Open Thread 2022-12
News & views ...
Posted by b on February 9, 2022 at 17:53 UTC | Permalink
next page »The China and Russia relationship got a big boost with the summit on February 4. I still wonder what could hold it back? What are Russia's remaining concerns with China and how to allay them?
For example, China would like to invest in more mining in Russia (a really underdeveloped sector of the Russian economy considering the volume of mining relative to the huge Russian landmass). Restrictive laws against foreign investment in Russia prevent more mining investment especially by state-owned companies (most Chinese companies that are capable of undertaking huge mining projects are state-owned). Back in 2019, a pro-business part of the Russian government tried to relax the investment rules for gold mining but the security agencies objected and no change occurred. https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4197787
What gives? Do sections of the Russian government really still believe that millions of Chinese migrants could cross the border and migrate to the Russian Far East and Siberia? If that's the case they should take a look at the latest Chinese census. The main province of China bordering Russia is Heilongjiang, which lost 17%! of its population from 2010 to 2020.
Posted by: foundry | Feb 9 2022 18:14 utc | 2
Slovakia has signed a deal in which the US military can use two of Slovakia's military airbases for ten years. Thousands of Slovakian's protested at the deal outside the country's parliament. You just have to look at Germany and see that its an occupied country (US military forces) and know that Germany is hamstrung by Washington on certain matters. That's what becomes of allowing US bases on your soil.
Meanwhile as Japan decides to deliver gas to Europe, the US news channel NBC has said that President Biden has mocked every leader of countries that are members of Nato.
https://www.rt.com/russia/548769-biden-disparages-putin-world-leaders/
https://www.rt.com/news/548794-slovakia-approves-us-deal-bases/
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Feb 9 2022 18:28 utc | 3
The member states of NATO are:
Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States
If Germany, France, Italy, and Spain were to leave NATO and force their own European security architecture, who would join and who would stay with the US in NATO?
At the least, I would imagine the UK, Canada, Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia would stay with NATO.
Posted by: endofnato | Feb 9 2022 18:37 utc | 4
$1 billion (sub?)contract for an ethane cracking* plant near St.Petersburg... goes to Samsung, in cooperation with China National Chemical Engineering & Construction Corporation. This kind of thing would've been built by European multinationals just a few years ago.
* processing types of hydrocarbons of which there is an excess in the modern era of "enhanced" oil/gas production techniques, into more useful industrial feedstocks
Posted by: ptb | Feb 9 2022 18:37 utc | 5
It says open topic but it's not. It's bullshit.
Posted by: Berndt Braincell | Feb 9 2022 18:41 utc | 7
Foundry I'm pretty sure there are secrets out there which too much commercial mining or simply prospecting makes too hard to continue to keep secret and under control. Some strictly controlled activity is okay but any large scale or worse yet "uninhibited" organized second or third party activity is a definite "no, never".
That would explain why it's a security issue and above the heads of people with business interests and most politicians.
It's not necessarily just one secret or just one set of secrets, could be many, it's a big place and a big world! :)
Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Feb 9 2022 18:42 utc | 8
@foundry, #2:
Russians' remaining concerns with China is that Chinese don't grow big noses. They are simply non-European. There are no human ways to allay this concern. Had Gringos proposed 30 years ago of investing in Siberian gas fields/mines/industries, and suggested 20 million East European to migrate and populate the Asian region of Russia, Russian leaders and people would have jumped and danced with joy for years, and today Siberia would be the largest ICBM base of the United Supremist Front (USF).
Posted by: Oriental Voice | Feb 9 2022 18:42 utc | 9
And where does Japan get its gas from? They like to shop in Iran so maybe they could get a few sanctions waivers? :)
I get the feeling Japan is only too happy to let the US fool themselves with this kind of merry-go-round. I don't blame them in the slightest XD
Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Feb 9 2022 18:47 utc | 10
Posted by: endofnato | Feb 9 2022 18:37 utc | 4:
At the least, I would imagine the UK, Canada, Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia would stay with NATO.
Well, would that NATO be good enough to fend off the Republic of Palau when Paluan become ambitious and want a small piece of land in the Baltics? I'll bet 50-50 money on that outcome.
Posted by: Oriental Voice | Feb 9 2022 18:47 utc | 11
Posted by: William Haught | Feb 9 2022 18:11 utc | 1
While I agree about things good for the goose being also good for the gander, there is another element at play in the trucker protest.
They have trucks. Trucks are massive and some of the heaviest vehicles in civil society. When a regular protest is deemed "unwanted" by the establishment and they send police to disperse it, a few water cannons, lacrimos and riot police charges are usually enough to do the job. Or, if another segment of the population is against it, "mowing down protesters" with a gun or a vehicle can happen.
Here, it's difficult:
1) They are freight drivers, so they're the glue that holds a vast country together. No freight, no food on shelves, no fuel, no economy. And people start starving.
2) They have these massive trucks, that nobody can forcibly remove, except by shelling them with mortars or tanks, or pushing them with very heavy construction equipment. Not the type of equipment the riot police usually has at hand.
3) They are working class, so they tend to be more organized and better at solving logistical issues such as creating shelters for the protesters, providing fuel and food, and keeping morale.
This, in my mind, is why there is a different approach to these protests. Roadrunners are raw power. Freight is leverage. Mass media try to demonize them 24/7 in any case, of course, but most people are scared, and you can tell the government is as well. They can't do much else than shooting themselves in the foot.
Posted by: Lemming | Feb 9 2022 18:50 utc | 12
I regard whether or not to vaccinate in the same light as whether or not to drink and drive.
Not doing one puts others at risk, doing the other does the same.
Like almost everyone here I've had dozens of vaccines in the course of my life, none of them made me a tool of government or allowed Bill Gates to monitor my thoughts, actions and location.
That said I have much against the Covid vaccines, they were developed and deployed in a real big hurry, corners were cut. I have my doubts about thier safety, efficacy and the continued need for them.
I am particularly angry that over 90 per cent of the funding to develop them came from governments, yet they ended up as the hugely profitable private property of Corporations
Posted by: DaveGood | Feb 9 2022 18:56 utc | 13
RE: Oriental Voice | Feb 9 2022 18:47 utc | 11
As long as the Unhinged States is also a part of that NATO, at least Palau, Granada and a few others should at least be manageable threats.
Posted by: William Haught | Feb 9 2022 18:57 utc | 14
@DaveGood 13
That said I have much against the Covid vaccines, they were developed and deployed in a real big hurry, corners were cut. I have my doubts about thier safety, efficacy and the continued need for them.
It doesn't matter how they were developed or deployed. What matters are the results of the clinical trials with the vaccines. If the results are good, then the vaccine is safe and effective. If not, then the vaccine cannot be approved. That is how the FDA works.
I am particularly angry that over 90 per cent of the funding to develop them came from governments, yet they ended up as the hugely profitable private property of Corporations
But that is how the pharmaceutical industry works. The NIH funds scientists who do the science and discover all the important pathways. The pharmaceutical company then exploits the pathways to come up with clinical trials that the drugs work.
Posted by: Tiger | Feb 9 2022 19:13 utc | 15
Posted by: Lemming | Feb 9 2022 18:50 utc | 12
No one is scared of the protesting truckers. They are small minority of truckers and the general population in Canada who are being professionally organized by fringe right wing groups and getting funding from questionable sources. Their goals of forcing the federal government to drop the covid restrictions are illogical because the US also restricts cross border traffic to only drivers who are vaccinated, and in Canada each province has their covid policy which the federal government has no control over. The government hasn't done much so far to stop the protests because though they are annoying, they are mostly peaceful (not because they are in trucks)...but now that this has gone on for over a week you will see more action by the police. (If this was a protest by Natives, the police would have crushed it by now, as they have done in the past.) Ironically, every province had a plan of easing restrictions over the coming months even before this protests started, but now they may have to hold back so that it doesn't appear that they caved in to the protestors.
Posted by: Victor | Feb 9 2022 19:14 utc | 16
@foundry #2
I have written a number of times that Russia and China aren't twins separated at birth.
They have both shared and conflicting interests.
Russian and Chinese soldiers were shooting at each other as recently as 1969.
It is American idiotic policy that has pushed them together.
Even so, a look at the actual strategic situation is instructive:
1) Sanctions:
Russia is sanctioned left and right.
China? Minimal to none.
2) Border conflicts:
Russia: Georgia and Ukraine color revolutions. A failed one in Kazakhstan. Nuclear capable missiles in Poland and Romania.
China: Taiwan but there are no US troops or bases there. There are US troops and bases in South Korea and Japan, but nothing AT China's borders.
3) Media:
Constant Russia crap.
How much China crap even when Trump was in office? Largely only what came directly from Trump. How much China crap during Obama? Biden? W Bush? Clinton? CIA Bush? Reagan?
It should be obvious which nation is bearing the brunt of the negative outcomes from not agreeing to the US international order - and which one is benefiting by standing behind the other as the brunt of US foreign policy focus.
But even so: Russia is rebuilding relations with India. Indian soldiers were fighting Chinese I think literally last year, and India cannot help but feel threatened with the rise of China right on their northern border.
So yes, Russia and China are saying they are getting closer together - but I suspect Russia would like to see something more tangible from this "alliance" than Chinese buying more Russian oil and natural gas - which they need anyway.
Posted by: c1ue | Feb 9 2022 19:16 utc | 17
@Davegood#13....you doubt their safety...Doctor requests for D Dimers (blood clot test) and Troponin tests (heart issue test) rare tests for the general population, have increased severely. This spike in tests didn't happen until the vaccines rolled out. Now, since boosters have started, cancer test requests at blood labs has skyrocketed. That's first hand info from a front line plebotomist. Trust your doubts.
Cheers M
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Feb 9 2022 19:19 utc | 18
Victor is correct. The right wing nuts posting here in MofA have no clue about internal Canadian political economy. This is not a working class fight. It is a fringe, right wing movement of anti-vaxxers, who are despised by all the institutions and leaders of the Canadian and Quebecois working class. Most Americans don't understand that Canada actually has unions and a union movement in addition to large social movements, all of which make Canada a much saner and healthier society. Bottom line: the truckers have no support in any section of Canadian working class culture and struggles and organization. Only fanatical right wing nuts on the far right of the Conservative Party support them. They are the scum of fascism, hence the swastika flags on display in the protests. The Canadian state should crush them.
Posted by: SB | Feb 9 2022 19:27 utc | 19
Posted by: SB | Feb 9 2022 19:27 utc | 19
Lots of assumptions here:
1) You assume I am "right-wing";
2) You assume I am not Canadian;
3) You assume I need your input to understand what the movement is about;
"who are despised by all the institutions and leaders of the Canadian and Quebecois working class."
-> And you know that because unions disavow them? that is one large blanket statement.
"the truckers have no support in any section of Canadian working class culture and struggles and organization"
-> Sources?
"Only fanatical right wing nuts on the far right of the Conservative Party support them"
-> Then again, sources? And I'm communist, so maybe if you believe in the horseshoe theory that would work in your mind, but hey, to each his own.
"They are the scum of fascism, hence the swastika flags on display in the protests"
-> You mean the one svastika they managed to find in a protest of tens of thousands, probably due to the continuous anti-communist propaganda we have had since the 1920s courtesy of the CBC? Makes sense. I can't find a single open-shot picture without a Quebec flag in this protest, does that mean it is a separatist movement?
"The Canadian state should crush them."
-> Thank you for confirming my point, which is that this protest generates a lot of fear.
Posted by: Lemming | Feb 9 2022 19:53 utc | 20
note that truckers have generally been less isolated and their main mode of communication is not managed by the thought police
kind of makes them well positioned to know something i don’t
Posted by: Rae | Feb 9 2022 20:06 utc | 21
@SB#19.....great black humour, thanks for the laughs. They'll be rolling on the floor in Petit Kiev.
Cheers, M
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Feb 9 2022 20:07 utc | 22
Posted by: Lemming | Feb 9 2022 19:53 utc | 20
There is no fear...these foreign funded stooges should be dealt with just like they were dealt with in Hong Kong and Belarus. The level of police violence will be commensurate with the level of protestor violence, and this is mainly because most of the protestors are white...like I mentioned earlier, they would have been brutally crushed by now if they were Native protestors.
Posted by: Victor | Feb 9 2022 20:08 utc | 23
Posted by: William Haught | Feb 9 2022 18:11 utc | 1
Yup. And the laws are enforced in a hypocritical manner as well. For example, during the latest demonstrations against Cuba, roads, highways and bridges were blocked by protestors, none of whom were cited, much less arrested.
h/t on "reichwing media" lol, hadn't seen that in a while.
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 9 2022 20:20 utc | 24
Meant to say in Florida re: anti-Cuba protests.
https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-cuba-miami-boating-eae2b37e75e40861e1754cde45d41d65
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 9 2022 20:22 utc | 25
Posted by: c1ue | Feb 9 2022 19:16 utc | 17:
So yes, Russia and China are saying they are getting closer together - but I suspect Russia would like to see something more tangible from this "alliance" than Chinese buying more Russian oil and natural gas - which they need anyway.
China would like to see something more tangible than Russia blasting lip services too. The conflict with India, I refer to the rights and wrongs, is actually crystal clear for Russia who had kept details of history in that theater, but Russia sticks to buttressing India 'til kingdom come. How come?
There were sarcastic jeers from Russia analysts about China not sending troops to backup Russian in Syria. Oh boy! They expect China to send troops and heavy hardware, over the plateau, 3500 miles of supply line over the highest mountains, to be under Russian command to fight a war of Russian choosing on behalf of an old client who in the past had acted against China at UN? To do so purely to show loyalty to someone who had paid lip services of friendship? I thought those analysts were considering Chinese idiots myself :-). Besides, it was at a time that Russians were actually winning because their supply line was 10,000 miles shorter than the Empire's, and they didn't even need the help except for psychological purposes.
Yes, China would buy those oil and gas anyway, but they could buy from many a sources and they could also do without. It's only a matter of accepting GDP growth at 8% or at 5%. Buying from Russia, at a time when Russia badly needed the income and was being sanctioned into a corner precisely because of their need, was a clear and loud support gesture. It was a flash of middle finger on the Empire, and a genuine flash of friendly smile at a comrade. But the comrade didn't think it was enough.
Posted by: Oriental Voice | Feb 9 2022 20:31 utc | 26
@William Haught | Feb 9 2022 18:11 utc | 1
Some years ago I am pretty sure it was Oregon that made blocking streets a felonyThe irony is that Trudeau demands protesters stop shutting down the city so that he can shut down the city
Posted by: Norwegian | Feb 9 2022 20:35 utc | 27
Guess the can I opened was quite wormy.
As I understand it, the Unhinged States had mostly independent truckers until rather recently, when they were squeezed out of business by the companies they contracted their services and leased their trucks from (apparently usually the same in both cases), which in turn were in vicious cutthroat competition.
I do not know about Canada.
Posted by: William Haught | Feb 9 2022 20:39 utc | 28
My article placing 4 February's Joint Declaration by Russia & China into historical perspective while also linking it to the current situation is now published, "Back to the Future: China & Russia Vow to Fulfill WW2's Victory Goals & Reinvigorate the Architecture to Achieve Them". I should also promote Pepe Escobar's latest, "“Do You Want a War Between Russia and NATO?”.
And to today's episode of As the World Turns. What to do with a national leader who outright refuses to implement aa UNSCR? If it were Iran, the Outlaw US Empire and its slaves would be demanding UNSC Chapter 7 treatment. Meanwhile, the Outlaw US Empire continues to grossly abuse the UN Charter. Then we have the Freedom Convoy in Canada that continues to grow larger as more points-of-entry into the Outlaw US Empire are blocked in other provinces. This lengthy, in-depth report with imbedded video details the attempts by provocateurs to smear the participants and efforts to disrupt communications. Here's an excerpt:
"What would Stirr say to Justin Trudeau to make him understand the strength of feeling?
"'I would just sit down and tell him some of these stories people told me and ask him: ‘How can you sit here and do this to people? And can we please stop now, this really needs to end’. It’s ending all over the world, it’s time for us to join with everybody else and end this madness.'
"Hoerdt also remains committed and has plans to make the long trip to Ottawa to join in there.
"In a perverse way, she actually feels gratitude toward Canada’s under-fire leader. 'I would tell him ‘Thank you, you have brought our country back together by dividing us’. I would tell him you’ve really opened all of our eyes.'
"For Hoerdt, the moral battle is over. 'I think we’ve sort of won already with the way everyone is unified. I just want to be free again. I’ve got a few critics in my life right now who say I’m absolutely insane but I’m Gen X – I think we were trained to do this and wherever I need to be, I’m not giving up.'"
Canadians are freeing themselves from the tar sands they've all been mucked by over the years to keep them docile and divided. That's what makes the about Thank You comment so damn ironic. The same thing's possible within all the enslaved Neoliberal nations under the Outlaw US Empire's boot.
Of course, much more's happening. But the main event is the Freedom Convoy that's going global as people begin to remove their blinders and demand the Four Freedoms promised 81 years ago.
So, Macron "failed to consult with any of his partners." ROC sees right through it. Is it possible for western "leaders" to be any more clueless than they demonstrate day after day after day? It's kind of frightening when you actually stop to think about it. We're all a hair trigger way from disaster and this is the best the West can come up with? God help us all. How did we manage to make it this far? And now we're all back to fighting again in Europe? Fuck that.
Posted by: thecelticwithinme | Feb 9 2022 20:48 utc | 30
NZ protests live - RNZ
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/461228/live-updates-anti-mandate-protest-enters-third-day-at-parliament
Posted by: Paul | Feb 9 2022 21:00 utc | 31
Interesting read by Engdahl
Mister “Open Society,” George Soros, the symbol of globalist regime change Color Revolutions since the 1980s, has just signaled that he and his globalist circles have targeted China’s President Xi Jinping for what looks a lot like regime change. On the surface, Soros’ latest sharp critique of Xi and his management of China’s economy seems bizarre.For all his nice words about promoting open societies and democracy, Soros’ “philanthropy” has supported some of the most closed and corrupt leaders, such as Boris Yeltsin in Russia in the 1990s or Petro Poroshenko in Ukraine after the 2014 US coup. Could it be that Soros is now signaling a decision by a major faction of the globalist powers that be, to end their support of Xi in favor of other rival factions?
Why on Earth Does George Soros Want Xi Jinping to Go?
Posted by: Down South | Feb 9 2022 21:03 utc | 32
Caitlan always delivers
Which will it be, war with Russia over a supposed invasion/attack on the Ukraine, or war with China for some 'attack' on Tawian
Tweedle dee , Tweedle dum
if you're a 'liberal' democrat, you hate putin and Russia with a passion; if you're a republican you hate 'Red' China and Xi with a passion
either way, you're itching to use the almighty US and nato/allied militaries to teach them all a damn good 'freddom' and 'democracy' lesson
so,you end up escalating....and escalating.... and then (maybe) using nukes
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/02/09/caitlin-johnstone-wanting-russian-peace-to-attack-china/
Caitlin Johnstone: Wanting Russian Peace to Attack China
"Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz criticized the Biden administration’s dangerous escalations against Russia on the House floor on Monday, not because he thinks needlessly ramping up cold war brinkmanship with a nuclear-armed nation is an insane thing to do, nor because he believes the U.S. government should cease trying to dominate the world by constantly working to subvert and undermine any nation who disobeys its commands, but because he wants U.S. aggressions to be focused more on China.....
....Gaetz said. “Argentina, a critical nation and economy in the Americas, has just lashed itself to the Chinese Communist Party, by signing on to the One Belt One Road Initiative". China buying influence and infrastructure in Argentina to collaborate on space and nuclear energy is a direct challenge to the Monroe Doctrine....."
the Monroe Doctrine!!! :):):)
Posted by: michaelj72 | Feb 9 2022 21:03 utc | 33
No one is scared of the protesting truckers. They are small minority of truckers and the general population in Canada who are being professionally organized by fringe right wing groups and getting funding from questionable sources. Their goals of forcing the federal government to drop the covid restrictions are illogical because the US also restricts cross border traffic to only drivers who are vaccinated, and in Canada each province has their covid policy which the federal government has no control over. The government hasn't done much so far to stop the protests because though they are annoying, they are mostly peaceful (not because they are in trucks)...but now that this has gone on for over a week you will see more action by the police. (If this was a protest by Natives, the police would have crushed it by now, as they have done in the past.) Ironically, every province had a plan of easing restrictions over the coming months even before this protests started, but now they may have to hold back so that it doesn't appear that they caved in to the protestors.
I saw the videos.... thousands of Tractors, some with trailers. Tens of thousands bringing them fuel, water, food....
Yes, the protest is peaceful... but the cross border bridges are fully blocked closed... wall to wall semis...
Never mentioned, least of all by you... what happened to the freight these folks used to haul...
but now don't haul....
Is.. it sitting on the dock(s).... rotting... going stale???
It's claimed that unless this is cleared up by the weekend.... most US auto plants must shutdown...
reason.... no parts....
You claim these folks don't have reason to be pissed..... go tell them that....
I'll bet you get the crap beat out of you....
INDY
Posted by: Dr. George W Oprisko | Feb 9 2022 21:13 utc | 34
This is some serious backpedaling:
As recently as two months ago, Wen was advocating for the Biden administration to “further restrict the activities of the unvaccinated.”Wen also previously entrenched a segregated society when she blamed people who hadn’t taken the jab for a COVID-19 “surge” while asserting “we can’t trust the unvaccinated.”
Wen also called for making it “hard for people to remain unvaccinated” by restricting their social freedoms.
She asserted that, “It needs to be hard for people to remain unvaccinated,” claiming that it wasn’t currently difficult (despite the group being demonized and discriminated against on a daily basis).
Wen also previously stated that children returning to school need to be forced to wear industrial grade face masks and should be subjected to weekly COVID tests until they are fully vaccinated.
Suddenly all of this has changed for Wen.
It just happens to coincide with the beginning of election season, and Democrats now moving away from lockdown policies they previously vehemently advocated over fears about being wiped out politically.
CNN ‘Doctor’: “The Science Has Changed” So Lift COVID Restrictions
Posted by: Down South | Feb 9 2022 21:13 utc | 35
So, Macron "failed to consult with any of his partners." ROC sees right through it. Is it possible for western "leaders" to be any more clueless than they demonstrate day after day after day? It's kind of frightening when you actually stop to think about it. We're all a hair trigger way from disaster and this is the best the West can come up with? God help us all. How did we manage to make it this far? And now we're all back to fighting again in Europe? Fuck that.
Macron was an errand boy.... he was sent to get Putin to back down...
The answer was.... NYET!
Then he went of to Ukraine... showed his true colors... further incited the UkroNazis to go to war
against the DonBas...
Mercouris believes NATO thinks it has NordStream2 as a hostage....
Were the Russians smart they'd bring all the pipelines under an SOE... and shut them down for
inspection and maintenance.. RIGHT NOW!
Let the bastards freeze...
INDY
Posted by: Dr. George W Oprisko | Feb 9 2022 21:17 utc | 36
foundry @2--
There are two main answers to your query. The epidemiological situation has delayed numerous projects. The vastness and difficulty of the region. Last year I linked to video of the massive Amur gas processing plant that showed how it was all brought to existence from scratch. It took six years to become operational in 2021, but won't reach its full capacity until 2025. If you follow the President's Kremlin page, you'll occasionally see his interaction with corporate executives and sector ministers providing reports and other vital development information. For example, yesterday Putin held a meeting with the Presidential Council for Science and Education that discusses some of the National Development Goals and will give you a glimpse at how Russia's government operates. Here's another of a different type, working meeting with CEO of JSC United Chemical Company Uralchem Dmitry Mazepin, where you'll learn that former Soviet organizational practices are very much alive in today's Russia.
As for those saying Russia fears a Yellow Horde invasion, that's the usual troll crap that we must put up with. China has what's considered full employment as does Russia, and both Xi and Putin have spoken about their demographic problems--both need more people, which given China's 1.4 Billion is a head scratcher. As I've written and will continue to write, a great deal of opportunity exists in Russia and within the Central Asian nations fueled by BRI and EAEU; the field is very much wide-open, akin to a Gold Rush.
Both SB & Victor are liberal-fascists and repeat official propaganda. I call out their hypocrisy because their totalitarian leaders support the Right Sektor installed violently in Kiev, Ukraine. They are Banderists posing as informed Canadians which they are not. The protesting trucker movement inspired mobilizes every walk of life in Canada, every age bracket, every gender, every ethnicity, every province and every political party in Canada. The media as exposed by Ezra Levant of rebelnews.com has received billions from the dictator wannabe prior to last year’s election. Since 2017, the PM is a principal stakeholder of big pharmaceutical, Acuitas, a Canadian company. This company is the inventor of the lipid nanoparticles used for delivery of mRNA strands in every mRNA “vaccine” in the world. He makes money with every person that receives a jab or a booster, even if it doesn’t do what it is supposed to do.
Posted by: Sun Tzu | Feb 9 2022 21:19 utc | 38
I see the truckers' protest in Canada about so much more than vaccine mandates. People across the West have had a bellyful of the overload shite coming from our central governments. "Go here/do not go there, do this/do not do that." Yeah, right.
Or, how about lets arrest a Chinese princess on spurious grounds as ordered to by the U.S., or, lets see how far we can provoke Russia? All as ordered from Washington while down there people are living under bridges and the bridges are falling down.
Keep on trucking!
Posted by: Hal Duell | Feb 9 2022 21:20 utc | 39
1. William Haught and others-
The protestors have not blocked any crucial crossing completely and EMS has confirmed that their ability to transit has not been compromised.
Seeing the hostility here directed at people who are protesting disgusts me. I pray for your souls.
Posted by: AHB | Feb 9 2022 21:29 utc | 40
Posted by: SB | Feb 9 2022 19:27 utc | 19
Oh please. 50,000 truckers causing the coward Trudeau to hide for a week is hardly fringe. Talk about a Loony!
In other news, the Biden administration makes its second attack on the Constitution with the latest NATS update being another Executive Branch action that clearly runs foul of the 1st Amendment. I wonder what goal is in mind?
Who could they possibly be trying to provoke?
Posted by: New Guy | Feb 9 2022 21:31 utc | 41
I have voted NDP all my life. I campaigned with Jack Layton and David Christopherson. I did not vote in the last election because the NDP slid right. I am the farthest thing from Conservative there is. Yet here I am donating a pittance from my meagre pension to my Canadian heroes, the truckers. I am 70, too old and arthritic to stand in the cold... but I did ... for hours to cheer them on. I froze my ass off. My donation money stolen by my prime minister. I am not an anti-vaxer I am vaxed up the wazoo. I am anti-totalitarianism.
FYI there are many of us leftists who support the end of mandates and passes... the numbers are growing.
One thing I do know is those whose purpose it is to invade a site to provoke with nflamatory nonsense and label people right-wing /extremists/anti-emite/homophobe... (whatever the silencer du jour)) have no wish to argue a point but take over the thread and push buttons.
Fortunately the folks here have dealt with your betters from Hasbara.
You could not even begin to shine their shoes
permanent ignore
Posted by: ld | Feb 9 2022 21:32 utc | 42
I had a 40 day period of myocarditis symptoms after the 2nd dose of Pfizer. It made life hell for me. I had constant anxiety, couldn't relax, couldn't get much work done, couldn't sleep well. I sincerely regretted taking the vax because of that. All of that was over the Summer.
Now I got Omicron, and I'm on my 3rd week with the virus. I have slightly milder myocarditis and anxiety feeling (like falling down the stairs constantly), but still can't get any sleep without medication. I don't understand how people say this variant is mild and goes away in 1 week. It's made my life hell :D But I still don't wanna take a 3rd dose of vaccine and have yet again more of the same symptoms. Faak.
Posted by: AN | Feb 9 2022 21:46 utc | 44
@DaveGood | Feb 9 2022 18:56 utc | 13
These are not vaccines. They are experimental drug treatments based on gene therapy technology. The use of the word "vaccine" was a marketing tool to persuade people to take the injections when they would have refused if they had known it was experimental gene therapy (see the speech of Stefan Oelrich of Bayer AG(at around 8.22 ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKBmVwuv0Qc
The misnaming of the gene therapy treatments as vaccines was not challenged by the regulators charged with protecting the health and safety of the public. Regulatory bodies use a different protocol to test a gene therapy drug. It takes longer to establish if it is safe. What caused the lack of due diligence? Incompetence? Regulatory capture? Depraved indifference?
Posted by: cirsium | Feb 9 2022 21:46 utc | 45
Qatar is the fly in the USA ointment :))
Qatar is the world’s second largest exporter of LNG, only slightly behind the United States, and plays an important role in global energy markets. That is why Washington decided to place a special bet on Doha in its struggle to oust Russia from the European gas market. However, since Qatar already has several energy contracts with Asian countries, it is unclear whether it has enough gas production capacity to help supply Europe.Nevertheless, at the insistence of Washington, the leadership of the European Union turned to Qatar for assistance. However, Doha in its response has already made a number of uncomfortable demands of the EU. In particular, to impose a moratorium on the reversal of gas to non-EU countries, thereby opposing the provision of additional income to Poland or another country on the resale of blue fuel to Kiev. Another demand of Doha was similar to the one already put forward by Moscow: contracts must be made on a long-term basis, since short-term gas supplies requested by Brussels are not acceptable to Doha, given how unprofitable they are in terms of gas industry planning. The Qatari emirs cited as the third condition the termination of the antitrust investigation against the country, which began in 2018 when the European Commission commenced to suspect Doha of violating EU free trade rules.
It seems to me that spot pricing is every supplier and consumer's curse. Well past time to levy a large transaction tax on its every move until it suffocates.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 9 2022 21:52 utc | 46
Feeding time in the troll cell is over now.
See you all tomorrow.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 9 2022 21:55 utc | 47
james is in agreement with @ Hal Duell | Feb 9 2022 21:20 utc | 39 and @ ld | Feb 9 2022 21:32 utc | 42
enough is enough... this runs much deeper then the truckers.. people are tired of politicians trying to divide us based on pro or anti all of it.. i had the vaccine, but i am seriously questioning where we are at here as we move forward... victor suggests they are going to drop the mandates and etc sometime soon, but i am not so sure about this.. none of any of this talk from the gov't adds up as i see it, so i am definitely 110% with the truckers...my circle of friends are definitely with the truckers.. this is much more then about conservatives or anti -vax or whatever other piece of garbage you want to throw at this to explain it...
Posted by: james | Feb 9 2022 21:57 utc | 48
Make what you will of the matter. The somewhat odd and hysterical (sometimes) Hal Turner claims big deal. He claims that smallpox has been confirmed in Yemen, and in several locations at the same time.
https://halturnerradioshow.com/
Some may recall Billy Gates chattering about smallpox... No doubt that's a coincidence.
Posted by: Walter | Feb 9 2022 21:57 utc | 49
So folks, a couple more thoughts on those trucker protests:
As I've mentioned multiple times, bubba and his friends have not yet come up with a manifesto. Nor an elected leader that represents their consensus (if there is one). Yes they are angry, and they drive big trucks. And yes, the restrictions will be lifted, hopefully when the medical authorities think it is appropriate, and not because the angry mob demands it.
And maybe the nurses should then blockade the hospitals. Flush out all those non-vaccinated that are polluting our hospital beds. Or maybe I am being unfair. For you anti-vaxxers out there - would you do the honourable thing? If you caught covid, and required serious medical attention, would you take one for the team, and self-treat at home in front of that big screen tv?
Is our society becoming ungovernable? Maybe, maybe not...
Posted by: retiredmecheng | Feb 9 2022 22:00 utc | 50
smoothiex12 has a few words to say:
A Misnomer From RT.
Which, sadly, becomes not a bug but a feature of RT. Macron is in Moscow and is talking to Putin. RT reports:[From RT]"Crucial personal talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have begun in Moscow on Monday evening, with the latter suggesting they work out a solution that “helps to avoid war” in Europe".
It is a misnomer: personal talks between Putin and Macron are not "crucial". They cannot be crucial due to secondary, if not tertiary role EU in general, and France in particular, play in the whole hysteria campaign unleashed by Washington. US-Russian top level talks could be crucial, but not the talks between a subject and the object of geopolitics. Maximum level of importance Macron can reach is that of a messenger. Putin is keenly aware of that. Even Ukraine has more say now in the matter than France.
And then to speak bluntly and put things in sharp contrast:
Yes, this is how strange things get:[From RT]"Ukrainians should ignore warnings that doomsday is almost upon them because of an impending Russian incursion, the country's top diplomat has cautioned, after US officials sounded the alarm over claims Kiev could fall within days if Moscow orders an offensive. In a statement on Sunday, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmitry Kuleba sought to allay fears of that a war is looming, adding that his country is prepared for any scenario. “Don’t believe apocalyptic predictions,” he urged. “Different capitals have different scenarios, but Ukraine is ready for any development of events.”
Ukraine's officials get these kind of statements out due to a well-justified fear that a large scale false-flag provocation by Ukraine's Anglo-American "friends" is not only possible but even likely, because Washington needs it badly and is ready to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian. Some people in Kiev do understand what it means when false-flag happens and they are pushed towards attacking LDNR.
Correct, they die.
No wonder Putin quipped that he had been tortured through six hours of talks with Macron. That was one of the best Putin wicked wit for a while. The big question is can Putin come up with anything in his role as EU President within the the next month and satisfactory to Russia's implied timeframe.
Can the French mouse lift the EU giant vampire squid - impossible.
They will have to go it alone and with one or two mates if they are lucky.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 9 2022 22:12 utc | 51
oooops stuffed that up:
The big question is can Macron come up with anything in his role as EU President within the the next month and satisfactory to Russia's implied timeframe.
Back to the orchard for penance
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 9 2022 22:15 utc | 52
AN | Feb 9 2022 21:46 utc | 44
My partners son and his family are currently going thru omicron. Their symptoms approximate a bad cold. They take vit c, d, zinc, and quercetin ….and are feeling better in e days. Nb: they are unvaxxed. Your immune system may be weakened by the vaxx. Good luck and god bless
Posted by: James joseph | Feb 9 2022 22:19 utc | 54
AN | Feb 9 2022 21:46 utc | 44
My partners son and his family are currently going thru omicron. Their symptoms approximate a bad cold. They take vit c, d, zinc, and quercetin ….and are feeling better in e days. Nb: they are unvaxxed. Your immune system may be weakened by the vaxx. Good luck and god bless
Posted by: James joseph | Feb 9 2022 22:19 utc | 55
@Oriental Voice #26
China sending troops to Syria doesn't make sense - but even had they done so, it would really not mean a lot.
However, China openly dissenting against the sanctions on Russia would be an example of clear support for an alliance partner.
Oh, but then that would interfere with China's nice profitable trade with the EU and the US...
As for India: I made no references as to rights or wrongs. The point is that geopolitically, India has a strong reason to want allies against China, and Russia is one such ally.
Or would you prefer India to ally with the US against China?
Posted by: c1ue | Feb 9 2022 22:24 utc | 56
So…
…the Mexico and Spain thing is interesting but I haven't got a clue beyond the very most basic synopsis.
Anyone with insight to share?
- - - - -
And if that Yemen and smallpox thing is true it is horrible, extremely suspicious, and extremely dangerous. One can only wish and hope that it is not true and that someone misunderstood something and it's not smallpox at all.
- - -
On a related note…
I'll say something slightly important that I haven't seen anyone say:
if COVID has shown us anything it is that nearly all countries and certainly all "western" countries has a failing grade and zero chance of surviving any serious form of bacteriological warfare.
Zero chance.
That's what the retarded and senile warpigs should worry about instead of their own belligerent nonsense but I haven't seen anyone even mention the topic (although someone somewhere sure should have).
Feel free to inform me of any who have, I could have easily missed it.
Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Feb 9 2022 22:24 utc | 57
Walter @ 49
Hal Turner? Are you joking? Seems like he is back on the payroll.
FBI Taught Jailed Blogger to Incite Others, Hal Turner Defense Lawyer Says
Posted by: circumspect | Feb 9 2022 22:28 utc | 58
“National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin” the Department of Homeland Security issued on Tuesday - to “undermine public trust in government institutions” is now considered terrorism. If that's the case, I'd say 95% of the current government in the US should be charged with terrorism. After all, who has undermined trust in them more than themselves. Funny how governments & corporate media cry about the lack of trust they instilled without any outside help. Want to stop general misinformation, conspiracy theories, and the like? Government could try to develop a reputation for truth telling. In my world credibility is not a renewable resource. Just a thought. You government trolls can pass that up the chain.
Posted by: Beau | Feb 9 2022 22:38 utc | 59
Wrt the trucker convoys; interesting to see that the “heroes” ( alongside the medical frontline staffers ), have now become the “vilified” by presumably the very same people who regarded them as heroes during the early iterations of the pandemic. And at that time they were doing do so sans “vaccines”. Rest stops were closed, yet they continued to deliver their cargo as expected.
Now they are, according to our current CSIS social media recruits, right wing, foreign interests, anti vaxxers.
It seems that “ Victor” ( nice handle for a dupe ), and SB ( shit for brains? ) suffer largely from the “ I’m alright, Jack “ syndrome.
Posted by: Digital Spartacus | Feb 9 2022 22:51 utc | 60
uncle tungsten @46--
You'll want to keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming 6th Summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), the OPEC of gas exporting nations, which will take place in Doha this month on the 22nd. It's not known at present if Putin will attend. It's interesting to note which nations are members, and which aren't.
@c1ue, #56:
We are apparently misreading each other in our postings on this subject matter. I wasn't accusing you of saying anything detrimental to China in my #26. I was merely using a quote from your posting to make the point that when pro-Russia commenters question China's sincerity in the alliance, they are ignoring some crucial Chinese perspectives, such as, for example, the need to state the rights and wrongs on the China-India conflict, or as you seem also to agree, the difficulties and illogicality of sending troops to Syria. In general, I've found I agree with your viewpoints in most cases.
India has a pathological hatred against China after the 1962 War. I don't really care who they ally with, the progress of history is currently showing their whims and wishes will get nowhere whoever they ally with. In 1962, it was a rare and strange occasion that both USSR and USA were supporting India in the war, in arms and in financial matters. Neither dared to send soldiers (not even advisors) due to the formidable location, and China's demonstrated ability to engage in ground conflicts. Today, the disparity between the two sides are even more exaggerated then 60 years ago. India can recruit all of Europe and Americas and Central Asia and South Asia and anyone else in the Solar system, the outcome will still be lopsided in their disfavor if they choose to take on China again. So, do I want India to ally with USA against China? Frankly, I don't really care. Just IMHO.
Posted by: Oriental Voice | Feb 9 2022 23:01 utc | 62
A test of resolve is fast coming up. Read a report that Gitanas Nauseda, the Lithuania president, is seeking permanent US military presence (soldier in stations), under the premise of enhancing national security.
Precisely the type of expansion Russia stated against; precisely the type of consideration that USA said it's up to USA to decide if they want to. Now, let's see if Biden will hesitate, or if Biden doesn't, if Putin would do NOTHING.
Sorry, the report I read was on a Chinese language news outlet that doesn't have an English version. It's on quancha.cn
Posted by: Oriental Voice | Feb 9 2022 23:16 utc | 63
@ uncle tungsten
| Feb 9 2022 22:12 utc | 51
The French president’s visit to Moscow and Ukraine comes less than three months before a presidential election at home. His political advisers see a potential electoral dividend, although Macron has yet to announce whether he will run.“For the president, it’s an opportunity to show his leadership in Europe. That he is above the fray,” one French government source said.
First of all, Macron must go for re-election in 2 months. And its first 5 years were an military, diplomatic, economic, financial, social and health disaster.
Macron urgently needs an appearance of European and international success.
Putin understood very well and to braided praise, while showing visible distance. But no one received Macron when he arrived at the airport or the Kremlin. His arrival through the back door and his surprise when Putin invited him to sit at the other end of the world biggest table are signals to be decoded.
Putin devoted 6 hours to Macron which is huge.
Now Macron knows what he needs to do to get a handshake photo with Putin.
This is what he needs to launch his re-election campaign and sweep away all of his competitors, none of whom are a political leader of importance or even with international experience. And it must also block NATO.
Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov denied that a deal of any kind had been formalized at the summit.
“[…] France is a member of NATO, but it is not the leader there – the leadership belongs to a completely different country in the bloc. So what kind of deals can we talk about here?”
What Russia is waiting for from him is Cristal clear
https://tass.com/politics/1399837
And Tuesday in Kiyv, Macron find the escape door for all of the NATO Team
“Within the coming days and weeks we must move forward along this double track. Firstly, strict compliance with the Minsk agreements within the Normandy quartet. Secondly, a wide, demanding and innovative dialogue, which will enable us to create guarantees of stability and security on our continent and maintain security in the short term,” Macron concluded.
Next week it’s German Chancellor show. He needs Putin’s help too.
Posted by: La Bastille | Feb 9 2022 23:18 utc | 64
Who stands to benefit?
15-year old Russian figure skating phenom tests positive for doping
U.S. figure skating team could get Russian team's Gold Medal.
Posted by: Circe | Feb 9 2022 23:22 utc | 65
the funniest thing in the world is that the US cannot decide whether to vaccinate its troops. how many troops got vaxxed w/all kinds of shit for something that didn't exist, namely Saddam's WMD program?
what the anti-vaxing intellectual Anders Breiviks like Norwegian prove is that the war hysteria of the west, inter alia, is a cover up for their ongoing operation of murder by covid. China's troops are vaxxed. So are Russia's. But not the US. because freedom.
because if the US vaxxed its troops, then the populace would take the virus more seriously. no matter the cost to its military personnel, the USG cannot allow the populace to act according to the nature of the virus, rather than their need to shop and be slaves and stuff hostess ding dongs in their mouths.
Biden could crush the whole fascist stampede of rabid elephants, trucker convoys, and all the right wing noise and death machine simply by stating that the anti vaxxers are undermining US national security and are acting as traitors.
but he can't do that. cuz that would scare people in a way that they cannot be controlled. unlike the phantoms about Russia and how much the US cares about the civil rights of China's wiggers.
Posted by: rjb1.5 | Feb 9 2022 23:22 utc | 66
It's interesting to see the "Freedom Convoy" derangement syndrome manifest itself at MoA, when most of the regular commentators normally rail against foreign funded demonstrations and colour revolutions yet fail to see or appreciate that these convoys are also astroturf demonstrations and that these same commentators are repeating nonsense posted from dubious sources.
50,000 trucks? Hahaha. When a tractor trailer is normally 75 feet long, 50,000 trucks would equal to over 700 miles of trucks if they were parked end to end. Millions of demonstrators? Again this nonsense...at most there were 10,000 demonstrators in Ottawa on the first weekend of the demonstration, a city that only has a population of 1,000,000. Geez, use your common sense.
Yes, Canadians are tired of covid restrictions, but in general the restrictions were pretty mild compared to other countries like Australia; there were no hard lock downs and only temporary restrictions on public gatherings when subsequent waves in infection increased. I could see people in Australia being pissed off and doing this, but there are only a small minority of "freedom fighters" in Canada...the fact that nearly 90% of Canadians are partially or fully vaccinated should be enough to prove this point. No one is forcing the other 10% to get vaccinated, and perhaps if hospitals stopped accepting unvaccinated covid cases they wouldn't be so adamant about their "freedom."
In any case, I am quite left wing and I never supported any of foreign funded demonstrations or revolutions in any of the countries that US, Canada and other NATO countries participated in, And I don't support this astroturf demonstration either, even though a part of me is pleased to see the Canadian government get a taste of their own medicine.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/9/canadian-truckers-protesting-in-ottawa-appear-set-to-stay
Posted by: Victor | Feb 9 2022 23:25 utc | 67
@La Bastille, #64:
Perhaps Putin will meet with Scholz on a video hookup after Scholz arrives in Moskow?
Posted by: Oriental Voice | Feb 9 2022 23:29 utc | 68
Oriental Voice #63
James #53
karlof1 #61
Thank you.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 9 2022 23:31 utc | 69
Victor @ 67
Sounds vaguely like " Some of my best friends are...... " rationalizing.
Posted by: Digital Spartacus | Feb 9 2022 23:33 utc | 70
Aling Gu or Eileen Gu 18-yrs old born in SFO renounced her US citizen (NOT 100% sure CPC, had not verified it) and played for her mother's Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic. Her father a Harvard graduate abandoned her mother for another woman when she was just a baby... something unique about her she was accepted to Stanford University her mother's Alma Mata with SAT score 1580 out of possible 1600.
She won beating the French and .... for the free sty ski in Beijing Winter Olympic 2022...
Gu Ailing women final Air Shougang Beijing Feb. 8, 2022
Andy Boreham had another piece on Eileen...
2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: Another Takeoff for China & the World!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1amlwfLoCMAyear.
Cry ab it! | Eileen Gu slays the haters, media/politicians go nuts | Beijing 2022 Quick Fix #4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1amlwfLoCMA
Posted by: JP | Feb 9 2022 23:35 utc | 71
Posted by: retiredmecheng | Feb 9 2022 22:00 utc | 50
So a little addendum to my previous posts. For my fellow Canadians - I have a solution to this dispute. It is called "democracy".
Trudeau was heavily criticized last year for calling supposedly an unnecessary election. Well then, surely, now is time for a repeat. Wouldn't you agree? Just one caveat though, we all have to accept the result. We then use our trucks for hauling stuff and only for hauling stuff. We can campaign all we want, in whatever manner we want. We can even have you guys call yourselves the "Fzck Trudeau" party. And your slogan can be "Damn the constraints, Damn the government, Damn the science! I just wanna live happily everafter".
Posted by: retiredmecheng | Feb 9 2022 23:37 utc | 72
@uncle tungsten, #69:
sorry I scrolled past a lot of posts. Getting more ignorant as I grow older :-). Thanks for the reminder.
Posted by: Oriental Voice | Feb 9 2022 23:40 utc | 73
Michael Hudson at Geopolitical Economy utoob channel. Fifteen minutes.
The thing USA wants is to prevent EU-Russia from mutual economic integration
There is much more on this channel and I call in irregularly and always get plenty from it. Take the time to watch this one.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 9 2022 23:42 utc | 74
I respect the thankless amount of work that healthcare workers have put into battling the Covid pandemic and therefore I am for responsible behavior: masking, hand sanitizing and distancing, but, all that being said, the vaccine does not prevent you from getting and transmitting Covid or getting seriously ill. It may however keep you from dying, but not always.
The vaccine has some serious adverse effects, some of which are not on the recognized medical exemptions list of countries with mandates. I believe the right to reject a scientific medical treatment, especially if it has not undergone thorough time-tested investigation, is a sacrosanct, inviolable human right.
I am 110% against mandatory vaccinations.
Stand with the truckers!
Posted by: Circe | Feb 9 2022 23:45 utc | 75
Paul | Feb 9 2022 21:00 utc | 31
so the yellow vests are the protestors right?
what a joke. the idea that people are rebelling against gov't efforts to stop covid is risible.
----
i think the US plan for defeating China is for US troops to infect their troops with covid. what else could it be? cuz it's going to be hilarious when the USM is too sick to even press the nuclear launch buttons.
despite the horror show to schools and the medical system, obliteration of the US military by covid will be nothing but an unimaginable boon to the world. much to be longed for.
I want to thank you antivaxxers for doing your part. keep those freedom convoys running! that'll show Russia who can kick whose ass!
Posted by: rjb1.5 | Feb 9 2022 23:45 utc | 76
Very very sorrie first YT wrong here the.. corrected website "2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: Another Takeoff for China & the World!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD3B8O_oXtU
Further Andy Boreham a Kiwi working for a China or CPC Provincial govt media and "Difference Frames the World " a Canadian mainlander from Canada...
Thank a million for watching please share...
Posted by: JP | Feb 9 2022 23:48 utc | 77
RE: AHB | Feb 9 2022 21:29 utc | 40
It is the hypocrisy and arbitrariness of neoconservative, neo-liberal, corporatist governments and media that p---es me off. I do not know about the truckers generally, except when it comes to mandates they got it right, as far as I am concerned.
Posted by: William Haught | Feb 9 2022 23:50 utc | 78
La Bastille @64--
That table's been used a lot during the pandemic. Before Macron it was Orban who shared that table with Putin.
The ploy and its bait were expertly set. What remains to be seen is which nations stand up and declare their freedom and side with the OSCE Treaties they signed and the principles within them, and which nations don't and thus further link their chains of bondage to the Outlaw US Empire. The Ukraine situation has nothing to do with the overall Big Question. Notice that Macron wasn't asked about the Big Question--whether France would stand by its word or become a bigger slave to the USA.
Troll traffic signifies the importance of the Freedom Convoy and its offshoots! Thanks Trolls for confirming our observations.
@71 JP
U.S. media is trash-talking against Eileen Gu for representing China, and yet, when she won the Gold she was so gracious with the Silver Medalist who appeared devastated for missing Gold.
Screw the media.
Posted by: Circe | Feb 10 2022 0:01 utc | 81
This Sputnik item deals with a point I raised in my article, although the terms are reversed, "‘A New Axis’: NYT Slams Russia, China for Not Acting Like US, Had Few Harsh Words for Hitler’s Rise". As I noted, 145+ nations and organizations have signed onto China's BRI which will merge with Russia's EAEU, both of which promote the goals behind the UN Charter, its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals--and most importantly--the goals cited for waging WW2 known as the Four Freedoms that became the basis for the UN Charter, which now has 193 signatures. Those numbers tell a different tale--75% of the world's nations are behind the actions and words stated by Russia and China in their 4 February Joint Declaration and the manifesto it contains.
Reality shows there's only one current parallel to WW2's Axis Powers--the Outlaw Anglo Empire, which consists of the Outlaw US Empire and it's #1 lieutenant the UK, and the vast majority of its NATO Slaves, although it must be noted that the primary violator of the UN Charter is the Outlaw Anglo Empire. NATO Slaves must be aware that there's no "following orders" defense, and they will hang along with the primary violators.
Posted by: karlof1 | Feb 9 2022 23:59 utc | 80
Posted by: Circe | Feb 10 2022 0:01 utc | 81
Firstly, I have greatly appreciated your contribution to this blog, and I have learned an immense amount from you both. On the vast majority of your opinions, I am 100% onboard. But on the trucker protests, ongoing in my backyard, you know not what you endorse (and neither does anyone else).
For what it's worth, I am not afraid to take controversial opinions, and in fact many of my family and circle of friends disagree with me. That doesn't deter me though. I constantly seek out evidence-based and science-based explanations to any official narrative that doesn't make sense. You may remember that I took a strong stand against the official narrative that campfire temperatures, insufficient to cook a can of beans, can somehow bring down massive steel structures. In fact, I was temporarily banned from this blog for that. And please don't respond to this bit, as I don't want to derail the thread and/or get banned again.
And yes, the MSM is pathetic, and on most subjects I give them zero trust.
And then I read this. I swear this guy has been reading my posts!
Posted by: retiredmecheng | Feb 10 2022 0:31 utc | 83
@Oriental Voice #62
Fair enough - as I said, I have never made any comments on the rights or wrongs of the China/India situation.
However, your view that India allying with the US is irrelevant, is wrong.
India has the boots on the ground which the US has not been willing to commit since Vietnam.
India also is positioned not just to be able to interdict maritime traffic, but is far closer to the overland routes into China from Europe than say, a US carrier in the Indian ocean.
Nor am I aware of any particular Chinese prowess in ground conflicts; Korea is the only example I am aware of where China came up against a peer or near peer military - and despite initial successes, it did not end well. I believe Mao's son was among those killed in Korea during that conflict.
Posted by: c1ue | Feb 10 2022 0:51 utc | 84
Troll traffic signifies the importance of the Freedom Convoy and its offshoots! Thanks Trolls for confirming our observations.
Posted by: karlof1 | Feb 9 2022 23:59 utc | 80
Indeed. Lots of free KoolAid today.
Posted by: Bemildred | Feb 10 2022 0:54 utc | 85
These are not vaccines. They are experimental drug treatments based on gene therapy technology. The use of the word "vaccine" was a marketing tool to persuade people to take the injections when they would have refused if they had known it was experimental gene therapy (see the speech of Stefan Oelrich of Bayer AG(at around 8.22 ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKBmVwuv0QcThe misnaming of the gene therapy treatments as vaccines was not challenged by the regulators charged with protecting the health and safety of the public. Regulatory bodies use a different protocol to test a gene therapy drug. It takes longer to establish if it is safe. What caused the lack of due diligence? Incompetence? Regulatory capture? Depraved indifference?
Posted by: cirsium | Feb 9 2022 21:46 utc | 45
Well those unqualified injections CANNOT possibly be called vaccines for it is only after having successfully proven to be such vaccines to the health scientific authorities that one can qualify for obeing called vaccine. These unqualified drugs benefit from emergency authorizations granted by government WITHOUT having provided the needed evidence to receive vaccine qualification. Remember that raw scientific data haven't been released so no peer review allowed so far.
I don't know how those 'things' should be called but certainly using the word 'vaccine' refering to them is clearly illegal and could end up being sued ...
Posted by: Greg Galloway | Feb 10 2022 1:10 utc | 86
I was trolling imgur again today, and I saw someone had posted b’s article with the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 IMMINENT RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE !
So at least i wasn’t alone, trolling/educating that FLOCK !
Anyhow, I thought it was nice to see another MoA fan representing.
Posted by: Featherless | Feb 10 2022 1:15 utc | 87
Posted by: Bemildred | Feb 10 2022 0:54 utc | 85
Hmmm... sounds like you guys are badly in need of an echo chamber.... Shame...
Posted by: retiredmecheng | Feb 10 2022 1:19 utc | 88
"Victor @ 67 said in part;"these convoys are also astroturf demonstrations and that these same commentators are repeating nonsense posted from dubious sources."
"
.."at most there were 10,000 demonstrators in Ottawa on the first weekend of the demonstration, a city that only has a population of 1,000,000. Geez, use your common sense."
These "astroturf", well funded, ANTI-VAX demos, are just part of the pro-covid crowd hoping for more disruptions, that will end in a change of power in D.C. in the next elections.
Anytime ANY protests are well funded, suspect the interference of the monied elites.
Posted by: VetinLA | Feb 10 2022 1:34 utc | 89
@ William Haught: They have Trucks
The government itself selected the Truckers when it put them in a separate category to be eliminated by creating a special vaccine mandate for them.
Posted by: Webej | Feb 10 2022 1:40 utc | 90
Posted by: ld | Feb 9 2022 21:32 utc | 42
Posted by: Lemming | Feb 9 2022 19:53 utc | 20
Posted by: james | Feb 9 2022 21:57 utc | 48
I went to school with Jack Layton. When he was student council president I approached him for funding for a start-up camera/film club. I was allocated $20 CAD which was big money in the era of dime comics and 50 cents for a pack of smokes.
Polling sows some 46% of the population supports the truckers. The primary reason is the anti-authoritarian nature of Canadians.
The big looser in this will be Trudeau.
Half the public will hate him for his tarnishing the electorate as racicist bigots while he prances around in black face. He is incapable of understanding the Canadian Charter of Rights enacted as part of our constitution by his father.
The other half of the public will hate him for not doing enough to put-down attack / destroy / emasculate / call out the military on the protest. He reveals himself as a Mr Dressup clown with no principles other than holding onto power and supporting Ukrainian fascists.
By my calculation half of one and half of the other equals 100%. I think it highly unlikely he survives the next confidence vote.
Cheers and good health to you all
Posted by: Sushi | Feb 10 2022 1:41 utc | 91
@ Victor: Native Canadians
Apparently you have never heard of the Mercier bridge, when they shut off all commuter traffic to the city of Montreal for half the summer, with armed American ex-marines up in the super structure. It affected millions for months.
Posted by: Webej | Feb 10 2022 1:44 utc | 92
Posted by: Bemildred | Feb 10 2022 0:54 utc | 85
Hmmm... sounds like you guys are badly in need of an echo chamber.... Shame...
Posted by: retiredmecheng | Feb 10 2022 1:19 utc | 88
Yeah, I come here because everybody agrees with me. /sarc
Posted by: Bemildred | Feb 10 2022 1:45 utc | 93
@ retiredmecheng | Feb 10 2022 0:31 utc | 83... where in canada do you live?? i didn't like the coyne article, but some of the responses in the comment section were good.. i said it some time ago here at moa... covid and all related is a divisive topic... the truckers protest is another divisive topic... rather then others try to convince us of their position and validity of their position, it would be better to maybe let it go...
Posted by: james | Feb 10 2022 1:45 utc | 94
@ c1ue : Troops in Taiwan
There are American troops and instructors in Taiwan.
Just as with Russia, this increases the chance of violence, instead of deterring it.
Posted by: Webej | Feb 10 2022 1:47 utc | 95
@ Sushi | Feb 10 2022 1:41 utc | 91.. thanks sushi and good health to you as well! i think you are right on trudeaus chances here.. the only caveat, is i don't see any choices worth voting for!! it has been this way for me for a number of years now.. i used to vote ndp and vancouver island has been traditionally fairly strong ndp, but i switched to green a few elections ago and we got paul manly in this riding... unfortunately due the annamie paul fiasco, he didn't make it this time... i have a hard time now with the whole political process and think it is seriously flawed.. maybe this comes with having lived over 60 years on the planet and seen how very little changes within politics, no matter who is elected... stay positive!
Posted by: james | Feb 10 2022 1:49 utc | 96
Posted by: james | Feb 10 2022 1:45 utc | 94
Fair enough. I think I have pretty much said all I wanted to say on the subject, and from now on, I would just be repeating myself. You give good advice. Thanks.
I thank you fellow bloggers for letting me rant, and for those that disagree with me, I sincerely hope I am wrong.
Posted by: retiredmecheng | Feb 10 2022 1:50 utc | 97
@ retiredmecheng | Feb 10 2022 1:50 utc | 97... thanks! be on good terms with everyone as much as that is possible.. i have been known to throw a hissy fit here at posters from time to time, but only when i am off my meds, lolol... i think circe got under my skin once or twice! cheers...
Posted by: james | Feb 10 2022 1:53 utc | 98
Posted by: retiredmecheng | Feb 10 2022 0:31 utc | 83
While 62 per cent of respondents oppose the Freedom Convoy protest, 44 per cent said they could sympathize with truckers
It is my backyard too.
I understand COVID is a verboten topic. But there is Canadian precedent for government failure to act:
https://www.utoronto.ca/news/u-t-expert-why-we-need-answers-thalidomide-tragedy-ensure-drug-safety-now
I think Canadians (and much of the world) will be asking very similar questions in future about mRNA vaccine approved for use in mere months when full clinical trials typically require in excess of 5 years to determine vaccine safety.
Posted by: Sushi | Feb 10 2022 1:56 utc | 99
The comments to this entry are closed.
While I agree that vaccine mandates should generally be illegal and considered crimes against humanity (even corporations and employers), unless there is a Steven King virus on the loose, there is an aspect of the Canada Trucker Saga I have not heard mentioned here.
The truckers are blocking bridges (and I will bet a lot of other things too). Fox Hasbara regards this protest as "peaceful" and using our freedoms and democracy to hold leaders accountable. Some years ago I am pretty sure it was Oregon that made blocking streets a felony and more recently in Florida it is legal to act as arresting officer, persecuting attorney, judge, juror, and executioner by mowing down protesters with a vehicle as if one was cutting grass.
I am calling this what it is hypocritical shite. The right to protest only if reich-wing media agrees is not a right to protest at all.
Posted by: William Haught | Feb 9 2022 18:11 utc | 1