The german humiliation represented by the American veto of the Nord Stream II gas pipeline is paradigmatic.
On February 7, in the middle of the White House, and even before the Russian intervention in Ukraine, Joe Biden publicly disavows the newly appointed german chancellor Olaf Scholz, stating categorically that the Nord Stream II pipeline would be stopped.
...
Besides representing, in symbolic terms, the humiliation of Germany as a sovereign country, it consolidates the definitive “Coup d’Etat” in the European integration project.
-Saker
It’s an in-between time; a crazy time. A time of uncertainty and of strangeness. It’s an odd time, and a surreal time. Here, we go through some selected news and reports that serve best to flush out the realities that we all face.
In Biden’s Annual Economic Report, The Word “Gender” Is Used 40 More Times Than The Word “Inflation”
The Biden administration has just released the “Economic Report Of The President” for 2022, and you can find it on the official White House website right here. But unless you are a glutton for punishment, I would strongly advise against reading the entire thing, because it is dreadfully boring.
Thankfully, there are others that have already gone through the entire document for us, and one eagle-eyed researcher discovered that the word “gender” is used 40 more times than the word “inflation” is used in the report, and the word “inequality” is actually used more than either one of them…
President Joe Biden released his annual Economic Report on Thursday where he mentioned the word “gender” significantly more than “inflation” as the country faces the highest prices in over 40 years. Biden used the word “gender” 127 in his economic plan, while he mentioned “inflation” just 87 times. Meanwhile, the report mentioned “inequality” 147 times and “emissions” nearly 100 times.
Obviously, Biden administration officials are far more concerned about “social justice issues” than they are about our growing economic problems.
As for Biden himself, he is so incoherent at this point that a guy in a giant bunny suit scares the living daylights out of him.
If you are expecting Biden and his minions to save the day, you are going to be waiting for a really long time.
Meanwhile, prices just continue to rise. On Monday, the price of corn reached the highest level in almost a decade…
The surging price of corn hit another milestone on Monday morning as the cost of global commodities continues to push higher. The contracts for July corn futures were trading above $8 per bushel on Monday, the highest level since September 2012. The contracts were trading near $6 per bushel at the start of the year.
And the price of natural gas has surged to a level that we haven’t seen since just before the financial crisis of 2008…
U.S. natural gas prices hit the highest level since 2008, with the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub edging close to $8 per million British Thermal Units on Monday afternoon. The last major Henry Hub price spikes in 2008 and 2006 were partly due to hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico, the Epoch Times reports. Prices in 2008 peaked at $13.32 per million on July 3rd.
As I pointed out the other day, the inflation crisis that we are experiencing now is already worse than anything that we went through during the 1970s and early 1980s.
Even more frightening is the fact that this is just the beginning.
In particular, food prices will eventually go much higher than they are now. I visited a local supermarket earlier today, and I was astounded by all of the price changes. What we are witnessing is already unprecedented, but I believe that there are several factors that will actually accelerate the increase in food prices in the months ahead.
One of those factors is the horrific bird flu pandemic that has erupted inside the United States. According to an expert that was interviewed by the Washington Post, this pandemic is spreading at a much faster pace than the outbreak that caused so much chaos back in 2015…
WaPo spoke to Gro Intelligence (ag data experts) senior research analyst Grady Ferguson who tracked the last outbreak in 2015, saying this one could be more disruptive to the poultry and egg markets. Ferguson said that 66 days into the outbreak, 1.3% of all US chickens had been affected, and 6% of the US turkey flock. In 2015, he said, only .02% of total chickens were affected at this same time. The number rose to 2.5% of chickens infected at the outbreak’s peak, and more than 50 million were culled.
So what will happen if we get six months down the road and the total death toll for chickens and turkeys reaches 100 million?
What do you think that will mean for our food supply?
As I have been documenting for months, we were already heading for a major global food crisis even without the bird flu and even without the war in Ukraine.
Now both of those factors are making things a whole lot worse.
And instead of trying to find a way to end the war, our leaders continue to talk like they want to escalate matters. In fact, U.S. Senator Chris Coons is openly calling for U.S. troops to be sent into Ukraine…
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) signaled that he wants the US to send troops into Ukraine to fight Russia in an interview on Sunday. When pressed about the issue, Coons said Russian President Vladimir Putin “will only stop when we stop him.” Coons was asked on CBS News’s Face the Nation about comments he made last week in an address to the University of Michigan. In the speech, Coons said the Biden administration and Congress should “come to a common position about when we are willing to go the next step and to send not just arms but troops to the aid in defense of Ukraine … If the answer is never, then we are inviting another level of escalation in brutality by Putin.”
That is complete and utter insanity.
But Coons and Biden are apparently really good friends, and many other top Democrats are also pushing for Biden to do more to help defend Ukraine.
I still remember the “old days” when many on the left were actually “anti-war”.
I don’t know what happened, but these days the biggest warmongers of all seem to be on the left.
Of course there are many warmongers on the right as well. It is almost as if something is in the water in Washington. I have never seen so many of our leaders act as if they have completely lost their minds.
Needless to say, similar things could be said for society as a whole. I really like how Mike Adams made this point in one of his recent articles…
Humanity is intoxicated to the point of suicidal collapse. Note the word root “toxic” found in the word “intoxicated.” It doesn’t just refer to consuming alcohol, but to a long list of behaviors, substances and desires that turn off rational thought and thrust people into bad decision making.
If it appears to you that the whole world is going crazy, that is because it really is going crazy.
Global events are starting to spiral out of control, and a whole lot of people out there are having a really hard time coping with it all.
Unfortunately, global events will continue to become more intense in the months ahead, and so will the emotional breakdowns.
Chinese first grade military training exam
I never tire of watching these elementary school kids in China. You know everyone in China gets military training starting at first grade (Kindergarden in some areas). It’s damn impressive. video 9MB
Pretty Chinese girl
Here’s a fine Chinese girl. video 2MB
(2007) Military Lowers Standards to Fill Ranks
The military has loosened recruiting standards to enlist older, less educated soldiers — some with criminal pasts — in an effort bolster the nation’s dwindling volunteer ranks.
Critics warn the new policies would leave the U.S. with military defenses that are too old, too unskilled, and too poorly behaved to protect America’s future.
Article.
(2015) Soldiers say Army has become soft by lowering physical fitness standards
After twenty years of lowering physical, intelligence and skill assement standards, the military is under critism becuase the “soldiers” are unable to perform the most basic demands of the service.
Article.
(2019) Army changes minimum requirements for several fitness standards
The already low standards isn’t enough to recruit the manpower that the American military needs. Further reductions are necessary.
Article.
Chinese first graders at roll call
Meanwhile, in China, everyone is fit. Everyone is organized. Everyone is motivated. Everyone is trained.
I love their disipline and enthusiasm. video 10MB
Nice Chinese girl
Another fine Chinese girl. Doesn’t seem like a good thing to start blowing these people up with bombs does it? video 3MB
Day 50 of the SMO – are things becoming clear(er)? (UPDATED 2x)
First, I want to point you to an excellent analysis by Bernhard at Moon of Alabama entitled “U.S. Military Intelligence Official Refutes ‘Russian Atrocities’ Claims“.
So we can now “officially consider” the Bucha false flag as an “official flop” 🙂
Next, I want to point you to Andrei Martyanov‘s commentary on what happened to the missile cruiser Moskva he simply titled “About RKR Moskva“.
So now we are 50 days into this Special Military Operation (SMO) and right in between the end of the first phase and the beginning of the second one. So I want to begin by list a few things which were unclear/ambiguous/misunderstood and which now are becoming clear(er):
- Evolution of war. There is this saying “no plan survives the first contact with the enemy” which I would even expand to “no plan survives the first contact with reality”. Why? The first one is obvious, the enemy will try to foil your plans, but the second one is less known: in war there is always a large element of chaos simply because your entire country and your military are in one mode up until the initiation of combat operations and because they have to very quickly switch over a completely new reality. The point is therefore not to stick to plan A at any cost, but neither is it to ditch it all and reinvent the wheel. What is needed is a quick response time to identify the problems and fix them. I would say that with this in mind, the Russian military did a very good job by quickly transforming an integrated Ukrainian military capable of strategic operations into a broken-up entity with its various parts isolated and unable to support each other. What is my evidence for that? There has not been a single Ukrainian counter-attack higher than on a subunit (battalion, company) level. Considering that the Ukrainians have the double advantage of being on the defense and having a larger force, this is truly a remarkable achievement. Add to this the money, weapons and intelligence support from the US/NATO and it is nothing short of a triumph.
- Russia reporting failed. At the same time, Russia as a whole, and especially the military, did an absolutely awful job talking to the public, both in Russia and in the West. See a typical example of the image on the right. The only mistake the US PYSOPs made was that they really “overdid it”, which profoundly angered and alienated the Russian public which went from “what is going on?” to “we are in a fight for our very survival” very quickly and most Russians are now in what I would refer to a “WWII” mode: total warfare until total victory. In the West, however, the US PSYOPs truly triumphed and totally defeated the Russian counter-propaganda efforts which, the truth be told, were primitive, clumsy, slow and even self-defeating at times. Does that matter? Yes, very. Why?
- Russia seems to be losing. Because most people in Zone A sincerely and truly believe that “Russia is losing the war”. Now these are the same folks who until February of 2022 were all virologists/epidemiologists/microbiologists/etc. and who in a remarkable feat, became overnight military experts and now are sincerely advising the Russians on how to wage a war. The fact that no “real” war has even begun does not elicit any second thoughts or doubts in these “experts in everything” folks who simply don’t believe that some matters require years of training to achieve the expertise needed to understand even the basics. And no, as Andrei Martyanov always points out, a BA in communications or a law degree do not make you into a military expert overnight (by the way, I notice a very large “overlap” between the COVID death cult members and the armchair generals).
- Russia is a stranger to the West. Objectively, there is also a double language and culture barrier at work here. Very few folks in Zone A are fluent, or even conversant, in Russian and even fewer understand the Russian mindset. So if all the English speaking media (including putatively pro-Russian ones – more about those later) says something it makes no sense to expect most English speakers to find the correct Russian language Telegram channels to get the other side of the information. As for RT and Sputnik, in their naive and clumsy efforts to appear “objective” they just reinforce the western propaganda narratives.
- Pretend bloggers. Then there is an interesting phenomenon that became very apparent over the past 50 days: there are quite a few websites and blogs that PRETEND to be pro-Russian but, in reality, that support is conditional on Russia supporting their agenda and if Russians do things differently those putatively pro-Russian outlets quickly take up the exact same talking points as the US PSYOPs. There are also a number of PRETEND “liberal” or “Leftist” or “Anti-Imperialist” websites which were ALWAYS CIA-operated but which, over the years, acquired some (totally undeserved) credibility and which have now suddenly “flipped”. Pro-Nazi “liberals”, got to love that…
The result of all this? FUD: fear, uncertainty and doubts of course.
Even worse are the implications of this FUD on many levels:
- A sense of Impunity. It gives the folks in the West a sense of impunity and it almost totally conceals the magnitude of the dangers the Empire of Hate and Lies is facing today: from real food shortages to an economic collapse, and even to a continental war in Europe. After all, if the Russians are losing, then “we” must be winning, so all is well. Not very bright, but oh so human…
- Russian Frustration. It angers and frustrates the Russian soldiers actually doing the fighting who are living in fear not about a heroic Ukrainian counter-offensive, but what the Russian government (at all levels and in all branches) will screw up next. Want an example? Sure! How about this: until senior LDNR official began to openly complain about the Russian customs the latter did not allow non-governmental humanitarian convoys to cross into the Ukraine. This was solved, now the next one is this: how to organize pensions for the families of Russian volunteers who fight in the Ukraine?
- Fight to the death. It greatly encourages the Ukrainians to fight this war down to the last Ukrainian and to total destruction of the Ukrainian civil infrastructure. Yes, the united West wants to genocide Russians by means of genociding Ukrainians. It cannot get any more openly satanic than that!
Having said all of the above, we now need to step back and only make some very basic predictions:
- Evolution of war. What began as the “special military operation” is now turning into a total war of the united West against Russia and that means that the goal for the West is not peace, its victory, and a Russian defeat. My personal conclusion is that the West will only stop doubling down if the US homeland itself is threatened by Russian conventional and nuclear strategic deterrence capabilities.
- The USA will not stop. The Russians are slowly but surely coming to the realization that in spite of all the concessions and retreats made by Russia since 2013 the Empire of Hate and Lies will not stop by itself, it will have to be stopped, by Russia. Again. As the VDV motto says “nobody but us”.
- Cannon fodder. The Ukrainians have no agency, and neither do the Eurolemmings. In fact, the USA is using both the Ukronazis and their EU serfs as cannon fodder because their calculation is that if Russia wins, then the Eurolemmings will become not only terrified and even more subservient, but also that the EU will burn itself down removing a competitor. I remind you that the USA’s wealth is based on how much the USA profited from both WWI and WWII. So why not with WWIII as long as it remains within the confines of the European theater of operations? And that will be doubly true if Russia loses.
My first conclusion here is that a direct military conflict involving NATO and Russia is now likely.
That, by itself, is simply horrible, but here is a simple truth: if the Anglos, yet again, want to burn down the European continent there might not be anything Russia could do to prevent that. And forget about the suicidal Eurolemmings. Russia can win that war, and she will, but yet again at a huge cost.
And that is exactly what the Anglos want.
So is there a silver lining here or is it all doom and gloom?
In fact, there is: the reactions of the Russian public to the rather ambiguous and sometimes outright weird stuff members of the Russian government, at different levels, have been doing and saying. Like that terrible Medinski presser which totally freaked out most Russians. Or the rumor that Abramovich (!) is negotiating between Moscow and Kiev. Oh I know, that is just another rumor, but considering the DISMAL job of Russian information operations that rumor, and hundreds more, are making the public weary and angry.
And the general public itself, rather than any government officials, started to react to this kind of dangerous FUD by something we could think of as a grassroots counter-propaganda campaign. For example, while the letters Z and V have been banned in the Ukraine (and in Latvia, Moldova, Greece and even in some German states) they are literally all over the Runet and you could say that Z and V have now become part of the Russian alphabet and that they are now often used to replace the traditional Cyrillic Z (З) and V (В).
And now Slovakia is declaring that the Nazis in Kiev are “fighting for the future of Europe“.
Basically, the EU politicians have now de facto rehabilitated the Third Reich. At least now it is official.
Heck, since that war began, even Uber-Atlantic-Integrationist Medvedev has turned into a patriotic hardliner!
So maybe it will be the “Russian street” that will teach the so-called “specialists” how informational warfare is done? I sure hope so!
The other major power from Zone B, China, immediately understood what this was all about: “West’s ban of ‘Z’ symbol a manifestation of its Russophobia“.
Yup, the letter Z is now serving a somewhat similar function to the Star of David in Nazi Germany.
Then there are the many iterations of the following slogans “our cause is just“, “the enemy will be defeated” and “we will go to the end!” which are also all over the Runet. Note that all of these slogans are strongly associated with WWII in the Russian mind.
And then there is this: the, shall we call them “poor communication skills”, of the Kremlin have resulted in a real shitstorm of angry protests and freakouts so the Kremlin had to tone it down by a lot. Yes, Putin PERSONALLY is very popular and trusted (over 80%), but not the government or, even less so, mid-level or local government officials. It would not take much (another major SNAFU for example) to trigger angry protests.
But if anybody is to be truly credited with reassuring the Russian public that no “negotiators” will backstab the Russian military, that honor should go to the “Biden” Administration which “convinced” Zelenski to stop any and all negotiations and to restate the Ukronazis most extreme demands (including the LDNR and Crimea). Now that truly made negotiations not only pointless but pretty much impossible.
Thank you “Biden”!
I also want to use this opportunity publicly express my deepest gratitude to Josip Borrell, the Eurolemming’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, for declaring “this war must be won on the battlefield“! When EU *diplomats* use that kind of language, it has a quasi-miraculous effect on the wannabe “peace camp” in Russia. Even RT (!) seems to have smelled the coffee and now we can find an article entitled “It appears that the West doesn’t want peace in Ukraine“. No kidding, geniuses!
As I have mentioned it in the past, I am personally very much in favor of negotiations and even talking to the enemy during a war, but that should be done very discreetly, very carefully and with the clear “message” to the general public if these negotiations, or leaks about them, are made public. If you cannot negotiate without freaking out your own people, then don’t try, you will do more for peace by shutting up and staying at home. If instead of using the insect-like Medinski (he reminds me of Blinken, same “I am a loser” look) Putin had sent Ramzan Kadyrov the perception about “negotiations” in Russia would probably be very different today.
So what is up next?
- A major battle around the Donbass cauldron
- NATO convoys moving into the Ukraine
- The collapse of the “the Russians are losing” narrative replaced by
- A Russian “atrocity” of some type
- The western media will begin to “discover sins” amongst those they lionized until now (see image)
- The full dimension of the economic crisis resulting from the collapse of the international economic system will become much more apparent, especially in the EU.
What about the Black Sea Fleet – can it operate without its flagship?
As I mentioned yesterday, I am not a navy person and neither do I know what plans the Russian General Staff had for the BSF. But I can say this: Slava-class guided missile cruisers were designed in the 70s as aircraft carrier destroyers. For this purpose, they were equipped with very powerful missiles, superb (by 1970s standards!) S-300F, OSA-MA SAMs, 6 AK-630 point air defenses, and a lot of (old) electronics. Since there are no aircraft carriers in the Black Sea, I suppose that the Moskva main role was as a command ship (its main canons don’t provide the range needed to support amphibious assault operations) and also as a relatively powerful mobile, floating, radar. The Moskva was hit by something about 50km south of Snake Island which means that she was also probably watching the movement of ships near/from Romania. Frankly, that is not a task for a guided-missile cruiser.
[Sidebar: as to what actually caused the explosion, my personal best guess is a Ukrainian mine detached by the recent storm and drifting southwards which the Russians failed to detect. That would explain the hull breach which later resulted in the Moskva taking in water and sinking while in tow. I still don’t buy the “Ukrainian 2 “Neptunes” version at all, if only because the Moskva had very solid air defenses while bad weather makes minesweeping very hard. But we will probably never find out for sure, unless the members of the crew reveal what really happened]
Considering that the Ukraine has NO navy at all, I don’t see how the loss of the Moskva would hamper or significantly complicate any BSF operations (navy folks, please correct me here if I missed something!).
The Moskva also had an important role in the eastern Mediterranean (Syria) and yes, there is probably where she will be missed the most. I hope that this loss will provide the impetus to massively accelerate the modernization of old Russian (well, Soviet, really) ships and the construction of new ones.
I would even be inclined to think that the deployment of hypersonic ASM has not only made aircraft carriers obsolete (at least against Russia) but, by the same logic, has made old Russian/Soviet “carrier hunter killers” obsolete by implication. Nowadays, even SMALL missile boats can fire Russian hypersonic missiles thousands of kilometers away, so why bother with really big ships in anti-carrier operations? Range? Okay. Firepower? Okay. Bigger and better sensors? Okay. But not in the Black Sea. And not with a minimally modernized 1970 era ship.
Conclusion:
There is no doubt that Russia fought superbly during the SMO and there is no doubt either that the Russians probably calculated that “just” a SMO would be sufficient to achieve the Russian goals (immediate: protect the LDNR, intermediate: denazify and disarm the Ukraine and long term: change the European and world collective security arrangements) was wrong.
Russia has decided…
It is now becoming almost certain that a real, much larger, war to crush the Ukrainian military will be needed, and it will have to be fought with much larger forces and means.
The West has decided…
The Empire of Hate and Lies has decided to “go max” and is acting exactly as it would be in preparations for a much larger war in Europe.
For example, with the steady stream of mass expulsions of Russian diplomats, there is a very real possibility that Russia and the US/NATO/EU will sever their diplomatic relationships, something traditionally considered as the last step before a declaration of war.
One of the best things the Kremlin could do now is to carefully study how the Iranians since 1979 (!) managed to successfully:
- Never be drawn into a war they did not want (except the one launched by the West and the USSR following the Islamic Revolution which Iran won, by the way)
- Deter the Anglo-Zionist from direct attacks on Iran
- Survive both sanctions and even a blockade
- Defeat US PSYOPs (remember Neda Agha-Soltan?)
- Actively assist in the liberation of other countries around the world and, especially, the Middle-East
- Superbly combine political pragmatism with deep religious piety and idealism
- Preserve their economy (albeit with major difficulties, but not collapse!)
- Preserve their Islamic societal and civilizational model
- Remain truly sovereign
- Maintain a rock-solid morale throughout it all
If Iran could do that, why can’t we? I have an answer to this question, but I won’t offer it until the end of combat operations.
As I have also mentioned many times, Russia is a project, a ‘moving target’, a society that is recovering from at least 300 years of foreign domination (especially spiritual and political) and a society that is STILL changing, very fast in many aspects.
Yes, Russia has a superb military and immense resources. But that is not enough.
Some say that the next “New Russia” was “born in the LDNR”, and I hope that they are right, not in the sense that Russia needs to copy all the decisions (often bad ones too!) of the LDNR, but Russia does need to purge herself from those in positions of power who are just stuck in the past or unable to adapt to new realities.
Can Russia denazify the planet? By herself, no. At most she can militarily destroy all of Zone A, but only in a mutual suicide act of desperation (the US nuclear triad is still mostly functional, in spite of its problems). But can Russia and the rest of Zone B denazify the planet? Absolutely. Even “just” Russia and China together are more powerful than the rest of the planet combined, add India to this and you have a truly unstoppable force.
The Empire is already dead, but like a stinking unburied corpse, it still has enough “toxicity momentum” to continue to threaten the planet until the USA is both denazified and disarmed. That will take a lot of time, even with the recent massive acceleration of the pace of events.
So no quick fix, no quick solution, no quick victory (or defeat for that matter). This is not want Russia wanted, but that is what she got.
May she make the most of it to transform herself into the civilizational realm she was for centuries. That could be the biggest homage to those fighting for the future of Russia today.
Andrei
PS: I want to remind you all one more time that if the USA and Russia openly and directly clash militarily, I will immediately “freeze” the blog until the situation is resolved in one way or another. I am a guest, a legal alien (“Green Card”), in the USA and it is not my role to speak if my country of current residence and my country of ethnic origin are at war with each other.
UPDATE1: I should have mentioned that there have been large demonstrations in Serbia in support of Russia. So far, Serbia is the only country with a strong pro-Russian part of the population. No, not all, of course but MUCH more than in any other country, at least that I am aware of. I want to thank all our Serbian brothers and sisters for standing by us!
UPDATE2: Russian sources are reporting that the nonsense at the border has resumed again, and folks are waiting for hours and even days to get across the border. If true, this sounds like outright sabotage to me.
Nice Chinese girl
Russia Announces Full Control Over Mariupol; Shoot-Down of Cargo Plane Carrying NATO Weapons
.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has announced that Russian forces now control “all of Mariupol” after the surrender of 1,464 Ukraine troops.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region, told CNN the city was “no more,” leaving Russians with nothing left to seize.
“The enemy may seize the land Mariupol used to stand on, but the city of Mariupol has been wiped off the face of the earth by the Russian Federation.
NATO WEAPONS DELIVERY SHOT DOWN
There is now also word filtering out that Russian air defenses have SHOT DOWN a cargo plane carrying a shipment of NATO Weapons for Ukraine, but this is dicey . . .
Russia claims it downed a Ukrainian transport plane carrying weapons “in the Odessa region.”
There are no Ukrainian transport planes flying there, but there were some flying from Turkey to Poland.
At this point, the flag of the plane is believed to Be Ukrainian, but that is *NOT* confirmed. (Could be a NATO Plane)
Some Sources, primarily Russian, claiming that the Aircraft shot down was a NATO Military Aircraft carrying Weapons to Ukrainian Forces in Odesa, but again this is extremely unlikely. However, if found to be true, oh boy . . .
Hal Turner Editorial Remarks
Flying from Turkey (Drones) to Poland (the central distribution point of NATO weapons) ultimately entering Ukraine?
If this is one of the planes shot down, then in one fell swoop, Russia has put Ukraine, Turkey, and Poland, on notice that NATO weapons shipments are not safe anywhere.
Bold move by Russia.
Still have to get all the facts and, of course, see how this plays out.
HAPPENING NOW: Avostal Steel Plant in Ukraine Being Mercilessly Bombed
ASOVSTAL Steel Mill now under heavy bombardment and burning.
The Ultimatum for Ukraine troops to put down their weapons and surrender by 9:00 GMT has long expired. The militant AZOV Brigade Nazis had a chance to leave and survive; they chose not to.
About one hour ago, the Russian Army ordered all units to attack the plant. It is being mercilessly bombed right now and is on fire.
UPDATE 3:16 PM EDT —
Ministry of Defense of Russia: Basements with militants at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol will NOT be stormed.
Instead, Supersonic bombers, Tu-22M3 Backfire-C, will bomb the plant with high explosive demolition bombs FAB-3000. Then the Russian forces will be use Heavy Flamethrower System TOS-1A Solntsepyok to toast the remaining survivors.
TOS-1 is a Soviet 220 mm 30-barrel or 24-barrel multiple rocket launcher capable of using thermobaric warheads, mounted on a T-72 tank chassis. TOS-1 was designed to attack enemy fortified positions and lightly armoured vehicles and transports, in open terrain in particular.
Rufus police saves baby
This is how it is done. be the Rufus. video 3MB
Exclusive: Russian geo-economics Tzar Sergey Glazyev introduces the new global financial system
The world’s new monetary system, underpinned by a digital currency, will be backed by a basket of new foreign currencies and natural resources. And it will liberate the Global South from both western debt and IMF-induced austerity.
By Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and cross-posted at The Cradle.
Sergey Glazyev is a man living right in the eye of our current geopolitical and geo-economic hurricane. One of the most influential economists in the world, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and a former adviser to the Kremlin from 2012 to 2019, for the past three years he has helmed Moscow’s uber strategic portfolio as Minister in Charge of Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU).
Glazyev’s recent intellectual production has been nothing short of transformative, epitomized by his essay Sanctions and Sovereignty and an extensive discussion of the new, emerging geo-economic paradigm in an interview to a Russian business magazine.
In another of his recent essays, Glazyev comments on how “I grew up in Zaporozhye, near which heavy fighting is now taking place in order to destroy the Ukrainian Nazis, who never existed in my small Motherland. I studied at a Ukrainian school and I know Ukrainian literature and language well, which from a scientific point of view is a dialect of Russian. I did not notice anything Russophobic in Ukrainian culture. In the 17 years of my life in Zaporozhye, I have never met a single Banderist.”
Glazyev was gracious to take some time from his packed schedule to provide detailed answers to a first series of questions in what we expect to become a running conversation, especially focused to the Global South. This is his first interview with a foreign publication since the start of Operation Z. Many thanks to Alexey Subottin for the Russian-English translation.
The Cradle: You are at the forefront of a game-changing geo-economic development: the design of a new monetary/financial system via an association between the EAEU and China, bypassing the US dollar, with a draft soon to be concluded. Could you possibly advance some of the features of this system – which is certainly not a Bretton Woods III – but seems to be a clear alternative to the Washington consensus and very close to the necessities of the Global South?
Glazyev: In a bout of Russophobic hysteria, the ruling elite of the United States played its last “trump ace” in the hybrid war against Russia. Having “frozen” Russian foreign exchange reserves in custody accounts of western central banks, financial regulators of the US, EU, and the UK undermined the status of the dollar, euro, and pound as global reserve currencies. This step sharply accelerated the ongoing dismantling of the dollar-based economic world order.
Over a decade ago, my colleagues at the Astana Economic Forum and I proposed to transition to a new global economic system based on a new synthetic trading currency based on an index of currencies of participating countries. Later, we proposed to expand the underlying currency basket by adding around twenty exchange-traded commodities. A monetary unit based on such an expanded basket was mathematically modeled and demonstrated a high degree of resilience and stability.
At around the same time, we proposed to create a wide international coalition of resistance in the hybrid war for global dominance that the financial and power elite of the US unleashed on the countries that remained outside of its control. My book The Last World War: the USA to Move and Lose, published in 2016, scientifically explained the nature of this coming war and argued for its inevitability – a conclusion based on objective laws of long-term economic development. Based on the same objective laws, the book argued the inevitability of the defeat of the old dominant power.
Currently, the US is fighting to maintain its dominance, but just as Britain previously, which provoked two world wars but was unable to keep its empire and its central position in the world due to the obsolescence of its colonial economic system, it is destined to fail. The British colonial economic system based on slave labor was overtaken by structurally more efficient economic systems of the US and the USSR. Both the US and the USSR were more efficient at managing human capital in vertically integrated systems, which split the world into their zones of influence. A transition to a new world economic order started after the disintegration of the USSR. This transition is now reaching its conclusion with the imminent disintegration of the dollar-based global economic system, which provided the foundation of the United States global dominance.
The new convergent economic system that emerged in the PRC (People’s Republic of China) and India is the next inevitable stage of development, combining the benefits of both centralized strategic planning and market economy, and of both state control of the monetary and physical infrastructure and entrepreneurship. The new economic system united various strata of their societies around the goal of increasing common wellbeing in a way that is substantially stronger than the Anglo-Saxon and European alternatives. This is the main reason why Washington will not be able to win the global hybrid war that it started. This is also the main reason why the current dollar-centric global financial system will be superseded by a new one, based on a consensus of the countries who join the new world economic order.
In the first phase of the transition, these countries fall back on using their national currencies and clearing mechanisms, backed by bilateral currency swaps. At this point, price formation is still mostly driven by prices at various exchanges, denominated in dollars. This phase is almost over: after Russia’s reserves in dollars, euro, pound, and yen were “frozen,” it is unlikely that any sovereign country will continue accumulating reserves in these currencies. Their immediate replacement is national currencies and gold.
The second stage of the transition will involve new pricing mechanisms that do not reference the dollar. Price formation in national currencies involves substantial overheads, however, it will still be more attractive than pricing in ‘un-anchored’ and treacherous currencies like dollars, pounds, euro, and yen. The only remaining global currency candidate – the yuan – won’t be taking their place due to its inconvertibility and the restricted external access to the Chinese capital markets. The use of gold as the price reference is constrained by the inconvenience of its use for payments.
The third and the final stage on the new economic order transition will involve a creation of a new digital payment currency founded through an international agreement based on principles of transparency, fairness, goodwill, and efficiency. I expect that the model of such a monetary unit that we developed will play its role at this stage. A currency like this can be issued by a pool of currency reserves of BRICS countries, which all interested countries will be able to join. The weight of each currency in the basket could be proportional to the GDP of each country (based on purchasing power parity, for example), its share in international trade, as well as the population and territory size of participating countries.
In addition, the basket could contain an index of prices of main exchange-traded commodities: gold and other precious metals, key industrial metals, hydrocarbons, grains, sugar, as well as water and other natural resources. To provide backing and to make the currency more resilient, relevant international resource reserves can be created in due course. This new currency would be used exclusively for cross-border payments and issued to the participating countries based on a pre-defined formula. Participating countries would instead use their national currencies for credit creation, in order to finance national investments and industry, as well as for sovereign wealth reserves. Capital account cross-border flows would remain governed by national currency regulations.
The Cradle: Michael Hudson specifically asks that if this new system enables nations in the Global South to suspend dollarized debt and is based on the ability to pay (in foreign exchange), can these loans be tied to either raw materials or, for China, tangible equity ownership in the capital infrastructure financed by foreign non-dollar credit?
Glazyev: Transition to the new world economic order will likely be accompanied by systematic refusal to honor obligations in dollars, euro, pound, and yen. In this respect, it will be no different from the example set by the countries issuing these currencies who thought it appropriate to steal foreign exchange reserves of Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Russia to the tune of trillions of dollars. Since the US, Britain, EU, and Japan refused to honor their obligations and confiscated the wealth of other nations which was held in their currencies, why should other countries be obliged to pay them back and to service their loans?
In any case, participation in the new economic system will not be constrained by the obligations in the old one. Countries of the Global South can be full participants of the new system regardless of their accumulated debts in dollars, euro, pound, and yen. Even if they were to default on their obligations in those currencies, this would have no bearing on their credit rating in the new financial system. Nationalization of extraction industry, likewise, would not cause a disruption. Further, should these countries reserve a portion of their natural resources for the backing of the new economic system, their respective weight in the currency basket of the new monetary unit would increase accordingly, providing that nation with larger currency reserves and credit capacity. In addition, bilateral swap lines with trading partner countries would provide them with adequate financing for co-investments and trade financing.
The Cradle: In one of your latest essays, The Economics of the Russian Victory, you call for “an accelerated formation of a new technological paradigm and the formation of institutions of a new world economic order.” Among the recommendations, you specifically propose the creation of “a payment and settlement system in the national currencies of the EAEU member states” and the development and implementation of “an independent system of international settlements in the EAEU, SCO and BRICS, which could eliminate critical dependence of the US-controlled SWIFT system.” Is it possible to foresee a concerted joint drive by the EAEU and China to “sell” the new system to SCO members, other BRICS members, ASEAN members and nations in West Asia, Africa and Latin America? And will that result in a bipolar geo-economy – the West versus The Rest?
Glazyev: Indeed, this is the direction where we are headed. Disappointingly, monetary authorities of Russia are still a part of the Washington paradigm and play by the rules of the dollar-based system, even after Russian foreign exchange reserves were captured by the west. On the other hand, the recent sanctions prompted extensive soul searching among the rest of the non-dollar-block countries. western ‘agents of influence’ still control central banks of most countries, forcing them to apply suicidal policies prescribed by the IMF. However, such policies at this point are so obviously contrary to the national interests of these non-western countries that their authorities are growing justifiably concerned about financial security.
You correctly highlight potentially central roles of China and Russia in the genesis of the new world economic order. Unfortunately, current leadership of the CBR (Central Bank of Russia) remains trapped inside the intellectual cul-de-sac of the Washington paradigm and is unable to become a founding partner in the creation of a new global economic and financial framework. At the same time, the CBR already had to face the reality and create a national system for interbank messaging which is not dependent on SWIFT, and opened it up for foreign banks as well. Cross-currency swap lines have been already set up with key participating nations. Most transactions between member states of the EAEU are already denominated in national currencies and the share of their currencies in internal trade is growing at a rapid pace.
A similar transition is taking place in trade with China, Iran, and Turkey. India indicated that it is ready to switch to payments in national currencies as well. A lot of effort is put in developing clearing mechanisms for national currency payments. In parallel, there is an ongoing effort to develop a digital non-banking payment system, which would be linked to gold and other exchange-traded commodities – the ‘stablecoins.’
Recent US and European sanctions imposed on the banking channels have caused a rapid increase in these efforts. The group of countries working on the new financial system only needs to announce the completion of the framework and readiness of the new trade currency and the process of formation of the new world financial order will accelerate further from there. The best way to bring it about would be to announce it at the SCO or BRICS regular meetings. We are working on that.
The Cradle: This has been an absolutely key issue in discussions by independent analysts across the west. Was the Russian Central Bank advising Russian gold producers to sell their gold in the London market to get a higher price than the Russian government or Central Bank would pay? Was there no anticipation whatsoever that the coming alternative to the US dollar will have to be based largely on gold? How would you characterize what happened? How much practical damage has this inflicted on the Russian economy short-term and mid-term?
Glazyev: The monetary policy of the CBR, implemented in line with the IMF recommendations, has been devastating for the Russian economy. Combined disasters of the “freezing” of circa $400 billion of foreign exchange reserves and over a trillion dollars siphoned from the economy by oligarchs into western offshore destinations, came with the backdrop of equally disastrous policies of the CBR, which included excessively high real rates combined with a managed float of the exchange rate. We estimate this caused under-investment of circa 20 trillion rubles and under-production of circa 50 trillion rubles in goods.
Following Washington’s recommendations, the CBR stopped buying gold over the last two years, effectively forcing domestic gold miners to export full volumes of production, which added up to 500 tons of gold. These days the mistake and the harm it caused are very much obvious. Presently, the CBR resumed gold purchases, and, hopefully, will continue with sound policies in the interest of the national economy instead of ‘targeting inflation’ for the benefit of international speculators, as had been the case during the last decade.
The Cradle: The Fed as well as the ECB were not consulted on the freeze of Russian foreign reserves. Word in New York and Frankfurt is that they would have opposed it were they to have been asked. Did you personally expect the freeze? And did the Russian leadership expect it?
Glazyev: My book, The Last World War, that I already mentioned, which was published as far back as 2015, argued that the likelihood of this happening eventually is very high. In this hybrid war, economic warfare and informational/cognitive warfare are key theaters of conflict. On both of these fronts, the US and NATO countries have overwhelming superiority and I did not have any doubt that they would take full advantage of this in due course.
I have been arguing for a long time for the replacement of dollars, euro, pounds, and yen in our foreign exchange reserves with gold, which is produced in abundance in Russia. Unfortunately, western agents of influence which occupy key roles at central banks of most countries, as well as rating agencies and key publications, were successful in silencing my ideas. To give you an example, I have no doubt that high-ranking officials at the Fed and the ECB were involved in developing anti-Russian financial sanctions. These sanctions have been consistently escalating and are being implemented almost instantly, despite the well-known difficulties with bureaucratic decision making in the EU.
The Cradle: Elvira Nabiullina has been reconfirmed as the head of the Russian Central Bank. What would you do differently, compared to her previous actions? What is the main guiding principle involved in your different approaches?
Glazyev: The difference between our approaches is very simple. Her policies are an orthodox implementation of IMF recommendations and dogmas of the Washington paradigm, while my recommendations are based on the scientific method and empirical evidence accumulated over the last hundred years in leading countries.
The Cradle: The Russia-China strategic partnership seems to be increasingly ironclad – as Presidents Putin and Xi themselves constantly reaffirm. But there are rumbles against it not only in the west but also in some Russian policy circles. In this extremely delicate historical juncture, how reliable is China as an all-season ally to Russia?
Glazyev: The foundation of Russian-Chinese strategic partnership is common sense, common interests, and the experience of cooperation over hundreds of years. The US ruling elite started a global hybrid war aimed at defending its hegemonic position in the world, targeting China as the key economic competitor and Russia as the key counter-balancing force. Initially, the US geopolitical efforts were aiming to create a conflict between Russia and China. Agents of western influence were amplifying xenophobic ideas in our media and blocking any attempts to transition to payments in national currencies. On the Chinese side, agents of western influence were pushing the government to fall in line with the demands of the US interests.
However, sovereign interests of Russia and China logically led to their growing strategic partnership and cooperation, in order to address common threats emanating from Washington. The US tariff war with China and financial sanctions war with Russia validated these concerns and demonstrated the clear and present danger our two countries are facing. Common interests of survival and resistance are uniting China and Russia, and our two countries are largely symbiotic economically. They complement and increase competitive advantages of each other. These common interests will persist over the long run.
The Chinese government and the Chinese people remember very well the role of the Soviet Union in the liberation of their country from the Japanese occupation and in the post-war industrialization of China. Our two countries have a strong historical foundation for strategic partnership and we are destined to cooperate closely in our common interests. I hope that the strategic partnership of Russia and the PRC, which is enhanced by the coupling of the One Belt One Road with the Eurasian Economic Union, will become the foundation of President Vladimir Putin’s project of the Greater Eurasian Partnership and the nucleus of the new world economic order.
Rufus runs in to rescue others
This is how it is done. video 2MB
In America; Fertilizer and DEF Fluid Shipments Being Limited
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On the heels of rail carriers canceling grain shipments, CF Industries warns that FERTILIZER rail shipments are now being halted during spring planting
According to an April 14th announcement from CF Industries, American railroad; Union Pacific is halting the delivery of fertilizer shipments right in the middle of peak planting season for farmers. CF Industries warns that,
“railroad-mandated shipping reductions [will] result in nitrogen fertilizer shipment delays during the spring application season and that it [will] be unable to accept new rail sales involving Union Pacific for the foreseeable future.”
This means that Union Pacific is essentially dropping fertilizer shipments and grain shipments all across America. Put another way, America’s food infrastructure is being deliberately shut down.
“CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF), a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products, today informed customers it serves by Union Pacific rail lines that railroad-mandated shipping reductions would result in nitrogen fertilizer shipment delays during the spring application season and that it would be unable to accept new rail sales involving Union Pacific for the foreseeable future. The Company understands that it is one of only 30 companies to face these restrictions. ...”
It continues…
“CF Industries ships to customers via Union Pacific rail lines primarily from its Donaldsonville Complex in Louisiana and its Port Neal Complex in Iowa. The rail lines serve key agricultural areas such as Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas and California. Products that will be affected include nitrogen fertilizers such as urea and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) as well as diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), an emissions control product required for diesel trucks. CF Industries is the largest producer of urea, UAN and DEF in North America, and its Donaldsonville Complex is the largest single production facility for the products in North America.”
DEF Does not “Go Bad.”
According to manufacturers, Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) doesn’t degrade nearly as quickly as people assume. For example, at 86°F, DEF has a shelf life of a year.
REMEMBER: Do not equate shelf life to spoiling like food, as DEF will not go bad. It will lose some effectiveness, and the SCR will dose at a higher rate, but it won’t “go bad.”
If maintained at a constant temperature, DEF manages to stay for several months. For example, at 74°F in Los Angeles, Diesel Exhaust Fluid has the shelf life of 44 months.
American “Vaccines KILLING People of Color” at TWICE THE RATE of Whites
Biden Administration Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has admitted during a Conference that “Vaccines are killing people of color, Blacks, Latinos, and Indigenous people, at about twice the rate of white Americans.”
The video, from the White House Convening on Equity, appears below
Video.
Yet to this very minute, they are still running commercials on TV and radio, telling people the vaccines are “safe and effective.”
Are you a Ready Rufus?
When “shit goes down”, will you be ready to handle things? video 3MB
French Onion Dip
This is easy to make. It tastes great! And man oh, man does it go great with Wise® potato chips.
Ingredients
Procedure
- In a large saute pan over low heat, add oil and butter. When butter is melted, add onions and saute stirring occasionally until golden brown and caramelized, about 35 minutes. Add shallots and some salt and saute for 15 minutes more until onions and shallots are dark brown. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 to 6 minutes, then chop into 1/4-inch pieces. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, celery salt, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Fold in onion mixture. Chill at least 1 hour or overnight, prior to serving.
Cook’s Note
Dip can be pureed until creamy. If too thick, add milk to get desired consistency.
Here comes China: The world rotated one more time
By Amarynth for the Saker Blog
The world rotated one more time since the last report on China.
So, what do we know?
China is rock-solid behind Russia in all of Russia’s objectives, and in some instances, up ahead.
It almost seems as if an agreement was, if not stated, then understood. Russia will do the shootin’ for now, and China will keep the economic boat afloat. We see consistent commenting such as China is a consistent stabilizing force in a changing world
Overall NATO is feeling the pressure and ‘resetting’ and trying to clone itself as Aukus in the east while trying to strengthen itself in the west. We have Stoltenberg announcing: “What we see now is a new reality, a new normal for European security. Therefore, we have now asked our military commanders to provide options for what we call a reset, a more longer-term adaptation of NATO.”. In this speech, he announced that plans are being worked up to transform NATO into a major force capable of taking on an invading army and states that NATO deepens partnerships in Asia in response to a rising “security challenge” from China.
Yet, in the east, the Quad is one less, given India’s refusal to follow the U.S. regarding Russia.
Japan has been asked to join Aukus as a Japan, US, Australia, UK alliance intending to project a strong regional balance of power against China, Russia (and maybe India then?) in Asia. This Aukus will then have synergy,, they say, with Japanese technologies in areas such as hypersonic weapons and electronic warfare. Somehow I don’t see Japan as a suitable switch out for India, but then again, we’re dealing with desperate last gyrations of a world hegemon here, trying to project that it still has many friends.
A quick look at India. These days, if you see a country being threatened, you know already that they have started decoupling from so-called western democracy and Blinken has just threatened India yet again. He says the US is “monitoring rise in rights abuses in India” So, suddenly the US cares about human rights abuses in India. This bellicose rhetoric is not effective and way beyond its sell-by date.
It is clear that Russia is decoupling from Europe, and this started before sanctions. But did you know that China is decoupling from Britain, Canada, and the US? This is a brand-new trend. China’s top offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC Ltd. is preparing to exit its operations in Britain, Canada, and the United States, because of concerns in Beijing that assets could become subject to Western sanctions. As it seeks to leave the West, CNOOC is looking to acquire new assets in Latin America and Africa, and also wants to prioritize the development of large, new prospects in Brazil, Guyana, and Uganda.
Apparently trying to deal with those three countries has become painful and CNOOC is seeking to sell “marginal and hard to manage” assets. Quoted are red tape and high operating costs in the western climes.
In the Asia region, we also saw the ease with which Imran Khan was relieved of his post as Prime Minister. I don’t believe this is the end of this story, because the citizens of Pakistan are truly unhappy. https://www.rt.com/news/553734-us-involved-imran-khan-departure/
So if you were thinking that while the Ukraine war is hot, the Pacific is cool, that would be a mis judgement.
The new cry going out is if we’ve censored all the Russian voices, how can we allow the Chinese voices to carry water for Russia. We have to cancel them too! (These people deserve to go and live underground in bunkers!)
Taiwan keeps the war propaganda at a fever pitch by releasing a China Invasion Survival Guide.
Taiwan’s All-out Defense Mobilization unit has released a guide for citizens in the event of a war with Beijing, complete with comic strips and tips for survival, locating bomb shelters, and preparing food and first aid provisions. The guide has been planned for some time, and comes as local officials look to extend military service beyond the current 4 months. https://t.me/rtnews/23455
Nancy Pelosi was planning to visit Taiwan. China made its displeasure known widely and loudly. And Pelosi immediately contracted Covid and had to suspend her trip.
From the Australian side, the propaganda is flowing strong. Here is a very fine video with Brian Berletic and Robbie Barwick, explaining exactly what happened with the contretemps in the Solomon Islands, as well as the overall trajectory and the speed thereof, of Australia’s belligerence against China. This video contains some interesting statements and supporting data. Seemingly, if Australia interacts with Island Nations like the Solomon’s the idea is to build infrastructure suitable for war, so, building a port must be suitable for US aircraft carriers, and building a road must be suitable for landing US airplanes. If China interacts with these very same Island Nations, the idea is to build infrastructure that can benefit their population and this is now clear among all.
https://odysee.com/@LandDestroyer:8/australia-vs-china-solomon-islands:7
Is it over? No, not by a long shot. Aussie minister pays ‘unprecedented coercive visit’ to Solomon Islands over China security pact. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202204/1259266.shtml
I’ve come to enjoy China’s spokespeople. They are sharp and do not miss a trick. Acerbic and incisive commentary is the order of the day. This is a good example, and please note the tone of the Western journos .. If you have never spent time on one of these, it is an education. The western journos try and beat the spox to death with repeated questions loaded with innuendo. https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/202204/t20220411_10666750.html
It is quite clear that China is not leaving the issue of Biolabs behind. They have just about daily coverage in various media about it.
SEOUL, April 12 (Xinhua) — U.S. military biological facilities in South Korea are serious threats to local residents’ safety, said a South Korean expert, as the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) continues with a scandalous program involving experiments with living toxic samples. #GLOBALink
https://english.news.cn/20220412/a7d456ef4d5c4b7bab7fa07305aa6333/c.html
China will never forget epithets like “China Virus” and “Wuhan Flu”. Take a good look at this image titled Poison Disseminator.
China had to evacuate +- 2,000 Chinese citizens from the Ukraine. From media, it was a successful evacuation. They have also repeatedly made their stance clear on the Ukraine.
https://www.silkroadbriefing.com/news/2022/03/08/chinas-foreign-ministry-position-on-russia-ukraine/
The main focus is humanitarian. China released a five-point position statement supported by a six-point humanitarian plan
The position statement is:
First, we persevere in promoting peace talks in the right direction. We hold that dialogue and negotiation are the only way out, oppose adding fuel to the fire and intensifying confrontation, call for achieving a ceasefire and ending the conflict, and support Russia and Ukraine in carrying out direct dialogue. Second, we persevere in upholding the basic norms governing international relations. We advocate respect for the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, and oppose putting small and medium-sized countries on the front line of geopolitical games. Third, we persevere in preventing the resurgence of the Cold War mentality. We do not agree with the “friend-or-foe” camp confrontation, firmly promote international solidarity, advocate the vision of common, cooperative, comprehensive and sustainable security, and respect and accommodate the legitimate and reasonable concerns of all parties. Fourth, we persevere in upholding the legitimate rights and interests of all countries. We oppose unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and call for safeguarding the international industrial and supply chains to avoid harming normal economic and trade exchanges and people’s lives. Fifth, we persevere in consolidating peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. We firmly uphold the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness in our neighborhood diplomacy, guard against the introduction of bloc confrontation into the region by the United States through the “Indo-Pacific strategy”, accelerate the promotion of regional integration and cooperation, and guard the hard-won development momentum in the region.
Wang Ji describes the six-point humanitarian plan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEmMgB8psVY
While China is doing its best to create a level playing field and do real humanitarian work, they are not hiding the fact that they hold the US/NATO fully responsible for what they see as an action that was forced onto Russia.
Inside China, it is all about economic miracles. Taking a huge bow now in their theater of urgent needs is seeds: Chinese Seeds, Chinese developed, and Chinese local seeds. The seed companies of the west are unwelcome with the IP registration of their seeds and China will hold its ownership over its seeds.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202204/12/WS6253c2e2a310fd2b29e563d6.html
The Shanghai lockdown provided endless China-bashing opportunities for western commentators. Tucker Carlson jumped on this horse and did his part for the anti-China campaign with a litany of complaints, a bunch of pixellated videos that are propaganda material, never having spoken to anyone actually living in Shanghai, without an idea of China’s principled management of Covid and without understanding the levels of the lockdown – complete political projection of US so-called values. As we have seen so many times from the USA’ians, trying to fight his political battles on the back of the Chinese (or anyone else, for that matter). He also perceivably has no idea that the Chinese lockdown supports the people with food and medicines, and it is not like the west. So, he looks at this with western eyes and truly, he has no clue. It is exactly the same that the world complains about .. it is: “We are right and exceptional and we know better.” Because China makes its own rules, Carlson calls it wrong. He is totally committed to the idea of US manifest destiny and his way is the right way. Carlson is anti a war with Russia for political purposes but show him China as a possible war partner, and he blooms with bloodlust.
It is truly better to listen to those that are actually living there and can actually speak the language. It is so that people believe the MSM when that very same MSM says something that they like and rail against that very same MSM when they say something that they don’t like.
David Fishman tweets: So it’s CRAZY that we have to do this, it’s also incredibly fascinating from a supply chain/logistics/economics perspective. We are in the process of re-inventing the food distribution network in Shanghai. It’s all based on the newly prevalent concept of Group-Buying.
If you really want to know how people live through a 14 day lockdown, a 14 day lighter lockdown if no Covid presents itself, a closed and open-loop system, and then thereafter no lock down. I would recommend that you click on this tweet and read all the parts:
So it's CRAZY that we have to do this, it's also incredibly fascinating from a supply chain/logistics/economics perspective.
We are in the process of re-inventing the food distribution network in Shanghai.
It's all based on the newly prevalent concept of Group-Buying. Nerdy🧵
— David Fishman (@pretentiouswhat) April 7, 2022
Let’s hear from someone who is actually right there:
LIVE update on the situation in Shanghai, China https://t.co/kR1RUsHLL8
— Andy Boreham 安柏然 (@AndyBxxx) April 11, 2022
And Jeff Brown weighed in as well. Special explanation to address the many concerns global citizens have about China’s “Zero-Covid” policy, with Shanghai now in the headlines.
https://jeffjbrown.substack.com/p/special-explanation-to-address-the
And so there are to my knowledge hundreds of people reporting that they get their food delivered, they take part in group buying, they mostly get what they want but sometimes not and we see things like this:
Very touched by this. My wife failed for the nth time to buy milk via group buying during the Shanghai lockdown and was lamenting about it on WeChat.
5 minutes later a neighbor put this on our doorstep, refusing anything in exchange.
THAT is the China I know. pic.twitter.com/Z9rJDwOWyo
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) April 13, 2022
The lesson here is that if you want to know what is happening in China, listen to the people in China. Now, they are not brutally suppressed and silenced. Online media is bigger than ever. What is frowned upon and can get you into hot water, is if you are rude and rude to others. State your case, don’t be rude and you will be fine with social media communication. (Somewhat like the concept of Saving Face).
No, China is not killing 25 million people in Shanghai.
There are thousands of made-up and anti-China video clips breathlessly being passed around by the usual suspects. I saw one that purports that the Chinese are breaking down their 5G towers. It was a clip from the umbrella riots in Hong Kong where the rioters were breaking down public infrastructure.
Is everything perfect? Of course not. Are their people struggling? Of course. Was there food distribution problems initially? Of course. Is it easy? Of course not. Are most people content with the decision to do a phased lock-in of a city of 25 million people? Most of the ones that I’ve regularly followed are, if not content, they understand the reason and trust the Chinese Zero-Covid policy. Westerners need to start understanding that the Chinese people are part of their government and that they actually believe the government does what is best for the people and they have evidence and proof of this, because they are part of a very inclusive system.
Cyrus Janssen is a regular commentator on China. He does not like the Shanghai lockdown. This is his thread, and take a look at what the Chinese actually answered.
I'm very worried about Shanghai and the future of #China….what's happened in the past few weeks has changed the future of China. Some of you will agree with my analysis and some of you won't, but here is a thread 🧵 on the #COVID19 situation in #Shanghai:
— Cyrus Janssen (@thecyrusjanssen) April 13, 2022
The conversation in China is different from the conversation in the west. Their current concern is future management of Covid. They have concerns that their Zero-Covid strategy needs to be adjusted. They are in the process of refining its strategy. They do not have concerns about their strategy, because they have the numbers.
The last report that I have is as of Saturday. The Shanghai port STILL operating smoothly, with berthing efficiency better than 2021. The average waiting time for ships in Port is under 24 hours, and all the production units at the port maintain normal 24-hour operations, except in extreme weather. In 2021, the Port moved 47 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), ranking first globally. Throughput of international containers exceeded 6 million TEUs for the first time.
Trade between Russia and China skyrocketed. Paul from the Sirius report states it as follows: “Western experts fail to grasp that the Global South is around 87% of the world’s population, is in its ascendancy and has a myriad of vertical growth markets now in play and is embracing the multipolar world. West meanwhile is in terminal decline.”
China and Russia trade in Q1 rose 28% to $38.2bn equivalent.
In 2021, trade turnover between Russia and China hit a record high of $146.88 billion, having surged 35.8%. In December, the Russian and Chinese presidents agreed on creating infrastructure to service trade operations between the two nations without third parties.
The ASEAN surpassed the EU to become China’s largest trading partner. China’s imports and exports with ASEAN jumped 8.4% yoy to 1.35tn yuan in Q1 accounting for 14.4% of the country’s foreign trade volume.
Beijing’s economic and trade cooperation with other countries including Russia and Ukraine remains normal.
Beijing has refused to join sanctions against Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine, saying cooperation between China and Russia “has no limits.” The two countries have been switching from the US dollar and the euro to local currencies in trade to avoid possible sanctions.
It’s all digital currency for the years ahead for China. Make a strong distinction in your mind between CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency), Cryptocurrencies and China’s digital currency. They are not all the same.
Russia is increasing its holdings in Yuan. This is explained as underscoring the falling credibility of the US dollar, as the US has been weaponizing the dollar as a financial weapon instead of a trusted international payment currency. This via Xu Wenhong, a research fellow at the Institute of Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
From the Here Comes China newsletter by Godfree Roberts, we see this:
Cainiao, Alibaba’s logistics arm, rolled out a digital end-to-end e-commerce logistics service that includes pickup, warehousing, supply chain, customs clearance, and last-mile delivery. You may think this is for China internally and it might well be so, but China has now something like 3,000 warehouses across the world, supporting the products that the belt and road transport, to get to the last-mile delivery.
Earlier I referred to the Quad as well as to the fact that China is doing its own selective decoupling. The Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, which runs through Mongolia, is specifically aimed at reducing any Chinese dependence on Quad Members.
To conclude before we get to a lighter note, the west has no competitive edge any longer in trade, very little in war if we look at it as of today (they can still wipe us all out and turn us into glass), and have no honor left. They are not serious people and cannot be allowed to try and run our planet any longer, exclusively to their own benefit.
From Godfree’s newsletter about one of China’s minorities that I had actually never heard of. The Naxi, one of China’s 55 ethnic minorities, have long been popular with anthropologists, but its folk music is routinely overlooked. A new album hopes to change that. It might not be your style, but something different and away from war is always welcome.
Video.
Chinese first grade graduation
A MUST see. Pretty classic. video 5MB
Pretty Chinese girls in bikinis
Some nice girls showing off clevage in fine nice bikinis. video 4MB
Tender Pork Spare Ribs
Celebrity Chef used this braising method for baby back ribs, here is a variation of it for pork spare ribs.
Thus, the seasonings are changed to fit the meat, and there is an increased cooking time. Almost all reports indicated great satisfaction with the ribs, and pershaps you all should give them a try as well.
They’re really tender and the meat is so flavorful that you don’t have to add BBQ sauce unless you want to.
Rufus delivery guy
You are not your job. You are beyond that. Be the Rufus. Video 3MB
Ukraine Refugees in Ireland suffering strange new illness
Almost 30 Ukrainians at a Cork County refugee center in Ireland, many who arrived within the past 48 hours, are being treated for a mystery illness.
The individuals – all based at a facility in north Cork – complained of feeling unwell on Saturday with several saying their symptoms worsened overnight.
The symptoms ranged from headaches, nausea, dizziness and high temperatures to coughing.
A group of 47 Ukrainian refugees had arrived over the past 36 hours at an emergency rest center at Banteer in north Cork.
All are understood to have arrived in Ireland over recent days after travelling here from Ukraine and bordering countries.
As a precautionary measure, both local GPs and paramedics attended the Banteer facility.
Assessments are now underway by the medical teams in a bid to determine the precise nature and source of the mystery illness.
While full Covid-19 precautions are being taken, coronavirus is not believed to be the primary suspect.
Cork is currently in the grip of major bouts of ordinary flu and cold outbreaks.
Cold and flu medications sales across some parts of Cork have soared by over 80pc over recent weeks.
UKRAINE BIOLABS THE SOURCE?
The existence of Biolabs inside Ukraine, being run by the US Department of Defense, may be implicated in this.
The existence of these labs was exposed as Russia began demilitarizing and de-nazifying Ukraine. If any of the pathogens inside any of those labs were loosed, then the cause of these sick Ukrainians is a massive concern.
HAL TURNER EDITORIAL OPINION
It would not be unheard of that someone did something like this deliberately.
Ireland is a small island which is basically Bankrupt, where they want 80% of the population dead because Brussels took all the pensions, whose population are no longer bright enough or liberty-minded enough to question or challenge what restrictions are imposed upon them, as witnesses with the COVID fraud.
Ireland basically became a zone of locked-down mask zombies doing everything they were told, even though none of the masks or lockdowns had much effect upon the spread of COVID.
In fact, the population of Ireland is now so pathetic, that local councils ORDERED families to take in refugees . . . . into private homes . . . . and the Irish just do as they’re told. No fight-for-freedom seems to be left in them at all.
The fact that the population there is so malleable and compliant might make the island an interesting place for a bio-weapon test.
Some of the sociopaths running various governments might have decided to loose some strange new disease on an island, where people coming and going can be tightly controlled, to sit back and watch how a potential new bioweapon spreads and kills.
Drunk Vietnames girl
Getting a drunk chick home is always a hassle. But this is extra difficult being in rural Vietnam. Sheech! video 8MB
OPINION: America is now broken beyond repair. Only force of arms can stop its total destruction
You know America is now broken beyond repair because states are literally at war with each other.
Have you seen the busloads of illegal aliens being shipped out of Texas and into Washington, DC and into Delaware? Could you ever even IMAGINE states forcibly doing things like this to each other?
We also have States – like California – boycotting other states, like Florida and many others, over the laws enacted by citizens of those other states.
I mean step back for just a second to a quiet place and clear your thoughts. Then try to look from an outside, big picture perspective, and let it sink in for just a moment.
The very first thing that will flood over you is there’s no playbook for where this is going. Since when have we had two powerful states begin an actual physical counter attack.
That’s really something more then sending a message. It’s aggressive and provoking.
The union is fracturing and it’s largely passed-off-as (and accepted as) “politics.” It’s not politics; it’s Civil War.
Really take a sec to feel the gravity of states using physical means to effect change. That’s a big one.
There is an endless corrosive force causing the union to deteriorate at a grinding pace.
If we could stop everything and take inventory of the damage thus far, we’d see that it’s already too late. Its not going back together like it was say, in 2005, without force.
Meanwhile, the population is arguing among themselves over which politician they will allow to control their basic human rights. The ignorance and outright idiocy of the masses is frightening. They don’t even TALK about “liberty.”
American’s are all talking about the same things this Easter Holiday weekend:
The Fact that their children will never have any type of life close to what we had. No owned home, no beater winter car, no wife, or husband potentially, no decent paying wage job, a crappy diet.
Mom and Dad’s legacy won’t last. Any inheritance will get eaten up by inflation as well as their retirement fund.
The Southern border invasion – ongoing at the invitation of our public servants in Washington.
Covert war with Russia happening right now in Ukraine, and looming direct, open war with China looming.
Empty retail everywhere.
Heartless greedy people abound.
Even the church we attend could care less about the situation with housing. Which is really weird as Easter Sunday is here.
The Nation is Divided more than it ever has been.
I’ve never seen it so hopeless. I have hope but it’s shaken to the core.
Most people do not understand the ramifications of what’s occurring. They also do not realize that past predicts future. They will likely willfully resist understanding even as the effects of this roll over them.
The GLUE (Christianity) that held America together, has been dissolved. (When the United States was created, America was almost 100% Christian, and TAKEN SERIOUSLY)
As America falls headlong into DEPRAVITY and MORAL COLLAPSE, we can recall a WARNING:
"...we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made ONLY FOR A MORAL AND RELIGIOUS PEOPLE. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." - John Adams, founder and second president
In 1979 was the first time I read the Bible cover to cover. All I can say is that I didn’t think it would take this long for all that Revelation stuff to start.
I think COVID Horseman One of the Apocalypse.
I think Horseman Two is the red horse, war. We are here.
It does not get better and the US will not be rescued.
We are heading into the ultimate SHTF scenario. The Bible says it will be the worst time that anyone has ever seen on this planet and that if He did not return, all flesh on this planet would be lost.
Does that mean that all flesh will have turned into machine? Is that what the mark of the beast warning is about, that we cannot be saved if we take the mark? Is it because of transhumanism? You bet it is.
Now is the time to get as off grid, down low, and out of sight as possible. Hide your stored food. Don’t talk about it with neighbors unless they are prepping too and are working with you.
War is coming to US soil. Some will survive, but your guns will not save you. Only Jesus can save you, and the Holy Spirit will direct your path to hide you, so it’s time to get real about what is actually coming.
Of course, this is going to occur on God’s schedule, not mine or yours. He may have more than a few twists and turns planned, even if only to allow more to be saved from what’s coming.
He’s been quite merciful in granting time for people to repent, given the perfidy and abominations currently extant in the world, and getting worse daily.
It might be a longer race than you or I anticipate, so be sure to pace yourself – you don’t want to burn out before the end arrives.
Someone recently told me “The plan is to break the United States into 4 new nations.” The northeast, southeast, Midwest, and west coast.
I thought about it and it seems to me that once you realize this, everything that happens makes sense.
The only way they can get global government is to break the United States apart.
China and Russia are on board and that’s why the typical Republican voter stands with Russia and the typical Democratic voter stands with China.
Both countries are flooding both sides with their own propaganda designed to further divide the country.
The WEF fans the flames on both sides knowing a break up allows them to better push their build back better.
Wall St. knows they will fail but they also know what the back up plan is, and it’s why they’re moving everything Florida.
All 4 parties have a vested interest in watching America be split apart so all 4 are working together even though their end goals are all not the same.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) will have massive influence over the northeastern region – including eastern Canada – as the UN will be the head of their global government. New York will be the capital and they will operate out of their region of old America.
The Russians will have a lot of influence over the Midwest and Southeast – there’s speculation Alberta, Saskatchewan, NW territory, the Yukon, and Alaska will join the Midwestern/Southeastern bloc stretching the new nations lands from western Alaska to Southeastern Florida.
Like Russia it will be sparsely populated but incredibly energy rich.
These regions are largely conservative and thus already set up to be friendly with Russia.
The Russians will ally with this nation and run roads over to Alaska and down into the midwest for trade.
The bankers will operate out of this region.
The west coast nation will likely encompass Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii and western Canada. This region will be largely controlled by the Chinese as these populations are already friendly towards China.
All 4 regions will be used in some fashion by all 4 groups but all 4 groups will position themselves to be friendly with at least 1 region. WEF for the Northeast, Bankers for the Southeast, Russians for the Midwest, China for the West coast.
Anyone hoping for a return of old America must move to the Midwest and Southeast now.
Although we will be weaker than we are today we still have a fighting chance in these regions when all this goes down.
When you really sit back in a quiet place this is what you realize… They’re gonna break the nation into 4 and practically everything they’re doing is in preparation for this; Unless Americans step up and start emitting some well placed bullets.
Think that’s harsh? Let me show you “harsh:”
$30 Trillion in debt is catastrophic. And that’s just the current book debt.
Unfunded liabilities in the next 20 years are over a $100 trillion.
The welfare state exceed $1.1 trillion for fiscal 2016. The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) reported 66% of the welfare state were immigrants.
And what are they still bringing-in across the southern border? Yea. More immigrants. ILLEGAL ONES to boot!
Exactly what would you say should be done with the people doing these things? Exactly what, about their deliberate choices, can be fixed?
“Vote them out” you say? You fool. The election in November 2020 was outright stolen. There is no voting them out anymore. The whole election system is a fraud.
The courts refused to hear election cases; so the courts are a fraud as well.
The whole system has become a corrupt, immoral, out-of-control, tyrannical, joke.
There are no peaceful means to redress grievances anymore.
November 2020 and January 6, 2021 demonstrated to me that our Constitutional Republic is all but dead. I decided that January that it was time to give up hope for a nationally recognized leader to restore the Republic.
I just know that a legitimate movement needs a recognized leader, otherwise it’s just disorganized rabble that’s easily labeled and discredited as “terrorists” then picked off as lone wolves.
It is time for people to move to areas that contain concentrations of like minded people. If you’re a freedom loving constitutionalist that’s living in a blue city or State, it’s time to move, now. Even if you take a temporary financial loss, it will be worth it in the long run.
States are now conducting open aggressive acts toward each other and towards the federal government.
As a nation, we have crossed the Rubicon, there’s no going back to what America once was; what past generations hoped it would be. The corruption and treason runs too deep.
Don’t be like so many victims throughout history, the ones that clung to a misplaced sense of hope that things would get better or that things really won’t get “that bad.”
History books show those are the ones that wound up in front of firing squads, in gulags, or murdered in their homes.
Don’t view it as running, it is more about consolidation of power, strength in numbers, and having your family somewhere safe instead of behind enemy lines.
We in the USA have been heading the same direction as the former Soviet Union for quite some time now…..the journey is just picking up steam as the inevitable becomes obvious to more and more of us….there isn’t a damn thing “united” about The United States anymore….time to accept that simple fact.
The gig is up.
Going to college, having a job and a family, working hard to pay off a home for a chill retirement? Its all dead now.
So what’s the plan? Just live in daily fear and survive until the next shoe drops?
There are very few choices now. Food and basic survival will drown out all other issues. It’s the desperation I’m worried about. People do fucked-up shit when they are desperate.
Is there a limit to what you would do if your child was looking in your eyes and crying from hunger? No.
That’s when the gloves come off and shit gets real.
Hold on tight. There is more to the story.
If this country is ever demoralized, it will come from trying to live without work. - Abraham Lincoln Demoralization of the target audience is yet another step in successful mind control. - Joost Meerloo They are contaminated; they are programmed to think and react to certain stimuli in a certain pattern. You cannot change their mind, even if you expose them to authentic information, even if you prove that white is white and black is black, you still cannot change the basic perception and logic of behavior. In other words, these people... the process of de- moralization is complete and irreversible. - Yuri Bezmenov
The incoming collapse is going to hit so many unprepared.
Its not myself I worry for, its the rest of society and how to navigate their foolishness and impending downfall, for being shortsighted and distracted, while the government unraveled the economy over the past decade. Pretty much since QE began, which ultimately would doom us all in the long run. And here we are.
Until the Keynesian tribe rot is gone it WILL remain broken no matter what new bullshit they try.
If you want to know what the future of the country looks like, visit Detroit. This is what is eventually coming to the rest of the country. Burned out buildings, 50% unemployment, corrupt and criminal politicians, bribery, graft, gangs, drugs, casinos, prostitution, devastating environmental pollution. No place is it safe to walk in Detroit or you risk getting mugged, shot, or beaten even in broad daylight.
This malaise is now spreading to the suburbs. In Detroit, it started seeping into the surrounding towns, like Lincoln Park, Melvindale. But now it is going even further into suburbs further away.
I’ve always said that if you don’t have a thriving, safe city, then the disease will spread. The suburbs of these cities like Detroit are getting caught in the same downward spiral. If Detroit were prosperous and safe, it would cascade to the surrounding communities, like it did in the 1920s when it was one of the wealthiest cities in the world.
Same with Chicago. Same here in New York.
There is no going back, no do-over, and no fixing this. Get ready.
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One of my favorite Chinese girls
She’s just so darn cute! Here she is exercising in her home with her little doggie. video 4MB
Russia says it destroyed Ukrainian air defense systems gifted by unidentified European country
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NO Dumping : No more transfer of Western pollution to Asia tolerated :
How we enter buildings in China
This is mature technology, and is starting to become more and more common. Even here in tiny Zhuhai, China. video 1MB
Spain outraged at the arrival of a US nuclear submarine in Gibraltar – Euro Weekly News
Do not be ashamed of who you are
You are NOT your job. You are never your job. It is just what you have to do while you are working on other things. video 2MB
Ukraine: Russia set to launch ‘space war’ to destroy Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites
China increase export tariffs
US inflation and interest rates: why the Fed needs help from China
China’s got problems, but inflation ain’t one of them
We’re building the universal network of encyclopedias.
A lot of people have complained to us about how biased Wikipedia is, how there needs to be an effective alternative or a decentralized network of encyclopedias. But we are not building an alternative encyclopedia. We are networking together all the alternatives. Nobody has ever done this before, and it’s about time somebody did. This is what we should have done with Wikipedia in the first place.
Crowdsourcing has been replaced by a panel of experts because the Crowd turned out to be run by a few cynical manipulators and a lot of Useful Idiots nodding enthusiastically.
Chinese girl
I think that she is a stunner. video 7MB
Raising Chickens 101: How to Get Started
I thought that this would make great “food for thought” to those of you in the United States that are staring at really high prices for chicken eggs. THis is from “The Almanac” and all credit to them.
Why Should You Raise Chickens?
There’s a lot to like about raising chickens in your backyard. The eggs are a real temptation—tastier and fresher than any store-bought eggs, and better for baking, too. The shells, along with the chicken poop, can be tossed right into the compost pile. Much of the day, the birds entertain themselves, picking at grass, worms, beetles, and all of the good things that go into making those yummy farm eggs. Plus, with their keen eye for insect pests, chickens make for great gardening companions.
Remember, though: Nothing good comes easy!
Things to Consider Before Getting Chickens
- First, check local town ordinances to ensure that keeping chickens is even allowed in your neighborhood or if there is a limit to the number of chickens you can keep at once. The last thing you want is to invest time and money into preparing for chickens and then find out that you can’t even keep them!
- Make sure you have the space for a henhouse or a full-size chicken coop. It has to hold a feeder and water containers, a roosting area, and a nest box for every three hens. A proper coop should be large enough that you can stand in it to gather eggs and shovel manure comfortably, but a simple henhouse can be quite a bit smaller. Plus, any housing must be sturdy enough to keep your chickens safe from all the predators out there! Here’s how to build a chicken coop in your backyard.
- Chickens need food (and water) daily. Feed is about $20 per 50-pound bag at my co-op, but prices vary depending on your location and the quality of the feed. How long a bag lasts depends on the number of chickens that you have.
- Hens will lay eggs through spring and summer and into the fall, as long as they have 12 to 14 hours of daylight. Expect to collect eggs daily, or even twice a day.
- All year ‘round, you’ll have to shovel manure. Yippee!
- If you go away on vacation, you’ll need a reliable chicken-sitter—and they can be scarcer than hens’ teeth!
How to Raise Chickens: Flock Size, Spacing, and Start-Up Cost
How Many Chickens Should I Keep?
Chickens are sociable creatures, so plan to keep three to six birds. With this amount, you’ll always have a steady supply of eggs, since an adult hen lays about two eggs every three days, on average.
Chickens are most productive in the first two years of their lives; after that, egg production will slow, so you’ll need to think about replacing your flock with younger birds eventually. Young chicks can be bought from suppliers quite easily, or you can hatch your own if you have a rooster (which we do NOT recommend). Read more about raising baby chicks here!
How Much Space Do Chickens Need?
Ultimately, it depends on which breed of chicken you’re raising. According to the University of Missouri Extension, one medium-sized chicken needs at least 3 square feet of floor space inside the coop and 8-10 square feet outdoors. The more space, the happier and healthier the chickens will be; overcrowding contributes to disease and feather picking.
The birds will need a place to spread their wings, so to speak: a sizeable chicken run, for example, or a whole backyard. (Our hens have lots of outdoor time. They have places to take a dust bath and catch a few rays.) Either way, the space must be fenced in order to keep the chickens in and predators out. (Predators include your own Fido and Fluffy, too!) Add chicken-wire fencing to your list of equipment.
How Much Does Keeping Chickens Cost?
All of this costs money, of course. The materials to build and furnish a coop and a 20×5-foot run—including wood, fencing, and hardware—are going to set you back at least $300. If you can’t do this work yourself, you’ll also be buying skilled labor.
Overall, expect to spend between $500 and $700 when just getting started, depending on the size of your flock, coop, and run.
Gardening with Chickens
Most folks who keep chickens do so largely for the constant supply of fresh eggs, but did you know that keeping chickens can be also be beneficial for the garden?
When the gardening season has finished for the year, let the chickens into your gardening space and watch them go crazy! They’ll uproot the stems and stalks of weeds and gobble up any damaged or overripe vegetables that remain. They’ll eat any weed seeds or insects they find in the soil, and will peck apart and digest vegetable remnants, especially broccoli stems, carrot tops, chard, and kale. After that, they’ll scratch the ground and peck out hidden worms or insects, mixing up the soil in the process—all with endless enthusiasm and curiosity.
Chickens don’t only provide a constant supply of fresh eggs—they produce an endless amount of manure, too. Luckily, chicken poo can be composted, aged, and eventually added to the garden. In about 6 months’ time, you will accumulate about 1 cubic foot of manure per chicken.
During your daily cleaning of the coop, collect and pile up the chicken poop and used bedding materials. The best decomposition occurs when the pile is 2 parts poop to 1 part bedding materials. Lawn clippings and fruit and vegetable kitchen scraps, as well as leaves, twigs, and shredded paper, can also be added into the mix. Soak the pile and, over the next year or so, wet and stir it regularly to add air. A temperature of 130°F to 150°F is recommended to eliminate bacteria.
More of Raising Chickens 101
Still interested in raising chickens? See more of our beginner’s guide below:
- Part 2: Choosing the Right Chicken Breeds
- Part 3: How to Build a Chicken Coop
- Part 4: Raising Baby Chicks
- Part 5: Collecting, Cleaning, and Storing Chicken Eggs
- Part 6: When Chickens Stop Laying Eggs
- Part 7: 5 Common Chicken Health Problems
A Rufus tale
Be the person that makes a difference. Be the Rufus. You might fall flat on your face, but it doesn’t matter if you are successful or not. What matters is that you try. video 7MB
Conclusion
A little bit of minor planning right now can guarantee a nice supply of breakfast eggs that would go a long way to help reduce your daily food expenses. Don’t be like the rest. Provide services, have skills, and minor prep work now could really be advantageous in the future for you all.
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my latest index; A New Beginning. And in it are elements of the old, some elements regarding the transition, and some elements that look towards the future.
New Beginnings 3.
Articles & Links
Master Index.
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