Interesting read from Engdahl

Finally, taking advantage of the covid lockdown restrictions and bans on public protests, in May 2021 Zelenskyy signed Bill No. 2194, deregulating land, calling it the “key” to the “farmland market.” He was right. In a sneaky move to calm farmer opposition, Zelensky claimed the new law allows only Ukrainian citizens to buy or sell the valuable farmland in the first few years.
He did not mention the huge loophole allowing foreign-owned companies like Monsanto (today part of Bayer AG) or DuPont (now Corteva), or other companies which have been operating in Ukraine more than three years, to also buy the desired land.
The 2021 law also gave ownership to notoriously corrupt municipal and village governments who can change the land purpose. After January 2024 Ukraine citizens as well as corporations can buy up to 10,000 hectares of land. And an April, 2021 amendment to the land market law– “On Amendments to the Land Code of Ukraine and other Legislative Acts concerning the improvement of the management system and deregulation in the field of land relations”– opened another huge loophole for foreign agribusiness to take control of the rich Ukraine black earth.
The amendment circumvents the ban on sale of land to foreigners by changing the purpose of the land, say from cropland to commercial land. Then it can be sold to anyone, including foreigners who can in turn repurpose it to farmland. Zelenskyy signed the bill and went back on his campaign pledge to hold a national referendum on any change in land ownership.

Whose Grain Is Being Shipped From Ukraine?

Posted by: Down South | Aug 26 2022 14:33 utc | 4

From the BBC, the paragon of journalistic integrity. 🙂
“Latvia’s parliament has voted to remove all remaining Soviet statues and plaques.
The country has joined Estonia in bringing down World War Two memorials in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Demolition machinery was used to remove the 79-metre (259-foot) monument.”
What next?? How about, all the Baltics adopt the Finnish hakaristi as a gesture of defiance towards Moscow.

Posted by: DilNir | Aug 26 2022 14:41 utc | 6

@Lou Cypher | Aug 26 2022 14:26 utc | 2

Halturnerradioshow.com claims elite US Army units from Fort Campbell (KY.) en route to Kiev does this mean US intervention in the Ukraine. Time will tell.

Hal Turner is renowned for his made up BS and failed predictions. I have never seen anything he said turn out to be true.

Posted by: JustAnotherAussie | Aug 26 2022 14:55 utc | 8

The authorities of the liberated territory of the Zaporozhye region reported that as a result of Ukrainian shelling, all power lines were cut off, through which energy from the ZNPP went to Ukraine, and now there is no possibility to supply electricity from the ZNPP to Ukraine. This means a one-time reduction in the total generation of Ukraine by 20%. Therefore, instead of plans to “sell electricity to Europe”, the puppet regime will have to deal with the search for electricity to replace the lost capacity. And this is even without considering the likelihood of a strike by the RF Armed Forces on some TPPs (in response to the shelling of the ZNPP), which will automatically bring the situation in the energy sector of Ukraine to the brink of disaster. – Intel Slava Z 05:23

Posted by: Gilbert | Aug 26 2022 15:06 utc | 10

the swastika was a religious symbol taken and used by both finland and germany…. not sure why it is not okay to use the finnish word for it, which is what i think hakaristi stands for… i don’t know the origin of the word itself, but doubt very much it is a german word..

Posted by: james | Aug 26 2022 15:14 utc | 12

“Four shells hit the area of the storage of radioactive isotopes after shelling the territory of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant by Ukrainian troops.”
BBC radio news spinning this a Russian forces did the shelling then decided to cut the power from the ZNPP.
https://ria.ru/20220826/zaes-1812368961.html

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Aug 26 2022 15:22 utc | 14

from voltaire.net – Poland goes to war with Russia

Posted by: james | Aug 26 2022 15:29 utc | 16

James@12 it might mean ‘hook’. In Hungarian it is ‘horogkereszt’. The first part of the word is hook, the second is cross. I’m originally from Hungary, Hungarian and Finn are distant relatives.

Posted by: Peter Schmidt | Aug 26 2022 15:31 utc | 18

The Screamin Eagles are headed to Kiev in order to help all those drunk over worked US Embassy employees , to find their way home. lol But last month or two, the Pentagon said they were going to beef up the security around the Embassy. Actually, there is a nice big park next to the Embassy where they can sleep it off.

Posted by: GMC | Aug 26 2022 15:35 utc | 20

@Posted by: fnord | Aug 26 2022 14:56 utc | 9
A very good point, and a very worrying one. We have also seen this with the repressed Catalan independence movement in Spain. If the economic pain for Europe is going to span multiple years of “doing with less” as the neoliberal Macron puts it, and with the left and Greens spent as a force for the good of the working class in Europe, the door is wide open for the right wing nationalists.
The set up is eerily like that of Germany in the 1920s, with the possibility of both Italy and Bulgaria electing right-wing nationalist governments in rejection of the neoliberal elites that had been put in place, to add to Hungary. Of course, Poland and the Baltic States are far down the path of xenophobic right-wing nationalism. Then of course we will have the lunatic “global Britain” nationalist Truss at the head of the UK. In such an environment the EU will either fragment or will become a much lesser entity as individual countries reclaim legal and economic sovereignty. The same for NATO, with the “sitting on the fence” Turkey being a good example of the possible future.
I just read about people from the Baltic beating up Ukrainians in Ireland, seems there may be no love lost between them; its not just the Russians they hate. On a historical basis, there a whole bunch of nationalities that the Baltic people could direct their hate at. Same for the Banderistas in Western Ukraine.

Posted by: Roger | Aug 26 2022 15:47 utc | 22

I follow British media and can read that panic is spreading around about exploding energy bills, and mind you we are still in August. I suspect the same is happening elsewhere in Europe. I expect the Russian timing is going to be perfect this autumn. There will be a decisive offensive in Ukraine to coincide with beginning of the winter at the same time tightening of the pain dial in terms of oil and gas deliveries (they might stop selling both oil and gas at some point). This all timed to US mid term elections. Watch this space!

Posted by: Milos | Aug 26 2022 15:57 utc | 24

The Hal Turner article says nothing about where the Ft. Campbell troops are going!
Just the facts.

Posted by: BW | Aug 26 2022 16:00 utc | 26

@ Peter Schmidt | Aug 26 2022 15:31 utc | 19 and @ Bemildred | Aug 26 2022 15:33 utc | 20
thanks…. apparently a lot of people still don’t know the history of the use of the symbol..

Posted by: james | Aug 26 2022 16:01 utc | 28

I just read about people from the Baltic beating up Ukrainians in Ireland, seems there may be no love lost between them; its not just the Russians they hate. On a historical basis, there a whole bunch of nationalities that the Baltic people could direct their hate at. Same for the Banderistas in Western Ukraine.
Posted by: Roger | Aug 26 2022 15:47 utc | 23
Yes, the “European unity with Ukraine” is a myth formulated by WEF controlled MSM. They always like to claim that majority of population supports what WEF wants to do through artificial polls, interviews and any other potential propaganda.
The truth is that some ultra neo liberals “support” Ukraine due to their hate of Russians, and maybe some far right crazies. Once it turns out to be they can’t defeat the Russian combined arms formations, they just start getting on each others throats as old conflicts surface. Also the arrogance and sense of entitlements for many Ukrainian refugees won’t help quelling that.

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 26 2022 16:09 utc | 30

Fíréan no. 22
That link worked. Btw, there is a film entitled “hatred -murder of the innocent” (banned in ukraine) which depicts the 1943 Volhynian tragedy in which 60,000 poles were murdered by ukranian nationalists under german occupation.

Posted by: ThusspaeZarathustra | Aug 26 2022 16:27 utc | 32

Posted by: pavi | Aug 26 2022 15:08 utc | 11
It was taken from family arms of the german count who donated first aircraft for finnish airforce…
—
It was taken from family arms of the Swedish count who donated first aircraft for finnish airforce…
FTFY.
Count Carl Gustaf Bloomfield Eric von Rosen to be precise, the later brother-in-law of Hermann Göhring. The hakaristi may not be associated with National Socialist symbolism, but that does not change the fact that the people involved were of a similar mindset.

Posted by: Nobody | Aug 26 2022 16:35 utc | 34

Irrespective of the “noble” history of thr symbol, the Germans besmirched it on an historical scale and it will take the deaths of everyone affected by it before it can ever be reclaimed by global society. That means everyone who lived through the war, plus their children, and their children’s children. Add another generation or three for the citizens of the Israeli nation founded as a result and you probably arrive at the point where it become just another historical curiosity like the Horus falcon of Egypt, the Boar of Scythia or the Eagle of Rome. So we are probably at the second half of this century before that occurs. The point being it becomes disassociated from any emotion connected with events of the era, which takes generations to accomplish.

Posted by: Prof E | Aug 26 2022 16:49 utc | 36

10th hit in the area of the storage today. No damage yet, said authorities.

Posted by: rk | Aug 26 2022 17:03 utc | 38

@Nobody | Aug 26 2022 16:35 utc | 35
Von Rosen was Swede, and extreme right winger, one of the major supporters of National Socialism in Sweden. He got less vocal after 1938, allegedly due to disapproval of Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia in late 1938. This maybe posthumous apologetics though.
The svastika at that time was the sign of German armed extreme right wing “Freikorps” mercenaries, who later murdered Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, and committed innumerous crimes of arson, rape, torture and massacres in the civil wars in the Baltics. They were proto-Nazis later forming the core of SA and SS. So their svastika, no less than the finnish one, were certainly no “noble” sign but foreboding what the Nazis did later in eastern europe.

Posted by: aquadraht | Aug 26 2022 17:12 utc | 40

Man, even Finnish paper industry reducing toilet paper production citing “energy”. Things are really, really bad. The list of items requiring gas to sustain modern civilization is very high. Just sayin’.

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 26 2022 17:19 utc | 42

Ukrainian weapons systems destroyed¹ by week (chart)

Week             Air Hel  UAV SAMS  AFV  MRL  Art  Veh

Feb 24 – Mar 2    62   ²   53   39  606   67  227  405
Mar 3  – Mar 9    35   ²   54  102  380   40  141  344
Mar 10 – Mar 16   14  13   65   29  393   26  146  419
Mar 17 – Mar 23    1   2   85   32  193   27  119  211
Mar 24 – Mar 30   12   5   84   14  243   35  129  310
Mar 31 – Apr 6     1  18   75   11  188   25  107  213
Apr 7  – Apr 13    6   9   32   18  176   28   75  186
Apr 14 – Apr 20    9   2   63    9  231   14  102  171
Apr 21 – Apr 27    2   5  103   22  213   37  100  172
Apr 28 – May 4     7   1  112   12  211   26  160  215
May 5  – May 11   15  13   95   15  179   39  165  178
May 12 – May 18    8   0  121   10  145   31   91  202
May 19 – May 25    7   2   77   10  108   38  120  164
May 26 – Jun 1     7   2   65    4  107   27   70  160
Jun 2  – Jun 8     7   1   79    9   98   33   82  162
Jun 9  – Jun 15   11   1   55    4   98   33  134  135
Jun 16 – Jun 22    7   1  111    9  181  121  120  171
Jun 23 – Jun 29   13   2   71    4  109   51  971³  98
Jun 30 – Jul 6    10   3   79    0   76   26   43  148
Jul 7  – Jul 13   15   0   55    1  115   20   43  228
Jul 14 – Jul 20   11   7   43    2   85   18   29  121
Jul 21 – Jul 27    0   1   48    3   37    2   33  102
Jul 28 – Aug 3     1   0   48    2   72   22   44  181
Aug 4  – Aug 10    6   1   54    4   43   11   39  124
Aug 11 – Aug 17    0   2   30    1   53    3   22  118
Aug 18 – Aug 24    6   0   51    3   44   19   28  110

Legend:

Air   Aircraft
Hel   Helicopters
UAV   Unmanned aerial vehicles
SAMS  Surface-to-air missile systems
AFV   Armoured fighting vehicles (tanks, IFVs, APCs, etc.)
MRL   Multiple rocket launchers
Art   Field artillery pieces and mortars⁴
Veh   Special military vehicles (non-armoured vehicles)

¹ I think that by “destroyed” Russian MoD means “hit”, i.e., some systems are truly destroyed, while others are only damaged and re-enter service after repairs.
² The total number of helicopters destroyed during the first two weeks (February 24 – March 9) is 57. Separate data for each week is not available.
³ According to Russian MoD, Russian forces have destroyed 914 field artillery pieces and mortars from the morning of June 23 until the morning of June 24. This must be either an error or a correction of previously published data.
⁴ It’s unclear whether self-propelled artillery is included in “AFV” or “Art”. I think it’s in “AFV”.
(Compiled from Russian MoD daily briefings. July 28 briefing is missing from the website, but is available on Telegram.)

Posted by: S | Aug 26 2022 17:27 utc | 44

james | Aug 26 2022 2:10 utc | 195, 300
circumspect | Aug 26 2022 2:22 utc | 197
Deep Woods | Aug 26 2022 2:45 utc | 202, 204, 206, 211, 225
Melaleuca | Aug 26 2022 3:09 utc | 207, 230
Exile | Aug 26 2022 6:05 utc | 226
Joe Walker | Aug 26 2022 7:22 utc | 238
? | Aug 26 2022 13:33 utc | 289
I took a very deep dive into an Nikolayev atlas and there are actually two separate villages called Blahodatne/Blagodatnoye. Given the fire control activity east of Nikolayev the UGS is probably referring to the village in eastern Nikolayev region southeast of Bilozirka, not the one in western Nikolayev region to the west of the river Bug. That puts the Russians about 35 km from the outskirts of Nikolayev from the east. If all this is accurate then it is unlikely the Russians have crossed the southern Bug as of yet and the Nikolayev coastline remains in Ukrainian hands, if only nominally.

Posted by: Deep Woods | Aug 26 2022 17:37 utc | 46

thanks to all your team Saker.

Posted by: James | Aug 26 2022 17:41 utc | 48

This week’s Strategic Culture editorial uses the UNSC meeting on Ukraine as its focal point in arguing “The Futility of Dialogue With Idiots & Liars.” In the process, it presents the following logic that’s very difficult to refute:

When Russia’s ambassador Vassily Nebenzia took his turn to set the record straight at the Security Council hearing, the Ukrainian leader refused to listen, his video link conveniently cut off.
Nevertheless, the Russian envoy presented the evidence of NATO-backed military strikes on the ZNPP and went on to cogently state that the crisis in Ukraine has been systematically instigated by the NATO powers and its Kiev proxy over the past eight years since the CIA-backed coup in 2014. Nebenzia remarked on how Western powers and the Kiev regime are living in a “parallel reality”.
It is common to hear these days how the world is subjected to a post-truth condition. In plainer language that means a world of lies, falsehoods, distortions, misinformation and disinformation. The crisis in Ukraine, the NATO powers and the Kiev regime are an embodiment of this fiendish reality.
Western regimes accuse Russia of unprovoked aggression in Ukraine. (The same regimes that have slaughtered their way through Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and continue to illegally bomb Syria, to name but a few victim nations.) They declare they are defending sovereignty and democracy. This is a preposterous charade that flies in the face of facts that the Western powers weaponized a Nazi regime in Ukraine to destabilize Russia. (An echo of how they weaponized Hitler’s Third Reich for the same purpose more than eight decades ago.) The Kiev regime has been killing its own people for eight years and committed countless war crimes. The relentless attacks on the ZNPP are totally consistent with the depraved conduct. Elsewhere, the NATO-backed regime has shelled chemical and oil plants in the Donbass territory. The Western media decline to report on these violations because that would reveal the criminal mentality and practice of the Kiev regime and its NATO sponsors.
Russia’s military operation to neutralize the growing NATO threat in Ukraine has been effective. The poisonous boil has been lanced and NATO’s decades-long aggressive expansionism against Russia has been checked. Yet Western media – the propaganda ministry that it is – claim that Russia’s intervention has been a failure. The United States and its NATO allies continue to flood Ukraine with offensive weapons even while the Kiev regime is using nuclear terrorism with these weapons and while Russian forces are destroying the Ukrainian military. That’s not a contradiction; it is a green light for more war and profits for the American military-industrial complex that underpins U.S. capitalism.
The entire crisis could have been avoided with much less loss of life if the NATO powers had responded to Russia’s long-held security concerns. But that assumes the NATO powers would have been interested in avoiding war. The damning conclusion is that the United States and its imperialist allies have always wanted the present war in order to pursue a geopolitical ambition of confronting Russia. In the same way that the U.S.-led axis wants to precipitate a war with China over Taiwan and other bogus issues.
American-led Western capitalism is addicted to war for its own ghoulish survival. A world of peaceful relations is fundamentally anathema to Washington and its vassals. But the ruling regimes can’t very well admit that pernicious motive, so they have to cover up their criminal agenda with deceptions about democracy, rules-based order, human rights and other laughable pretensions. Western media provide the necessary cosmetics for the ghoulish reality. The fact is wars and destruction are the oxygen for U.S. global power and its imperial lackeys. Dozens of wars since World War II waged by the U.S. and its international crime syndicate of NATO accomplices, especially its British henchman, attest to that naked, ugly truth. [My Emphasis]

I agree with the contention the NATO always wanted a war to spring forth from the Ukraine coup, and that it was very prudent for Putin to withhold Russia’s confrontation with NATO until it was fully prepared. Putin and team also correctly forecast the sanctions that would be levied and did as much as they could as part of Russia’s preparation. Yes, negotiations by NATO back in December would have proven more favorable to it than what will be faced at the conclusion of the SMO. It’s very possible NATO and EU will be so destabilized that they’ll crumble, which IMO is an unspoken goal for Russia. Based on Zelensky’s own idiocy there won’t be any negotiations, just capitulation at some point in 2023. I doubt he’ll have Hitler’s courage to kill himself. He’ll either be murdered or escape to Florida or Toronto. The Europe he abandons will be very different and no longer led by idiots and liars.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 26 2022 18:01 utc | 50

Oops .. that would be blood shed in vain in WWI .. due to the treachery of the scapegoated Jews and Communists

Posted by: Callmelennie | Aug 26 2022 18:08 utc | 52

oops!
Tried to post a link but obviously did not do it right. Here is the address to paste in. It is an interesting read, especially for us ex-pats. https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/08/26/my-first-seventy-years-as-an-ex-pat/

Posted by: c | Aug 26 2022 18:16 utc | 54

Historical moment: The price of gas crossed the threshold of $3,500 per 1,000 cubic meters and went further…

Posted by: rp | Aug 26 2022 18:28 utc | 56

Not sure as to the accuracy of “according to testimonies” reports that regular army Polish troops are now fighting in Ukraine:
https://www.voltairenet.org/article217841.html
Current Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is pursuing exactly the same strategy. He made an alliance with Poland, pledging to hand over eastern Galicia in exchange for its commitment against Russia. History always repeats itself, to the detriment of the Ukrainian people.
It is impossible to grasp what is currently happening in Ukraine without knowing the history of the Ukrainian “integral nationalists” and their successive alliances with Poland and the Nazi Reich. Contrary to mainstream media claims, Russia is not fighting Ukraine, but the “integral nationalists” that it refers to as “neo-Nazis”.

Posted by: Taras 77 | Aug 26 2022 18:55 utc | 58

My #59:
Apologies, link was posted by James above.#16.

Posted by: Taras 77 | Aug 26 2022 19:13 utc | 60

Czech Republic Calls Emergency EU Meeting On Energy Crisis

The Czech Republic, which holds the rotating Presidency of the European Union, will convene an urgent meeting of the energy ministers of the bloc to discuss specific emergency measures to address the energy situation, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Friday, as the energy crisis in the EU is worsening with prices rallying to new records.
Jozef Síkela, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, also tweeted on Friday, “We are in an energy war with Russia and it is damaging the whole EU. In agreement with the European Commission and Prime Minister Fiala, I will propose to convene an extraordinary meeting of the EU Energy Council at the earliest possible date.”

Posted by: Don Bacon | Aug 26 2022 19:27 utc | 62

A phobia is an excessive and irrational fear reaction. If you have a phobia, you may experience a deep sense of dread or panic when you encounter the source of your fear. The fear can be of a certain place, situation, or object. Unlike general anxiety disorders, a phobia is usually connected to something specific.
The impact of a phobia can range from annoying to severely disabling. People with phobias often realize their fear is irrational, but they’re unable to do anything about it.

What the unfriendly countries of the “collective West” have is not exactly Russophobia, but Russo-hatred. Maybe they are afraid of Russia and the Russians, so they have a phobia, what they show/feel is even worse type of sickness — hatred, which is incurable!
If you watch the “leaders” of the collective West, and the editors/reporters of western MSM, you’d see that incurable sickness. If you watch them in the TV/videos, you’d feel/see that hatred pouring out of them. You don’t even need to understand the language they are speaking in.

Posted by: rp | Aug 26 2022 19:46 utc | 64

Clausewitz | Aug 26 2022 19:21 utc | 62
Tend to agree with this assessment. It was the fact that Hilary Clinton lost the election and the plans were shelved. I am certain that this would be her first “project” to thank the deep state and MIC for helping her win the election. This would be the cherry on top of the cake that she proudly started by helping to destroy Libia.

Posted by: Milos | Aug 26 2022 19:59 utc | 66

Clausewitz | Aug 26 2022 19:21 utc | 62
Posted by: Milos | Aug 26 2022 19:59 utc | 68
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 26 2022 20:11 utc | 69
Agree with point of continuing conflict, chaos, provocation of war!
A point to keep in mind is that it is a virtual certainty that the nazis, the azovs are embedded in the flow of refugees; they are prob already well organized to initiate the “Plan”, thanks to the murderous cia, mi6, mossad, sbu.

Posted by: Taras 77 | Aug 26 2022 20:21 utc | 68

In German it is Hakenkreuz.
Hooked cross.

Posted by: Jane | Aug 26 2022 20:33 utc | 70

The tearing down of soviet monuments in the Baltic states somehow reminds me of the following:
In the last couple of days German media reported about german ship wrecks from WW2 which resurfaced in the Danube in Serbia and in the Po river in Italy – due to the drought and low water levels.
Somehow this seems as symbolic to me as the tearing down of these monuments. As if nature tried to warn the people of Europe by resurfacing the wrecks of the last world war.

Posted by: Helmuth von Moltke | Aug 26 2022 20:59 utc | 72

Clausewitz @62–
Thanks for your reply. Given NATO’s current level of performance, IMO the outcome in 2017-18 would differ little from that of today.
Last week, it was asked that I provide the speech where Putin announced Russia’s new hypersonic weapons. The Russian language transcript of Putin’s address to the Federal Assembly that took place 1 March 2018 is here. At page top is the video of the address. Pre-Covid, “The announcement of the Address was attended by members of the Federation Council, deputies of the State Duma, members of the Government, heads of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts, the gubernatorial corps, chairmen of legislative assemblies of the constituent entities of the Federation, heads of traditional faiths, public figures, including heads of public chambers of the regions, heads of major mass media.” It’s been several years since I referred to this speech. It’s very informative to read it again today. The vast majority deals with domestic policy, which shouldn’t be overlooked at all since we can measure Russia’s performance over the years, and Russia has done extremely well. It’s also very important to recall from that portion of the speech who Russia’s development focus was aimed at–all Russians but significantly the elderly, the goal being to eliminate poverty. At the time, Putin’s suggestions and goals were seen as being very bold and he tied those goals to Russia’s security–Russia needed to attain them to ensure its security. But the request was made about the portion of the speech dealing with hypersonic development. So, I’ll provide this excerpt for starters, all emphasis is mine:
“Let me repeat once again that we have repeatedly told our American and European partners, NATO members, that we will take the necessary measures to neutralise the threats that arise for us in connection with the deployment of the US global missile defence system. We talked about this during the negotiations, and even publicly. Back in 2004, after the exercises of the strategic nuclear forces, during which the system I am talking about was tested for the first time, I said at a meeting with the press. It’s embarrassing to quote myself, but it’s just going to be out of place today. So, it was said: “In the conditions of qualitative and quantitative growth of the military potential of other states, Russia needs a breakthrough to have weapons and equipment of a new generation. In this regard, I can inform you with satisfaction that as a result of the experiments conducted during these exercises, the experiments that ended positively, we were finally convinced and confirmed that in the near future the Russian Army, the Strategic Missile Forces, will be equipped with the latest technical systems that are able to hit targets at intercontinental depth with hypersonic speed and high accuracy. with the possibility of deep maneuver both in height and in course. I must say that in what has just been said, every word matters. No country in the world has such weapons systems at the moment.” Unquote.”
Yes, 2004 is when Putin publicly announced to the world that Russia had and would field hypersonic weapon systems, not 2018. As Putin embarrassingly noted, he had to repeat himself to remind the world that he had already announced what he was about to again. Putin followed with what has become a rather famous paragraph:
“Of course, every word matters, because it was about the possibility of bypassing the interception lines. Why did we do all this? Why did we say that? As you can see, we did not make any secret of our plans, but spoke about it openly and in order to encourage our partners to negotiate. Again, it was 2004. Surprisingly, despite all the problems we faced in the economy, in finance, in the defense industry, in the army, Russia has remained and remains the largest nuclear power. No, no one really wanted to talk to us, no one listened to us. Listen now.”
But as we know today, even then they didn’t listen. The videos Putin played during the speech were derided as CGI and fantasy. In closing my comment, I excerpt a few of Putin’s closing paragraphs that have the most importance:

And to those who over the past 15 years have been trying to fan the arms race, are trying to gain unilateral advantages against Russia, introduce restrictions and sanctions that are illegal from an international legal point of view in order to restrain the development of our country, including in the military field, I will say: everything that you tried to prevent, to prevent by pursuing such a policy, has already happened. It was not possible to contain Russia!
Now we need to realize this reality, make sure that everything I said today is not a bluff – and this is not a bluff, believe me – to think, to send to a well-deserved rest those who live in the past and are not able to look into the future, to stop rocking the boat in which we are all and which is called “Planet Earth”….
In this regard, I consider it my duty to state the following. Any use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies of small, medium, or any power, we will consider as a nuclear attack on our country. The answer will be instantaneous and with all the ensuing consequences.
No one should have any doubts about this. There is no need to create new threats to the world, but, on the contrary, it is necessary to sit down at the negotiating table and think together about an updated, promising system of international security and sustainable development of civilization. We’ve always told you that. All these proposals remain in force, And Russia is ready for this.
Our policy will never be based on claims of exclusivity, we protect our own interests and respect the interests of other countries, we are guided by international law, we consider the key role of the UN to be unshakable. It is precisely such principles and approaches that allow us to build strong, kind and equal relations with the absolute majority of the world’s states….
Together with our partners in the Eurasian Economic Union, we intend to make it a globally competitive integration association. The agenda includes the creation of a common market for electricity, oil, petroleum products and gas in the EurAsEC, the harmonization of financial markets, and the work of customs services. We will continue to work on the project to create a greater Eurasian partnership.
Dear colleagues!
The whole world is now going through a turning point, and the leader will be the one who is ready and capable of change, the one who acts, goes forward. Our country and our people have shown such will at all defining historical stages of our development. Over the past almost 30 years, we have achieved changes that have taken centuries for other states.
We have walked, we are going and we will go our confident course. We have been and will be together. Our cohesion is the most solid foundation for further development. In the coming years, we need to further strengthen our unity so that we work as one team that understands that change is necessary and is ready to give its strength, knowledge, experience, talent to achieve common goals.

I thank the barfly that suggested I repost this speech, as well as the troll who chastised me for not doing so immediately because at times I do have other duties.
I predict the West will finally listen to Russia, and I also predict the West will be very unhappy when it finally does.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 26 2022 21:24 utc | 74

Don Bacon @64–
Thanks for posting that. This admission, “We are [engaged through our own actions] in an energy war with Russia and it is damaging the whole EU” lacks a few very meaningful words that I added for clarity.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 26 2022 21:32 utc | 76

Irrespective of the “noble” history of thr symbol, the Germans besmirched it on an historical scale and it will take the deaths of everyone affected by it before it can ever be reclaimed by global society. That means everyone who lived through the war, plus their children, and their children’s children. Add another generation or three for the citizens of the Israeli nation founded as a result and you probably arrive at the point where it become just another historical curiosity like the Horus falcon of Egypt, the Boar of Scythia or the Eagle of Rome. So we are probably at the second half of this century before that occurs. The point being it becomes disassociated from any emotion connected with events of the era, which takes generations to accomplish.
Posted by: Prof E | Aug 26 2022 16:49 utc | 37
Thank you. It reflects exactly my feelings.

Posted by: RB | Aug 26 2022 21:47 utc | 78

@ karlof1 | Aug 26 2022 17:22 utc | 44
i wonder how long before that important news story gets to the western msm, if ever?? thanks karflof1… it is disturbing how this is all happening with a sort of complete myopic approach on the part of the usa towards its own citizens… there is no excuse for that..
@ Deep Woods | Aug 26 2022 17:37 utc | 47
thanks.. i concur with your conclusions… i think it was melacula that pointed out the military summary ruminations on this area from yesterday.. it is worth the watch if you have the time.. here is a link to today’s overview – Ukraine. Military Summary And Analysis 26.08.2022
@ Taras 77 | Aug 26 2022 18:55 utc | 59 /// Taras 77 | Aug 26 2022 20:21 utc | 70
thank you.. i agree with your conclusions and as others are talking further down the thread – this movement of azov type nazis into western europe ought to be a concern for europe more generally too…
@ Exile | Aug 26 2022 19:45 utc | 65
i have a hard time seeing this dynamic ending in 2024…. it is a big unresolved conflict that i don’t see ending any time soon… on the other hand, maybe i can take some solace in karlof1 words @ karlof1 | Aug 26 2022 21:24 utc | 77 at the bottom!
@ Robert | Aug 26 2022 21:41 utc | 81
if that happens, my thinking is they are going to run into a lot of trouble from russia and this is going to go beyond the ukraine.. at what point does the mask come off? nato is not at war with russia? we all knew it was bullshit, so why the ongoing pretense? i know, i know! it is what the west does – hypocrisy, bullshit and pretense served up regularly… no surprise…

Posted by: james | Aug 26 2022 22:10 utc | 80

Robert | Aug 26 2022 21:41 utc | 81
“This is a formal recognition by Washington of the fact that the American army is taking part in specific hostilities. And this significantly speeds up all procedures for the transfer of weapons and shells.– said Ukrainian politician Borislav Bereza.”
Similar to Saakashvili’s pronouncement that the U.S. Defense Department was asserting jurisdition over the Abkhazian coastline.

Posted by: Javo | Aug 26 2022 22:15 utc | 82

@ james | Aug 26 2022 22:10 utc | 87
NATO has been at war with Russia since the 1940s. … Their series of proxy wars culminated in Ukraine in 2014.
There are rumors of British SAS already on the ground in Lvov. However, if NATO wants a go with Russia, then let’s have a go. … Nothing would be tastier than NATO chopped liver served on a Ukrainian platter.

Posted by: Robert | Aug 26 2022 22:18 utc | 84

The next Donbass … to be created by the ‘Swamp’ will be Finland … I have said this before in these hallowed halls & I repeat it again now.
Have you been following the recent scandals surrounding the young ‘trendy’ & probably bisexual Finnish PM Sanna Marin? She has literally emerged from nowhere.
Every time she gives a media interview she wears a simple plain pastel coloured T-Shirt & very little in the way of jewelry. She is another Zelensky type puppet but created to appeal to the nordic sleeping sheeples of Finland.
Watch that space.

Posted by: Per Terram | Aug 26 2022 22:19 utc | 86

Posted by: Village_Boy | Aug 26 2022 21:43 utc | 82
Agree with your warm welcome to Robert, but pity his post is so very scary. Is it time to build a bunker and stock up on canned food?

Posted by: watcher | Aug 26 2022 22:22 utc | 88

Posted by: Robert | Aug 26 2022 21:41 utc | 81
US mission to Ukraine?
What is this supposed to achieve? They really think their flag will make them immune? Or they can turn the tide? US generals have been running the show and most of the operations from the beginning, in fact probably even since 2014. will physically relocating an HQ to Kiev or Lvov change something?

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 26 2022 22:31 utc | 90

@ Bill | Aug 26 2022 22:26 utc | 96
How true. … In 1992, NATO could not afford to even field an Army Corps, so they gutted 1st British Corps and amalgamated a bunch of staff officers together and formed the ‘ARRC’. … It faded after the Balkans deployment however, and its successor is only a skeleton force.

Posted by: Robert | Aug 26 2022 22:32 utc | 92

@ unimperator | Aug 26 2022 22:31 utc | 97
… will physically relocating an HQ to Kiev or Lvov change something?
Yes. … It will provide Russian artillery and missile units with more targets.

Posted by: Robert | Aug 26 2022 22:35 utc | 94

Wonderful post over at the the Saker
Julia on August 26, 2022 · at 5:33 pm EST/EDT
A message for Europeans
A true story. I’m an Austrian-born resident of the United States, still have enough of an accent to mark me as foreign born and have seen many changes here in the last twenty years.
This week I met a woman from southeast Asia probably ten or fifteen years my junior, well educated and fluent in the English language. In the course of our conversation she asked me where I was from and I told her I was born in Europe. Her response was that she always wanted to visit Russia but given all the troubles in Ukraine was unsure she would ever have the opportunity.
Do you comprehend what she said? This woman, when told I was from Europe, thought of Russia. Not Germany, not France, not the UK. Russia. Ergo, to her Europe IS Russia.
I did not have the opportunity to explore this with her, but later my daughter explained to me that Russia is half of Europe, younger people understand that and it is natural to associate the largest component with the whole. This is alien to my way of thinking, but apparently not to others. I am somewhat relieved that my American friends still make the distinction, but only just.
When I challenged my daughter, she asked me in turn “in what language does Europe dream?” I told her there were multiple languages, and perhaps English as it has been so widespread. Her response unsettled me. “In what language does the majority of Europe dream?”
My daughter does not make a distinction between a majority and a plurality, but I do. And I know the answer to her question, even if I do not wish to say it out loud. I am wondering how many in the west and center of Europe know, or have ever thought of such things, or if it will be their children who will be the ones to say so out loud.

Posted by: Marina | Aug 26 2022 22:48 utc | 96

@23 Roger
Hey Roger, I’d love to see the AfD take power in Germany, and Le Pen in France. Only if to see the contorted faces of ideologues like yourself. It would be a fresh start after 70 years of suffocating “Social-Democracy”, which ended up being nothing more than Anglo-Zionist bullshit implemented in Europe. Maybe then Germany can make real peace and build a strategic relationship with Russia

Posted by: Xeen | Aug 26 2022 23:00 utc | 98

@Posted by: Xeen | Aug 26 2022 23:00 utc | 105
I have come to the conclusion that Le Pen is either controlled opposition or either doesn’t really want power (or has been “told” by the French deep state) as she has repeatedly found ways of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I would much prefer Le Pen to the globalist neoliberal Macron douchebag, but she needs to stick to a populist message (dropping any neoliberal BS) and stop sticking her feet in her mouth toward the end of the campaign – also we now have to wait for another 5 years after she blew this year’s chance.
The AfD also seem to have lost their way. Lets remember that the US has 40,000 occupying troops in Germany and will play every possible game to stop Germany from realigning.

Posted by: Roger | Aug 26 2022 23:24 utc | 100