Flag Abuse And Other Bits On Ukraine
The Pentagon reports about the continuing efforts to sell new U.S. weapons to those nations which discard their old ones in Ukraine.
Austin Hosts Ukraine Defense Contact Group to Continue Support for Beleaguered Country
To express the seriousness of the situation in Ukraine the Pentagon decided to hoist Ukraine's blue-above-yellow flag upside down.
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Hanging a flag upside down is a sign of either dire distress or cultural ignorance. Given that this was a Pentagon event the later is the more likely to be the case.
The Baltic nutters have a another great and of course completely impractical idea.
UK backs Lithuania’s plan to lift Russian blockade of Ukraine grain
Britain has backed in principle a proposal by Lithuania for a naval coalition “of the willing” to lift the Russian Black Sea blockade on Ukrainian grain exports.The Lithuanian foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, proposed the plan during talks with the UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, on Monday in London.
“Time is very very short. We are closing in on a new harvest and there is no other practical way of exporting the grain except through the Black Sea port of Odesa,” he told the Guardian. “There is no way of storing this grain and no other adequate alternative route. It is imperative that we show vulnerable countries we are prepared to take the steps that are needed to feed the world.”
Landsbergis proposed that a naval escort operation – not run by Nato – could protect the grain ships as they headed through the Black Sea and past Russian warships. He suggested that, apart from Britain, countries that were affected by the potential loss of grain such as Egypt could provide the necessary protection.
...
He said Ukraine needed to export 80m tonnes of wheat alone this year and the only option was through Odesa.
Let me help Mr. Landsbergis with some facts:
- The port of Odesa is blocked by Ukraine, not by Russia.
- Ukraine does not have 80 million tons of wheat to export. In a good year the total grain production in Ukraine is 80 million tons. Some 50% of that is corn and some 40% wheat. Only two-third of that will be exported.
- The Ukraine is currently exporting 1.5 million tons of grains per month. Most of that is going through Romania.
- Given that this years planting did not go as planned the Ukraine will hardly have any wheat to export later this year.
Still some know-nothing falls for Landsbergis' scheme:
After meeting Landsbergis, Truss said the UK would want British naval ships to join the escort if the practicalities could be sorted, including demining the harbour and providing Ukraine with longer-range weapons to defend the harbour from Russian attack. The UK is in discussions with allies about the plan and it would probably need US agreement to be activated.Truss said: “What we need to do is deal with this global food security issue and the UK is working on an urgent solution to get the grain out of Ukraine”.
The Ukraine is only number 5 of the largest wheat exporters with some 8% market share. Russia, the global wheat exporter no. 1, will have a record crop this year. The global food security issue is thereby a question of price and accessibility, not of the globally available quantity.
I find Liz Truss' point of "providing Ukraine with longer-range weapons to defend the harbour" quite interesting. Didn't the Ukraine claim that it hit the Russian ship Moskva with two Ukrainian made cruise missiles? If it really did so it already has the longer-range weapons to hit Russian ships. Is Truss leaking that the Ukraine lied about those missile hits?
The whole idea of sending an armed escort convoy and long range weapons is just nuts. What Ukraine would need are not only missiles but targeting data and radar with which that can be acquired. Unfortunately radar does emit electromagnetic waves which makes it detectable and vulnerable. Russia has already knocked out several radars in and around Odessa. What is Truss' plan to avoid that?
And don't get me going about Russia's submarines which are completely sufficient to sink anything in the Black Sea that Russia does not like to be there.
Meanwhile the war is progressing in Russia's favor. I do not have time to show detailed maps of what is happening but there are two reasonable Youtube channels which provide good daily reports based on multiple sources. These are Military Summary and Defense Politics Aaaaasia.
In the north Lyman has fallen with reports of Ukrainian troops withdrawing after a short fight. In the east the Ukrainian held city Severodonetsk is mostly isolated and now under fierce attack. Several more towns around the Popasna bulge have been taken by the Russian side. South of it the city Svetlodarsk has fallen after the Ukrainian tried but failed to destroy a nearby dam. The Ukrainian troops retreated without a fight.
Instead of holding the lines by all means Ukrainian units now seem more interested in running away. That is more healthy for them and also solves their serious supply issues. Like other supply lines the Bakhmut-Lisichansk road is now under Russian fire control. This video shows what that means.
What we are seeing now are the effects of nearly three months of Russian artillery war. The Ukrainian troops at the frontline have been ground down and those who are left are moving out before being destroyed too. The front begins to move at several points. When those points merge we may next see the tactical deep battle phase of a classic Russian deep operation:
Deep battle envisaged the breaking of the enemy's forward defenses, or tactical zones, through combined arms assaults, which would be followed up by fresh uncommitted mobile operational reserves sent to exploit the strategic depth of an enemy front. The goal of a deep operation was to inflict a decisive strategic defeat on the enemy's logistical abilities and render the defence of their front more difficult, impossible, or indeed irrelevant. Unlike most other doctrines, deep battle stressed combined arms cooperation at all levels: strategic, operational, and tactical.
It feels insane when Henry Kissing er is the only sane man in the room.
Henry Kissinger: Ukraine must give Russia territory
Veteran US statesman Henry Kissinger has urged the West to stop trying to inflict a crushing defeat on Russian forces in Ukraine, warning that it would have disastrous consequences for the long term stability of Europe.The former US secretary of state and architect of the Cold War rapprochement between the US and China told a gathering in Davos that it would be fatal for the West to get swept up in the mood of the moment and forget the proper place of Russia in the European balance of power.
Dr Kissinger said the war must not be allowed to drag on for much longer, and came close to calling on the West to bully Ukraine into accepting negotiations on terms that fall very far short of its current war aims.
..
He told the World Economic Forum that Russia had been an essential part of Europe for 400 years and had been the guarantor of the European balance of power structure at critical times. European leaders should not lose sight of the longer term relationship, and nor should they risk pushing Russia into a permanent alliance with China.
It is likely too late to reverse the Russia-China alliance but I otherwise agree.
Posted by b on May 24, 2022 at 13:59 UTC | Permalink
next page »This is kind of big news and confirms how Russia is easily winning in Ukraine.
A Lieutenant Commander of Ukraine has surrendered, he apparently walked into Russian officials with 7 of his men and gave up. What is unique are his words which tell more about the war than any news station.
VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLDPK2O8H4E
Posted by: Dean Oneil | May 24 2022 14:17 utc | 2
Kissinger telling the WEF that there is risk of pushing Russia into a permanent alliance with China is old speculation that has become fact.
The quote did not have Kissinger saying that Russia's security needs must be met but that territories must be negotiated away....misdirection
Kissinger is a heinous war criminal and his pronouncements at WEF are feints at reform of his elitist positions.
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Flag Abuse....LOL....maybe it is a signal from the underlings saying they are being forced to play this game for idiot puppets.
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 24 2022 14:19 utc | 3
Despite the rather low cumulative IQs and slight professional acumen of those on that stage,
THEY know exactly what they are doing in displaying the Ukie "flag" upside down!
Symbolism is/will be their downfall!
Posted by: Qtto | May 24 2022 14:19 utc | 4
....welcome to the party of hatred, rage and insanity!
....you will eventually, gradually come to terms with this necessary transition (not unlike the transition you are undergoing at the petrol pumps to "green" energy) from sanity to insanity.
....sit back and enjoy!
Posted by: James Cook | May 24 2022 14:24 utc | 5
A real marketing oportunity for Mr. Austin. Does he work on commission now?
Posted by: c | May 24 2022 14:24 utc | 6
Hanging the 404 flag upside down was certainly a gaffe born of ignorance.
Truss is too stupid to know anything about the state of Odessa harbor or 404's wheat production, and even if she weren't so stupid, she still wouldn't care about facts. She just wants an excuse to get anti-ship missiles into the hands of her proxies, and if possible Her Majesty's Navy into the Black Sea as well. This ain't about wheat at all.
Posted by: malenkov | May 24 2022 14:29 utc | 7
Bonus points: the upside-down Ukie flag is/was used by the Azov naughties (just check their insignia colours, you'll notice they're inverted, often with a pale version of the Black Sun across the blue part to mimic a sunrise). I guess that Pentagon meeting signified the US-Azov alliance.
Posted by: Red Outsider | May 24 2022 14:31 utc | 8
Truss is a well known peabrained bimbo, but to be honest I'd be absolutely in favor of the UK sending ships to the black sea. Imagine a British cruiser bumping into a Ukrainian mine, sinking and its crew getting saved by a Russian minesweeper. I'd laugh so much I'd need a change of underwear.
Posted by: Sumguy | May 24 2022 14:33 utc | 9
This week in Past is Prologue, p 87.
One seemingly rational solution came to light when Sir Andrew Agnew of the B.P.C. suggested to the President of Standard Oil of New Jersey that his company accept sterling instead of dollars as part payment on their sales to Britain. When the company complained to Morgenthau that they felt pressure being applied, the Secretary sternly warned Agnew that such actions would be interpreted as meaning England was out of money. Agnew replied that such was the case, and Morgenthau admitted he knew it. Morgenthau met with Purvis the same day and angrily related the story. Purvis, on the defensive, surmised that it was an attempt by the British Treasury to force the issue of money and characterized the squeeze play as “extravagant.” Apparently agreeing, Morgenthau decided to demonstrate curtly the channels he demanded they use and told Purvis to tell Lothian that Great Britain was to send over a “liquidator” to take care of selling British-owned American properties. Agnew agreed to contact Standard Oil and drop the proposal so as to scotch any rumors of English insolvency. There was no sense in hindering Purvis’ efforts to negotiate contracts before the Administration was in a position to act—that is, until after the election. Actually, politics was not the only barrier to such an arrangement. Cordell Hull was violently opposed to anything resembling a payments agreement whereby the United States would exchange dollars for sterling, and the idea never made the slightest headway within the Roosevelt Administration.
Posted by: sln2002 | May 24 2022 14:34 utc | 11
@ Sumguy: Be careful what you hope for. The Brits would blame the Russians, and we'd be that much closer to thermonuclear war.
Posted by: malenkov | May 24 2022 14:35 utc | 12
The first part of this post is a comic interlude, neither Lithuania nor Liz Truss merits any serious attention. It's just a dummy talking to a bimbo.
Henry Kissinger is trying to save the West from self-destruction, but I think it's getting too late for that. As for China and Russia's alliance, that is already a done deal.
Posted by: Steve | May 24 2022 14:38 utc | 13
On the flag front, there's a video in Svetlodarsk on Telegram channels of a Russian or other allied forces soldier respectfully folding a Ukrainian flag before placing a Russian flag in its place. Probably not all flags are treated with the same respect on either side. Think Babushka Z.
Posted by: Objective Observer | May 24 2022 14:41 utc | 14
At the WEF today, a world class analysis of the situation;
Ursula van der Lugen at WEF today;
"This war and this 🇷🇺 behavior has only strengthened Europe's resolve to get rid of Russian fossil fuel dependency."
"The climate cannot wait. But now the geopolitical reasons are evident too. We have to diversify away from fossil fuels. »
Today, Russian artillery is bombarding grain warehouses across Ukraine – deliberately,"
"And Russian warships in the Black Sea are blockading Ukrainian ships full of wheat and sunflower seeds. »
"The consequences of these shameful 🇷🇺acts are there for everyone to see. Global wheat prices are skyrocketing. And it is fragile countries and vulnerable populations that suffer most," says 🇪🇺President VDL.
"#Russia is now hoarding its own food exports as a form of blackmail. »
Posted by: Lapin | May 24 2022 14:45 utc | 15
Its a sad when the devil himself Henry Kissinger know where this SMO is leading to, however its too late now Russia will from now on depend less on Europe, and turn further towards its local neighbourhood of nations, and it will be to Europe and the Wests detriment, and of course as some in here are citizens of the West this US/EU war on Russia will cost us in price rises and shortages.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 24 2022 14:46 utc | 16
Truss is a self-parody.
I also thought that Turkey is following international law and has closed the Bosporus to any foreign warships trying to enter the Black Sea. That would stop this hare brained plan too!
I am British and am deeply ashamed that so many of our politicians (and many others) get high by still thinking we are an imperial power and that we can send warships anywhere in the world where we desire. These days the Royal Navy only has a handful of ships so it is not even clear where Truss would get her fleet from.
Nice way to create a sound bite on the news and virtue signal though.
Posted by: Stephen | May 24 2022 14:50 utc | 17
These actions by the RF will help this port reopen again.
"Russian sappers have completed the demining of the Mariupol port, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
"Specialists of the Black Sea Fleet and engineering troops have completed the demining of the territory of the Mariupol port. During mine clearance, 134 structures were examined. More than 12,000 explosive objects and weapons abandoned by Ukrainian militants were found and neutralized," the report said."
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 24 2022 14:50 utc | 18
I just watched the latest Scott Ritter interview.
My Conclusions are, he is a well rounded knowledgeable commentator.
Like he says,things are constantly changing.
I think that Gonzalo Lira needs to pull his head in and stop his personal attack on Scott Ritter.
Respect his views and others on where this conflict could end,or evolve from here.Personal opinions should be respected wether right or wrong.
Posted by: Kim | May 24 2022 14:51 utc | 19
Now the corrupt Western institutions are harming the citizens of the Donbas.
" The World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross have stopped supplying vital drugs for patients with diabetes, HIV and AIDS to the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, follows from documents obtained by RIA Novosti.
On the cessation of humanitarian supplies, despite the requests sent, the head doctors of specialized clinics in DNR and LNR informed the ministers of health of the republics."
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 24 2022 14:53 utc | 20
@Sumguy
We do not even have cruisers these days. The surface fleet is a few frigates / destroyers and two aircraft carriers which may or may not have working airplanes. Most likely not.
More admirals than ships I believe. Truss is totally out of her depth, excuse the pun.
Posted by: Stephen | May 24 2022 14:53 utc | 21
Looks like a real win-win is in the making with Russia control over majority Russian speaking regions of what was Ukraine and we in Europe getting rid of Von der Leyen and the political integration project EU.
Posted by: JR | May 24 2022 14:54 utc | 22
Kissinger? WTF? TPTB keep recycling these same old ass-hats. Time to change-up, and replace them with anyone who'll be more relevant.
Time for another "statement of purpose" for the Russia/China alliance, and for the empire to hire another liar.
Posted by: vetinLA | May 24 2022 15:04 utc | 23
Kissinger was not the architect of the Cold War rapprochement of China and the US . Indeed the architect was Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, Labour party ,who ignoring Nato /US strictions of his own accord first visited China. It is his successful visit that prompted Kissinger and Nixon to meet with the Chinese within weeks! For this feat, the US and UK then regime - changed him in a way that many Australians remember in fury.
As for Kissinger, and the Ukraine into being bullied to accept facts on the ground, why not? He forced Cyprus to give into Turkey, and Greece and Cyprus had the moral highground , truth , history and were even winning ! The Ukraine has none of those at all .
Posted by: Brother Ma | May 24 2022 15:04 utc | 24
Where on earth would you find a marine insurer willing to cover that risk in the first place? How much would such insurance cost?
Without insurance, no ship owner would dream of setting out, and the bank that holds the note that is collateralized by that ship would declare an immediate default. If there is one loan covenant that banks take seriously, it's the insurance covenant.
Or will H.M. Admiralty start a marine insurance business as sort of a loss-making sideline?
Posted by: Feral Finster | May 24 2022 15:04 utc | 25
thanks b... kissinger is right....
@ Lapin | May 24 2022 14:45 utc | 15
thanks... lies, and more lies, or - version 2 of Holodomor being prepped for the new history books...
Posted by: james | May 24 2022 15:05 utc | 26
A deal would be a great idea, after all we know the US and the Kiev junta are totally honourable. They should sign it in Minsk because all deals made there so far have been totally adhered to. Of course there would have to be a cease fire while the details are worked out, what could possibly go wrong?
Posted by: MarkU | May 24 2022 15:06 utc | 27
Kissinger is as insane as he ever was. That the Establishment Power is to the right of Kissinger, who plays the role of 'realist', shows the depravity and desperation engendered by doubling down on failure for seven generations.
On the other hand, it is all Kabuki as Russia ignores the west to fulfill its obligation to itself.
Posted by: gottlieb | May 24 2022 15:08 utc | 28
When you have the old fossil Henry Kissinger sounding the alarm on the western countries you know how bad for them reality is. And keeps continuing! When and if times come, the transition from SMO to full war then another rules will apply. And the Kiev, Kharkov, Lvov will be simply crushed. The combined West should better acknowledge that Russia is fighting with a hand behind their back doing the best it can to avoid heavy Ukrainian civilian casualties. Far more than Ukraine does for their own people! In one week time frame all bridges over Dnieper river will be destroyed, all major Electrical Plants smashed, all major highway destroyed then ground troupes will finish the job methodically. Then Ukraine POW's will have no alternative but rebuilding their own country while Kiev's today elites will run away and have a good life in UK or USA with their treason money.
Posted by: Foggy | May 24 2022 15:15 utc | 29
TURKEY SAYS NO TO BLACK SEA
Feb. 28, 2022
Invoking the The 1936 Montreux Convention, Turkey is to prevent all naval ships from entering the Black Sea through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits during the Ukraine ‘war’.
The 1936 Montreux Convention enables Turkey to prevent naval ships not based in the Black Sea from entering during war or other specific circumstances. However, ships returning to their registered bases will be exempted.
Both the Lithuanian foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis and Liz Truss, UK Foreign Secretary are incompetent.
Posted by: Douglas Houck | May 24 2022 15:16 utc | 30
Sorry for sounding so cynical, but my hunch on Truss's proposal is to either get some British ships sunk to escalate the war, or at least to use this as a PR stunt to further taint the evil "Rooskies", and attempt to alienate the Global South from Russia.
For the U$ and the other Western elites this really is a public relations war to subjugate Europe, and bleed the RF by cutting off trade.
Posted by: Michael.j | May 24 2022 15:16 utc | 31
I'd say it is a toss-up.
I think that the reason that Austin made the pronouncement regarding Ukraine (not Pentogram) is responsible for it's own military and negotiations is that some recent bad decisions were being blamed on outside "interference" and those decisions worked-out badly so Austin is doing damage control while Zelensky throws his allies under the troop carrier. I think that it will come back to bite Zelensky that he is such a manipulative weasel. But I dont think that the US is smart enough to realize that it is shooting itself in the foot. Really it is an example of failure of beaurocratic government, if we actually had a president we would be seeing heads-rolling and change of direction. I imagine that we are approaching the point of trying to look for where to assign blame. Clearly the US path of $40B a month to prop-up the Ukraine government is untenable. Doh! Well get you for this Putin!!!
I am sure the situation in Russia is also difficult, but they have the advantage of being right.
Suggest opening branch capital in the east - of Russia.
Posted by: jared | May 24 2022 15:22 utc | 32
Stephen | May 24 2022 14:53 utc
I searched the UK Navy web site https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/the-equipment/ships
It confirms a total blue water fleet of two sitting duck carriers (with no useful VTOL aircraft) plus 13 destroyers and 6 frigates
That's it. Assume one carrier and approx half of the other ships unavailable most/all of the time.
Posted by: Lapin | May 24 2022 15:23 utc | 33
Then Ukraine POW's will have no alternative but rebuilding their own country while Kiev's today elites will run away and have a good life in UK or USA with their treason money.
Posted by: Foggy | May 24 2022 15:15 utc | 29
I suspect rather that they'll foment insurrections in Ukraine/Novorossiya to their dying days from their Florida mansions and New York townhouses. The Ukrainian expats will be like the Cuban expats in Miami that Castro forced to leave - some of the latter are so deluded that they expect to reclaim all of their old property "come the (counter-)Revolution". They'll be political movers and shakers wherever they go in the West, if only because money talks.
How does one say "Bay of Pigs" in Russian?
Posted by: Ursula Zandt | May 24 2022 15:30 utc | 34
"came close to calling on the West to bully Ukraine into accepting negotiations on terms that fall very far short of its current war aims."
if strangelove was as smart as he's made out to be he'd know they've been doing the reverse. does he really think the ukies have just been stubborn cannon fodder while the US has begged them to "think of the children"? kissinger is the alan greenspan of geopolitics; always wrong but gets so much smoke blown up his ass that his proctologist is a chimney sweep. he's semi-right in this case but in a "water is wet"/stopped clock/captain obvious kinda way. only NPCs who pay little attention and the subhumans at the daily beast think the fight is going the ukies' way.
Posted by: the pair | May 24 2022 15:32 utc | 35
Military Summary's YouTube channel mentioned by b has an interesting segment on today's video: Ukraine. Military Summary And Analysis 23.05.2022 at 15:44.
(paraphrased)
- Reports of two Polish battalions moving towards Avdiivka. No evidence or videos so far.- Came as announcement of Poland and Ukraine signing 'many interesting documents'
- Military Summary opinion: new Polish/Ukraine confederation created on the map of Europe.
- Ukraine grants authority for Polish citizens to hold Ukraine government, military and judicial posts.
- Polish police will have right to monitor (enforce?) law and order
- 'Elimination' of Polish/Ukraine border means Poland's border now extends through Ukraine east to Russian Federation
- Ukraine currently has 30k soldiers on Belorussian border to protect against Russian attack from Belarussian land.
- Zelensky announced there are a total of 700,000 soldiers in Ukraine, but many are posted in towns as Territory Defense / police for law enforcement and order, far away from front lines.
- Using Polish soldiers and police to take over guarding Belarus border and take over territorial defense/police positions in Ukraine towns will allow Ukraine to move *all* those crack soldiers to the Donbass meatgrinder.
- This is far more than simple request for Polish assistance. Ukraine also wants Polish soldiers to fight directly against Russians and die (for Ukraine?)
- Loss of some of its power and authority is the 'price' Ukraine government is willing to pay for Polish blood (!) on its front lines.
Ironic that Yanukovich and the Ukraine Parliament originally rejected an EU trade agreement in 2013 over conditions that they felt ceded some of Ukraine's sovereignty to the EU, primarily government and judicial reforms. Those, and a demand that Ukraine release Yanukovich's arch-rival Yulia Tymoshenko from prison for medical treatment in Germany. Yanukovich and Parliament were much more anti-EU jackboot than they ever were pro-Russian.
The post-Maidan EU/US-subservient Ukraine government eventually enacted (half-heartedly) some of the demanded reforms. Anti-corruption efforts were OK unless they had to do with investigating Burisma (Hunter Biden) and Burisma's suspicious award of oil and gas fracking rights in the Donbas(!). 'The big guy' Biden threatened $1 billion in aid if that nonsense continued. Anti-corruption investigations were only to be conducted against pro-Russian politicians and the Party of Regions, not any corrupt pro-EU politicians on Biden and the U.S. State Department's Do Not Prosecute list.
Ukraine has to be seriously (fatally?) broken to hire Polish judges, police and government officials. Poland, for their part, has to be totally insane to send its soldiers into the Russian meat grinder in Donbas. What the hell are they thinking? Is this some sad NATO trick to justify their eventual involvement?
Posted by: PavewayIV | May 24 2022 15:33 utc | 36
@Kim | May 24 2022 14:51 utc | 19
I think that Gonzalo Lira needs to pull his head in and stop his personal attack on Scott Ritter.When someone publicly declare you murdered by the SBU, you have the right to disagree.
The question is not Ritter's morals, but his judgement. I believe everyone here agrees that Ritter made a 180 degree turn wrt. his predictions, although there were zero reasons to do so. The prospects for Russia is even better now than when he was optimistic.
Other than that, the Ritter question has been overcooked, time to move on.
Posted by: Norwegian | May 24 2022 15:37 utc | 37
@PavewayIV #36
Yes, Christoforou mentioned this Sunday night, but what he said was that it was going both ways: both Ukraine and Poland were passing laws to give the other nations' citizens the same rights as actual citizens.
It looks like a stereotypical Goldman Sachs SPAC play, but in politics.
Do the "shared rights" means Polish soldiers = Ukrainian soldiers?
Do the "shared rights" mean Ukrainian soldiers are now Polish soldiers?
Does this mean then that an attack on Polish OR Ukrainian soldiers constitutes an attack on NATO/EU? Or put another way: Does this mean Ukraine backdoors its way into NATO/EU?
Posted by: c1ue | May 24 2022 15:46 utc | 38
One really has to wonder about the quality of the stooges being placed in position of authority and influence these days. At very least we can say that they no longer get the best and brightest if they ever did. Statements like the one above are so quickly and easily debunked that it simply has to be for domestic consumption, or the hopes that if the operation DOES go forward the consequences can be use to justify an escalation. But what would that entail have to ask? USA and Friends have already done whatever they are able to hurt Russia and it is being slammed back in their faces. Given all the bluffing and outright lies, I would put my money on them making a lot of noise, doing a false flag or two and then backing off. Russia has clearly been prepping and gaming this for over a decade and they wouldn’t have bitten off such a chunk if they didn’t think they could handle it. Propaganda by itself does not win wars and after being asked nicely by Russia to pretty please back off they are now “getting the horns”. Good, and I rather doubt that the Russian forces are going to be doing an ceasefire shenanigans after Minsk 1 & 2.
Posted by: Chevrus | May 24 2022 15:51 utc | 39
@ c1ue | May 24 2022 15:46 utc | 38
got to love those lawyers who can twist things every which way.. i think military people will look at that differently, russian military folks in particular..
here is a link to some interesting thoughts on everything, including the russian ship that sank a month or two back, while being towed into harbour..
The Military Analysts and the Negative Coverage of the War
Slavyangrad - Gleb Bazov
Svetlodarsk has been liberated, with reports that Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from there in the direction of Artemovsk. RF flag has reportedly been raised over the town.
Posted by: james | May 24 2022 15:59 utc | 40
@ Chevrus | May 24 2022 15:51 utc | 39.....................................i agree with you.. thanks..
Posted by: james | May 24 2022 16:01 utc | 41
Kissassinger deserves to be ignored. It might kill him if he realizes he is irrelevant. He came out of Germany in late nineteen thirties. Heads right to England for Oxford? Next he enters the United States since he is a poor percecuted jew, gets a commission in the Illegal Standing Army of the Bolshevik United States under Rosenfelt and becomes a LAWYER in uniform. Sent back to defeated National Socialist Germany for vengeance duty. Then the poor, poor, hapless percecuted jew wanders into politics and goes right to the top. The mouth piece of nonsense directs blackmailed Nixon to abandon Gold and help the poor, poor, poor persecuted marxist communist Chinese Peoples Republic to transform into a huge capitialist slave state. Nice guy, why did the Gestapo let him go? They had him and could have sent him to work camp but then they knew they would not have gotten a full days worth of labor out of him. WHY???
Posted by: Stritchplatte | May 24 2022 16:07 utc | 42
b, just a few updates if you don't mind.
Here in the (not) EU, UK the letter Z is banned and is replaced by S. Being insel affens we naturally also apply the logic in reverse. The Z is banned in the EU (and by hanging protocol) and the UK but they (the EU) do not follow our logic!
Thus it is Lis Truzz and Selensky. If in doubt ask Boriz's dad who is now French!
Posted by: Butties | May 24 2022 16:30 utc | 45
Hanging the ukie flag upside down is a perfect indication of how inept the US military has become and by extension the entire US government.
Posted by: ron west | May 24 2022 16:31 utc | 46
Re: Posted by: c1ue | May 24 2022 15:46 utc | 38
Does this mean then that an attack on Polish OR Ukrainian soldiers constitutes an attack on NATO/EU? Or put another way: Does this mean Ukraine backdoors its way into NATO/EU?
If this is what Poland & Ukraine are trying to do - Has this "smart-alec" move been green-lit by the EU/UK/US/NATO hierachy?
I'd say it hasn't given how the Polish Government (Law & Justice) is regarded in the EU.
Assuming it hasn't been green-lit by Brussels/London/Berlin/Washington DC - then the only thing this "smart-alec" move on behalf of the Poles will be that they are Kicked out of EU/NATO - pick your poison.
Posted by: Julian | May 24 2022 16:32 utc | 47
Somewhat surprised b missed this one:
"Pentagon chief’s remarks show US won’t hesitate to abandon its pawns:
"'This is Ukraine's fight. It's not the US' fight.' This is how US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin answered on the Russia-Ukraine war at a press conference Monday. 'At the end of the day, what end state looks like will be defined by the Ukrainians, and not by us,' he added."
So said The Boss that directed its pawn Zelensky to order his forces to die instead of surrender, and not to negotiate with Russia. Here's further analysis from the article:
"Song said Austin's remarks demonstrated that the US is attempting to pass the buck. That is, if the Ukrainian troops lose the war, it has nothing to do with the US. 'Such a shameless statement means the country can abandon its allies and partners any time it wants,' he added.
"In this ongoing war, the US or NATO is using Ukraine as its proxy against Russia. When the proxy is in an unfavorable state, the US starts to keep its distance from it. Once it fails to accomplish its goals, the proxy will be abandoned like a piece of waste paper [See political cartoon at article's header].
"By stating the Ukrainian crisis is a matter for the Ukrainians (and the Russians), the Biden administration also refuses to acknowledge that his country is very much behind the creation of the crisis."
This final observation is very biting and meant to send a message:
"Austin's statement must have dealt a direct blow to those who support 'Taiwan independence,' because it turns out if you are a pawn of the US, you will end up being cannon fodder.
"For the US, nothing can override its interests." [My Emphasis]
Re: Posted by: karlof1 | May 24 2022 16:34 utc | 48
This is obvious - and the Ukrainians know it. The problem is, the people running the show in Ukraine are all paid off and know that if everything heads south they can hop on a plane and hotfoot it to Miami!
It is up to other Ukrainians to "wake up" and depose their current corrupt Government - and then sue for peace.
Posted by: Julian | May 24 2022 16:39 utc | 49
The three stooges may have hung the Ukrainian flag upside down but they have the United States Consitutional Federal flag flying today. Usually they have the gold fringed Maritime Law proudly flying to spite the unwary. The red, white, blue, stars and bars without the fringe is rarely visible at show and tell lie affairs of these TRAITORS. What are they signaling? I think they know they have committed enough treason and want to beg forgiveness. OK, maybe after your trial is over you may get a chance to say a few words before you are hanging.
Posted by: Stritchplatte | May 24 2022 16:40 utc | 50
A former Guided Missile Cruiser Sailor and a participant of the Largest Naval Convoy since WW2 - posting here.
Truss and her Counterparts in LTH are Retards. RUS are In Charge of the Combat Theater; and EVERYONE ELSE are Pawned/Owned/Pwned(Gamer Jargon for you Console-Addicted).
Lost an Old Cruiser? BFD. One so far; and most of the Officers&Crew survived. Could have been Mines, Internal Sabotage, Plain Old Mishap of Fire/Ammo Variety, or a combination of Incompetence/Negligence/BadGear against Sea Skimmer Anti-Ship Missile(s) that Cascaded into Secondaries like in the USS Stark Incident that got my Cruiser drop everything (in an ASW-Ex at the time off Japan) to sail Thousands of Miles to our Base in BAH as First Responders. IIRC, the Skipper of the Stark was on the john around 3-4AM when the Exocet hit - literally caught with his pants down. On our way there, Recall reading about a FFGlet (Fast Frigate, Guided Missile - FFGs; but since they're small, short legged, and run by the inexperienced - hence the nickname) whose Crew Won what would have Qualified as a "Darwin Award Winner" when they suddenly found themselves "in" a Mine Array, then hit a Mine Amidships as they tried to back out(Single Screw Ships have heavy Torque Issues) that cracked all the way up the Superstructure. They were "rescued" and placed on a Transport to a Port.
Of course, Davey Jones (King Neptune's Staffer and Patron Saint(?) of Shellbacks and Pollywogs we Sailors - pray? to? - ROTFLMAO!) and Navy Brass hesitated to send over more Minesweeping Assets until that FFGlet incident - another ClusterFailed SNAFU.
"7P" Rule: Prior Proper Planning Prevent Piss Poor Performance.
Can't fix everything with Carrier BattleGroups - Carriers and Nuclear Powered Cruisers (CGNs) were kept outside of the Gulf during those Convoys.
As Bernhard previously posted, RUS have established a Humanitarian Corridor off the Soon-to-be-the-former Black Sea Coasts of UKRaine.
If there are any EU Naval Convoys that can be put together, they WON'T be breaking anything - they'll probably Escort EU Ships coming out of the Humanitarian Corridor.
Mariupol Harbor are finishing the clearing of Mines as we post and read here.
Truss is going to have to Deal with Black Sea Coastal Regions of UKR dumping Kiev-Lviv for Moscow.
Posted by: IronForge | May 24 2022 16:40 utc | 51
Hanging the 404 flag upside down was certainly a gaffe born of ignorance.
Posted by: malenkov | May 24 2022 14:29 utc | 7
Disagree. Usually military people handle flags. They know exactly what that means and so does any experienced soldier in the Ukraine, Donbass and Russian military.
Practically speaking, therefore, that visual transmission communicates directly that Ukraine has already been defeated. The terms of surrender remain to be determined.
AS Peter Hitchens argues in this Daily Mail column there is something quite unique about the wall to wall propaganda against Russia (Hitchens hedges his bet by calling Putin guilty and Zelensky an admirable man). On the whole his piece is a virtuoso personal opinion column.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10840777/PETER-HITCHENS-explain-called-evacuation-not-surrender.html
In 2003 as the US was preparing for its attack on Iraq the intensity of the propaganda, here in Canada, was nothing like the present campaign. And major newspapers like the Toronto Star carried regular and well argued dissents on US policy, often by Conservatives.
There is nothing like it today.
In the UK it is evidently worse, perhaps the fact that I am now banned from Craig Murray's comment section (for calling a Nazi, a Nazi I believe) means nothing but it must be significant that the few comments there are full of banal russophobia of the sort which Brigade 77 and other neo-hasbara organisations use to flood the public senses.
Posted by: bevin | May 24 2022 16:42 utc | 53
@ Red Outsider: Excellent catch!!!
Posted by: malenkov | May 24 2022 14:33 utc | 10
Yes indeed!! So it was deliberate but meant something different than what nevertheless it still does mean which is Ukraine defeated.
The West has gone mad!!
Posted by: Scorpion | May 24 2022 16:43 utc | 54
It takes a lot to make Kissinger look good and reasonable. But contrasting him with this sort of drivel does the trick:
"..Next he enters the United States since he is a poor percecuted jew, gets a commission in the Illegal Standing Army of the Bolshevik United States under Rosenfelt and becomes a LAWYER in uniform. Sent back to defeated National Socialist Germany for vengeance duty. Then the poor, poor, hapless percecuted jew wanders into politics and goes right to the top. The mouth piece of nonsense directs blackmailed Nixon to abandon Gold and help the poor, poor, poor persecuted marxist communist Chinese Peoples Republic to transform into a huge capitialist slave state..." Stritchplatte@42
What are these posters doing when the Azov Army needs all the manpower it can muster?
Posted by: bevin | May 24 2022 16:46 utc | 55
And ... why would Russia sit idly by while NATO ships new weapons into Odessa.
Russia has those naval corridors, correct? Russia could agree to let NATO deactivate the Ukrainian based sea mines. De-mining ships are not a good vehicle for smuggling in high end weapons and it would shut up the NATO jackals.
Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | May 24 2022 16:47 utc | 56
What do you have if you put that evil cunt Kissinger on a British carrier along with Blair, Truss, Johnson, Von der Leyen Borrell, Macron et al and send it to the bottom of the sea in smithereens?
Answer: a promising start.
Posted by: Vragtes | May 24 2022 16:57 utc | 57
A few points:
Winter wheat is planted in the fall, harvested in July. There will be lots of mature winter wheat soon, only who has the fuel to harvest it? In the Russian controlled areas that will not be a problem. West of Donbass....not so sure.
As noted, Turkey has closed the straits to all military ships. And right now, Turkey is such a team played for NATO. The bribe money will be very large...
Mines have been reported drifting away from Odessa harbor...
If only the only bridge between Odessa and Romania hadn't been blown up....
US is emptying the grain stores in Ukraine right now. 20 million tons. Should be enough room for storage of a very reduced crop.
Lyman railroad yard will be very valuable for supporting a deep operation.
Posted by: BroncoBilly | May 24 2022 16:58 utc | 58
@ bevin | May 24 2022 16:46 utc | 55
lol.. that crossed my mind as well.... sorry to hear of your exclusion from craigs comment section. i rarely go their now and am disappointed in his position on russia...
Posted by: james | May 24 2022 17:00 utc | 59
>>>> Stephen | May 24 2022 14:53 utc | 21
We do not even have cruisers these days. The surface fleet is a few frigates / destroyers and two aircraft carriers which may or may not have working airplanes. Most likely not.
Don't worry, the Royal Navy could always send HMS Victory, a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line if it was really desperate. The Russian Navy Black Sea Fleet would die laughing.
Posted by: Ghost Ship | May 24 2022 17:04 utc | 60
Yesterday, Lavrov was busy at "the Primakov Gymnasium's 100 Questions for a Leader project" where he provided very extensive, long, detailed answers to several important questions posed by those who are not yet seniors. The transcript's in Russian, although there's a video that might provide translated closed-captions. There're many excellent passages I could cite from his performance. Since we have a mostly dead Week in Review thread, I'll copy/paste it completely there so those who are denied access or can't translate can read Lavrov's messages to the assembled young adults and judge if he's being honest or manipulating. In the process, you'll also be educated; I never fail to learn something from these talks, and their Q&As. The discussion about UNSC reform is just one example of several.
Posted by: PavewayIV | May 24 2022 15:33 utc | 36
"Ukraine has to be seriously (fatally?) broken to hire Polish judges, police and government officials. Poland, for their part, has to be totally insane to send its soldiers into the Russian meat grinder in Donbas. What the hell are they thinking? Is this some sad NATO trick to justify their eventual involvement?"
Most likely it has already been decided from on high that Poland is going to get Galicia or a good chunk of it. This also means they have a pretty good idea of where this is going (Ukraine is going to get carved up obviously.... interesting to know if RF is involved in that deal or not...)
Everything the West says about anything is smoke and mirrors. Zelensky is a puppet actor without the slightest agency so his words mean nothing too and Ukraine is a pretend country - even more so than US if that is possible.
The more defiant the West sounds and the more they promise support to prolong the conflict, the more likely it is that they have already lost and the kinetic operation will soon end.
That said they need the conflict to blame for the upcoming economic collapse. Fall is the traditional time for such things so they need this to drag out another four months or so if possible.
re Kim @ May 24 2022 14:51 utc | 19 and Norwegian @ May 24 2022 15:37 utc | 37
Ritter has summarizied his thinking with statements published by Sputnik and republished in the Unz Review. I will copy below the final paragraphs from the interview:
"Russia’s objectives in this thing – and this is what Russia has said, a permanently neutral non-NATO Ukraine, linked to the strategic objectives that were outlined by Russia. I believe, on 17 December, when they provided two draft treaties, one to the United States, one to NATO, that said that Russia finds the existing situation in Europe this to be NATO and Russia unacceptable and it goes beyond simply Ukraine, beyond simply saying no to the eastward expansion of NATO. And it includes that NATO must work with Russia to redefine what European security looks like and that the new European security framework needs to include NATO’s withdrawing back to the 1990-1997 lines. Now, this is Russia’s stated objectives.
And now we have the United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaking about using this conflict to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia by inflicting so many casualties that Russia becomes weakened to the point that it can never again carry out an operation like this in Europe.
That’s a completely different objective than what the United States was saying at the beginning. And NATO is bought into that objective. So my point is, when Russia finishes phase two, they’re still going to be confronted with a hostile Ukraine that is more closely linked to NATO’s today than they were when the conflict started. And with a NATO that is not willing to roll over and accept Russia’s demands regarding a new European security framework where both sides can live in peace together, but rather which is focused on destroying Russia and Ukraine through continued nonstop combat operations. Which means that Russia better have a phase three in mind because this war isn’t over when they finish with phase two.
I have read and listened to Martyanov's posts (which I enjoy; I think Martyanov's books are very important, especially "The (Real) Revolution in Military Affairs"), which essentially say that regardless of how fast the US/NATO send in military equipment and personnel to Ukraine, the Ukrainian military cannot be trained fast enough to use whatever is actually useful, and regardless, all troops and equipment sent to Ukraine will be quickly destroyed by Russia. This has been the primary argument to dismiss Ritter, and it made sense.
However, I think Ritter is making an important point here -- that the US/NATO has now committed itself to defeating Russia with NONSTOP combat operations. Of course, this rules out any negotiated settlements for the remaining Articles listed in the draft Russian Treaties of last December, which Russia characterized as not being a "menu" from which the West could pick and choose from. Hence the need for Russia to plan for a "phase 3" in the war.
In my opinion, unless the US backs down, this makes a US/NATO-Russian war inevitable.
Posted by: Perimetr | May 24 2022 17:13 utc | 63
kissinger is the alan greenspan of geopolitics
Posted by: the pair | May 24 2022 15:32 utc | 35
Mr Irrational Exuberance LOL!
Posted by: sln2002 | May 24 2022 17:13 utc | 64
bevin @53
Craig Murray is indeed clueless on this issue. yet again, one who did fantastic work (Assange), who you would think can spot media hysteria and yet falls right in line with psychosis. and this is the best of the west.
Posted by: alpaka | May 24 2022 17:15 utc | 65
Posted by: Chevrus | May 24 2022 15:51 utc | 39
"One really has to wonder about the quality of the stooges being placed in position of authority and influence these days. At very least we can say that they no longer get the best and brightest if they ever did."
It's been an unending shit-show since we bred the Neanderthals out and replaced them with homo corruptus. Nero, the Borgias you name it...
BUT one thing has changed: they used to be convincing enough that people thought their countries really existed and those running the country ultimately had their interests in mind, stupid or misguided as they often might have appeared. They put on a good show.
Nowadays they don't even bother. It's like they want us to know we are part of a dysfunctional Reality TV sitcom and that there's nothing we can do about it because 'we the people' never get any lines.
I mean: it REALLY is insulting how they don't even feel the need to put on a good show....
@Sumguy (9) "Truss is a well known peabrained bimbo, but to be honest I'd be absolutely in favor of the UK sending ships to the black sea. Imagine a British cruiser bumping into a Ukrainian mine, sinking and its crew getting saved by a Russian minesweeper. I'd laugh so much I'd need a change of underwear."
Even if this were to happen, the Brits would claim that their ships were attacked by Russian submarines or missiles or magic ray guns. As an aside, I recently read a report that Russia has developed a high power laser that may turn sci-fi ray guns into reality.
Posted by: Rob | May 24 2022 17:19 utc | 67
I was really doubtful the inversion of the Ukrainian flag could be a boneheaded mistake. Flag etiquette is a really big deal in any military, not just at the Pentagon. The color guards who handle the flags have elaborate rituals to show respect to "the colors", and they know full well that flying them upside down is immensely disrespectful. I didn't see how that could be done by mistake.
Then karlof1 @48 supplied that little gem of info and now I am certain. The Pentagon deliberately displayed the Ukrainian colors inverted.
The real military personnel at the Pentagon know that the Ukrainians are leaving their dead on the battlefield, making only half-hearted efforts to supply, reinforce, or rotate troops on the front line, instructing their troops to do dishonorable things, and generally abusing their own forces. Doubtless that deeply offends those who make the military their life. Normally the US military cannot openly criticize America's allies as that is politics and they have to stay neutral in politics, but they can display their disgust in less obvious ways. I think flying the Ukrainian flag inverted was a display of the military's real feelings about their role in the conflict, or at least the feelings of a faction within the military. The bit of info karlof1 found for us confirms it, in my opinion.
Posted by: William Gruff | May 24 2022 17:23 utc | 68
What are these posters doing when the Azov Army needs all the manpower it can muster?Posted by: bevin | May 24 2022 16:46 utc | 55
The pejorative laden language of Stritchplatte's post aside, the exploration of who gets promoted quickly up the ladder and why is a worthy exercise in determining the forces that shape world events.
Kissinger was much more than a useful idiot, the very definition of people such as Biden, Zelensky, Truss...
Lately I have been thinking more and more about reincarnation, karma and destiny. Perhaps it is my advanced age, but it is also an option.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | May 24 2022 17:24 utc | 69
Posted by: alpaka | May 24 2022 17:15 utc | 65
Murray got jail time for defending Alex Salmond. Which is sad and instructive.
Posted by: sln2002 | May 24 2022 17:26 utc | 70
On the mishandling of flags: Last year my father-in-law passed. He was a 20-year vet and was accorded a flag draped coffin, taps, and the other military funeral benefits. However, the flag folding by the soldiers tasked with that duty was completely botched and done incorrectly, although no one interrupted the process at the time, but it was immediately remarked upon at the end of the service. The soldiers tasked with the funeral duty weren't first-timers, but they clearly were never properly trained in the correct manner to fold the flag, which is a fundamental basic for that ceremony. Even the widow noticed as did his children and kin.
So, when it comes to such ordinary rituals as proper flag etiquette and protocols, I'd say the staff tasked with arranging the flags didn't know any better aside from the need for the flags to all hang similarly. That the result didn't pass inspection IMO is par for the course with the Outlaw US Empire's military. There're clusterfucks happening within it everywhere on a daily basis--from funerals to press conferences to allying with and training Nazis.
On the mishandling of flags: Last year my father-in-law passed. He was a 20-year vet and was accorded a flag draped coffin, taps, and the other military funeral benefits. However, the flag folding by the soldiers tasked with that duty was completely botched and done incorrectly, although no one interrupted the process at the time, but it was immediately remarked upon at the end of the service. The soldiers tasked with the funeral duty weren't first-timers, but they clearly were never properly trained in the correct manner to fold the flag, which is a fundamental basic for that ceremony. Even the widow noticed as did his children and kin.
So, when it comes to such ordinary rituals as proper flag etiquette and protocols, I'd say the staff tasked with arranging the flags didn't know any better aside from the need for the flags to all hang similarly. That the result didn't pass inspection IMO is par for the course with the Outlaw US Empire's military. There're clusterfucks happening within it everywhere on a daily basis--from funerals to press conferences to allying with and training Nazis.
Regarding that point about Russian deep operations, here's something I wrote on April 5 about this. Soviet Deep Battle and OODA Loops in the Ukraine. I think it's particularly relevant now, with Poles increasingly escalating their direct involvement.
https://readingjunkie.com/2022/04/05/soviet-deep-battle-and-ooda-loops-in-the-ukraine/
Posted by: Ian Kummer | May 24 2022 17:35 utc | 73
Kissinger is Jabba The Hut among the deep state. He is a mass murderer and he was a great influencer. He could and did play both sides with aplomb, changing his allegiance to Nixon at the last second. Still, keeping a foot in the door with the Democrats.
Who was that little rat-faced Treasury Secretary with Obama Admin. He went to the "Kissinger School" as many other corrupt power brokers have done.
I think Kissinger is preparing the five percent who think they think - by watching tv or reading the NYT, for eventual defeat of Ukraine.
Up to now, they've been fed a steady diet of complete fabricated, fantastical bullshit.
Posted by: Chaka Khagan | May 24 2022 17:35 utc | 74
Posted by: Chaka Khagan | May 24 2022 17:35 utc | 72
Timmy "Turbo Tax" Geithner
Posted by: sln2002 | May 24 2022 17:38 utc | 75
bevin@53-Given the current stance Mr Murray takes with regards to Russia and indeed some other issues, I’d take being banned from his comments section as a badge of honour!
I enjoy your posts and I’d noticed your absence from CM’s site recently albeit that I no longer visit with anything like the frequency, I did.
Posted by: Vragtes | May 24 2022 17:43 utc | 76
Tim Geithner, yes.
He was head of NY Fed. before he rocketed to stardom.
Failing upward.
Tony Blinken, stepson of Robert Maxwell's attorney, Sam Pisar, stepbrother to Clinton minder, Leah Pisar, now comes to mind.
Posted by: Chaka Khagan | May 24 2022 17:43 utc | 77
I suppose it's possible that the flag-handling grunts are somewhat less stupid, careless, and ignorant than their bosses with all the Shiny Things on their chests (anyone remember John McCain III?), but I'm still going with stupid, careless, and ignorant.
In the unlikely event that there was intentionality involved, I'd go with Red Outsider (currently no. 8 in these comments), who implies that "we" weren't showing the 404 flag at all but rather the colors of the Azov Battalion.
Posted by: malenkov | May 24 2022 17:44 utc | 78
How does one say "Bay of Pigs" in Russian?
Posted by: Ursula Zandt | May 24 2022 15:30 utc | 34
Залив Свиней
Posted by: Barofsky | May 24 2022 17:44 utc | 79
Tim Geithner, yes.He was head of NY Fed. before he rocketed to stardom.
Failing upward.
Tony Blinken, stepson of Robert Maxwell's attorney, Sam Pisar, stepbrother to Clinton minder, Leah Pisar, now comes to mind.
Posted by: Chaka Khagan | May 24 2022 17:43 utc | 75
. . . and there you have it, folks. Political entities decay when their meritocracies (assuming they ever had them) are eroded in favor of dynasties and advancement on the basis of country club- and bedroom-style connections. That's how we end up with Blinkens, Bushes, and La Clinton.
Posted by: malenkov | May 24 2022 17:50 utc | 80
Posted by: Objective Observer | May 24 2022 14:41 utc | 14
Watching that video made me realize just how civilized the Russians are.
Posted by: Undercutter | May 24 2022 17:50 utc | 81
Posted by: karlof1 | May 24 2022 17:10 utc | 61
Thank you for continuing to link Lavrov, Putin, and others. I'm guessing you put a fair amount of time and effort into it along with your perspective. Just want you to know I very much appreciate your posts and links.
Posted by: migueljose | May 24 2022 17:50 utc | 82
#3 ursula
You mention Ukrainian expats that may, in the future, foment insurrections. Actually it was Ukrainian expats, who collaborated with Nazi Germany during WWII, that fomented insurrections in Ukraine against the Soviet Union beginning days after the end of WWII.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, these Ukronazis (or their children and grand children) were the ones who returned from Canada and the US who went on to lead the color revolutions that has led to this current mess in Ukraine. I have witnessed this inside the US. Just follow the Chalupa sisters political influence inside US politics (their grandfathers were likely Ukrainian Nazi collaborators).
This is a multi-generational war of Ukrainian ex-patriots in the West trying to undo the historical fact that Ukraine is culturally linked to Russia.
Posted by: Toivos | May 24 2022 17:55 utc | 83
@ bevin | May 24 2022 16:46 utc | 55
. sorry to hear of your exclusion from craigs comment section. i rarely go their now and am disappointed in his position on russia...
Posted by: james | May 24 2022 17:00 utc | 59
Snap. CM's recent incarceration seems to have had the desired effect that the SPTB desired.
Bevin is not the only one to be put on the naughty step.
Posted by: Butties | May 24 2022 17:59 utc | 84
Turkey isnt going to open the Black sea to any warships so it is all bs anyway.
Posted by: nook | May 24 2022 18:01 utc | 85
Inverted flag: an internet search just informed me that it is allowed to invert a flag if the owner is in grave danger. Obviously, that was the intention in this example, at least in my understanding.
Kissinger: trying to find his entire intervention was not successful. From bits and pieces reported in the media - he is for quickly restoring the previous state of affairs, pre war.
What b quoted is sensible in the abstract, but the train has long left the station. So what's the point now. Besides, I am having a really hard time with Kissinger quoting. The man is a major war criminal, and we should at least not give them a public voice. Do we really need major war criminals as guides?
While searching I also found this (Washington Post). It is FANTASTIC:
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told global leaders in Davos that the war is not only “a matter of Ukraine’s survival” or “an issue of European security” but also “a task for the entire global community.” She lamented Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “destructive fury” but said Russia could one day recover its place in Europe if it “finds its way back to democracy, the rule of law and respect for the international rules-based order … because Russia is our neighbor.”
Posted by: JB | May 24 2022 18:01 utc | 86
Why hasn't the UN and the WTO sanctioned the US for invading, bombing, destroying many countries since 1945. (VietNam, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Lebanon, Afghanistan to name a few.)?
Saudi Arabia for bombing Yemen.
Israel for bombing Lebanon and Syria.
Posted by: Hannibal | May 24 2022 18:02 utc | 87
One of the telegram channels is (cross)posting photos of M777 howitzers with their radio and GPS communications intact; the channel is making the point that now the same howitzers would be capable of using the M982 Excalibur projectiles.
This news reminded me of the musings of Sladkov, one of the most respected Russian mil.cor. in Donbass, from few days back, that at the moment the Russians don't have the distance to match the Excalburs.
Assuming that the howitzers and the Excaliburs reach the LoC, and that's a big assumption, they are going to inflict a lot of damage even though they are not going to change the overall outcome. Fingers crossed they get interdicted on the way.
Posted by: Bloke from block 8 | May 24 2022 18:04 utc | 88
From IntelSlava
#BREAKING
🇭🇺🚨⚠️ — Hungarian Government declares Wartime State of Emergecy, starting by Wednesday, announces Prime-Minister Orban!
Posted by: Down South | May 24 2022 18:04 utc | 89
Posted by: karlof1 | May 24 2022 16:34 utc | 48
"
"Austin's statement must have dealt a direct blow to those who support 'Taiwan independence,' because it turns out if you are a pawn of the US, you will end up being cannon fodder.
"For the US, nothing can override its interests." [My Emphasis]
"
Good catch. I suspect that for the US the main thing is to use troubles to garner MIC profits and then leverage insecurity into long-term debt obligations. Once the conflict has achieved that what then happens on the ground is no longer important.
Ukraine is about boosting MIC income (Trump didn't go along) which has to be done every few years because war means using up old inventory to be able to go to Congress to authorize making new stuff. That's basic. But then this one is about bending Eurasia to its hegemonic will as well and I suspect they thought their sanctions ploy would play out differently.
OR, as I increasingly suspect, there are agencies within the US who are part of an overall strategy to crash the old system in order to have a reset which will not only change all financial controls etc. but also usher in this multipolar world what is being described in glowing terms by Putin but may end up being a dystopian totalitarian techno-fascist nightmare.
Why hasn't the UN and the WTO sanctioned the US for invading, bombing, destroying many countries since 1945...Posted by: Hannibal | May 24 2022 18:02 utc | 85
The UN has not sanctioned Russia either, since they are a Security Council Member. Nor officially has the WTO, since they claim it is not their jurisdiction.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | May 24 2022 18:13 utc | 91
Bloke from block 8 | May 24 2022 18:04 utc | 86
They are being used. MoD put up a video of one battery that they targeted and supposedly destroyed though total destruction was not clear in the video. I read elsewhere that Russia used its 8" guns with 50k range to take out the M777's which has 40k range with excalibur
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 24 2022 18:16 utc | 92
About that flag; it obviously did pass inspection and much more since the picture is from when the meeting is being held.
Still more likely to be a mistake than anything else, it's simply that none of the people involved care to even check. It simply doesn't register with anyone at any level from whoever put them up to whoever looked things over, to whoever participated, to whoever watched (including any "Ukrainians").
Sums up "the west" and nearly everyone at every level there/here, some people here are the very rare exceptions but I probably wouldn't have caught this one myself (I would have seen but not looked). Pretty sure "the west" is going to be like this all the way to the very end.
Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | May 24 2022 18:16 utc | 93
William Gruff @68--
Thanks for your recognition that the Outlaw US Empire is always in a CYA position. Here we sort of have an example of that provided today by Putin during his meeting on the development of the transportation complex where Russia does while the Outlaw US Empire does not:
But before we move on to the agenda, I would like to note the following.Infrastructure development is one of the main drivers of our economy, indeed, of any economy. Over the years, we have been consistently and systematically building up Russia's logistics capabilities, and we are doing this with a view to the future, to a long-term effect for Russian business and our citizens.
In the coming years, we need to accelerate this area of work. We have already increased direct budget expenditures on the development of transport infrastructure and formed a programme of infrastructure budget loans.
Year after year, the volume of construction, renewal of the network of roads and railways, river and sea infrastructure, transport arteries, which not only connect the regions of Russia, serve as the basis for the development of industry and agriculture, but also help our companies and enterprises to increase foreign trade, to develop foreign markets, should also grow. [My Emphasis]
Neoliberal Wall Street Planners won't allow any such work to take place within the Outlaw US Empire because it takes away from short-term profits. Instead, such important work devolves to the states to accomplish with their meager means, which in many cases translates into nothing being done at all except where federal mandates apply, as with the interstate highway system.
As some might presume, this is an important meeting since it deals with the North-South Transport Corridor and a return to the development of the Eastern Railway Range, the latter being something few barflies likely know about, although many billions of rubles were proposed to be spent on the project. Indeed, that Russia is actively discussing and allocating funds to such projects shows the West's utter defeat in its attempt to cancel Russia. Instead, the West has motivated Russia to become a mirror to China, which will carry over to the whole of Eurasia. That of course signals that the Outlaw US Empire's policy since 1992 has become a total failure and has instead resulted in the hollowing out of its own economy along with the perceived need to attack its vassals's economies because the Parasite's become even more voracious than ever.
Not only is the Outlaw US Empire and NATO being defeated in Ukraine, their illegal sanctions policies are devastating their own economies, which in essence constitutes an attack on themselves, which they happen to be winning. Now think about that just a moment--NATO is winning its attack on itself.
From IntelSlava
🇪🇺❗At the next summit in late May, the EU will not be able to agree on an embargo on imports of Russian oil - the head of the European Commission Ursula von der LeyenAccording to her, this is not an issue that should be resolved in the European Council.
“We are working hard on this (imbargo negotiation) right now, it is a matter of weeks, but we really need to find a solution for investment needs. We need to adapt it in such a way that we do not have a situation where Putin does not sell oil to us, but sells at a higher price in the world market," she stressed.
The mental gymnastics being performed here actually makes my head hurt!
So the EU is not going to embargo Russian oil and gas because they literally have no other option but instead they’re not going to embargo it because they’re worried that he may sell it at a higher price to others?
Posted by: Down South | May 24 2022 18:21 utc | 95
another democrat calls for regime change in Russia, this time it's Joe Mancin. at some point the MSM is going to admit that, like it now to some extent admits the Biden laptop files are real.
Posted by: pretzelattack | May 24 2022 18:25 utc | 96
There is also this on flag etiquette (noting that General Austin has the UKr flag to his right) :
When the American Flag is displayed on a podium, it is generally placed in a stand either beside, behind, or slightly in front of the speaker. The American Flag should always be to the speaker's right and other flags should stand on the left.
. . .but what can one expect from two US generals?
Posted by: Don Bacon | May 24 2022 18:27 utc | 97
"This news reminded me of the musings of Sladkov, one of the most respected Russian mil.cor. in Donbass, from few days back, that at the moment the Russians don't have the distance to match the Excalburs."
Rubbish...the smerch MRL has a range of 70-90 k. Whats more, it has rounds with 5 independent guided at projectiles for each rocket. And of course, they can easily take them out from the air.
Posted by: nook | May 24 2022 18:28 utc | 98
Posted by: Scorpion | May 24 2022 18:12 utc | 88
so you think the war is a fraud. note, the war could not be real if the US, as you claim, wants a multipolar world.
Posted by: pretzelattack | May 24 2022 18:28 utc | 99
Craig Murray is working from close readings of international law and his position is technically correct. That said, the letter of international law doesn't include provision for violation of "indivisible security" (i.e. NATO provocation), and that is the operative dilemma here. International law says the Russian Federation has no recourse other than pleading or relying on the "good faith" of its "western partners". Obviously this will need to be addressed, and at least someone like Macron has publicly recognized this issue.
The difference now in terms of propaganda is that many of the NATO countries have been funnelling huge amounts of money into sophisticated multi-faceted information and narrative control programs, and some of this $$$ appears to have purchased influence on the editorial decision-making of the largest media companies. As well, the malign threat of "cancel culture" has moved beyond gender and racial issues to include geopolitical opinion. Several well-informed bloggers had announced they would refrain from comment on Ukraine situation in face of nasty attacks and threats of isolation.
Posted by: jayc | May 24 2022 18:29 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
The only winners here are the American Oligarchy. They've scammed as much as possible out of Ukraine having dumped another $40B+ into that lost enterprise (most of which will rebound to them). Where does that leave the "rest of us" who didn't even know that Ukraine existed 3 months ago?
Posted by: Fiji Refuge | May 24 2022 14:16 utc | 1