Things are approaching critical mass.

let’s hope that the US will not panic and accept the truth that everyone is finally beginning to see, which is: USA is the No. 1 Terrorist organization on this planet, our home.

But I don’t see that coming. It would be naïve to think that they will let China do what they are doing. The US will fight for their unipolar hegemony.

However, it is surprising how stupid the US is acting… (no need to explain that further in this audience) But the fact that such stupid people have access to all kind of weapons, is very worrying.

In the last days I have already noticed a new level of emotionalized propaganda in the German media, “explaining” in all “newspapers” the ever-boring story of The Good and The Evil. The language is becoming more infantile and desperate, almost embarrassing (Fremdscham) 
I am afraid they are preparing their people for a justification of something …. very very stupid. I hope not.

So far Russia and China have acted quite cleverly, not responding to the various childish provocations. Instead they behaved like adults and were surprisingly successful in de-escalation. They show strength and wisdom at the same time. 

They seem to be prepared for anything the US will do. They know the US empire is ending and they even seem to be aware that they should not humiliate the Empire (something they could do very well, if they wanted to). 

May peace prevail. 


Posted by: HansJuergen | Mar 20 2023 11:07 utc | 4

Huawei makes breakthrough in EDA design tools for 14nm chips

Nicknamed the “cradle” of integrated circuits, EDA is a widely used software in the sector and significant to the entire chip-designing process. /CFP

Huawei has developed electronic design automation (EDA) tools for chips produced at and above 14-nanometer technology with domestic partners, marking a major breakthrough for China’s semiconductor industry.

Nicknamed the “cradle” of integrated circuits, EDA is a widely used software in the sector and significant to the entire chip-designing process.

The Chinese tech giant has achieved localization of EDA tools above 14nm in the chip field and will complete comprehensive verification this year, Huawei confirmed on March 24, citing the remarks made by its rotating chairman Xu Zhijun on February 28.

Xu also said the company has developed 78 tools related to chip hardware and software.

China has long relied on U.S. companies such as Cadence and Synopsys for high-end electronic design automation tools.

Chips produced at the 14nm level were first introduced in smartphones in the mid-2010s and are two to three generations behind leading-edge technology, but it still marks a breakthrough.

The progress is part of a broader push by Huawei to develop domestic development tools for hardware, software and chips amid the U.S. governmental restrictions.

Xu further mentioned that although the company has achieved many breakthroughs in product development tools over the past three years, it still faces formidable challenges, thus Huawei will redouble its efforts to attract more global talents to achieve a strategic breakthrough in the area.

Caramelized Onion Smothered Pork Chops

Caramelized Onion Smothered Pork Chops are exceptionally delicious. They will most certainly become a part of your meal rotation.

Ingredients

4 boneless pork chops, with as much fat removed as possible
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons butter
2 cups thinly sliced onion
4 teaspoons granulated sugar

Instructions

Season both sides of pork chops with garlic powder, sage, thyme, salt and pepper.
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat, evenly coating the bottom of the skillet.
Increase heat to medium-high. Cook both sides of chops for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.
Push chops to outside edges of skillet. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the center of the skillet and add onions to the center of the skillet, sprinkling with sugar. Replace skillet cover and cook for 10 minutes, frequently tossing and stirring onions with a spatula. Onions are caramelized when tender and medium-brown in color. DO NOT let the onions burn!
Check chops for doneness before serving. They will be done when a fork piercing the thickest part of the chop draws clear juice. If the juice is pink, cook chops a bit longer until done.
Serve pork chops with caramelized onions piled on top.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

By Graham Allison, a professor of government at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s decision to visit Moscow this week in his first trip abroad since his reelection comes as no surprise to those who have been watching carefully. When one steps back and analyzes the relationship between China and Russia, the brute facts cannot be denied: Along every dimension—personal, economic, military, and diplomatic—the undeclared alliance that Xi has built with Russian President Vladimir Putin has become much more consequential than most of the United States’ official alliances today.

Many observers still find this alliance hard to believe. As former U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis put it in 2018, Moscow and Beijing have a “natural nonconvergence of interests.” Geography, history, culture, and economics—all the factors that students of international relations focus on—give both nations many reasons to be adversaries.

On today’s map, large swaths of what was in earlier centuries Chinese territory are now within Russia’s borders. This includes Moscow’s key naval base in the Pacific, Vladivostok—which on Chinese military maps is still labeled by its Chinese name, Haishenwai. The 2,500-mile border between the two nations has repeatedly seen violent clashes, most recently in 1969. On the Russian side, the land east of the Ural Mountains is full of natural resources but has a population of just 32 million people, while on the Chinese side, hundreds of millions of people live with few natural resources.

On the broader canvas of history, Russia was a prime antagonist in China’s “century of humiliation,” joining forces with Western imperialist powers to put down the Boxer Rebellion and forcing China to sign eight “unequal treaties” during the second half of the 19th century. In recent decades, the status inversion resulting from Russia’s decline from its position as the second superpower in a bipolar world, combined with China’s meteoric rise, must cause a leader as status-conscious as Putin some consternation.

But while history deals the hands, human beings play the cards, and Xi has defied expectations to masterfully build a relationship with Putin that matters deeply to both. Putin was the first leader Xi visited after becoming China’s president in 2012. Since then, the two have held 40 one-on-one meetings, twice as often as either has met with any other world leader. Putin calls Xi his “best and bosom friend,” who, as Putin noted in 2018, is the only world leader with whom he has celebrated his birthday. When Xi awarded Putin China’s Friendship Medal in 2018, he called the Russian president his “best, most intimate friend.”

In recent years, Sino-Russian economic ties have grown. Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China had displaced the United States and Germany to become Russia’s No. 1 trading partner and top buyer of Russian oil and gas. In the past year, China has provided an economic lifeline for Russia, buying everything the West won’t and helping Russia maintain access to financial markets amid sweeping Western sanctions. Chinese purchases of Russian energy last year were up 50 percent from 2021 levels while bilateral trade hit record highs. China was not only the world’s largest exporter to Russia in 2022, but it also accounted for the largest year-over-year increase in export volume to Russia of any country in the world. Last month, the yuan overtook the dollar as the most traded currency on the Moscow Exchange for the first time ever, representing almost 40 percent of total trading volume.

And despite Western sanctions intended to eliminate Russia’s access to critical technologies, Chinese exports of integrated circuits to Russia doubled in 2022. Indeed, in every area where China can support Russia without incurring major costs to itself—unlike lethal arms sales to Russia that violate U.S. sanctions, which CIA Director William Burns recently said China was “considering” but “reluctant to provide”—it has done so.

Furthermore, while many Americans discount Sino-Russian military cooperation, as a former Russian national security advisor has put it to me, China and Russia have the “functional equivalent of a military alliance.” China regularly participates in joint military exercises with Russia that dwarf those the United States conducts with its much more publicized “strategic partner,” India. It sent soldiers to Russia’s annual Vostok exercises in September and conducts joint air and naval exercises on a near-monthly basis. Russian and Chinese generals’ staffs now have candid, detailed discussions about the threat U.S. nuclear modernization and missile defenses pose to each of their strategic deterrents. While, for decades, Russia was careful to withhold its most advanced technologies in arms sales to China, it now sells the best it has, including S-400 air defenses. The two countries share intelligence and threat assessments as well as collaborate on rocket engine research and development. More recently, Beijing and Moscow have collaborated to compete with Washington in a new era of space competition.

Their diplomatic coordination has also ramped up as Xi and Putin become increasingly convinced Washington is seeking to undermine their regimes. The two countries almost always vote together in the United Nations Security Council and reinforce each other’s political narratives. For instance, China has repeatedly refused to call Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a war, instead labeling it an “issue,” “situation,” or “crisis.” Its diplomats and propaganda megaphones echo even Russia’s most extreme claims about the war, blaming NATO for ignoring Russia’s “legitimate concerns” and suggesting the United States wants to “fight till the last Ukrainian.”

Neither leader has made a secret of his ambitions to end U.S. hegemony and create what Xi called on Monday a “new model of major-country relations.” Their success in forming new alignments of nations—including the so-called BRICS bloc and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, whose citizens make up two-thirds of the world’s population—demonstrates that their declarations are not merely aspirational. While U.S. talking points highlight the world’s condemnation of Putin’s invasion, Chinese and Russian diplomats note that many countries have not joined in, including the world’s largest country, the world’s largest democracy, Africa’s leading democracy, and most nations in the global south.

An elementary proposition in international relations 101 states: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” By confronting both China and Russia simultaneously, the United States has helped create what former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski called an “alliance of the aggrieved.” This has allowed Xi to reverse Washington’s successful “trilateral diplomacy” of the 1970s that widened the gap between China and the United States’ primary enemy, the Soviet Union, in ways that contributed significantly to the U.S. victory in the Cold War. Today, China and Russia are, in Xi’s words, closer than allies.

Since Xi and Putin are not just the current presidents of their two nations but leaders whose tenures effectively have no expiration dates, the United States will have to understand that it is confronting the most consequential undeclared alliance in the world.

Revenging An Abused Girl Scene – The Equalizer 2 (2018)

What is actually going on…

The Chinese "Peace Plan" - as annotated by me:
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/zyxw/202302/t20230224_11030707.shtml

China's position on a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis

2023-02-24 09:00

First, respect the sovereignty of all countries. Universally recognized international law, including the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, should be strictly observed, and the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all States should be effectively guaranteed. All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal, and all parties should jointly safeguard the basic norms governing international relations and safeguard international fairness and justice. International law should be applied equally and uniformly, without double standards.

[MY NOTE: Boilerplate, standard Chinese position which does not even mention Ukraine or Russia.]

Second, abandon the Cold War mentality. The security of one country cannot be at the expense of the security of other countries, and regional security cannot be guaranteed by strengthening or even expanding military blocs. The legitimate security interests and concerns of all countries should be taken into account and properly addressed. There are no easy solutions to complex problems. We should adhere to the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, focus on the long-term peace and stability of the world, promote the construction of a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture, oppose basing one's own security on the insecurity of other countries, prevent the formation of camp confrontation, and jointly safeguard peace and stability in the Eurasian continent.

[MY NOTE: Ditto]

3. Ceasefire and cessation of war. There are no winners in conflict wars. All parties should remain rational and restrained, do not add fuel to the fire, do not intensify contradictions, avoid further deterioration or even loss of control of the Ukrainian crisis, support Russia and Ukraine to meet each other halfway, resume direct dialogue as soon as possible, gradually promote the de-escalation of the situation, and finally reach a comprehensive ceasefire.

[MY NOTE: Note that this does not call on Russia or Ukraine to do anything. Instead it calls on "all parties" to "avoid loss of control", calls on outside parties to support Russia and Ukraine in peace efforts to promote a ceasefire. No direct calls for either Russia or Ukraine to actually commit to a ceasefire.]

4. Initiating peace talks. Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable way to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. All efforts conducive to a peaceful settlement of the crisis should be encouraged and supported. The international community should adhere to the right direction of persuading peace and promoting talks, help all parties to the conflict open the door to a political settlement of the crisis as soon as possible, and create conditions and provide a platform for the resumption of negotiations. China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in this regard.

[MY NOTE: Ditto.]

Fifth, resolve humanitarian crises. All initiatives that contribute to alleviating the humanitarian crisis should be encouraged and supported. Humanitarian action must respect the principles of neutrality and impartiality and prevent the politicization of humanitarian issues. Effectively protect the safety of civilians and establish humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians from warring areas. Increase humanitarian assistance to relevant areas, improve the humanitarian situation, provide rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and prevent larger humanitarian crises. Support the coordinating role of the United Nations in humanitarian assistance to conflict areas.

[MY NOTE: Again, boiler plate concern for humanitarian issues. Russia can agree to this in a heartbeat without having to do anything different than they've been doing.]

Protection of civilians and prisoners of war. Parties to a conflict should strictly abide by international humanitarian law, refrain from attacks on civilians and civilian facilities, protect women and children and other victims of conflict, and respect the fundamental rights of prisoners of war. China supports the exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine, and all parties should create more favorable conditions for this.

[MY NOTE: Ditto.]

7. Maintain the safety of nuclear power plants. Oppose armed attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities such as nuclear power plants. We call on all parties to abide by international law such as the Convention on Nuclear Safety and resolutely avoid man-made nuclear accidents. Support the constructive role of the IAEA in promoting the safety and security of peaceful nuclear facilities.

[MY NOTE: Same, same - Russia has been doing that, Ukraine has not. This is a strike against Ukraine and is something which Russia again could agree to in a heartbeat without having to do anything at all.]

8. Reduce strategic risks. Nuclear weapons cannot be used, and nuclear war cannot be fought. The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons should be rejected. Prevent nuclear proliferation and avoid nuclear crises. It opposes the development and use of chemical and biological weapons by any country under any circumstances.

[MY NOTE: And who has biowarfare labs in Ukraine? Not Russia! Another strike against Ukraine - and by extension, the US. Again, Russia need do nothing.]

9. Ensuring the export of grain. All parties should implement the Black Sea grain transportation agreement signed by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations in a balanced, comprehensive and effective manner, and support the United Nations in playing an important role in this regard. China's initiative on international food security cooperation provides a feasible solution to the global food crisis.

[MY NOTE: Once again, Russia need do nothing it isn't already doing.]

10. Stop unilateral sanctions. /b10>Unilateral sanctions and maximum pressure will not only fail to solve problems, but will also create new ones. Oppose any unilateral sanctions not authorized by the Security Council. Relevant countries should stop abusing unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction" against other countries, play a role in cooling down the Ukraine crisis, and create conditions for developing countries to develop their economies and improve their livelihood.

[MY NOTE: Direct strike against the United States and Western Europe. Again, Russia doesn't need to do anything.]

11. Ensure the stability of the industrial chain and supply chain. All parties should earnestly safeguard the existing world economic system and oppose the politicization, instrumentalization and weaponization of the world economy. Jointly mitigate the spillover impact of the crisis, prevent international cooperation in energy, finance, food trade, and transportation from being disrupted, and harm global economic recovery.

[MY NOTE: Ditto.]

12. Promote post-war reconstruction. The international community should take measures to support post-war reconstruction in conflict areas. China is ready to provide assistance and play a constructive role in this regard.

[MY NOTE: Ditto.]

This is a "peace plan"? I thought China was trying to get a real ceasefire going based on the babble I was reading from everyone else. This is pablum. This is a PR document, nothing more. It's utterly meaningless. Why the US even bothered to say they won't do it is beyond me - other than, of course, to guarantee that no negotiations ever occur. But this document doesn't even call for meaningful negotiations on any specific time frame, venue or with any support except China.

Russia can agree to this in a heartbeat, then get right back to prosecuting the war the same way as it did yesterday.

This is the biggest nothingburger I've ever seen. It makes it very clear that Xi is going to Russia for discussions on matters other than this nonsense and is using this to solidify the Russian-Chinese alliance for the benefit of the perception of the non-aligned nations.

There will be absolutely no change in the war based on this document or any comments which Putin or Xi may make in the wake of their meetings.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 20 2023 11:30 utc | 5

Why do people who have been to China and the USA prefer China?

I have taken a vacation in China recently( Tianjin and Xiamen ).

China is so beautiful, peaceful, very modern, super safe . Chinese cities are very clean , very vibrant and life is very convenient . The public transportation systems are superb and most advanced . You almost don’t see any homeless people on the streets or anybody smoking marijuana . Chinese people are friendly, nice and helpful . China is not perfect and needs a lot of improvements but she has really caught up with the best countries in the world and has even exceeded some of them.

I hope that the mayor of LA (where I live )can do something about the homeless ,beggars and people with mental illness who live on the streets , build some shelters for them and don’t allow them to set tent everywhere, making LA like a shithole.

I hope that the mayor of NYC ( where my child lives ) can rinse NYC subways thoroughly , so there will be no more human shits and urine, no more rats and mice, no more cockroaches , no more dirty/crazy people living there.

If China can make their cities/ subways/train stations/air ports super clean, why can’t America ? Don’t forget that many people still believe USA is the most powerful country in the world ,right ? A first class country should be safe and clean , correct ?

P.S. some people asked me that if China is supposed to be very crowded ,why there are so few people in my photos ? I agree that many cities of China are very crowded , but there are still some locations with very few people. I didn’t choose place without people on purpose to take pictures. I saw nice places ,I stopped and I just took pictures.

Better Call Saul | Mike Gets Revenge

COVERT INTEL: ISRAEL ON VERGE OF POLITICAL & SOCIAL COLLAPSE

World Hal Turner 26 March 2023

The state of Israel is literally on the verge of political and social collapse tonight (Sunday) after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Gallant who opposes changes in the country’s Judicial Powers. The Israeli Army is already suffering DESERTIONS as the Army sides with the fired Defense Minister!

Netanyahu and his allies say the plan will restore a balance between the judicial and executive branches and rein in what they see as an interventionist court with liberal sympathies. But critics say the constellation of laws will remove the checks and balances in Israel’s democratic system and concentrate power in the hands of the governing coalition.

This has become far more than a political/legal matter. The citizenry and institutions of state are engaging in almost outright rebellion against these proposed moves.

Change the world

There's a RSOTM video in which Russian soldiers have to walk through an Ukrainan trench they conquered. They have to walk, they cannot avoid this even if you see them doing it gingerly, over the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, collapsed face down into the cold mud. Imagine seeing your son, husband or father killed like that. That's what war is - all for the greed and callousness of some "Western" millionaires and billionaires. And it was ever so. I do not worship Xi and Putin, but I admire them and we can but hope they will change the world.

Posted by: Anthony | Mar 20 2023 12:44 utc | 18

Operational update

Scorched earth, war crimes, Avdeevka and the Chinese

Aleks

Introduction

With circumstances on the battlefield having changed, I’ve decided to write a new operational update. It looks as if the end of Ukraine’s armed resistance is drawing nigh, which leads me to a couple of questions about the justification for continuing the conflict as well as some legal considerations. I’ll try to provide a brief summary.

I see a change in Russia’s operational approach to the vectors of attrition in Donbass. BMA originally outlined five vectors, which in fact have been activated and pushed. Our original five vectors have changed, so I’ll revise our definition to bring it into line with the current state of affairs.

I’ll also touch on next week’s meeting between President Xi and President Putin, which starts March 20, and what they might propose to President Zelensky to end the war.

Background

For a better understanding of what I’m going to discuss, I suggest you read the following articles in advance:

Scorched earth

Today we see that Ukraine is struggling to keep the five theatres of war supplied with fresh troops and equipment. The demand for replenishment is growing, and Ukraine’s logistics capacity is shrinking.

Why demand is growing:

The battles are intensifying as the Russians push forward aggressively.
In slightly more than a year of fighting, Ukraine has used up almost everything it needs to sustain the war, not only military equipment but also civilian goods required for rear functions.
The Ukrainian army has become almost entirely dependent on Western equipment, because the Soviet inventories have been depleted or destroyed. Western equipment has to be maintained in Poland or Germany. Soviet equipment can be maintained in Ukraine, often on the battlefield itself, but Western matériel has to be transported thousands of miles. This factor puts further stress on the logistics network.
Ukraine had plenty of huge machine plants where its weapons and equipment were maintained. Russia has identified and destroyed most of them as well as Ukraine’s improvised workshops.

Why capacity is shrinking:

Ever more electrical substations are being destroyed, which adversely affects rear logistics.
A great quantity of rolling stock has been destroyed.
Ever more warehouses used to store supplies are being identified and destroyed. The West and Russia are playing a cat-and-mouse game, identifying new storage locations and then destroying them.
I estimate that, from the outset of the war, 150,000 people have been engaged in Ukraine’s rear logistics, carrying out transport of matériel between the west and the east and, within Ukraine, transport, production and distribution of goods and equipment for training, replenishment, etc.

With Ukraine increasingly short of manpower, I assume many of the rear troops and civilian auxiliary forces have been also mobilized and sent to the front, which of course further complicates logistics on the ground. Still, I assume that logistics is still working adequately because it is the most important function of an army. But if Ukraine fully cannibalizes its rear troops and people, collapse will follow. In fact, collapse could happen in the next two or three months.

But, most important, Ukraine is running out of soldiers. Its remaining professional troops, who were trained in the West, are being committed to the fight. They should have been held back for the counteroffensive in the south. Since Russia has intensified the pressure in the five theatres of war, the attrition rate of the Ukrainian forces has increased unsustainably. To stabilize the frontlines and to prevent them from collapsing, Ukraine has been forced to use professional troops earmarked for the counteroffensive.

If any of the theatres of war collapses, all the other theatres will follow suit because the rear of the others will be exposed.

Well, that’s definitely not in the interests of the collective West. So, what is actually happening?

Ukraine is losing an insane number of troops every day. I assume the figure is far higher than those cited by either side. Ukraine has an interest in keeping the numbers low to maintain public support. Russia can’t report high numbers without dampening its soldiers’ morale. Brothers are fighting brothers. Sometimes Donbass brothers are fighting one another. What is happening is a civil war, a slaughter forced on the Russians (and the Ukrainians) by the West. No Russians are happy about it. Nor am I. The conflict only serves the interests of the West.
Ukraine is using insane amounts of ammunition, weapons and equipment to hold the line in Donbass. This matériel produces no added value for the West. The Ukrainian troops in Donbass usually don’t even encounter a Russian soldier, let alone kill him; they are dying almost exclusively from artillery shells, airstrikes and tank fire. The equipment supplied by the West is being squandered. Its purpose is to kill plenty of Russians; but in this configuration thousands of Ukrainian troops are being equipped with Western weapons, sent to the frontline and dying without firing a shot or even seeing a Russian. That is a very bad investment.

Conclusion? The Ukrainians wasting equipment and dying, to no purpose. The investment in political and financial capital is not achieving their main goal:

Cutting off the road to Crimea. This would be a major political blow to Russia and would cost it a great deal of political capital, domestically and in the eyes of its allies.
Or, even better, but worse for the Russians, would be to have at least a single Ukrainian soldier set foot on Crimean soil. Even if Ukraine were to collapse immediately after, such a political setback would be deadly for Russia.

These unreliable Ukrainians…

Not entirely:

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are dead. Multiple times more are wounded. Hence, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian families have been torn apart, destroyed or displaced. The West can be sure that at least several generations of Ukrainians will hate Russia. The Russians will have to set up a very expensive program in the newly incorporated or occupied territories to integrate these people into Russian society. Scorched Earth.
Tens of thousands of Russians are dead or wounded. The toll could reach 100,000 before the war is over, if it hasn’t already, which in turn means millions of families that will resent every policy that involves spending to integrate the now-hated Ukrainians. Scorched Earth.
This brings us to the general hatred that has been fomented by the West between Russians and their Ukrainian brothers (of whom most are RUSSIANS). Scorched Earth.
The Western commanders are forcing the Ukrainians to fight in all the major industrial plants in Donbass to make sure they are completely destroyed. Destruction of the plants will lead to unemployment in the new territories. People who have experienced a war and are left sitting idle at home can do crazy things. Moreover, rebuilding these facilities will be costly. Most likely BRICS partners will be invited to invest, which will detract from sovereignty. Scorched Earth.
Even though Russia is trying hard to win the war with legacy weapons, so as not to expose its most advanced technologies to NATO, we can assume that NATO is meticulously studying the way the Russians are fighting, especially in standard situations (offensives, defence, logistics etc.).
A massive demographic catastrophe is in progress in Ukraine. Most families have fled abroad and will never return. The able-bodied male population that has not been able to hide in villages or elsewhere has been worn down on the frontline. The wounded and disabled will paralyze the country further for decades. In the new Russian territories (many are still to join), these additional costs will weigh on Russia’s balance sheet. Scorched Earth.
The same goes for disabled Russian soldiers in Russia. Many will not be able to return fully to work, and caring for them will be expensive. Scorched Earth.

From the start, Ukraine had no chance. As the West knew full well. Even so, vast amounts of money and equipment have been invested to sustain the Ukrainians’ ability to fight, which has led to the catastrophic consequences enumerated above.

Today it is clear that collapse is imminent. And yet we see, that the West is insisting, instead of preserving these men, to attrition them in the right way. Not, to no purpose, into the Artemovsk meat grinder and the other theatres, merely to gain political advantage in the south, namely to Melitopol.

Remaining Ukrainian men, don’t die senselessly for us – the West! Shame on you! Die in Melitopol, so we can gain political leverage over the Russians!

I hope, dear reader, you understand what I want to highlight. The war and the struggle for victory have been over since the Russians created a semi-cauldron around Artemovsk, which serves as a shooting range where Ukrainians try to enter or to escape from the meat grinder. Ukraine is no longer fighting to defend Ukraine. That struggle is over. The time has come when the commander-in-chief is obliged to realize that there is no purpose in continued fighting; it’s time to start negotiating the best possible surrender conditions. Once the army is thoroughly defeated, the window will close, and all that’s left will be unconditional surrender, which I expect in the summer of 2023.

Keep all that in mind for the “Chinese” section.

Next, let’s consider the legal implications of driving people to certain death with no prospect of ever gaining the upper hand.

War crime

If military success is not feasible, but the fighting continues with a massive loss of lives, both civilian and military, the leaders could be guilty of a war crime.

Ukraine continues to mobilize and to send people to certain death without any prospect of victory. Hence, with the continuation of the war, tens, or hundreds, of thousands of civilians and troops are going to die without affecting the outcome of the war in any way.

This is a serious war crime. The severity of it is extreme. It is murder.

Could I have made this argument earlier? Actually, no. Ukraine had some chance of winning the war politically. I outlined these chances in my analysis of phases one, two and three. Then Russia mobilized. And still no war crime had taken place because the mobilized Russians were not ready to fight, at least not the majority of them. I now assume that all these troops have finished retraining and are ready for their assigned tasks. At precisely that time, Ukraine’s continuation of the conflict became a war crime. It now has zero chance of winning, politically or militarily. From now on, every person killed is murdered. By the West.

Theatres of war

I need to correct my five theatres of war.

Originally, I declared Ugledar as one vector of attrition. It seems to me, however, that Ugledar has turned for Russia into a small version of phase one of the war. Mines and artillery ambush on open fields have slowed the Russian offensive there. Pushing farther would lead to unnecessary Russian casualties. Russia is not rushing toward Berlin, as in 1945, when people were traded for time. It looks to me as if the Russians have chosen to slow the offensive there and instead to work more with artillery from a distance. This approach has the same attrition effect but preserves the lives of their troops.

Some of you have pointed out that I did not place any significance on Avdeevka in my previous analysis, and rightly so. If Marinka, Artemovsk and Ugledar fall, Avdeevka will automatically end up in a cauldron, and the Ukrainians will be forced to pull out to avoid being cut off far behind the frontline. The reality is that the Ukrainians are holding both Ugledar and Marinka with all their available resources – hence, it makes no sense to sacrifice Russian troops there, especially when the end of the war is so near.

Thus, we can see how the Russian strategy for Avdeevka has changed, which could have come as a surprise for NATO’s planners. Note that Ukraine has more or less “hard-wired” logistics routes to its main frontlines. If a new frontline or an intensification of the battle in a certain area occurs, then it is no easy task to reroute operations to such an area, especially logistics infrastructure, supply lines and frontline depots.

In brief, I see the activation of another vector of attrition, or theatre of war, to release the pressure on Marinka and Ugledar. Or, if Ukraine is able to sustain all the frontlines, then Russia will try to shorten the war with increased attrition of men and matériel.

As for the Belarussian theatre of war, we can assume that the Ukrainians’ ability to keep up the fight has been overestimated for several months. If the Ukrainians pull troops away from the northern border to replace their losses in Donbass, then the situation will be dire. I expected a vector of attrition near the border. But there might not be much left to wear down there.

As soon as the frontlines in Donbass collapse, there is a real possibility that Russia could use the Belarussian border to put pressure on Kiev and to take it in a pincer, thus forcing negotiation of a Ukrainian surrender. More about that eventuality in the last section.

Sino-Russian peace proposal

President Xi of China and President Putin will meet next week amid rumours that China will propose to Ukraine a peace deal agreed upon by the Russians.

Readers of my blog know that I see no chance on Earth that Ukraine will not entirely fall to Russia. Yes, some parts of it could be given pseudo-independence after denazification and demilitarization, especially parts of Western Ukraine. My assessment has not changed in any way.

Especially because the Russians’ overall goal is implementation of the New Draft Treaty for European Security.

Remember that if Russia does not achieve its geopolitical goals, it will automatically lose the war, even if some kind of temporary peace is achieved, and Novorossiya, including Odessa, joins Russia. Remember the threat of NATO, which would still be too close to Russia’s large cities and could lead to automated Armageddon if Russia’s “Perimeter” (or “Dead Hand”) system were switched on in automatic mode.

So, what could the Chinese offer be? And why is it being offered at all?

Why is it being offered? Well, I could explain it politely but I won’t. In a nutshell, it’s a public relations exercise.

What could the offer be? I have no way of knowing but I will make an assumption. Given that all of Ukraine will have to surrender, and then some parts could be given pseudo-independence, I can speculate that the question is whether Kiev will be part of Russia or of the new pseudo-independent country. If Kiev is still part of it, it would mean the preservation of “Ukraine”, despite its dependence on Russia.

If Kiev is incorporated into Russia, Ukraine is done for. And with it the Western dream of restarting the whole adventure and infiltrating the pseudo-independent state again to bring it back under the West’s influence. If Kiev is not part of the farce, then there will be nothing viable or interesting for the West, except the land bridge to Hungary and Serbia, which of course is a geopolitical necessity for Russia in order to break up NATO.

Do you think China will formulate its proposal as bluntly as I have here? That’s not how diplomacy works. There will be an X-point plan that is beautiful but meaningless. The real terms of surrender will be communicated behind closed doors. Do I expect the Ukrainians to accept such an offer? Well, given that the Ukrainians have nothing to say (only the Americans do), I have two different considerations:

The West wants to fight to the last Ukrainian. See the “Scorched earth” section. Hence, any ceasefire that would save even a single Ukrainian life is unacceptable to the leaders of the United States. By the way, I don’t blame the people of the US.
Since keeping Kiev out of Russia could be seen by the United States as a chance to preserve NATO by sabotaging all efforts of this new dependent entity to create a land bridge to Hungary and Serbia, it still could be an interesting offer for the United States.

Is it a huge risk for Russia and China to allow a vulnerable corridor to Hungary? Yes. I’m sure that the calculation is that Ukraine will reject it anyway or that the ability of Russia and China to protect this land bridge is assured.

Or I could be totally wrong. Perhaps the Sino-Russian proposal is something totally different, or there is no proposal at all. 😊

Why are the Russians and the Chinese meeting now? And why is there (presumably) a proposal NOW? As I said, with the Ukrainian army on the verge of collapse (which means in two or three months) and Russia’s main force, mobilized and trained, now in place, I assume we are in a do-or-die situation.

What does it mean? The Ukrainian forces have been almost defeated, and a Russian force that is far larger than the one that has defeated four iterations of the Ukrainian army is ready to deliver the final blow. The Sino-Russian proposal could be something along the lines of “Sign this conditional surrender now or face defeat and unconditional surrender in the near future.”

Here, I’d like to make a brief point: Russia and China will sign various agreements quite apart from the Ukrainian question. It doesn’t matter for these agreements whether an agreement on Ukraine, if it exists, is accepted. But what are the other agreements under discussion? I will cover this question and many more in my coming major article about Asia.

Further developments

What does that mean actually? “Big Arrows”? 😊

As I’ve said, the Ukrainian army is on the verge of collapse. I give it two or three months. As soon as this happens, I can see Russia’s well-trained, armoured motorized tank and rifle divisions pushing from Belarus through undefended positions in the north to place Kiev in a pincer. You could perhaps argue that this would, indeed, be a big-arrow offensive. But because ever more Ukrainian troops are being pulled from the northern border regions and moved to Donbass, there won’t be many left who could put up a fight against such a large armoured force.

Hence, it wouldn’t be a big-arrow offensive; rather, it would involve positioning forces around Kiev to reinforce negotiating efforts.

You don’t see troops, logistics and equipment in Belarus yet. Nor do I. I assume that such a build-up would happen if the proposal for surrender were rejected. Nevertheless, storming Kiev would be madness. Kiev is a Russian hero city, like Odessa. I could imagine an encirclement, though. Negotiations would take place so long as the Donbass front advances to Zaporozhye and the Belarus front to the south. Every day that these fronts move forward increases the probability that Kiev will surrender if it comes under siege. But Ukraine will suffer a complete military defeat if it isn’t allowed to surrender. Which would be regrettable. While reading these lines, keep the “War crime” section in mind!

Casino: House of the rising sun

RUSSIANS GRAB UKRAINE DRONE – OPERATING VIA STARLINK!

World Hal Turner 26 March 2023

The Russian Army has downed an attack Drone, operated by Ukraine, but not by direct radio control; this drone is operated through Elon Musk’s STARLINK Internet Satellite Service! Musk has previously said his company would not be party to any war operations. Now the world sees otherwise.

In the photo above, taken today, 26 March 2023, the square shaped panel atop the drone is the STARLINK antenna.

For months, Ukraine has been using radio controlled drones to attack and kill Russian soldiers. Russia engaged electronic warfare, which jammed those radio signals.

Clearly, Ukraine decided to provide drone control not by radio signal, but by means of the satellite Internet terminal Starlink.

The drone has a rather compact design, however, despite all the efforts of the Armed Forces, the drone was still successfully hit by the anti-drone gun and is now the trophy of the Russian military.

Now the drone can be carefully studied by the Russian military to develop more effective means of counteracting UAVs of such design.

Geopolitical Rumblings Leave U.S. Behind

Over the last month we have seen astonishing geopolitical developments.

In February China publicly lambasted U.S. hegemony, launched a global security initiative and offered a peace plan for Ukraine.

On March 10 China mediated an agreement which restored relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

On March 15 Moscow rolled out the red carpet for the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Yesterday al-Assad and his wife Asma arrived in the UAE for talks with Sheikh Mohammed

Also yesterday Iran and Iraq signed a security cooperation agreement that will stop the CIA sponsored Kurdish activities against Iran.

Also yesterday King Salman of Saudi Arabia invited the President of Iran to a visit in Riyadh.

For the last 30 years the U.S. considered the Middle East as its backyard. Twenty years ago it illegally invaded Iraq and caused 100,000nds of death and decades of chaos. Now China, by peaceful means, changed the balance in the Middle East within just one month.

Today China’s President Xi arrived in Moscow for three days of talks with Russia’s President Putin. An article by President Putin was published in the People’s Daily while Russian media published a signed article by President Xi.

The U.S. is afraid that China’s peace initiative for Ukraine will gain ground. It has openly come out against a cease-fire and peace talks. I had thought that was for Ukraine to decide?

It is likely that Putin will publicly endorse the Chinese peace plan while the U.S. is paranoid that peace might indeed happen. It may even want to sabotage the Saudi Iranian deal.

China’s people are by the way the most happy people in the world.

Xi and Putin are now running the multilateral global show. Biden and the hapless ‘unilateral’ people around him are left aside.

Posted by b on March 20, 2023 at 10:21 UTC | Permalink

Nacho’s Death | Rock And Hard Place | Better Call Saul

Russian Su-35 Fighter Jet Intercepts Two US B-52 Bombers Over Baltic Sea – Defense Ministry

From HERE

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian fighter jet Su-35 prevented two US strategic bombers B-52 from reaching the Russian border on Monday over the Baltic Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry's National Defense Control Center (NDCC) reported on Monday.

"On March 20, 2023, the radars of the air defense forces of the Western Military District on duty detected two air targets flying in the direction of the state border of the Russian Federation over the Baltic Sea. The targets were identified as two strategic bombers B-52N of the US Air Force," the NDCC said.

In order to identify and prevent breach of the state border, a Su-35 fighter from the air defense forces of the Western Military District was scrambled. After that, the crew of the fighter occupied the established zone of duty in the air.

"After the removal of foreign military aircraft from the Russian state border, the Russian fighter returned to its base airfield," the center said.[.]

The latest scramble comes days after the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed on March 14 that a US MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed in the Black Sea as a result of its own extreme maneuvers after violating airspace and carrying out its flight with transponders turned off.

The chickenhawks are Testing, Testing. These diversions will not make the banking crisis disappear. And Xi is on a visit to Moscow

Posted by: Likklemore | Mar 20 2023 21:19 utc | 137

French Gov’t BANS Cartoon Video About Ukraine War – The Cartoon is “Spot-on”

World Hal Turner 26 March 2023

The government of France has officially BANNED the one minute video below, which describes the Ukraine War perfectly, calling it “Russian Propaganda.” Sorry Macron, the truth hurts!

Here’s the cartoon by a French independent journalist group called “BarracudaS”

Meanwhile, the world grows weary of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, and his alleged Cocaine use. It’s becoming public mockery now, as evidenced by this “Mobile Tribute to Volodymyr Zelensky”:

And when the world isn’t poking fun at President Cocaine, they’re mocking his alleged Money Laundering:

I hear rumors that schools are even teaching this in Geometry:

While we’re all laughing, this Zelensky has now resorted to having Priests arrested, in church, DURING MASS:

ISRAEL ON VERGE OF POLITICAL & SOCIAL COLLAPSE

World Hal Turner 26 March 2023

This has become far more than a political/legal matter. The citizenry and institutions of state are engaging in almost outright rebellion against these proposed moves. Here’s how serious things have gotten TONIGHT:

“There Is No Way Out For You!” (2023)

Iran Moving MUCH More Military Gear to Azerbaijan Border

World Hal Turner 26 March 2023

Iran has increased the pace of moving military hardware toward its border with Azerbaijan.

All the latest type of military gear are now quite visible on the Iranian side of the Border.

Meanwhile, the Russian Southern Military District announced crews of army aviation helicopters Mi-8MTV-5 and Ka-52 performed training flights in the mountains of Armenia.

Russia and Iran are preparing to defend Armenia from Azerbaijan, which wants to grab the southern portion of Armenia so as to cut Iran off from Armenia, and cut Armenia off from the rest of the world.

Neither Russia nor Iran will allow that.

Breaking bad Tuco

African Nation CHAD has “Nationalized” Assets of Exxon-Mobil

World Hal Turner 26 March 2023

The government of Chad has decided to nationalize all the assets of the American oil and gas company Exxon Mobile located in the country. The decision to nationalize the assets of the American company
was made by the interim President of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Deby.

The nationalization of a private company means that all assets are now owned by the government. While this used to happen in the 1960s and 1970s, it hasn’t happened recently and doesn’t conform to usual legal frameworks in the sector, say energy experts.

Chad began producing oil in 2003 and Exxon has been operating in the country for several decades. It was running the Doba oil project in Chad.

The move could scare away investors from West Africa at a time of growing global energy demand and a decline in foreign investments in the region, said Olufola Wusu, a partner and head of the oil and gas desk at Megathos Law Practice based in Nigeria.

“Expropriation of any sort without compensation is not a step in the right direction, because it is going to erode investor confidence in that particular country and once investors are jittery, they pull back their investment, so regulators and leaders in Africa need to play by the rules,” he said.

The government’s decision came after a long dispute between Exxon and Chad, which rejected the sale of the company’s operations last year.

Tensions have risen in the West African nation in recent months with unprecedented protests mounting against the government of President Mahamat Idriss Deby.

Deby was declared the head of state after his father’s death in April 2021. The son’s succession did not follow Chad’s constitutional line of succession. Opposition political parties at the time called the handover a coup d’etat, but later agreed to accept Deby as interim leader for 18 months.

Chad is about to learn the reality of America: Capital (money) follows return. The Flag follows the money. Troops follow the flag.

The new young “president” of Chad should prepare for 500 and 1000lb democracy installments. I advise the interim President that air travel is not recommended. American special forces are in at least 9 African countries.

Finn Says That Vito A Fag – The Sopranos HD

Sunday Morning, Norway Sounds ALERT: Advanced Russian Subs & Missiles Detected, North Sea

World Hal Turner 26 March 2023

Norwegian Navy Commander: We have detected very modern Russian submarines with very advanced missiles in their arsenal in the North Sea, and this threatens the security of Europe and the United States.

Norway has not yet given further details about which submarines, but the “rumors” say Borei Class.

Borei class includes a compact and integrated hydrodynamically efficient hull for reduced broadband noise and the first ever use of pump-jet propulsion on a Russian nuclear submarine.

Russian news service TASS claimed the noise level is to be five times lower when compared to the third-generation nuclear-powered Akula-class submarines and two times lower than that of the U.S. Virginia-class submarines. The acoustic signature of Borei is significantly stealthier than that of the previous generations of Russian SSBNs, but it has been reported that their hydraulic pumps become noisier after a relatively short period of operation, reducing the stealth capabilities of the submarine.

The Borei submarines are approximately 170 meters (560 ft) long, 13 meters (43 ft) in diameter, and have a maximum submerged speed of at least 46 kilometers per hour (25 kn; 29 mph). They are equipped with a floating rescue chamber designed to fit in the whole crew.

Smaller than the Typhoon class, the Boreis were initially reported to carry 12 missiles but are able to carry four more due to the decrease in mass of the 36-ton Bulava SLBM (a modified version of the Topol-M ICBM) over the originally proposed R-39UTTH Bark. Cost was estimated in 2010 at some ₽23 billion (USD$734 million, equivalent to US$863 million in 2020 terms. In comparison the cost of an Ohio-class SSBN was around US$2 billion per boat (1997 prices, equivalent to over US$3 billion in 2020 terms.

Each Borei is constructed with 1.3 million components and mechanisms. Its construction requires 17 thousand tons of metal which is 50% more than the Eiffel Tower. The total length of piping is 109 km and the length of wiring is 600 km. Ten thousand rubber plates cover the hull of the boat.

Each Borei submarine is armed with 16 × RSM-56 Bulava SLBMs with 6 MIRV warhead. Those 16 Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM) missiles with 6 warheads each, equals 96 total nuclear bombs, each of which is independently targetable. Each warhead is believed to be either 100 or 150 kiloton blast yield.

‘We’re dividing the world’: NZ no fan of AUKUS submarines

By Matthew Knott

A senior New Zealand politician has raised concerns about Australia’s plan to acquire a fleet nuclear-powered submarines, saying the AUKUS pact will make the region less safe and limit military co-operation between the two allies.

Defence Minister Richard Marles told parliament on Tuesday that nuclear-powered submarines would form part of Australia’s “contribution to the collective security of the neighbourhood in which we live” and would improve relations with its Asia-Pacific neighbours.

Gerry Brownlee, foreign affairs spokesman for New Zealand’s centre-right National Party, said he was concerned AUKUS was painting China as an “enemy” that needed to be contained.

New Zealand is a proud nuclear-free state that has formally declared its airspace and territorial waters as nuclear-free zones.

Asked if the nuclear-powered submarine fleet would make the region safer, Brownlee told AAP: “No, I don’t think it does.

“What I don’t like is the concept that we just seem to be dividing the world

Labor MP questions AUKUS deal

The Member for Fremantle Josh Wilson’s concerns include construction taking longer and costing more and what to do with nuclear waste.

He said he was concerned Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines would not be able to dock in New Zealand under its nuclear-free policy.

“We’ve only got one alliance. It is with Australia,” said Brownlee, who previously served as foreign minister and defence minister.

“Our position is that we should remain as interoperable with the Australians as we possibly can.

Democracy

Global Times announced the publication by China’s MFA of a scathing document, “The State of Democracy in the United States: 2022”, only available currently in Chinese, although my translator worked quite well. Its aim is to provide truths about what “democracy” is in reality within the Outlaw US Empire as Biden prepares to hold another propaganda summit on the topic at the end of March. What follows are the document’s concluding remarks:

Democracy is a value shared by all mankind, but there is no model of political system in the world that applies to all countries. The gardens of human civilization are rich and colorful, and democracy in all countries should also bloom. The United States has American-style democracy, China has Chinese-style democracy, and each country also has a unique model of democracy suited to its own national conditions. Whether a country is a democracy and how to better realize it should be judged by the people of that country, not by a few self-righteous countries.

Under the guise of democracy, harming others and disrupting the world should be unanimously opposed, and simply dividing the countries of the world into two categories, democracy and authoritarianism, lacks modernity and science. What the world needs today is not to create division in the name of democracy and to promote de facto unilateralism, but to strengthen solidarity and cooperation on the basis of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and to adhere to genuine multilateralism. What the world needs today is not to interfere in other countries' internal affairs under the guise of democracy, but to promote true democracy, abandon pseudo-democracy, and jointly promote democracy in international relations. What the world needs today is not a "democracy summit" that exaggerates confrontation and is not conducive to working together to address global challenges, but a solidarity conference that does more practical things and focuses on solving the outstanding problems facing the international community.

Freedom, democracy and human rights are the common pursuit of mankind and the values that the Communist Party of China has always pursued. China adheres to and develops people's democracy in the whole process, and concretely and realistically embodies the people's mastery of the country in the governance of the country by the Communist Party of China. China is willing to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning with other countries on the issue of democracy, carry forward the common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind, promote democracy in international relations and make new and greater contributions to the cause of human progress.

Hopefully, China will quickly translate this into numerous languages and distribute it through its embassy’s globally.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 20 2023 18:43 utc | 91

Taiwan is always part of China, but war with Australia is a fallacy

Xiao Qian

Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Australia

“If the Pacific has become an area of military contest, the question will be, how does that manifest itself?

“Where would we be if the Australians decided they wanted a sub to visit? We can’t do that. We won’t change our laws. So there’ll be potentially a little bit of an issue around that.”

New Zealand will hold a general election in October, with a close contest expected between the governing Labour Party and the National Party.

New Zealand’s foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, is currently visiting China for the first such visit since 2019.

Mahuta said her nation’s relationship with China – which accounts for 30 per cent of New Zealand’s total exports – was “our most important, complex and wide-ranging”.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age reported this week that the labour movement will hold its annual May Day march in Port Kembla out of growing concern the Wollongong suburb could become the east-coast home for eight nuclear-powered vessels.

During a visit to Canberra last month New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the three AUKUS nations – Australia, the US and the UK – were “incredibly important security partners for New Zealand, but our nuclear-free policy hasn’t changed either”.

What is AUKUS and what are we getting in Australia’s biggest ever defence spend?

Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark posted on Twitter: “New Zealand interests do not lie in being associated with AUKUS. Association would be damaging to independent foreign policy.”

Pointing to supportive comments from Fiji and Japan, while nations such as Indonesia and Malaysia were willing to discuss their concerns, Marles told parliament: “The response from our region to the announcement that we made last week has been gratifying. Australia draws our security from being a part of Asia and being located in the Indo-Pacific.”

Both CNN and FOX News Do Stories about “De-Dollarization” – If MSM is covering this; it’s because FedGov KNOWS what’s coming

Nation Hal Turner 27 March 2023

For literally decades, people scoffed-at “conspiracy theorists” talk about the US Dollar collapsing. They laughed at “the tin foil hat crowd” when it screamed from the rooftops that rampant over-spending would kill our currency. The responses to the conspiracy theorists and tin-foil-hat-crowd was simple: “The dollar is the world’s reserve currency; the world can’t do without it.” Turns out, the responses were wrong.

Within the past 24 hours, far left-wing CNN and far right-wing FOX NEWS have both begun airing stories about “De-Dollarization.” For both the far-left and the far-right main-stream-media to be airing such stories is no coincidence. That the MSM is now airing this means the powers-that-be in the US know – as a matter of absolute fact – the world __is__ turning its back on the Dollar, and that means trouble is coming to the US. Trouble on a scale that literally NONE of us has seen in our lifetimes.

We begin with the piece aired on FOX NEWS, which featured an interview with former Assistant US Treasury Secretary Monica Crowley. As you will see in the brief, 4:45 video below, she clearly mentions “Weimar Republic-type inflation” . . . . she’s talking about here. HERE! In the United States! Watch:

https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1640178308246634496/vid/640x352/8tPCWdyr4WWPN_nu.mp4?tag=16

Next, the segment that aired on CNN:

https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1640058570904416257/vid/1280x720/hnAf890m2HaDaLB4.mp4?tag=16

Folks, they’re beginning to tell the general public what’s coming.

CNN’s piece talked about the dollar suffering “a death by a thousand cuts.” THAT is what is going on. As the Dollar “bleeds-out” our cash will buy less and less. And CNN’s piece makes clear “America will face a reckoning like none before.”

You have to prepare. You have to get the things you will need, NOW. The you must begin changing how you hold assets and wealth. You need to put your “dollars” into something which is not “dollars” but will hold its value no matter what changes take place: things like real estate, shelf-stable foods, tools, and, of course, precious metals . . . . but be careful about those precious metals.. You can’t eat gold or silver. And since no aspect of our economy is moving toward the acceptance of either gold or silver in COMMERCE, having all your assets tied up in those metals would be a recipe for starvation.

The de-dollarization of the world is not going to happen overnight. Yet, it __is__ happening.

I am NOT a licensed financial expert. I do NOT have any special training or knowledge in matters financial and I cannot give financial advice.

What I _can_ do is tell you what’s actually taking place in the world so you can decide for yourselves about what — if anything — to do with your assets. You should consult with a Licensed financial expert before making any financial or investment decisions.

Having said that, for myself, I and members of my family choose to start making moves now with pension plan, IRA, 401-K and the like. Because having all our assets (what few we have) in “dollars” is suddenly becoming a very bad idea.

“Stay Out Of My Territory” | Over

They listened to me!

. . .from Global Times
China releases report that removes facade of American democracy

On the day that marked the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, the Chinese Foreign Ministry released a report on Monday further unveiling the decline of American democracy and the chaos it has brought to the world under its disguise.

Analysts called the report, along with an increasing number of developing countries' growing discontent over US' hegemony, a "slap in the US face" and it helps remove the facade of American democracy, especially when the Biden administration is so keen on touting the "democracy versus authoritarianism" narrative for the second Summit for Democracy on March 29 and 30. 

The report, titled "The State of Democracy in the United States: 2022," contains four parts, and by collecting a multitude of facts, media comments and expert opinions, it presents a complete and real picture of American democracy over the year - not only revealing American democracy in chaos at home but also presenting the havoc and disaster the US has brought by peddling and imposing its democracy around the world. . .here

Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 20 2023 19:41 utc | 103

Sweet Chili Meatballs

Round out your game-day lineup with an amazing flavor combination they won’t see coming – something sweet, tangy and savory that brings just the right amount of heat: Sweet Chili Meatballs.

Bite-size meatballs made with ginger, fresh cilantro, green onions and sweet chili sauce are baked before getting doused in even more sweet chili sauce, making them an irresistibly tasty addition to any game day spread. If the game heads into overtime, no need to worry because these meatballs will say warm in the slow cooker all game long.

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground turkey or ground beef
1/3 cup Japanese panko crumbs or bread crumbs
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely minced
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 ounces Frank’s RedHot Sweet Chili Sauce, divided

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix ground meat, panko crumbs, cilantro, green onion, ginger, egg, salt and 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce. Form into one-inch meatballs.
Place meatballs on lightly greased baking sheets.
Bake 20 minutes, turning once halfway through. Put meatballs in slow cooker on warm.
With slow cooker on low to keep meatballs warm, pour remaining sweet chili sauce over meatballs. Gently stir to coat.

Why Would China Be An Enemy?

March 21, 2023 in Uncategorized by craig

I am completely at a loss as to why the UK should seek to join in with the US in considering China an enemy, and in looking to build up military forces in the Pacific to oppose China.In what sense are Chinese interests opposed to British interests? I am not sure when I last bought something which wasn’t maufactured in China. To my astonishment that even applies to our second hand Volvo, and it also applies to this laptop.I have stated this before but it is worth restating:I cannot readily think of any example in history, of a state which achieved the level of economic dominance China has now achieved, that did not seek to use its economic muscle to finance military acquisition of territory to increase its economic resources.In that respect China is vastly more pacific than the United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain or any other formerly prominent power.Ask yourself this simple question. How many overseas military bases does the USA have? And how many overseas military bases does China have?Depending on what you count, the United States has between 750 and 1100 overseas military bases.China has between 6 and 9.

The last military aggression by China was its takeover of Tibet in 1951 and 1959. Since that date, we have seen the United States invade with massive destruction Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

The United States has also been involved in sponsoring numerous military coups, including military support to the overthrow of literally dozens of governments, many of them democratically elected. It has destroyed numerous countries by proxy, Libya being the most recent example.

China has simply no record, for over 60 years, of attacking and invading other countries.

The anti-Chinese military posture adopted by the leaders of US, UK and Australia as they pour astonishing amounts of public money into the corrupt military industrial complex to build pointless nuclear submarines, appears a deliberate attempt to create military tension with China.

Sunak recited the tired neoliberal roll call of enemies, condemning: “Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, China’s growing assertiveness, and destabilising behaviour of Iran and North Korea”.

What precisely are Iran and China doing, that makes them our enemy?

This article is not about Iran, but plainly western sanctions have held back the economic and societal development of that highly talented nation and have simply entrenched its theological regime.

Their purpose is not to improve Iran but to maintain a situation where Israel has nuclear weapons and Iran does not. If accompanied by an effort to disarm the rogue state of Israel, they might make more sense.

On China, in what does its “assertiveness” consist that makes it necessary to view it as a military enemy? China has constructed some military bases by artificially extending small islands. That is perfectly legal behaviour. The territory is Chinese.

As the United States has numerous bases in the region on other people’s territory, I truly struggle to see where the objection lies to Chinese bases on Chinese territory.

China has made claims which are controversial for maritime jurisdiction around these artificial islands – and I would argue wrong under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. But they are no more controversial than a great many other UNCLOS claims, for example the UK’s behaviour over Rockall.

China has made, for example, no attempt to militarily enforce a 200 mile exclusive economic zone arising from its artificial islands, whatever it has said. Its claim to a 12 mile territorial sea is I think valid.

Similarly, the United States has objected to pronouncements from China that appear contrary to UNCLOS on passage through straits, but again this is no different from a variety of such disputes worldwide. The United States and others have repeatedly asserted, and practised, their right of free passage, and met no military resistance from China.

So is that it? Is that what Chinese “aggression” amounts to, some UNCLOS disputes?

Aah, we are told, but what about Taiwan?

To which the only reply is, what about Taiwan? Taiwan is a part of China which separated off under the nationalist government after the Civil War. Taiwan does not claim not to be Chinese territory.

In fact – and this is far too little understood in the West because our media does not tell you – the government of Taiwan still claims to be the legitimate government of all of China.

The government of Taiwan supports reunification just as much as the government of China, the only difference being who would be in charge.

The dispute with Taiwan is therefore an unresolved Chinese civil war, not an independent state menaced by China. As a civil war the entire world away from us, it is very hard to understand why we have an interest in supporting one side rather than the other.

Peaceful resolution is of course preferable. But it is not our conflict.

There is no evidence whatsoever that China has any intention of invading anywhere else in the China Seas or the Pacific. Not Singapore, not Japan and least of all Australia. That is almost as fantastic as the ludicrous idea that the UK must be defended from Russian invasion.

If China wanted, it could simply buy 100% of every public listed company in Australia, without even noticing a dent in China’s dollar reserves.

Which of course brings us to the real dispute, which is economic and about soft power. China has massively increased its influence abroad, by trade, investment, loans and manufacture. China is now the dominant economic power, and it can only be a matter of time before the dollar ceases to be the world’s reserve currency.

China has chosen this method of economic expansion and prosperity over territorial acquisition or military control of resources.

That may be to do with Confucian versus Western thought. Or it may just be the government in Beijing is smarter than Western governments. But growing Chinese economic dominance does not appear to me a reversible process in the coming century.

To react to China’s growing economic power by increasing western military power is hopeless. It is harder to think of a more stupid example of lashing out in blind anger. It is a it like peeing on your carpet because the neighbours are too noisy.

Aah, but you ask. What about human rights? What about the Uighurs?

I have a large amount of sympathy. China was an Imperial power in the great age of formal imperialism, and the Uighurs were colonised by China. Unfortunately the Chinese have followed the West’s “War on Terror” playbook in exploiting Islamophobia to clamp down on Uighur culture and autonomy.

I very much hope that this reduces, and that freedom of speech improves in general across China.

But let nobody claim that human rights genuinely has any part to play in who the Western military industrial complex treats as an enemy and who it treats as an ally. I know it does not, because that is the precise issue on which I was sacked as an Ambassador.

The abominable suffering of the children of Yemen and Palestine also cries out against any pretence that Western policy, and above all choice of ally, is human rights based.

China is treated as an enemy because the United States has been forced to contemplate the mortality of its economic dominance.

China is treated as an enemy because that is a chance for the political and capitalist classes to make yet more super profits from the military industrial complex.

But China is not our enemy. Only atavism and xenophobia make it so.

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Breaking Bad – Gustavo Fring’s Revenge

The Chinese leader’s visit comes at a time when bilateral relations are at an all-time high, according to Russian officials

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday for a three-day state visit to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. During the summit, the two sides will discuss strategic cooperation in the energy and military spheres, as well as the Ukraine conflict. (emphasis added here)

Xi said he was happy to be back in Russia after landing at Vnukovo Airport, and stressed the importance of strong relations between Beijing and Moscow, not just for the nations themselves but also for the wider international community.

The Chinese leader asserted that together with Russia, his nation is ready to “defend with resolve the UN-centric international system.”  The two countries would endeavor to “abide by true multipolarity and foster a multipolar world with democratized international relations, to encourage the development of global affairs in a direction that would be more just and rational,” Xi added.

Later in the day, the Chinese leader is scheduled to hold an informal meeting with Putin which will focus on “key and sensitive issues,” according to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov.

The main round of talks, however, will take place on Tuesday, with the Chinese leader also expected to meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Later, the Russian and Chinese delegations will hold negotiations in an expanded format.

[.] 
In total, Moscow and Beijing are set to sign a dozen documents outlining bilateral cooperation, including two major joint statements.[.] (emphasis added here)

LINK to RT

We are spectators to a global shift off the Richter scale.
Heart attacks due in D.C.

Posted by: Likklemore | Mar 20 2023 18:55 utc | 94

Astonishing!

«astonishing geopolitical developments. […] China publicly lambasted U.S. hegemony […] Moscow rolled out the red carpet for the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. […] Today China’s President Xi arrived in Moscow for three days of talks with Russia’s President Putin. […] Xi and Putin are now running the multilateral global show. Biden and the hapless ‘unilateral’ people around him are left aside.»

This is nothing astonishing, just a repeat of Cold War news, almost unchanged, with the “second world” made of PRC and RF and a few others (Korea-North, Iran, Mongolia, Cuba, …) is again “contained” behind the Iron Curtain, just as
The “first world” has expanded enormously (eastern Europe, most of south-east Asia and western Asia, most of Africa), and the “third world” led as usual by India is as usual playing both sides, but mostly pro-USA.

Sometimes our bar host “b” sounds to me quite fond of wishful thinking, like the others who overplay the “multilaterality” and “collapse of the USA hegemony” claims.

Realistically speaking the USA are still enormously powerful, they have kept most of the huge gains made during the past 30-40 years, and they are successfully isolating RF and PRC behind a new Iron Curtain to prevent their vassals from defecting.

Posted by: Blissex | Mar 20 2023 19:03 utc | 97

U.S. Embassy to Americans: “Leave Israel Immediately”

World Hal Turner 27 March 2023

The United States Embassy in Jerusalem has told Americans to “Leave Israel Immediately.” The country of Israel is descending rapidly into what some have called “Civil War.”

Unions have gone on strike. The airports have all shut down. Restaurants, banks, shopping malls, have all joined in a national strike against proposed changes to the government that would basically gut the Judiciary of Israel.

Members of the Israeli military are openly DESERTING after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu FIRED the Defense Minister for opposing judicial reforms.

Former Prime Minister Ehud Barack says Netanyahu and his “gang” are “acting insane and bringing civil war to the country.”

Israel’s Counsel General in New York has resigned.

For almost a whole week, hundreds-of-thousands of protestors have taken to the streets in every major city of the country.

There are now open calls from the far right inside Israel, for people to “take up arms” against left-wingers in the country.

Israel is descending into chaos . . . . just days after introducing legislation that would make it a criminal offense, punishable by two years prison, for discussing . . . Jesus. . . anywhere in the country or online. (Story HERE)

Interesting turn of events.

Ukraine Troops Training inside UK with — DEPLETED URANIUM TANK PROJECTILES

World Hal Turner 27 March 2023

The United Kingdom is, in fact, training Ukrainian Soldiers on the proper handling and USE of Depleted Uranium tank projectiles. The image below was secreted out of a UK training facility . . .

Back on March 21, the Deputy Defense Minister of the United Kingdom publicly acknowledged that the UK will be supplying Depleted Uranium Ammunition to Ukraine forces to utilize in certain weapons platforms supplied to Ukraine by NATO. (Story HERE)

Russia has made clear that if Depleted Uranium ammunition is given to Ukraine, this will be viewed by Russia as an attack with “Dirty nuclear bombs” and Russia will respond accordingly.

Here now, an image secreted out of a UK training facility where Ukraine troops are, in fact, being given training on how to handle and use such ammunition:

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just clean up the mess and get on with life Yes. I love it. Great. -MM

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ANTI

1 year ago

You know something is up when even Israel is crumbling in response to the multi-polarization of the world.

Of all things that set off the social unrest and fomenting of riots… Jesus Christ. That is extremely ironic and a quaint way to segue the severe hemorrhaging of Zion.

What have you to say about this, Jesus’ current incarnation?

(This photo is not me).

sage1255

another poignant article. An we all know its coming. There is only 1 reason the US would call Russia and China enemies.

China is building one of the greatest public works projects in the history of world, the BRI. China is coming out of the 100 years of humiliation and that will never be repeated.

Russia trusted the west to play well in the andbox after the breakup of the soviet union in 1992. Russia unified germany while western corporations plundered the natural resources. And just when Russia thought they had a peace deal in Minsk the US betrayed along with all of Europe what the Russians believed was a peace deal.

Ukraine is one of the many color revolutions attempted by NGO branches of government such as the National Endowmwnt for Democracy and US AID. All un accountable parts of the US state department and funded by congress.

NED and USAID have forment Ukraine coup, Lybia,Iraq, Afghanistan wars. Somalia, Yemen to mention a few. In SE Asia they are behind all the oppositions with the uyghurs, honk kong, myannmar, Thailand opposition parties. Just recently Cambodia put a western operative in jail for 35 years.

As you are well aware the US hedgemony while prevailant in such conflicts as vietnam and others hit overdrive under clinton and later GWBush adoption of the Wofowitz doctrine that there could only be 1 world power, the USA. All the subsequent presidents followed suit.

Which more or less brings us to where we are today. BRICS has been around a long time,20 years, i think. But it was not until the US FED confuscated the Russian USD deposits in the US fed that the rails came off. Brics was in place, the digital yuan was in place and Russia and China had enough. They have yet to decide what the new brics currency will be but will surely be tied to gold and commondities, unlike the USD taken off the gold standard in 1973.

As dedollarization progresses, there was a report this week that more than $300 billion was withdrawn from US accounts, most in history. Of course the banks are in trouble because they took out 10 yr bonds at near zero interest rates which are now near 5% creating a huge haircut on the dollar. This is estimated near 30 trillion? not sure. But what has yet to be mentioned is the derivatives estimated in the quardrillions as much as 200 quad. So where is is going?

I see the US has no choice but go to war and beg the world to forgive its debt after they lose the banking system and cannot pay for war. When this will be is anyones guess but it wont be long. I hope the medium bads happen in the right places and allow some peace for the rest of us.

Bless you MM