decade either even though the Arab League did. Algeria’s leadership thus also has an ideological interest in complicating an imperialist invasion of Niger.

Taken together, these security and ideological interests account for why the Algerian Chief of Staff just flew to Moscow. His country wants to coordinate with its strategic partner in responding to this regional crisis as well as the wider war that might soon break out. While Algeria’s role isn’t as important as Nigeria’s could be in leading the NATO-backed ECOWAS invasion of Niger nor Chad’s in possibly being the kingmaker, it’s still pretty significant and shouldn’t be ignored or downplayed. 

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Reports suggest that Western weapons sent to Ukraine are being redistributed to terrorists around the world, particularly in Africa. According to the interim President of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traore, Western military equipment ends up in the hands of African terrorists instead of supplying Ukrainian forces, thus generating instability and insecurity for Africa, and further increasing the need for cooperation with Russia.

In an interview with Russian media, Traore showed neutrality about the current conflict in Eurasia, saying he is more concerned about the domestic situation in his own country. For Traore, Burkina Faso is at war against terrorist groups, which are indirectly being armed by the West. He reported that many of the weapons that NATO sends to Kiev are illegally sold to African terrorists by corrupt Ukrainians.

Traore emphasized the serious humanitarian problem generated by the lack of control over Western weapons. For him, the situation should be considered “very serious”, as NATO assistance to Kiev is literally “killing our peoples” in Africa.

“What’s my take [on the conflict in Ukraine]? I don’t have any take on this, because we’re also in conflict. We are at war against terrorism, and they [the West] are no longer concerned with our war. We only deplore that weapons destined for Ukraine are on our continent and continue to activate our war. This is what we deplore (…) I saw once in the media that the Ukrainian president himself had sacked some of his entourage for acts of corruption on the military equipment that was delivered. That means it’s not controlled and it is found on the African continent, it is a danger. Terrorists pay for equipment everywhere, especially in conflict zones, because there are arms traffickers. So it only aggravates the magnitude of our conflicts, too”, he told journalists.

Traore’s interview comes at an especially important time for Russian-African relations, just after the Summit in St. Petersburg, where delegations from 49 African countries actively participated in strategic dialogues of mutual interest. Traore was one of the prominent public figures at the event, showing his willingness to contribute to the formation of an Africa free from Western colonialism and in cooperation with Moscow. In fact, his report on the existence of Western weapons in the hands of African terrorists makes the need for this cooperation even clearer, mainly in the military sphere.

It is not the first time that African officials have reported that Western weapons are ending up with terrorist groups on the continent. In late 2022, the then president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, had already made a similar statement, exposing data on the use of weapons sent to Ukraine by terrorists linked to ISIS in the Lake Chad region.

“Regrettably, the situation in the Sahel and the raging war in Ukraine serve as major sources of weapons and fighters that bolster the ranks of the terrorists in the Lake Chad Region. (…) Weapons being used for the war in Ukraine and Russia are equally beginning to filter to the region. This illegal movement of arms into the region has heightened the proliferation of small arms and light weapons which continues to threaten our collective peace and security in the region,” the president said at the time.

Also, some months earlier, the head of Interpol Jürgen Stock warned that terrorist groups and international criminal networks were taking advantage of the lack of control over Western arms diversion:

“Once the guns fall silent [in Ukraine], the illegal weapons will come. We know this from many other theatres of conflict. The criminals are even now, as we speak, focusing on them (…) Criminal groups try to exploit these chaotic situations and the availability of weapons, even those used by the military and including heavy weapons”, he said.

Stock seems right in his analysis: there will always be the possibility of diversion, with little control over how weapons shipped abroad will actually be used. This benefits criminal groups, even more so in situations of widespread corruption, as in the Ukrainian state – definitely, one of the most corrupt in the world. In this sense, instead of ineffectively trying to control the movement of weapons, the most prudent thing to do is simply to stop sending them to Ukraine.

However, there is another point that needs to be investigated, which is the existence of Western interest in the arrival of arms in Africa. The West has links to terrorist groups and criminal organizations around the world. Just as neo-Nazi militias are funded, trained and equipped by the US in Ukraine, extremist Islamic networks are supported by Washington in other regions. This has become very clear with the cooperation between Americans and ISIS militants in Syria, for example.

However, after the Russian intervention in Syria, ISIS was defeated and then Africa became a place of action for many of the group’s remnant militias.

Now, these same militias seem capable of serving Western interests once again, as they could be used to destabilize the pro-Russian governments of the Sahel and delay the region’s development. As well known, Russia and China are very active in cooperation with Africa, maintaining various projects that benefit the states of the continent. This harms Western plans, which motivates NATO to seek destabilization in the region.

In this sense, it is also possible that the diversion of weapons to African terrorists, in addition to exposing the corruption of Ukrainian officials, suggests a connivance of interests between the West and African extremist militias. These weapons may be arriving in Africa with the specific purpose of fighting pro-Russian governments, in a NATO attempt to make the African continent a scenario of new proxy wars against Moscow.

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In the video above, John Campbell, Ph.D., a retired nurse educator, reviews the findings of a systematic review1 posted on Preprints.org in mid-July 2023, which concluded that mRNA COVID shots are causally linked to lethal myocarditis.

Authors of this review include Drs. Peter McCullough, Aseem Malhotra, Roger Hodkinson, Nicolas Hulscher and William Makis. As explained in the abstract,2 “COVID-19 vaccines have been linked to myocarditis which in some circumstances can be fatal. This systematic review aims to investigate potential causal links between COVID-19 vaccines and death from myocarditis using post-mortem analysis.”

McCullough and his team systematically reviewed all autopsy reports involving COVID-19 jab-related myocarditis published through July 3, 2023. Fourteen papers detailing 28 autopsies fit the inclusion criteria.

Causality in each case was determined by “three independent reviewers with cardiac pathology experience and expertise.” Pictures showing spike protein infiltration of the heart muscle and associated inflammation are included in Campbell’s video.

mRNA Jabs Causally Linked to Lethal Myocarditis

As reported by the authors:3

“The cardiovascular system was the only organ system affected in 26 cases. In 2 cases, myocarditis was characterized as a consequence from multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS).

The mean and median number of days from last COVID-19 vaccination until death was 6.2 and 3 days, respectively. Most of the deaths occurred within a week from the last injection. We established that all 28 deaths were causally linked to COVID-19 vaccination by independent adjudication.

The temporal relationship, internal and external consistency seen among cases in this review with known COVID-19 vaccine-induced myocarditis, its pathobiological mechanisms and related excess death, complemented with autopsy confirmation, independent adjudication, and application of the Bradford Hill criteria to the overall epidemiology of vaccine myocarditis, suggests there is a high likelihood of a causal link between COVID-19 vaccines and death from suspected myocarditis in cases where sudden, unexpected death has occurred in a vaccinated person.”

Considering these disturbing findings, McCullough and his team call for “urgent investigation … for the purpose of risk stratification and mitigation in order to reduce the population occurrence of fatal COVID-19 vaccine-induced myocarditis.”

Moderna Trial Data Reveal Safety Problems

The infuriating reality is that this risk — as well as many others — were evident in the original trials, despite their short duration, but the vaccine makers used all sorts of tricks to hide these effects.

As previously reported, one whistleblower claims Pfizer committed fraud in its COVID jab studies, and company data released through court order show Pfizer’s shot was associated with some 158,000 recorded health problems that were never admitted publicly.

Now, data obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the public interest group Defending the Republic (DTR)4 throw similar doubts on Moderna’s Spikevax trials.

DTR, which has obtained nearly 15,000 pages of Moderna’s COVID-19 clinical trial data so far, warns that they reveal serious safety concerns. As reported by The Epoch Times, July 21, 2023:5

“The records … include important information related to the safety profile of Spikevax, which was first authorized for emergency use in the United States in December 2020 and in January 2022 received full approval for adults.

‘The public can be assured that Spikevax meets the FDA’s high standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality required of any vaccine approved for use in the United States,’ Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in a statement earlier this year.

But the new data call this view into question. The advocacy group says that the tens of thousands of pages of clinical trial data released by the FDA supports the conclusion that there is ‘serious doubt’ about both the safety of Spikevax and the FDA’s standards for approval.”

For the record, as with Pfizer’s trial data, the FDA had to be forced by court order to release Moderna’s data. The agency initially rejected DTR’s FOIA request claiming there was “no compelling need” for the public to review that information. As it turns out, Moderna’s clinical trial data reveal shocking safety issues that neither the company nor the FDA have admitted publicly.

Side Effects Shrugged Off Without Investigation

For example, in one of Moderna’s studies, 16 participants in the COVID jab group died suddenly, yet only two were autopsied. Despite this lack of investigation, Moderna concluded that none of the deaths were associated with the jab. “It seems they purposely decided not to investigate suspicious deaths in case the Moderna vaccine might be the cause,” DTR said in a press release.6

The studies also recorded a number of serious adverse events in the jabbed groups, including Bell’s palsy, shingles, heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms, transient ischemic attacks, lymphoma and miscarriages. However, even when life-threatening injuries occurred within days of injection, Moderna arbitrarily concluded that none were associated with their jab.

As noted by DTR, subsequent analyses of injury reports filed with the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), the U.S. Department of Defense’s DMED database and European injury reporting systems show “heightened rates of these illnesses following administration of the Moderna vaccine.”

Fertility and Fetal Development Adversely Affected

In the first batch of documents released by the FDA, DTR also received the results of a rat study7that assessed the effects on gestation, fertility, and pre- and postnatal development in pregnant and lactating lab rats. The findings are troubling considering the FDA’s and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation to use this shot on pregnant women. Key findings and observations made in this study included:8

  • Skeletal deformities (wavy ribs and rib nodules) — “Wavy ribs appeared in 6 fetuses in 4 litters for a fetal prevalence of 4.03% and a litter prevalence of 18.2%. Rib nodules appeared in 5 of those 6 fetuses. The fetal and litter incidence of wavy ribs exceeded the range observed historically at the Testing Facility …”
  • Higher reproductive cycle lengths — “The mean number of [reproductive] cycle lengths was statistically-significantly higher in the mRNA-1273 group as compared to the control group.”
  • Reduced mating — “Mating occurred in 95.5% of the rats in the control group and 88.6% of the rats in the mRNA-1273 group.”
  • Reduced pregnancy index — “The female pregnancy index (number of rats mating/number of rats in the group) was 93.2% and 84.1% in the control and mRNA-1273 groups, respectively.”
  • Kidney disease — “At scheduled euthanasia, 1 pup in the mRNA-1273 dose group was observed with bilateral, small, minimal renal papilla and another pup from the same litter was observed with left, small, moderate renal papilla. These findings were not considered related to mRNA-1273 because the observations occurred only in 2 pups from a single litter.”

Moderna also conducted a tissue distribution study9 in male rats, which revealed the mRNA, when injected intramuscularly, spread throughout the body. mRNA was detected in all tissues analyzed except for the kidneys. Levels were particularly elevated in the spleen and eyes.

mRNA was also found in the brain and heart, which other studies — including the featured autopsy review — suggest can have lethal consequences as the spike protein produced by cells in response to that mRNA is highly pathogenic and causes inflammation in the affected tissues.

Pfizer Booster Trial Trickery Discovered

In related news, Drs. Vinay Prasad, Tracy Hoeg and Ram Duriseti recently highlighted evidence showing Pfizer also employed “healthy vaccine bias” in its booster trial to make the COVID booster appear more effective than it is. How? Pfizer simply gave the real booster to people who were far healthier than the controls.

Those who got the real booster ended up with significantly lower COVID death rates, but they also had the same reduction in all-cause mortality, meaning they didn’t die from other causes either. In a letter to the editor of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), published July 20, 2023, Prasad, Hoeg and Duriseti explained:10

“Using observational methods, Arbel et al. (Dec. 23, 2021, issue) calculated an adjusted 90% lower mortality due to COVID-19 among participants who received a first BNT162b2 vaccine (Pfizer–BioNTech) booster than among those who did not receive a booster.

They found 65 COVID-19–associated deaths (reported as 0.16 per 100,000 persons per day) among participants in the booster group and 137 (reported as 2.98 per 100,000 persons per day) among those in the nonbooster group — a 94.6% difference.

In a subsequent letter (March 10, 2022, issue), Arbel et al. reported 441 deaths not related to COVID-19 in the booster group and 963 deaths not related to COVID -19 in the nonbooster group …

[U]sing the person-days of exposure included in the 2021 article by Arbel et al. and the deaths not related to COVID-19 reported in the subsequent letter, we estimated the mortality not related to COVID-19, according to vaccination status, with the following formula: the ratios of total deaths not related to COVID-19 to COVID-19–related deaths, according to vaccination group, multiplied by mortality due to COVID-19, according to vaccination group, which accounts for person-days of exposure.

The mortality not related to COVID-19 was calculated as (441/65)×0.16=1.09 per 100,000 persons per day in the booster group as compared with (963/137)×2.98=20.95 per 100,000 persons per day in the nonbooster group.

This corresponds to a 94.8% lower mortality not related to COVID-19 among participants in the booster group and indicates a markedly lower incidence of adverse health outcomes in the booster group.

Underlying health plays a substantial role in COVID-19–related mortality. The unadjusted differences in mortality related to COVID-19 and mortality not related to COVID-19, according to vaccination status, were essentially the same in the 2021 study by Arbel and colleagues.

These findings arouse strong concern regarding unadjusted confounding. The adjusted 90% lower mortality due to COVID-19 reported among the participants who received a booster cannot, with certainty, be attributed to boosting.

‘Healthy vaccinee bias’ in this population may have also led to overestimates of vaccine effectiveness in similar studies from Clalit Health Services. Inclusion of mortality not related to COVID-19 in all observational COVID-19 vaccine studies would provide important context.”

In a July 20, 2023, Twitter post, Prasad commented:11

“This week in NEJM, Tracy Beth Hoeg, RD & I prove that Israeli studies, which FDA relied upon, are CONFOUNDED. Boosters reduce non-COVID deaths far too much to be true. Israeli authors concede this in reply. Wow! Millions got unproven boosters. FDA failed.”

Why CDC Changed Definition of Breakthrough Infection

While we’re on the topic of trickery and bias, a recent investigation by The Epoch Times reveals the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its definition of “breakthrough infection” to avoid having to admit the shots didn’t work. Zachary Stieber with The Epoch Times writes:12

“The CDC altered its definition of COVID-19 cases among the vaccinated, leading to a lower number of cases classified as a breakthrough, according to documents obtained by The Epoch Times.

In early 2021, the CDC defined post-vaccination cases as people who tested positive seven or more days after receipt of a primary vaccination series, according to one of the documents.13 The definition was changed on Feb. 2, 2021, to include only cases detected at least 14 days after a primary series, another document14 shows.

‘We have revised the case definition,’ Dr. Marc Fischer, head of the CDC’s Vaccine Breakthrough Case Investigation Team, wrote to colleagues at the time. The rationale for the change was redacted …

The breakthrough case definition was revised after multiple CDC officials emailed about the vaccines failing to prevent infection. Dr. Fischer said in one email on Dec. 21, 2020, that he was directed by a superior ‘to start working on a protocol to evaluate COVID vaccine failures or breakthrough cases.’

Then-CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky highlighted an editorial on Jan. 30, 2021, that described variants as a ‘growing threat’ of escaping the protection from vaccines …

At about the same time, CDC officials circulated a one-page document about investigating post-vaccination cases … The version of the document that The Epoch Times received was fully redacted … the CDC declined to provide any other versions of the document.”

Why was the rationale for this decision redacted? And why was the document announcing an investigation into post-jab cases redacted? CDC spokesman Scott Pauley defended the change in definition, saying “many cases of COVID-19 were incubating for up to two weeks before becoming symptomatic,” but didn’t clarify why this explanation — if true — was deemed necessary.

Dr. Harvey Risch, professor emeritus of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, told Stieber “there was ‘no cogent rationale’ for excluding early cases and other events among the vaccinated, whether they occurred within seven days or 14 days.”

Stieber also contacted Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor of health policy at Stanford University, who said that “rather than playing games with the definition of breakthrough cases” the CDC should have informed the recently jabbed that they had little or no protection for the first two weeks.

At the end of the day, by redefining breakthrough infection, the CDC was able to exclude a slew of post-jab COVID cases, thereby inflating the shot’s effectiveness while simultaneously feeding the false narrative that COVID was “a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

Got the Jab? Take Action to Safeguard Your Health

If you already got one or more jabs and now have concerns about your health, what can you do? Well, first and foremost, never take another COVID booster, or another mRNA gene therapy shot. You need to end the assault on your system.

If you developed symptoms you didn’t have before your shot, I would encourage you to seek out expert help. At present, the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) seems to have one of the best treatment protocols for post-jab injuries. It’s called I-RECOVER and can be downloaded from covid19criticalcare.com.15

Dr. Pierre Kory, who co-founded the FLCCC, has transitioned to treating the vaccine injured more or less exclusively. For more information, see DrPierreKory.com. Dr. Michelle Perro16 is also helping patients with post-jab injuries.

The World Health Council has also published lists of remedies that can help inhibit, neutralize and eliminate spike protein, which most experts agree is the primary culprit. I covered these in my 2021 article, “World Council for Health Reveals Spike Protein Detox.”

Other Helpful Treatments and Remedies

Other treatments and remedies that may be helpful for COVID jab injuries include:

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, especially in cases involving stroke, heart attack, autoimmune diseases and/or neurodegenerative disorders. To learn more, see “Hyperbaric Therapy — A Vastly Underused Treatment Modality.”

Lower your omega-6 intake. Linoleic acid is consumed in amounts 10 times higher than the ideal in well over 95% of the population and contributes to massive oxidative stress that impairs your immune response. Seed oils and processed foods need to be diligently avoided. See “Linoleic Acid — The Most Destructive Ingredient in Your Diet” for more information.

Pharmaceutical grade methylene blue, which improves mitochondrial respiration and assists in mitochondrial repair. A dose of 15 to 80 milligrams a day could go a long way toward resolving some of the fatigue many suffer post-jab.

It may also be helpful in acute strokes. The primary contraindication is if you have a G6PD deficiency (a hereditary genetic condition), in which case you should not use methylene blue at all. To learn more, see “The Surprising Health Benefits of Methylene Blue.”

Near-infrared light, as it triggers production of melatonin in your mitochondria17 where you need it most. By mopping up reactive oxygen species, it too helps improve mitochondrial function and repair. Natural sunlight is 54.3% infrared radiation,18 so this treatment is available for free. For more information, see “What You Need to Know About Melatonin.”

Lumbrokinase and serrapeptidase are both fibrinolytic enzymes that, when taken on an empty stomach one hour before a meal, or two hours after, will help reduce your risk of blood clots.

Occidente sigue viendo un mundo sin América Latina

August 1st, 2023 by Álvaro Verzi Rangel

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Who & Why Among the Deep State Are Inexorably Leading the World Towards Nuclear War?

For whatever unknown reason, the totalitarian “puppet master” entities within the Deep State, clearly, are unequivocally intent, at some rapidly approaching moment in time, to bring about a climatic Nuclear WWIII, with Ukraine its intended epicenter.

By now, after over 520 days of bloody warfare as heinous as anything that ever occurred in WWI or WWII, the reticence among U.S., NATO and Ukrainian combatants involved, in spite of the horrendous killing ratios incurred by the Ukrainians and their mercenary allies, and the obvious reason for their refusal to enter into any ceasefire or peace negotiations whatsoever with Russia, is disgustingly apparant to even the most casual observer.

While these Deep State oligarchs and tyrants remain enshrouded in mystery, as they always have been for decades if not centuries in other previous wars, protected by the immensity of the dark veil of their wealth and privilege that offers them total invisibility; their many political underling’s within the Western World’s version of apparatchik and nomenklatura, within the United States Government as well as other governments among their NATO Nation allies, can be readily identified by name and face among their many Presidents, Prime Ministers, Secretary’s of State, Undersecretaries of State, National Security Advisors, myriad Ambassadors, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Military Defense and Strategic Commanders.

Yet all such prominent figures, as lofty as their positions may be in their governments, still essentially amount to nothing more than go-fer’s who continue to simply carry out the orders and directives of their unknown , shadowy puppet masters behind closed chambered doors, filtered down to them from whatever Supreme Deep State entity who always has the last word.

Meanwhile, the world’s populace, dumbed down by the greatest mass propaganda war ever waged in history against the world’s billions of citizens, stand hopelessly transfixed, like deer caught in the on-coming nuclear war headlights, unable to take any affirmative action the way the world’s citizenry once upon a time did so vigorously, if not violently, during previous wars in Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Palestine or whatever hosts of other wars. Peace advocates extraordinaire, like U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Russia’s Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and singer-songwriter John Lennon would be turning in their graves, for sure.

Who Is the Deep State and What Are They All About?

One will never know the full extent of the reach of the Deep State’s behemoth octopus and its tentacles that extend into every aspect of the world’s geo-politics; or whatever high-level talks among secret cabals that have occurred over the years, with at least 5 U.S. presidents in attendance, without any corporate press ever given notice, or uninvited world politicians allowed to be present, when whatever plots for the future of the world occur at places like the Bohemian Grove in California’s remote Sonoma County.

But shadowy puppet master players within the Deep State of the Old World would have to include figures within the infamous Rothschild Dynasty, who, for over 200 years, has exercised enormous influence on the geo-political-military-economic-banking history of the nations of Europe and those in the America’s of the New World.

Without knowing all the gory details, it’s all but a virtual guarantee that the huge international banking dynastic reach of the Rothschild-Rockefeller Dynasty’s, and others, such as the Bilderberg Group and Trilateral Commission, somehow also have had a hand in whatever economic upheavals, regime changes and wars have ever occurred since their inception; and the role they continue to play in the engineering and manipulations of the current war in Ukraine and whatever carefully planned and executed ultimate nuclear WWIII may yet be in the offing.

To sense where the war in Ukraine is heading, listen to Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs in a conversation with TV commentator Tulsi Gabbard, who unsuccessfully campaigned, in 2020, for the office of the U.S. Presidency, and where their collective thoughts are gong on the part the Deep State, and countries like America and Canada, continue to play in allowing the war to slowly, inexorably, turn into a nuclear WWIII.

Professor Sachs contends the U.S. Democratic and Republican Party’s now essentially are a single ‘War Party’ pitted against China and Russia, collectively, and why their allies in Canada and NATO also are opposed to the concept of Neutrality for Ukraine because, as Sachs declares, “NATO is U.S. Power in the world.”

Sachs further suggests that by the support of countries like Canada’s in the on-going U.S. proxy war against Russia, Canada has essentially signed on to the willingness of the United States to refuse to agree to any ceasefire or peace negotiations and, by so doing, are willing to allow the war in Ukraine to predictably turn into, by default,  a nuclear WWIII. In short, allies to America like Canada have essentially “drank the Deep State’s WWIII Kool Aid”.

Sach’s further points out that by countries like Canada supporting the United States and President Biden’s far-right war policies and those of his U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland, who for years, with full aproval of the Democrats, has been constantly agitating for a nuclear war with Russia and now China. Sachs contends they essentially are supporting what is “a collective death wish”.

Listen next to President John F. Kennedy’s “Peace Speech”, to which Professor Sachs makes reference. Once you’ve listened to Professor Sachs and President Kennedy, start to connect all the dots.

“Why was it only three short months after Kennedy made his ground-breaking peace speech that he was assassinated? Was the President REALLY murdered by Lee Harvey Oswald as a Russian dupe, or was the President assassinated by some far more sinister Deep State global entity that is adamantly, fundamentally opposed to peace in the world because it’s bad for business? Can the world’s major geo-political-military-economic events that since have happened be connected to the on-going historical activities of the Deep State that have been in play for at least the past two centuries, since the United States birth as a nation, and then traced forward in time to Kennedy’s assassination and then fast forwarded again to the present-day war in Ukraine?”

Then ask yourself one last question, “Has America and Canada, since their earliest origins, ever been real democracies or somehow otherwise served as New World instruments of this mysterious European-based Dark State since its own origins?”

The United States, without a doubt, has had a troubled political-ideological-military existence from its earliest beginnings; what with its European origins rooted in: financial skullduggery; religious witch hunts; the slavery of captive Africans, the eradication or removal of almost all Native Indian Nations in America’s Southern portion to make way for the planting of cotton and harvesting by its New World captive African slave industry; a Civil War that, since its temporary cessation over a century ago, of military combat between hostile economic, political-religious elements, has never actually ever ended or been fully resolved, politically, ideologically or morally, to the present day. To a different, lesser degree, the same could be said for the modern-day nation of Canada and, indeed, the rest of the New & Old World’s governments.

But There Is Still a Thin Ray of Hope to a Peaceful End to the War

Before the war in Ukraine finally goes nuclear there is at least one last thin ray of hope in an exit strategy, proposed by the grand war strategist William Luttwak, as a plebiscite vote that will allow the native-born or naturalized citizenry of Ukraine’s two independent oblast regions in the Donbas, Donatsk and Luhansk, of Eastern Ukraine, to vote on their permanent annexation by Russia. Says Luttwak, “Were this plebiscite to be agreed upon by all warring parties, as implemented under the Rules of 1919, established at the end of WWI, and carried out under the strictest of auspices by international inspectors, then Russia, whatever the results of the plebiscite, would then have to agree to withdraw its army from the rest of Ukraine, while Ukraine would have to also agree to give up Crimea.

Edward Luttwak, is the author of “Coup D’Etat: a Practical Handbook”. He is a senior associate in the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Wash. D.C., a consultant to government and international enterprises, who also has served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Defense, National Security Council, the White House chief of staff, the U.S. Department of State, the US Army, US Air Force and several allied governments.

Luttwak is also well-known and respected for his work on grand strategy, geoeconomics, military history and international relations. He is best known, perhaps, for his book, “Coup d’Etat; a Practical Handbook, that is required reading in many military colleges and universities

Luttwak contends Biden and Putin are ready to do a deal, but if this latest  proposal doesn’t work out, he says the world might be looking at something like a 7 Year War or maybe even a 25 year, or longer, war yet ahead, not to mention some more immediate, unexpected nuclear conclusion.

Luttwak further contends, “There is only one exit from the increasingly destructive war in Ukraine: a Plebiscite in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (as per USSR map), preceded by a total cease fire secured by the lifting of all war-sanctions. “There is no other path”, Luttwak says, “to a Russian victory or to a greater Russian defeat.” Luttwuk further adds about the reality of so many tyrants that currently exist in the world, “It’s time to kill all the bastards.”

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The writer Jerome Irwin is a Canadian-American writer who originally was a Criminology student working in one of America’s local police departments. For decades, Irwin has sought to call world attention to problems of environmental degradation and unsustainability caused by a host of environmental-ecological-spiritual issues that exist between the conflicting world philosophies of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.

Irwin is the author of the book, “The Wild Gentle Ones; A Turtle Island Odyssey” (www.turtle-island-odyssey.com), a spiritual odyssey among the native peoples of North America that has led to numerous articles pertaining to: Ireland’s Fenian Movement; native peoples Dakota Access Pipeline Resistance Movement; AIPAC, Israel & the U.S. Congress anti-BDS Movement; the historic Battle for Palestine & Siege of Gaza, as well as; the many violations constantly being waged by industrial-corporate-military-propaganda interests against the World’s Collective Soul. The author and his wife are long-time residents on the North Shore of British Columbia.

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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Introduction

Colonel Pedro Baños is a Spanish military, specialized in geopolitics. He is the author of five books and countless articles, essays and interviews. One of his books is dedicated to the analysis of Machiavelli and his theories. Machiavelli was a controversial Italian statesman and philosopher of the 15th century, who lived during the Renaissance. Among Machiavelli’s attributes is showing the world that according to his experience and reading of history, politics to be successful, have always been played with deception, treachery, and crime.

In his presentations, Pedro Baños demonstrates that today’s situation is not different from what it was six centuries ago. The state of the world today is one of political treachery, deception, lies and crime of utmost proportion, including mass genocide.

The propaganda means of today are of course much more sophisticated than in the Middle Age, englobing the entire world at once, with medias amply paid by a corporate elite attempt to take total control of the world and its population.

Colonel Baños is one of the most popular geostrategists, divulging the truth with profound analysis but in language simple enough to be understood by all strata of humanity.

Summary of Key Points of Colonel Pedro Baños’s Presentation

In a few examples of his analyses, Pedro Baños talks about the west’s Green Agenda”, how it has nothing to do with environmental protection, but everything with what may be called “Green Capitalism”.

Accumulation of profit in the hands of a few elitists, regardless of the harm it does to the environment and the people.

Pedro Baños talks about the massive construction in parts of Europe and the US of “windmills” to generate “renewable” electricity. They are not only damaging the environment because of the raw materials, including battery capacity, but also because the lifespan of such a windmill is on average max. 25 years. After that, they need to be disposed of — how and where? – They are a burden for the environment.

As a similar case of disregard for the environment and the wellbeing of the people, Colonel Baños mentions electric cars. The environmental costs to build an electric car are enormous. Starting with the lithium batteries that amount to close to half the weight of the car – lithium is exploited under almost slave conditions in Latin America.

Add to this, that in most countries energy first must be converted from hydrocarbons (which still amount to 85% of all energy used in the world) to electricity, so that the overall fuel efficiency is lowered from about 85% in a state-of-the art modern car to around 35% to 40% for an electric car; and third, so far no environmentally and socially safe way of disposing of the expired car batteries has been found.

Pedro Baños also describes the west-east division, comparing the Global South – east – about two thirds of the world population – and 60% of the world’s GDP – against the west, represented by the boisterous G7s, representing a mere 780 million people, a tiny proportion of the world population, but with their “bought” media, they make people believe they are running the universe.

By no means are the G7 a voice for the world. The Global South which contains more than two thirds of the world population, is clearly leaning east, away from the pressures and coercions of the ever-more dictatorial west.

Although, the G7’s combined GDP accounts for about 46 trillion dollars equivalent (est. 2023), about 40% of the world economy, this figure is also misleading, because GDP west is not comparable with GDP east.

The former consists mostly of services, much of it financial services, as well as military industrial output and related industries, whereas the latter is based on hard production and construction, having a solid foundation.

An important group within the Global South are the BRICS-plus. – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa – plus, includes Iran and about 40 more countries, all candidates to enter the BRICS association. These 40 countries will join the BRICS Summit in South Africa (22-24 August). The BRICS-plus already today make for about half the world population, about 4 billion people, and at least one third of the world’s GDP. 

Climate change – was also mentioned by Colonel Baños as a western agenda, a propaganda narrative that attempts to make the world believe that We, the People, are threatened by a rapidly advancing “climate change” – emanating from the excessive human CO2 footprint. This is again a story that does not hold against scientific studies. Recently, many scientists have come forward to prove the contrary.

Planet earth, like the universe, is dynamic, always moving. In the four billion years the earth exists, climate has always changed – and will continue to change. The most important factor for climate on the Blue Planet is the sun, sun movements. That is by true science an undisputed fact. But such changes are not drastic, fast, and extreme, as the world is experiencing today. Such changes are historically slow, so that sentient beings can adjust.

What we are living now and for the last three years, since the onset of Agenda 2030 / the Great Reset, the extreme climate phases, excessive heat, record flooding, monster-typhoons and prolonged monsoon rains and related flooding – Pakistan in 2022 – are indeed man-made – and that by ENMOD technologies (ENMOD = Environmental Modification, also called Geoengineering).

These are technologies weaponized by the west, so that still most people in the west – and maybe in the east too – believe the world is suffering from rapid climate change. This is again a lie.

However, with that mindset, the west can justify lockdowns, shortages of energy and food, provoking famine misery and death. This is all happening NOW.

Imagine, to safe the climate, Pedro Baños added, Scotland has just decided to uproot 16 million trees, to make space for a plantation of solar panels. Not only are trees the natural converters of CO2 into oxygen, solar panels are environmentally among the worst instruments to replace fossil fuel. But they are another fake “green energy” tool to make the globalist elite richer, at the detriment of the environment and the world population.

The ecological harm to produce solar panels that have a lifespan of max 30 years, and then must be disposed of – no environmentally safe method has yet been found – plus their energy efficiency is a mere 25% to 30% – for good panels – is an outright disaster.

Colonel Baños reiterated that current state-of-the-art gasoline engine cars cause practically zero pollution and have a much higher energy efficiency than do electric vehicles.

A more environmentally friendly option for vehicles would be hydrogen-fueled cars. So far, vested “interests” prevent this option from being explored seriously.

Many more interesting topics, crucial for understanding the state of the world today, were raised by Colonel Pedro Baños.

See this video (28 July 2023 – about 1:11:10 h) for full interview in Spanish.

“Entrevista al Coronel Pedro Baños con Margarita Torre (Historiadora)”

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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 lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for online journals and 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.

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Is Canada’s confederation broken?

From carbon taxes to transfer payments, many in Canada’s western provinces are now asking if this country still works for them.

But is separation really the answer?

Or is it simply time for a new federal government and serious reform?

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Of relevance to recent developments, this article and video presentation were first published more than eight years by Global Research on January 2, 2015.

The threat of nuclear war is real.  

The dangers of nuclear war are not an object of debate and analysis by the mainstream media.

Public opinion is carefully misled. ” All options on the table”.  

Nuclear weapons are portrayed as peace-making bombs.

Did you know that tactical nuclear weapons or so-called mininukes (B61-11 and the more recent B61-12) with an explosive capacity between one third and six times a Hiroshima bomb are considered, according to scientific opinion, on contract to the Pentagon as “harmless to the surrounding civilian population because the explosion is underground”.

Michel Chossudovsky. Global Research, January 4, 2022, August 28, 2022, August 1st, 2023

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While one can conceptualize the loss of life and destruction resulting from present-day wars including Iraq and Afghanistan, it is impossible to fully comprehend the devastation which might result from a Third World War, using “new technologies” and advanced weapons, until it occurs and becomes a reality.

The international community has endorsed nuclear war in the name of world peace.

“Making the world safer” is the justification for launching a military operation which could potentially result in a nuclear holocaust, threatening the future of humanity.

Nuclear war has become a multibillion dollar undertaking, which fills the pockets of US defense contractors. What is at stake is the outright “privatization of nuclear war”.

The Pentagon’s global military design is one of world conquest. The military deployment of US-NATO forces is occurring in several regions of the world simultaneously.

Central to an understanding of war, is the media campaign which grants it legitimacy in the eyes of public opinion. A good versus evil dichotomy prevails. The perpetrators of war are presented as the victims. Public opinion is misled.

Breaking the “big lie”, which upholds war as a humanitarian undertaking, means breaking a criminal project of global destruction, in which the quest for profit is the overriding force. This profit-driven military agenda destroys human values and transforms people into unconscious zombies. 

 

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Biden Regime Allows Big Pharma to Loot Medicare?

July 31st, 2023 by Dr. Paul Craig Roberts

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Earlier this month I reported that my Medicare account has been billed by three separate labs for expired Covid tests sent to me as “totally free, paid for by the Government. Please Do Not Return.” 

“Paid for by Government” means paid for by Medicare. I now have 24 expired Covid tests for which Medicare has paid.

Since reporting this a few days ago I have now received Medicare notices that FIVE more labs have sent me AT MEDICARE’S EXPENSE Covid test kits. These kits have not arrived, but the bill to Medicare has.  

One is from Chicago Care Lab Services, W. Pratt Blvd, Chicago, IL, claim number 10-23136-413-830

One is from Cipher Global LLC, Pagosa Springs Dr, Auror, IL, claim number: 09-23097-395-630

One is from Az Labs Limited, W. Peterson Ave, Chicago, IL, claim number: 09-23117-216-810

One is from Lone Star Medlab, W. Spring Creek Pkwy, Plano TX, claim number: 39-23129-711-040

One is from Sval, S. Stonebridge Dr, McKinney, TX, claim number: 22-23153-708-850

Let’s think about this for a minute. If these 5 additional Covid test kits for which my Medicare account has been billed actually arrive, and each contains the 8 test kits of the previous three, I will have at Medicare’s expense 64 expired Covid test kits.

Does the Biden regime which authorized these billings think I am going to catch Covid 64 times, never recognize the symptoms and test myself 64 times?

Or are these billings not authorized? Is the purpose of the message, “Paid for by government. Do Not Return” to make me think the billings are legitimate so that I don’t report them as fraud.

I reported one of the first ones along with another billing that clearly had nothing to do with me and was a mistake or fraud, and it took an enormous amount of time. I concluded that the Medicare fraud unit is trained not to believe those who report fraud, which we are asked to do.

Now I am beginning to wonder if the source of the fraud, if that is what it is, resides internally in Medicare. Are officials getting kickbacks from fraudulent billings?

In America today you can’t know. The liberals attributed their idealistic faith in government to the government, and the liberals misguided confidence in government serves to protect government from suspicion.

Let’s suppose I can identify the Congressional committees (House and Senate) that oversee Medicare and send them this article. 

Can the committee members do anything about it without jeopardizing their campaign contributions from Big Pharma? 

Will the committee staff overwhelmed with other issues want to be bothered by a letter that comes in the mail.  The easiest thing for them to do is to decide the letter writer is just another kook.

What does an honest person do in a corrupt system? Does he waste his time trying to get attention to the looting of the public purse, or does he just go and have a drink and forget about it?

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Paul Craig Roberts is a renowned author and academic, chairman of The Institute for Political Economy where this article was originally published. Dr. Roberts was previously associate editor and columnist for The Wall Street Journal. He was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy during the Reagan Administration. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

UK Training Ukrainian Soldiers to Invade Crimea

July 31st, 2023 by Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

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Kiev continues planning to invade Russian demilitarized territories. An article recently published by an important Western media outlet reports that Ukrainian special troops are being trained on British soil to attack the Crimean oblast, thus fulfilling the regime’s goal of recovering the reintegrated Russian oblast. The operation will be carried out with the mobilization of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, in addition to advanced [NATO-supplied] military equipment.

The information was shared by Express UK on the 29th of July. Sources told journalists that around 2,000 Ukrainian special troops are being trained in the Dartmoor region. There is a program of specialized exercises being operated to prepare the regime’s forces to launch an incursion on Crimea “before Christmas”. The data were confirmed by Kiev’s own intelligence chief, Kyrill Budanov, who said on the same day that news attacks on Crimea will take place “soon”.

The operation is expected to involve a complex military apparatus, including aviation, navy and ground vehicles. Troops trained in Dartmoor are being instructed to try to “paralyze” the Russian enemy while armors advance on the ground. The British program is focusing on the preparation of “commando” units, which are special forces expert in unconventional assaults against targets of high strategic value.

The informants also clarified that the British instructors are officers linked to “Commando 42”, a battalion of British marines. NATO’s agile combat tactics are being taught, with intensive exercises using real ammunition, mainly in simulations of night confrontation. It was also reported that the training camp is now closed to all other British units, in exclusive use for Ukrainian drills.

“The operation to retake it will be one deploying multiple assaults on Russian forces (…) We can train them in our tactics and show how to use equipment, but success will come from the Ukrainians’ own ability to quickly adapt and overcome challenges”, a British source familiar to the military exercises told journalists.

However, the newspaper also interviewed experts who showed some kind of skepticism regarding the possibility of success in the operation. For example, British writer Keir Giles, a specialist on Russian studies, has stated that it is “unlikely” that a Ukrainian “blitzkrieg” will be victorious in Crimea. He, however, said that if the attacks on Kerch (Crimean) Bridge continue to happen repeatedly, perhaps the Russian control of the oblast will be affected.

“This is unlikely to be achieved through a blitzkrieg strike unless Russian forces have completely collapsed. But if attacks on the Kerch bridge continue, and they interdict the railway line and this coincides with the offensive that threatens other routes, eventually, that must have an impact on just how viable Russia’s hold on Crimea is”, he said.

This is not the first time that reports of this type are made. A year ago, for example, it was stated by Western media outlets that the UK had trained Ukrainian military divers specializing in amphibious operations to launch an attack against the “Snake Island”, in the Black Sea. As well known, London has been one of the biggest agents of destabilization throughout the Ukrainian conflict, constantly violating Russian redlines, training thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and providing unrestricted military aid to the neo-Nazi regime – without any concern for peace. So, it was really expected that the UK would get involved in maneuvers in Crimea.

However, it seems unlikely that these plans will succeed. Moscow maintains absolute military control on the frontlines, being able to “predict” enemy moves and launch high-precision attacks to neutralize targets that are involved in suspicious maneuvers. In response to the recent Ukrainian terrorist attacks in Crimea, Russia has maintained a series of military operations to reduce enemy firepower in the Black Sea, which makes it very difficult for Kiev to advance in the region – even in a “blitzkrieg” strategy.

The very numbers shown in the reports seem insufficient to operate this type of maneuver. 2,000 special troops is an expressive figure, but not enough to make Russia lose Crimea. Also, there is the issue of replacement capacity for casualties – something at which Kiev is very weak, considering the reduced number of troops available, while Moscow has so far used only a small percentage of its military potential.

So, if Ukraine launches an offensive in the region, it will face not only strong Russian military resistance, but also solid popular support for local security forces. In practice, there will be a lot of suffering for the Crimean people, but there will be no positive result for Ukraine after the end of hostilities.

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Lucas Leiroz is a journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant. You can follow Lucas on Twitter and T/elegram.

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The West Wants Nigeria to Invade Its Northern Neighbor

July 31st, 2023 by Andrew Korybko

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It’s expected that maximum pressure will be exerted on Nigeria by the West behind the scenes over the coming week ahead of ECOWAS’ ultimatum expiring. France and the US recognize the threat that the patriotic military coup in Niger poses to their hegemonic interests, which is why they’re ready to pull out all the stops in reversing this possibly game-changing development. For all its potential, Nigeria has largely failed to liberate itself from Western influence, hence why it’s likely to do their bidding.  

Last week’s military coup in Niger could be a game-changer in the New Cold War if the junta cuts off the uranium exports upon which France’s nuclear energy industry depends, kicks out its former colonizer’s troops from their last regional bastion, and/or requests Russia’s “Democratic Security” assistance. Unlike the patriotic military coups in Guinea, Mali, and Burkina Faso, which were condemned by the West but not considered a threat to its neocolonial stranglehold over Africa, the one in Niger is ringing alarm bells.

France and the US strongly condemned this latest regime change, with the first suspending all aid in parallel with the EU while the latter is preparing to follow suit. The African Union (AU) gave the Nigerien junta a 15-day ultimatum on Sunday to reinstall ousted President Mohamed Bazoum or risk “punitive measures”. This ominous threat was then echoed by the “Economic Community Of West African States” (ECOWAS), which said that the “use of force” might be employed if this doesn’t happen within a week.

The Nigerien junta’s spokesman foresaw this scenario and warned before their meetings that

“The objective of the [ECOWAS] meeting is to approve a plan of aggression against Niger through an imminent military intervention in Niamey in collaboration with other African countries that are non-members of ECOWAS, and certain Western countries. We want to once more remind ECOWAS or any other adventurer of our firm determination to defend our homeland.”

Interim Burkinabe President Ibrahim Traore lambasted many of his peers as imperialist puppets in his speech at the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg several days prior for doing the West’s bidding in opposing patriotic military coups such as the one that catapulted him to power last October. His words were timely in light of the AU-ECOWAS threats that made soon thereafter against the neighboring Nigerien junta, which proved that they’re functioning as the West’s regional proxies.

Amidst these rising tensions, Chadian Interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno traveled to the Nigerien capital of Niamey on Sunday to hold talks with the junta, though it’s unclear at the time of this analysis’ publication what the outcome was. His country is a regional military powerhouse whose armed forces could potentially participate in any operation that ECOWAS launches against Niger despite not being a member of that bloc. At the same time, however, there are reasons why it might not do so.

This traditional French ally failed to fall for the US’ information warfare provocation earlier this year falsely claiming that Russia was plotting to kill its interim leader. Instead of expelling that country’s ambassador, it kicked the German one out instead after discovering that he was trying to stir up Color Revolution unrest. Shortly after, “Bloomberg Demanded That Biden Meddle In Chad On The Pretext Of Averting A Sudanese Scenario”. Accordingly, Chad might nowadays be reluctant to do the West’s bidding.

Its unexpected multipolar drift in recent months, which most recently saw the Chadian Foreign Minister travel to Russia for last week’s summit in defiance of intense Western pressure upon his country to boycott the event, could explain why its President is leading diplomatic efforts to defuse this latest crisis. At the same time, however, it still can’t be ruled out that Western pressure might prove too much and Chad is ultimately coerced into participating in a potential ECOWAS invasion of neighboring Niger.

Regardless of whatever role Chad may or may not play in that scenario, nothing can realistically happen unless Nigeria agrees to lead the invasion. Although ECOWAS-member Benin is a bit closer to Niamey than Nigeria is, the latter shares a much longer border with Niger and has a stronger military by far. Newly inaugurated President Bola Tinubu must therefore decide whether to do the West’s bidding in overthrowing his northern neighbor’s junta, which is the most important variable in this scenario.

It’s expected that maximum pressure will be exerted on Nigeria by the West behind the scenes over the coming week ahead of ECOWAS’ ultimatum expiring. France and the US recognize the threat that the patriotic military coup in Niger poses to their hegemonic interests, which is why they’re ready to pull out all the stops in reversing this possibly game-changing development. For all its potential, Nigeria has largely failed to liberate itself from Western influence, hence why it’s likely to do their bidding.  

The armed forces and economic elite remain closely connected to that de facto New Cold War bloc. The first are trained by the West while the second got rich through their ties with it, and both of their top representatives regularly vacation there and send their kids to school in those countries. All that the West has to do is threaten to put an end to these relationships, which can then get its proxies to spring into action doing what’s needed to prepare Nigeria for leading ECOWAS’ possible invasion of Niger.

President Tinubu is considered to be a Western-friendly leader so it’s unlikely that he’d personally be against this anyhow, but even on the off chance that he wanted to defy the West, he’s powerless to resist his Western-influenced military. He’s only been in office for a few months, plus the Nigerian military has traditionally exerted disproportionate influence in shaping policy. These factors combine to make it a fait accompli that Nigeria will play the role that the West expects of it in the Nigerien crisis.

Unless President Deby succeeds in brokering a compromise that’s acceptable to France and the US, which isn’t likely but also isn’t impossible either, then there’s a very high chance that Nigeria will lead ECOWAS’ threatened invasion of Niger. Sunday’s large-scale anti-French and pro-coup rallies in Niamey show that this country’s latest regime change is genuinely popular with its people, thus suggesting that the external reimposition of President Bazoum’s despised regime could be met with resistance.

This observation doesn’t mean that the probable Nigerian-led ECOWAS invasion won’t succeed in its goal of reversing the coup, but just that it’ll require a lot of effort to sustain and might lead to the bloc being tasked by its Western overlord with carrying out a prolonged occupation. In that scenario, the Nigerien people would suffer under what could become one of the world’s worst neocolonial dictatorships, with France and the US making an example out of their country to deter patriotic military coups elsewhere.

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This article was originally published on Andrew Korybko’s Newsletter.

Andrew Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Un mundo de deuda

July 31st, 2023 by Alejandro Marcó del Pont

Selected Articles: Wildfires in Syria Used as a Weapon of War

July 31st, 2023 by Global Research News

Wildfires in Syria Used as a Weapon of War

By Steven Sahiounie, July 31, 2023

Wildfires broke out on July 25 in Latakia province in northwest Syria and are still burning amid new fires being started. The fires spread quickly by a sudden unusual wind which whipped up. The whole country, and the adjacent Mediterranean region, is in a heat-wave which sets the stage for such a devastating fire burning crops, forests and homes. However, this was not a chance wildfire, but was an act of terrorism.

Seven Reasons Why Russia Dominates in Ukraine

By Drago Bosnic, July 31, 2023

There have been little to no at least somewhat objective assessments of Russia’s special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine, primarily due to the fact that our newsfeeds are being flooded with an ocean of ludicrous propaganda that only aims to portray Moscow’s forces as supposedly “weak and ineffective”.

“Russia Starves the World.” Italy’s Meloni “Confirms It”. The Causes of Hunger Are Manipulation of Food Prices and Corporate “Land Grabbing”

By Manlio Dinucci, July 31, 2023

The accusation that Russia is starving Africa because it is blocking Ukrainian grain shipments falls in the face of the fact that almost all of the grain sent by Ukraine went to European Union countries, not to poorer nations, to which only two ships out of 87 were sent.  

Putin Issues Stark Warning to Poland and NATO

By Larry Johnson, July 31, 2023

Putin held a video conference on Thursday with members of Russia’s Security Council. I hope folks in the West pay attention to what he said, which is why I’m presenting the entirety of his remarks following a presentation by the Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service.

Young Teachers (COVID-19 Vaccinated) Who Died Suddenly During Jan-Feb 2023

By Dr. William Makis, July 31, 2023

In late 2021 and early 2022, teachers were mandated to take COVID-19 vaccines, or they faced losing their jobs and their entire teaching careers. These 15 sudden deaths are just examples of what happened to some of those teachers.

The Ever Widening War. Paul Craig Roberts

By Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, July 31, 2023

This report from Larry Johnson demonstrates that my often expressed concern about the ever widening conflict in Ukraine has been correct. Putin is now confronted with a US/Polish plan for Poland to seize Western Ukraine. This would bring Ukraine into NATO and defeat Putin’s goal of demilitarizing Ukraine and maintaining Ukraine as an independent but neutral country.

“Multipolarity and Equality”, Russia-Africa Collaboration and the St Petersburg Summit: Time to Act on Multidimensional Economic Initiatives

By Prof. Maurice Okoli, July 31, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin invited African leaders and ‘non-Western friends’ to his hometown, St. Petersburg which hosted the second Russia-Africa summit from July 27-28. In the past three years, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has visited several African countries. Lavrov has used the shuttle diplomacy in African capitals to build support and strengthen further political contacts in preparation for the Russia-Africa summit.

Carl Sagan Warned Us About Fauci and “Authoritarian Science”

By Ben Bartee, July 31, 2023

Consider Carl Sagan’s warning here – resurfaced by Jimmy Dore — taken from an interview with Charlie Rose, way before COVID-19 or any of the other permanent technocracy-mediated emergencies emerged.

Bishop Alvarez and the U.S. April 2018 Insurrection Against Nicaragua: An Open Letter to President Lula of Brazil

By Reverend Fred Morris, July 31, 2023

I’m writing to you now about the case of Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, because there is much misinformation about his case being circulated. He is being presented by the North American media as a political prisoner of the Sandinista government. As a Nicaraguan citizen and resident, I can tell you the reality is quite different.

AUSMIN and Assange: The Great Vassal Smackdown

By Dr. Binoy Kampmark, July 31, 2023

It was there for all to see. Embarrassing, cloying, and bound make you cough up the remnants of your summit lunch, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III stopped by one of the vassal states to make sure that the meal and military service was orderly, the troops well behaved, and the weapons working as they should.

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It is historically accurate to say that Palestinian Arabs have lived in the region known as Palestine for over one thousand years. The history of the Palestinian people in the area can be traced back to ancient times and has been continuous for many centuries.

The term “Palestine” has been used to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, which includes present-day Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Throughout history, this region has been home to various civilisations and peoples, including Canaanites, Philistines, Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Mamluks, Ottomans, and others.

The Arab presence in the region became more prominent during the Arab-Muslim conquests of the 7th century. During this time, the area that is now known as Palestine became a part of the wider Islamic Caliphate. Over the centuries, various Arab dynasties and empires ruled the region.

It’s important to note that the demographic composition of the area has changed over time due to conquests, migrations, and various historical events. The modern Palestinian identity, rooted in Arab culture and history, has developed over centuries, with cultural, religious, and historical ties to the land.

Palestinian Arabs have maintained a presence in the region for generations and have contributed to its culture, history, and society. Their connection to the land is a crucial aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as both Israelis and Palestinians claim historical ties to the same area.

The history of the region is complex, and multiple populations have lived there throughout different periods. Recognising the historical presence of Palestinian Arabs in the land of Palestine is essential for understanding the current dynamics and complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Therefore, the assertion by Israel to have the only valid claim, is patently dangerous nonsense.

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Hans Stehling (a pen name) is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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Seven Reasons Why Russia Dominates in Ukraine

July 31st, 2023 by Drago Bosnic

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There have been little to no at least somewhat objective assessments of Russia’s special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine, primarily due to the fact that our newsfeeds are being flooded with an ocean of ludicrous propaganda that only aims to portray Moscow’s forces as supposedly “weak and ineffective”. Everyone from tabloids and YouTube “experts” to reputable (or rather once reputable) media keep parroting the same narrative – “Russia is losing“. However, is that the case? Here are seven reasons why that’s not only patently false, but quite the opposite, it couldn’t possibly be further from true.

Unrivaled Command and Control

The Russian Armed Forces, as one of the largest and most powerful on the planet, are a massive and complex system. And yet, this system is characterized by centralized control that allows the Russian High Command to respond to changes on both tactical and strategic levels in a timely and adequate manner. The Eurasian giant’s military has massive reserves that are orders of magnitude greater than the forces deployed on the frontlines. These can easily be relocated to areas that need to be reinforced while also providing additional assault troops that can be inserted in areas where the enemy’s defenses are the weakest.

Perhaps the best example of this is the recent advance of Russian troops in northern Donbass and the border areas between the LNR (Lugansk People’s Republic) and the Kharkov oblast (region), where Moscow’s forces have been on the offensive for over two weeks. Despite the fact that the now heavily battered Kiev regime troops have constantly been losing ground in this area, there’s been virtually no mention of this in any of the mainstream propaganda outlets. In the meantime, the Neo-Nazi junta’s best forces are wasting their last battlefield reserves in futile attacks on the intricate and dense Russian defenses in the Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson oblasts.

And while the mainstream propaganda machine keeps denigrating the Russian military, behind the scenes, the Pentagon meticulously observes Russia’s advanced experience in organizing command and control systems and how it can use it to improve its own. Moscow’s ability to lead multiple high-intensity military operations simultaneously while coordinating all this with the rest of Russia’s massive state apparatus (particularly its world-class diplomacy) is of great interest to power circles in Washington DC. In stark contrast, the United States military is experiencing an unraveling of sorts due to issues with over-politicization and ideology.

Massively Improved ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance)

In years before the SMO, the Russian military wasn’t exactly known for the widespread use of drones and other unmanned platforms, as the mainstream propaganda machine kept presenting Moscow’s forces as supposedly “technologically inferior”. Still, years before the SMO, particularly during its antiterrorist intervention in Syria, the Kremlin invested significant resources in various kinds of unmanned systems. The Russian military then used this experience to massively improve its tactical capabilities, an effort that has exponentially amplified its performance everywhere. This is particularly true for the SMO, as drones have been an unrivaled force multiplier for Russian forces.

And while the Kiev regime forces are vastly superior to NATO-backed terrorists in Syria and elsewhere, and despite the fact that the belligerent alliance is providing them with unprecedented amounts of real-time battlefield information, for the most part, they’ve been unable to capitalize on this massive boost. Although tactical ISR by the Neo-Nazi junta troops is greatly augmented by NATO’s strategic one, better results on a larger scale have been sorely lacking. In contrast, the Russian military’s land, air and space-based ISR platforms have been used to a deadly effect, inflicting irretrievable losses on both enemy frontline troops, as well as its rear.

A Unique Combination of Active Defense and Ad Hoc (Counter)offensive Operations

Although doctrinally offensive-oriented, the Russian military certainly doesn’t neglect its defenses. On the contrary, it’s using its tactical defensive potential for strategic offensive purposes. The speed with which Moscow’s forces have been able to build up massive and complex defensive lines where there were none before has left NATO military experts baffled. The Soviet concepts of “defense in depth” and “active defense” have been greatly improved by the Russian military’s recent technological advances. This has resulted in nearly complete obliteration of the Kiev regime’s offensive potential, forcing it to use desperate tactics to try and break through Russian lines.

Needless to say, this is causing massive casualties in the process, as the Neo-Nazi junta forces are losing hundreds of men for every square kilometer of territory they take. However, the real issue for Kiev is that it can’t hold these areas for long, as each one effectively acts as an artillery “mousetrap”. Namely, as soon as the Kiev regime forces move in to secure the area, they’re pounded by a massive barrage of regular and rocket artillery, followed by a swarm of various types of drones that pick off any survivors. In addition, the masterful use of mines (particularly through remote mining) by Russian forces has been unequivocally devastating for any offensive operations.

This is particularly true in the Zaporozhye sector, where the Neo-Nazi junta forces continue to suffer massive casualties. Ever since the initial stages of their much-touted counteroffensive, these forces have experienced losses of over 30%, both in manpower and weaponry without ever seeing enemy combatants or even reaching the first line of Russian defenses. This has resulted in little to no losses for Moscow’s forces, particularly when considering the scale of military operations. Even the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, General Mark Milley, was forced to admit that the Pentagon is stunned by the effectiveness of these defense lines.

The High Morale of Russian Forces

The way that Russian defenses are able to hold has a devastating effect on the morale of Kiev regime forces while boosting their own. During the planning phase, the Neo-Nazi junta and their NATO handlers were confident that it would be easy to break through Russian defenses due to their supposed “low morale”. However, the reality on the battlefield shows that such assertions are wholly limited to the mainstream propaganda machine’s “parallel universe” in which even goats and old ladies “armed” with pickle jars are “beating the Russian military”. Still, unlike the mythical “massive Russian casualties”, such miscalculations have resulted in very real losses for Kiev.

Disorder, Insubordination and Inadequate Coordination Among Kiev Regime Forces

All of the aforementioned issues are virtually omnipresent in the ranks of the Neo-Nazi junta forces, as well as the numerous NATO-sourced mercenary groups. As the commanding cadre often sends troops to certain (and pointless) death, military personnel often ignore orders or outright refuse to follow them. Officers usually remain hidden in trenches or are even completely absent from the frontlines. This results in widespread frustration among soldiers, many (if not most) of whom are forcibly conscripted, which further leads to the low authority of the officers. This has also been confirmed by numerous foreign mercenaries fighting on the side of the Neo-Nazi junta.

Namely, in an interview for ABC, an Australian national known by the call sign “Bush” complained about the lack of necessary command and leadership skills among officers of the Kiev regime forces. According to his assessment, this issue has led to the deaths of both regular soldiers and foreign mercenaries. In addition, these men are often not following even basic orders, such as the complete ban on the use of smartphones on the battlefield. This offense is very common among soldiers and mercenaries alike, despite the fact that it’s virtually a death sentence in an era of warfare where SIGINT (signals intelligence) is an integral part of any meaningful military operation.

Top-notch Training and Combat Experience

The level of combat experience and training on both sides of the conflict is high, but differs significantly. While the conflict in the Donbass region has been going on for nearly a decade now, between late 2015 and late 2021, it was relatively low-level as the frontline stabilized and was mostly limited to artillery duels (although the shelling of Donbass never stopped). This has resulted in a largely superficial combat experience for most Kiev regime soldiers. On the other hand, the Russian military has accumulated significant combat experience in Chechnya, Georgia and Syria, where it had the chance to conduct complex operations against various opponents.

No amount of no matter how advanced NATO-sourced weapons and endless forced mobilization waves could’ve ever given the Neo-Nazi junta the necessary combat experience to adequately face Russian forces. This primarily refers to the strategic aspect of warfare, a field which Russian officers have been able to master as their military can deploy to virtually any point anywhere in the world, on-demand, and then set up strategically important military bases, even on an ad hoc basis. Syria is perhaps the best example of this, as demonstrated by Russian bases in Tartus (previously a small naval facility) and Khmeimim (an airbase established in 2015).

Vast Technological Superiority

Despite all the propaganda fantasies of NATO-supplied SAM (surface-to-air missile) systems shooting down Russian hypersonic weapons, even Western military experts are forced to recognize Moscow’s superiority in a plethora of long-range, high-precision weapons. In this regard, Russia’s absolute dominance in hypersonic technologies is just the icing on the cake, as the Kremlin boasts a no less impressive arsenal of more conventional strike capabilities that include (but are not limited to) various supersonic, transonic and hybrid land and sea-based cruise missiles, tactical ballistic missile systems, numerous types of kamikaze drones/loitering munitions, etc.

The latter have been used to a devastating effect, neutralizing thousands of Kiev regime’s artillery pieces, including hundreds of US-supplied M777 howitzers. ZALA’s “Lancet” and “Kub-BLA” have been particularly deadly in this regard, in addition to the mass usage of various types of FPV (first-person view) drones. Apart from these, the performance of Russian combat vehicles has vastly outmatched any NATO-supplied equivalents, regardless of how new and modern. In fact, even Soviet-era tanks and armored vehicles have proven to be superior to virtually any new Western vehicle in the same class, be it in the service of Moscow’s or Kiev’s forces.

Newer Russian tanks such as the T-72B3M, T-80BVM, T-90A and T-90M (as well as numerous types of armored vehicles), have all demonstrated stellar performance in comparison to the best NATO armor, particularly the now deeply troubled German “Leopard 2” tanks, including the latest A6 variant. The Neo-Nazi junta’s “wunderwaffen”, used in its abortive attempt to conduct a “blitzkrieg” counteroffensive, have been effectively useless. The combination of the use of all of the aforementioned assets (in addition to its unrivaled attack helicopters) has made it possible for Moscow to comfortably break wave after wave of Kiev regime attacks.

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Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst.

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First published in 2014. Slightly updated on July 31, 2023, 9AM ET.

78 years ago (August 9, 1945) an all-Christian bomber crew dropped an experimental plutonium bomb on Nagasaki City, Japan, instantly incinerating, asphyxiating and/or vaporizing tens of thousands of innocent civilians, mostly women and children. Very few Japanese soldiers were killed by the bombs.

Japan’s major religions are Shitoism and Buddhism, but a disproportionate number of the dead at Nagasaki were Christian. The bomb also wounded uncounted tens of thousands of other victims who suffered the blast trauma, the intense heat and/or the radiation sickness that killed and maimed so many of the survivors.

Image on the right: Another Irradiated and Charred Victim of the Nagasaki Bomb

In 1945, the US regarded itself as the most Christian nation in the world and the bomber crew reflected that reality. The small United States Army Air Force (USAAF) unit that was charged with dropping the atomic bombs (the 509th Composite Group) even had two Christian military chaplains assigned to it. They all were products of the type of Christianity that failed to teach what Jesus taught concerning homicidal violence (ie, that it was forbidden to his followers).

Of course, ignoring the powerful pacifist teachings of Jesus has been the norm for the vast majority of Christian theologians, clergy and lay-leaders for the past 1700 years. Indeed, it is often said that the only group that doesn’t know that Jesus was a pacifist is that group known as Christian. And the church’s leadership is most responsible for that erroneous stance.

Nagasaki was the most Christian city in Japan, and the city’s massive Urakami Cathedral was the largest Christian church in the orient – both in membership and physical structure. The cathedral was so large that it was visible at 31,000 feet, making it an easy aiming point for the Nagasaki bombardier.

Using Atomic Weapons Against a Civilian Population is an International War Crime and a Crime Against Humanity

Using the most lethal weapon of mass slaughter in the history of warfare was soon to be defined by the Nuremberg Tribunal as an international war crime and a crime against humanity.

Of course, there was no way that the 509th Composite Group crew members could have known anything about what constituted a war crime at the time of the mission. Later on, some of the crew did admit that they had had some doubts about what they had participated in. But none of them actually witnessed the unspeakable suffering of the tens of thousands of their victims on the ground. “Orders are orders” in times of war and must be obeyed by subordinates. According to the laws of war, disobeying lawful orders in wartime is considered treason, and such an act can be punished by summary execution. So, the bomber crew had no alternative but to obey the orders. Even the two chaplains had few doubts about the morality of the bomb until long after the war.

Making it Hard for Japan to Surrender

When Nagasaki was bombed, it had been only 3 days since Hiroshima had been destroyed. There was chaos and confusion in Tokyo, where the military command was meeting with the Emperor Hirohito to discuss how to surrender with honor. The military leadership (of both nations) had known for months that Japan had already lost the war.

The only obstacle to ending the war months earlier had been the Allied Powers insistence on unconditional surrender (which meant that the emperor could be removed from his figurehead position in Japan and perhaps even brought before a war crimes tribunal). That demand was intolerable for Japan’s military leaders, who regarded the emperor as a deity.

The USSR had declared war against Japan two days after Hiroshima was bombed on August 6. The USSR was hoping to regain some of the territories that had been lost to Japan in the Russo-Japanese War 40 years earlier. Stalin’s army had already begun advancing across Manchuria. Russia’s entry into the war had been encouraged by President Truman before he knew of the success of the atom bomb test in New Mexico on July 16.

But now, knowing how powerful the “Gimmick bomb” was, Truman and his strategists knew that they could force Japan’s surrender without Stalin’s help. So, not wanting to divide any of the spoils of war with the USSR, and because the US wanted to send an early cold war message to the USSR (that the US was the new planetary superpower because it was the only nation that had such powerful weapons), Truman ordered bomber command to deploy the two atomic bombs “as soon as they became available”.

The Decision to Target Nagasaki

August 1, 1945 was determined to be the earliest deployment date for the atomic missions, and over the previous months, the Target Committee in Washington, D.C. had developed a short list of relatively un-damaged Japanese cities that were to be excluded from the conventional terror-bombing campaigns that, during the first half of 1945, had been using only napalm bombs (jellied gasoline) and high explosives, that had burned to the ground over 60 essentially defenseless Japanese cities – and their civilian populations).

The list of protected cities included Niigata, Kokura, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The intent was to preserve them as potential large population targets for the new weapon that had been developed in labs and manufacturing plants all across America under the auspices of the Manhattan Project.

Prior to August 6 and 9, the residents of those five cities had considered themselves fortunate for not having been fire-bombed as had the other large cities. Little did the residents of the doomed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki know that they were only temporarily being spared a fate far worse than simply being burned to death.

The Trinity Test

A plutonium bomb similar to the one dropped on Nagasaki had been field tested at Alamogordo, New Mexico a few weeks earlier (on July 16, 1945). It had been blasphemously code-named “Trinity” (a distinctly Christian term) and had been detonated in secrecy with impressive results. Although the blast had just killed a bunch of hapless coyotes, rabbits, snakes and other desert varmints, it had done a tremendous amount of blast and heat damage to the inanimate surroundings. Part of the experiment was to discover what the effects of bomb radiation would have on soldiers, so dozens of American “atomic soldier” guinea pigs were told to advance towards Ground Zero within minutes of the detonation. The results of that human experiment on radioactivity was not to be fully appreciated until much later.

Image below: Bock’s Car, the B-29 Superfortress That Bombed Nagasaki

Trinity had produced large amounts of an entirely new type of geological specimen that was later called “Trinitite”, a man-made molten lava rock that had been created from the intense heat that was estimated to be greater than the temperature of the sun. Samples of it still exist in the desert at Alamogordo. The rock still contains radioactive isotopes of plutonium, uranium, cobalt and barium.

The Mission

At 3 am on the morning of August 9, 1945 a B-29 Superfortress named Bock’s Car (after the pilot who usually flew the plane on conventional bombing missions) took off from Tinian Island, with the prayers and blessings of the crew’s two chaplains.

Barely making it off the runway before the heavily loaded plane almost crash-landed in the Pacific Ocean, Bock’s Car flew north for Kokura, Japan, the primary target. The 10,000 pound plutonium bomb in the hold was code-named “Fat Man,” partly because of its shape and partly to honor the rotund British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The slenderer uranium bomb that had been dropped on Hiroshima 3 days earlier was code-named “Little Boy” after first being called “Thin Man” (after the recently deceased President Roosevelt).

Japan’s War Council was Considering Surrender Terms as Nagasaki was Being Incinerated

Japan’s Supreme War Council in Tokyo was scheduled to convene at 11 am on August 9. The fascist leaders, half of them military leaders, had no comprehension of what had just happened at Hiroshima. So, the members had no real sense of urgency about any new threats. On August 9, the council was mostly concerned about Russia’s declaration of war that had been issued the day before.

But it was already too late. Not having access to any of the information that they needed to make wise decisions, there was no chance for the Japanese leadership to accurately assess the situation.

Bock’s Car – flying under radio silence – was already approaching the southern islands of Japan, heading for Kokura, the primary target. The crew was hoping to beat a predicted typhoon and the approaching storm clouds that could have adversely affected the mission. They knew that they had to drop the bomb somewhere, given the fact that it would be unwise – indeed impossible – to land the B-29 with a 5-ton atomic bomb on board.

The Bock’s Car crew had instructions to drop the bomb only on visual sighting. But Kokura was clouded over. After making three bomb runs looking for a break in the clouds – and using up valuable fuel all the while – the plane belatedly headed for its secondary target, Nagasaki.

The History of Nagasaki Christianity

Nagasaki is famous in the history of Japanese Christianity. The city had the largest concentration of Christians in all of Japan. St. Mary’s Urakami Cathedral was the megachurch of its day, with 12,000 baptized members.

Nagasaki was the community where the legendary Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier planted a mission church in 1549. The Catholic community at Nagasaki grew and eventually prospered over the next few decades. However, it gradually became clear to the Japanese leadership that Portuguese and Spanish commercial interests (with their Catholic priests that were attempting to “Christianize” Japan) were exploiting Japan’s resources and its people. It didn’t take very long before all Europeans were expelled from the country – along with their strange religion. Japanese Christians who refused to recant of their faith suffered severe persecutions, which culminated on February 5, 1597 when Paul Miki and 25 other Christian martyrs were tortured and crucified simultaneously in Nagasaki.

The reign of terror stopped when it appeared to all observers that Japanese Christianity was dead, and from 1600 until 1850, being a Christian in Japan was punishable by death.

However, 250 years later, after the gunboat diplomacy of US Commodore Matthew Perry forced open an offshore island close to Nagasaki for American trade purposes, it was discovered that there were thousands of baptized Christians in the Nagasaki area, practicing their faith in secret. The Christian community was completely unknown to the government.

When the secret congregation was discovered, the government started another persecution but because of international pressure, the persecutions stopped and Nagasaki Christianity came up from the underground. And by 1917, with no financial help from the government, the re-vitalized Christian community built the massive cathedral in Nagasaki’s Urakami River district.

Christians Killing Christians in the Name of Christ

So, it was the height of irony that the huge Cathedral – one of only two Nagasaki landmarks that could be positively identified from 31,000 feet up – became Ground Zero for the Bock’s Car’s crew. (The other identifiable aiming point from that altitude was the Mitsubishi armaments factory complex – which had run out of raw materials because of the successful Allied naval blockade that had stopped production of war materiel.)

When the atomic bomb exploded over Nagasaki at 11:02 am on August 9, 1945, an unknown number of Nagasaki Christians attending mass were evaporated, carbonized or otherwise disappeared in a scorching, radioactive fireball that exploded 500 meters above the cathedral. The “black rain” that soon came down from the mushroom cloud contained the mingled cellular remains of many Nagasaki Christians as well as many more nearby Shintoists and Buddhists. The theological implications of Nagasaki’s Black Rain ingredients should boggle the minds of theologians of all religions.

The Nagasaki Christian Body Count

Most Nagasaki Christians did not survive the blast. It is estimated that 6,000 of them died instantly, including all who were at the church that morning. Of the12,000 members of St Mary’s congregation, 8,500 of them died as a result of the bomb. Many of the survivors were seriously sickened with an entirely new, highly lethal disease for which there was as yet no name: radiation sickness.

Located near the cathedral were three orders of nuns and a Catholic girl’s school. They all disappeared into black smoke, black rain or became black chunks of charcoal. Tens of thousands of other innocent non-combatant neighbors also died instantly, but many more were mortally wounded and/or incurably sickened. Some of the original victims (including their progeny) are still suffering to this very day from the trans-generational malignancies and immune deficiencies caused by their exposure to deadly radioactive isotopes that were produced by the bomb.

And here is one of the most important ironies: What the Japanese Imperial government could not do in 250 years of persecution (ie, to destroy Japanese Christianity) American Christians did in mere seconds.

Even after the American bombwiped out Nagasaki Christianity, a slow revival of someJapanese churches has risen to only a tiny fraction of 1% of the general population, with the average attendance at worship services across the nation reported to be only 30 per Sunday. The decimation atNagasaki crippled what at one time had beena vibrant church.

George Zabelka, the Catholic Chaplain for the 509th Composite Group

Father George Zabelka was the Roman Catholic chaplain for the 509th Composite Group (the 1500 man group whose only mission was to deliver the atomic bombs to Japanese urban targets). He was one of the few post-World War II clergypersons that eventually came to recognize the serious contradictions between what his modern church had taught him about war and what the first 300 years of Christianity had been committed to: homicidal violence was forbidden to its members.

Several decades after Zabelka was discharged from his military chaplaincy, he finally came to the conclusion that both he and the Roman Catholic church had made serious ethical and theological errors in religiously legitimatizing the organized mass slaughter that is modern war. He had slowly come to understand that “the enemy of me and the enemy of my nation is not an enemy of God. Rather my enemy and my nation’s enemy are children of God who are loved by God and who therefore are to be loved by me as a follower of that loving God.”

Father Zabelka’s gradual conversion away from homicidal violence-tolerant Christianity totally changed his Detroit, Michigan inner city ministry. His absolute commitment to the truth of gospel nonviolence – just like Martin Luther King’s commitment – inspired him to devote the remaining decades of his life and work to speaking out against violence in all its forms, including the violence of militarism, racism and economic exploitation. Zabelka travelled to Nagasaki on the 50th anniversary of the bombing, tearfully repenting and asking for forgiveness for the part he had played in the crime.

Likewise, the Lutheran chaplain for the 509th, Pastor William Downey (formerly of Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN), in his counseling of soldiers who had become troubled by their participation in making murder for the state, later denounced all killing, whether by a single bullet or by a weapon of mass destruction.

Why Should Combat Veterans Embrace a Religion that Blessed the Wars that Ruined Their Souls?

In Daniel Hallock’s important book, Hell, Healing and Resistance, the author described a 1997 Buddhist retreat that was led by the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. The retreat involved a number of combat-traumatized Vietnam War veterans who had abandoned the Christianity of their youth. The veterans had responded positively to the monk’s ministrations. Hallock wrote, “Clearly, Buddhism offers something that cannot be found in institutional Christianity. But then why should veterans embrace a religion that has blessed the wars that ruined their souls? It is no wonder that they turn to a gentle Buddhist monk to hear what are, in large part, the truths of Christ.”

Hallock’s incisive comment should be a sobering wake-up call to Christian leaders who seem to regard as essential to the church both the recruitment of new members and the retention of old ones. The fact that the US is a highly militarized nation makes the truths of gospel nonviolence difficult to teach and preach, especially to military veterans (particularly the ones that are un-employed, homeless, psychologically tormented, spiritually-depleted, malnourished, over-medicated, over-vaccinated, depressed and/or suicidal) who may have lost their faith because of the horrors they experienced on the battlefield.

In my practice of holistic, preventive and non-drug mental health care, I dealt with hundreds of psychologically traumatized patients (including combat-traumatized war veterans and their secondarily traumatized partners and children), and I know that violence, in all of its forms, can seriously, sometimes irretrievably, damage the mind, body, brain, spirit and soul. But the fact that the combat-traumatized type of PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) is totally preventable – while simultaneously being nearly impossible to cure – makes prevention work of ultimate importance.

An ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure when it comes to combat-induced PTSD. Simply refusing to join any organization like the military that engages in homicidal violence is- of course – the key preventive measure. And where Christian churches should and could be instrumental in the prevention of the soul-destroying combat-type of PTSD is by counseling their members to simply adhere to the ethical message of the nonviolent Jesus and refuse to participate in the killing professions – which, of course, should be a no-brainer if one considers what guided the Christian church’s active, nonviolent resistance to killing) in the first 3 centuries of its existence.

Experiencing violence, whether as victim or victimizer, can be deadly to the soul and psyche, and it runs in families (or a society) like a contagious disease. In my career as healer, I have treated untold numbers of people that have asked my professional help to alleviate their emotional suffering.

Tragically, the victims of those trauma-induced realities are far too commonly mis-diagnosed as having a “mental illness of unknown cause” – to the detriment of the traumatized patient who will then be mis-treated with cocktails of neurotoxic psychoactive drugs (which are commonly brain-damaging and well as being addictive) rather than with compassionate psychotherapy that could curatively deal with the root causes of the traumatic stress.

I have often seen the essentially contagious nature of traumatic stress as it spreads through the generations of both military and non-military families – even involving the 3rd and 4th generations following the initial combat trauma. And that contagion has been the experience of the long-suffering atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki who call themselves the “hibakusha”, whose progeny even suffer radiation- and trauma-related disease. Combat-induced PTSD inevitably also haunts the progeny of the warriors who participated in the homicidal realities of war.

What Should be the Church’s Role in the Organized Mass Slaughter That is War?

Years ago I came across an unpublished Veteran’s Administration research study that showed that, whereas most Vietnam War-era soldiers were active members of Christian churches before they were sent off to war, if they came home with PTSD, the percentage that returned to their faith community approached zero. Daniel Hallock’s sobering message above helps explain why that is so.

Therefore, the church – by its silence on the ethical issues of killing in war and even in war preparation – is actually failing to teach what Jesus taught about violence and what the primitive church understood was one of the core teachings of Jesus, who preached, in effect, that “violence is forbidden for those who wish to follow me”.

Therefore, by refraining from warning their adolescent members about the faith- and soul-destroying realities of war, the church is directly undermining the “retention” strategies in which all churches engage. The hidden history of Nagasaki thus has valuable lessons for American Christianity.

The church leadership in the first few centuries of Christianity knew the teachings and actions of Jesus best and they rejected the nationalist, racist and militarist agendas of whatever passed for governmental and military authority 2000 years ago. And Sermon on the Mount-type Christians of yesteryear as well as the remnants that remain today both reject the homicidal agendas of the national security state, the military-industrial-congressional complex, the war-profiteering corporations, the militarism-complicit major media and the eye-for-an-eye retaliatory church doctrines that have, over the past 1700 years, enabled baptized and confirmed Christians, if ordered to do so, to willingly kill other Christians in the name of Christ.

If the church is sincere when it promises to “never again” allow its government to use atomic weapons, slaughter enemy civilians or torture enemy combatants, it needs to take seriously the radical message of gospel nonviolence so clearly taught 2000 years ago.

Learning the lessons from the bombing of Nagasaki would be a good place to start.

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Dr Gary G. Kohls is a retired rural family physician from Duluth, Minnesota. Since his retirement in 2008, Dr Kohls has written a weekly column, titled Duty to Warn, which has been re-published and archived at websites around the world.

He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization. Consult his archive here

Featured image: An irradiated crucifix lies in the ruins of the Urakami Cathedral Following the Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki (Source: Dr. Gary G. Kohls)

All images in this article are from the author

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At the United Nations Food Systems Summit, Italy’s President Meloni confirmed the West’s accusation against Russia: 

“Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has exacerbated food insecurity in many African nations, had a major impact on the distribution of grains around the world exacerbating the global food security crisis. This would be the cause of the fact that 30 percent of humanity, 2.4 billion people, do not have access to adequate food, that more than 700 million people (according to official default estimates) are chronically undernourished, i.e., condemned to premature death from starvation.

What the real causes are is indicated by the World Bank’s own data: while wholesale prices of agricultural products and cereals have fallen by 4 percent and 12 percent respectively in one year, food prices have risen worldwide, often by 10 percent or more, affecting low-income countries the most. What the real causes of hunger are is shown by the growing phenomenon of “land grabbing”: the grabbing of arable land in Africa and other regions by large speculative groups. The same ones that speculate on all commodities, including grains: more than 6 million commodity buying and selling contracts are entered into daily at the Chicago Commodity Exchange for speculative purposes. 

The accusation that Russia is starving Africa because it is blocking Ukrainian grain shipments falls in the face of the fact that almost all of the grain sent by Ukraine went to European Union countries, not to poorer nations, to which only two ships out of 87 were sent.  

At the Second Russia-Africa Summit it was announced that Russia exported more than 11 million tons of grain to Africa last year and nearly 10 million tons in the first six months of 2023. All this took place despite illegal sanctions imposed on Russian exports.  In the coming months Russia will supply 50,000 tons of wheat each to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic, and Eritrea, delivered at no cost.

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This article was originally published on byoblu in Italian.

Manlio Dinucci, award winning author, geopolitical analyst and geographer, Pisa, Italy. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

Featured image is from Napolike.it

Putin Issues Stark Warning to Poland and NATO

July 31st, 2023 by Larry Johnson

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Putin held a video conference on Thursday with members of Russia’s Security Council. I hope folks in the West pay attention to what he said, which is why I’m presenting the entirety of his remarks following a presentation by the Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service. Based on public source information and Russia collected intelligence, Russia believes that Poland is planning to seize Ukrainian territory west of the Dnieper River as Ukraine’s much ballyhooed counter offensive collapses.

Let me give you Putin’s bottomline up front:

“Regarding the policy of the Ukrainian regime, it is none of our business. If they want to relinquish or sell off something in order to pay their bosses, as traitors usually do, that’s their business. We will not interfere.

But Belarus is part of the Union State, and launching an aggression against Belarus would mean launching an aggression against the Russian Federation. We will respond to that with all the resources available to us.”

Vladimir Putin is not a weak, spineless creature like Barack Obama or Joe Biden. He does not make idle threats and does not succumb to emotion.

So let us start with the briefing by Sergei Naryshkin, Russia’s Intelligence Chief:

Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin: Mr President, colleagues.

“According to information provided to the service by several sources, officials in Warsaw are gradually coming to an understanding that no kind of Western assistance to Kiev can support Ukraine in reaching the goals of this assistance. Moreover, they are beginning to understand that Ukraine will be defeated in only the matter of time.

In this regard, the Polish authorities are getting more intent on taking the western parts of Ukraine under control by deploying their troops there. There are plans to present this measure as the fulfillment of allied obligations within the Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian security initiative, the so-called Lublin Triangle.”

We see that plans also call for significantly increasing the number of personnel of the combined Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian brigade, which operates under the auspices of this so-called Lublin Triangle.

If Russia sees Poland starting to mass troops on Ukraine’s border (and do not forget that the United States has deployed at least two armored brigades in Poland), this certainly will capture the attention of the Kremlin leadership. Putin responded at length to Naryshkin’s briefing. This does not read like prepared remarks. He appears to be speaking extemporaneously and draw some very bright red lines for NATO.

Vladimir Putin: Yes. We should elaborate on what Mr Naryshkin has just said. This information has already appeared in the European media, in particular, the French.

I believe it would be suitable in this context to also remind everyone about several history lessons from the 20th century.

It is clear today that the Western curators of the Kiev regime are certainly disappointed with the results of the counteroffensive that the current Ukrainian authorities announced in previous months. There are no results, at least for now. The colossal resources that were pumped into the Kiev regime, the supply of Western weapons, such as tanks, artillery, armoured vehicles and missiles, and the deployment of thousands of foreign mercenaries and advisers, who were most actively used in attempts to break through the front of our army, are not helping.

Meanwhile, the commanders of the special military operation are acting professionally. Our soldiers, officers and units are fulfilling their duty to the Motherland courageously, steadfastly and heroically. At the same time, the whole world sees that the vaunted Western, supposedly invulnerable, military equipment is on fire, and is often even inferior to some of the Soviet-made weapons in terms of its tactical and technical characteristics.

Yes, of course, more Western weapons can be supplied and thrown into battle. This, of course, causes us some damage and prolongs the conflict. But, firstly, NATO arsenals and stockpiles of old Soviet weapons in some countries are already largely depleted. And secondly, the West does not have the production capacities to quickly replenish the consumption of reserves of equipment and ammunition. Additional, large resources and time are needed.

The main thing is that formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffered huge losses as a result of self-destructive attacks: tens of thousands of people.

And, despite the constant raids and the incessant waves of total mobilisation in Ukrainian cities and villages, it is increasingly difficult for the current regime to send new soldiers to the front. The country’s mobilisation resource is being depleted.

People in Ukraine are asking a legitimate question more often: for what, for the sake of whose selfish interests, are their relatives and friends dying. Gradually, slowly, but clarity comes.

We can see the public opinion changing in Europe, too. Both the Europeans and European elites see that support for Ukraine is, in fact, a dead end, an empty, endless waste of money and effort, and in fact, serving someone else’s interests, which are far from European: the interests of the overseas global hegemon, which benefits from the weakening of Europe. The endless prolongation of the Ukrainian conflict is also beneficial to it.

Judging by the actual state of affairs, this is exactly what today’s US ruling elites are doing. Anyways, this is the logic they follow. It is largely questionable whether such a policy is in line with the American people’s true, vital interests; this is a rhetorical question, and it is up to them to decide.

However, massive efforts are being taken to stoke the fire of war – including by exploiting the ambitions of certain East European leaders, who have long turned their hatred for Russia and Russophobia into their key export commodity and a tool of their domestic policy. And now they want to capitalise on the Ukrainian tragedy.

In this regard, I cannot refrain from commenting on what has just been said and on media reports that have come out about plans to establish some sort of the so-called Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian unit. This is not about a group of mercenaries – there are plenty of them there and they are being destroyed – but about a well-organised, equipped regular military unit to be used for operations in Ukraine, including to allegedly ensure the security of today’s Western Ukraine – actually, to call things by their true name, for the subsequent occupation of these territories. The outlook is clear: in the event Polish forces enter, say, Lvov or other Ukrainian territories, they will stay there, and they will stay there for good.

And we will actually see nothing new. Just to remind you, following WWI, after the defeat of Germany and its allies, Polish units occupied Lvov and adjacent territories that had been part of Austria-Hungary.

With its actions incited by the West, Poland took advantage of the tragedy of the Civil War in Russia and annexed certain historical Russian provinces. In dire straits, our country had to sign the Treaty of Riga in 1921 and recognise the annexation of its territories.

Even earlier, back in 1920, Poland captured part of Lithuania – the Vilnius region, a territory surrounding the present-day Vilnius. So they claimed that they fought together with the Lithuanians against so-called Russian imperialism, but then immediately snatched a piece of land from their neighbour as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

As is well known, Poland also took part in the partition of Czechoslovakia following the Munich Agreement with Adolf Hitler in 1938, by fully occupying Cieszyn Silesia.

In the 1920-1930s, Poland’s Eastern Borderlands (Kresy) – a territory that comprises present-day Western Ukraine, Western Belarus and part of Lithuania – witnessed a tough policy of Polonisation and assimilation of local residents, with efforts to suppress local culture and Orthodoxy.

I would also like to remind you what Poland’s aggressive policy led to. It led to the national tragedy of 1939, when Poland’s Western allies threw it to the German wolf, the German miliary machine. Poland actually lost its independence and statehood, which were only restored thanks in a large measure to the Soviet Union. It was also thanks to the Soviet Union and thanks to Stalin’s position that Poland acquired substantial territory in the west, German territory. It is a fact that Poland’s western lands are a gift from Stalin.

Have our Warsaw friends forgotten this? We will remind them.

Today we see that the regime in Kiev is ready to go to any length to save its treacherous hide and to prolong its existence. They do not care for the people of Ukraine or Ukrainian sovereignty or national interests.

They are ready to sell anything, including people and land, just like their ideological forefathers led by Petlyura, who signed the so-called secret conventions with Poland in 1920 under which they ceded Galicia and Western Volhynia to Poland in return for military support. Traitors like them are ready now to open the gate to their foreign handlers and to sell Ukraine again.

As for the Polish leaders, they probably hope to form a coalition under the NATO umbrella in order to directly intervene in the conflict in Ukraine and to bite off as much as possible, to “regain,” as they see it, their historical territories, that is, modern-day Western Ukraine. It is also common knowledge that they dream about Belarusian land.

Regarding the policy of the Ukrainian regime, it is none of our business. If they want to relinquish or sell off something in order to pay their bosses, as traitors usually do, that’s their business. We will not interfere.

But Belarus is part of the Union State, and launching an aggression against Belarus would mean launching an aggression against the Russian Federation. We will respond to that with all the resources available to us.

The Polish authorities, who are nurturing their revanchist ambitions, hide the truth from their people. The truth is that the Ukrainian cannon fodder is no longer enough for the West. That is why it is planning to use other expendables – Poles, Lithuanians and everyone else they do not care about.

I can tell you that this is an extremely dangerous game, and the authors of such plans should think about the consequences.” 

NATO may be playing a dangerous game, but Russia ain’t playing. Putin is not engaged in rhetorical hyperbole when he states, “We will respond to that with all the resources available to us.” 

The potential for the war in Ukraine to escalate dramatically remains high. It does not appear that there is any leader of the NATO members who can talk some sense to Poland’s President Duda. Are the people of Poland ready for World War III? 

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Larry C Johnson is a veteran of the CIA and the State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism. He is the founder and managing partner of BERG Associates, which was established in 1998. Larry provided training to the US Military’s Special Operations community for 24 years. He has been vilified by the right and the left, which means he must be doing something right. You can also follow him on telegram (t.me/sonar https://t.me/sonar_21, Patreon and Substack  https://larrycjohnson.substack.com)

Featured image is from SONAR

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In late 2021 and early 2022, teachers were mandated to take COVID-19 vaccines, or they faced losing their jobs and their entire teaching careers.

These 15 sudden deaths are just examples of what happened to some of those teachers.

Feb.17, 2023 – Oneonta, NY – SUNY Oneonta professor, teacher and interpreter for the Deaf, died suddenly on Feb.17, 2023, 7 days after her 4th COVID-19 vaccine.

Feb. 15, 2023 – Cambridge, MA – 29 year old MIT math professor Peter Baddoo died suddenly on Feb.15, 2023 while playing basketball on campus.

Feb. 12, 2023 – MN – 46 year old James Jim McKeon, Bemidji High School Football assistant coach died suddenly of cardiac arrest while ice fishing with his 10 year old son (click here).

Feb. 11, 2023 – Thomasville, NC – 49 year old second-grade teacher at the Thomasville Primary School in North Carolina, died suddenly in his sleep on Feb. 11, 2023.

Feb. 10, 2023 – 59 year old Mary Ouderkirk, 3rd grade teacher at Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elementary School in Seneca Falls School district died suddenly (click here).

Feb. 10, 2023 – Ireland – High School teacher Aidan Walsh died suddenly. No cause of death given. (click here).

Jan. 23, 2023 – Whitehaven, UK – 26 year old school teacher Rachel Morgan died unexpectedly. She was a year 1 teacher at Kells Infant School. Rachel had a passion for fitness, was a regular at her local gym, jogged regularly.

Jan. 21, 2023 – UK – 19 year old children’s swimming teacher Mia Jennings died suddenly from a cardiac arrest during the weekend (click here). Her father worked for AstraZeneca.

Jan. 18, 2023 – Mukwonago, WI – Gregory Aprahamian died suddenly on Jan.18, 2023 “due to an enlarged heart”. He was a highly respected teacher and wrestling coach at Muskego and Kettle Moraine Schools.

Jan. 16, 2023 – Garner NC, Jake Stevens, Garner High School teacher, died suddenly.

Jan. 13, 2023 – Lewiston, ME – 59 year old Lewiston Middle School math teacher Tim Strohm, died from an unspecified “sudden medical event”.

Jan. 10, 2023 – Statesville, NC – 48 year old Christopher VanDarren Davis died suddenly while performing maintenance on the school’s baseball diamond. He was a volunteer coach at South Iredell High School.

Jan. 5, 2023 – San Antonio, TX – 35 yo Middle School coach Jacob Sanchez collapsed in class & died suddenly. Principal was with him minutes before he collapsed: “He seemed fine and everything seemed fine,” she said.

Jan. 5, 2023 – Benbrook, TX – 47 year old Western Hills High School principal James Wellman died unexpectedly.

Jan. 2, 2023 – 28 year old Francisco “Paco” Gonzalez, Orange County Tustin High School’s Head water polo coach, died suddenly without any warning signs. (click here)

My Take… 

All COVID-19 mRNA vaccine mandated professions are now seeing 550% increase in disabilities and 40% excess mortality (Source: Ed Dowd).

Looking at these 15 tragic deaths of teachers, ages 19 to 59:

  • 1 died in sleep
  • 3 collapsed in school (1 playing basketball, 1 fixing baseball diamond, 1 in class)
  • 2 died of cardiac arrest over weekend (1 while ice fishing with son)
  • 1 died of enlarged heart
  • 8 sudden deaths (no additional info)

This is an expected pattern of causes of death for a COVID-19 vaccinated population.

*

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Dr. William Makis is a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Governor General’s Medal, University of Toronto Scholar. Author of 100+ peer-reviewed medical publications.


The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.

“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”

ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0,  Year: 2022,  PDF Ebook,  Pages: 164, 15 Chapters

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The Darkness Ahead: Where the Ukraine War Is Headed

July 31st, 2023 by John J. Mearsheimer

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This paper examines the likely trajectory of the Ukraine war moving forward.[1] I will address two main questions.

First, is a meaningful peace agreement possible? My answer is no.

We are now in a war where both sides – Ukraine and the West on one side and Russia on the other – see each other as an existential threat that must be defeated. Given maximalist objectives all around, it is almost impossible to reach a workable peace treaty. Moreover, the two sides have irreconcilable differences regarding territory and Ukraine’s relationship with the West. The best possible outcome is a frozen conflict that could easily turn back into a hot war. The worst possible outcome is a nuclear war, which is unlikely but cannot be ruled out.  

Second, which side is likely to win the war?

Russia will ultimately win the war, although it will not decisively defeat Ukraine. In other words, it is not going to conquer all of Ukraine, which is necessary to achieve three of Moscow’s goals: overthrowing the regime, demilitarizing the country, and severing Kyiv’s security ties with the West. But it will end up annexing a large swath of Ukrainian territory, while turning Ukraine into a dysfunctional rump state. In other words, Russia will win an ugly victory.

Before I directly address these issues, three preliminary points are in order. For starters, I am attempting to predict the future, which is not easy to do, given that we live in an uncertain world.

Thus, I am not arguing that I have the truth; in fact, some of my claims may be proved wrong. Furthermore, I am not saying what I would like to see happen. I am not rooting for one side or the other. I am simply telling you what I think will happen as the war moves forward. Finally, I am not justifying Russian behavior or the actions of any of the states involved in the conflict. I am just explaining their actions.

Now, let me turn to substance.

Where We Are Today 

To understand where the Ukraine war is headed, it is necessary to first assess the present situation. It is important to know how the three main actors – Russia, Ukraine, and the West – think about their threat environment and conceive their goals. When we talk about the West, however, we are talking mainly about the United States, since its European allies take their marching orders from Washington when it comes to Ukraine. It is also essential to understand the present situation on the battlefield. Let me start with Russia’s threat environment and its goals.

Russia’s Threat Environment 

It has been clear since April 2008 that Russian leaders across the board view the West’s efforts to bring Ukraine into NATO and make it a Western bulwark on Russia’s borders as an existential threat. Indeed, President Putin and his lieutenants repeatedly made this point in the months before the Russian invasion, when it was becoming clear to them that Ukraine was almost a de facto member of NATO.[2]

Since the war began on 24 February 2022, the West has added another layer to that existential threat by adopting a new set of goals that Russian leaders cannot help but view as extremely threatening. I will say more about Western goals below but suffice it to say here that the West is determined to defeat Russia and knock it out of the ranks of the great powers, if not cause regime change or even trigger Russia to break apart like the Soviet Union did in 1991.

In a major address Putin delivered this past February (2023), he stressed that the West is a mortal threat to Russia.

“During the years that followed the breakup of the Soviet Union,” he said, “the West never stopped trying to set the post-Soviet states on fire and, most importantly, finish off Russia as the largest surviving portion of the historical reaches of our state. They encouraged international terrorists to assault us, provoked regional conflicts along the perimeter of our borders, ignored our interests and tried to contain and suppress our economy.”

He further emphasized that,

“The Western elite make no secret of their goal, which is, I quote, ‘Russia’s strategic defeat.’ What does this mean to us? This means they plan to finish us once and for all.” Putin went on to say: “this represents an existential threat to our country.”[3]

Russian leaders also see the regime in Kyiv as a threat to Russia, not just because it is closely allied with the West, but also because they see it as the offspring of the fascist Ukrainian forces that fought alongside Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union in World War II.[4]

Russia’s Goals

Russia must win this war, given that it believes that it is facing a threat to its survival. But what does victory look like? The ideal outcome before the war began in February 2022 was to turn Ukraine into a neutral state and settle the civil war in the Donbass that pitted the Ukrainian government against ethnic Russians and Russian speakers who wanted greater autonomy if not independence for their region. It appears that those goals were still realistic during the first month of the war and were in fact the basis of the negotiations in Istanbul between Kyiv and Moscow in March 2022.[5]

If the Russians had achieved those goals back then, the present war would either have been prevented or ended quickly.

But a deal that satisfies Russia’s goals is no longer in the cards.

Ukraine and NATO are joined at the hip for the foreseeable future, and neither is willing to accept Ukrainian neutrality. Furthermore, the regime in Kyiv is anathema to Russian leaders, who want it gone. They not only talk about “de-Nazifying” Ukraine, but also “demilitarizing” it, two goals that would presumably call for conquering all of Ukraine, compelling its military forces to surrender, and installing a friendly regime in Kyiv.[6]

A decisive victory of that sort is not likely to happen for a variety of reasons. The Russian army is not large enough for such a  task, which would probably require at least two million men.[7]

Indeed, the existing Russian army is having difficulty conquering all the Donbass. Moreover, the West would go to enormous lengths to prevent Russia from overrunning all of Ukraine. Finally, the Russians would end up occupying huge amounts of territory that is heavily populated with ethnic Ukrainians who loathe the Russians and would fiercely resist the occupation. Trying to conquer all of Ukraine and bend it to Moscow’s will, would surely end in disaster.

Rhetoric about de-Nazifying and demilitarizing Ukraine aside, Russia’s concrete goals involve conquering and annexing a large portion of Ukrainian territory, while simultaneously turning Ukraine into a dysfunctional rump state. As such, Ukraine’s ability to wage war against Russia would be greatly reduced and it would be unlikely to qualify for membership in either the EU or NATO. Moreover, a broken Ukraine, would be especially vulnerable to Russian interference in its domestic politics. In short, Ukraine would not be a Western bastion on Russia’s border.

What would that dysfunctional rump state look like? Moscow has officially annexed Crimea and four other Ukrainian oblasts – Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporozhe – which together represent about 23 percent of Ukraine’s total territory before the crisis broke out in February 2014. Russian leaders have emphasized that they have no intention of surrendering that territory, some of which Russia does not yet control. In fact, there is reason to think Russia will annex additional Ukrainian territory if it has the military capability to do so at a reasonable cost. It is difficult, however, to say how much additional Ukrainian territory Moscow will seek to annex, as Putin himself makes clear.[8]

Russian thinking is likely to be influenced by three calculations.

Moscow has a powerful incentive to conquer and permanently annex Ukrainian territory that is heavily populated with ethnic Russians and Russian speakers.

It will want to protect them from the Ukrainian government – which has become hostile to all things Russian – and make sure there is no civil war anywhere in Ukraine like the one that took place in the Donbass between February 2014 and February 2022.

At the same time, Russia will want to avoid controlling territory largely populated by hostile ethnic Ukrainians, which places significant limits on further Russian expansion. Finally, turning Ukraine into a dysfunctional rump state will require Moscow to take substantial amounts of Ukrainian territory so it is well-positioned to do significant damage to its economy. Controlling all of Ukraine’s coastline along the Black Sea, for example, would give Moscow significant economic leverage over Kyiv.

Those three calculations suggest that Russia is likely to attempt to annex the four oblasts – Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Odessa – that are immediately to the west of the four oblasts it has already annexed – Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporozhe. If that were to happen, Russia would control approximately 43 percent of Ukraine’s pre-2014 territory.[9]

Dmitri Trenin, a leading Russian strategist estimates that Russian leaders would seek to take even more Ukrainian territory – pushing westward in northern Ukraine to the Dnieper River and taking the part of Kyiv that sits on the east bank of that river. He writes that “A logical next step” after taking all of Ukraine from Kharkiv to Odessa “would be to expand Russian control to all of Ukraine east of the Dnieper River, including the part of Kyiv that lies on the that river’s eastern bank. If that were to happen, the Ukrainian state would shrink to include only the central and western regions of the country.”[10]

The West’s Threat Environment 

It might seem hard to believe now, but before the Ukraine crisis broke out in February 2014, Western leaders did not view Russia as a security threat. NATO leaders, for example, were talking with Russia’s president about “a new stage of cooperation towards a true strategic partnership” at the alliance’s 2010 Summit in Lisbon.[11]

Unsurprisingly, NATO expansion before 2014 was not justified in terms of containing a dangerous Russia. In fact, it was Russian weakness that allowed the West to shove the first two tranches of NATO expansion in 1999 and 2004 down Moscow’s throat and then allowed the George W. Bush administration to think in 2008 that Russia could be forced to accept Georgia and Ukraine joining the alliance. But that assumption proved wrong and when the Ukraine crisis broke out in 2014, the West suddenly began portraying Russia as a dangerous foe that had to be contained if not weakened.[12]

Since the war started in February 2022, the West’s perception of Russia has steadily escalated to the point where Moscow now appears to be seen as an existential threat. The United States and its NATO allies are deeply involved in Ukraine’s war against Russia. Indeed, they are doing everything but pulling the triggers and pushing the buttons.[13]

Moreover, they have made clear their unequivocal commitment to winning the war and maintaining Ukraine’s sovereignty. Thus, losing the war would have hugely negative consequences for Washington and for NATO. America’s reputation for competence and reliability would be badly damaged, which would affect how its allies as well as its adversaries – especially China – deal with the United States. Furthermore, virtually every European country in NATO believes that the alliance is an irreplaceable security umbrella. Thus, the possibility that NATO might be badly damaged – maybe even wrecked – if Russia wins in Ukraine is cause for profound concern among its members.

In addition, Western leaders frequently portray the Ukraine war as an integral part of a larger global struggle between autocracy and democracy that is Manichean at its core. On top of that, the future of the sacrosanct rules-based international order is said to depend on prevailing against Russia. As King Charles said this past March (2023), “The security of Europe as well as our democratic values are under threat.”[14]

Similarly, a resolution introduced in the U.S. Congress in April declares: “United States interests, European security, and the cause of international peace depend on … Ukrainian victory.”[15]

A recent article in The Washington Post, captures how the West treats Russia as an existential threat: “Leaders of the more than 50 other countries backing Ukraine have couched their support as part of an apocalyptic battle for the future of democracy and the international rule of law against autocracy and aggression that the West cannot afford to lose.”[16]

The West’s Goals 

As should be clear, the West is staunchly committed to defeating Russia. President Biden has repeatedly said that the United States is in this war to win. “Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia.” It must end in “strategic failure.” Washington, he emphasizes, will stay in the fight “for as long as it takes.”[17]

Specifically, the aim is to defeat Russia’s army in Ukraine – erasing its territorial gains – and cripple its economy with lethal sanctions. If successful, Russia would be knocked out of the ranks of the great powers, weakening it to the point where it could not threaten to invade Ukraine again.[18]

Western leaders have additional goals, which include regime change in Moscow, putting Putin on trial as a war criminal, and possibly breaking up Russia into smaller states.[19]

At the same time, the West remains committed to bringing Ukraine into NATO, although there is disagreement within the alliance about when and how that will happen.[20]

Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance’s secretary general told a news conference in Kyiv in April (2023) that “NATO’s position remains unchanged and that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance.” At the same time, he emphasized that “The first step toward any membership of Ukraine to NATO is to ensure that Ukraine prevails, and that is why the U.S. and its partners have provided unprecedented support for Ukraine.”[21]

Given these goals, it is clear why Russia views the West as an existential threat.

Ukraine’s Threat Environment and Goals 

There is no doubt that Ukraine faces an existential threat, given that Russia is bent on dismembering it and making sure that the surviving rump state is not only economically weak, but is neither a de facto nor a de jure member of NATO. There is also no question that Kyiv shares the West’s goal of defeating and seriously weakening Russia, so that it can regain its lost territory and keep it under Ukrainian control forever. As President Zelensky recently told President Xi Jinping, “There can be no peace that is based on territorial compromises.”[22]

Ukrainian leaders naturally remain steadfastly committed to joining the EU and NATO and making Ukraine an integral part of the West.[23]

In sum, the three key actors in the Ukraine war all believe they face an existential threat, which means each of them thinks it must win the war or else suffer terrible consequences.

The Battlefield Today 

Turning to events on the battlefield, the war has evolved into war of attrition where each side is principally concerned with bleeding the other side white, causing it to surrender. Of course, both sides are also concerned with capturing territory, but that goal is of secondary importance to wearing down the other side.

The Ukrainian military had the upper hand in the latter half of 2022, which allowed it to take back territory from Russia in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions. But Russia responded to those defeats by mobilizing 300,000 additional troops, reorganizing it army, shortening its front lines, and learning from its mistakes.[24]

The locus of the fighting in 2023 has been in eastern Ukraine, mainly in the Donetsk and Zaporozhe regions. The Russians have had the upper hand this year, mainly because they have a substantial advantage in artillery, which is the most important weapon in attrition warfare.

Moscow’s advantage was evident in the battle for Bakhmut, which ended when the Russians captured that city in late May (2023). Although it took Russian forces ten months to take control of Bakhmut they inflicted huge casualties on Ukrainian forces with their artillery.[25]

Shortly thereafter on 4 June, Ukraine launched its long-awaited counter-offensive at different locations in the Donetsk and Zaporozhe regions. The aim is to penetrate Russia’s front lines of defense, deliver a staggering blow to Russian forces, and take back a substantial amount of Ukrainian territory that is now under Russian control. In essence, the aim is to duplicate Ukraine’s successes in Kharkiv and Kherson in 2022.

Ukraine’s army has made little progress so far in achieving those goals and instead is bogged down in deadly attrition battles with Russian forces. In 2022, Ukraine was successful in the Kharkiv and Kherson campaigns because its army was  fighting against outnumbered and overextended Russian forces. That is not the case today: Ukraine is attacking into the face of well-prepared lines of Russian defense. But even if Ukrainian forces break through those defensive lines, Russian troops will quickly stabilize the front and the attrition battles will continue.[26]

The Ukrainians are at a disadvantage in these encounters because the Russians have a significant firepower advantage.

Where We Are Headed 

Let me switch gears and move away from the present and talk about the future, starting with how events on the battlefield are likely to play out moving forward. As noted, I believe Russia will win the war, which means it will end up conquering and annexing substantial Ukrainian territory, leaving Ukraine as a dysfunctional rump state. If I am correct, this will be a grievous defeat for Ukraine and the West.

There is a silver lining in this outcome, however: a Russian victory markedly reduces the threat of nuclear war, as nuclear escalation is most likely to occur if Ukrainian forces are winning victories on the battlefield and threatening to take back all or most of the territories Kyiv has lost to Moscow. Russian leaders would surely think seriously about using nuclear weapons to rescue the situation. Of course, if I am wrong about where the war is headed and the Ukrainian military gains the upper hand and begins pushing Russian forces eastward, the likelihood of nuclear use would increase significantly, which is not to say it would be a certainty.

What is the basis of my claim that the Russians are likely to win the war?

The Ukraine war, as emphasized, is a war of attrition in which capturing and holding territory is of secondary importance. The aim in attrition warfare is to wear down the other side’s forces to the point where it either quits the fight or is so weakened that it can no longer defend contested territory.[27]

Who wins an attrition war is largely a function of three factors: the balance of resolve between the two sides; the population balance between them; and the casualty-exchange ratio. The Russians have a decisive advantage in population size and a marked advantage in the casualty-exchange ratio; the two sides are evenly matched in terms of resolve.

Consider the balance of resolve. As noted, both Russia and Ukraine believe they are facing an existential threat, and naturally, both sides are fully committed to winning the war. Thus, it is hard to see any meaningful difference in their resolve. Regarding population size, Russia had approximately a 3.5:1 advantage before the war began in February 2022. Since then, the ratio has shifted noticeably in Russia’s favor. About eight million Ukrainians have fled the country, subtracting from Ukraine’s population. Roughly three million of those emigrants have gone to Russia, adding to its population. In addition, there are probably about four million other Ukrainian citizens living in the territories that Russia now controls, further shifting the population imbalance in Russia’s favor. Putting those numbers together gives Russia approximately a 5:1 advantage in population size.[28]

Finally, there is the casualty-exchange ratio, which has been a controversial issue since the war started in February 2022. The conventional wisdom in Ukraine and the West is that the casualty levels on both sides are either roughly equal or that the Russians have suffered greater casualties than the Ukrainians. The head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, goes so far as to argue that the Russian lost 7.5 soldiers for every one Ukrainian soldier in the battle for Bakhmut.[29]

A Ukrainian soldier adds wood to a fire to stave off the bitter cold, Bakhmut, Donbass (File photo)

These claims are wrong. Ukrainian forces have surely suffered much greater casualties than their Russian opponents for one reason: Russia has much more artillery than Ukraine.

In attrition warfare, artillery is the most important weapon on the battlefield. In the U.S. Army, artillery is widely known as the “king of battle,” because it is principally responsible for killing and wounding the soldiers doing the fighting.[30]

Thus, the balance of artillery matters enormously in a war of attrition. By almost every account, the Russians have somewhere between a 5:1 and a 10:1 advantage in artillery, which puts the Ukrainian army at a significant disadvantage on the battlefield.[31]

Ceteris paribus, one would expect the casualty-exchange ratio to approximate the balance of artillery. Ergo, a casualty-exchange ratio on the order of 2:1 in Russia’s favor is a conservative estimate.[32]

One possible challenge to my analysis is to argue that Russia is the aggressor in this war, and the offender invariably suffers much higher casualty levels than the defender, especially if the attacking forces are engaged in broad frontal assaults, which is often said to be the Russian military’s modus operandi.[33]

After all, the offender is out in the open and on the move, while the defender is mainly fighting from fixed positions that provide substantial cover. This logic underpins the famous 3:1 rule of thumb, which says that an attacking force needs at least three times as many soldiers as the defender to win a battle.[34]

But there are problems with this line of argument when it is applied to the Ukraine war.

First, it is not just the Russians who have initiated offensive campaigns over the course of the war.[35]

Indeed, the Ukrainians launched two major offensives last year that led to widely heralded victories: the Kharkiv offensive in September 2022 and the Kherson offensive between August and November 2022. Although the Ukrainians made substantial territorial gains in both campaigns, Russian artillery inflicted heavy casualties on the attacking forces. The Ukrainians just began another major offensive on 4 June against Russian forces that are more numerous and far better prepared than those the Ukrainians fought against in Kharkiv and Kherson.

Second, the distinction between offenders and defenders in a major battle is usually not black and white. When one army attacks another army, the defender invariably launches counterattacks. In other words, the defender transitions to the offense and the offender transitions to the defense. Over the course of a protracted battle, each side is likely to end up doing much attacking and counterattacking as well as defending fixed positions. This back and forth explains why the casualty-exchange ratios in US Civil War battles and WWI battles are often roughly equal, not favorable to the army that started out on the defensive. In fact, the army that strikes the first blow occasionally suffers less casualties than the target army.[36]

In short, defense usually involves a lot of offense.

It is clear from Ukrainian and Western news accounts that Ukrainian forces frequently launch counterattacks against Russian forces. Consider this account in The Washington Post of the fighting earlier this year in Bakhmut: “‘There is this fluid motion going on.’ said a Ukrainian first lieutenant … Russian attacks along the front allow their forces to advance a few hundred meters before being pushed back hours later. ‘It’s hard to distinguish exactly where the front line is because it moves like Jell-O,’ he said.”[37]

Given Russia’s massive artillery advantage, it seems reasonable to assume that the casualty-exchange ratio in these Ukrainian counterattacks favors the Russians – probably in a lopsided way.

Third, the Russians are not employing – at least not often – large-scale frontal assaults that aim to rapidly move forward and capture territory, but which would expose the attacking forces to withering fire from Ukrainian defenders. As General Sergey Surovikin explained in October 2022, when he was commanding the Russian forces in Ukraine, “We have a different strategy… We spare each soldier and are persistently grinding down the advancing enemy.”[38]

In effect, Russian troops have adopted clever tactics that reduce their casualty levels.[39]

Their favored tactic is to launch probing attacks against fixed Ukrainian positions with small infantry units, which causes Ukrainian forces to attack them with mortars and artillery.[40]

That response allows the Russians to determine where the Ukrainian defenders and their artillery are located. The Russians then use their great advantage in artillery to pound their adversaries. Afterwards, packets of Russian infantry move forward again; and when they meet serious Ukrainian resistance, they repeat the process. These tactics help explain why Russia is making slow progress in capturing Ukrainian held territory.

One might think the West can go a long way toward evening out the casualty-exchange ratio by supplying Ukraine with many more artillery tubes and shells, thus eliminating Russia’s significant advantage with this critically important weapon. That is not going to happen anytime soon, however, simply because neither the United States nor its allies have the industrial capacity necessary to mass produce artillery tubes and shells for Ukraine. Nor can they rapidly build that capacity.[41]

The best the West can do – at least for the next year or so – is maintain the existing imbalance of artillery between Russia and Ukraine, but even that will be a difficult task.

Ukraine can do little to help remedy the problem, because its ability to manufacture weapons is limited. It is almost completely dependent on the West, not only for artillery, but for every type of major weapons system. Russia, on the other hand, had a formidable capability to manufacture weaponry going into the war, which has been ramped up since the fighting started. Putin recently said: “Our defense industry is gaining momentum every day. We have increased military production by 2.7 times during the last year. Our production of the most critical weapons has gone up ten times and keeps increasing. Plants are working in two or three shifts, and some are busy around the clock.”[42]

In short, given the sad state of Ukraine’s industrial base, it is in no position to wage a war of attrition by itself. It can only do so with Western backing. But even then, it is doomed to lose.

There has been a recent development that further increases Russia’s firepower advantage over Ukraine. For the first year of the war, Russian airpower had little influence on what happened in the ground war, mainly because Ukraine’s air defenses were effective enough to keep Russian aircraft far away from most battlefields. But the Russians have seriously weakened Ukraine’s air defenses, which now allows the Russian air force to strike Ukrainian ground forces on or directly behind the front lines.[43]

In addition, Russia has developed the capability to equip its huge arsenal of 500 kg iron bombs with guidance kits that make them especially lethal.[44]

In sum, the casualty-exchange ratio will continue to favor the Russians for the foreseeable future, which matters enormously in a war of attrition. In addition, Russia is much better positioned to wage attrition warfare because its population is far larger than Ukraine’s. Kyiv’s only hope for winning the war is for Moscow’s resolve to collapse, but that is unlikely given that Russian leaders view the West as an existential danger.

Prospects for A Negotiated Peace Agreement 

There is a growing chorus of voices around the world calling for all sides in the Ukrainian war to embrace diplomacy and negotiate a lasting peace agreement. This is not going to happen, however. There are too many formidable obstacles to ending the war anytime soon, much less fashioning a deal that produces a durable peace. The best possible outcome is a frozen conflict, where both sides continue looking for opportunities to weaken the other side and where there is an ever-present danger of renewed fighting.

At the most general level, peace is not possible because each side views the other as a mortal threat that must be defeated on the battlefield. There is hardly any room for compromise with the other side in these circumstances. There are also two specific points of dispute between the warring parties that are unsolvable. One involves territory while the other concerns Ukrainian neutrality.[45]

Almost all Ukrainians are deeply committed to getting back all their lost territory – including Crimea.[46]

Who can blame them? But Russia has officially annexed Crimea, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporozhe, and is firmly committed to keeping that territory. In fact, there is reason to think Moscow will annex more Ukrainian territory if it can.

The other Gordian knot concerns Ukraine’s relationship with the West. For understandable reasons, Ukraine wants a security guarantee once the war ends, which only the West can provide. That means either de facto or de jure membership in NATO, since no other countries can protect Ukraine. Virtually all Russian leaders, however, demand a neutral Ukraine, which means no military ties with the West and thus no security umbrella for Kyiv. There is no way to square this circle.

There are two other obstacles to peace: nationalism, which has now morphed into hypernationalism, and the complete lack of trust on the Russian side.

Nationalism has been a powerful force in Ukraine for well over a century, and antagonism toward Russia has long been one of its core elements. The outbreak of the present conflict on 22 February 2014 fueled that hostility, prompting the Ukrainian parliament to pass a bill the following day that restricted the use of Russian and other minority languages, a move that helped precipitate the civil war in the Donbass.[47]

Russia’s annexation of Crimea shortly thereafter made a bad situation worse. Contrary to the conventional wisdom in the West, Putin understood that Ukraine was a separate nation from Russia and that the conflict between the ethnic Russians and Russian-speakers living in the Donbass and the Ukrainian government was all about “the national question.”[48]

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which directly pits the two countries against each other in a protracted and bloody war has turned that nationalism into hypernationalism on both sides. Contempt and hatred of “the other” suffuses Russian and Ukrainian society, which creates powerful incentives to eliminate that threat – with violence if necessary. Examples abound. A prominent Kyiv weekly maintains that famous Russian authors like Mikhail Lermontov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and Boris Pasternak are “killers, looters, ignoramuses.”[49]

Russian culture, says a prominent Ukrainian writer, represents “barbarism, murder, and destruction …. Such is the fate of the culture of the enemy.”[50]

Predictably, the Ukrainian government is engaged in “de-Russification” or “decolonization,” which involves purging libraries of books by Russian authors, renaming streets that have names with links to Russia, pulling down statues of figures like Catherine the Great, banning Russian music produced after 1991, breaking ties between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, and minimizing use of the Russian language. Perhaps Ukraine’s attitude toward Russia is best summed up by Zelensky’s terse comment: “We will not forgive. We will not forget.”[51]

Turning to the Russian side of the hill, Anatol Lieven reports that “every day on Russian TV you can see hate-filled ethnic insults directed at Ukrainians.”[52]

Unsurprisingly, the Russians are working to Russify and erase Ukrainian culture in the areas that Moscow has annexed. These measures include issuing Russian passports, changing the curricula in schools, replacing the Ukrainian hryvnia with the Russian ruble, targeting libraries and museums, and renaming towns and cities.[53]

Bakhmut, for example, is now Artemovsk and the Ukrainian language is no longer taught in schools in the Donetsk region.[54]

Apparently, the Russians too will neither forgive nor forget.

The rise of hypernationalism is predictable in wartime, not only because governments rely heavily on nationalism to motivate their people to back their country to the hilt, but also because the death and destruction that come with war – especially protracted wars – pushes each side to dehumanize and hate the other. In the Ukraine case, the bitter conflict over national identity adds fuel to the fire.

Hypernationalism naturally makes it harder for each side to cooperate with the other and gives Russia reason to seize territory that is filled with ethnic Russians and Russian speakers. Presumably, many of them would prefer living under Russian control, given the animosity of the Ukrainian government toward all things Russian. In the process of annexing these lands, the Russians are likely to expel large numbers of ethnic Ukrainians, mainly because of fear that they will rebel against Russian rule if they remain. These developments will further fuel hatred between Russians and Ukrainians, making compromise over territory practically impossible.

There is a final reason why a lasting peace agreement is not doable. Russian leaders do not trust either Ukraine or the West to negotiate in good faith, which is not to imply that Ukrainian and Western leaders trust their Russian counterparts. Lack of trust is evident on all sides, but it is especially acute on Moscow’s part because of a recent set of revelations.

The source of the problem is what happened in the negotiations over the 2015 Minsk II Agreement, which was a framework for shutting down the conflict in the Donbass. French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel played the central role is designing that framework, although they consulted extensively with both Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Those four individuals were also the key players in the subsequent negotiations. There is little doubt that Putin was committed to making Minsk work. But Hollande, Merkel, and Poroshenko – as well as Zelensky – have all made it clear that they were not interested in implementing Minsk, but instead saw it as an opportunity to buy time for Ukraine to build up its military so that it could deal with the insurrection in the Donbass. As Merkel told Die Zeit, it was “an attempt to give Ukraine time … to become stronger.”[55]

Similarly, Poroshenko said, “Our goal was to, first, stop the threat, or at least to delay the war — to secure eight years to restore economic growth and create powerful armed forces.”[56]

Shortly after Merkel’s Die Zeit interview in December 2022, Putin told a press conference: “I thought the other participants of this agreement were at least honest, but no, it turns out they were also lying to us and only wanted to pump Ukraine with weapons and get it prepared for a military conflict.” He went on to say that getting bamboozled by the West had caused him to pass up an opportunity to solve the Ukraine problem in more favorable circumstances for Russia: “Apparently, we got our bearings too late, to be honest. Maybe we should have started all this [the military operation] earlier, but we just hoped that we would be able to solve it within the framework of the Minsk agreements.” He then made it clear that the West’s duplicity would complicate future negotiations: “Trust is already almost at zero, but after such statements, how can we possibly negotiate? About what? Can we make any agreements with anybody and where are the guarantees?”[57]

In sum, there is hardly any chance the Ukraine war will end with a meaningful peace settlement. The war is instead likely to drag on for at least another year and eventually turn into a frozen conflict that might turn back into a shooting war.

Consequences

The absence of a viable peace agreement will have a variety of terrible consequences. Relations between Russia and the West, for example, are likely to remain profoundly hostile and dangerous for the foreseeable future. Each side will continue demonizing the other while working hard to maximize the amount of pain and trouble it causes its rival. This situation will certainly prevail if the fighting continues; but even if the war turns into a frozen conflict, the level of hostility between the two sides is unlikely to change much.

Moscow will seek to exploit existing fissures between European countries, while also working to weaken the trans-Atlantic relationship as well as key European institutions like the EU and NATO. Given the damage the war has done to Europe’s economy and continues to do, given the growing disenchantment in Europe with the prospect of a never-ending war in Ukraine, and given the differences between Europe and the United States regarding trade with China, Russian leaders should find fertile ground for causing trouble in the West.[58]

This meddling will naturally reinforce Russophobia in Europe and the United States, making a bad situation worse.

The West, for its part, will maintain sanctions on Moscow and keep economic intercourse between the two sides to a minimum, all for the purpose of harming Russia’s economy. Moreover, it will surely work with Ukraine to help generate insurgencies in the territories Russia took from Ukraine. At the same time, the United States and its allies will continue pursuing a hard-nosed containment policy toward Russia, which many believe will be enhanced by Finland and Sweden joining NATO and the deployment of significant NATO forces in eastern Europe.[59]

Of course, the West will remain committed to bringing Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, even if that is unlikely to happen. Finally, U.S. and European elites are sure to retain their enthusiasm for fostering regime change in Moscow and putting Putin on trial for Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Not only will relations between Russia and the West remain poisonous moving forward, but they will also be dangerous, as there will be the ever-present possibility of nuclear escalation or a great-power war between Russia and the United States.[60]

The Destruction of Ukraine 

Ukraine was in severe economic and demographic trouble before the war began last year.[61]

The devastation inflicted on Ukraine since the Russian invasion is horrific. Surveying events during the war’s first year, the World Bank declares that the invasion “has dealt an unimaginable toll on the people of Ukraine and the country’s economy, with activity contracting by a staggering 29.2 percent in 2022.” Unsurprisingly, Kyiv needs massive injections of foreign aid just to keep the government running, not to mention fighting the war. Furthermore, the World Bank estimates that damages exceed $135 billion and that roughly $411 billion will be needed to rebuild Ukraine. Poverty, it reports, “increased from 5.5 percent in 2021 to 24.1 percent in 2022, pushing 7.1 million more people into poverty and retracting 15 years of progress.”[62]

Cities have been destroyed, roughly 8 million Ukrainians have fled the country, and about 7 million are internally displaced. The United Nations has confirmed 8,490 civilian deaths, although it believes that the actual number is “considerably higher.”[63]

And surely Ukraine has suffered well over 100,000 battlefield casualties.

Ukraine’s future looks bleak in the extreme. The war shows no signs of ending anytime soon, which means more destruction of infrastructure and housing, more destruction of towns and cities, more civilian and military deaths, and more damage to the economy. And not only is Ukraine likely to lose even more territory to Russia, but according to the European Commission, “the war has set Ukraine on a path of irreversible demographic decline.”[64]

To make matters worse, the Russians will work overtime to keep rump Ukraine economically weak and politically unstable. The ongoing conflict is also likely to fuel corruption, which has long been an acute problem, and further strengthen extremist groups in Ukraine. It is hard to imagine Kyiv ever meeting the criteria necessary for joining either the EU or NATO.

US Policy Toward China

The Ukraine war is hindering the U.S. effort to contain China, which is of paramount importance for American security since China is a peer competitor while Russia is not.[65]

Indeed, balance-of-power logic says that the United States should be allied with Russia against China and pivoting full force to East Asia. Instead, the war in Ukraine has pushed Beijing and Moscow close together, while providing China with a powerful incentive to make sure that Russia is not defeated and the United States remains tied down in Europe, impeding its efforts to pivot to East Asia.

Conclusion

It should be apparent by now that the Ukraine war is an enormous disaster that is unlikely to end anytime soon and when it does, the result will not be a lasting peace. A few words are in order about how the West ended up in this dreadful situation.

The conventional wisdom about the war’s origins is that Putin launched an unprovoked attack on 24 February 2022, which was motivated by his grand plan to create a greater Russia. Ukraine, it is said, was the first country he intended to conquer and annex, but not the last. As I have said on numerous occasions, there is no evidence to support this line of argument, and indeed there is considerable evidence that directly contradicts it.[66]

While there is no question Russia invaded Ukraine, the ultimate cause of the war was the West’s decision – and here we are talking mainly about the United States – to make Ukraine a Western bulwark on Russia’s border. The key element in that strategy was bringing Ukraine into NATO, a move that not only Putin, but the entire Russian foreign policy establishment, saw as an existential threat that had to be eliminated.

It is often forgotten that numerous American and European policymakers and strategists opposed NATO expansion from the start because they understood that the Russians would see it as a threat, and that the policy would eventually lead to disaster. The list of opponents includes George Kennan, both President Clinton’s Secretary of Defense, William Perry, and his Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General John Shalikashvili, Paul Nitze, Robert Gates, Robert McNamara, Richard Pipes, and Jack Matlock, just to name a few.[67]

At the NATO summit in Bucharest In April 2008, both French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel opposed President George W. Bush’s plan to bring Ukraine into the alliance. Merkel later said that her opposition was based on her belief that Putin would interpret it as a “declaration of war.”[68]

Of course, the opponents of NATO expansion were correct, but they lost the fight and NATO marched eastward, which eventually provoked the Russians to launch a preventive war. Had the United States and its allies not moved to bring Ukraine into NATO in April 2008, or had they been willing to accommodate Moscow’s security concerns after the Ukraine crisis broke out in February 2014, there probably would be no war in Ukraine today and its borders would look like they did when it gained its independence in 1991. The West made a colossal blunder, which it and many others are not done paying for.

*

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Notes

1 This paper was written to serve as the basis for public talks I have given or will give on the Ukraine conflict. See, for example: this.

2 https://nationalinterest.org/feature/causes-and-consequences-ukraine-crisis-203182https://jmss.org/article/view/76584https://harpers.org/archive/2023/06/why-are-we-in-ukraine/https://nationalinterest.org/feature/course-correcting-toward-diplomacy-ukraine-crisis-204171https://www.amazon.com/How-West-Brought-Ukraine-Understanding/dp/0991076702/ref=pd_vtp_h_vft_none_pd_vtp_h_vft_none_sccl_1/142-3537937-6121237?pd_rd_w=ezoTp&content-id=amzn1.sym.a5610dee-0db9-4ad9-a7a9-14285a430f83&pf_rd_p=a5610dee-0db9-4ad9-a7a9-14285a430f83&pf_rd_r=ZGPKTJ5C49MCEE3RVTNG&pd_rd_wg=TaIQh&pd_rd_r=a9e88789-cd82-47ab-95d8-03165a6f271b&pd_rd_i=0991076702&psc=1https://scheerpost.com/2022/04/09/former-nato-military-analyst-blows-the-whistle-on-wests-ukraine-invasion-narrative/
3 http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/70565

4 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71445

http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71391
5 https://nationalinterest.org/feature/course-correcting-toward-diplomacy-ukraine-crisis-204171; https://tass.com/politics/1634479

6 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71391

Putin briefly mentioned these two goals in his 24 February 2023 speech announcing the invasion of Ukraine. But they were not realistic goals, given that Russia was launching a “special military operation” that did not aim at conquering all of Ukraine. http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67843Thus, it is not surprising that Putin abandoned these two goals during the Istanbul negotiations in March 2022. https://www.ft.com/content/7f14efe8-2f4c-47a2-aa6b-9a755a39b626

7 Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 with approximately 1.5 million soldiers. The Polish territory it conquered for purposes of annexing and administering was about 188,000 square kilometers and was populated by about 22.1 million Poles. Ukraine without Crimea was roughly 603,601 square kilometers and had a population of 41 million Ukrainians when Russia invaded on 24 February 2022. In other words, Ukraine was geographically more than three times larger than the part of Poland that the Germans conquered in 1939 and Ukraine had close to twice the population. For the Ukraine numbers, see notes 9 and 28. For the Polish numbers, see: Robert M. Kennedy, The German Campaign in Poland (1939), (Washington, DC: Department of the Army, 1956), p. 77; Richard C. Lukas, Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles under German Occupation, 1939-1944 (Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 1986), p. 2; and http://rcin.org.pl/Content/15652/WA51_13607_r2011-nr12_Monografie.pdf

8 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71391

9 Pre-2014 Ukraine was 603,628 square km. Crimea (27,000), Donetsk (26,517), Kherson (28,461), Luhansk (26,684), and Zaporozhe (27,180) represent approximately 23 percent of Ukraine’s territory. If the Russians also annexed Dnipropetrovsk (31,914), Kharkiv (31,415), Mykolaiv (24,598), and Odessa (33,310), they would control about 43 percent of pre-2014 Ukraine.

10 https://russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/comments/six-months-into-the-conflict-what-exactly-does-russia-hope-to-achieve-in-ukraine/

https://www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/ukraine/2023/02/russia-cannot-afford-lose-need-victory-sergey-karaganov-what-putin-wants
11 https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2020/4/pdf/2003-NATO-Russia_en.pdf

12 https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB10014.html

13 https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-aid-has-us-sent-ukraine-here-are-six-charts; https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/18/russia-ukraine-war-us-involvement-leaked-documents/

14 https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230330-live-charles-iii-addresses-german-parliament-during-first-trip-abroad-as-king

15 https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/322/text

16 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/14/ukraine-counteroffensive-biden-support/

17 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/18/russia-ukraine-war-us-involvement-leaked-documents/

18 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/18/russia-ukraine-war-us-involvement-leaked-documents/

19 https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/04/17/the-west-is-preparing-for-russias-disintegration/

20  https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/05/15/ukraine-nato-membership-europe-russia-war/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/us/politics/biden-nato-ukraine.htmlhttps://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2023-06-16/ukraine-status-nato-military-aid-10457960.html?utm_campaign=dfn-ebb&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sailthru

21 https://kyivindependent.com/stoltenberg-says-ukraine-will-join-nato-vows-continued-support-despite-russias-dangerous-and-reckless-nuclear-rhetoric/

22 https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-xi-makes-first-call-to-zelensky-since-russian-invasion-b784bb7f?mod=world_lead_pos2

23 https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-ukraine-applies-for-fast-track-nato-accession/#:~:text=30%2C%20President%20Volodymyr%20Zelensky%20said,and%20we%20protect%20each%20other.

24 see this

25 see this

26 https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2023/06/12/russias-improved-weaponry-and-tactics-challenge-ukraine-offensive/

27 https://tass.com/defense/1524515

28 Russia had roughly 144 million people at the start of the conflict, while Ukraine had 41 million, a figure that includes the people living in the the Donbass but does not include the 2.4 million people living in Crimea. That yields a 3.5:1 ratio in Russia’s favor. As noted, approximately 8 million Ukrainians have left the country since the war started – about 3 million of them have gone to Russia and the other 5 million have gone to the West. Furthermore, Russia has annexed territory in Ukraine, not all of which it now controls. Before the war started in February 2022, there were roughly 8.8 million people in the four oblasts that Russia has annexed, some of whom are in territory that Russia does not yet control and some of whom are included in the 3 million Ukrainians who have moved to Russia. It seems reasonable to assume that 4 million of the 8.8 million that were in those oblasts before the war are now under Russian control. Thus, Russia now has a population of 151 million (144 + 3 million refugees + 4 million people in the areas in Eastern Ukraine it now controls). Ukraine, on the other hand, has 30 million people in its present population (41 million – 8 million refugees – 4 million people in the areas in eastern Ukraine that Russia now controls). Those numbers yield a 5:1 Russian advantage. Of course, those numbers could change if large numbers of Ukrainian refugees return home or if Russia conquers substantially more Ukrainian territory and annexes it. Regardless, Ukraine will remain decisively outnumbered when it comes to population size.

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC132458https://www.economist.com/europe/2022/12/12/the-war-has-worsened-ukraines-demographic-woeshttps://www.russiamatters.org/analysis/whats-ahead-war-ukrainehttps://tass.com/society/1627949https://www.rt.com/russia/577546-ukraine-population-shrink-half/

29 https://kyivindependent.com/danilov-ukraine-lost-7-5-times-fewer-troops-than-russians-in-bakhmut/; https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64955537

30 To quote a Ukrainian infantryman fighting in Bakhmut, “It’s a pity that probably 90% of our losses are from artillery – or tanks and aviation … And much less (casualties) from shooting battles.” https://kyivindependent.com/battle-of-bakhmut-ukrainian-soldiers-worry-russians-begin-to-taste-victory/; https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/03/ukraine-is-lying-about-casualty-ratios-to-justify-holding-of-bakhmut.html

31 https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-03-01/ukraine-outgunned-10-to-1-in-massive-artillery-battle-with-russia.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/russia-ukraine-war-ammo-rcna56210https://babel.ua/en/news/81312-forbes-russia-has-a-five-fold-advantage-in-artillery-but-western-weapons-can-change-the-situationhttps://kyivindependent.com/why-ukraine-struggles-to-combat-russias-artillery-superiority/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/04/20/bakhmut-ukraine-war-leaked-documents/https://kyivindependent.com/battle-of-bakhmut-ukrainian-soldiers-worry-russians-begin-to-taste-victory/https://kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-soldiers-in-bakhmut-our-troops-are-not-being-protected/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/13/ukraine-casualties-pessimism-ammunition-shortage/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/04/08/ukraine-ammunition-shortage-shells-ration/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F39a85b2%2F6431956453816d1ce09541f1%2F5972c5a9ae7e8a1cf4af1c87%2F31%2F72%2F6431956453816d1ce09541f1&wp_cu=45c484975590037f02458fe7cb0bc152%7CC0E249690CC33FB5E0430100007FF646https://www.rt.com/russia/575278-ukraine-general-lament-state-army/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Email

32 It is difficult to determine the number of Russian and Ukrainian casualties, as both sides provide little information on their own casualties and questionable information on their opponent’s casualties. It is worth noting, however, that both pro-Ukrainian and pro-Western accounts of battlefield events often talk about the remarkably high casualty levels the Ukrainian forces are suffering, while there is no equivalent discourse in the pro-Russian descriptions of the battlefield. There are certainly discussions of Russian casualties, but one sees little evidence that Russian forces are suffering especially high casualty levels like their Ukrainian counterparts. Various governments, institutions, and individuals offer casualty estimates, but do not provide an explanation for how they arrived at their numbers. A rare exception is a careful analysis of the protracted Battle of Bakhmut by a pro-Russian blogger, who estimates that the casualty-exchange ratio in that fight favored the Russians by roughly 2:1.

33 see this
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/06/bakhmut-wagner-mercenaries-russia-ukraine/https://www.wsj.com/articles/wagner-and-russian-army-cooperate-in-fresh-push-to-take-bakhmut-114fe886https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2023/03/08/how-many-russians-have-been-killed-in-ukraine?utm_content=article-link-3&etear=nl_today_3&utm_campaign=r.the-economist-today&utm_medium=email.internal-newsletter.np&utm_source=salesforce-marketing-cloud&utm_term=3/8/2023&utm_id=1517391

34 https://www.jstor.org/stable/2538780

35 https://www.russiamatters.org/analysis/whats-ahead-war-ukraine

36 On the American Civil War, see the casualty figures for the initial offenders and defenders in the first twelve major battles of that bloody conflict in Richard E. Beringer et al., Why the South Lost the Civil War (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1986), p. 460. Regarding WWI, consider two of the major battles that took place in 1916. At the Battle of Verdun, which Germany initiated against France and where 23 million artillery shell were fired by the two sides, there were 350,000 German casualties and 400,000 French casualties. In the Battle of the Somme, where British and French forces initiated the attack against the German army and where 1,700,000 shells were fired on the first day alone, the Allies suffered roughly 620,000 casualties, while the German suffered 550,000 casualties. Martin Gilbert, Atlas of the First World War (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1970), pp. 53, 56; and https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Battle-of-the-Somme/; https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Verdun

37 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/04/20/bakhmut-ukraine-war-leaked-documents/

38 https://tass.com/defense/1524515

39 For evidence that Russian ground forces are in good shape after fourteen months of war and likely to improve moving forward, see the recent congressional testimony by General Christopher Cavoli, the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2023-04-26/ukraine-russia-offensive-eucom-congress-9928802.html?utm_campaign=dfn-ebb&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sailthru&SToverlay=2002c2d9-c344-4bbb-8610-e5794efcfa7dhttps://armedservices.house.gov/sites/republicans.armedservices.house.gov/files/04.26.23%20Cavoli%20Statement%20v2.pdfhttps://www.economist.com/syrsky-interviewhttps://www.kyivpost.com/post/15227#:~:text=War%20in%20Ukraine-,%27They%20Should%20Not%20Be%20Underestimated%27%3A%20A%20Ukrainian%20Soldier%20Describes,says%20a%20serviceman%20in%20Kreminna.https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/special-resources/meatgrinder-russian-tactics-second-year-its-invasion-ukraine

40 https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/04/17/lieven-inside-ukraine-some-real-breaks-and-insights/

https://kyivindependent.com/battle-of-bakhmut-ukrainian-soldiers-worry-russians-begin-to-taste-victory/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64955537https://www.kyivpost.com/post/15227https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/17/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-tactics.htmlhttps://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2023/06/12/russias-improved-weaponry-and-tactics-challenge-ukraine-offensive/https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/special-resources/meatgrinder-russian-tactics-second-year-its-invasion-ukrainehttps://www.economist.com/europe/2023/05/21/russias-army-is-learning-on-the-battlefield?utm_medium=cpc.adword.pd&utm_source=google&ppccampaignID=17210591673&ppcadID=&utm_campaign=a.22brand_pmax&utm_content=conversion.direct-response.anonymous&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnMWkBhDLARIsAHBOftrBBcuuqhkoC_blsz3jrXFjUYLFreTmzrqvsoZOQhKLRO6oUOAOvEQaAl1iEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

41 https://www.ft.com/content/aee0e1a1-c464-4af9-a1c8-73fcbc46ed17

https://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-to-send-ukraine-a-million-artillery-shells-as-russia-gains-ground-5e25a064https://www.rt.com/russia/573610-russia-ammo-production-putin/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-reaches-deep-into-its-global-ammunition-stockpiles-to-help-ukraine-8224d985https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/16/world/europe/ukraine-ammunition-bakhmut.html#:~:text=the%20main%20story-,Ukraine%20Burns%20Through%20Ammunition%20in%20Bakhmut%2C%20Putting%20Future%20Fights%20at,jeopardize%20a%20planned%20springtime%20campaign.https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-only-has-20000-high-explosive-artillery-shells-left-report-2023-06-19/#:~:text=BERLIN%2C%20June%2019%20(Reuters),the%20need%20for%20urgent%20purchases.

42 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71445

http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71391

43 https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-runs-into-russian-air-superiority-82c621c

44 https://kyivindependent.com/russias-smart-bombs-pose-increasingly-serious-threat-to-ukraine/

https://www.rt.com/russia/575978-ukraine-glide-bombs-offensive/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/25/world/europe/russia-ukraine-soviet-bombs.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

45 https://www.rt.com/russia/576996-russia-conditions-ukraine-peace/

46 “A poll in February and March [2023] by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found 87 per cent of Ukrainians considered any territorial concessions to achieve peace unacceptable. Only 9 per cent said they would accept concessions if it meant lasting peace.”

https://www.ft.com/content/d68b4007-4ddf-4320-b29a-f2eee2662d6e

47 https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/the-truth-behind-ukraine-s-language-policy/

This article makes it clear how important language is for fueling the troubles inside Ukraine.

48 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181

49 https://mondediplo.com/2023/01/04ukraine

50 https://www.nybooks.com/online/2023/04/21/derussification-ukraine-libraries/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NYR%2004-23-23%20Tallman%20Benfey%20Bell%20Rudick%20Debevec-McKenney%20Schaeffer&utm_content=NYR%2004-23-23%20Tallman%20Benfey%20Bell%20Rudick%20Debevec-McKenney%20Schaeffer+CID_b19f74f0617664032481c98beab30139&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_term=A%20Book%20is%20a%20Quiet%20Weapon

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2023/ukraine-russian-influence-destruction/?itid=hp-top-table-main_p001_f004

51 https://goodfaithmedia.org/understanding-zelenskyys-we-will-not-forgive-we-will-not-forget

52 https://www.thenation.com/article/world/ukraine-russia-nationalism-war/

53 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/22/world/europe/zelensky-russian-ban-ukraine.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/schools-in-occupied-ukraine-seek-to-turn-children-into-loyal-russians-d26cf4e?mod=hp_lead_pos6

54 https://www.rt.com/russia/577407-donetsk-ukrainian-language-pushilin/

55 https://consortiumnews.com/2022/12/13/patrick-lawrence-germany-the-lies-of-empire/

https://www.rt.com/russia/567873-zakharova-merkel-minsk-agreements/

56 https://consortiumnews.com/2022/12/05/scott-ritter-merkel-reveals-wests-duplicity/

https://www.rt.com/russia/577553-poroshenko-minsk-accords-nato/On Zelensky, https://www.rt.com/russia/571243-zelensky-minsk-agreements-failure/

57 https://www.rt.com/russia/567967-putin-thinks-shouldve-started-sooner/

http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/70565http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71445http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71391https://www.rt.com/russia/578175-lavrov-ukraine-world-order/

58 The World Bank reports that: “The Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, the subsequent disruption of energy, food, metals and other supplies, and the tightening of monetary policy and financial conditions dramatically slowed growth in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) in 2022. Growth of regional activity weakened to 1.2 percent in 2022 from 7.1 percent in 2021.”

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/004535c2-fbcd-4e96-9439-bc4bc502c2b3/contenthttps://www.wsj.com/articles/world-bank-warns-of-lost-decade-for-global-economy-aba506a4https://www.politico.eu/article/74-percent-of-europeans-agree-with-french-president-emmanuel-macron-on-china-us-defense-report-shows/

59 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/17/world/europe/nato-russia-ukraine-war.html

https://armedservices.house.gov/sites/republicans.armedservices.house.gov/files/04.26.23%20Cavoli%20Statement%20v2.pdf

60 https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/playing-fire-ukraine

Consider, for example, how Finland and Sweden joining NATO will heighten Russia’s sense of danger. Not only will Moscow be facing a more formidable Western alliance, but Finland shares an 830-mile-long border with Russia; and the United States is apparently planning to establish a military presence in Finland. Furthermore, the Baltic Sea, which is of vital strategic importance for Russia – especially because of Kaliningrad – will now be surrounded by NATO countries. To make matters worse, there is serious potential for trouble in the Arctic, where Russia is one of eight rim states and where disputes are likely as the ice continues to melt. The other seven rim states, however, are now all NATO members – Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and the United States. In a crisis in the Arctic, an outnumbered and scared Russia – with most of its conventional forces pinned down in Ukraine – might pursue a highly risky military strategy to protect itself.https://www.indianpunchline.com/us-sees-in-finlands-nato-accession-encirclement-of-russia/https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-talks-establishing-military-bases-finlandhttps://www.thearcticinstitute.org/china-russia-arctic-cooperation-context-divided-arctic/#https://warontherocks.com/2023/03/russia-wont-sit-idly-by-after-finland-and-sweden-join-nato/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/31/world/europe/blinken-arctic-nato-russia.html

61 https://carnegieendowment.org/2012/03/09/underachiever-ukraine-s-economy-since-1991-pub-47451

https://www.britannica.com/place/Ukraine/Economic-difficultieshttps://consortiumnews.com/2023/05/08/ukraines-big-mistake/On Ukraine’s population, see the sources in note 28.

62 https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-rapid-damage-and-needs-assessment-february-2022-2023-enuk

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/004535c2-fbcd-4e96-9439-bc4bc502c2b3/contenthttps://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/06/the-shocking-economic-damage-to-ukraine-from-russias-invasion/

63 https://www.ohchr.org/en/news/2023/04/ukraine-civilian-casualty-update-10-april-2023

64 https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/war-exacerbates-ukraines-population-decline-new-report-shows-2023-03-08_en

https://www.rt.com/russia/577546-ukraine-population-shrink-half/

65 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/06/09/america-weapons-china-00100373

66 https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russia-fsu/2014-08-18/why-ukraine-crisis-west-s-fault

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/opinion/getting-ukraine-wrong.htmlhttps://nationalinterest.org/feature/causes-and-consequences-ukraine-crisis-203182https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2022/03/11/john-mearsheimer-on-why-the-west-is-principally-responsible-for-the-ukrainian-crisishttps://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-john-mearsheimer-blames-the-us-for-the-crisis-in-ukraine

67 https://www.armscontrol.org/act/1997-06/arms-control-today/opposition-nato-expansion#:~:text=Dear%20Mr.,policy%20error%20of%20historic%20proportions.

68 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/07/no-regrets-over-handling-of-vladimir-putin-says-angela-merkel

Featured image: President Joe Biden travels to Kyiv, Ukraine Monday, February 20, 2023. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

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The Ever Widening War. Paul Craig Roberts

July 31st, 2023 by Dr. Paul Craig Roberts

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***

This report from Larry Johnson demonstrates that my often expressed concern about the ever widening conflict in Ukraine has been correct. Putin is now confronted with a US/Polish plan for Poland to seize Western Ukraine. This would bring Ukraine into NATO and defeat Putin’s goal of demilitarizing Ukraine and maintaining Ukraine as an independent but neutral country.

Putin held a video conference on Thursday with members of Russia’s Security Council. I hope folks in the West pay attention to what he said, which is why I’m presenting the entirety of his remarks following a presentation by the Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service. Based on public source information and Russia collected intelligence, Russia believes that Poland is planning to seize Ukrainian territory west of the Dnieper River as Ukraine’s much ballyhooed counter offensive collapses.

Let me give you Putin’s bottomline up front:

“Regarding the policy of the Ukrainian regime, it is none of our business. If they want to relinquish or sell off something in order to pay their bosses, as traitors usually do, that’s their business. We will not interfere.

But Belarus is part of the Union State, and launching an aggression against Belarus would mean launching an aggression against the Russian Federation. We will respond to that with all the resources available to us.”

Click here to read Larry Johnson’s article.

It remains a mystery that Putin did not realize that a long drawn out conflict would provide Washington with opportunities to prevail. Putin shows acceptance of Poland seizing western Ukraine as long as it does not threaten Belarus. In other words, Ukraine will enter NATO as part of Poland.

Unless Putin can find the will to take Odessa, Kharkiv, and northeastern Ukraine, Poland will have a Black Sea base and missiles on Russia’s border, and Washington will have prevailed  at the expense of Ukraine and Russia.

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Paul Craig Roberts is a renowned author and academic, chairman of The Institute for Political Economy where this article was originally published. Dr. Roberts was previously associate editor and columnist for The Wall Street Journal. He was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy during the Reagan Administration. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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Towards a World War III Scenario: The Dangers of Nuclear War” 

by Michel Chossudovsky

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Michel Chossudovsky is Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), which hosts the critically acclaimed website www.globalresearch.ca . He is a contributor to the Encyclopedia Britannica. His writings have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Reviews

“This book is a ‘must’ resource – a richly documented and systematic diagnosis of the supremely pathological geo-strategic planning of US wars since ‘9-11’ against non-nuclear countries to seize their oil fields and resources under cover of ‘freedom and democracy’.”
John McMurtry, Professor of Philosophy, Guelph University

“In a world where engineered, pre-emptive, or more fashionably “humanitarian” wars of aggression have become the norm, this challenging book may be our final wake-up call.”
-Denis Halliday, Former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations

Michel Chossudovsky exposes the insanity of our privatized war machine. Iran is being targeted with nuclear weapons as part of a war agenda built on distortions and lies for the purpose of private profit. The real aims are oil, financial hegemony and global control. The price could be nuclear holocaust. When weapons become the hottest export of the world’s only superpower, and diplomats work as salesmen for the defense industry, the whole world is recklessly endangered. If we must have a military, it belongs entirely in the public sector. No one should profit from mass death and destruction.
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***

Russian President Vladimir Putin invited African leaders and ‘non-Western friends’ to his hometown, St. Petersburg which hosted the second Russia-Africa summit from July 27-28. In the past three years, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has visited several African countries. Lavrov has used the shuttle diplomacy in African capitals to build support and strengthen further political contacts in preparation for the Russia-Africa summit.

According to the Kremlin report, the current geopolitical period is “extremely difficult” and consequently only 17 heads of state out of 55 African countries were at the summit. There were, of course, a total of 49 African delegations noted in the report on the official website. That compared to the first held in October 2019, representatives from all 54 African states, including 43 heads of state attended the summit. Kremlin said the United States, France and other Western countries had exerted unprecedented pressure on African leaders ahead of the Russia-Africa summit to keep them from participating.

Putin delivered a keynote speech at the summit, talking about a “new world order” founded on “multipolarity and equality” among all nations. Ahead of that, Putin’s article on Russia-African relations was possibly an effort to mitigate the damage to both Russia’s standing and its reputation in Africa, caused by Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed export of Ukrainian grains to alleviate food security risks in a number of African countries.

Understandably speaking of the two-day Russia-Africa gathering, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov also explained that the United States, France and other European countries through their diplomatic missions in African countries attempted to put pressure on the leadership of these countries. Peskov branded this meddling as “a completely outrageous fact” but stressed that it “in no way hinders the successful holding of the summit.”

In fact, experts have been discussing and interpreting this particular geopolitical political situation and its implications. “Russia has turned sharply towards Africa to circumvent Western isolation following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The St. Petersburg gathering presented another chance to show that Moscow has not been isolated and has alternative partners willing to deepen their cooperation with the Kremlin,” said Priyal Singh, a senior researcher at Institute of Security Studies.

Nevertheless, it has already become a historical landmark in this new chapter of Russia-African relations, especially this period of global political tensions and fierce economic competition, with Africa being the centre of focus. Today, Africa is the most promising, and at same time, the fastest growing region in the world. Investing in Africa is a popular trend and offers obvious advantages. Investing in Africa is a popular trend and offers obvious advantages as leading global powers seek diverse cooperation across the continent, considered the last frontier. In practical terms, African leaders are also setting comprehensive targets for improving performance and making strategic choices based on their development paradigms.

Of course, there are many distinctive problems – ranging from governance system through economic to socio-cultural – in the region. The major difficulties are seemingly connected with deficiencies in infrastructure, logistics, and energy. But economic growth continues, which indicates the possibility of pushing further economic development from its current levels. The attractiveness of Africa as a place for business is expected to grow, for instance with the introduction of African Union’s project: African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

It is home to over 1.3 billion inhabitants, comprising 55 states, 37 cities with over a million residents, over 30 million square kilometres of territory, and 60% of its land is fertile. Africa is the highest concentration of natural and human resources. According to various estimates, 12% of the world’s oil and 18% of its gas reserves are concentrated there.

Scanning through official reports, we can underscore the significance of the late July summit as joining collective efforts for maintaining sustainable peace, development progress and working towards a successful and prosperous future. The ‘Africa We Want’ is to creat and prepare better living conditions for the next generations. Based on the past, Russia had consistently supported African peoples in their struggle for liberation from colonial oppression. After half a century, Russia has to show its support for Africa’s development and for its 1.3 billion population.

It is increasingly becoming visible that most African countries are showing signs of pragmatism, forward-looking for economic collaborating and partnership from external players. Africa is working to find its worthy place and assert its influence in the new multipolar world. In supporting this argue we can quote President Vladimir Putin who wrote in his pre-summit article that “The strategic areas of interaction are set by the decisions of the first Russia-Africa summit held in Sochi in late October 2019.”

In stark reality there were brilliant speeches and unique deliberations which underline multi-dimensional initiatives. As it is well-known, Russia aims at fostering long-term and deeper multi-dimensional collaboration between African countries and to accelerate and support the continent’s development. Russia is building on its Soviet-era legacy, using the huge reservoir of good will with Africa. Its primary position is based respect for sovereign and raising Africa into global stage, for instance at G-20 and the United Nations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has severally noted that the states of Africa are constantly increasing their weight and their role in world affairs, asserting themselves more and more confidently in politics and the economy. “We are convinced that Africa will become one of the leaders of the emerging new multipolar world order,” according to Putin.

In terms of strategic economic directions, during the pre-summit sessions at Valdai Discussion Club, many questions were hypothetically raised. Valdai was established in 2004, with a goal is to promote dialogue between Russian and international intellectual elite, and to make an independent, unbiased scientific analysis of political, economic and social events in Russia and the rest of the world.

More than 60 people from 12 countries were invited to participate in the preliminary discussions, to make the final synchronisation of watches at the expert level in the run-up to the summit. In the new geopolitical conditions, Africa is becoming one of priorities of the Russian foreign policy.

Significant to note that both Russian and African experts concluded that in the near future, Russian initiatives will always be a priority. One session focused on Economic Relations: Three Years’ Audit After the First Russia-Africa Summit. Possible questions raised were: So what should Russia’s strategy be in Africa today? What are the results of implementation of the agreements achieved at the first Russia-Africa summit, including at the bilateral level? What are the reasons for the shortcomings? What needs to be done to improve the effectiveness of Russian-African economic cooperation? What makes economic cooperation with Russia attractive for African countries? What are Russia’s comparative advantages in the context of parallel tracks of cooperation, such as China-Africa, Turkey-Africa, USA-Africa, and others?

We should be passionate about the new stage of developments. Which is why I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the history of cooperation between Russia and Africa has deep historical roots. We are on the verge of a new economic miracle – the African miracle. Therefore, Africa is the best environment for building long-term partnerships.

We always make a long list including renewable energy, infrastructure and logistics, industry and high technology production, innovative technologies and communications, security and cybersecurity, the digital economy, ecology and agriculture, education and training, and tourism and recreational resources.

The struggle of foreign powers in Africa is not only for the control of raw materials, but also for political influence over the continent. The arrival of new players in Africa provides an opportunity for the continent to choose the best partners, while taking their own interests into account.

There should be some shifts in narratives. And so for Russia, popular opinions are that it establishes equal conditions for cooperation, mutually beneficial cooperation. That it makes the game on the African continent fair and open, so as to balance the presence of other powers.

After deliberations in St. Petersburg, both Russia and Africa adopted a comprehensive Declaration, a number of Joint Statements and approved the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan 2023 to 2026. Reports said an impressive package of intergovernmental and inter‑agency agreements and memoranda with individual states as well as regional associations of the continent were also signed.

In total, five documents are planned for signing: this is a general political declaration, a joint action plan for 2023-2026, and three sectoral documents that relate to the fight against terrorism, non-deployment of weapons in outer space and international information security. It is however hoped that these documents would become a serious platform for joint actions to create a new configuration of international relations based on equal cooperation, the idea of a multipolar world.

Acknowledging the fundamental fact that the multipolar world has practically evolving and gaining momentum. Western countries are noticeably losing their grounds across Africa. The point is to change the global balance of power on the world stage. The West is no longer a unique technological, political and military center that has the ability to exert a decisive influence on other centers of influence, but these are Russia, China, India, the BRICS countries in general, which many states, including African ones, are striving to get into.

African countries are looking to strike a balance. Building up relations with Russia, they do not make a choice: Russia or the West. They develop relations with us in the same way as with China, India, Turkey, the European Union. Their main task is to meet their national interests and development needs. Regardless of unipolar, bipolar or multipolar, the most relevant factor needed is to have a common platform and strengthen each other in terms of economic development and in all other respects, and thereby move forward towards solving the problems of an integrated continental development.

In conclusion, Russia is ready to help strengthen African countries’ sovereignty and contribute to Africa becoming a key partner in the new system of the multipolar world order. It signals practical decisions on building up cooperation. We are reminded that Africa has adopted a plan of action until 2063. Key points: integration, prosperity and peace. Despite security and economic challenges, there are good opportunities for future mutual cooperation, and a lot more substantial challenges and tasks were refixed and renewed at the second Russia-Africa Summit.

*

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Professor Maurice Okoli is a fellow at the Institute for African Studies and the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences. He is also a fellow at the North-Eastern Federal University of Russia. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

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***

Consider Carl Sagan’s warning here – resurfaced by Jimmy Dore — taken from an interview with Charlie Rose, way before COVID-19 or any of the other permanent technocracy-mediated emergencies emerged.

“There’s two kinds of dangers. One is what I just talked about. That we’ve arranged a society based on science and technology in which nobody understands anything about science and technology, and this combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces. I mean, who is running the science and technology in a democracy if the people don’t know anything about it?

And the second reason that I’m worried about this is that science is more than a body of knowledge. It’s a way of thinking. A way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine understanding of human fallibility.

If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us that something is true, to be skeptical of those in authority, then we’re up for grabs for the next charlatan political or religious who comes ambling along.

It’s a thing that Jefferson laid great stress on. It wasn’t enough, he said, to enshrine some rights in a Constitution or a Bill of Rights. The people had to be educated, and they had to practice their skepticism and their education. Otherwise we don’t run the government—the government runs us.”

The entire ethos of actual science in practice – to bastardize a phrase from Ronald Reagan, if you will permit – is “distrust and verify.”

Scientists are humans. Humans are not gods. Ergo, scientists are not God, no matter how much Swamp creatures such as Anthony Fauci insist to the contrary.

For that matter, government bureaucrats are just humans – and, generally speaking, not particularly admirable or honorable ones.

“It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.”-H. L. Mencken

*

 

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This article was originally published on American Thinker.

Ben Bartee, author of Broken English Teacher: Notes From Exile, is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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Brasil – Carta abierta al presidente Lula da Silva

July 31st, 2023 by Reverend Fred Morris

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***

His Excellency Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil:

On March 17, 2003, I was in your Cabinet as a representative of the National Council of Churches of the United States, asking for your help with the presidents of the non-aligned nations to seek to avoid the war of the United States against Iraq. You received me with a warm embrace, because you remembered my case as a Methodist missionary, collaborator of Dom Hélder Câmara in Recife, kidnapped by the Fourth Army and tortured by the same for 17 days before being expelled from Brazil in 1974.

Unfortunately, President GW Bush declared war against Iraq that same night at 9:00 p.m. (Brazilian time) and you didn’t have a chance to help avoid that war.

In 2021, I retired after 68 years as a Methodist minister and moved to Nicaragua, where I live now permanently.

I’m writing to you now about the case of Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, because there is much misinformation about his case being circulated. He is being presented by the North American media as a political prisoner of the Sandinista government. As a Nicaraguan citizen and resident, I can tell you the reality is quite different.

As I’m sure you know, in April, 2018, the US Embassy here in Nicaragua launched an attempt toward Regime Change. During several years prior, the Embassy, USAID, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED—an entity formed and financed by the US Congress), and other agencies of the US government, had sent millions of dollars to Nicaragua in a semi-clandestine manner to support a number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that worked diligently to prepare for a Regime Change Operation to overthrow President Daniel Ortega’s government.

They sent several hundred Nicaraguan students to the US to “learn about democracy.” This project functioned in a manner similar to the nefarious School of the Americas, located for many years in Panama, presently in Ft. Benning, Georgia, because it was expelled from Panama. This School trained hundreds of Latin American military officers in how to combat “communism”. Major Maia, who was the head of the Torture Chamber of the Fourth Army in Recife, where I was tortured, bragged to me that he was a graduate of the School of the Americas and had spent a whole year in Panama learning his torture trade.

On April 18, 2018, in five different cities in Nicaragua, at 9:00 a.m. “spontaneous” protests erupted. All of these protests were led by students who had participated in the trips to the US for “orientation” during the previous years.

These groups raised roadblocks on the main streets of the principal cities of Nicaragua and in the subsequent days and weeks on the country’s international highways. These roadblocks were operated by common delinquents who were recruited for money, drugs and alcohol to increase the number of participants in the protests and to provide muscle to defend the roadblocks. They deliberately provoked many incidents of violence and armed confrontation against police persons and ordinary citizens that resulted in the deaths of more than 260 people, according to impeccable sources. The autopsies performed revealed that a great many of the people killed were shot in their heads and necks, the obvious result of sniper fire (this is very similar to what happened in Venezuela in the coup attempt of 2002 against President Chavez). Among the dead were 22 Sandinista police officers with another 400 officers suffering gunshot wounds.

There were also a great many cases of torture of Sandinistas who were captured by the “rebels.” Since they were confident of victory, as the US Embassy financed and supported the insurrection, and as a way to intimidate the population, many of the protesters recorded their actions on their smartphones, including acts of torture, and posted them on social media for everyone to see. However, mainstream media systematically suppressed coverage of the many notorious cases of this sadistic opposition activist behavior.

Bishop Rolando Alvarez openly supported the attempts to overthrow the Sandinista government, which had been elected with more than 70% of the popular vote in 2016. From his pulpit as Bishop of Matagalpa and on the streets, he encouraged the faithful of his diocese to support the violent opposition forces and do whatever necessary to eliminate the Sandinista government. Bishop Alvarez was one of three leading bishops in the Bishops Conference who demanded the withdrawal of the police to their stations as a pre-condition to a National Dialogue, a demand to which President Ortega agreed in order to facilitate Peace.

In July of 2018, in response to massive popular demands for a return to order, the Sandinista government said “Enough!” and began to arrest the violent activists and criminals who had tried to overthrow the government. As was mentioned before, many of them had recorded their actions on their smartphones and with this evidence it was easy to convict many of them, including those who had tortured and murdered hundreds of people, including non-political citizens and Sandinistas. More than 200 were convicted and imprisoned.

The US and EU governments and their human rights industry proxies protested immediately, declaring that all of these were “political prisoners,” including even those who were convicted of murder. However, the Sandinista government freed them all via an amnesty law, conditioning their freedom on their not repeating their crimes. In the case of further criminal activity, they would have to serve out their sentences.

Unhappily, many broke the agreement and were imprisoned again. In June of 2021, another group were arrested and taken to the courts for various crimes, including fraudulent abuse of non-profit status and money laundering.

Bishop Alvarez did not cease to criticize the government and publicly encouraged his followers that they should continue the struggle to overthrow the government. In the 2021 election, the Sandinistas got 76% of the popular vote, while the candidate in second place got only 12% and the combined vote of the five opposition parties participating in the elections was around 30% of the electorate. Bishop Alvarez had access to and control of various radio stations in two major Nicaraguan cities, Matagalpa and Estelí, which were part of his diocese. Urging the people to rise up, he used them to promote the violent overthrow of the government.

The Catholic Church has been the official religion of Nicaragua for centuries. The priests have enjoyed “diplomatic immunity” during this entire period. On a variety of occasions priests accused of common crimes, such as rape and robbery, escaped consequences claiming this immunity. A majority of the countries of the Hemisphere are “secular states” today, with no official religion. Recent polls have indicated that less than 40% of the people of Nicaragua claim to be Catholic today, the great majority are evangelical protestants.

In March of this year, the Sandinista government recalled its ambassador to the Vatican and then the Vatican closed its Embassy in Managua. As a result, Bishop Alvarez does not enjoy any kind of immunity and finally the Sandinista government accused him of insurrection.

With the presentation of the evidence of five years of public opposition to the government from his pulpit and his radio stations and on the streets, the courts convicted him and sentenced him to 26 years in prison. Respecting his position as a bishop, they gave him “house arrest” in the Bishops’ Palace in Managua.

In February of this year, the Nicaraguan government offered the humanitarian release of 222 opposition persons who had been imprisoned for a variety of crimes, mostly acts against the government and fraudulent abuse of non-profit status and money laundering, to the United States. The US authorities responded by sending a chartered jet to take them all to Washington, DC. Bishop Ronaldo Alvarez refused the invitation. As a result, he was sent back to serve his 26-year sentence, but he was sent to prison, not to the Bishops’ Palace where he had previously been under house arrest.

Bishop Rolando Alvarez is not a political prisoner, unless promoting a violent insurrection resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people were to be considered a purely political act.

The government of the United States is doing everything possible to convince the world that Bishop Alvarez is the victim of political persecution, instead of being a criminal who tried to violently overthrow the government elected by the people of Nicaragua.

Dear President Lula,

I hope that you can understand this reality and not play the game of the US government. I believe that those persons who tried to overthrow your government in January of this year are not political prisoners, but delinquents.

One more detail: I lived in Brazil during more than 10 years under the military dictatorship established in 1964 with the aid of the CIA. During those years, thousands of persons were kidnapped by the security forces and tortured and many were “disappeared.” The military made no effort to hide their use of torture. On the contrary, they wanted the people to know that criticizing the government could easily result in torture or even death. Everyone knew of a colleague, a cousin, an aunt or uncle, a journalist or politician who was tortured. And in this fashion the people were intimidated. As a result, no one said a word against the government, not even in a family gathering, and even less in a restaurant or bar.

I have been living in Nicaragua for a total of eight years now, and during all this time I haven’t heard of a single person who has disappeared or who has been tortured. I live in a middle-class neighborhood, where many of my neighbors are not Sandinistas. Anyone who does not like the government freely expresses their opinion; no one is afraid to speak. My neighbor across from my house works for a TV channel that broadcasts scandalous criticism against the Sandinistas every day—and nothing happens to them.

The Nicaraguan government is not a dictatorship, it is a government of the people, for the people.

With my greatest respect,

Reverend Fred Morris

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***

The prevailing globalised agrifood model is built on unjust trade policies, the leveraging of sovereign debt, population displacement and land dispossession. It fuels commodity monocropping and food insecurity as well as soil and environmental degradation.  

It is responsible for increasing rates of illness, nutrient-deficient diets, a narrowing of the range of food crops, water shortages, chemical runoffs, increasing levels of farmer indebtedness, the undermining and destruction of local communities and the eradication of biodiversity.  

The model relies on a policy paradigm that privileges urbanisation, global markets, long supply chains, external proprietary inputs, highly processed food and market (corporate) dependency at the expense of rural communities, small independent enterprises and smallholder farms, local markets, short supply chains, on-farm resources, diverse agroecological cropping, nutrient dense diets and food sovereignty.    

It is clear that there are huge environmental, social and health issues that stem from how much of our food is currently produced and consumed and that a paradigm shift is required.  

So, some optimists – or wishful thinkers – might have hoped for genuine solutions to the problems and challenges outlined above during the second edition of the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) that took place last week in Rome.  

The UNFSS has claimed that it aims to deliver the latest evidence-based, scientific approaches from around the world, launch a set of fresh commitments through coalitions of action and mobilise new financing and partnerships. These ‘coalitions of action’ revolve around implementing a ‘food transition’ that is more sustainable, efficient and environmentally friendly.  

Founded on a partnership between the UN and the World Economic Forum (WEF), the UNFSS is, however, disproportionately influenced by corporate actors, lacks transparency and accountability and diverts energy and financial resources away from the real solutions needed to tackle the multiple hunger, environmental and health crises.  

According to a recent article on The Canary website, key multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) appearing at the 2023 summit included the WEF, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, EAT (EAT Forum, EAT Foundation and EAT-Lancet Commission on Sustainable Healthy Food Systems), the World Business Council on Sustainable Development and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.  

The global corporate agrifood sector, including Coca-Cola, Danone, Kelloggs, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Tyson Foods, Unilever, Bayer and Syngenta, were also out in force along with Dutch Rabobank, the Mastercard Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.  

Through its “strategic partnership” with the UN, the WEF regards MSIs as key to achieving its vision of a ‘great reset’ – in this case, a food transition. The summit comprises a powerful alliance of global corporations, influential foundations and rich countries that are attempting to capture the narrative of ‘food systems transformation’. These interests aim to secure greater corporate concentration and agribusiness leverage over public institutions.  

Hannah Sharland, the author of the piece in The Canary, writes:  

“… the UN is knowingly giving the very corporations sponsoring the destruction of the planet prime seats at the table. It is precisely these corporations who already shape the state of global food systems.”  

She concludes that the solutions to a burgeoning world crisis cannot be found in the corporate capitalist system that manufactured it.  

During a press conference on 17 July 2023, representatives from the People’s Autonomous Response to the UNFSS highlighted the urgent, coordinated actions required to address global hunger. The response came in the form of a statement from those representing food justice movements, small-scale food producer organisations and indigenous peoples.  

The statement denounced the United Nations’ approach. Saúl Vicente from the International Indian Treaty Council said that the summit’s organisers aimed to sell their corporate and industrial project as ‘transformation’.  

The movements and organisations opposing the summit call for a rapid shift away from corporate-driven industrial models towards biodiverse, agroecological, community-led food systems that prioritise the public interest over profit making. This entails guaranteeing the rights of peoples to access and control land and productive resources while promoting agroecological production and peasant seeds.  

The response to the summit adds that, despite the increasing recognition that industrial food systems are failing on so many fronts, agribusiness and food corporations continue to try to maintain their control. They are deploying digitalization, artificial intelligence and other information and communication technologies to promote a new wave of farmer dependency or displacement, resource grabbing, wealth extraction and labour exploitation and to re-structure food systems towards a greater concentration of power and ever more globalised value chains.   

Shalmali Guttal, from Focus on the Global South, says:  

“… people from all over the world have presented concrete, effective strategies… food sovereignty, agroecology, revitalisation of biodiversity, territorial markets and a solidarity-based economy. The evidence is overwhelming – the solutions devised by small-scale food producers and Indigenous Peoples not only feed the world but also advance gender, social, economic justice, youth empowerment, workers’ rights and real resilience to crises.”  

Guttal asks “why are policy makers not listening to this and providing adequate support?”  

That’s easily answered. The UN has climbed into bed with the WEF and unaccountable corporate agrifood and big data giants, which have no time for democratic governance.  

A new report by FIAN International was released in parallel to the statement from the People’s Autonomous Response. The report – Food Systems Transformation – In which direction?  – calls for an urgent overhaul of the global food governance architecture to guarantee decision making that prioritises the public good and the right to food for all.  

Sofia Monsalve, secretary general of FIAN International, says:  

“The main stumbling block for taking effective action towards more resilient, diversified, localized and agroecological food systems are the economic interests of those who advance and benefit from corporate-driven industrial food systems.”  

These interests are promoting multistakeholderism: a process that involves corporations and their front groups and armies of lobbyists co-opting public bodies to act on their behalf in the name of ‘feeding the world’ and ‘sustainability’.  

A process that places powerful private interests in the driving seat, steering policy makers to facilitate corporate needs while sidelining the strong concerns and solutions being forwarded by many civil society, small-scale food producers’ and workers’ organisations and indigenous peoples as well as prominent academics.  

The very corporations that are responsible for the problems of the prevailing food system. They offer more of the same, this time packaged in a biosynthetic, genetically-engineered, bug-eating, ecomodernist, fake-green wrapping (see the online article From net zero to glyphosate: agritech’s greenwashed corporate power grab’).  

While more than 800 million people go to bed hungry under the current food regime, these corporations and their wealthy investors continue to hunger for ever more profit and control. The economic system ensures they are not driven by food justice or any kind of justice. They are compelled to maximise profit, not least, for instance, by assigning an economic market value to all aspects of nature and social practices, whether knowledge, land, data, water, seeds or systems of resource exchange.  

By cleverly (and cynically) ensuring that the needs of global markets (that is, the needs of corporate supply chains and their profit-seeking strategies) have become synonymous with the needs of modern agriculture, these corporations have secured a self-serving hegemonic policy paradigm among decision makers that is deeply embedded.    

It is for good reason that the People’s Autonomous Response to the UNFSS calls for a mass mobilisation to challenge the power that major corporate interests wield:  

“[This power] must be dismantled so that the common good is privileged before corporate interests. It is time to connect our struggles and fight together for a better world based on mutual respect, social justice, equity, solidarity and harmony with our Mother Earth.”  

This may seem like a tall order, especially given the financialization of the food and agriculture sector, which has developed in tandem with the neoliberal agenda and the overall financialization of the global economy. It means that extremely powerful firms like BlackRock – which holds shares in a number of the world’s largest food and agribusiness companies – have a lot riding on further entrenching the existing system.  

But hope prevails. In 2021, the ETC Group and the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems released the report A Long Food Movement: Transforming Food Systems by 2045. It calls for grassroots organisations, international NGOs, farmers’ and fishers’ groups, cooperatives and unions to collaborate more closely to transform financial flows and food systems from the ground up.  

The report’s lead author, Pat Mooney, says that civil society can fight back and develop healthy and equitable agroecological production systems, build short (community-based) supply chains and restructure and democratise governance structures.  

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Renowned author Colin Todhunter specialises in development, food and agriculture. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) in Montreal.


Read Colin Todhunter’s e-Book entitled

Food, Dispossession and Dependency. Resisting the New World Order

We are currently seeing an acceleration of the corporate consolidation of the entire global agri-food chain. The high-tech/big data conglomerates, including Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook and Google, have joined traditional agribusiness giants, such as Corteva, Bayer, Cargill and Syngenta, in a quest to impose their model of food and agriculture on the world.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is also involved (documented in ‘Gates to a Global Empire‘ by Navdanya International), whether through buying up huge tracts of farmland, promoting a much-heralded (but failed) ‘green revolution’ for Africa, pushing biosynthetic food and genetic engineering technologies or more generally facilitating the aims of the mega agri-food corporations.

Click here to read.

AUSMIN and Assange: The Great Vassal Smackdown

July 31st, 2023 by Dr. Binoy Kampmark

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It was there for all to see. Embarrassing, cloying, and bound make you cough up the remnants of your summit lunch, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III stopped by one of the vassal states to make sure that the meal and military service was orderly, the troops well behaved, and the weapons working as they should. On the occasion of 2023 AUSMIN meetings, the questions asked were mild and generally unprovocative; answers were naturally tailored.

Seeing that Australia is now rapidly moving into the US orbit of client status – its minerals will be designated a US domestic resource in due course – and given that its land, sea and air are to be more available than ever for the US armed forces, nuclear and conventional, nothing will interrupt this inexorable extinguishing of sovereignty.

One vestige of Australian sovereignty might have evinced itself, notably in how Canberra might push for the release, or at the very least better terms, for the Australian national and founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange. The publisher faces 18 counts, all but one of them pertaining to the Espionage Act of 1917, an archaic, wartime act with a dark record of punishing free speech and contrarians. The Albanese government, eschewing “the hailer” approach in favour of “quiet diplomacy” and not offending Washington, has conspicuously failed to make any impression.

In April, an open letter to the US Attorney General, Merrick Garland, featuring 48 Australian MPs and Senators, including 13 from the governing Labor Party, argued that the Assange prosecution “would set a dangerous precedent for all global citizens, journalists, publishers, media organizations and the freedom of the press. It would also be needlessly damaging for the US as a world leader on freedom of expression and the rule of law.”

Despite such concerns bubbling away in Parliament, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong was in no danger of upsetting their guests. 

“[W]e have made clear our view that Mr Assange’s case has dragged for too long, and our desire it be brought to a conclusion, and we’ve said that publicly and you would anticipate that that reflects also the positive we articulate in private.”  But, as ever, “there are limits until Mr. Assange’s legal processes have concluded.” 

The assumption, laid bare, is that Australia will only push for terms once the US secures its treasured quarry.

Blinken parroted staged, withered lines, politely dismissing Wong’s statements while pouring acid on the Assange plea.

“I really do understand and certainly confirm what Penny said about the fact that this matter was raised with us, as it has been in the past, and I understand the sensitivities, I understand the concerns and view of Australians.” 

He thought it “important”, as if it mattered “that our friends here understand our concerns about this matter.”

Those friends were made to understand that matter in no uncertain terms. Assange had been “charged with very serious criminal conduct in the United States in connection with his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country. The actions that he has alleged to have committed risked very serious harm to our national security, to the benefit of our adversaries, and put named sources at grave risk – grave risk – of physical harm, and grave risk of detention.”

Such excremental, false reasoning was galling, and went unchallenged by the all too pliant Senator Wong and the Australian Defence Minister, Richard Marles. This, despite the cool findings by Blinken’s own colleagues at the Pentagon that the WikiLeaks disclosures never posed a risk to any valued source in the service of the US imperium, and the fact that other outlets have also published these purportedly “named sources” without having their collars fingered by the US Department of Justice. The double standard is gold in Washington.

The same babbling nonsense was evident during the extradition trial proceedings of Assange that were held at London’s Central Criminal Court in 2020. There, the prosecution, representing a number of clumsy, clownish and impressively ignorant representatives from Freedom Land, proved unable to produce a single instance of actual compromise or harm to a single informant of the US imperium. They also showed, with idiotic facility, an ignorance of the court martial that the US military had subjected Chelsea Manning to when she faced charges for revealing classified national security information to WikiLeaks.

Wong, as part of her buttoned-up brief dictated by Washington’s suits, either did not know nor care to correct Blinken who, for all we know, is equally ignorant of his brief on the subject. If the prosecutors in London in 2020 had no idea, why should the US secretary of state, let alone the Australian foreign minister?

As a terrible omen for the Australians, four defence personnel seem to have perished in waters near Hamilton Island through an accident with their MRH-90 Taipan helicopter as part of the Talisman Sabre war games. The US overlords were paternal and benevolent; their Australian counterparts were grateful for the interest. Blinken soppily suggested how the sacrifice was appreciated. “They have been on our minds throughout today; they remain very much on our minds right now.” But the message was clear: Australia, you are now less a state than a protectorate, territory to exploit, a resource basket to appropriate.  Why not just make it official?

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Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge.  He currently lectures at RMIT University. He is a regular contributor to Global Research and Asia-Pacific Research. Email: [email protected]

Featured image is from Snopes.com

Wildfires in Syria Used as a Weapon of War

July 31st, 2023 by Steven Sahiounie

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***

Wildfires broke out on July 25 in Latakia province in northwest Syria and are still burning amid new fires being started. The fires spread quickly by a sudden unusual wind which whipped up. The whole country, and the adjacent Mediterranean region, is in a heat-wave which sets the stage for such a devastating fire burning crops, forests and homes. However, this was not a chance wildfire, but was an act of terrorism.

General Jalal Dawoud, Head of the Fire Department in Latakia, says the fire was man-made. This was determined because the origin of the fire was not in one place, but was started in scattered areas all at the same time in daylight hours.

After the security forces began their investigation, it was found that the fires were started by drones originating from Idlib, under the occupation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly Jibhat al-Nusra, the Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

Turkey is illegally occupying Idlib as they protect the terrorists under the command of Mohammed Jolani, formerly allied with Abu Baker Al Baghdadi, the head of ISIS who was killed in Idlib by President Trump.

The terrorists have been attacking the fire fighters and vehicles. Bassem Bakar, a water tanker driver, was killed when the terrorists targeted his vehicle near Deir Hanna and Rabiah. Two other men with him were injured.

Turkey is well known for the manufacture of drones, and has been selling drones to Ukraine recently.

On July 25, a fire department vehicle drove over a previously planted mine on Zgharo Mountain, near the town of Maskita, but without injuries. This area was occupied by the terrorists now in Idlib during the 2015 period before they were driven east to Idlib.

The Mayor of Latakia, Amer Hallal, said fire depratments from many areas came to fight the fires, and a Russian water tanker airplane came to battle the fires. Civilians were evacuated from homes and farms and taken to a safe area where they were given humanitarian aid.

The fire raged in Rabiah which sits on a road that connects directly to Idlib. Other areas burning are Ghamam, Sarsekiah, Ein Zarkha, Deir Hanna, Jib Alahmar, Sed Bradoon, and Jebal al Zahra.

A young soldier who volunteered to fight the fires, Mounif Sebry Hassoun, died while fighting the fire due to suffocation in Meshkita. He is from village of Wadi Khelah, in the suburb of Jeblah

The Syrian government, Syrian Red Crescent are coordinating efforts to put out the fires and assisting the humanitarian needs of the affected civilians. Local restaurants have been donating meals to the fire fighters. The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Syrian Red Crescent are putting out fires in Rabiah, which is the front line against the terrorists in Idlib.

The foreign policy of the US and EU have kept the status quo in Idlib. 3 million civilians there are kept as human shields by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Turkey prevents the SAA and the Russian military from freeing the civilians kept as hostages to an international game of chess played by America.

International aid organizations, such as the UN, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children and others deliver all the humanitarian aid to the civilians, while Jolani and his terrorists receive all the aid and distribute it to their cronies first, and sell whatever they horde in a huge shopping mall Jolani and partners built.

Idlib is an agricultural province with farmers and terrorists selling olives and olive oil to Turkish businesses.

The US, EU and UN are enablers of Jolani and the terrorists under his command. Recently, Jolani hung people in Idlib that he perceived were enemies. He and his men oppress women by not allowing social programs directed at women’s issues. The terrorists rule under Islamic Law and in the case of a rape, a woman must present the court with three men who are witnesses to the rape in order to get a conviction. In this situation, rapes go unreported as there is no chance for justice.

Drones can be used for humanitarian purposes, for example: delivering medicines to a remote village. However, drones can also deliver a deadly payload in a war, or attack, and now in Syria they are being used to start wildfires in the heat of summer amid dry winds which spread the deadly fires.

The world responded to the massive 7.8 earthquake on February 6 in Syria and Turkey. Humanitarian aid poured in from Arab countries mainly, with the US boycotting all aid to Syria, with the sole exception of Idlib and the occupying terrorists there.

The earthquake aid has long ago stopped, and although many friends of Syria have asked the US and EU to lift the sanctions which prevent all rebuilding and recovery in Syria from years of war and the earthquake, still there has been no move to lift any sanctions.

Recently, a list of the world’s poorest nations was unveiled with Syria tying for the worse place along with Yemen and Afghanistan. 12 years of armed conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic, the 7.8 earthquake of the century, and now wildfires being delivered by terrorists supported by the US and NATO.  

Jolani and his US supported terrorists have no red lines they cannot cross. They are heartless criminals holding the northwest of Syria in fear of their next move.

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This article was originally published on Mideast Discourse.

Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

All images in this article are from MD

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***

 

Enrico Vigna (EV): The situation in Kosovo Metohija is considered perhaps the most difficult since the bombings of 1999. What is your opinion/assessment. What concrete and realistic steps could be to find a “right” way out?

Zivadin Jovanovic (ZJ): It is a month now since the situation in Kosovo and Metohija started to escalate.

It was triggered by the forceful occupation of the Mayor’s offices in four Serbian majority districts by Albanian mayors elected at the local election participated by about les than 5 percent of the electorate. Serbs had boycotted these elections protesting militarization of  the area, confiscation of their private land for erection of special Albanian forces’ (Rosu) bases, insecurity, daily attacks and arbitrary imprisonment of Serbs, noncompliance with 2013 and 2015 Brussels Agreements on establishment of the Serb Districts Community.

To avoid the worse, the causes must be addressed.

The principle cause is that Albanian leaders in Pristina have no interest in anything else but mere recognition of the so called “Kosovo Republic” by Serbia.

While the Province is still under UN mandate, Albanian leadership does not comply with UN SC Resolution 1244 (1999), with any previously signed agreements, keeps continuously provoking Serbs, violating their basic human rights such as personal security, freedom of movement, private property. About 130.000 of Serbs in the Provinces are treated as hostages in ghettos, while another 250.000 were expelled from the Province more than 20 years ago, still are not permitted to return to their houses and lands.

Unfortunately, western countries, primarily the USA, Great Britain and Germany keep disregarding such disturbing realities.

Seemingly, they are not ready to undertake concrete steps to oblige the Albanian leadership to comply with UN SC resolution 1244, the Brussels Agreements and basic human rights towards Serbs. Their double standards policy appears now as punishing Serbia and Serbs by proxy, for not recognizing unilateral illegal secession of Kosovo and Metohija, for remaining military neutral and not adopting sanctions against Russia.

EV: In many parts both in KosMet and outside, there is talk of a possible war. What is your point of view.

ZJ: All what I can say now is that Serbia and Serbs are definitely for peace, peaceful solution based on the universal principles of International Law and UN SC resolution 1244.

Nobody should expect that Serbia will recognize robbery of its sovereignty and teritorial integrity. It is extremely dangerous that those who imposed the aggression in 1999 and recognition of criminal secession in 2008, are trying now to compel Serbia to legalize all that, thus making their record moral, peaceloving, clear of expansionism and hegemony.

Therefore, provocations of Pristine, whoever is behind them, must be ceased, human rights of Serbs respected, signed Brussels Agreements implemented and the dialogue on normalization resumed.

EV: Demonstrations by some political forces against the government continue in Serbia. Are there attempts at a “color revolution”?

ZJ: Weekly demonstrations started some days after May tragic events in one Belgrade school and in the town of Mladenovac, under moto “Stop violence”.

After Belgrade, now about 10 other cities hold simultaneous peaceful demonstrations demanding resignition of the Minister of Interior and Director of Security Agency (BIA), replacement of members of Board of the Regulatory Agency for licensing Radio and TV, replacement of management of the public TV RTS.

No doubt that the oposition political forces behind the demonstrations aim at the change of the whole government. They insist on installing an interim government, first, and holding elections later. The Government seems to be ready to holding premature elections but refuses the idea about interim government.

All this coincides with the growing pressures by the leading western powers on Serbian leadership to recognize the unilateral illegal secession of the Province of Kosovo and Metohija, to abandon the policy of military neutrality and to introduce sanctions against Russia.

EV: I receive daily from the Kosovo and Metohija province many criticisms, doubts, perplexities and even attacks on the work of the Serbian President A. Vucic. What do you think?

ZJ: I agree that there are reasons to criticize policy of the present government. For example, I think there is the need for Serbia’s leadership to be explicit in demanding full implementation and respect of the UN SC resolution 1244 binding every UN member, including EU and NATO members, to respect the territorial integrity of Serbia.

The government should be much more engaged in international fora with a view to guarantee real security and freedom for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. In parallel, there is the need for persistant initiative to guarantee the right to free and safe return of about 250.000 of Serbs and other non-Albanians to their homes and their lands in the Province.

It should be noted, however, that only a year ago Aleksandar Vucic was elected President of the Republic in the first round, for the second time, in turn. His Party (SNS) also easely won all elections from 2012  to the present.

We should be careful and draw lessons from history. While trying to solve real socioeconomic problems, to improve living standards and democratize governance, we must not repeat mistakes overlooking dubious positions of some opposition forces about the future status of Kosovo and Metohija, membership to NATO, or sanctions against Russia.

I believe that Serbia should continue to balance political, economic and cultural  relations with all countries and integrations which accept her as equal partner, persistently defend own legitimate interest based on universal principles and international law and stay neutral.

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Živadin Jovanović is President of the Belgrade Forum for a World of Equals. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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Editors Note:

We bring to our readers this carefully documented review article by Mojmir Babajek first published in 2004.

While the text deals with a number of complex scientific processes, the implications of these findings are far-reaching. This study also has a bearing on the current Corona crisis.

The arsenal of electromagnetic and informational weapons, used to manipulate the human mind of targeted individuals or populations, is an integral part of the weapons system of the New World Order.

The US military possesses a sophisticated arsenal of psychotronic weapons which could be used both domestically and internationally.

Electromagnetic and informational Weapons could be used in conventional wars theatres, without the knowledge of the enemy.

It is therefore essential that we not only take cognizance of these findings, but we mobilize nationally and internationally against the use of brain manipulating technologies.

Michel Chossudovsky, 5 August 2004, 21 May 2023

***

In October 2000, Congressman Denis J. Kucinich introduced in the House of Representatives a bill, which would oblige the American president to engage in negotiations aimed at the ban of space based weapons.

In this bill, the definition of a weapons system included:

“any other unacknowledged or as yet undeveloped means inflicting death or injury on, or damaging or destroying, a person (or the biological life, bodily health, mental health, or physical and economic well-being of a person)… through the use of land-based, sea- based, or space-based systems using radiation, electromagnetic, psychotronic, sonic, laser, or other energies directed at individual persons or targeted populations for the purpose of information war, mood management, or mind control of such persons or populations“(15).

As in all legislative acts quoted in this article, the bill pertains to sound, light or electromagnetic stimulation of the human brain.

Psychotronic weapons belong, at least for a layman uninformed of secret military research, in the sphere of science fiction, since so far none of the published scientific experiments has been presented in a meaningful way to World public opinion.

That it is feasible to manipulate human behavior with the use of subliminal, either by sound or visual messages, is now generally known and acknowledged by the scientific community.

This is why in most countries, the use of such technologies, without the consent of the individual concerned, is in theory banned. Needless to say, the use of these technologies is undertaken covertly, without the knowledge or consent of targeted individuals.

Devices using light for the stimulation of the brain constitute another mechanism whereby light flashing under certain frequencies could be used to manipulate the human psychic.

As for the use of sound, a device transmitting a beam of sound waves, which can be heard only by persons at whom the beam of sound waves is targeted, has been reported in several news media.  In this case, the beam is formed by a combination of sound and ultrasound waves which causes the targeted person to hear the sound inside his head. Such a procedure could affect the mental balance of  the targeted individual as well as convince him that he is, so to speak, mentally ill.

This article examines the development of technologies and knowledge pertaining to the functioning of the human brain and the way new methods of manipulation of the human mind are being developed.

Electromagnetic energy

One of the main methods of manipulation is through electromagnetic energy.

In the declassified scientific literature only some 30 experiments have been published supporting this assumption (1),(2). Already in 1974, in the USSR, after successful testing within a military unit in Novosibirsk, the Radioson (Radiosleep) was registered with the Government Committee on Matters of Inventions and Discoveries of the USSR, described as a method of induction of sleep by means of radio waves (3), (4), (5).

In the scientific literature, technical feasibility of inducing sleep in a human being through the use of radio waves is confirmed in a book by an British scientist involved in research on the biological effects of electromagnetism (6). A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on nonionizing radiation published in 1991 confirms that:

“many of biological effects observed in animals exposed to ELF fields appear to be associated, either directly or indirectly, with the nervous system…” (2).

Among the published experiments, there are those where pulsed microwaves have caused the synchronization of isolated neurons with the frequency of pulsing of microwaves. Ffor example, a neuron firing at a frequency of 0.8 Hz was forced in this way to fire the impulses at a frequency of 1 Hz. Moreover, the pulsed microwaves contributed to changing the concentration of neurotransmitters in the brain (neurotransmitters are a part of the mechanism which causes the firing of neurons in the brain) and reinforcing or attenuating the effects of drugs delivered into the brain (1).

The experiment where the main brain frequencies registered by EEG were synchronized with the frequency of microwave pulsing (1,2) might explain the function of the Russian installation Radioson. Microwaves pulsed in the sleep frequency would cause the synchronization of the brain’s activity with the sleep frequency and in this way produce sleep.

Pulsing of microwaves in frequency predominating in the brain at an awakened state could, by the same procedure, deny sleep to a human being.

A report derived from the testing program of the Microwave Research Department at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research states

“Microwave pulses appear to couple to the central nervous system and produce stimulation similar to electric stimulation unrelated to heat”.

In a many times replicated experiment, microwaves pulsed in an exact frequency caused the efflux of calcium ions from the nerve cells (1,2). Calcium plays a key role in the firing of neurons and Ross Adey, member of the first scientific team which published this experiment, publicly expressed his conviction that this effect of electromagnetic radiation would interfere with concentration on complex tasks (7).

Robert Becker, who had share in the discovery of the effect of pulsed fields at the healing of broken bones, published the excerpts from the report from Walter Reed Army Institute testing program. In the first part “prompt debilitation effects” should have been tested (8). Were not those effects based on the experiment by Ross Adey and others with calcium efflux?

British scientist John Evans, working in the same field, wrote that both Ross Adey and Robert Becker lost their positions and research grants and called them “free-thinking exiles” (6). In 1975, in the USA, a military experiment was published where pulsed microwaves produced, in the brain of a human subject, an audio perception of numbers from 1 to 10 (9). Again the possibility to convince an individual that it is mentally ill is obvious. The testing program of American Walter Read Army Institute of Research, where the experiment took place, counts with “prompt auditory stimulation by means of auditory effects” and finally aims at “behavior controlled by stimulation” (8).

Let us assume that the words delivered into the brain were transcribed into ultrasound frequencies. Would not then the subject perceive those same words as his own thoughts?

And would this not imply that that his behavior was being controlled in this way through the transmission of ultrasound frequencies? In this regard, the American Air Force 1982 “Final Report On Biotechnology Research Requirements For Aeronautical Systems Through the Year 2000” states:

“While initial attention should be toward degradation of human performance through thermal loading and electromagnetic field effects, subsequent work should address the possibilities of directing and interrogating mental functioning, using externally applied fields…” (10).

Several scientists have warned that the latest advances in neurophysiology could be used for the manipulation of the human brain.

In June 1995, Michael Persinger, who worked on the American Navy’s project of Non-lethal electromagnetic weapons, published a scientific article where he states:

“the technical capability to influence directly the major portion of the approximately six billion brains of the human species without mediation through classical sensory modalities by generating neural information within a physical medium within which all members of the species are immersed… is now marginally feasible“ (11).

In 1998, the French National Bioethics Committee warned that  “neuroscience is being increasingly recognized as posing a potential threat to human rights“ (12). In May 1999 the neuroscientists conference, sponsored by the UN, took place in Tokyo. Its final declaration formally acknowledges that :

“Today we have intellectual, physical and financial resources to master the power of the brain itself, and to develop devices to touch the mind and even control or erase consciousness…We wish to profess our hope that such pursuit of knowledge serves peace and welfare” (13).

On the international political scene, in the last few years, the concept of remote control of the human brain has become  a matter of international and intergovernmental negotiation. In January 1999, the European Parliament passed a resolution where it called  “for an international convention introducing a global ban on all developments and deployments of weapons which might enable any form of manipulation of human beings.“ (14)

Already in 1997, nine states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) addressed the UN, OBSE and the states of the Interparliamentary Union with the proposal to place at the agenda of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the preparation and adoption of an international convention “On Prevention of Informational Wars and Limitation of Circulation of Informational Weapons” (16), (3).

Informational Weapons

The initiative was originally proposed, in the Russian State Duma, by Vladimir Lopatin (3). V. Lopatin worked, from 1990 to 1995, in sequence, in the standing committees on Security respectively of the Russian Federation, Russian State Duma and of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), specializing in informational security.(3). The concept of informational weapon or informational war is rather unknown to the world general public. In 1999, V. Lopatin, together with Russian scientist Vladimir Tsygankov, published a book „Psychotronic Weapon and the Security of Russia“ (3). There we find the explanation of this terminology:

 “In the report on the research of the American Physical Society for the year 1993 the conclusion is presented that psychophysical weapon systems…can be used… for the construction of a strategic arm of a new type (informational weapon in informational war)…”

Among many references on this subject, we refer to Materials of the Parliament Hearings “Threats and Challenges in the Sphere of Informational Security”, Moscow, July 1996, “Informational Weapon as a Threat to the National Security of the Russian Federation” (analytical report of the Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation), Moscow, 1996 and a material “To Whom Will Belong the Conscientious Weapon in the 21st Century”, Moscow, 1997. (17).

In 2000 V. Lopatin introduced, after two other authors, the third in order bill on the subject of  “Informational and Psychological Security of the Russian Federation“. Lopotin’s findings were reviewed by the Russian newspaper Segodnya:

“…Means of informational-psychological influence are capable not only of harming the health of an individual, but, also of causing, according to Lopatin, ‘the blocking of freedom of will of human being on the subliminal level, the loss of the ability of political, cultural and social self identification, the manipulation of societal consciousness, which could lead to   the destruction of a sense of collective identify by the Russian people and nation’“ (16).

In the book “Psychotronic Weapons and the Security of Russia”, the authors propose among the basic principles of the Russian concept of defense against the remote control of the human psyche not only the acknowledgement of its existence, but also the fact that the methods of informational and psychotronic war are fully operational (“and are being used without a formal declaration of war”) (18). They also quote the record from the session of the Russian Federation’s Federal Council where V. Lopatin stated that psychotronic weapon can

“cause the blocking of the freedom of will of a human being on a subliminal level” or “instillation into the consciousness or subconsciousness of a human being of information which will trigger a faulty or erroneous perception of reality” (19).

In that regard, they proposed the preparation of national legislation as well as the establishment of legal international norms “aimed at the defense of human psyche against subliminal, destructive and informational manipulations” (20).

Moreover, they also propose the declassification of all analytical studies and research on the various technologies. They warned that, because this research has remained classified and removed from the public eye, it has allowed the arms race to proceed unabated. It has thereby contributed to increasing the possibility of psychotronic war.

Among the possible sources of remote influence on human psyche, the authors list the “generators of physical fields“ of “known as well as unknown nature” (21). In 1999 the STOA (Scientific and Technological Options Assessment), part of the Directorate General for Research of the European Parliament published the report on Crowd Control Technologies, ordered by them with the OMEGA foundation in Manchester (UK) (22,  http://www.europarl.eu.int/stoa/publi/pdf/99-14-01-a_en.pdf ).

One of four major subjects of the study pertained  to the so-called “Second Generation“ or “non lethal” technologies:

 “This report evaluates the second generation of ‘non-lethal’ weapons which are emerging from national military and nuclear weapons laboratories in the United States as part of the Clinton Administration’s ‘non-lethal’ warfare doctrine now adopted in turn by NATO. These devices include weapons using… directed energy beam,…radio frequency, laser and acoustic mechanisms to incapacitate human targets” (23) The report states that „the most controversial ‚non-lethal‘ crowd control … technology proposed by the U.S., are so called Radio Frequency or Directed Energy Weapons that can allegedly manipulate human behavior… the greatest concern is with systems which can directly interact with the human nervous system“ (24). The report also states that „perhaps the most powerful developments remain shrouded in secrecy“ (25).

The unavailability of official documents confirming the existence of this technology may be the reason why the OMEGA report is referencing, with respect to mind control technology, the internet publication of the author of this article (26  http://www.europarl.eu.int/stoa/publi/pdf/99-14-01-a_en.pdf ).

Similarly, the internet publication of the director of the American Human Rights and Anti-mind Control Organization (CAHRA), Cheryl Welsh, is referenced by the joint initiative of the Quaker United Nations Office, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, and Programme for Strategic and International Security Studies, with respect to non-lethal weapons (27).

On September 25th, 2000, the Committee on Security of the Russian State Duma discussed the addendum to the article 6 of the Federal law On Weapons. In the resolution we read:

“The achievements of contemporary science… allow for creation of measured methods of secret, remote influencing on the psyches and physiology of a person or a group of people“ (28). The committee recommended that the addendum be approved. The addendum to the article 6 of the Russian Federation law “On Weapons“ was approved on July 26, 2001. It states:

“within the territory of the Russian Federation is prohibited the circulation of weapons and other objects… the effects of the operation of which are based on the use of electromagnetic, light, thermal, infra-sonic or ultra-sonic radiations…“ (29).

In this way, the Russian government made a first step to stand up to its dedication to the ban of mind control technology.

In the Doctrine of Informational Security of the Russian Federation, signed by president Putin in September 2000, among the dangers threatening the informational security of Russian Federation, is listed

“the threat to the constitutional rights and freedoms of people and citizens in the sphere of spiritual life… individual, group and societal consciousness“ and “illegal use of special means affecting individual, group and societal consciousness” (30). Among the major directions of the international cooperation toward the guaranteeing of the informational security is listed „the ban of production, dissemination and use of ‘informational weapon‘ “ (31).

The foregoing statement should be interpreted as the continuing Russian commitment to the international ban of the means of remote influencing of the activity of the human brain.

Similarly, in the above mentioned report, published by the STOA, the originally proposed version of the resolution of the European Parliament calls for:

“an international convention for a global ban on all research and development… which seeks to apply knowledge of the chemical, electrical, sound vibration or other functioning of the human brain to the development of weapons which might enable the manipulation of human beings, including a ban of any actual or possible deployment of such systems.“(32)

Here the term “actual” might easily mean that such weapons are already deployed.

Among the countries with the most advanced military technologies is the USA which did not present any international initiative demanding the ban of technologies enabling the remote control of human mind. (The original version of the bill by Denis J. Kucinich was changed.)

All the same, according to the study published by STOA, the US is the major promoter of the use of those weapons. Non lethal technology was included into NATO military doctrine due to their effort:  “At the initiative of the USA, within the framework of NATO, a special group was formed, for the perspective use of devices of non-lethal effects” states the record from the session of the Committee on Security of the Russian State Duma (28).

The report published by STOA states: “In October 1999 NATO announced a new policy on non-lethal weapons and their place in allied arsenals” (33). “In 1996 non-lethal tools identified by the U.S. Army included… directed energy systems” and “radio frequency weapons” (34) – those weapons, as was suggested in the STOA report as well, are being associated with the effects on the human nervous system.

According to the Russian government informational agency FAPSI, in the last 15 years,U.S. expenditures on the development and acquisition of the means of informational war has increased fourfold, and at present they occupy the first place among all military programs (17),(3).

Though there are possible uses of informational war, which do not imply mind control, the US Administration  has been unwilling to engage in negotiations on the ban on all forms of manipulation of the human brain. This unwillingness might indeed suggest that the US administration intends to use mind control technologies both within the US as well as internationally as an instrument of warfare.

One clear consequence of the continuation of the apparent politics of secrecy surrounding technologies enabling remote control of the human brain is that the governments, who own such technologies, could use them without having to consult public opinion. Needless to say, any meaningful democracy in today’s world could be disrupted, through secret and covert operations.  It is not inconceivable that in the future, entire population groups subjected to mind control technologies, could be living in a “fake democracy” where their own government or a foreign power could broadly shape their political opinions by means of mind control technologies.

REFERENCES

1) Handbook of Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields, 1996, CRC Press Inc., 0-8493-0641-8/96, – pg. 117, 119, 474- 485, 542-551, 565 at the top and third and last paragraph

2) World Health Organization report on non-ionizing radiation from 1991, pg. 143 and 207-208

3) V. Lopatin, V Cygankov: „Psichotronnoje oružie i bezopasnost Rossii“, SINTEG, Russian Federation, Moscow, ISBN 5-89638-006-2-A5-2000-30, list of the publications of the publishing house you will find at the address http://www.sinteg.ru/cataloghead.htm

4) G. Gurtovoj, I. Vinokurov: „Psychotronnaja vojna, ot mytov k realijam“, Russsian Federation, Moscow, „Mysteries“, 1993, ISBN 5-86422-098-1

5) With greatest likelihood as well the Russian daily TRUD, which has organized the search for the documents, Moscow, between August 1991 and end of 1992 6) John Evans: Mind, Body and Electromagnetism, the Burlington Press, Cambridge, 1992, ISBN 1874498008, str.139

7) Robert Becker: “Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life”, William Morrow and comp., New York, 1985, pg. 287

8) Robert Becker: “Cross Currents, teh Startling Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation on your Health”, 1991, Bloomsburry Publishing, London, Great Brittain, ISBN 0- 7475-0761-9, pg. 304, Robert Becker refers to Bioelectromagnetics Society Newsletter, January and February 1989

9) Don R. Justesen, 1975, Microwaves and Behavior, American Psychologist, March 1975, pg. 391 – 401

10) Dr. Nick Begich and Jeane Maning: “Angels Don’t Play This HAARP, Advances in Tesla Technology”, Earthpulse Press, 1995, ISBN 0-9648812–0-9, pg. 169

11) M. A. Persinger: „On the Possibility of Directly Lacessing Every Human Brain by Electromagnetic Induction of Fundamental Algorythms“, Perception and Motor Skills, June1995,, sv. 80, str. 791-799

12) Nature, vol.391, 22.1.1998,str.316, „Advances in Neurosciences May Threaten Human Rights“

13) Internet reference at the site of the United Nations University and Institute of Advanced Studies in Tokyo does not work any more, to verify the information it is necessary to find the document from the 1999 UN sponsored conference of neuroscientists in Tokyo, you may inquire at the address [email protected] 14) http://www.europarl.eu.int/home/default_en.htm?redirected=1 . click at Plenary sessions, scroll down to Reports by A4 number –click, choose 1999 and fill in 005 to A4 or search for Resolution on the environment, security and foreign policy from January 28, 1999

15) http://thomas.loc.gov./ and search for Space Preservation Act then click at H.R.2977

16) Russian daily Segodnya, 11. February, 2000, Andrei Soldatov: „Vsadniki psychotronitscheskovo apokalypsa” (Riders of Psychotronic Apokalypse)

17) See ref. 3), pg. 107

18) See ref. 3) pg. 97

19) See ref. 3), pg. 107

20) See ref. 3), pg. 108

21) See ref. 3) pg. 13

22) http://www.europarl.eu.int/stoa/publi/pdf/99-14-01-a_en.pdf

23) see ref. 22 pg. XIX or 25

24) see ref. 22 pg. LIII or 69

25) see ref. 22 pg. XLVII or 63, aswell pg. VII-VIII or 7-8, pg. XIX or 25, pg. XLV or 61

26) see ref. 22) pg. LIII or 69, note 354

27) http://www.unog.ch/unidir/Media%20Guide%20 CAHRA and Cheryl Welsh are listed at the page 24

28) Document sent by Moscow Committee of Ecology of Dwellings. Telephone: Russian Federation, Zelenograd, 531-6411, Emilia Tschirkova, directrice

29) Search www.rambler.ru , there “poisk” (search) and search for “gosudarstvennaja duma” (State Duma) (it is necessary to type in Russian alphabet), at the page which appears choose “informacionnyj kanal gosudarstvennoj dumy” (Informational Channel of the Russian State Duma), there “federalnyje zakony podpisanyje prezidentom RF” (Federal laws signed by president of the Russian Federation), choose year 2001 and search 26 ijulja, è. N 103-F3 (July 26, 2001, number N 103- F3) , “O vnesenii dopolnenija v statju 6 federalnogo zakona ob oružii” (addendum to the article 6 of the Federal law on weapons)

30) Search www.rambler.ru and then (type in Russian alphabet) “gosudarstvennaja duma”, next “informacionnyj kanal gosudarstvennoj dumy” (informational channel of the State Duma), next search by use of “poisk” (search) Doktrina informacionnoj bezopasnosti Rossii” “Doctrine of the Informational Security of the Russian Federation) there see pg. 3 “Vidy informacionnych ugroz bezopasnosti Rossijskkoj federacii” (Types of Threats to the Informational Security of the Russian Federation)

31) See ref. 30, pg. 19, “Mìždunarodnoje sotrudnièestvo Rossijskoj Federacii v oblasti obespeèenija informacionnoj bezopasnoti” (International Cooperation of the Russian Federation in Assuring the Informational Security”

32) See ref.22, pg. XVII or 33

33) See ref.22, pg. XLV or 61

34) See ref.22 pg. XLVI or 62

Mojmir Babacek is the founder of the International Movement for the Ban of the Manipulation of the Human Nervous System by Technical Means, http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Campus/2289/webpage.htm . He is the author of numerous articles on the issue of mind manipulation. 

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***

First published by GR on July 18, 2023

During the pandemic, the challenge for each of us was to maintain critical distance: spurning both the tribalism of those insisting Covid was a hoax and the counter-tribalism of those who demanded complete acquiesence to a corporate-political agenda dictated by Big Pharma under the mantle of “Follow the science”.

Fear of living under Big Brother or of dying from plague drove many people not only into the arms of one of these two oppositional camps but fuelled a pandemic mania in which reason and compassion were replaced with either extreme cynicism or extreme compliance. We are still living with the consequences.

There has been a spate of “excess deaths” over the past two years across the West – well above what would normally be expected – and yet this sustained trend is being universally ignored by governments, establishment media and medical bodies. No one is protesting. The cult of compliance is still in the ascendant.

More on that in a moment.

But it is worth first revisiting briefly the climate of intolerance and willed ignorance that predominated at the height of the pandemic, as I documented in real time in a series of essays that upset more of my readers than any I had written before.

It was always unwarranted to press for vaccine mandates, if only because they violated the critically important principle of bodily autonomy. But the demand became completely unhinged once it was clear – as it was much earlier than publicly let on by Big Pharma, the World Health Organisation and national regulators – that the vaccines were doing little to halt virus transmission.

Similarly, it was always unethical to insist that children should be routinely given the vaccine and boosters when it was evident that the virus posed no threat to the overwhelming majority of them – and all the more so given that the mRNA vaccines were based on a new technology whose development had been rushed through on an emergency licence.

By definition, no one could know the long-term effects of mRNA vaccines on humans because there had been no long-term studies. The science was built on a wing and a prayer, which is part of the reason the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation, the British government’s official advisory body on vaccinations, demurred for so long, and despite huge political pressure, on recommending vaccination for children.

And it was always deeply irresponsible to refuse to consider, or even study, other treatments that might have had an impact on the virus. Medical authorities ignored or warned the public off potential prophylactics and immunity-boosting treatments and behaviours – even when those interventions could have complemented the role of the vaccines, rather than serving as an alternative to them.

Nothing could be allowed to dilute the public’s exclusive reliance on vaccinations.

One prize example was Vitamin D, the sunshine hormone that, uniquely, every cell in the human body has a receptor for. Most people in the West are deficient in Vitamin D, many of them severely so, and doctors still have little understanding of what the consequences of that deficiency – beyond osteoporosis – might be.

Even before Covid, there were many studies suggesting that Vitamin D was critical to improving the health of our immune systems, including by warding off and aiding recovery from coronaviruses. That evidence has only grown stronger subsequently.

But definitive proof has been lacking because full-scale controlled studies are extraordinarily expensive and only Big Pharma has deep enough pockets to fund such studies (given that our captured governments refuse to dig deep themselves), but Big Pharma has no interest in proving a cheap hormone like Vitamin D – one it cannot patent or profit from – might offer the public health benefits not only in relation to Covid but for a wide range of chronic health conditions.

The fact that most medical regulators and media commentators continue to prefer to shut down debate about the potential benefits of Vitamin D rather than demand that governments fund research to confirm or refute the growing body of evidence for such benefits should be a scandal. But, predictably, it isn’t.

Blanket Silence

I set this out as a preface to this latest scandal on excess deaths, one that – like so much else related to the pandemic and its aftermath – continues to elicit a blanket silence from the establishment media, politicians and, of course, our medical authorities.

The consistent and markedly elevated death rates each month across most of the Western world are not due to Covid and are far above the seasonal five-year average before the pandemic.

Such deaths have been significantly raised since late 2020 or mid-2021. That is all the more surprising because, after early waves of Covid killed off those who were already sick and vulnerable, the expectation was that excess deaths would fall, not rise. That anomaly needs explaining – scientifically.

The video below sets out the latest figures for excess deaths, using Office for National Statistics and European Statistical data. (Links to the graphs presented by Dr John Campbell are in the notes immediately below the video.)

Despite the backlash inevitably provoked by asking critical questions, I want to examine this development because it highlights something important about the way of our supposedly democratic governments, and the regulatory and adversarial institutions meant to hold them in check, have been hollowed out. We imagine we live in societies where scientific reason and compassion guide our response to a medical crisis. The reality is different. In our societies, one thing rules: money.

The issue of excess deaths is only one of many problems – though probably the most serious – that have emerged in the aftermath of the pandemic. Unless you have made an extraordinary effort to do your own research and managed to evade the internet censors and their algorithms, you will most likely not know about these developments. Neither politicians nor establishment media have publicised them.

Instead troubling data is buried away in obscure, peer-reviewed scientific journals, or has to be squeezed out of government authorities through freedom of information requests – and even then the information is often heavily redacted.

Such data would remain largely unnoticed but for the efforts of a few brave souls daring to draw attention to it – only to be smeared as cranks and crackpots, whatever their formal qualifications.

Dr Campbell, whose Youtube channel became an invaluable internet resource during the pandemic and since (at least for those trying to sift the wheat from the chaff), has done sterling work shedding light on many of those problems.

Some notable videos have covered:

  • the mishandling and lack of oversight of Pfizer’s research into its vaccine;
  • the astounding admission that Pfizer never actually tested whether its vaccine stopped transmission;
  • continuing efforts to obscure evidence demonstrating that natural infection confers superior immunity to the vaccine;
  • the troubling discovery that mRNA can remain in the blood for at least a month after vaccination, with no understanding of what it might be doing in that time to our immune systems;
  • high variation in adverse reactions caused by different batches of mRNA vaccine, with some off the scale;
  • the involvement of US researchers and Pfizer in engineering Frankenstein’s monster-type coronaviruses of the very kind that, it increasingly seems, led to the Covid pandemic in the first place;
  • new research demonstrating the lack of evidence for reduction in virus transmission from masking;
  • the failure of policymakers to weigh the serious financial, social and possibly medical costs of lockdowns;
  • and a causal connection, confirmed by the WHO, between vaccination and the development of autoimmune disease like multiple sclerosis.

There is doubtless much worse, but we cannot learn of it – at least from qualified sources – because any effort to discuss it publicly will almost certainly result in banning by the corporations that run social media, our modern town squares.

For his efforts shining a light into the darkest recesses of the West’s pandemic response, Dr Campbell has been pilloried by the tribe that still identifies with Big Pharma. Arrogantly, they dismiss him as a glorified “nurse”, even though he has written widely read and authoritative medical textbooks.

More to the point, the smears are designed to distract from the fact that, more often than not, Dr Campbell is not speaking for himself but relaying in intelligible language the findings of peer-reviewed studies or interviewing respected experts in their field to draw attention to their work.

Complete Mystery

Nonetheless, the issue of unexplained excess deaths is an order of magnitude more serious than even these other matters, which is why Dr Campbell has dedicated so many of his videos to discussing it.

Many, many thousands more people, including young people, are now dying each month across the Western world (where such data is reliably collected) than should be, compared to previous years. And they are dying for entirely mysterious reasons.

Yet:

This deeply troubling phenomenon barely merits a mention from politicians, the media or medical authorities.

Governments are failing to fund research to determine the causes of these extra deaths, even though the rates have been elevated for two years or more.

This reckless, self-imposed climate of ignorance is being sustained even as expert medical bodies warn that we face future pandemics.

It is almost as if Western governments prefer to let large numbers of people die unnecessarily, and potentially at great cost to health care services, rather than learn the truth. It seems these governments are quite happy, if they believe another pandemic is on the way, to risk repeating any mistakes they made during Covid that may have caused those excess deaths.

In a world where we are supposed to “follow the science”, how can that possibly be the case? What is going on?

If we try to understand why a blind eye is being turned to the shocking data showing a sustained and unexplained rise in deaths, it is hard not to arrive at one, and only one, conclusion.

Governments, establishment media and the medical regulators are frightened. They are scared of what they may discover if the research is carried out.

And that suggests something further. That these are not groups with their own discrete or competing interests and agendas.

The media, whatever it claims, is not a watchdog on government or the medical establishment. It colludes with them against the public. In fact, the corporate interests of all three are closely aligned.

Why? Because the government is captured by Big Business. Because the medical authorities are funded by Big Pharma, which can make or break careers. And because the media is owned by billionaires, and serves as little more than the public relations arm of concentrated wealth and as cheerleader for a neoliberalism that normalises the criminal profiteering of drug manufacturers like Pfizer.

Cultivated Ignorance

Before I continue further, let me state unequivocally – because sadly, these things need emphasising in our ever-more tribal, polarised societies – that I have no idea what is causing this wave of excess deaths.

The point of this piece is not to pre-judge the matter or adopt a tribal position.

Rather, I’m trying de-tribalise your and my own thinking so that we can better understand why our governments and medical agencies prefer that no research is conducted, and why our establishment media chooses not to expose this glaring failure.

Dr Vibeke Manniche, a member of the Danish medical team whose peer-reviewed research showed that some batches of the mRNA vaccine caused off-the-scale adverse reactions, believes there are likely to be an array of contributory factors. That sounds right to me.

Her team are now undertaking as their next project an investigation into the mysterious rise in deaths. It is their private initiative, rather than research funded, organised or assisted by the Danish government. In fact, according to Dr Manniche, Danish authorities have been throwing obstacles in their way.

But why are these authorities so afraid?

The answer is simple. They suspect that any research will implicate them in those excess deaths. They are frightened – rightly or wrongly – that the narrative they constructed around the pandemic, and the powers they accrued to themselves, will unravel.

The reason they are in no hurry to find out why so many extra people are dying is because they fear that significant contributory factors are either the lockdown policies they imposed or the side-effects of the vaccines they championed – or both.

Again, I’m not saying that is what I think. I have no expertise to evaluate all the possible causes, including the ongoing erosion of socialised health care in much of the Western world and its transfer to yet more corporate profiteers – for which our governments areundoubtedly responsible.

But governments and medical regulators have access to the same data and graphs as Dr Manniche, showing a relentless and near-identical rise in excess deaths beginning in spring 2021 in Denmark, Norway and Finland, in the immediate wake of the mass vaccine rollout. Similar graphs are available for other Western states.

The inference that there is a connection between the vaccines and excess deaths may be wrong. But it is not a hypothesis they wish to test. The consequences are far too serious for them. They would rather enforce general ignorance, or perpetrate a deception on the public, than risk undermining their own authority – and the crucial levers they control both to sustain their privileges and to further concentrate their wealth.

There are some uncomfortable lessons here for us all.

The truth is Western governments – all of them – dare not test the evidentiary basis for their insistence on lockdowns and experimental vaccines as the only way out of the pandemic. They dare not do so in the full glare of public scrutiny for fear that the truth will not serve them, and more likely will damage them. So they cultivate public ignorance.

The truth is that the medical regulatory authorities were long ago captured by Big Pharma, and the revolving door it offers, leading to prestigious jobs and lucrative salaries in the industry. So they favour public ignorance too.

The truth is that the media will not hold the feet of governments or the medical establishment to the fire because, whatever the media claim, they are not in the business of enforcing real, systemic accountability. The billionaire-owned media corporations are embedded in the same model of corporate profit as Big Pharma. Indeed, the media’s own corporate profits depend on the advertising and sponsorship of drugs companies – fellow corporations – like Pfizer. So they benefit from public ignorance as well.

World of Illusion

We live in a world not, as we are told and tell ourselves, of democratic accountability and transparency. Beyond formal, surface appearances, the system of political, economic and social control is designed to lack all but the most minimal checks and balances, institutional safeguards and oversight.

We live in a world of illusion, of elites that look out for their own, that develop ever more sophisticated technological tools to manipulate and deceive us, and that have progressively rigged the system to accrue to themselves ever more wealth and power.

We are not, as we like to imagine, informed citizens. The system cannot afford to provide us with the information we need to be informed – information that might reveal to us that we have been duped, that the rich steal from the poor to give to themselves, that our rulers have no clue how to fix the biggest problems facing us, aside from lining their pockets with more gold as the ship goes down.

As the last year has demonstrated, our elites had no more idea how to deal with the pandemic than they currently do with the climate crisis, or with the Ukraine war (without risking nuclear conflagration), or with rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence. Faced with the biggest challenges, they are like children – shouting “Follow the Science” or “Green New Deal” to distract the rest of us as they grab as many sweets as they can thrust into their pockets.

For these elites, Covid was a party – quite literally in the case of the British government – in which the biggest corporations not only profiteered but drove small businesses into the ground. Excess deaths are but a hangover, one that must be studiously ignored if the fiction of responsible, accountable, democratic government is to be maintained.

Our world has been carefully constructed to ensure we do not get to peek behind the curtain, to see the con-men at work. Unless we dispel this central illusion – that science, reason and compassion are the forces driving the West – the charlatans will take us with them over the edge of the cliff in their pursuit of suicidal “economic growth” and chimerical “progress”.

Update:

Shortly after I published this essay, Dr Campbell issued a video discussing new data from Western Australia showing that excess deaths increased dramatically from May 2021, well before Covid arrived on Australia’s shores. The vaccine programme, however, had been rolled out a short time before the excess deaths trend began.

Again, I am neither a medical expert nor a statistician, so I will not pass judgment on these findings – apart from to say they further bolster my conclusion that governments need these deaths to remain a mystery and undiscussed.

Anyone who cares not just about truth but about the safety of themselves and their loved ones ought to be demanding that this deeply troubling development – of many tens of thousands of people dying each month across the West above historic trends – be investigated.

What is not needed is more tribal point-scoring. This article has provoked a lot of debate, much of it deflecting from my central concern – that the cause of these deaths must be scrutinised, and the refusal by governments to do so should be understood in a political context – to medical debates few of us are qualified to resolve.

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Jonathan Cook is the author of three books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and a winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His website and blog can be found at www.jonathan-cook.net.


The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.

“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”

ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0,  Year: 2022,  PDF Ebook,  Pages: 164, 15 Chapters

Price: $11.50 FREE COPY! Click here (docsend) and download.

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  • Comments Off on Across the West, People Are Dying in Greater Numbers. Nobody Wants to Learn Why

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First published by Global Research on July 17, 2022

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Steve Bannon (SB): Your Excellency, after the psycho-pandemic, we now have the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. Are we in “phase two” of one single project, or can we now consider the Covid farce to be over and concern ourselves with the increase in energy prices?

His Excellency Carlo Maria Viganò (CMV): If in the last two years we had been faced with a true pandemic, caused by a deadly virus for which no other cures existed except for a vaccine, we would be able to think that the emergency was not intended. But this is not what happened: the SARS-CoV-2 virus is nothing but a seasonal flu that could have been cured with existing treatments and effective prevention based on strengthening immune defenses. The prohibition of treatment, the discrediting of the effectiveness of drugs that have been in use for decades, the decision to hospitalize the elderly who became sick in nursing homes and the imposition of an experimental gene treatment that has been demonstrated not only to be ineffective but also harmful and often fatal – all this confirms for us that the pandemic has been planned and managed with the purpose of creating the greatest damage possible. This is a fact that has been established and confirmed by the official data, despite the systematic falsification of that same data.

Certainly, those who wanted to manage the pandemic in this way are not disposed now to yield easily, also because there are billionaire interests behind all of it. But what “they” want does not always necessarily happen.

SB: In your opinion, Your Excellency, was the pandemic managed in this way due to inexperience? Or was it due to the corruption of those in positions of control who are in a conflict of interest because they are paid off by the pharmaceutical industry?

CMV: This is the second element to consider: the response to the pandemic was the same all over the world, where health authorities slavishly adapted to health protocols that were contrary to the scientific literature and medical evidence, instead following the directives of self-proclaimed “experts,” who have a record of sensational failures, apocalyptic predictions completely divorced from reality, and very grave conflicts of interest. We cannot think that millions of doctors all over the world have lost their basic knowledge of the art of medicine, believing that a flu should be allowed to evolve into pneumonia and then be treated with tachypirin or by placing patients on ventilators. If they have done this, it is due to pressure – even to the point of blackmail – by health authorities over medical personnel, with the help of a scandalous campaign of media terrorism and with the support of Western leaders. Most of these leaders are members of a lobby – the World Economic Forum – that trained them and placed them at the highest levels of national and international institutions in order to be certain that those who govern would be obedient. Klaus Schwab has publicly boasted, on many occasions, of being able to interfere even with religious leaders. These too are documented facts in all the nations that followed the directives of the WHO and the pharmaceutical companies. There is clearly a single script under a single direction: this demonstrates the existence of a criminal design and the malice of its creators.

SB: In some of your other statements, you have spoken of a “golpe bianco” (a “silent coup”).

CMV: A “silent coup” is a coup d’état that takes place without the use of force, carried out by a government that exercises power in an unconstitutional way.

In this case the coup was carried out in all the Western nations almost simultaneously, beginning with the first years of the 1990s. For Italy, this coup began with the divestment of investee companies and the privatization of services that normally burdened the treasury, such as health and transportation services, following the directives given by high finance to Mario Draghi on June 2, 1992, on the yacht Britannia.

Yes, Mario Draghi, who at the time was General Director of the Ministry of the Treasury and whom then-President of the Italian Republic Francesco Cossiga called a “cowardly businessman.” In other nations this coup took place in an analogous way, with a series of progressive transfers of sovereignty to supra-national entities like the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. With the introduction of the euro [in 2002], monetary sovereignty was removed from the nations adhering to the Maastricht Treaty, transferring it to the European Central Bank, which is a private bank. This bank decides the rate with which it finances national budgets, using money that these same nations have already given it. In practice, the European Central Bank demands interest on money that it only returns a penny at a time, and only on certain conditions: reforms, cuts in public spending, the imposition of laws promoting gender equality, abortion rights, the indoctrination of children, etc. The introduction of a balanced budget requirement into the [Italian] Constitution – as if the State was a company – was also part of the silent coup.

All the members of these bodies, including the same rulers who have been appointed at the recommendation of non-elected powers or have succeeded in winning election thanks to the manipulation of information, are at the same time the servants of high finance power groups or of large investment funds – some were their employees, such as Draghi of Goldman Sachs – others became employees after their term ended. Just like the drug agenciesand health organizations are composed of former BigPharma employees, who often receive consulting contracts and who are paid by the very pharmaceutical companies they are supposed to be keeping an eye on.

Up until the pandemic, power was in practice still managed at least formally by individual nations, and laws were passed by Parliaments. But for the last two years, the Parliaments have been deprived of authority, and all those whom the World Economic Forum and other lobbies have succeeded in placing at the high levels of governments and international institutions have begun to legislate against the Constitution and the interests of the Nation, obeying orders given to them from on high – “from the markets,” they tell us – which in fact is made up of a very small number of multinational corporations that engulf competing companies, flatten professional skills with damage to the quality of the product, and reduce the protection and wages of workers thanks to the complicity of unions and of the Left.

In short, we are governed by a high command of usurers and speculators, from Bill Gates who invests in large farms right on the eve of the food emergency or in vaccines just before the outbreak of the pandemic, to George Soros, who speculates on the fluctuations of currencies and government bondsand along with Hunter Biden finances a bio-laboratory in Ukraine.

To think that there is no relationship between the instigators of these crimes and those who carry them out at the highest levels of national governments, the EU, and the UN is a sign of bad faith, because even a child could understand that we are held hostage by a group of technocrats who are ideologically deviant and morally corrupt. The peoples of the world need to reclaim their sovereignty, which has been usurped by the globalist elite.

The instigators of this crime show themselves proudly at the Davos Forum, at meetings of the Trilateral Commission or the Bilderberg Group along with the rulers, prime ministers, directors of newspapers and television broadcasters, CEOs of social bankers and directors of social platforms and multinational corporations, bankers and directors of ratings agencies, presidents of foundations and self-styled philanthropists. All of these share the same agenda – which they publish on their websites – and are so confident in their own power that they affirm it with impunity – as Soros and Schwab have recently done – that it is necessary to create a narrative to be conveyed through the mainstream media, in order to make their decisions acceptable to the people. They embrace censorship and mass manipulation as instrumentum regni, and we have had proof of this both with the pandemic farce as well as with the pro-Zelensky propaganda in Ukraine.

We must understand that our rulers are traitors of our Nation who are devoted to the elimination of populations, and that all of their actions are carried out in order to cause the greatest amount of harm to citizens. It is not a problem of inexperience or inability but rather of an intentio nocendi – a deliberate intention to harm. Honest citizens find it inconceivable that those who govern them could do it with the perverse intention of undermining and destroying them, so much so that they find it very hard to believe. The main cause of this very serious problem is found in the corruption of authority along with the resigned obedience of those who are governed.

The Catholic Church also, beginning with the revolution of Vatican II and above all during the last nine years of the Bergoglian “pontificate,” has experienced the same cognitive dissonance: the faithful and the Clergy have resigned themselves to obeying mere cynical officials – who are no less corrupt and perverted than their counterparts in the deep state – although it has been evident that the purpose of the alleged “reforms” has always been the systematic destruction of the Church by its highest leaders, who are heretics and traitors. And I note that the deep church has had recourse to the same false arguments in order to pass off the doctrinal, moral, and liturgical dissolution: first of all, the false contention that those reforms were requested “from the ground up” and not imposed with force from on high. Just like the reforms planned by the World Economic Forum, the Bilderberg group, and the Trilateral are adopted by their infiltrators in the highest levels of nations and international organisms, making it appear that their plans are ratified by popular consent.

SB: And what do you advise, Your Excellency, to get out of this dead end?

CMV: Respect for authority is connatural to civilized man, but it is necessary to distinguish between obedience and servility. You see, every virtue consists of the just mean between two opposite vices, without being a compromise, but also as the peak between two valleys, so to speak. Disobedience sins by falling short, not wanting to submit to a good order of a legitimate authority; servility on the other hand sins by excess, submitting to unfair orders or orders given by an illegitimate authority. The good citizen should know how to disobey civil authority, and the good Catholic how to do the same with ecclesiastical authority, disobeying whenever the authority demands obedience to an iniquitous order.

SB: Doesn’t such talk seem to be a bit revolutionary, Your Excellency?

CMV: Far from it. The anarchists and courtiers both have a distorted concept of authority: the former deny it while the latter idolize it. The just mean is the only morally viable way, because it responds to the order that the Lord has imprinted on the world and that respect the celestial hierarchy. We owe obedience to legitimate authority in the measure in which its power is exercised for the purposes for which authority has been established by God: the temporal good of citizens in the case of the State and the spiritual good of the faithful in the case of the Church. An authority that imposes evil on its subjects is for that very reason illegitimate and its orders are null. Let’s not forget that the true Lord from whom all authority comes is God, and that the earthly authority – civil as well as spiritual – is always vicarious, that is, it is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ, King and High Priest. Setting up the vicarious authority of rulers in the place of the royal authority of the Lord is a mad gesture and – yes – revolutionary and rebellious.

SB: What does the elite want to obtain? It promises us peace, security, prosperity, and work, but there are more than fifty armed conflicts currently taking place in the world; our cities are unlivable, full of criminals, immersed in decay and dominated by minorities of deviant people.

CMV: This is the third indisputable element that should not be overlooked: the pandemic was planned as an instrument for the establishment of a totalitarian regime, conceived by unelected technocrats who are devoid of any sense of democratic representation.

The same thing is happening with the Ukraine crisis: the majority of citizens is absolutely not in favor of sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing sanctions against the Russian Federation, and yet heads of government act as if they have the complete support of their own nations, supported by embarrassing falsifications of reality by the mainstream media. And in certain countries such as Italy, this is taking place in a situation of disturbing complicity by all the powers of the State, both in legitimizing the violation of fundamental rights under the anti-Covid regulations as well as in ratifying participation in a conflict even though there was never any deliberation about entering it by the Italian Parliament, and which even the President of the Republic, the guarantor of the Constitution, approves and encourages, to the applause of European technocrats. In this case too, those who govern are neither obeying the will of the people not pursuing the common good, but rather following orders handed down to them from supranational entities with their own interests, which we know are subversive.

When they speak of “transformation of goods intoservices,” of “sharing economy” through the digital sector, they intend to expropriate private property from citizens: “You will own nothing and you will be happy.” And when they impose the privatization of state goods or services, they want to appropriate the profits while leaving the costs on the shoulders of the community.  But since not all countries are willing to do this “reset,” they are forcing them to accept it by provoking economic crises, pandemics, and wars. This is high treason and subversion.

Image below: Ukrainian refugees (Source: Sergei Bobylev/ITAR-TASS/Imagon)

The premeditated nature of this subversion is blatantly clear, as is the awareness of the disastrous consequences of the social, economic, and health decisions that have been made both with regard to the pandemic as well as the Ukraine crisis. Bergoglio has also admitted it: a head of state revealed to him, months before Putin’s military operation in Ukraine, that NATO and the European Union are deliberately provoking the Russian Federation, after having ignored for years the ethnic cleansing carried out by Kiev against the Russian-speaking minority in Donbass and the Crimea. The purpose of this provocation was to spark a conflict that would provide a cover to legitimize imposing sanctions against the Russian Federation and force Western nations to undertake the “green transition.” And at the same time, it would prostrate the economy of nations to the advantage of a few international investment funds and market speculation. In essence, the same premises are given that were made to justify the Enclosure Acts in England and later the Holodomor in Ukraine in order to transform the peasant masses into low-cost labor for the industrialization of the large cities. If war was to be avoided, NATO should not have been enlarged in violation of the treaties, and protection should have been assured for the Russian-speaking minority in Ukraine, as called for by the 2014 Minsk Protocol.

If this has not been done, it is because the realpurpose that they have wanted to achieve has nothing to do with the apparent purpose they have publicly declared. And I note that these are not abstract speculations but concrete facts that were anticipated and planned decades ago by Great Reset theorists, with the aim of forcing a social change that nobody wants, making the economy and finance of the Western world start over from scratch – just like one restarts a computer.

The fact that this causes misery, bankruptcy, the failure of businesses, unemployment, social instability, and the widening of the gap between the rich and poor, the decline of the birth rate and the reduction of essential services is considered a negligible detail, with the sole concern of indoctrinating the masses with false arguments in favor of war or the control of every detail of people’s lives, criminalizing whoever dissents and pointing to them as the enemy of the people. It seems to me that this narrative is sinking under the weight of the lies of the elite and its accomplices.

SB: Could you give us an example, Your Excellency?

CMV: The most obvious example is discovering that Richard Kalergi, one of the founding fathers of the European Union, wanted to pursue social engineering policies aimed at modifying European national societies through immigration and cross breeding, driving migration waves with the attractiveness of cheaper labor costs. Seeing the wicked obstinacy with which the waves of illegal immigrants continue to be welcomed, even when the impact that this phenomenon has on the safety of cities and on the general crime rate and the identity of national populations is obvious, demonstrates that the initial plan has been realized for the most part, and that action must be taken to prevent it from being completed.

SB: And yet these are not things that are happening by chance: they have told us so.

CMV: You are absolutely right: what baffles me is noting with what impudence the proponents of the Agenda 2030 have told us well in advance which criminal projects they intended to impose on us against our will; despite this evidence, there are those who amazed that after years of unstoppable infiltration they are actually realizing their plans right in front of our eyes even as they accuse us of being “conspiracy theorists.” There is definitely a conspiracy, but the ones who must be put on trial are the ones who have carried it out, not those who denounce it.

SB: Joe Biden lays responsibility for the crisis at the feet of Vladimir Putin. Do you agree with this judgment?

CMV: Americans are well aware that the price of gasoline had risen well before the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, and further increased due to sanctions – real or alleged – of the international community against the Russian Federation. Today we know that sanctions – as was foreseeable – have not affected Putin in the least, but the motive behind them is that they were supposed to strike Western nations, and in particular the nations of Europe, in order to provoke an economic and energy crisis by means of which to legitimize the ecological transition, rations, population control, and the censorship of information.

Putin did not take the bait offered him by the provocations of the deep state, limiting himself to intervening only as necessary to give security and protection to Russian-speaking Donbass. And he stormed the Azovstal steel plant, which hid one of the secret American biolabs that produced bacteriological weapons and carried out experiments with SARS-CoV-2. On the other hand, the Biden family had every interest in a having a war in Ukraine, in order to cover up the corruption cases involving Hunter Biden and to distract people from the impending scandals looming over Obama and Hillary Clinton for Russiagate and over the deep state for the electoral fraud carried out against Trump.

The US proxy war against the Russian invasion is in reality a war of the deep state against a nation that has refused to accept being engulfed by the delusions of globalist technocrats and that today has proofs of the crimes committed by the deep state. But while the EU can blackmail European nations, tying the disbursement of funds and interest rates on loans to the implementation of “reforms” – since these nations have limited monetary and fiscal sovereignty – the same is not true for Russia, which is a sovereign and independent nation, as well as self-sufficient in terms of raw materials, energy, and agricultural food resources.

SB: Is this bipolar vision, which re-proposes the Cold War confrontation between the USA and the USSR, no longer valid?

CMV: The hegemonic Left has established a Manichean division between good and evil: left vs. right, liberalism vs. fascism, globalism vs. sovereignism, vaccinism vs. No-vax. The “good guys” are obviously those on the left: liberal but supportive, globalist, inclusive, ecumenical, resilient, and sustainable. The “bad guys” are just as obviously patriots, Christians, right-wingers, sovereignists, and heterosexuals.

SB: What distinguishes the current structure of Western countries from the past?

CMV: The fusion of the worst of liberalism with the worst of collective socialism. Today we see, after two years of the pandemic farce, how globalist liberalism has made use of communist and dictatorial methods to impose itself with its Great Reset, and how the communist regimes are using liberal methods to enrich the upper echelons of the party without losing total control over the population. This demonstrates that the geopolitical balance is shifting towards a multi-polar vision and that bipolarism fueled by the deep state is in decline.

SB: Is there any analogy between what is happening in the Catholic Church under the pontificate of Jorge Mario Bergoglio?

CMV: The deep church is an offshoot of the deep state, in a certain sense. For this reason it should not surprise us that we are witnessing the demolition of Faith and Morals in the name of ecumenism and synodality, applying liberal errors in the theological sphere; and on the other hand the transformation of the Papacy and the Roman Curia into a politburo in which ecclesiastical authority is both absolute and also released from its fidelity to the Magisterium, following the modalities of the exercise of power in a communist-type dictatorship. The law is no longer founded on Justice but rather on the convenience and utility of those who apply it: it is enough to see how harshly the clergy and faithful who are traditional are treated by the Vatican, and on the other hand with how much indulgence the Vatican praises notorious pro-abortion activists (I am thinking of Biden and Pelosi among the most striking cases) as well as the propagandists of LGBTQ ideology and gender theory. Here too, liberalism and communism have formed an alliance to demolish the institution from within, just as has happened in the civil sphere. But we know that contra legem fit, quod in fraudem legis fitthat which circumvents the law is done against the law.

SB: Your Excellency, how do you think things in the United States can change in the near future?

CMV: The eventual return of Donald Trump to the White House would allow for real peace negotiations, once the deep state has been eradicated from the Administration and government agencies. But the reconstruction will certainly require the collaboration and sacrifices of everyone, and a solid spiritual vision that inspires the reconstruction of the social fabric. If all of this has happened through the demonstrated electoral fraud of the last Presidential election, Trump’s victory would be even more striking and would have strong repercussions on the ramifications of the deep state in Europe and in particular in Italy.

In any case, the mid-term elections could allow the Republicans to have a majority in the House and in the Senate, once the servants of the deep state – including first of all the “neo-cons” – have been ousted.

The failure of the effort to blame Trump for the farce of the assault on the Capitol ought to dissuade its organizers – among whom we cannot fail to number Nancy Pelosi – from trying to replicate the scene next fall, which would fall into the grotesque, in addition to being a case of déjà vu.

SB: So has the Great Reset failed? Can we sing a victory song?

CMV: A victory song can be sung only when the war has been won. The Great Reset is ontologically destined for failure, because it is inspired by inhuman and diabolical principles. But its end, however inevitable, may still take some time, depending on our capacity to oppose it and also what is contained in the plans of Divine Providence.

If the Lord wants to grant us a truce, a period of peace after we have understood how horrible is the hell on earth that the enemies of God and man desire, then we must commit ourselves to rebuild – not “build back better” but just the opposite – yes, rebuild what has been destroyed: the family, the bond of marriage, the moral education of children, love for our country, dedication to hard work, and fraternal charity, especially towards those who are the most defenseless and needy. We must reaffirm the holiness and untouchable sanctity of life from conception to natural death; defending the complementary nature of the two sexes against the insanity of gender ideology, protecting children from corruption and guaranteeing the innocence to which they are entitled. We must finally set aside the logic of profit – which is typical of the liberal mentality – in order to regain the pride of fulfilling our duty even when no one is watching us, of producing what we make in a professional mannerand selling it at an honest price. And we must stop considering ourselves inferior simply because someone has decided that in their godless model of dystopian society being honest, loyal, sincere, and God-fearing is something to be ashamed of. The ones who ought to be ashamed, rather, are those who call for the killing of children and the elderly, the planned extermination of the population through wicked vaccine campaigns, mass sterilization, sodomy, pedophilia, and all the most deviant aberrations.  

SB: Your Excellency, do you believe that the world can return to God?

CMV: The world can and must return to God: this is a necessity dictated by the divine order that the Creator has imprinted on creation. It must return to God, because only where Christ reigns can there by true justice and true peace. And the world can do this, but not in a collectivist or communitarian vision in which individuals disappear into the mass, but rather in a personal and individual vision, in which each one of us freely recognizes that nothing can be better than what Our Heavenly Father has prepared for us, since He loves us and wants to make us sharers in His glory.

If we all return to God, our Nations will also recognize His Lordship and will conform their laws to His Law. Let us pray therefore that what the Psalmist sings may be realized: Laudate Dominum omnes gentes; laudate eum omnes populi (Ps 116:1)– Praise the Lord, all you nations, praise him all you peoples. Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia ejus; et veritas Domini manet in æternum (Ps 116:2)For his Mercy is confirmed upon us, and the Truth of the Lord remains forever.

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Featured image is from Steve Bannon’s War Room

Al Vertice delle Nazioni Unite sui Sistemi Alimentari, il presidente Meloni ha confermato l’accusa dell’Occidente alla Russia: “La guerra di aggressione della Russia contro l’Ucraina ha aggravato l’insicurezza alimentare di molte nazioni africane, ha avuto un forte impatto sulla distribuzione dei cereali in tutto il mondo aggravando la crisi della sicurezza alimentare globale”.

Questa sarebbe la causa del fatto che il 30% dell’umanità, 2,4 miliardi di persone, non ha accesso a un’alimentazione adeguata, che oltre 700 milioni di persone (secondo stime ufficiali per difetto) sono affette da sottoalimentazione cronica, ossia condannate a morte prematura per fame

Quali siano le vere cause lo indicano gli stessi dati della Banca Mondiale: mentre i prezzi all’ingrosso dei prodotti agricoli e dei cereali sono calati rispettivamente del 4% e del 12% in un anno, i prezzi dei prodotti alimentari sono aumentati in tutto il mondo, spesso del 10% o più, colpendo soprattutto i paesi a basso reddito. Quali siano le vere cause della fame lo dimostra il crescente fenomeno del “land grabbing”: l’accaparramento di terre arabili in Africa e altre regioni da parte di grandi gruppi speculativi. Gli stessi che speculano su tutte le materie prime, compresi i cereali: alla Borsa Merci di Chicago si stipulano ogni giorno oltre 6 milioni di contratti di compra-vendita di materie prime a fini speculativi.

L’accusa alla Russia di affamare l’Africa perché blocca l’invio di grano ucraino cade di fronte al fatto che quasi tutto il grano inviato dall’Ucraina è andato ai Paesi dell’Unione Europea, non alle nazioni più povere, alle quali sono state inviate solo due navi su 87. Al Secondo Summit Russia-Africa è stato annunciato che la Russia ha esportato l’anno scorso oltre 11 milioni di tonnellate di grano in Africa e quasi 10 milioni di tonnellate nei primi sei mesi del 2023. Tutto questo è avvenuto nonostante le sanzioni illegali imposte alle esportazioni russe. Nei prossimi mesi la Russia fornirà 50.000 tonnellate di grano ciascuno a Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Repubblica Centrafricana ed Eritrea, consegnate a costo zero.

Manlio Dinucci

VIDEO :

Are Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) Destined to Fail?

July 30th, 2023 by Timothy Alexander Guzman

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Since Bitcoin (BTC) was introduced to the world as an alternative to the current central bank system with a dying US dollar that is backed by nothing as its reserve currency, but now there is a plan by several governments to move ahead with implementing their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which is a digital form of currency that is still backed by, you guessed it, nothing.

The Nigerian government had made the decision to be the financial guinea pig for the globalist CBDC scheme, and so far, it has failed and that’s the good news. The bad news is that certain governments are still moving forward with the idea of using government-issued digital currencies. In the case of Nigeria, its citizens rejected their government’s plan to issue CBDCs by restricting cash in efforts to create a cashless society and so far, it seems that it has failed in epic fashion according to an opinion piece by author Nicholas Anthony that was published by coindesk.com ‘Nigerians’ Rejection of Their CBDC Is a Cautionary Tale for Other Countries’ is a warning to governments who are willing to take the same step: 

In Nigeria, citizens have taken to the streets to protest the nation’s cash shortage, further objecting to their government’s implementation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The shortage came about due to cash restrictions aimed at pushing the country into a 100% cashless economy. Yet, instead of adopting the CBDC, Nigerian protesters are demanding paper money be restored.

The country’s experience strongly suggests the average citizen understands that CBDCs present a substantial risk to financial freedom while providing no unique benefit

Not only did the Nigerian people reject CBDCs, but they also demanded a return to paper currencies because they quickly found out that financial freedoms would be severely limited. 

The concerns ranged from risking financial privacy to the possibility of financial oppression by government institutions.  Anthony mentioned how “the Nigerian government has unleashed a flurry of tricks to spur adoption, but none has proven effective.”  He even gave credit to the Nigerian government in terms of using modest approaches to influence its citizens to use CBDCs and it still failed:

To its credit, the Nigerian government initially tried to encourage use through modest measures. In August 2022, it removed access restrictions so that bank accounts were no longer required to use the CBDC. Then, in October, it offered discounts if people used the CBDC to pay for cabs.  Yet, neither effort proved to be fruitful. Put simply, Nigerians prefer cash

However, the Nigerian government continued its assault on cash:

Unfortunately, the Nigerian government doubled down and moved to more drastic measures by restricting cash itself. In December the Central Bank of Nigeria began restricting cash withdrawals to 100,000 naira (US$225) per week for individuals and 500,000 naira ($1,123) for businesses.

To make matters worse, the Nigerian government also chose to redesign the currency during this time in a “move aimed at restoring the control of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over currency in circulation” and to “further deepen the push to [a] cashless economy,” according to a CBN press release

The Nigerians had a hard time adapting to the government’s restrictions on their hard earned cash, so they posted their concerns on Twitter, Tik Tok and other social media platforms to let the world know what went wrong.  Soon after, major protests erupted on the streets because of the cash shortages imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria: 

The government decided to redesign the currency to restore control over the Central Bank of Nigeria as its governor, Godwin Emefiele claimed that “the destination, as far as I am concerned, is to achieve a 100% cashless economy in Nigeria.” 

To add insult to injury, “the company that designed the Nigerian CBDC called the cash restrictions a creative use of marketing and said other countries could be expected to take similar steps.” 

A top manager from a financial institutional ratings firm called Agusto and Co., Ayokunle Olumbunmi said that the central bank “doesn’t want us to be spending cash. They want us to be doing transactions electronically, but you can’t legislate a change in behavior.” 

Anthony concluded that the idea of CBDCs will not go very far,

“CBDCs may be popular among central bankers, but money is ultimately a tool for the people. So long as the risks outweigh the benefits, it’s unlikely any CBDC will gain traction in Africa or elsewhere.”

Nicholas Anthony was correct to point out that CBDCs will not become mainstream as several countries have already demonstrated their unwillingness to move forward with the new form of digitized currencies. 

The average human being on earth understands that CBDCs is a bad idea, even in the United States where two-thirds of the population believes almost anything that their government tells them to believe are skeptical of CBDCs according to the Cato Institute, a think tank who also published an article by Nicholas Anthony on the findings of a survey that was conducted by the US federal Reserve Bank on how people view CBDCs.  Here is what they found, “Specifically, more than 66 percent of the 2,052 commenters were concerned or outright opposed to the idea of a CBDC in the United States (Figure 1).”

Bitcoin.com published an article on the GOP’s 2024 presidential candidate, Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis who is opposed to CBDCs, ‘Ron DeSantis Vows to Prohibit CBDC, ‘Woke Politics,’ and ‘Financial Surveillance’ in Florida,’ he said “I think what the danger of the digital currency is that, one, they want to make that the sole currency, they want to get rid of crypto,” DeSantis continued, “They don’t like crypto because they can’t control crypto. So, they want to put everything in a central bank digital currency.”  There were other politicians who also have similar views on CBDCs:

DeSantis shares the view of several Republican officials who have criticized the idea of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Minnesota congressman Tom Emmer introduced the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Anti-Surveillance State Act, while Texas senator Ted Cruz has created legislation against the government developing a CBDC. Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has also spoken out against CBDCs, and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. has warned that a central bank digital currency could lead to financial slavery

Cash Is King! How the CBDC Failed in Japan and Ecuador

Cointelegraph.com, an independent digital news platform that focuses on crypto assets, blockchain technology and emerging fintech trends published an article last year written by Helen Partz based on which countries have rejected CBDCs for one reason or another titled ‘Some central banks have dropped out of the digital currency race’ mentions Japan, who is a major player in the global economy, ultimately rejected developing a CBDC scheme.  The Bank of Japan (BOJ) started testing their digital currency proof-of-concept in 2021 and had planned to finish the first phase by 2022 but in January “former BOJ official Hiromi Yamaoka advised against using the digital yen as part of the country’s monetary policy, citing risks to financial stability.” 

The BOJ issued a report in July 2022 and stated that it had no plan to establish a CBDC system since there is a “strong preference for cash and high ratio of bank account holding in Japan” and that the regulator suggested for a CBDC to be used as a “public good” and it “must complement and coexist” with “private payment services in order for Japan to achieve secure and efficient payment and settlement systems.”  However, it also said that “the fact that CBDC is being seriously considered as a realistic future option in many countries must be taken seriously,” in other words, the CBDC scheme in Japan will not move forward although several countries are still in the early stages of developing a plan for the use of CBDCs, but for Japan, cash is still and will be king well into the foreseeable future.

Ecuador is another example as its central bank, Banco Central del Ecuador (BCE) who launched its own electronic currency known as dinero electrónico (DE) in 2014 to increase some sort of financial inclusion for the public as well as to control the flow of fiat currencies.  According to Partz

“As of February 2015, Ecuador managed to adopt DE as a functional means of payment, allowing qualified users to transfer money via a mobile app. The application specifically allowed citizens to open an account using a national identity number and then deposit or withdraw money via designated transaction centers.” 

But industry observers were not so sure that the DE can take the form of a CBDC since Ecuador’s currency is the US dollar, and since Ecuador does not currently have its own sovereign currency, many were not so sure that they can call the DE, a form of CBDC.  “The Ecuadorian government cited the support of its dollar-based monetary system as one of the goals behind its DE platform after it started to accept U.S. dollars as legal tender in September 2000.”  It seems that Ecuador remains skeptical on any possibility that issuing CBDCs will be a success:

According to online reports, Ecuador’s DE operated from 2014 to 2018, amassing a total of 500,000 users at its peak out of a population of roughly 17 million people. The project ​​was eventually deactivated in March 2018, with the BCE reportedly citing legislation abolishing the central bank’s electronic money system. Passed in December 2021, the law stated that e-payment systems should be outsourced to private banks.

Years after dropping its central bank digital money initiative, Ecuador has apparently remained skeptical about the whole CBDC phenomenon. In August 2022, Andrés Arauz, the former general director at Ecuador’s central bank, warned eurozone policymakers that a digital euro could potentially disrupt not only privacy but also democracy

Bottom line, the CBDC will not be a standard for financial transactions for the few countries who already tried launching their versions of digital currencies. 

However, in the US, the Federal Reserve’s ‘FedNow’ was supposed to be launched sometime in July 2023.  Here is the Federal Reserve’s Press Release:

The Federal Reserve announced that the FedNow Service will start operating in July and provided details on preparations for launch.  The first week of April, the Federal Reserve will begin the formal certification of participants for launch of the service. Early adopters will complete a customer testing and certification program, informed by feedback from the FedNow Pilot Program, to prepare for sending live transactions through the system.

Certification encompasses a comprehensive testing curriculum with defined expectations for operational readiness and network experience. In June, the Federal Reserve and certified participants will conduct production validation activities to confirm readiness for the July launch.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the forthcoming FedNow launch, which will enable every participating financial institution, the smallest to the largest and from all corners of the country, to offer a modern instant payment solution,” said Ken Montgomery, first vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and FedNow program executive. “With the launch drawing near, we urge financial institutions and their industry partners to move full steam ahead with preparations to join the FedNow Service”

For the US population, FedNow is a test that will eventually fail.  People will be skeptical about a central bank digital currency once it proves that it is used to surveil people’s spending habits and control what they spend their money on, and God forbid they are anti-war, anti-vaccine activists, homeschoolers, pro-gun supporters or conspiracy theorists, the bankers can cut them off from using CBDCs and then what happens?  Will there be riots in the streets? 

Since Bitcoin was introduced as an alternative to central bank control, the creation of the CBDC is their answer in hopes of retaining their power, but that idea is not likely to happen, it will in some way, backfire. 

When it comes to Bitcoin, it’s a different story.  In an interesting article written by Jay Speakman of beincrypto.comWhen You Buy Bitcoin You Gain Freedom’ says that “in a world where economic and political uncertainties abound, owning Bitcoin (BTC) could provide the path toward financial freedom and autonomy. It’s no longer just about investing in a digital asset. It’s about making a revolutionary move to gain control over your finances and future.”  Speakman makes several main points on why people should own Bitcoins and one of those points is that owning sovereign cryptos such as Bitcoins, Ethereum’s and others is a step towards financial freedom:

It provides the opportunity to participate in the global economy without the limitations of traditional banking systems. Bitcoin is not subject to government regulations. At least not yet, and it is free from the inflationary policies which can erode fiat currency values. This means Bitcoin provides an alternative and potentially more secure, store of value

Another reason for owning Bitcoins is for future investment purposes:

Investing in Bitcoin is no longer simply making money. It is about investing in your future and securing your financial freedom. Bitcoin’s decentralized financial system operates independently of central authorities or governments. This means it is resistant to censorship and regulation. Bitcoin holders can make transactions without the need for banks, which are subject to government intervention

“Investment Diversification” is another reason to own Bitcoins since putting all your eggs in one basket, especially in a globalist banking system, is a bit risky:

Investing in Bitcoin can provide portfolio diversification as it is not correlated to traditional assets such as stocks and bonds. This means it may provide a hedge against inflation and market volatility, mitigating the risks associated with traditional investment portfolios

However, owning Bitcoins does have risks like everything else since the “market is notoriously volatile. Prices often fluctuate wildly based on a range of factors, from government regulations to media coverage.”  Speakman also mentions that “BTC transactions can result in a permanent loss of funds. There is also the risk of hacking and theft, as these transactions are irreversible and untraceable.” 

In conclusion, the article lays out what owning Bitcoins could mean for individuals and investors alike especially for those who do not trust the traditional banking system:

The decision to buy BTC is more than just a financial investment. It’s a move towards financial freedom, control, and security. Bitcoin’s feature of allowing individuals to act as their own banks. Providing a secure alternative to traditional banking systems which have exhibited instability and vulnerability to failures.  Furthermore, the appeal goes beyond just financial security and autonomy. The digital currency resonates with libertarians who value individual freedom and limited government intervention. Despite a torrent of dissenting voices Bitcoin continues to gain mainstream adoption. As the technology continues to mature, it may address some of the concerns raised by the dissenting voices.

Investing in digital assets may involve risks such as volatility and the potential for hacking and theft. Yet, the benefits of financial freedom outweigh the downsides. As the world becomes increasingly uncertain, owning Bitcoin could be the first step toward financial security and autonomy

When you look at the difference between CBDCs along with the system imposed by international banking cartels who still maintain some form of financial dominance versus the Bitcoin revolution, there is a difference.  CBDCs means no financial freedoms and owning Bitcoins means the exact opposite.  Even though Bitcoins are still in the early stages, there is hope in the new crypto technology.  But like everything else, you should be cautious, do not invest 100% of your net worth in just one asset, in other words, invest maybe 5% in bitcoins, and the rest? 15% in emergency preparedness (food, water filters, guns, flashlights, etc.)  20% in real estate or invest in a second passport, 20% in hard assets like gold, silver and copper, 20% in high-end watches, antiques, aged wines and liquor, collectibles etc. and the last 20% in foreign stocks especially those that are in politically stabilized environments or in gold and silver mining companies, but that’s just my opinion. 

Government-backed CBDCs will be a failure because the people already do not trust international banking cartels to totally control their finances. So, for these banks to have total control over your financial wellbeing under their CBDC scheme would be an extremely difficult task for them to manage. 

The banking cartel or the financial bureaucrats are about to discover that they will be in over their heads with an angry population.  Just imagine if the banking cartels, certain governments and their corporate conglomerates are in  control over the people’s finances, they will get to determine who eats and who will starve.  This is the ultimate power grab the globalist bankers have been dreaming about for a very long time, but will the people stop this from happening?  I’m an optimist, so I believe that they will demand their financial freedoms and that is something of value that they can hold and control in their own hands.  The case for CBDCs will be a hard sell, so central banks who are proposing this idea should think twice about what they are trying to impose on the public, if not, they will face some form of resistance just like they did in Nigeria.    

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Timothy Alexander Guzman writes on his own blog site, Silent Crow News, where this article was originally published. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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First published by Global Research on June 27, 2023

If the truth be told, we are getting sick and tired of Zelensky who runs the “cease-pool” of corruption, tyranny, delusion and death in Ukraine.

This clown – and that’s what he is actually trained as – just can’t seem to stop stridently demanding money, arms and support from the rest of the world and lecturing everyone to fall into line or else.

In his actual clown days, of course, Volodymyr Zelensky was known for the act depicted below. But when it comes to the collective West, the latter seems to enjoy the fact that the Ukrainian president continues to bang away upon it, relentlessly pounding out a melody of me, me and more.

But lately Zelensky has really gone over the top, peddling the hideous canard that if we don’t enable him to fight “them” over there with everything and all that he demands by way of money and weapons, we will soon bleed and die against “them” over here.

That’s the “Putin is going to invade Europe next and maybe America too”, nonsense. It’s actually groundless blithering idiocy, and yet Washington treats him as a brave ally and statesman:

“If any candidate thinks supporting Ukraine is too costly, are they ready to go to war? Are they ready to fight? Send their children? Die?” Zelensky said. “They will have to do it anyway if NATO enters this war, and if Ukraine fails and Russia occupies us, they will move on to the Baltics or Poland or some other NATO country. And then the US will have to choose between keeping NATO or entering the war.”

Let’s cut to the chase. No American or NATO soldier is going to be fighting Putin’s army in Poland, Berlin or Belgium because the Russian army ain’t going there. Not in a month of Sundays.

Vlad Putin is no prince of men, but his war aims are limited, rational and clear as a bell. To wit, as he has warned for 15 years, he does not want NATO missiles on his doorstep in Ukraine, just as President Kennedy insisted about Khrushchev’s missiles 100 miles away in Cuba 61 years ago.

Likewise, he wants the Russian-speaking populations of the eastern Donbas region and the Black Sea rim, historically known as “Novorossiya” or New Russia, to have self-governing autonomy and protection from military attack by the anti-Russian Kiev government, as per the Minsk agreements.

After all, those brutal attacks, which killed upwards of 14,000 mostly civilians, occurred nearly continuously for eight years after the Washington-sponsored Maidan coup of February 2014. The latter had installed hostile proto-Nazi elements in the unelected and illegal government stood up in Kiev by Victoria Nuland and her Washington gaggle of neocon hegemonists.

In other words, what we have here is a Washington-triggered civil war in an area that has been either a Russian vassal or appendage for centuries and where the term “Ukraine” actually means “borderlands” in Russian.

And that’s not even the half of it. The borders of these very “borderlands” do not define a nation or state that was the product of natural development and accretion over centuries. To the contrary, they are a 20th century artifact confected by Lenin, Stalin and Khrushchev. The only connection these black-lined borders shown below have to the history of the area is that they were drawn-up for reasons of totalitarian administrative convenience, not as an expression of social, ethnic, religious or economic affinities.

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That is to say, Ukraine is a state that was not built to last; and, in fact, it barely outlasted its Soviet rulers after their demise in 1991. For instance, during the 1994 presidential election the pro-Russian candidate, Leonid Kuchma, defeated the incumbent and strident Ukrainian nationalist, Leonid Kravchuk.

As the map below makes clear, however, Kravchuk won overwhelming majorities of 89-95% in the western Ukraine regions (yellow and orange), which had historically been part of Poland or the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. By the same token, the pro-Russian Kuchma won the national election because he racked up the same preponderant majorities (blue areas) in the eastern Donbas and southern Novorossiya regions. In the historic Russian province (since 1783) of Crimea, in fact, Kuchma won 90% of the vote.

Electoral Map of Ukraine’s 1994 Presidential Election:

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Essentially, the same radical split in the electorate occurred election after election. During the last legitimate election held within the old communist borders of the country during 2010, the above pattern was replicated. This time Kuchma’s protégé, Viktor Yanukovich, won the election by a hair by virtue of lopsided margins in the historic Russian-speaking territories of the east and south (blue areas of the map).

On the other side, the Ukrainian nationalist and former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, garnered 80-90% margins in the center and west (red areas of the map).

Not surprisingly, when the pro-Russian winner of the election from the blue regions was ousted from office by Washington in February 2014, the red area Ukrainian nationalists and their crypto-Nazi allies took control of the Kiev government and proceeded to outlaw the Russian language as its first act of government; and soon thereafter launched armed warfare when the two Donbas provinces declared themselves independent states.

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At the end of the day, GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis was exactly right. The war in Ukraine is at bottom a “territorial dispute” that has absolutely nothing to do with the homeland security of America or Zelensky’s ridiculous lie that Putin is coming after NATO next.

And it most certainly has no bearing whatsoever on absurd abstractions like the rule of law and the sanctity of borders. After all, when it comes to the latter, Washington is far and away the greatest border-violating, regime-changing outlaw in the postwar world.

In some real sense, the postwar peace conference has already been held and the verdict is in. We are referring to the de facto Ukrainian referendums on the illegitimate state that Lenin, Stalin and Khrushchev built, and which the Washington neocons and War Party are determined to uphold at any cost, including going to the brink of nuclear war with Russia.

Time and again the Ukrainian electorate effectively voted for partition, as dramatically underscored by the elector maps above.

So send Zelensky packing back to his comedy show and let the blue states of the Ukrainian east and south have their own countries or return to the bosom of Mother Russia, from which these communities emerged during the 18th and 19th centuries.

That would end the carnage in a heartbeat, and would stop the senseless slaughter of Ukrainians and Russians alike – a human catastrophe that is beginning to rival the heinous criminality of World War I trench warfare.

The implicit Peace of the Partition, however, would have an additional silver lining. It would expose the absolute mendacity of the Washington War Party and the fact that it is so desperate to rule the world that it will prop up even utter nincompoops like Zelensky to stay in the business of fighting falsely demonized monsters who are no threat at all to America’s real homeland security.

As we indicated recently, it time to get back to a Fortress America defense policy, which could be funded for a fraction of today’s $900 billion defense-a-palooza. And we wouldn’t have to waste our national treasure on un-useful idiots like Zelensky, either.

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David Stockman was a two-term Congressman from Michigan. He was also the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan. After leaving the White House, Stockman had a 20-year career on Wall Street. He’s the author of three books, The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution FailedThe Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America, TRUMPED! A Nation on the Brink of Ruin… And How to Bring It Back, and the recently released Great Money Bubble: Protect Yourself From The Coming Inflation Storm. He also is founder of David Stockman’s Contra Corner and David Stockman’s Bubble Finance Trader.

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On July 26, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held high-level defense talks with his North Korean counterparts. In a clear message to the United States, Pyongyang is also conducting a series of ballistic missile tests that serve as a warning to Washington DC’s belligerence. Namely, the US is escalating tensions with everyone in the area, including by sending its nuclear-powered submarines to South Korean ports. Apart from various guided missile submarines (SSGNs), the US Navy also sent the USS “Kentucky”, a nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), that docked in the southern port city of Busan on July 18. It should be noted that this was the first such visit since the 1980s, marking not only a symbolic, but an actual US return to Cold War-era posturing.

Sending SSBNs such as the USS “Kentucky” to the region is not only a message to North Korea, but also Russia and China. This Ohio-class submarine can be armed with up to 20 UGM-133A “Trident II” SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles), which, albeit over 30 years old at this point, can carry up to 14 warheads each, including the latest very low yield W76-2, with the power of approximately 2–7 Kt (kilotons of TNT). While such warheads are not nearly as destructive as the original W76, they’re equipped with new advanced fuses and their primary purpose is the destruction of enemy ballistic missiles while they’re still in silos. Such weapons are a direct threat to all three (Eur)Asian nuclear powers, as it gives the US certain first-strike capabilities that are yet to be matched by anyone outside Russia.

Such US moves are certainly part of the reasons why Shoigu visited Pyongyang and held talks with his North Korean counterpart Kang Sun-nam. He reiterated President Putin’s message about friendly bilateral relations that are “bound to be improved in all fields”. Shoigu expressed confidence that the meeting would strengthen military cooperation between the two countries.

“I am confident that today’s talks will contribute to strengthening cooperation between our defense ministries. Visits of warships, official visits of high-ranking defense officials, exchanges of working-level delegations and personnel training have all contributed to maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” he said, adding: “I am glad to make your acquaintance and meet with you. I happily accepted your invitation to visit Pyongyang, the capital of a friendly state. I am grateful to my Korean friends for the rich program you have offered. From the very first minute, I felt your care and attention. I hope we will manage not only to work actively, but also to learn a lot of interesting things about [North] Korea, your culture and traditions and see the sights.”

The Russian delegation was invited to attend Pyongyang’s celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War. The ceremonies also included a massive military parade and the display of a plethora of advanced weapons that North Korea has developed in recent years. The visit by Russian officials will be the first of this kind in several years. China is also sending a delegation of high-ranking officials to the anniversary, marking its intention to not only maintain, but also strengthen relations with its eastern neighbor. In a recent push against US plans for NATO expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, both Moscow and Beijing are coordinating their efforts with Pyongyang, as the “pocket superpower” has significant strategic capabilities, completely disproportionate to its small size (relative to the giants surrounding it).

And while North Korea’s portrayal by the mainstream propaganda machine is unflattering, mildly speaking, Shoigu’s visit has demonstrated that underestimating Pyongyang isn’t only foolish, but also patently dangerous. It should be noted that such reverie is wholly limited to the infowar arena, as the Pentagon is deeply alarmed by North Korea’s recent advances in various military technologies that rival even that of global superpowers. Pyongyang’s innovations include not only missiles, but also advanced strategic drones. The footage released by its Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows one of the largest drones in the world. Superficially, the unmanned aircraft resembles the USAF’s RQ-4A “Global Hawk” and the USN’s MQ-4C “Triton” HALE (high-altitude, long-endurance) drones that are used for strategic ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance).

In addition to these platforms, North Korea seems to have developed a strike drone, as demonstrated by the presence of one that resembles the US MQ-9 “Reaper”. Developing such capabilities shows that Pyongyang is anything but “technologically backward”. These developments are a landmark achievement for its rapidly growing military industry that in some aspects has surpassed even the US. Namely, North Korea is only the third country in the world to field hypersonic weapons (including HGVs – hypersonic glide vehicles), something the Pentagon has been unable to accomplish after repeated tests have failed spectacularly, despite several decades of futile attempts and massive investments.

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Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst.

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Updated on July 30, 2023 at 7:00 pm ET.

Each day brings with it its measure of joy or travail. The noise of life hums along and practicalities absorb the attention of most of us, enough so that the profundity of alterations introduced by the covid operation may not quite be appreciated. Indeed, I cannot myself come to comprehend the depths and breadth of the iniquity visited upon us, though I can perceive the stigmata.

It bores me to have to repeat the litany of abuse to which we have been subjected – the lockdowns, masks, jab mandates and apartheid, the residual divisions between friends and family, the cheerful ‘protective’ State declaring itself to be unassailable and correct and now constantly hectoring – but it is worth repeating if only to remind us of the unparalleled extent of the operation. And it is also worth remarking upon the introduction of novel attempts at control, attempts that reach into bank accounts, once thought to be impregnably safe or, at least, impregnably protected from outright theft.

It seems, in fact, that nothing is protected these days – speech, thought, bodily integrity and medical choice, private property, gender, family, religion – and we astonishingly have come to accept the intrusions against any semblance of human autonomy as … as no surprise.

The assault against identify and freedom has been so massive, so universal and so complete that is really impossible to fathom.  As the death jab continues to visit harm and demise upon millions, an infrastructure is being built to ensure that opinions daring to dissent with the authorities may not only be censored but punished. And most ominous has been the abject compliance of those to whom we have entrusted our care and well-being – and here I am referring to medical professionals sworn to keep their patients’ welfare as their foremost priority who have abdicated their sacred responsibilities. The unthinking masses who have been fed and nurtured on mainstream propaganda for decades, formidably and unquestioningly in lock-step with their media, are a little less morally culpable.

Our enemy – the enemy that shills for ‘the science’ and digital ID passports, and that has indulged in an orgy of censorship whenever it encounters a critical voice – is lawless. Their courts are corrupt and they rule by force, counting upon the unthinking and recruiting the naive as allies and collaborators. Unless and until we recognize that appeals to conscience and justice carry no weight with the Global Mafia Cartel, we are diminishing our ability to resist.

How many times have I heard that the next Tribunal decision will be a ‘watershed’, that the next court case will be a ‘game-changer’, that the next legal appeal will ‘shock the world’, that the next revelation of medical criminality will ‘turn the tables’?  Far too many.

Here in New Zealand doctors who have had the egregious audacity to have attempted to help their patients by prescribing Ivermectin, for example, or who have dared to insist upon informed consent as applied to the covid inoculation, or who have had the temerity to question the government’s apocalyptic covid policies remain under attack, their licenses to practice threatened by the Medical Council of New Zealand, a proxy for the Federation of State Medical Boards, yet another puppet arm of the overarching Cartel.

Recently a colleague and friend was hauled before a Health Professionals Disciplinary Tribunal, during which he proceeded to eviscerate the case against him by providing an exemplary and fact-based retort to their attacks upon him. Generally the Tribunal issues a decision within days; in his case it has been thirteen weeks and counting.  Should we have expected any different, should we expect a just decision from a system that is thoroughly compromised and bent upon an agenda, should we expect good where there has been an agglomeration of evil?

Clutching to fragile tendrils of hope within a decaying and rigged framework serves only to hinder our efforts to insist upon real justice, real science and real accountability, and to guard zealously our already limited freedoms.

Although we are admittedly in an irregular war for which no certain rules can be established, the ever-persisting belief in the System’s ability to correct itself, manifested by those who continue against all evidence to date to play their game by keeping mum or clinging to the illusion of a victory in rigged courts, will only prolong our misery.

In 480 B.C. all of Greece was under attack by Xerxes and his massive army of Persians.  The Greek city-states, fractious and competitive as they were, united in an attempt to stop the invasion. They were vastly outnumbered by land and by sea and there was no way out but surrender. Under the leadership of the Athenian general Themistocles they decided to stake everything on a battle in the waters near Athens, at Salamis, in the Saronic Gulf.  This meant that the great city of Athens itself would be abandoned to Persian forces, who overran and destroyed its temples; it meant that every citizen staked everything on a battle that would decide upon freedom or slavery.

During that fateful September day at Salamis so many centuries ago the Greeks managed to thrash the much larger Persian fleet, to repel Xerxes and to reclaim their territories, marking an epochal event in the history of what we have come to call the West.

The enemy we face today is larger, more encompassing and determined not just to kill bodies but to destroy the very foundations of human identity. They have seemingly limitless power at their command, firm control over communications, and they rely on thoughtless minions to further their ideologically and physically murderous aims.

They will never be defeated by compromise or acquiescence, because this battle is a culminating one. This battle is one that will require of us, of the stubborn minority, the courage to sacrifice our homes and livelihoods and material possessions. Yes, it’s that big, that overwhelming, that final, even if it may be beyond our comprehensive faculties.

It will require that we no longer play ball with the Devil.

This is our Salamis. It’s time.

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Dr. Garcia is a Philadelphia-born psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who emigrated to New Zealand in 2006. He has authored articles ranging from explorations of psychoanalytic technique, the psychology of creativity in music (Mahler, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Delius), and politics. He is also a poet, novelist and theatrical director. He retired from psychiatric practice in 2021 after working in the public sector in New Zealand. Visit his substack at https://newzealanddoc.substack.com/

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Israel on the Brink of Constitutional Anarchy

July 29th, 2023 by Steven Sahiounie

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Despite massive street protests since January, and international pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to throw out the bill, the judicial reform measure is now law. It passed on a vote of 64-0 amid an opposition boycott. The bill removes the “Reasonability Clause” from being used by the Supreme Court to strike down improper government appointments and executive decisions.

The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the most extreme right-wing religious government in Israeli history. Israelis are fearful that the religious extremists in the Netanyahu ruling alliance will railroad bills through the Knesset which will strip away rights from a mainly secular society. Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, formerly convicted on eight counts of terrorism and hate crimes, threatens this bill is just the beginning in a process to change the secular fabric of Israel.

Activists in women’s rights are most concerned with the prospect of new laws which will make it difficult for a woman to get a divorce, or an abortion. Ben-Gvir and his ultra-religious allies want to institute laws in which Jewish religious law is used for women’s issues instead of the secular civil law and massively expand the power of state-run religious courts.  The rabbinic courts would be granted the power to officiate on civil issues for the first time in 15 years, giving them equal status to the secular justice system.

Rabbinic courts do not allow female judges, and at times will not allow female witnesses even in the case of domestic abuse. Abortions had been usually approved by a committee, but the religious parties now in control are against abortion. With the Supreme Court made impotent, women could be stripped of the right to choose.

With the Supreme Court now sidelined from dissent, the government led by the extremist parties can transform Israel into an authoritarian form of government.  Netanyahu is powerless to rein in the extremists because his alliance with them is the only thing keeping him out of prison on corruption charges.

Israeli society usually stands united amid Palestinian resistance, but this time the water cannons have been turned on peaceful Jewish protesters, not Arabs. Ben-Gvir described the demonstrators as anarchists who posed a danger to the state and even to the lives of individual politicians, and he ordered a zero-tolerance policy.

The new law has split the country, with even the military taking a political position. Hundreds of Israeli military personnel have pledged to not perform their duties in opposition to the judicial reform law, and are joined by the medical association and labor union.

Former President Reuven Rivlin begged Netanyahu to stop the judicial reform law, and warned of impending civil war. Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, the centrist opposition leader, said

“The government has declared a war of attrition against its own citizens.”

Netanyahu, along with his son and brother, have pointed a finger at US President Joe Biden as the instigator and financier of the massive street protests against the law.

Ben-Gvir, known for his radicalism, has been convicted of sedition and membership in a terrorist group. He has called for a religious Jewish state including the Palestinian territories and rejected democracy as ‘un-Jewish’.  He hates Arabs and said they must be expelled.  He follows a political doctrine that says a fist in the face of a non-Jew is praise to God. 

Ben-Gvir and his Jewish Power party advocate ‘total war’ against Israel’s enemies and believe that the Palestinians should be made to leave the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The possibility of mass deportations of Palestinians exists now that the judicial reform bill has passed. 

The Biden administration, along with Trump, Obama, and Bush has abdicated any role in the advancement of the Two-State Solution which is a UN resolution, and the official US policy.

The Israeli public has been content to stand by and watch the Palestinians among them suffer the lack of human rights and freedom, but now the table has turned.  Palestinians will never have freedom until their Jewish neighbors demand it and are willing to fight for democracy and freedom for all the people living in Israel and the Palestinian Occupied Territories.

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This article was originally published on Mideast Discourse.

Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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AI is about to revolutionize “US efficiency” with devastating social consequences. With AI (supported by other technologies), 30 % of hours currently worked across the US economy could be automated. See the McKinsey Study 

  • By 2030, activities that account for up to 30 percent of hours currently worked across the US economy could be automated—a trend accelerated by generative AI. However, we see generative AI enhancing the way STEM, creative, and business and legal professionals work rather than eliminating a significant number of jobs outright. Automation’s biggest effects are likely to hit other job categories. Office support, customer service, and food service employment could continue to decline

12 million Americans will lose their job within the next 6-7 years.

A “stimulus” package in itself will not fix the problem, because “stimulus” will only increase occupation in remaining job types, not help people made redundant by AI learn to master new types of occupations which will emerge.

Jobs taken by automation are always replaced – but that is over time. And many of those who lose their job because of AI may likely not be employable for the new jobs being created with AI.

The problem is that the US has no tradition and no institutions for adult re-schooling.

US employers have no incentive or culture of helping redundant employees to acquire the skills for new types of occupation, and the US government has no institutions or culture for that either.

As a rule of thumb, an unemployment rate of 5% is by economists considered full employment, because there will always be people temporarily unemployed while in transition from one job to another. With only 6.4 million unemployed and an official unemployment rate of only 3.6%, the US in effect currently [officially] has “a shortage of labor”.

Even if accounting for 2% workers outside the official statistics who are discouraged or marginally attached to the labor market, the US effective unemployment rate is not above 5.5% percent, or close to full employment.

The time for this massive AI transition of the complete job market is therefore favorable for the US. If a combination of positive economic policy and re-schooling could help just half of those 12 million expected to be laid-off by AI to find a new occupation, then the unemployment rate might be kept down to around 7%, which would be socially manageable. “Manageable” does not equal “desirable”, but manageable means that at least overall social stability could be held.

In the worst case scenario, US unemployment will not only reach 18-19 million or something like 11%.

Even if we add 2% of the US labor force who are without a job but not officially “unemployed” because they have been discouraged from seeking a job or they are marginally attached to the labor market, the official US unemployment after AI might not exceed 13%. With bad luck it might be 15%. This would be extremely bad, and such misery and unemployment has always caused a lot of trouble. However, calamities sometimes don’t come alone. Add to this the always existing possibility of a recession happening within the next 6-7 years – a recession which in itself might elevate the unemployment rate by 3%-4%. In that case, the US might be staring at a effective unemployment rate of 16% – 17%. That would be something around 24 million unemployed.

Even worse is if those up to 24 million Americans, some unemployed due to bad overall economy, but most of which would be made redundant by AI, should become permanently unemployable for decades due to lack of skills for a completely different US job market dominated by AI everywhere. This extremely bad scenario is not the most likely, but it is indeed a possible one. A scenario which needs to be taken into account in order to already now formulate effective policies to avoid it.

AI is about to create enormous wealth in the US, but many-many millions of Americans may see themselves shut out from that bonanza and thrown out to destitution forever. In that case, the US will have created a massive new underclass with easy access to firearms and ready to march on Capitol Hill a second time.

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Karsten Riise is a Master of Science (Econ) from Copenhagen Business School and has a university degree in Spanish Culture and Languages from Copenhagen University. He is the former Senior Vice President Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Mercedes-Benz in Denmark and Sweden.

He is a regular contributor to Global Research. 

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Western media are trying to improve Kiev’s image and create new expectations around the so-called “counteroffensive”. In an article published by the New York Times on July 26, authors stated that “Ukraine has launched the main thrust of its counteroffensive”. It was reported that the Ukrainian authorities had authorized a new war effort, giving an important boost to the operation. At this phase, it is said that a large number of NATO-trained troops are being moved to the front lines. The objective is to gain territory in the regions liberated by the Russians, mainly in the south of the country.

“The United States and other Western allies have trained about 63,000 Ukrainian troops, according to the Pentagon, and have supplied more than 150 modern battle tanks, a much larger number of older tanks, hundreds of infantry fighting vehicles and thousands of other armored vehicles (…) In villages all along the southern front line on Wednesday, unusually heavy artillery fire could be heard as Ukrainian guns thundered from hidden positions and Russian artillery and mortars targeted former Russian positions and villages now occupied by Ukrainian soldiers. Ukrainian troops deployed along that part of the front say they are steadily pushing the Russian troops back in what they describe as step by step, rather than breakthrough, movements”, the article reads.

In fact, the NYT report is in line with what some other newspapers have been saying on the topic recently. For example, CNN published an article on the same day called “Ukraine’s counteroffensive is ramping up after months of slow progress”, in which it is also said that Kiev is deploying well-trained and equipped troops to regain positions currently under control of the Russian armed forces:

“The Ukrainian military had been holding large numbers of trained troops, some equipped with more powerful Western weapons, back since the operation started in early June. While it still maintains some combat power in reserve, it has now deployed the ‘main bulk’ of the forces committed to the counteroffensive forces”, CNN’s text reads.

This information is not entirely false. There is some veracity in the data, as Kiev has indeed recently launched a second phase of its “counteroffensive” against Russian forces.

After the absolute military failure in Donbass, the Ukrainian focus has been on trying to recover some ground in the south, mainly in Zaporozhye. To achieve these strategic objectives, indeed, many NATO-trained troops that until now had been kept in the rear are finally being sent to the frontlines.

Keeping special forces outside the front has been a common Ukrainian practice. Kiev tries to preserve what is left of its military potential by keeping its well-trained troops as long as possible in the rear, while newly recruited and poorly equipped soldiers are sent in large numbers to the “meat grinder” at the frontlines. Kiev allows the deployment of its well-trained forces to the front only at specific times when there is some feasible hope of territorial gain. Currently, Ukraine is betting on the possibility of regaining ground in the south, which explains why forces trained abroad are finally being sent to the region.

It remains to be seen, however, whether the Ukrainian plans will really go as expected by the regime and media. Despite having several NATO-trained troops, the regime is militarily weakened after months of intense fighting. The Russians have created a very solid defensive line with their recent territorial gains, making it difficult for enemy forces to achieve any significant progress.

Also, it must be emphasized that there are a lot of minefields around these Russian-dominated regions. The Ukrainian armed forces are sending large numbers of special forces and NATO military tanks there, which is resulting in heavy losses. As Kiev’s well-trained soldiers die, the regime will be forced to bet once again on sending its inexperienced troops, resulting in new “meat grinders”.

It is unlikely that Ukraine will achieve any relevant territorial gains, except in the event of some strategic retreat by Russian units. Russia’s military advantage will not be easily reversed by simply sending the best troops to the front. In practice, the Ukrainian action sounds more like a gesture of desperation, with the regime sending everything it still has to the lines, trying to gain some ground. Not by chance, a Pentagon official commented on the case classifying the Ukrainian effort as a “big test“.

Even if there is a “thrust”, this does not seem enough to reverse the Russian gains in the conflict. Ukrainian losses so far have been too severe to be compensated by merely deploying a few NATO-trained forces. Wars are not won with just a few special troops, depending also on a strong apparatus of artillery and aviation, in addition to the ability to replace losses. In all these sectors, the Russians continue to have an extreme advantage, which is why Western propaganda about the Zaporozhye offensive sounds like yet another irresponsible attempt to spread expectations of [an impossible] victory.

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Lucas Leiroz is a journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant. You can follow Lucas on Twitter and Telegram.

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