Not yet mentioned is the increasingly solid ties between Iran, Russia, China. Seeing the situation moving further and further out of control the US moves the only levers it still has. Posted by: oldhippie | Oct 15 2022 18:34 utc | 11
This is a very interesting time.
Please you all continue with your affirmation campaigns, and just treat the “news” softly. As time moves forward the delusions of the West are really manifesting.
Trade with China
Twenty years ago, and today after the Donald Trump years.
Pulp Fiction: Rescuing Marsellus Wallace (HD CLIP)
Illusory to think US can and will remain both rich and ungovernable for long
There are far too many “leaders” and “journalists” in the West with too large of egos. Even when things are crumbling and crashing down around them, they still exalt that their situation is failing the most successfully.
At least that is the picture that Edward Luce for the Financial Times has painted. He argues that “America is history’s most successful failing state” and that the US serves as an example that a nation can be both “rich and ungovernable.” Luce then goes on to argue that while the US is failing and faces a very challenging future ahead, it’s not all bad because other powerful nations are also facing challenges.
Even when Western pundits are discussing the inevitable decline of the US as a hegemon in a unipolar world, they still attempt to find a way to attack Russia, China, or any other country striving for multipolarity and global fairness. The decline, Luce argues, can actually be traced back to the increasing polarization and divide between Democrats and Republicans. This is also a grossly misguided analysis of the current geopolitical situation.
To argue that the US is declining on the world stage and domestically because of polarization between Democrats and Republicans is to ignore a multitude of problems that average people in the US as well as across the world are all blaringly aware of. The US, like much of the Western world, is facing a cost-of-living crisis driven by financial speculation, wealthy profiteers and generally bad economic policy.
It is important to keep in mind that the two countries that Luce and every other mainstream Western commentator demonize in their articles – Russia and China – are not facing this crisis and are economically sound despite sanctions and economic war being waged on them. The American economy is inching towards recession, working people and families are struggling with rising costs and wages that have been frozen for decades, and political leadership has no answers for these issues; both parties are elite hubs of the status quo.
The humanitarian crisis presented in the US is alarming. Infrastructure is crumbling, people are desperate, and major cities across the US, like Jackson, Mississippi, are facing a clean water crisis; yet the US government still sees it as appropriate to send billions of dollars to Ukraine so the latter can buy more weapons. Does this have nothing to do with the decline of the US on the world stage? Life expectancy for US workers continues to fall, yet Pentagon budgets continue to climb, and the hundreds of military bases across the world continue to stay open.
It is clear to most observers that a radical change in the geopolitical arena has occurred, especially aggravated in the past year or so. People want a better world of peace, multilateralism, and cooperation, and for that to be built, there cannot be a hegemon that continues to defy common sense and international law. The people of the world and the US deserve better.
Luce’s point that the US can and will remain both rich and ungovernable is at best only true in the short term. The US may be “rich,” but the vast majority of the people are not: They are poor or working class, exploited by others in order to make the exploiters rich. No system that is built on the exploitation of a man by another man is sustainable, and the cracks have already begun to show.
The US will continue to be and will become more and more ungovernable as long as anarcho-capitalism and neoliberalism, guided by Wall Street and Washington, continue to rule the roost. As the US becomes more unequal, more violent, more desperate, and more anti-democratic with each passing day, ungovernability will be the least of the ruling class’s problem; rebellion will become a big part of the oligarchs’ day.
Rory Gallagher-Bad Penny (Rockpalast 1982)
Sin City | ‘Fair Trade’ (HD) – Bruce Willis, Michael Madsen
Classic Noir.
If a person is blacklisted from entering China, can they ever be allowed to enter again? How long does it take for them to be able to go back into the country?
China has three lists
- Persona Non Grata (Diplomatic)
- Whitelist
- Redlist
Persona Non Grata (Diplomatic)
This is for people who commit crimes in China or do something stupid. Once made Persona Non Grata, they can NEVER enter China again (They can enter HK though, as per the One Country Two Government rules)
PNG status has to be revoked. Normally if Passport number changes, PNG gets forgotten as it’s linked to passport number. Chinese rarely try a name match and unless your name is very rare, you can get away.
However if China drop a case against you in lieu of deportation and you enter China on another passport by ignoring PNG status – China can try the case against you plus also charge you for Unlawful Entry (B)
Revoking PNG is possible by appeal after a said time.
Whitelist
This is basically a list of people forbidden to enter China by name and nationality rather than passport number.
Mainly Journalists and Sanctioned Officials from other Nations.
Revoking a whitelisted official is far easier than revoking a PNG as there is no Criminal Code Or Legal involvement and it’s primarily political
Whitelisted officials can enter China if permitted to do so for limited time for specific purposes.
For instance a BBC Journalist on a Whitelist may temporarily enter China for 7 days to meet his wife or to repatriate his account or some such personal work.
Called Whitelist because it mainly involves Diplomatic Passports which may be white in color.
Red List
Individuals on Interpols Red List or Yellow List or Red Notices or Yellow Notices
They can enter China if they hold Chinese Passports but otherwise they may be detained by the Authorities if they enter China and held for upto 48 hours waiting for a Legal Warrant. If Warrant doesn’t materialize, they will either be deported (98%) or allowed to enter (2%)
Revoking must be done by Interpol or a Chinese Court.
Finally you have the No Fly List
Chinese Nationals and Residents can be placed on a No Fly List for various reasons
Growth of the Chinese middle class in 20 years
AC/DC – Highway to Hell
Mike Pompeo Just Proved the US Government Hates China
Interesting video.
Taiwan President Suddenly Realizes War with China “Isn’t A Good Idea”. Willing to Negotiate and Cooperate with China
Growth of the Chinese high speed train network in the last 15 years
Ren Zhengfei speaks
The Huawei CEO and founder is always known for making controversial comments which always prove true.
Among them:
- “When Huawei bought US patents and brought them back to China, we found that all of the chip technology inventors and engineers came from China. It is just that they went to the US to develop their careers and patent their inventions.”
- “It is better not to hire people from Beijing University and Tsinghua University because they all want to go to the US to advance their careers. People who stay and work hard in China are better; these are the people Huawei wants.”
- “Chinese society cannot afford to become like US society where capital is above everything else, because if that happens, research and development costs would be cut to the bone, and we would become like the US where money is used to measure success. In China, we must use science and technology to measure success.”
- “When the US seized Meng Wanzhou (Ren’s daughter and Huawei CFO), they moved too late and seized someone who could not make a difference.”
I find everything he says to be very interesting and inspiring. There is always something to think about.
“Reservoir Dogs” Best Scene HD
Simplified Recipe: Chinese Pork Belly w/ Preserved Vegetables (Mei Cai) 梅菜扣肉 Mui Choy Pork
One of my favorites.
Some of Us Don’t Think the Russian Invasion Was “Aggression.” Here’s Why.
If the US deployed troops to Mexico to protect American expats from being bombarded by the Mexican army, would you regard that deployment as an ‘unprovoked aggression’ or a rescue mission?
.
Imagine if the Mexican army started bombarding American ex-pats living in Mexico with heavy artillery-rounds killing thousands and leaving thousands more wounded. What do you think Joe Biden would do?
Would he brush it off like a big nothingburger and move on or would he threaten the Mexican government with a military invasion that would obliterate the Mexican Army, level their biggest cities, and send the government running for cover?
Which of these two options do you think Biden would choose?
There’s no doubt what Biden would do nor is there any question what the 45 presidents who preceded him would do. No US leader would ever stand by and do nothing while thousands of Americans were savagely slaughtered by a foreign government. That just wouldn’t happen. They’d all respond quickly and forcefully.
But if that’s true, then why isn’t the same standard applied to Russia? Isn’t the situation in Ukraine nearly identical?
It is nearly identical, only the situation in Ukraine is worse, much worse. And if we stretch our analogy a bit, you’ll see why:
Let’s say, the US Intelligence agencies discovered that the Mexican government was not acting alone, but was being directed to kill and maim American ex-pats on orders from the Chinese Communist government in Beijing. Can you imagine that?
And the reason the Chinese government wants to kill Americans in Mexico is because they want to lure the US into a long and costly war that will “weaken” the US and pave way for its ultimate splintering into many pieces that China can control and exploit. Does any of this sound familiar? (Check out the Rand Strategy for weakening Russia here)
So, let’s say, the Chinese are actually the driving force behind the war in Mexico. Let’s say, they toppled the Mexican government years earlier and installed their own puppet regime to do their bidding. Then they armed and trained vast numbers of troops to fight the Americans. They supplied these warriors with cutting-edge weapons and technology, logistical support, satellite and communications assistance, tanks, armored vehicles, anti-ship missiles, and state-of-the-art artillery units all of which were provided with one goal in mind; to crush America in a proxy war that was concocted, controlled and micro-managed from the Chinese Capital of Beijing
Is such a scenario possible?
It is possible, in fact, this very same scenario is playing out right now in the Ukraine, only the perpetrator of the hostilities is the United States not China, and the target of this malign strategy is Russia not the US. Surprisingly, the Biden administration isn’t even trying to hide what they’re up-to anymore. They’re openly arming, training, funding, and directing Ukrainian troops to prosecute a war aimed at killing Russian soldiers and removing Putin from power. That’s the objective and everyone knows it.
And the whole campaign is based on the sketchy claim that Russia is guilty of “unprovoked aggression”. That’s the whole deal in a nutshell. The moral justification for the war rests on the unverified assumption that Russia committed a criminal offense and broke international law by invading Ukraine. But, did they?
Let’s see if that assumption is correct or if it’s just another fake claim by a dissembling media that never stops tweaking the narrative to build the case for war.
First of all, answer this one question related to the analogy above: If the US deployed troops to Mexico to protect American expats from being bombarded by the Mexican army, would you regard that deployment as an ‘unprovoked aggression’ or a rescue mission?
Rescue mission, right? Because the primary intention was to save lives not seize the territory of another sovereign country.
Well, that’s what Putin was doing when he sent his tanks into Ukraine. He was trying stop the killing of civilians living in the Donbas whose only fault was that they were ethnic Russians committed to their own culture and traditions. Is that a crime?
Take a look at this map.
This map is the key to understanding how the war in Ukraine started. It tells us who did the provoking and who was being provoked. It tells us who was dropping the bombs and who was getting bombed. It tells us who was causing the trouble and who was being blamed for the trouble-making. The map tells us everything we need to know.
Can you see the yellow dots? Those dots represent the artillery strikes that were documented in daily summaries by “observers of the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE), positioned at the frontlines.” The vast majority of the strikes were in the area inhabited by Russian-speaking people who have been under military siege for the last 8 years. (14,000 ethnic Russians have been killed in the fighting since 2014.) The Minsk Agreements were drawn up to resolve the issues between the warring parties and end the hostilities, but the government in Kiev refused to implement the agreement. In fact, the former President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, even admitted that the treaty was just a vehicle for buying time until another full-scale offensive on the Donbas could be launched.
In short, the Ukrainian government never had any intention of reaching a peaceful settlement with leaders of the Donbas. Their goal was to intensify the conflict in order to provoke Russia and draw them into a protracted war that would exhaust their resources and collapse their economy. The long-range objective was to remove Putin from office and replace him with a Washington-backed stooge that would do as he was told. US officials– including Joe Biden- have even admitted that their plan involved regime change in Moscow. We should take them at their word.
The map provides a visual account of the events leading up the Russian invasion. It cuts through the lies and identifies the true origins of the war which can be traced back to the heavy artillery strikes launched by the Ukrainian Army more than a week before the Russian invasion. (February 24) The massive shelling was aimed at the Russian-speaking people living in an area in east Ukraine. These are the people who were being bombarded by their fellow Ukrainians.
What Really Happened?
On February 16—a full 8 days before the Russian invasion—the shelling of the Donbas increased dramatically and steadily intensified for the next week “to over 2,000 per day on February 22.” As we said, these blasts were logged in daily summaries by observers of the OSCE who were on the frontlines. Think about that for a minute. In other words, these are eyewitness accounts by trained professionals who collected documented evidence of the Ukrainian Army’s massive bombardment of areas inhabited by their own people.
Would this evidence hold up in a court of law if a case against the Ukrainian government was ever presented before an international tribunal trying to assign accountability for the hostilities?
We think it would. We think the evidence is rock-solid. In fact, we have not read or heard of even one analyst who has challenged this vast catalogue of documented evidence. Instead, the media simply pretends the proof doesn’t exist. They have simply swept the evidence under the rug or vanished it from their coverage altogether in order to shape a Washington-centric version of events that completely ignores the historical record. But facts are facts. And the facts don’t change because the media fails to report them. And what the facts suggest is that the war in Ukraine is a Washington-concocted war no different than Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya or Syria. Once again, Uncle Sam’s bloody fingerprints are all over this sorry affair.
Check out this summary of ceasefire violations posted on podcast host Martyr Made’s twitter account:
Martyr Made @martyrmade
On Feb 15, the OSCE recorded 41 ceasefire violations as Kiev’s forces began shelling Donbas.
Feb 16: 76 violations
Feb 17: 316
Feb 18: 654
Feb 19: 1,413
Feb 20-21: 2,026
Feb 22: 1,484
…virtually all by the Kiev side. Feb 24: Russian forces intervene
Notice how the shelling of the Donbas increased every day before the invasion?
I’d call that a thoroughly-calculated provocation, wouldn’t you?
Why does this matter?
It matters because the vast majority of people have been hoodwinked into supporting a war for which there is no moral justification. This is not a case of “unprovoked aggression”. Not even close. And Putin is not an out-of-control tyrant bent on reconstituting the Soviet Empire by terrorizing his neighbors and seizing their territory. That is a complete fabrication based on nothing but speculation. In Putin’s own words, he invaded Ukraine because he had no choice. His own people were being ruthlessly exterminated by an army that acts on Washington’s orders alone. He had to invade, there was no other option. Putin felt a moral obligation to defend the ethnic Russians in Ukraine who could not defend themselves. Is that aggression? Here’s a bit more background from an article at The Intercept by James Risen:
Despite staging a massive military buildup on his country’s border with Ukraine for nearly a year, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not make a final decision to invade until just before he launched the attack in February, according to senior current and former U.S. intelligence officials.
In December, the CIA issued classified reports concluding that Putin hadn’t yet committed to an invasion, according to the current and former officials. In January, even as the Russian military was starting to take the logistical steps necessary to move its troops into Ukraine, U.S. intelligence again issued classified reporting maintaining that Putin had still not resolved to actually launch an attack, the officials said.
It wasn’t until February that the agency and the rest of the U.S. intelligence community became convinced that Putin would invade, the senior official added. With few other options available at the last minute to try to stop Putin, President Joe Biden took the unusual step of making the intelligence public, in what amounted to a form of information warfare against the Russian leader. He also warned that Putin was planning to try to fabricate a pretext for invasion, including by making false claims that Ukrainian forces had attacked civilians in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which is controlled by pro-Russian separatists. The preemptive use of intelligence by Biden revealed “a new understanding … that the information space may be among the most consequential terrain Putin is contesting,” observed Jessica Brandt of the Brookings Institution.”
Biden’s warning on February 18 that the invasion would happen within the week turned out to be accurate. In the early hours of February 24, Russian troops moved south into Ukraine from Belarus and across Russia’s borders into Kharkiv, the Donbas region, and Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.” (“U.S. Intelligence Says Putin Made a Last-Minute Decision to Invade Ukraine”, James Risen, The Intercept)
There’s so much baloney in this excerpt, it’s hard to know where to begin. But just review the timeline we provided earlier; a timeline that has been verified by officials from the OSCE. Can you see the discrepancy?
Biden issued his warning on February 18; that’s two days after monitors from the OSCE reported an intensification of the bombing in the Donbas. In other words, Biden already knew that his buddies in the Ukrainian army were bombing the shit out of east Ukraine when he tried to make it look like he was privy to some sensitive, insider information about the upcoming invasion.
Of course, he knew Putin was going to invade! They created the provocation that forced him to invade! They were bombing the hell out of the people Putin is obliged to protect. What else could he do? Any leader worth his salt would have done same thing.
What bothers me is that people continue support the war in Ukraine because they have no idea of what actually happened in the lead-up to the invasion. They know nothing about the relentless bombing of civilians, or the defiant rejection of Minsk or the repeated military attacks on the Donbas, or the or the plan to retake Crimea through force of arms. or the laws directed against ethnic Russians, or the rise of Nazi fascism in Kiev. They know nothing about any of these things. Their views on Ukraine are entirely shaped by the rubbish they read in the western media or hear on the cable news channels where the deluge of propaganda issues like a mighty river pulling the population inexorably towards another vicious neocon bloodbath.
People must know the truth or this war will escalate into something far worse.
Amazing Gary Oldman Drexl Scene from True Romance
It’s Not Working! The Fed’s War On Inflation Is FAILING And That Has Very Serious Implications For Our Future
Earlier this year the Federal Reserve declared war on inflation, and since that time we have seen a series of interest rate hikes that has been absolutely breathtaking. We knew that this would negatively impact the financial markets, and we have already seen trillions of dollars in asset values wiped out. We also knew that this would negatively impact the housing market, and right now housing prices are plummeting all over the nation. But Fed officials assured us that any short-term “pain” would be worth it because inflation would be brought under control. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. In fact, on Thursday we learned that the core consumer price index has just hit “the highest level since 1982”…
A closely watched measure of US consumer prices rose by more than forecast to a 40-year high in September, pressuring the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates even more aggressively to stamp out persistent inflation. The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, increased 6.6% from a year ago, the highest level since 1982, Labor Department data showed Thursday. From a month earlier, the core CPI climbed 0.6% for a second month. The overall CPI increased 0.4% last month, and was up 8.2% from a year earlier.
The Fed has been repeatedly hitting inflation with an over-sized sledgehammer, and it isn’t working.
Prices just continue to surge higher month after month.
In particular, the price of food is rising at a rate that is extremely alarming…
Prices at the grocery store continued to soar last month, adding even more pressure to shoppers’ wallets. The food at home index, a proxy for grocery store prices, increased 0.7% in September from the month prior and a stunning 13% over the last year, according to new government data released Thursday.
Fed officials assured us that they had everything under control, but it was just a charade.
Thursday’s report makes it exceedingly clear that the Fed’s plan is failing in a major way…
“This inflation report today was an unmitigated disaster,” wrote Christopher S. Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds, a financial markets research company. “It shows whatever Fed officials are doing, it is just not working.”
So will the Fed change course?
Of course not.
Instead, they are going to give us more of the same.
According to Fox Business, it is being anticipated that another 75 basis point rate hike is on the way in November…
The report will also have significant implications for the Federal Reserve, which has embarked on one of the fastest tightening paths in decades. Policymakers have already approved five straight rate hikes, including three back-to-back 75-basis-point increases, and have shown no signs of slowing down. Following the hotter-than-expected September inflation report, the central bank is widely expected to approve a fourth straight 75-basis-point increase when policymakers next meet at the beginning of November.
As I warned many months ago, these rate hikes are not going to solve the inflation crisis.
But they will absolutely kill the housing market.
This week, mortgage rates surged close to 7 percent…
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates reached their highest level in more than 20 years this week and are likely to climb even further as the Federal Reserve has all but promised more rate increases in its battle to tamp down persistent inflation. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average key 30-year rate climbed to 6.92 percent from 6.66 percent last week. Some lenders are now even offering rates above 7 percent. Last year at this time, the rate was 3.05 percent.
If the Federal Reserve keeps hiking rates, that will just push mortgage rates higher and higher.
And that will inevitably push home prices much lower.
In fact, home prices are already starting to come down all across the United States…
A home-price slump taking place across popular housing markets in the Sun Belt and other regions could result in some relative bargains for shrewd homebuyers, according to market data released Monday. The median home listing price has plunged by more than 10% in Austin, Texas, since June, according to an analysis conducted by Realtor.com. That marked the steepest decline of any city in the US over that period.
If you are a potential homeowner that has been forced out of the market by rising mortgage rates, you could try to rent a place while you wait for home prices to fall.
But thanks to raging inflation, rents are absolutely skyrocketing in many of our largest cities…
The latest numbers were released in Realtor.com’s September report, and showed that median rent across the country as a whole rose 7.8 percent last month, and remained a whopping 25 percent higher than pre-pandemic rents. The 10 cities with the highest median rent increases last month were Chicago at 23.9 percent, Boston with 19.9 percent, New York with 18.2 percent, Providence with 16.7 percent, Oklahoma City at 13.8 percent, Miami with 13.2 percent, Kansas City at 11.2 percent, San Jose with 10.7 percent, Cleveland with 9.8 percent, and Hartford with 9.6 percent.
I still remember the days when I could rent a nice apartment for 300 dollars a month.
Sadly, those days are long gone. In fact, one couple in New York recently decided to move out of the city entirely when the rent on their one-bedroom apartment went from $5,000 a month to $7,000 a month…
Last May, Charlotte, 31, and her husband packed up their one-bedroom apartment on Christopher Street after learning the rent would likely skyrocket from $5,000 per month to $7,000. The couple loved living in the West Village, but homeownership was out of reach, even with her job in finance and him being in tech. They were both working from home, so they could live anywhere. It was time, they decided, to leave New York.
Can you imagine paying $7,000 a month for a one bedroom apartment?
That is nuts!
Unfortunately, our whole system is going crazy at this point.
The great economic meltdown that I warned my readers about for so long has begun, and the months ahead are going to be very painful.
Fed officials will do all they can to fix the giant mess that they have created, but it isn’t going to work.
They have lost control, and everyone can see it.
True Romance – Sicilians
Interesting.
https://youtu.be/Jsh4SvPdfl8
Did you notice “Tony Soprano” in the background? LOL!
Why Do Chinese Live Longer Than Americans? (The Answer Will Shock You)
From the video…
Please check out this great video.
Behind The Iranian Riots
Over the last weeks there were some riots in Iran. At first there were protest about the falsely reported death of a young women, Mahsa Amini, who had suddenly collapsed (video) while waiting in a police station. She died a few days later. Mahsa Amini had previously had brain surgery and her collapse and death were related to that, not to police action.
The protests by mostly women, and supported by a well known U.S. government employee, were soon taken over by separatist groups who turned them into riots. This especially in the northwestern Kurdish border region and the southeastern Baloch region. These groups are know to have foreign support. Police stations were attacked, cars were set on fire and night riots set off. In total some 24 policemen and some 100 protesters died.
It is not the first time that such riots are happening in Iran. The 2007 riots were launched after peaceful protests against a petrol price increase and the 2017 riots after peaceful protests over general economic hardship. Each time the protests were taken over by foreign directed groups and ended in serious riots that caused some death. After a month or two the situations calmed down.
Something similar is happening now.
As usual the riots have ‘western’ media support, most notoriously from the New York Times. Here is a fine example:
‘It Was a Massacre’: How Security Forces Cracked Down in Southeastern Iran
A New York Times analysis of witness testimony and videos reveals a bloody scene that unfolded last month in Zahedan during Friday Prayer, with mats as stretchers and bodies piled in cars.
Some of the wounded tried to crawl away to escape the gunfire. Others bled to death on prayer mats as people tried to drag them to safety.But the snipers and officers kept pulling their triggers, firing bullet after bullet into men and young boys at a worship area where Friday Prayer had been underway.
That sounds as if the police were shooting at will and unprovoked. But some details strewn deeper throughout the story paint a very different picture. If one cuts out the propaganda trash about some video scenes and anonymous Iranian voices making unverifiable claims one can take a less obstructed look at the real situation:
The horrific scene unfolded on Sept. 30 in Zahedan, a city in southeastern Iran that is home to the ethnic Baluch minority, after a small group of worshipers emerged from the Great Mosalla prayer complex to confront security forces posted at a police station across the street.
…
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, an elite branch of the armed forces, has confirmed that its forces were present in Zahedan, and that six of its members were killed that day, including its regional intelligence chief, Col. Ali Mousavi, and officers from the feared Basij militia. They have denied firing on civilians.Witnesses said that a number of Iranian security officers were killed, but that they died later during street clashes.The protesters chanted antigovernment slogans and threw rocks at the officers, prompting the security forces to fire indiscriminately into the crowd, according to witnesses. As the demonstrators scattered, the gunshots stalked their retreat back toward the complex, where thousands were still praying
…
But according to the cleric and two other witnesses, a group of 10 to 15 young worshipers left the complex before prayers had concluded to gather outside the police station.A video verified by The Times shows some of the protesters throwing rocks at the police station, where security forces stood on the roof, as gunshots are heard. Witnesses said that some protesters hurled Molotov cocktails.
The forces responded with gunfire, witnesses said.
One video verified by The Times shows two men who appear to be in uniform standing alongside another man on the roof of the police station firing what seems to be a pump-action shotgun in the direction of the mosque.
…
As the day went on, more civilians swarmed into the streets as they became aware of the violence taking place in the city.They were met with Persian-speaking security forces, in traditional Baluch clothing, who emerged from cars before firing on the protesters, some of whom fought back with Molotov cocktails and bullets, according to witnesses. Most of the clashes took place on a street near the Makki mosque where hundreds had gathered.
The riots in Zahedan were organized by some well resourced group, likely financed by this or that U.S. government program:
The day before the shootings in Zahedan, protesters began calling for a “broad uprising” in “all of the towns of Baluchestan,” as an act of “solidarity with Kurdistan and in protest of the rape of the Baluch girl,” according to a poster advertising the demonstrations. The Kurdistan region of Iran has also seen major protests in recent weeks and has been subject to attacks by government forces.
The alleged ‘rape of the Baloch girl’ is unconfirmed and likely just another false accusation.
To sum it up:
A group of well organized and armed provocateurs attacked policemen and tried to set a police station on fire. The police did not agree with that. It used pump-action shotguns with can be used with either birdshot or anti-riot ammunition. More people came. Some of them had guns.
Who actually shot the people and the IRGC men who died is unexplained. Who the alleged ‘snipers’ were is also unexplained. The Times presumes that they were police but provides no evidence for that conclusion. Like during the 2014 Maidan riots the snipers might have been provocateurs hired to shot at both sides, protesters and policemen.
Zahedan is near the at times unruly border with Pakistan. That is why IRGC and other security forces are stationed there.
I find this sentence somewhat funny:
They were met with Persian-speaking security forces, in traditional Baluch clothing, …
Is this supposed to be sinister?
While Baloch people often speak Balochi, it is a local Iranian dialect. Persian (Farsi) is the official government language of Iran and taught in all schools. That some ‘Persian-speaking’ security forces were wearing the usual local civil clothing (loose long shirts without buttons) should not astonish anyone. Such undercover tactics are used all over the world.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is not amused about being lectured by ‘western’ officials about police behavior during armed riots:
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has underscored that Iran is the anchor of stability and security in the region and not the land of velvet or colorful coup, slamming foreign intervention by some Western countries in Iran.In a phone call with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, the Iranian foreign minister said that, “the death of the late Mahsa Amini is a painful for all of us,” however, he pointed out that this issue is just regarded as a pretext for (intervention of) some western authorities.
…
“Peaceful demands are different from riots, murders, arson, and terrorist operations,” he pointed out.On the same topic, the Iranian FM also questioned “Who would believe that the death of a girl is so important to Westerners? If so, what did they do to the hundreds of thousands of martyrs and dead in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Lebanon? They wanted to start a sectarian war in Iran.”
…
The Iranian FM said that for instance, in Zahedan, “there was no slogan or photo of Mahsa, and a known terrorist group tried to start a conflict between Shias and Sunnis, and they claimed responsibility for it. (The terrorist groups) did the same in part of Kurdistan, but the insight of Sunni scholars and people foiled their attempts.”
The riots have died down. The CIA will prepare the separatist groups it finances for another round to be launched when the next random reason for some peaceful protest can be found to hide in. Iran is by now well aware of this tactic and its security forces are trained to defend against such nonsense.
The Biden administration will use the Iranian police action against rioters to justify that it is breaking its election promise to reenter the nuclear deal with Iran. The U.S. will not be happy about the long term consequences of that failure.
Posted by b on October 15, 2022 at 16:51 UTC | Permalink
PEPPER STEAK | Chinese Take Out Pepper Steak
Check out this fun and tasty food…
Kremlin officials warn of ‘guaranteed escalation’ to ‘catastrophic World War 3’
After a NATO official said a Russian nuclear response would lead to the intervention of Ukraine’s allies, Russia has once again warned that meddling from the West would spark World War 3.
Russia has warned the world that global carnage would ensue if Western allies of Ukraine continue to meddle in their conflict.
They said World War 3 would be sparked if the West continue to intervene and if a nuclear war was to occur, it would “be catastrophic for all mankind”.
Should NATO approve Ukraine’s bid to join its organization, a top Kremlin official threatened global destruction.
Alexander Venediktov, the deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council said: “Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to a World War 3″.
Venediktov has insisted that the West are solely making threats of nuclear war
He claimed: “Russian officials have never voiced a threat to use any weapons of mass destruction.
“Meanwhile in Europe, some politicians openly call for such actions, even a number of politicians in the EU do not conceal and do not rule out the possibility of using weapons of mass destruction against Russia.”
Venediktov took aim at Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, claiming his “actions and words” are “dictated” by other people.
He added: “It would be good for the West to realize that their protégé can take on so much that Washington and Brussels will have to think about how to deal with the consequences.
“We must remember: a nuclear conflict will affect absolutely the whole world, and not only Russia and the collective West, but in general any country on this planet.
“Its consequences will be catastrophic for all mankind.”
Russian missiles struck more than 40 Ukrainian cities and towns on Thursday (October 13), leading to heavy destruction.
Drones also hit the region around Ukraine’s capital, which had avoided airstrikes until his week.
I Love Mallory – Natural Born Killers (1994)
Another disturbing classic.
The BEST Dan Dan Mian Authentic Dan Dan Noodles Recipe
Dongping is right: I have full confidence in China and Xi:
1) At the beginning of Xi first term, he openly: [1.1] Pledged to prepare the army for war and win war. [1.2] Zero tolerance against corruption: flies and tigers included. [1.3] He achieved both main objectives with flying colours. 2) In Xi second term, he pledged to fully eliminate poverty across China with: [2.1] precision poverty alleviation strategy. [2.2] Poverty alleviation strategy moved from helping villages to helping households, to helping individuals , and than move on to motivate the ambitious of individuals by educating them and opening up their eyes on the possibility of a better life. [2.3] Xi achieved all these wonderfully. [2.4] Xi also successfully return Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong to peace and order. 3) Xi also successfully countered US pacific pivot, trade and technological war with outstanding and beyond imagination strategies: [3.1] South China seas island building with airports, ports, military facilities etc. [3.2] Massive Belts and roads projects winning the heart and minds of many countries through AIIB loans and infrastructure projects. Strengthening relations with Russia, Iran, Saudi, UAE and many important countries and finally got Putin the great approval to build a rail system from China through two Central Asia nation to Western Europe after 20 years wait 4) no single country leaders on the planet achieved as much as Xi in his first 2 terms: [4.1] population reform from one child to 3. [4.2] Zero COVID policy. [4.3] quality GDP strategies includes property market reform aimed at controlling property prices , anti monopoly policies by restructuring and restricting the behavior of big tech companies such as Alibaba etc, turning private tuition industry into non profit sector etc. [4.4] Pension reform without tax increment through allocating 10% of SOE stock to pension finance; cut drug cost by creating a centralised administration department to approve, purchase and negotiate drug prices, successfully forcing all drugs companies to drop their prices by up to more than 90% and achieve a sustainable nationwide universal healthcare system [4.5] Digital RMB and RMB as reserve currency, reducing US dollar holding, currency swap with nations [4.6] Energy security with Saudi, UAE, Iran, Russia etc now on side as friendly nations and willing to trade in RMB [4.7] Popping one eye (NZ) from the 5 eyes, and possibly Australia will be the next to crack [4.8] Xi achievement in his first two terms are simply too lengthy to list all. So, with such able people, why can’t he lead China for the 3rd term? 5) Xi coming term is to settle Taiwan reunification: [5.1] he already started the project to build high speed rail to Taiwan. [5.2] He Strategically Making use of Nancy Pelosi Taiwan visit to up the tone of a possible shooting down her plane imagination, and ended up announcing a military exercise with an unprecedented, well coordinated large scale surrounding Taiwan military exercise, shutting down Taiwan airspace and ports for several days, and now daily PLA jets and warships crossing the middle line, and the crusaders don’t even dare to do a thing beyond sending saliva cannon. [5.3] And now, PLA military present across Taiwan and using the opportunity to train their soldiers to fight a land, seas and air coordinated modern tech war against the possible U.S. military become a daily norm and the world already used to it. No wonder Mao always looked down the enemies strategically as the enemies have no strategy at all. Cheers Chua
Terror Attack on Russia Military Base near Ukraine Border; Three shooters kill 22, injure 16
A Russian military base in Belgorad was the scene of a terrorist attack today. Three shooter reportedly opened fire against about 100 Conscripts who were at the base to train. Reports indicate twenty-two Russian soldiers killed, at least sixteen soldiers wounded before the three shooters were killed by return fire.
Early indications are that the shooters are from Tajikstan, and there may be an Islamic angle to the attack, but this information is all UNVERIFIED.
It is unknown at this time if the attackers were also conscripts.
There are UNSUBSTANTIATED RUMORS that they may have been Ukrainian Special Ops soldiers disguised as Conscripts. Again, UNVERIFIED.
UPDATE 7:28 PM EDT —
The shooting in the Belgorod region occurred at a training ground in the village of Soloti, SOTA sources say.
Europeans Prepare for Winter, by Hoarding China-Made Electric Blankets! | Speak Softly
I love these guys.
You missed one. This one seems relevant today with all the bad news
https://youtu.be/wxL8bVJhXCM?t=1
The US is acting increasingly like a cornered rat…