Last week’s post on Moon of Alabama:
- Jan 17 – Ukraine SitRep – Media Ignorance, Counter-Artillery War, Three Lost Armies
- Jan 18 – Losing In Ukraine
- Jan 19 – Ukraine – Pressing For Tanks
- Jan 21 – Ukraine – Russian Army Activates Southern Front
Related:
– Russo-Ukrainian War: The World Blood Pump – Big Serge
– U.S. officials advise Ukraine to wait on offensive, official says – Reuters
– U.S. Military Vets in Ukraine Are Fighting Each Other in Court – Intercept
– Ukraine Won’t Get Leopard 2 or M1 Abrams Tanks: Does It Matter? – Daniel Davis / 1945– The Crisis in Ukraine Is Not About Ukraine. It’s About Germany – M. Whitney – Feb 2022
– Nord Stream Who? – American Conservative
– Top U.S. officials don’t want to give Ukraine tanks despite German pressure – NBC News
> Officials say both Defense Secretary Austin and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Milley are against sending tanks, and there is frustration in the Biden administration with Germany’s push. <
Germany’s push? Who is pushing whom in this?
Thorsten Benner @thorstenbenner – 7:40 UTC · 22 Jan 2023
“US offers used tanks from its own stocks plus long term industrial partnership to every European country that can deliver Leopard 2 to Ukraine”, German defence industry circles claim. “Each country that accepts US offer is lost for German defence industry”.
– Deutsche Panzerdebatte: Welche Rolle spielen amerikanische Rüstungsinteressen? (in German) – NZZ
- Jan 20 – When Media Provide ‘Analyses’
Related:
– Editorial: ‘decades’ – Referred report headline: ‘a decade’ – Actual report: ‘three to five years’.
A Brutal New Phase of Putin’s Terrible War in Ukraine – New York Times Editorial
> But according to a report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think-tank, Russia faces decades of economic stagnation and regression even if the war ends soon. <
The Cost of War: Russian Economy Faces a Decade of Regress – Carnegie Endowment
> The Russian economy’s prewar potential was not overly large, with growth at 2–3 percent per year. The war against Ukraine and external restrictions have lowered it to about 1 percent. For now, the economy’s development will be put into reverse and it will take three to five years for that decline to come to a halt. <
—
Other issues:
Have Crypto, Can’t Buy Dollars.
- Exclusive: SWIFT payments network access cut to crypto exchanges – Asia Markets
- How Sam Bankman-Fried’s ties with the Clintons helped him dupe investors – NY Post
> “The banking partner that services your account has advised that they are no longer able to process SWIFT fiat (USD) transaction for individuals of less than $100,000 USD as of February 1, 2023. This is the case for all their crypto exchange clients,” said Binance.
“Please be advised that until we are able to find an alternative solution, you may not be able to use your bank account to buy and sell crypto with USD via SWIFT with a value of less than $100,000 USD.” <
Spies:
- FBI searches Biden’s Wilmington home and finds more classified materials – CNN
- How British Intelligence Sabotaged Cambridge Analytica Scandal – (Integrity Initiative) – Mintpressnews
- Mystery divers rescued near Polish energy sites in the middle of the night offer dubious explanation, and vanish – CBS News
Syria:
- Drone attack hits Tanf US base in Syria – AL Monitor
Environment: