English Outsider | Apr 26 2023 14:44 utc | 2 “I’ve been pondering it for the best part of a year now and still can’t.”
Collapse of the American empire must be taken into account. The military operation in Ukraine cannot be be set apart from the larger hybrid war/de-dollarisation that is occurring.
Perhaps the US can keep itself propped for some years by printing money but the writing is on the wall for the US economically. Socially/politically? It is difficult to see the US surviving the next election.
Nato is part of the US empire. It too will fall apart perhaps even before the US collapses.
I think the endgame in Ukraine can only occur after the above.
Something to keep in mind is one of Putin’s philosophies and that is to bring a problem back to were it is manageable but not try to eliminate a problem completely if doing so creates new problems.
Nazism may never be entirely eliminated from the culture of western Ukraine, but a major problem will be the school children of Ukraine who have undergone eight years of education under a Nazi curriculum..

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Apr 26 2023 20:42 utc | 104

Dima said that Russia hit reserves of 60th mech brigade in Kramatorsk. Connection is interesting due to that unit being responsible holding the important intersection in Bakhmut, perhaps they were supposed to rotate – no rotation any more. Also the Russians have managed to split UKR grouping NW of Bakhmut into two near Grikorivka and Bagdanovka. One ammo depot of a tank brigade was hit there. 72nd mech brigaded supply depot hit north of Ugledar (this unit is responsible for Ugledar sector).
Also Zelensky has most likely asked Xi Jinping to ask Putin to allow the 6k-10k Ukraine garrison free passage out of Bakhmut. Which is unlikely to happen, because it doesn’t serve the purpose of de-militarization.
To generalize, there are very powerful units of Ukraine committed inside Bakhmut and the collapse of Bakhmut can quickly turn out into a major disaster.

Posted by: unimperator | Apr 26 2023 20:44 utc | 106

Posted by: Oriental Voice | Apr 26 2023 20:34 utc | 102
you’re welcome. I like your description of the West’s posture to this clearly significant development – pants down.
I’ve become very attuned to the propaganda machine over here in the US. If this meeting was arranged by Zelensky, the usual M.O. would be to leak it in advance, and run all kinds of self-glorifying propaganda in the usual channels, like Business Insider and the WaPost, with the usual baloney about how it means Russia is losing, Putin is isolated, etc.
But we got none of that. I even noticed that the story broke outside of the usual press channels.
To me, that is very telling. Either Zelensky got an abrupt notice from the Chinese that a call was happening, or he deliberately cut out the Beltway crowd. The latter is very significant, if true.

Posted by: Chris | Apr 26 2023 20:59 utc | 108

America was once an inspiration to the world, a beacon of freedom and democracy. Our priority will be nothing less than to restore our moral leadership. We will lead by example. When a warlike imperial nation disarms of its own accord, it sets a template for peace everywhere. It is not too late for us to voluntarily let go of empire and serve peace instead, as a strong and healthy nation.” [My Emphasis]
… A POTUS candidate who implies that’s precisely what’s needed to be done. Yes, his Ukraine proposal’s imperfect; but RFKjr will negotiate, and IMO the Russians will deem him credible. That’s a sea change in attitude since 1989.
Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 26 2023 18:27 utc | 72

I’m afraid I am not as optimistic as you are. From my perspective the US has never been a beacon of freedom (most definitely not for all people within its own borders let alone outside of them) or democracy (in an egalitarian sense) as quoted in the referenced article.
Everything it has or has ever been has been at the subjugation of other nations. It committed genocide to gain the land it now inhabits. It used genocide to gain its wealth, its used genocide to maintain that wealth and the associated power and its plans for the future involve genocide as it tries to continue its march to global domination, a position it sees as its, and only its birth right.

Robert Kagan and Interventionism’s Big Reboot
… only the United States can provide that freedom by superintending the international system, and resorting when necessary … to armed might.
https://newrepublic.com/article/170213/robert-kagan-interventionisms-big-reboot

Maybe RFK-jnr truly wants to chart a different path, of course if that’s the case we can only wait and see. However my skepticism tells me he can never achieve it as the lessons of the US’s creation are too deeply ingrained.
Can he do so over time? Many things are possible over time, but it will always have (at least for the foreseeable future) a powerful faction biding its time before it once again takes control of the reins of power. That faction is neither “Left” or “Right” but exists as a cross party embodiment of those Kaganite principles.
You mention that in your opinion the Russians might deem him credible, I sincerely hope they do not and they view him (if he manages to win the top seat) as a simple continuation of all the Presidents who came before him and treat him with the suspicion I believe he would deserve.
By all means when the time is right have a dialogue, but never forget that these people have shown you who they are, and act accordingly.

Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Apr 26 2023 21:03 utc | 110

Is China throwing Ukraine a lifeline to draw them away from Washington and into Eurasia?

Posted by: Figleaf23 | Apr 26 2023 21:11 utc | 112

Is China throwing Ukraine a lifeline to draw them away from Washington and into Eurasia?
Posted by: Figleaf23 | Apr 26 2023 21:11 utc | 112
If China ever gets the new Silk Road going, they want it to run through Ukraine, thus they have a stake in the outcome.
As pure speculation, it would be a remarkable end around to the war if Ukraine could become an ally of China, I presume with taking Russia’s interests in mind.

Posted by: Jmaas | Apr 26 2023 21:25 utc | 114

Posted by: Ново З | Apr 26 2023 21:26 utc | 115
Baby names in England and Wales: 2021
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/bulletins/babynamesenglandandwales/2021

Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Apr 26 2023 21:36 utc | 116

The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. Military Has an Explosive Problem
Story by Gordon Lubold • 8h ago
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/the-u-s-military-has-an-explosive-problem/ar-AA1an520

MINDEN, La.—Nearly two years ago, an errant spark inside a mill caused an explosion so big it destroyed all the building’s equipment and blew a corrugated fiberglass wall 100 feet.
It also shut down the sole domestic source of an explosive the Department of Defense relies on to produce bullets, mortar shells, artillery rounds and Tomahawk missiles.
The ramshackle facility makes the original form of gunpowder, known today as black powder, a highly combustible material with hundreds of military applications. The product, for which there is no substitute, is used in small quantities in munitions to ignite more powerful explosives.
No one was hurt in the June 2021 blast. But the factory remains offline, unable to deliver its single vital component to either commercial or Pentagon customers.

More at link, no paywall! It took me a while to find one with the WSJ content.

Posted by: Babel-17 | Apr 26 2023 21:49 utc | 118

@SattaMassaGana | Apr 26 2023 21:36 utc | 116
“Muhammad was the most popular boys’ name in four out of nine English regions, ..”
Thanks for bringing facts to the table. But no Muslim girl names in the lists…

Posted by: Ново З | Apr 26 2023 21:55 utc | 120

Only read the first page so pardon if it’s all been covered. I’m going to be a bit fluid here as am a little tired and emotional. Burp.
First @
Posted by: SG | Apr 26 2023 15:28 utc | 11
Posted by: Aaron Lee | Apr 26 2023 15:46 utc | 15
Posted by: San | Apr 26 2023 15:51 utc | 16
Yes, yes & yes! But don’t confuse English aristos with British peoples. Hate the craven leaders not the whole of a country. & Mohamed as the most popular name because unfortunately the Muslim community is very traditional when it comes to names. They haven’t quite gone down the route of film and celebrity characters yet – unless it’s after the GOAT Ali. 😜
Next @ ‘So Xi Jingping finally talked to Zelensky. But why now?
Posted by: mikee | Apr 26 2023 14:43 utc | 1’
& @ ‘Interesting this wasn’t done yesterday so it could become a topic at Lavrov’s presser. Yes, Russia’s MFA was questioned about the call, which will provide the content for my next comment.
Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 26 2023 16:46 utc | 36 ‘
My opinion – Because he didn’t want to over shadow Lavrov’s masterful ‘Jedi’ (look it up – sky news Freudian slip😝) speech in the UN & because his MFA spokeswoman (I must try and remember her name, she is as funny as Russias Maria) guffawed at the dumb question asked of her on Ukraines ’sovereignty’. Xi apparently answered the question in the phone-call, he apparently said :
“Mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is the political basis of China-Ukraine relations…
No matter how the international landscape changes, China is willing to work with the Ukrainian side to move forward the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries…
China is not the author of the crisis in Ukraine, nor is it a party to it…
Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable way out…”
My opinion. Basically telling shelensky in a very subtle but wholly public way (like he did when he made turdeux wobble for his crass behaviour a few months ago) – that he can go screw himself, because Xi hasn’t forgotten that ukronatzos came to Hong Kong and partook in severe violence in the Color riots- ie that Ukraine obviously didn’t give a fuck about Chinese sovereignty.
Forcing a response from the little coke head of :
“Ukraine adheres to the one-China policy and hopes …”
Which was no doubt a line fed to him by his English PR minder sitting next to him in that phone call!
Thanks for the transcript @ Posted by: too scents | Apr 26 2023 16:36 utc | 33
Moving on.
@ ‘The people who should be pissed off about the Nordstream pipeline are the Germans, mostly. I am surprised they make so little of it, and about the only punishment they can impose on the US is is to drop out of the coalition. For whatever reason, so far, they are not doing it.
Posted by: Jmaas | Apr 26 2023 17:26 utc | 56’
That’s because after 80 years of being held hostage the Germans are wholly displaying Stockholm Syndrome behaviour. And they are represented by a wholly contrived leadership now.
Finally for now @
“Zelensky dissolved parliament to hold early elections in July 2019. His “Servant of the People” party won an outright majority. Earlier that month, the new Ukrainian president visited Canada, where he was grilled by leaders of the Ukrainian Canadian community aligned with his nationalist opposition in Ukraine…
The director of the institute is Volodymyr Viatrovych. Do you support the work of the Institute and its leader?
Readers of the Bandera Lobby Blog probably know by now that Viatrovych, “The Historian Whitewashing Ukraine’s Past,” is an important OUN-B member.
Posted by: bevin | Apr 26 2023 19:03 utc | 77’
Which along with Corbyns fixed election failure , followed by Trumps fixed reelection failure, meant that the great Plan to take Russia ‘this time’ this century could finally proceed!
And fall flat on its face as spectacularly as Napoleon and Hitler and now elensky – all proxies in f the same Old Slave Owners and their bought and controlled aristos through the centuries!
This thread is on fire bar flies , keep frying the goldfish bowl narrative trolls. Good night all.

Posted by: DunGroanin | Apr 26 2023 22:04 utc | 122

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 26 2023 18:27 utc | 72
“America was once an inspiration to the world, a beacon of freedom and democracy.”
– – –
I used to think like that too, (“American Exceptionalism” BS) but in the last few decades it has become clear to many that we often act as an evil force in the world while using expressions like “freedom” – “liberty” and “democracy” to justify terrible crimes.
Cue John Prine : The Great Compromise

Posted by: Just Observing | Apr 26 2023 22:06 utc | 124

“Is China throwing Ukraine a lifeline to draw them away from Washington and into Eurasia?”
Figleaf23@112
The offer is just being renewed. It has been there for years. And wise Ukrainians want to accept it, build on it and grow prosperous in peace as one pf the hubs in eurasia.
Unhappily Ukraine is controlled by a gang of racists working in cahoots with imperialism: they don’t care whether the people starve or thrive, they just want to pick up the Second World War again only this time with the US, UK and Europe on the same side as them, the Germans and Israel.
As the Bandera Blog that I linked with above, shows Zelensky is under threat of brutal assassination by the neo-Nazis who rule with impunity (and NATO’s blessing). Still, if any power can break the deadlock diplomatically it is China. There are grown-ups iin Beijing.
Thank you SattaMassaGana@116 for supplying the facts.
The most popular boy’s name in England and Wales last year was none of the variations of the name of the Prophet of Islam. It was Noah, of whom many will have heard. The previous year it had been Oliver.
Curious that the Mohammed syory gets repeated so often. Who could possibly benefit from the lie?

Posted by: bevin | Apr 26 2023 22:07 utc | 126

I don’t think RFK Jr will be alive much longer, as he is anathema to the Deep State, the intelligence/security agencies, and Big Pharma. He knows way too much and the last thing the bastards want is for him to get a viable podium to inform the public.
I created a transcript of an interview RFK Jr did with Steve Bannon, discussing “The Real Anthony Fauci”. For those who want to watch the video, they cand do so at this link.
Transcript of interview:
STEVE BANNON: How does Tony Fauci take stage and become the commanding influence . . . I want you to walk us through it – when do you believe he starts making these kind of dictates or diktats, particularly on vaccines, lockdowns and all that Sir?
ROBERT F KENNEDY:
Well,, it’s a big question and the last chapter of my book [The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health], which I think is really one of the most revelatory chapters, shows that the Event 201, which was this pandemic simulation — which was really a blueprint for how do you use the pandemic for imposing totalitarian controls and obliterating democracy and constitutional rights.
If you go to [Event 201] Seminar Four, you have all of these people talking about how do we stop social media from talking about chatter that this may be a lab leak. And then, two months later when the rest of the world finds out about Coronavirus, and a lot of the people who were part of Event 201 move into key places in government to manage the Coronavirus response. So, they’ve been schooled that the way that you respond to a public health crisis is by imposing totalitarian controls.
What I found when I was writing the book, which I detail, is that this was not a one-off event; they were doing these drills, these pandemic simulations, for 20 years. Beginning in 1999, they did an anthrax simulation called Dark Winter and a few months later we have the anthrax attacks on our country, which justify the pathways are used to justify the passage the Patriot Act and the invasion of Iraq. And later – when it’s too late – the FBI investigation finds it [the anthrax attacks] did not come from Iraq, it came from one of three U S military labs.
So, there was clearly somebody from the US military who was involved in this or the intelligence agencies. Now, what you see is year after year following that, we have the rise of the biosecurity agenda, which replaces the Islamic terrorist agenda. So, biosecurity officially becomes a spear tip of American foreign policy.
And every year they are doing these pandemic simulations, which now involve hundreds of thousands of people. We understand they were secret, but they were bringing in people from police departments, from hospital systems and frontline workers all over the country . . . utility people, oil company executives and workers, who are all involved in these pandemics, which each one of them drilled
They never talk about public health. They never talk about how to repurpose medication, how to quarantine the sick, how to get people to eat Vitamin D, and zinc and exercise and build their immune system. There’s none of that discussion. It’s all about how to use a pandemic as a pretense to obliterate democracy.
And they were doing it simultaneously in the US, Canada, Australia and all the countries in Europe. And each one of them had a figurehead; so they brought in somebody who would was really kind of a useful idiot, somebody who would give the imprimatur of legitimacy . . . so Madeleine Albright or Senator Gary Hart or Senator Sam Nunn or some Congressman or Bill Gates, so that everybody would say “Hey this is kind of weird what we’re doing but if that person thinks it’s OK, it must be OK.” And they were drilling year after year, how to use the pandemic when it does come out.
Where did Tony Fauci come from? After the anthrax attacks, the Pentagon began – and the CIA – began funneling huge amounts of money to bioweapons development. We [the US] had shut down bioweapons development – although the CIA continued to illegally do it – the Pentagon stopped doing it in 1970.
STEVE BANNON: Hang on . . . we [the US] had signed a treaty that said we were out of that [bioweapons] business, [which is] one of the big controversies about the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] and how they’ve gotten involved in this. Give me the fact that backs up the fact that the CIA, maybe even the Pentagon, over and above or outside the treaty we signed . . . we were only supposed to have bioweapons defense, but not an offensive capability. Why do you say they’ve been developing bioweapons?
ROBERT F KENNEDY: Well what happened was the CIA was doing it secretly even after the treaty, right up until 1999. And you know, I’m getting ahead of myself, but the CIA through USAID was the biggest funder, even bigger than Tony Fauci, of the gain-of-function studies in Wuhan, the Pentagon was second, Tony Fauci was third.
Initially the Pentagon – after the anthrax attacks, during 9/11 – the Pentagon wanted to get back into bioweapons research. But as you just pointed out, it was illegal to do offensive research. You could only do defensive research. And what does that mean – it means vaccine development.
But a lot of defensive research – the same experiments that you used to develop vaccines are the same experiments that you use to develop bioweapons. The Pentagon wanted to start doing bioweapons, but they did not think that they could sell it to the world that “we are just developing vaccines”, that the Pentagon is now putting all this money into vaccines.
So, instead the Pentagon funneled the money, beginning in 2001, through Tony Fauci – $1.7 billion a year. Now it’s $2.2 billion. They also gave Fauci a 68% raise [that was] attached to his bioweapons research. That’s one of the reasons why he had to continue to do this gain of function research even when Obama told him to stop in 2014.
He [Fauci] didn’t stop [bioweapons research]. He continued developing the worst of those [diseases] you know with that technology, that gain-of-function technology at the University of North Carolina. And [he did that] secretly and illegally.
What happened that year was that three of his bugs [viruses] escaped [from the lab] and 300 leading scientists around the globe then wrote a letter to Obama saying you have got to stop Tony Fauci from developing these, from playing these games of “souping up” these pandemic viruses, because if one of them escapes, the trajectory would be uncontrollable. And so, Obama passed the moratorium.
Fauci immediately began violating the moratorium by continuing to fund the worst of the these [experiments to make disease more lethal] by Ralph Baric at the University of North Carolina. He [Fauci] also moved a lot of those studies offshore. And to take his fingerprints off them, he laundered the money through this bioweapons grifter called Peter Daszak and his little group EcoHealth Alliance, who would distribute the money to the Chinese scientists at the [Wuhan] lab.
The Chinese, from 2013, published a paper, which is talked about in my book, where they said – they were right just open about it – saying “we are making weapons, we’re not pretending to make vaccines, we are making weapons”. Tony Fauci was teaching them how to do that.
But worst of all – and this puts the lie that everything he says about “oh, we were just trying to make vaccines” – he [Fauci] funded Ralph Baric to develop a system called the “Seamless Ligation System”, which is a system, a technology, for hiding the evidence of engineering on the these Coronaviruses.
So, what they do is they take a bat Coronavirus that will only affect bats. They remove the Spike Protein and they hook in, they implant a Spike Protein that they construct out of amino acids, so that it will affect human beings. And they test it on humanized mice, these mice that have human lungs. And if they can get the mouse not only to get infected, but then to cough and spread the infection without engineering, that’s a success story for them.
But Ralph Baric, with funding from Tony Fauci, developed the system for hiding the evidence of engineering. If you were really interested in public health, you would want to do the opposite of that.
You would want to put a red flag on it that said, “This is human-made, we made this – don’t let it go anywhere.” That’s not what they were doing. They were weaponizing it [the Coronavirus], by making it so that it could not be traced back to whoever dropped it on the world.
Baric, with funding from Fauci, then taught that technology which he called the “no-see-um” technology to Zheng-Li Shi, the Chinese scientist who was running that lab under the control of the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] and the People’s Liberation Army. who were her bosses.
She developed – she was taught how to use that technology – she perfected it, and then she stopped publishing in 2018 and 2019. We know she was still doing those studies; she stopped publishing about them, which is very, very suspicious – because sometime in that period was almost certainly the time that they took this one Coronavirus that they had discovered in a Mojiang cave in Wuhan province that had killed a whole bunch of minors there.
The miners got Coronavirus from that particular one [variety of Coronavirus]; they got it from the bats, but they were not spreading it in their homes, so it could not spread human to human at that point.
And it appears that Zheng-Li Shi and Peter Daszak took that Coronavirus and enabled it to infect human beings through respiratory droplets.
And those were on the studies that Tony Fauci funded.

Posted by: Perimetr | Apr 26 2023 22:14 utc | 128

“America was once an inspiration to the world, a beacon of freedom and democracy.”
“The Babylon Project was a dream given form. Its goal: to prevent another war … it’s our last best hope for peace.”
Spoiler Alert
https://youtu.be/iKDX4dcr1PQ
Point being that things change, and we need to adapt.

Posted by: Babel-17 | Apr 26 2023 22:16 utc | 130

Time traveler groggily regains consciousness in government lab:
“What century is this?”
Government agent:
“Early 21st century”
Time traveler:
“So this is after RFK Jr. was assassinated.”
Government agent:
“No, just before.”

Posted by: Babel-17 | Apr 26 2023 22:26 utc | 132

English Outsider @2
Insightful post. Something along these lines was written recently by Gaius Baltar–a frequent contributor at the now sadly defunct the Saker–and published on Larry Johnson’s blog. sonar21.com.
Differing from your post somewhat, Baltar’s focus on what we might infer were Russia’s plans as the SMO was breaking out. Your post very plausibly speculated about what sort of Russian reaction and outcomes the Westards were trying to provoke.
I do think the first highly mobile phase of the SMO was primarily for demonstration purposes–not Shock & Awe in terms of destruction–but as a demonstration of commitment and a set of responses that the West had clearly not war-gamed. Mission accomplished–or almost. Where RF almost succeeded but ultimately failed was in startling the MInsk guarantors out of their complacency and complicity.
Russians have sometimes been accused of assuming that their adversaries are as rational as they are. I suspect it was months before the Russian brain trust–along with many of us barflies–could truly accept that Germany in particular was prepared to see itself fully and finally cut off from the fundamental source of its economic prosperity.
This could not have been entirely clear to them, or to us, until it became clear, over the course of months, that the sanctions had not just failed, but spectacularly boomeranged. Overall, I’ve found the RF strategic planners and military to have performed brilliantly, but I attribute (without much evidence) an apparent April to June 2022 ‘drift’ in Russian performance to their delay in understanding that this was now a full on war between them and the West, though it was increasingly clear that this war would only accelerate, and not reverse, trends in the West’s steady decline.
With you, and Sleboda, I do not see as the most likely outcome a near-term collapse of the Ukraine adventure (pace Gonzalo Lira and far more knowledgeable military sources–Ritter, MacGregor, etc.). With you, but contra Sleboda, this does not lead me to conclude that the only outcome is an intractable, slow bleeding of Russia over the longer term.
But I will speculate that certain favorable outcomes will not be available in the short term and can only manifest if and as Russia’s strengthening and the West’s overall weakening continues for at least another year or two. At which point, some of Europe may be peeled away. NATO and the EU may well be weakened. Currently leadership will be gone or seriously beleaguered. The West will have been significantly de-dollarized, deenergized, de-moralized, de-unipolarized, as it were. But the West is not done yet–Brazil, Turkey, South Africa, Pakistan and perhaps India are vulnerable to destabilization.

Posted by: Paul Damascene | Apr 26 2023 22:32 utc | 134

Perimetr: I imagine that by the time of the Dim National Convention next year few voters will have as much as heard that RFK Jr was even a candidate. So there will be no threat to his life; it won’t be necessary.

Posted by: malenkov | Apr 26 2023 22:44 utc | 136

Zamom. | Apr 26 2023 16:13 utc | 23
I have to use different nicks since someone *wink wink* keep banning my criticism of the russian invasion. Go figure who.
We know. I think it’s hilarious 😂.
While the @bar is generally irascible re trolls, I think you’re fun.
Every village indulges its home grown idiot.
Every lively bar, has its jester-fool.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Apr 26 2023 22:46 utc | 138

Just Observing | Apr 26 2023 22:06 utc | 124–
Thanks for your reply. The portion of RFKjr’s campaign website I cited here and at my VK was written by a staffer, not by him, as the text’s content makes very clear. As I wrote @121, the only way to know RFKjr’s POV is to directly ask him unless he tells us via a monologue/speech or interview.

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 26 2023 22:50 utc | 140

Elmagnostic: Never go by the RT headlines, which are almost always deliberately misleading and/or sensationalist clickbait. You have to read the articles themselves.

Posted by: malenkov | Apr 26 2023 22:56 utc | 142

Perimetr | Apr 26 2023 22:14 utc | 128
Eco Health was involved. Part of coronavirus research involved observing how fast or susceptible viruses were to natural mutations. There was a directive that if a virus mutated a certain number of times, research was to be stopped and Eco Health notified. Wuhan lab did normal civilian research.
Eco Health was also involved in the biolabs in Ukraine according to captured documents. and US Gov contracts that can be found on the net.
Once a suitable strain is found that mutates naturally, it is a simple matter to transfer it to the labs in Ukraine or Georgia to develop into a bio weapon. The outbreak in Wuhan was centered around the US consulate. The best way to get a bio weapon into a country is in diplomatic parcels or baggage.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Apr 26 2023 23:00 utc | 144

Curious that the Mohammed syory gets repeated so often. Who could possibly benefit from the lie?
Posted by: bevin | Apr 26 2023 22:07 utc | 126
Apparently the real Muhammed story is that it is the most prevalent boys name in the world. That claim at least makes sense.
Probably just dumb westerners repeating a story and leaving out the important part 🙂
Unsurprisingly Wang is the most prevalent surname .

Posted by: K | Apr 26 2023 23:01 utc | 146

fanto | Apr 26 2023 17:10 utc | 48
the horrendous guilt the West has burdened their populations for mass killings of innocent soldiers on both sides…
Wot? No one beyond this bar and a few other aberrant minuscule pockets of the internet gives a fuck about dead Ukrainians.
Dead Russians are celebrated. The more the merrier.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Apr 26 2023 23:14 utc | 148

the pessimist | Apr 26 2023 22:57 utc | 143
Not letting Ukraine have nuclear weapons seems pretty smart in retrospect. Podolyak should be blaming Nuland and her cookies.

Posted by: dh | Apr 26 2023 23:26 utc | 150

perimetr @128–
Thanks for your work to provide us with that transcript. I ran with it to my VK and made it into an article, An RFKjr Deed, with attribution to you for doing the work. I also noted that he also wrote and published A Letter to Liberals: Censorship and COVID: An Attack on Science and American Ideals, which is aimed at one large group of naysayers.

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 26 2023 23:45 utc | 152

AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM
I regard that our revolution was part of a continuous social movement that was centered in Europe. It was preceded by the British Glorious Revolution and drew on the ideas from the Renaissance followed by the French Philosophies. Our revolution was quickly followed by the French Revolution. That one turned into such a bloody mess that it set back liberal democracy for about two generation.
On balance the spread of either the British parliamentary system or our presidential system has been desirable on those occasions when adapted voluntarily by the local population.

Posted by: Jmaas | Apr 27 2023 0:07 utc | 154

It was Noah, of whom many will have heard. The previous year it had been Oliver.
Curious that the Mohammed syory gets repeated so often. Who could possibly benefit from the lie?
Posted by: bevin | Apr 26 2023 22:07 utc | 126

I can guess, but looking at the way the original post was posted I suspect it was an attempt to derail the thread which is why I stopped responding. I will keep any further thoughts to my self on this matter.

Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Apr 27 2023 0:07 utc | 156

Sorry I got Satta Massa Gana’s name wrong at my post @ 157, my apologies for that.

Posted by: Refinnejenna | Apr 27 2023 0:20 utc | 158

Just a bit of future musing for possible discussion:
Putin, god bless his little cotton socks, will not govern forever. It may end due to age and health, (now 70yo) or voluntary retirement, but certainly not through internal or external deposition. Which begs the question of “who might come next?”. Big big shoes to fill.
One would assume that VVP would groom and seamlessly appoint a compatible successor, given the need for another few decades of firm and wise mission continuation with its pesky enemies.
Currently, I can only envisage Lavrov (but he’s 73yo).
Medvedev (57yo) is just too volatile, inflammatory, combative.
PM Mushustin (57yo)?
Is Russia ready for the gorgeous and ballsy and smart Maria Zakharova (I wish!) (47yo). Maybe a joint ticket with Lavrov!
Is there anyone else side-stage?

Posted by: The Dolphin | Apr 27 2023 0:31 utc | 160

For Russia to gain a “happy ending” and a secure future with (some quantum of) Ukraine as a neighbour, it will clearly need to continue to BOTH a full military victory AND a political one — the former including all of the Black Sea Coast; sealed borders with Poland; absolute demilitarisation; and the latter being annihilation of the Kiev gvt via an unconditional Instrument of Surrender covering a complete re-write of the Ukrainian constitution according to the SMO goals; then an honest election of a moderate reformer.
Ritter (and Mearshiemer) put it most succinctly in that Russia’s big strategic goal is “a whole new European Security Framework”. No less is what they are truly fighting for. Winning the SMO is really just a lever, a demonstration of their resolve, Act I of the big picture. To achieve this, NATO must be either cowered, joined by RF, or disbanded.

Posted by: The Dolphin | Apr 27 2023 0:56 utc | 162

DakotaRog | Apr 27 2023 0:47 utc | 161
T-90s bad..
That’s just regime media getting ahead of the certain Abrams failures.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Apr 27 2023 1:19 utc | 164

general comment on Europe´s right-wing parties defended in this forum:
when speaking about European right-wing parties like FPÖ in Austria, AfD in Germany or Le Pen in France one should keep in mind these are right-wing capitalist lobby groups.
Neither in Germany, nor in France or Austria (I believe) did they oppose anti-social, anti-left-wing, anti-poverty policies.
So what we will possibly experience is a dismemberment of European parliamentary left parties (with strong help from their own idiotic in-fights of course abandoning true left ideas) via now discredited right-wingers which eventually will be incorporated, either in coalitions or in substance by the major conservative capitalist foces that have existed well before these rather young outsider parties emerged.
Or does anyone believe keeping out migrants the way we have done in the last 30 years will solve any problems? of course not.
I have no solution except social old school organizing and revigorating unions.
But just to point out this possible trap.

Posted by: AG | Apr 27 2023 1:32 utc | 166

A more balanced (meaning minus the current propaganda avalanche) view of how Russia got to this point.
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/losing-russia/

Posted by: Longhorn | Apr 27 2023 2:33 utc | 168

CNN says Ukraine is now ready for the counteroffensive.
Looks like Ukraine will start the offensive within the next seven days.
Russia should launch an offensive to take Kiev. That should disrupt well laid plans.

Posted by: Jason | Apr 27 2023 2:40 utc | 170

Seer:
Kennedy v Joe Rogan interview
And Napolitano Judging Freedom.
Drill down into WTAF is his thinking re Ukraine.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Apr 27 2023 2:49 utc | 172

@ Ed 81
‘ This is what passes as “left discourse” among the pro-imperialist flea flicker who chases the Neo-Liberal, Neo-Cons, among the Democratic Party hound dogs.’
A US scolar/ student of Islam who studied in Syria told us 25 years ago that the Neo Libs and NeoCons wanted to destroy both religious and secular social welfare.
In the cross hairs of their hate were the main Monotheistic faiths plus Russian and Chinese socialism.
It is this understanding that I take the Russian SMO as a a joint faith and non-faith struggle / jihad against Right wing oppression. Your phrase ” left discourse ” amused me because it’s what’s left after every impulse of social welfare is banned.
Quite how the wishes of the Ukranian people for peace can be hijacked into the slaughter of 300,000 peace-loving Ukranians would be a useful thesis for an academic minded student of politics. I have come across many an academic thesis by Muslim students protesting against the hijacking of Islam by Usama bin Laden terrorism, by googling terrorism and Islam.
This type of research also brings up many Right wing think tanks mealy mouthed whitewash hand- wringing crocodile tears about wars , rape and terrorism , the frothy scum on the harsh reality of USUKIS – created and sponsored proxy militants like Al Qaida and Azov.
There are plenty of Humanities students who have researched the minefields of USUKIS hypocrisy about international law, by utilising twisted interpretations ofvthe Qur’an. I’ve never googled Bandera Nationalistic paganism, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Ukranian and Canadian truth seekers have not written their doctorate theses on this subject as well.

Posted by: Giyane | Apr 27 2023 3:13 utc | 174

Certainly they will not save Artyomovsk from being liberated by Russian forces as that seems likely within 48 hours.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Apr 27 2023 2:55 utc | 173
Sure pal. I got some dry land here in the Free State of Florida for sale, you interested?

Posted by: Longhorn | Apr 27 2023 3:42 utc | 176

Russia should launch an offensive to take Kiev. That should disrupt well laid plans.
Posted by: Jason | Apr 27 2023 2:40 utc | 170
Have you not been paying attention? Russia is short of manpower and equipment.

Posted by: Longhorn | Apr 27 2023 3:45 utc | 178

@Jason 170
How is this offensive supposed to be conducted? The nazis have been fortifying and mining the northern border nonstop since Putin withdrew from those areas near over a year ago.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Apr 27 2023 3:49 utc | 180

@Matthew 181
Let me assure you that RFK Jr will never be permitted to win any presidential election. If he’s even allowed to run as a serious candidate that is.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Apr 27 2023 3:53 utc | 182

If Kiev does launch its counter-offensive then imo we’ll see if Russia has been allocating a large reserve of missiles and drones to really put out the lights in Kiev, and also take out its remaining air defenses, as well as other military installations in that capital city.
Such a move would be way beyond symbolic, and could cause a great deal of confusion among the highest echelons in the government in Kiev, a confusion which work its way down through the command and control of those running the counter-offensive.
And it might help focus the minds of the leaders of NATO nations on cutting their losses, sooner rather than later.

Posted by: Babel-17 | Apr 27 2023 4:15 utc | 184

Much here on RFK Jnr.
Yesterday … The Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal and Aaron Mate cover RFK Jr.’s announcement of his campaign for the Democratic nomination for the presidency, and the direct threat he poses to the pro-war, pro-censorship leadership of the party.
[20 mins]
RFK Jr. throws down the gauntlet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv0OGZ2iArI
He is spot on re those links between US and Wuhan and dodgy research (and thanks to other commenters above – also in line with J. Sachs etc)
He is also close to spot on re US meddling etc.
He doesn’t, however, have a snowball’s chance in hell of gaining power.
I wish him well …

Posted by: Don Firineach | Apr 27 2023 4:27 utc | 186

@ Perimetr | Apr 26 2023 22:14 utc | 128
Thank you! Good to get more detail on the ‘known known’.

Posted by: Don Firineach | Apr 27 2023 4:44 utc | 188

My view on the overall situation in Ukraine.
No again – it is not Russia that wants to take Bakhmut before the victory parade in May – it is Ukraine that wants to hold it till then – they made it a symbolic battle – and by doing so they have sent wave after wave into that trap – which has now snapped.
Keeping the pressure on Bakhmut despite having to retreat from the flanks in Kherson and Kharkov paid off. It lured more and more Ukranian reserves into that designed meat grinder.
And after having consolidated the defense lines all along the lines Russia started to pressure on different locations.
That move forced Ukranians to keep reserves almost everywhere while Russia did similar knowing that any higher troop concentration for “big arrow operations” would have been detected by NATO sat recon anyway.
Russia only had to keep the pressure alive – and so they did by pushing here and there (Advdeedvka Marinka Ugledar Siversk and towards Liman and Kupyansk along the Oskil lines – and even a fake push near Zaporozhye So the prepared dispersed reserves had some tasks and Ukranians had to answer ALL of them.
The pressure by Ukranian donors (which are getting more nervous by the day) will force the hand of AFU decision makers – they have to do something – they need successes to keep the money flowing – Russia on the other hand just has to answer all that by waiting and pushing – so the defenders are forced to prepare “counterattacks” against a dug in force with an artillery advantage of ten to one.
This strategy costs Ukraine some 100 men (KIA WIA MIA POW) and some dozen armored vehicles and 3 to 6 artillery pieces all along the over 1000km front lines ERVERY DAY. To think Russia is losing more is nothing but wishful thinking. This war of attrition can’t be won by NATO and those morons know it.

https://t.me/geromanat/6004

Posted by: Down South | Apr 27 2023 5:04 utc | 190

Posted by: Melaleuca | Apr 27 2023 4:38 utc | 187
Mic drop.

Posted by: lex talionis | Apr 27 2023 5:30 utc | 192

Everyone got tired of Trumps, Clintons and Bidens.
Hey, I know – let’s bring back the KENNEDYs!
Fucking morons.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Apr 27 2023 5:41 utc | 194

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Apr 27 2023 5:41 utc | 194
Everyone got tired of Trumps, Clintons and Bidens.
Hey, I know – let’s bring back the KENNEDYs!
______________________
Ya, a name like Kennedy might shine like a symbol of hope and identification. He evokes this idea of an era character, he evokes nostalgia for times of order, democracy, growth, values, controversy and clarity, even Hollywood. The name hits us directly at our world view without factual judgement beforehand. That’s a weapon in political psychology. There is this connection to this imiganition of continuity in historical images, naive and beautiful.
Who knows, this name could become an elite escape if things go really bad. US-citizens (many folks in germany as well) might believe in democracy again. I have no idea about him as a person or politican, I just know his name and link it to a critical article about US policy in Syria / Middle East in ~2016, but maybe the author was a cousin of his. It doesn’t matter, I’m already projecting this act onto his behalf.
De Gaulle’s grandson was seen by many as a little hope – I guess here as well? His name was the trigger. The content probably less.

Posted by: Konrad | Apr 27 2023 6:20 utc | 196

Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | Apr 27 2023 6:16 utc | 196
Yes, that is a great article and a point of view I’ve been advocating for awhile.
The theory that Russia was trying to scare Ukraine into surrending with the early SMO push towards Kiev is weak.

Posted by: Haassaan | Apr 27 2023 6:35 utc | 198

@malenkov and bevin:
Joseph Roth’s “Radetzkymarsch” is one of the best novels of the 20th century. Cannot recommend it highly enough.

Posted by: Cherrycoke | Apr 27 2023 6:54 utc | 200