“I would like to take this opportunity to tell our friends from BP that the $700 million dividends they are entitled to for the second half of 2021 have been transferred to the accounts opened for them,” said Sechin.”
https://www.vesti.ru/finance/article/3012441
This latest pearl from Sechin at Rosneft, well it doesn’t seems to be well received by the russian street. And people did notice the obsession of Putin latest speech with “negotiations”.
But at least those words have the merit of honesty: capitalism is a small globalized club, and you are not in it. But now that Moscow’s elite owning and selling its ressources to the west, is threatened in its survival (the zionist binationals are fleeing and offering themselves as the alternative local managers) well, they finally, but reluctantly, unprepared, unwilling, moved to a war mode. Well a strange war, while offering cash and energy units to the existential enemy of the nation. And communicating an obssession for negotiations with the “dear partners”.
Thank God for the resilient russian people, and its own “war reflexes”, because with such an internal sabotage of the morale of the rear, who needs an enemy psyops?

Posted by: Kareem | Oct 28 2022 14:15 utc | 3

Intel Slava Z summary of US reporting on Putin’s speech:

Western media discuss Putin’s speech at the Valdai Forum:
New York Times:
The Russian president was trying to win over a conservative audience abroad and intended to capitalize on political divisions in the West. Many of the topics of the speech have gained particular resonance, given the upcoming elections in the United States and disagreements in Europe over aid to Ukraine.
Financial Times:
Putin repeated his reproaches against the West, accusing it of striving to dominate, but called for mutual respect rather than making new threats.
Washington Post:
Putin denounced the “liberal elites” of the West in a speech that was addressed mainly to conservatives outside of Russia.

Laughable that they think this is still about them. Apparently they missed the key analysis of them in the Valdai speech:

I would like to quote from Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s famous Harvard Commencement Address delivered in 1978. He said that typical of the West is “a continuous blindness of superiority”– and it continues to this day – which “upholds the belief that vast regions everywhere on our planet should develop and mature to the level of present-day Western systems.” He said this in 1978. Nothing has changed.
Over the nearly 50 years since then, the blindness about which Solzhenitsyn spoke and which is openly racist and neocolonial, has acquired especially distorted forms, in particular, after the emergence of the so-called unipolar world. What am I referring to? Belief in one’s infallibility is very dangerous; it is only one step away from the desire of the infallible to destroy those they do not like, or as they say, to cancel them. Just think about the meaning of this word.

Another in a long line of missed opportunities for self-reflection.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Oct 28 2022 14:36 utc | 5

A day or two ago, one of our fellow barflies posted a link to an article which stated that the U.S. now has the ability to completely destroy all of Russia’s retaliatory missile system, and also to decapitate the Russian government, with no harm done to the U.S.
Apparently you are not aware that Russian Forces now routinely down HARM, HIMARS, Artillery Shells, Drones, Manned Aircraft, Cruise Missiles, and Ballistic Missiles…..
BEFORE they reach their targets…
The article mentioned is virtue signalling….
Actually the situation is the reverse….
It is the Russians who are now capable of a decapitation strike…
INDY

Posted by: Dr. George W Oprisko | Oct 28 2022 14:54 utc | 7

Putin has frequently let the US save face — for example the repeated deals and ceasefires in Syria. Kerry had to sell the compromises to the awful warmongers in the US. Russia never lost anything in those deals. So there is an established past practice. But Russia would be foolish not to end the SMO without a resounding military victory, whatever that would be. The war mongers in the US need to understand who won and lost, and so do Russia’s allies.

Posted by: Wilbur | Oct 28 2022 15:09 utc | 9

🇷🇺❗️Shoigu announced the completion of partial mobilization in Russia – the main statement from the report of the Minister of Defense to the President of the Russian Federation
– the task of partially mobilizing 300,000 people has been completed, the military registration and enlistment offices will continue recruiting volunteers and candidates for contract service;
– the average age of those called up as part of partial mobilization is 35 years;
– 13,000 Russians went to the troops as volunteers, without waiting for summons from the military registration and enlistment offices;
– 218,000 mobilized are at the training grounds and are undergoing training and combat coordination, 82,000 people are currently in the SMO zone, of which 41,000 are operating as part of units;
– all the problems that arose at the initial stage of partial mobilization have been resolved;
– The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation must be equipped with modern types of weapons.

https://t.me/intelslava/40205

Posted by: Down South | Oct 28 2022 15:12 utc | 11

A day or two ago, one of our fellow barflies posted a link to an article which stated that the U.S. now has the ability to completely destroy all of Russia’s retaliatory missile system, and also to decapitate the Russian government, with no harm done to the U.S.
I’ve lost track of the link (…)
Posted by: AntiSpin | Oct 28 2022 14:30 utc | 4

The Onion? The Postillon? The Babylon Bee? Le Gorafi?

Posted by: Leuk | Oct 28 2022 15:51 utc | 13

@ Lex | Oct 28 2022 14:57 utc | 8
it is cia and m16 that are driving this for the financial elites.. biden doesn’t have much of any say as i see it.. not sure they can change direction now, even if they started to sense a need to… it seems to me this is on track to get much worse before it gets better.. everyone is hoping biden or whoever will stop the madness… i think they are wrong to think biden will play any useful role here.. thanks for your posts..

Posted by: james | Oct 28 2022 16:00 utc | 15

The fundamental issue the US will have to deal with but will struggle with is how to extricate itself from this quagmire without losing face.
Posted by: Lex | Oct 28 2022 14:57 utc | 8
—
Lex, that is so sweet and naive. Are you not American, or don’t have much familiarity with the Empire?
There’s a phrase for what’s going to happen: down the memory hole. Or, colloquially, “look, squirrel!”
Yesterday, the day before, and hundreds, thousands of days before that, shootings occur on a regular basis. If the number gets above 5 victims, it might warrant 1 day of coverage. Exceptional achievements get maybe a week or two at most.
What happens to these stories? Are political movements formed to address societal problems? Lulz, so much to learn. No, people shrug, forget and get back to the business of ‘getting ahead’.
When Ukraine drops from the news cycle, which I’m thinking could happen within 2 weeks, it will be entirely forgotten by Thanksgiving.
In all types of competition, whether life, business, sports, etc a key feature of success is the ability to move on from set backs and defeat. It’s a feature, not a bug in the American pysche.

Posted by: B9k9 | Oct 28 2022 16:49 utc | 17

Down South | Oct 28 2022 15:12 utc | 11
I think the key part of this update is “82,000 people are currently in the SMO zone, of which 41,000 are operating as part of units;” that is a very significant addition to the forces in the smo zone especially those 41,000 that are operating as part of units. The tide is turning on the Ukrainian numbers advantage, jmho.

Posted by: ctiger | Oct 28 2022 17:07 utc | 19

@AntiSpin 4
I saw a video or radio recording of Scott Ritter a few days ago in which he said that our submarines can fire low flying missiles with nukes to try to decaptitate the military command and Putin, and also hit a number of silos…but he believes that Russia has a dead hand system. I found a short video of Ritter addressing this topic at: https://www.bitchute.com/video/FaG7nZ0JALjJ/
In short, Ritter believes that Russia has sensors that will detect blast waves, radiation or other indications of a nuclear attack, and if so, will launch a missile that has a communication package, and this missile will fly across Russia sending out launch codes to all remaining missiles, and these will be more than sufficient to destroy the U.S. and basically, life on earth. When Russia detects a launch against them, their policy calls for retaliating with everything they’ve got. If a launch is detected, they don’t wait for the nuke to strike them, but in case it does in an attempt to decapitate them, they rely on their dead hand system to settle the score.

Posted by: OdessaConnected | Oct 28 2022 17:12 utc | 21

Posted by: sanmiguel | Oct 28 2022 17:09 utc | 20
“If you want to know who rules over you, simply note who you are not allowed to criticize”

Posted by: Deplorable | Oct 28 2022 17:29 utc | 23

“..When Ukraine drops from the news cycle, which I’m thinking could happen within 2 weeks, it will be entirely forgotten by Thanksgiving.
“In all types of competition, whether life, business, sports, etc a key feature of success is the ability to move on from set backs and defeat. It’s a feature, not a bug in the American pysche…”
B9k9@17
America’s psyche is not what is at issue here. What matters is not what the US people make of these defeats but the interpretation put on them in Pretoria, across the former Soviet Republics of Central Asia, in Saudi Arabia and in Indonesia.
US power-soft or hard- is not built on love but on fear. When South Africa and Tanzania stop fearing the US and regard Chinese or Eurasian power as equally or more important it won’t matter what the idiots watching CNN believe. If they choose to believe that they are omnipotent and their government rules the Universe they are welcome to do so.
Russia, currently, is exposing the paper tiger of NATO, with its vast budgets and enormous arsenals: with every advantage (including, if you want to believe in it, breathtaking incompetence at the highest levels in the Kremlin) Russia is on course to achieve its aims, military and political.
And the world-whose rulers don’t have the time or inclination to binge on the MSM- is watching carefully as the US, systematically smashing its allies’ economies and setting them up for social explosions, inevitably begins its retreat. And return to, its historically destined task, of beating the already beaten and bullying the terminally disabled.
What matters is what the leaders of Kyrghystan and Tajikistan, both under permanent pressure to betray their people, buy Florida Real Estate and make life difficult for Russia and China, make of Ukraine (not to mention Zelensky’s) fate. And what Africa’s governments, also continually being assured that only Uncle Sam will protect them, make of the de-industrialisation of Germany and the de-population of the Baltic lands.
The United States, under Joe “Last Chance” Biden, has been playing all its cards, calling in all its markers, using every threat at its command and investing trillions in its bribes and corruption. Ot has broken every trust it ever had in international finance, stolen everything it could lay its hands on. It has to win, because unless it does the entire castle of cards will collapse immediately.
The air is full of the rough music of CIA lies and the howls of its expiring intelligentsia, coming up with one more lie, one more misrepresentation, “Defend Democracy in Ukraine!!”
And the world, which has been tittering for months is beginning to howl with laughter.
Democracy in Ukraine! Are you kidding? When was that? You call that ‘democracy’?
“Tell that to the Marines” people used to say when a particularly incredible claim had been made. “Tell that the American people” has taken its place.

Posted by: bevin | Oct 28 2022 17:33 utc | 25

b, RSS feed doesn’t work either.

Posted by: Barofsky | Oct 28 2022 17:43 utc | 27

«”later, on February 24, 2022, Putin and the Stavka decided they did not have the right to step out of this life, and that faced with the war Germany has been planning since the Third Reich, and the US since 1945, Russia would not commit suicide.”»
That’s a vast exaggeration: most germans just want to do vert good business with the russians, even if many families, like many russian families, still have resentment for the massacres the other side did to their relatives (and most of the soviet responsibility is for handing Prussia to Poland, which proceeded to ethnically cleanse it) to grab the polish east and incorporating it in the Belarus and Ukraine SSRs, without ethnically cleansing it.
«I repeat my assertion…. Operation Barbarossa II failed…. Operation Bagration II began on 24 Feb 2022… Destination Berlin…..»
I think that is a wild exaggeration. It is all USA organized. Some smart people have described the general contemporary feeling of germans that they want their country to be “Greater Switzerland” and their great flaw is essentially navel-gazing and risk avoidance, not taking many risks to conquer an empire.
I doubt that the Russian Federation has a different attitude: they are one of the very few states self-sufficient in both fuels and cereals, and they have an immense area to develop and improve.
Reports are that Putin himself reject what seemed an offer of the Donbas by Poroshenko:
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/vladimir-putin-turned-down-petro-poroshenko-offer-take-donbass-east-ukraine-1495181
“Poroshenko made the offer during a peace summit in Minsk in February 2015, Putin reportedly told a senior member of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on 19 March. An anonymous source present at the closed door meeting revealed to Forbes Russian edition that Putin told the summit: “[Poroshenko] told me directly: ‘Take the Donbass.’ I replied: ‘Are you out of your mind? I don’t need the Donbass. If you don’t need it, declare it independent.'” Poroshenko reportedly asked Putin to take financial responsibility for the region, where the city of Donetsk called itself a ‘People’s Republic’ after the Maidan Revolution last year. Putin replied that the region was Kiev’s financial responsibility, as long as it remained part of Ukraine.”

Posted by: Blissex | Oct 28 2022 18:04 utc | 29

Roughly, 100k confirmed so far killed in action.
Posted by: Boo | Oct 28 2022 14:38 utc | 6
I heard Ritter quote a western source that said it was 390,000 dead.

Posted by: Drinky Crow | Oct 28 2022 18:09 utc | 31

«As per the Reset function, they seem to want to bring down the entire house and rebuilt in some horrid neo-feudal technocratic format.»
The “Great Reset” has already happened, gradually, only silly conspiracists are deluded that it is planned for the future.
What remains is the mopping up afterwards. The “Great Reset” has been carried out by the upper class (the “inner party”) with the solicitous, even enthusiastic complicity of the middle class (the “outer party”) because they have been drugged with “housing heroin”, enormous real estate profits redistributed to them from the lower classes (the “proles”),
Fundamentally the “Great Reset” has been that the “Washington Consensus” masters class have fired most of their servants and hired in their place much cheaper immigrant servants or offshore servants. Lee Kuan Yew already in 2009 explained:
https://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/spiegel-interview-with-singapore-s-lee-kuan-yew-it-s-stupid-to-be-afraid-a-369128.html
“The social contract that led to workers sitting on the boards of companies and everybody being happy rested on this condition: I work hard, I restore Germany’s prosperity, and you, the state, you have to look after me. I’m entitled to go to Baden Baden for spa recuperation one month every year. This old system was gone in the blink of an eye when two to three billion people joined the race — one billion in China, one billion in India and over half-a-billion in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. […] If your workers were rational they would say, yes, this is going to happen anyway, let’s do the necessary things in one go. Instead of one month at the spa, take one week at the spa, work harder and longer for the same pay, compete with the East Europeans, invent in new technology, put more money into your R&D, keep ahead of the Chinese and the Indians.”
Just as in the past several million usians worked for USA companies in USA factories, nowadays 1-3 million chinese work for Apple in chinese factories, even if there is a few middlemen between them.
Now the only giant corporations that have hundreds of thousands of USA workers are Wal*Mart and similar.
https://stockanalysis.com/list/most-employees/
The dream of the europhile/5th columnist ukrainians and russians was to replace an usian or german worker by getting hired in an offshored USA or german factory or research centre.

Posted by: Blissex | Oct 28 2022 18:22 utc | 33

“Tell that the American people” has taken its place.
Posted by: bevin | Oct 28 2022 17:33 utc | 25
—
Oh, I completely agree. I’ve consistently noted that Russia has indeed won, and the US empire will collapse.
My point to Lex was in response to the many who constantly attempt to project their ethics, their morals on ‘murica.
We don’t do shame, we don’t do remorse, and we certainly don’t do (sincere) apologies. I’m not even sure that many will fully realize what’s happened when it’s over.
Maybe it will be blamed on ultra Maga, or climate change, long covid or some other convenient story.

Posted by: B9k9 | Oct 28 2022 18:41 utc | 35

Posted by: Drinky Crow | Oct 28 2022 18:09 utc | 31
Both rybar and Rozhin dismissed that number of ~400k as wildly overblown for whatever reasons, but mainly for funding according to them. This study is actually very close to what the relatives of the Ukrainian soldiers are looking for.
So the authors admit both under and overcounting – the former because some soldiers either don’t have relatives or theirs are not contacting them, and the latter because some claims/searches are duplicated under slightly different names. The authors of the model are working on dedup strategy that will address the latter. Also, there is always a delay between a death and a request since the Nazis in Kiev keep lying to the relatives that their loved ones are fine long after they have been abandoned to death or capture.

Posted by: Boo | Oct 28 2022 18:56 utc | 37

Eighthman @ 24

I would point out a simple point often missed: the US must defeat both Russia and China at the same time in a nuclear war. Otherwise, the US gets wrecked and China dominates the remaining world by default.

I believe it was always USA policy throughout the Cold War to hit both Russia and China if a strategic nuclear exchange ever happened with either. The Chinese and Russians always knew that. During the Cold War it always seemed to me a logic of if we are going to pay this high a price we might as well get all the commies in one shot. But today it’s what you state, but probably was then to.
OdessaConnected @ 21

but [Ritter] believes that Russia has a dead hand system.

Correct me if I got it wrong but isn’t this what Poseidon is? It’s not a torpedo with a tsar-bomba but an autonomous drone that can stay submerged deep and still or moving evasively for up to six months. It has an atomic electric motor, the atomics create heat to run a generator for the batteries. It’s dead quiet and can go way deeper than any submarine. In theory it could make risky, expensive strategic submarines obsolete like drones have made bombers obsolete. Get rid of the crew life support requirements and you have one hell of formidable undersea weapon.
If the Poseidon doesn’t receive the dead hand shut down code it maneuvers to the target position at its preset day and time and sets off its warhead. Granted whatever of the USA survived MIRV’d ICBMS, Avangard Sarmats, Zircons and Kinzhals, it could evacuate the coasts for six months. No bass fishing or surfing right after the apocalypse.
For now it seems the purpose is to send it off when tensions are at a boiling point just before an expected strike or if a Belgorod missile sub finds itself caught and about to be sunk. Poseidon could be a myth and if not they only have one or two right now. I doubt it’s a myth though, it’s likely an early limited prototype for autonomous strategic subs.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Oct 28 2022 19:03 utc | 39

A day or two ago, one of our fellow barflies posted a link to an article which stated that the U.S. now has the ability to completely destroy all of Russia’s retaliatory missile system, and also to decapitate the Russian government, with no harm done to the U.S.
Yes, that was a link to Russian Nuclear Arms Expert saying what are options for US after it was showing its submarine in Arab Sea. Low altitude missile spread option to neutralise Russian Southern Nuclear Forces launch sites. All well and shown to some analyst ‘expert’might sound good and sure, let us go for it.
However and here is the source PDF and I add just some ideas from the very US Army evaluation of Vostok 18 (the biggest military exercise held in 2018).
As it concerns EMP and other strategies of Russian Armed Forces it is an interesting read and shows exactly how US obfuscates its war propaganda.
A few excerpts:
Russia has “Super-EMP” weapons specialized for HEMP attack that potentially generate 100,000 volts/meter or higher, greatly exceeding the U.S. military hardening standard (50,000 volts/meter).
As a result of its HEMP nuclear tests, the Soviet Union, and today Russia, probably knows a lot more about HEMP effects than the United States.
“Super-EMP is a first-strike weapon,” according to Aleksey Vaschenko, who describes Russian nuclear weapons specially designed to make extraordinarily powerful HEMP fields as Russia’s means for defeating the United States.
Hypersonic vehicles are potentially a new avenue for surprise HEMP attack, flying at 50-100 kilometers altitude: the optimum height-of-burst for Super-EMP warheads.
Russia has the technical capability to clandestinely orbit a nuclear-armed satellite or satellites to be maintained in orbit for years until needed to make a surprise HEMP attack.
HEMP attack could achieve for Russia a key objective the USSR could not achieve during the Cold War—neutralizing U.S. ballistic missile submarines at sea.
Russia probably remains the world’s leader in Non-Nuclear EMP (NNEMP) weapons, also called Radio-Frequency Weapons (RFWs).
Marriage of NNEMP to drones or cruise missiles, equipped with sensors to follow high-power electric lines and target control centers and transformers, introduces a major new threat to national power grids.
As Russia categorizes HEMP attack as Information, Electronic or Cyber Warfare, Moscow’s already very loose strictures for nuclear employment may not even apply to HEMP.
So, here are rather fresh facts from 2021 and I do not advise pres. Biden and his administration to provoke and even try their luck there.
Russia never lies – why go nuclear? When…well.

Posted by: whirlX | Oct 28 2022 19:13 utc | 41

what we see here are the clear contours of two different civilizational realms which have nothing in common with each other and whose values are mutually exclusive.
A quote from the Saker.
I am interested in what the bar here thinks about this.
Myself, I think this is more or less the core of the conflict. Seeing how dedicated the population is on both sides – more so in Russia.
Everything is downstream from this.

Posted by: alek_a | Oct 28 2022 19:34 utc | 43

I disagree that time is on Russia’s side, too many unknowns in war, too much at risk to wait for some colossal SNAFU or FUBAR to come crashing down. This is a hybrid war with attacks from perfidious Anglos coming at you from all sides plus above and below.
Putin and MoD’s initial plan was to have the SMO over in three months. Surovikin’s plan is to get this over by spring. Longer it goes on more deranged crazy shit will come from the west. Deadly deranged crazy shit.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Oct 28 2022 19:36 utc | 45

Interesting. Russian military equipment discovered being sent to US, Canada France

After the authorities searched the suspect’s home, they discovered 500 units of military equipment – including body armor plates, dosimeters, camouflage kits, raincoats, military uniforms, and many other things.

https://sputniknews.com/20221028/authorities-foil-attempt-to-smuggle-russian-military-equipment-and-uniforms-to-us-canada-france-1102798593.html?rcmd_alg=collaboration2/“>Authorities Foil Attempt to Smuggle Russian Military Equipment and Uniforms to US, Canada, France

Posted by: Granite | Oct 28 2022 19:50 utc | 47

«Kabul 2021 was yet another big USA mission success, they managed to demonstrate four things:»
There is another one, perhaps more important than the other: that the upper-middle and upper classes, the “comprador” locals of any USA vassals, depend utterly on USA “protection”. USA imperial strategy is a not so different variant of the english one of suborning and controlling the local “paramount chiefs”, e.g.Evelyn Baring (Lord Cromer) statement that “We do not govern Egypt, we govern the governors of Egypt” just as the East India Company did with many sheikhs, mahrajas and sultans in various other areas.

Posted by: Blissex | Oct 28 2022 19:54 utc | 49

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Oct 28 2022 19:36 utc | 45
I think it was the Biden Plan to be dividing up Russia in 3 months,
no plan B available. The Russians were dumbfounded by NATO’s ability to completely self destruct their societies.

Posted by: SwissArmyMan | Oct 28 2022 20:03 utc | 51

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Oct 28 2022 19:57 utc | 50
The Poles, Balts and Finns are opportunistic SOBs. They are cowards, but ready to be hyenas at an opportune moment. I think you’re right re. what has been “promised”. One thing I continue amaze every day is how are the Russians willing to let their respective medias operate and spew absolute garbage, despite these countries are trying every way to kick all Russian media influence out.
EU and the collection of vassals went all-in in the first week of SMO. They really gave everything they got in an effort break the Russian state. They are still producing garbage mostly based on British “analysis”. This propaganda also helped send thousands of mercenaries. Of which most are probably dead by now, but they send more and more.
Now Ursula VDL declared that Russia has “been defeated in Ukraine” and that’s it. Seems to me they want to declare victory and leave, or dump it, as the Saker puts it.
Instead, it is Ukraine that gets sliced and diced. Let’s see how eager the anglo’s are really to “invest” 750, 1000 billion euros (or whatever the current figure of the day is) into the rump Ukraine with no resources but only corruption and black hole finances. Millions of ukrops already went looking lucrative factory jobs in Germany (joke intended).

Posted by: unimperator | Oct 28 2022 20:13 utc | 53

canuck | Oct 28 2022 18:16 utc | 32
For all the bar flies that worry that Russia is going too slow…
This article explains plausibly what we are seeing right now. About the Slowness of the SMO.

Posted by: OttoE | Oct 28 2022 20:20 utc | 55

‘”..what we see here are the clear contours of two different civilizational realms which have nothing in common with each other and whose values are mutually exclusive.”.. the Saker.
‘…Myself, I think this is more or less the core of the conflict. Seeing how dedicated the population is on both sides – more so in Russia…’ alek_a@43
Saker mysticism.
The two different civilisational realms in the world stretch across it. The one is communitarian/socialist/cooperative; the other individualist/capitalist/selfish.
The major support of the capitalist realm in which the interests of the few are preferred to those of the many is in the imperialist system.
The Eurasians, generally against the wishes of their governments, have been increasingly expelled from that imperial system, as punishment for their refusal to accept US hegemony.
The Empire is acting irrationally, here, as it has been throughout the past two or three decades in which it has made it increasingly impossible for the rulers of Iran, Russia, China and other countries, despite their general acceptance of the capitalist system, to do anything except oppose imperialism.
This irrationality, taking the current form of a strategically illiterate attempt to use Ukraine to humiliate Russia because of long term fears that, in other circumstances Russia might decide to resist imperial neo-liberalism (something it had not done until NATO forced it to begin, halfheartedly, to do so after the sanctions imposed in February) has led to the United States weakening its only reliable source of assistance, either military or economic, the EU.
Smashing up Europe was not part of the plan. It only weakens the US to debilitate its strongest ally. But irrationality works that way.
Just as the US did not plan to drive turbo-capitalist Russia into China’s arms. Or to unite the leaders of Islamic fundamentalist Iran with atheist communists or Orthodox Christians. Or to turn its loyal allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE into supplicants at the gates of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Or racist Hindutva India, run by fascists, into the anti-imperialist camp. etc etc
But that too is the way irrationality works.
And capitalism, as those of us who understand the dangers of climate change realise, is determinedly irrational. Its premiss, that the war of all against all leads to peace and plenty, is irrational.
That is why the threat of nuclear war is so real: the people running the Empire have irrational, unachievable ends, and pursue them in ways that make no sense.
The sooner the capitalist class is relieved of its power and escorted, by kind but firm guards to the padded cell it will surely make uninhabitable, the better we-the many- will be able to turn the planet into a heaven for all and a refuge forever.
And to start using the vast well of talent and intellect, love and imagination for the good of all.

Posted by: bevin | Oct 28 2022 20:24 utc | 57

He was referring to an open U.S deployment of a ballistic-missile sub to the Indian Ocean, close enough to the Russian ICBM deployment area to overwhelm it with reduced-trajectory missiles before the Russians would have time to react.
The US has subs in the Arctic Ocean. Those are the ones capable of firing missiles with very short travel times.
The Arabian Sea is under Iranian surveillance 24/7 because they are the target of US Sub launched missiles therein…. not Russia.
The CNO visit was pure theatre.
INDY

Posted by: Dr. George W Oprisko | Oct 28 2022 20:40 utc | 59

marko @ 48

“I would like to take this opportunity to tell our friends from BP that the $700 million dividends they are entitled to for the second half of 2021 have been transferred to the accounts opened for them,” said Sechin.”
It is disgusting that Russian elite is crying for negotiations with the West. No shame because of all dead Russians.



You need to spark up some extra brain cells and learn to think in a more complex, or lets say adult way, if you want to hang here as more than a troll. I could respect a troll that tries hard.
The Russians are appealing to the part of the global corporate economy that actually makes things the eight million people need and use, the part of the 85 trillion dollar global economy that provides the tangible collateral for the fantastic financialized bubble machine to spin its magic. Yeh, Wall Street and the MIC are big (and mean) but so is 21st century global corporate capitalism.
This war has shown that companies like Nestle, Renault, Ford, Daimler, Mercedes, Apple, H&M, McDonalds, Siemens, LVMH, SMC, Maersk, Nike, Samsung, Toyota, Sony – you get the picture, have as much say in their future as you or I do. So far no one seems to have asked the world richest company Apple what it thinks of possibly loosing its manufacturing base and its multi billion dollar consumer market in China. Or how thrilled McDonald is to have lost 850 franchises in Russia. Yeh, McDonald’s ain’t Raytheon but it’s not chop liver either.
Russia can’t appeal to the sane part of the populace of the UK, USA, or EU, what are they going to do vote for Starmer, Melechon, Meloni or Trump? But it’s very possible the heads of productive global capitalism, the ones with real factories, global supply chains, and global markets might just rise up with their immense and very real lucre and influence and have a powerful big bosses coup d’etat against the small clique of neo-cons and MIC financial parasites.
My guess is that the major part of global corporations were as surprised and caught off guard by the sanctions blitz and SMO as any of us pleebs were. Their response is delayed and confused as much as that of the pleebs but once organized they are certainly in a very real position to overthrow this neo-con idiocy. And unlike the brainwashed pleebs much more likely to know the real score – of the true scale of idiocy and misguided adventurism of the present political class.
That is why Putin is putting their money in escrow, money talks, especially real money, money backed by resources, workers, and consumers – and good faith contracts. I’m not a capitalist fan but in this case it looks like our and Putin’s best hope is for Ronald McDonald to kick some nazi ass.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Oct 28 2022 21:03 utc | 61

A day or two ago, one of our fellow barflies posted a link to an article which stated that the U.S. now has the ability to completely destroy all of Russia’s retaliatory missile system, and also to decapitate the Russian government, with no harm done to the U.S.
{…}
Posted by: AntiSpin | Oct 28 2022 14:30 utc | 4
Pure fantasy: if real would already be done …
Actually Russia may soon (if not yet) have capability to first strike NATO assets WITHOUT use of Nukes, thanks to hypersonics.
SO decapitation of most NATO – and US – strategic assets inclusing sinking all CSG, minutemen and most SSBNs, might be in the cards …

Posted by: Greg Galloway | Oct 28 2022 21:11 utc | 63

Arch Bungle @ 40

Worse, it will have to concurrently destroy Iran and Syria to defend israel (and prevent them from becoming regional powers). It will have to destroy North Korea to defend South Korea. It will have to destroy India because once China is destroyed, India will become the regional power in Asia

You’re asking way too much of USA geo-political strategic thinkers. Looking at the present mess they can think two steps ahead but three steps ahead and they fall down the stairs.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Oct 28 2022 21:31 utc | 65

Posted by: Blissex | Oct 28 2022 20:32 utc | 58
You’re not being cynical but are simply honest.
I think that how individuals feel about either side is shaped by their experience with them. I for example find myself more attuned to what the Saker writes then some of the posters here on the forum. Even though he is a nationalistic conservative christian (orthodox)-values driven that I am really opposed to. Probably because the people I share a cultural and ethnic link to from my youth have been on the receiving end of the Western way of doing things. So I guess I am motivated to take sides strongly, on a cultural level, looking for retribution or a way to settle grievances with the Imperium.
How many Russians feel like this?
For me if is not really banksters this, capitalism that, Israel, etc. (the prevailing themes here) but precisely what you identify as ‘mysticism’ and which I think is more at the core of the conflict and the miscommunication with the West. They simply cant make themselves apologize of admit fault. I even think that when friendlies but yet westerners reduce this cultural divide to mysticism, it just aggravates the chasm.
In any case, it is for me not a pragmatic issue or realpolitik as you point out. It is about grievances which, in the absence of resolving, turn to a polarization on a cultural and identitarian level.
Since I am living in the West for the second half of my life, it is suffocating mentally to be in this situation.

Posted by: alek_a | Oct 28 2022 21:45 utc | 67

No one in the West (with its myriad of nominal democratic governments) is making any effort toward de-escalation of the conflict (except for Orban). All movement is toward escalation. The road to Armageddon seems to be unobstructed and completely open. People whine about global warming, while ignoring the threat of nuclear winter. How do we survive when vastly more political effort is directed at transgendering children and discrediting Trump than in de-escalating a conflict far more dangerous than the Cuban Missile Crisis?
I doubt a quick shock & awe would have been more advantageous but here’s the full article.

Posted by: xor | Oct 28 2022 21:57 utc | 69

Lots of great points from everyone. I would just add a few other items for consideration:
– the demographics/characteristics of the USA/EU have changed even more dramatically over just the last 10 years
– it’s not just physicality, ability and group cohesion, but also sentiment, attitudes and orientation
– I just don’t think (personal opinion) that we can play a long game
– we should also note the steep drop off in energy production, as well as our overall financial situation
– so again, i don’t think we have the means in this arena either to play out any long war
– that all being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if we regrouped and decided to exploit our key advantage, which of course is media
– not just obvious narrative establishment, but the ability to define glamor, beauty, interest, desire, success, confidence, etc
– so, usa bails on Ukraine, memory holes it for everyone, subsumes the $100b into our $28t, and gets back to the business of undermining Russia via sex, drugs and rock n roll

Posted by: B9k9 | Oct 28 2022 22:03 utc | 71

Bevin #57
“And capitalism, as those of us who understand the dangers of climate change realise, is determinedly irrational.”
The ‘invisible hand’ was always a rather tenuous prospect. It didn’t lack legitimacy but it had that ethereal quality of being unproveable.
We are shackled to religion no matter how strongly we appeal to rationality. I think the climate change motif has a religious element; again, not that it lacks legitimacy, just that it is so complex that you’ll struggle to define unequivocal causal links.
Politics and economics might be discussed in a rational fashion, since that provides the veneer of understanding and implicit control. However ultimately at its root is tribalism and who’s god is greater.
Blissex #58
“Still I wish that the USA government get somewhat weakened by the RF and PRC so their control of their vassals loosens a bit…”
I feel similarly but am concerned that I subcontract my own political agency to another nation. If there is no vehicle available for political change in my own polity then is it sensible to call on an outsider to do that I am incapable of?
If I’m incapable of effecting political change under the current regime, is regime change the solution to my quandary? I suspect not but in the absence of alternatives I am willing to partake in such treason. However the bottom line is that there is an absence of political control.

Posted by: Cyclops | Oct 28 2022 22:15 utc | 73

I should have added, who were the biggest supporters of the war in the west? That’s right, women.
Have we all forgotten so quickly (see, memory holed already) the sudden blooming of Ukraine flags/color codes accompanied by slava ukraini pasted everywhere?
All to score virtue points for yet another group led cause to satisfy deeply desired longings for peer approval
But like any other shallow element, the blossoms fade, the pageantry states and its time for another cause to rally behind

Posted by: B9k9 | Oct 28 2022 22:26 utc | 75

I refreshed the page to see if there were any new posts and before the page reloaded a mostly white page popped up that said:
“Did you know botnets can be used to take down a website?”
There was no further text.
Was that a warning…or a suggestion?

Posted by: Ocean Jasper | Oct 28 2022 22:50 utc | 77

Thank God for the resilient russian people, and its own “war reflexes”, because with such an internal sabotage of the morale of the rear, who needs an enemy psyops?
Posted by: Kareem | Oct 28 2022 14:15 utc | 3
Thank God Russia still believes in upholding laws, honouring contracts and such. We could use more of that and not less. Russia may have also calculated that stealing a small sum of money ($700m is nothing in these crazy times) from BP may harm their reputation for honest dealing among potential business partners in China, India, Pakistan, and Iran.
The selling point of this “multipolar world” being that it’s based on predictable rules and laws and is widely accepted as being fair, know what I mean?

Posted by: ZX | Oct 28 2022 23:23 utc | 79

I should have added, who were the biggest supporters of the war in the west? That’s right, women.
Posted by: B9k9 | Oct 28 2022 22:26 utc | 77
Women: is there no end to their fiendishness? I swear, they’re worse than cats

Posted by: ZX | Oct 28 2022 23:32 utc | 81

SwissArmyMan @ 51

The Russians were dumbfounded by NATO’s ability to completely self destruct their societies.

Yes. I’m still wondering if the whole Truss thing actually happened or if someone put LSD in my coffee.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Oct 28 2022 23:50 utc | 83

This claim that Amerikastan can take out Russian missiles has been around since 2014. They roll it out to reassure the rubes that nuclear war is no big deal, nothing to get anti war about.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Oct 29 2022 0:13 utc | 85

@unimperator 71
@ Grant 75
Unimperator — I assume your post is from 2014-2015 when the battle for the Donetsk airport was going on. Yes, at that time, with limited personnel and resources, the DPR played it smart and waited for winter and fog cover to approach the AFU positions and eventually overcome them. That was the DPR, not Russia. No one really thought the DPR could win as they were outnumbered and simply a volunteer force. I think we should hold the professional Russian army to a different standard. We don’t expect that a superior professional fighting force would dig in and wait for suckers to expose themselves so they could be slaughtered. Yes, this does happen when the Right Sector enforcers demand that the available cannon fodder make a charge, else get shot in the back, but a few days ago it was reported that mercenaries would not comply and actually killed a sizable group of Right Sector enforcers. The times may be a changing…
Grant — Your supposition that the slow roll SMO could be serving the interests of the elite who have interests that are not apparent to us seems like a pretty good theory. It would explain a lot.

Posted by: OdessaConnected | Oct 29 2022 0:44 utc | 87

@Grant 91
No high rise building has ever collapsed due to a fire, much less collapse at free fall speed into the building’s footprint. I think we can conclude that the collapse on 9/11 of WTC building 7 is no exception — thus I believe we are in total agreement.

Posted by: OdessaConnected | Oct 29 2022 0:56 utc | 89

Below is the title of a ZH posting that shows that protesting is not entirely dead in America
Watch: Ilhan Omar Calls Anti-War Protesters “Dangerous Propagandists” For Disrupting Town Hall
The posting notes that candidate Ilhan Omar was against handing out weapons in March of this year and is now raging against any questioning Ukraine support.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Oct 29 2022 1:34 utc | 91

Sorry, arithmetical error. I’m currently 76 years old, not 78, as I said. I guess age has interfered with my ability to do arithmetic.

Posted by: Lysias | Oct 29 2022 1:56 utc | 93

Sorry, arithmetical error. I’m currently 76 years old, not 78, as I said. I guess age has interfered with my ability to do arithmetic.

Posted by: Lysias | Oct 29 2022 1:57 utc | 95

Sorry, arithmetical error. I’m currently 76 years old, not 78, as I said. I guess age has interfered with my ability to do arithmetic.

Posted by: Lysias | Oct 29 2022 1:58 utc | 97

fyi – Scott Ritter is back on twitter
https://twitter.com/author_himself
This account is in open violation of Twitter rules prohibiting banned persons from making new accounts. Free speech is everything.
https://twitter.com/author_himself/status/1585917606573350914
Scott Ritter @author_himself
@aaronjmate
@richimedhurst
@MaxBlumenthal
@elonmusk
I’m back.
Test, test, test.
Bucha was a war crime. Ukraine did it.
Test, test, test.

Posted by: michaelj72 | Oct 29 2022 2:22 utc | 99