Common sense on Ukraine from one of the most reliable soirces in the USA Black Agenda Report’s Margaret Kimberley
“The war in Ukraine grinds on and the Ukrainian army is being destroyed by Russia with great loss of life. One would think that Ukraine would be grateful for any and all peace efforts but it is being used as a proxy by the United States and its NATO allies, the collective west. The seeds of this catastrophe began long before Russia’s special military operation. The European Union and NATO nations brought anti-Russian right wing forces to power in 2014 in a coup against the elected Ukrainian president. If not for them there would be no war at all.
“Their degree of culpability became clear recently when a delegation of African leaders traveled to Ukraine and Russia as part of a peacemaking initiative. They were greeted in Kiev by air raid sirens used to create the appearance that a Russian missile attack was underway. President Zelensky was barely polite, thanking South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and others for coming but letting them know that everything was Russia’s fault and that he had no interest whatsoever in peace talks.
“Not only is Ukraine a de facto U.S. colony which lives and dies by Washington’s whims, but it is also a deeply racist country. Much of its population is still attached to Nazi ideology and the politics of World War II collaborator Stephan Bandera.
“Nazi salutes, swastikas and other insignias are common there. So much so that the New York Times recently felt obliged to wonder in feigned innocence why these symbols are worn openly. The simple and obvious answer is that Ukraine is full of Nazis. Any likelihood that the same people would listen to Africans were indeed slim.
“Ukraine was joined in racial superiority theater by Poland. Media and security staff accompanying the presidents were delayed there and the delegation had to travel without them. When the manufactured drama was no longer needed the delegation arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia and met with president Vladimir Putin who had a surprise of his own. …
https://www.blackagendareport.com/ukraine-stays-west-russia-winning-and-has-receipts

Posted by: bevin | Jun 21 2023 22:09 utc | 104

Looks like Ukraine will officially stop offensive. They lost around 10% of west equipment and send 60k of the soldiers.
Still a lot of stuff left!
It is only sane decision, to save soldiers and equipment for defense, at the moment without air supremacy it is impossible to be offensive.
So the ball is again on the Russian side – before (if) west equip Ukraine with proper air defense systems. Even if Russia is stronger atm, it will still be a BIG challenge on offensive. Looks like it will be a long bloody war 🙁

Posted by: blind | Jun 21 2023 22:24 utc | 106

Posted by: Concerned Citizen | Jun 21 2023 21:55 utc | 101
Russia and China are not sovereign even when using such an abstract and sentimental definition.
What’s so important about sovereignty not being empire? Makes little difference when empire takes sovereignty away. And why is this “to the great chagrin of the terminally online failsons of the upper-middle class.” What do they have to do with sovereignty?

Posted by: DeathToAmerica | Jun 21 2023 22:32 utc | 108

Karlof1 @86
Thanks very kindly for the link to the Simplicius article, which, of all his very good pieces, I found perhaps the most fascinating.
My reference to WW1 was not, though, to the military aspect, but to the (underdeveloped) picture I have of feckless leaders drifting into a conflict whose consequences utterly surpassed their imaginings.
I would very much still like to have your views on what steps might still avert a slide into direct NATO-RF war.
Cheers.

Posted by: Paul Damascene | Jun 21 2023 22:50 utc | 110

whirlX @ 110

Right now the Kerch bridge is closely spied on by Global Hawk, see what happens. Probably some smart move, to make West clap and boast about.

At the start of SMO Putin should have invited the Chinese to dig them a tunnel, the Chinese would be finished by now, at least the rough work. Russia would have a tunnel and a bridge, belt and suspenders. Maybe the geology doesn’t allow it.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Jun 21 2023 22:54 utc | 112

scepticalSOB | Jun 21 2023 17:43 utc | 23
***Brexit was the best thing we ever did.***
No, it was a scam — what most critics of the EU actually wanted was a “customs union” and no other control from Brusels .. what was delivered by an Establishment hijacked campaign was a mess in which the UK became even more directly servile to the neoliberal / neocon USA … while in general the EU legislation that the ‘official’ brexit gang wanted to dump related to things like water-quality (lower standards = more profiteering for their corporate paymasters), and what was retained was wokist liberal crap (but to get free of that would also require an escape from NATO).
Farrage and his sort were merely Establishment false-flag judas-goats.
*** Apart from voting NO to Scottish Independence ***
What difference would that make — same neoliberal ideology, same rule by NATO — except that the SNP would prefer their “Scot6tish” instructions to come via Brussels instead of directly from Washington. But hurrah –even more fatcat bureaucrats!
Since along with rabid wokism and LGBT+++whatever, both the UK Political Establishment and its fake “Scottish” seperatists want effectively unlimited immigration and a police-state consisent with these objetives … cranks, traitors and fetishists aside, who bloody well cares.

Posted by: Cynic | Jun 21 2023 23:16 utc | 114

war with China is too stupid an idea to get a vote here.
Posted by: The Dolphin | Jun 21 2023 23:17 utc | 116
Which is exactly why it won’t get a vote. Same here of course.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jun 21 2023 23:28 utc | 116

@ LightYearsFromHome | Jun 21 2023 22:54 utc | 113
Severomuysky Tunnel is kind of cool. It is about 15.40 km long through very complicated and hard faulted rock, meaning lakes of water too.
Bridge is more practical to have, as it might require more hits to make it really unusable, but it is a quick fix as changing the module, provided you have pillar on a structure to do. You only need one hit to break the tunnel line – entrance or exit, it doesn’t even matter. Big damage, and you are cut of for a week minimum. But, tunnels are easier to defend.
Chinese have pretty good building companies for largest projects imaginable, building to specs, cheap and fast.
China will rebuild, in the future, around that area in exchange for a lot of wast agricultural land, I am sure.

Posted by: whirlX | Jun 21 2023 23:50 utc | 118

Posted by: DeathToAmerica | Jun 21 2023 21:30 utc | 98
“De-globalization and de-dollarization are processes that take time”.
——
Exactly, exactly. I get so tired of hearing so many pro-Russians and anti-Americans thinking that 4 new oblasts in Ukraine and some new BRICS applications is a sign of an impending multipolar NWO. They forget that US hegemony has been a 78 year process (since 1945) of institutions, laws, blackmail mechanisms, military build up (and bluff), dollar-power, diplomatic networks and leverages, Hollywood … so many roots and tentacles to be cut.
Call me a Pollyanna, but I’m sure it WILL HAPPEN one day, if Russia and China and India keep working on it. Empires don’t just withdraw nicely from their demise. It can take generational changes.
I look at WWIII as the extant sum of all the PRESENT hybrid struggles between the Anglosphere vs Others. From the Donbass bullets to worldwide media disinformation, it’s ALL strategies and tactics of The Big Operation. I would call a nuke situation WWIV! The pre-nuke stage has yet to play out for quite a while, I’d say. The NWO Pollyannas AND the fearful nuke doomsdayers are both impatient spectators of something very nebulous which is out of their control, therefore they envisage quicker, but unrealistic scenarios.
I truly believe that is the strategy Putin (and Xi and Modi) are playing — a slow grind geopolitical wearing down of the old guard instead of the big bang, shock and awe, US methodology that so many fantasise about, and which it has employed to get its own way since that fateful Hiroshima day. Russia employs a wise play of NOT hitting too hard so as to escalate. We supporters of multipolarity must just settle in for the long haul of ups and downs. Even an unconditional Ukrainian surrender and 100% SMO win in 1 – 18 months ain’t gunna usher in a NWO. It will only be one SMALL BATTLE in a much larger war against hegemony.

Posted by: The Dolphin | Jun 22 2023 0:05 utc | 120

The Dolphin | Jun 21 2023 23:17 utc | 116
What about the state-of-the art ‘nucular’ submarines you’ve ordered? That should make you feel more confident.

Posted by: dh | Jun 22 2023 0:12 utc | 122

Not sure if ACME survived the lawsuit against it.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1990/02/26/coyote-v-acme

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, SOUTHWESTERN DISTRICT, TEMPE, ARIZONA
CASE NO. B19294, JUDGE JOAN KUJAVA, PRESIDING
WILE E. COYOTE, Plaintiff
-v.-
ACME COMPANY, Defendant
Opening Statement of Mr. Harold Schoff, attorney for Mr. Coyote: My client, Mr. Wile E. Coyote, a resident of Arizona and contiguous states, does hereby bring suit for damages against the Acme Company, manufacturer and retail distributor of assorted merchandise, incorporated in Delaware and doing business in every state, district, and territory. Mr. Coyote seeks compensation for personal injuries, loss of business income, and mental suffering caused as a direct result of the actions and/or gross negligence of said company, under Title 15 of the United States Code, Chapter 47, section 2072, subsection (a), relating to product liability.
Mr. Coyote states that on eighty-five separate occasions he has purchased of the Acme Company (hereinafter, “Defendant”), through that company’s mail-order department, certain products which did cause him bodily injury due to defects in manufacture or improper cautionary labelling. Sales slips made out to Mr. Coyote as proof of purchase are at present in the possession of the Court, marked Exhibit A. Such injuries sustained by Mr. Coyote have temporarily restricted his ability to make a living in his profession of predator. Mr. Coyote is self-employed and thus not eligible for Workmen’s Compensation.
Mr. Coyote states that on December 13th he received of Defendant via parcel post one Acme Rocket Sled. The intention of Mr. Coyote was to use the Rocket Sled to aid him in pursuit of his prey. Upon receipt of the Rocket Sled Mr. Coyote removed it from its wooden shipping crate and, sighting his prey in the distance, activated the ignition. As Mr. Coyote gripped the handlebars, the Rocket Sled accelerated with such sudden and precipitate force as to stretch Mr. Coyote’s forelimbs to a length of fifty feet. Subsequently, the rest of Mr. Coyote’s body shot forward with a violent jolt, causing severe strain to his back and neck and placing him unexpectedly astride the Rocket Sled. Disappearing over the horizon at such speed as to leave a diminishing jet trail along its path, the Rocket Sled soon brought Mr. Coyote abreast of his prey. At that moment the animal he was pursuing veered sharply to the right. Mr. Coyote vigorously attempted to follow this maneuver but was unable to, due to poorly designed steering on the Rocket Sled and a faulty or nonexistent braking system. Shortly thereafter, the unchecked progress of the Rocket Sled brought it and Mr. Coyote into collision with the side of a mesa.
Paragraph One of the Report of Attending Physician (Exhibit B), prepared by Dr. Ernest Grosscup, M.D., D.O., details the multiple fractures, contusions, and tissue damage suffered by Mr. Coyote as a result of this collision. Repair of the injuries required a full bandage around the head (excluding the ears), a neck brace, and full or partial casts on all four legs.

Posted by: Babel-17 | Jun 22 2023 0:13 utc | 124

@ blind | Jun 21 2023 23:58 utc | 120
With present RF military strategy sitting idle in defensive positions is also an annihilation.
There was a Russain made docu series, where in one episode they did the same on the eastern front.
Fix the enemy and bomb it to retreat, move on a little, stop and pound it again, creating 5+ km buffers in depth and slowly progressing.
Nazi army lost in a week hundreds of tanks and vehicles, thousands of soldiers, and had to surrender with around 30.000 soldiers. Red Army made like 15 km deep push into their lines.

Posted by: whirlX | Jun 22 2023 0:28 utc | 126

RED ARMY DRIVE ON; Counter-Offensive Dents Nazis’ Orel Salient on Two Sides FOE’S TANKS ROUTED 28-Mile Gain Reported in Continuing Battle — Bryansk in Peril RED ARMY DRIVE ON, 110 TOWNS RETAKEN
Give this article
By the Associated Press.
July 16, 1943
I sense the Russian push in Kupiansk direction might be the current pendant to Operation Kutuzov against the northern German pincer of the Kursk offensive.

Posted by: Greg Galloway | Jun 22 2023 0:32 utc | 128

reply to 121
It is frustrating. I look at the DXY everyday and don’t see any problem for the strong dollar. That said, the collapse of the dollar could come from a dozen directions. Alternatives to SWIFT, crypto, gold, stablecoins, yuan, and currency swaps come to mind. I can’t believe BRICS will create a full currency for ordinary people but easier bank transfers in local currencies are doable to counter SWIFT.
We don’t know what black swans may pop up. A big recession could wreck their QT plans and crop failures are coming – which supports inflation. I do think the 6 billion the Pentagon found for Ukraine still comes out of their pocket and means they have less for other stuff.

Posted by: Eighthman | Jun 22 2023 0:39 utc | 130

@ blind | Jun 21 2023 23:58 utc | 120
Posted by: whirlX | Jun 22 2023 0:28 utc | 126
“With present RF military strategy sitting idle in defensive positions is also an annihilation.”
Exactly. What does blind think Ukraine has been doing for the last year and a half? Defense! Except for their lame “offensives” in Kherson and Kharkiv against Russian forces that had already retreated, Ukraine has been doing nothing BUT defense. And they’re lost two armies so far doing it.
Rapidly putting blind in the category of “to be blocked.”

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Jun 22 2023 0:55 utc | 132

@ Richard Steven Hack | Jun 21 2023 19:34 utc | 55
Lavrov’s comment about possible direct (as opposed to “deniable”) NATO involvement in the Ukraine fighting, “Well, let them fight,” reminded me of the LPR fighter in Ghosts’ comment about the lavish fire from the other side, “They have plenty of ammunition, let them shoot.”

Posted by: John Kennard | Jun 22 2023 1:07 utc | 134

@ Posted by: Ghost of Zanon | Jun 22 2023 0:08 utc | 122
Now that you mention Acme…
It WAS a real company. The National Acme Company, and then later the Acme – Cleveland Corporation.
They made parts mainly for heavy industry machine tools, and later for autos. I had several relatives work for them growing up. They made small DC motors, knobs, switches, precision gears, things that you need in your factory or product but are outside your main design business.
https://www.company-histories.com/AcmeCleveland-Corp-Company-History.html

Posted by: BroncoBilly | Jun 22 2023 1:20 utc | 136

The Dolphin | Jun 22 2023 0:48 utc | 131
Yes that’s a good one. I’m reminded of the words of the great Australian diplomat Tony Abbot who wanted to shirtfront Putin.

Posted by: dh | Jun 22 2023 1:32 utc | 138

RE De-dollarization Here is Kenyan President William Ruto, the subtitles screw up the name of the bank. It the Afreximbank ( African export and import bank ).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxoX_oMzFEU 5 minutes
Here he is again calling for Africans to negotiate on equal terms as the EU and US.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjbUi1NrugM 9 minutes

Posted by: deal | Jun 22 2023 1:50 utc | 140

AFU was driven out of the village, Piatihatky again. They can enter, accumulate for their assumed attack and then are bombed out time after time, which has happen at least a week now?

Ukrainian-Russian war. Day 483:
Situation on Zaporizhia front: Russian Army launched counteroffensive from the west of Piatijatky/П’ятихатки forcing Ukrainian Army from the town, which is again under Russian control.
Map: [ https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1V8NzjQkzMOhpuLhkktbiKgodOQ27X6IV&ll=47.51819990271798%2C35.47775690071183&z=13 ]
https://t.me/CyberspecNews/33939
…
[ Album ]
🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦Battles in the area of Pyatikhatki continued throughout the day: at the moment, most of the village is under RF Army control while the AFU control a small part of the buildings in the north of the village.
Earlier, the AFU launched an attack from Pyatihatki towards Zherebyanki but were repelled from it’s outskirts. After which a Russian counter-attack followed
https://t.me/CyberspecNews/33945
….
Ukrainian TG-channel “Cartel” writes:
“A series of explosions in Krivoy Rog, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine are accumulating reserves to storm the dry Kakhovka reservoir.
Also Zaporizhia, where there are reserves for the second wave of the attack on Vasilyevka-Tokmak.
Rockets are flying in the side of the Kherson region. There is a threat to Nikolaev and Odessa.
….
Air defense fails. Russian UAVs and missiles are feeling more and more free in Ukrainian airspace.
It is worth recalling the words of the Ukrainian experts of Bankova, who convinced people that the Russians were about to run out of missiles. As practice shows, the Ukrainian Armed Forces ran out of missiles, only air defense missiles.”
…
[ Album ]
🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦Clashes also continiue in the Bakhmut direction
including in the area of ​​Kleshcheevka (Sth flank), the Berkhovsky reservoir (Nth flank) and in the north of Soledar. All enemy attempts to advance are successfully suppressed by small arms and artillery fire. — RYBAR
“>https://t.me/CyberspecNews/33949

Posted by: unimperator | Jun 22 2023 2:00 utc | 142

Re: Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Jun 21 2023 18:00 utc | 28
Until then Russians take Sumy & Chernihiv I can’t really take this SMO seriously.
When the Russians do take Sumy & Chernihiv (if they ever do) then they can move to surround Kharkov.
They don’t actually need to fight there way into Kharkov – surrounding and cutting it off is the humane way to tackle that situation.
But until that happens – I really can’t take this whole venture that seriously.
When will this possibly happen? Who knows – but it won’t be before October (BRICS, G20, Slovakian Election- Fico etc.) – so we’ve got at least 3 more months of this “non-War” SMO to go in which there is likely to be very little in the way of Russian offensive actions.
3 more months of “shadow boxing”. SMDH.

Posted by: Julian | Jun 22 2023 2:05 utc | 144

Can someone tell me when Russia is going to start fighting like this is a real war, e.g. carpet bombing etc?
Posted by: Jonathan Mills | Jun 21 2023 15:55 utc | 2
Perhaps the latest Simplicious article may answer this oft repeated call to take Ukraine in a couple of days in a WW2 type charge. Would seem this attitude is fighting the last war rather than the current one with the levels of technology now available. Even the US, military at least, is watching and learning as well, war has changed.

Posted by: Organic | Jun 22 2023 2:07 utc | 146

The Dolphin | Jun 22 2023 2:06 utc | 145
“You mustn’t judge Australia by the Australians”….Dame Edna.

Posted by: dh | Jun 22 2023 2:18 utc | 148

Posted by: unimperator | Jun 22 2023 2:00 utc | 142
This is once again an indication that the Ukrainian army seems incapable of learning. The Russians of course love this.
This was true back in 2014-2015 when the poorly trained Ukrainian army continually got caught in “cauldrons” over and over again. They would desultorily conduct a fire mission with poor intelligence against the Donbass militias, then drive in a column toward their objective, get surrounded and artillery would annihilate them. They did this over and over in 2014-2015.
This inability to learn indicates also that most of the experienced Ukrainian military who fought in 2014-2015 and received NATO training over the last eight years and who fought over the past year are now dead and/or gone. So the newly conscripted have zero training in how to deal with the front as it is. Any recent NATO training they got in a foreign country is inadequate for the real front conditions. Whereas the Russian troops, including the newly reactivated reserve units, are rotated into experienced units where they are quickly brought up to speed on the real conditions at the front and how to deal with them.
Ritter and Larry Johnson have also made the point that the recently NATO trained Ukrainians have been trained in various NATO countries in numerous locations at a huge variety of tasks and equipment, according to Mark Milley, and this means they have zero integration training which is critical for an operation like an offensive.
Someone, might have been Ritter, described what it takes to conduct an offensive in terms of movement of forces. Your initial force has to make contact with the enemy, then your follow-on force has to proceed through the first force to continue the advance. And if this isn’t done with precision, it turns into a clusterfuck and the advance stalls and then as Ritter likes to say, “You die.” This appears similar to be what is happening now – the Ukrainians can’t mount an effective staging and initial advance without walking into a Russian free fire zone, and then the advance is blunted and turns into a rout.
And then they do it all over again.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Jun 22 2023 2:29 utc | 150

youtube took down rfk jr new hampshire speech. “private video” maybe it is… he’s for bringing them home and i got the link on this thread yesterday so just letting you know. sorry if ot. bummer. heard he did 3 hours on joe rogan.

Posted by: polarbear4 | Jun 22 2023 2:51 utc | 152

dear LoveDonbass @121
the pen can be mightier than the sword and you may have just nudged someone’s thinking or feeling more than you will ever know.

Posted by: polarbear4 | Jun 22 2023 3:08 utc | 154

The Dolphin | Jun 22 2023 2:06 utc | 145
I remember at that time as well, at the G20 meeting, Putin was asked by an Australian journalist what he thought of Australia and he replied that he never thought of Australia, or words to that effect.
On another matter, I agree with you that while Australia always follows the US in all of its follies, it is careful to keep well out of harms way and with the bare minimum contribution that might be seen to be “decent”, although the SAS in Afghanistan was something different and out of character.

Posted by: ZimZum | Jun 22 2023 3:13 utc | 156

The Dolphin | Jun 22 2023 2:19 utc | 149
You probably don’t have anyone nearby with whom you can discuss these matters.
Most people I know, don’t want to know and are happy enough basking in the lies even though they realise that very little is what it appears.
There is also the depth to which Australians have been propagandised which means you get hammered for any thought outside of the mainstream narrative. With that in mind I think a lot of people keep their thoughts to themselves.
Here you can express them freely which is something of a relief, at least for me anyway.

Posted by: ZimZum | Jun 22 2023 3:25 utc | 158

Re: de dollarization
Dropped from 1.12 to 1.02 in the dollar basket, Chicago Futures, past 6 months. Bitcoin now at $30,000 to the USD, even the Canadian Peso has moved up.
Posted by: kupkee | Jun 22 2023 0:15 utc | 125
This drop despite USD interest rates at significant highs. Note the Japanese and Euros will continue to support the USD, they are massive economies. This will obscure the extent of de-dollarizatikn among the 87% of the world.

Posted by: Exile | Jun 22 2023 3:32 utc | 160

Scott Ritter on Richard Medhurst…two hours ago…2 hours 11 minutes long (probably Medhurst alone for last X minutes)
Scott Ritter Interview: Ukraine Counteroffensive Analysis and More: Richard Medhurst LIVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIR4BAXp3QY

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Jun 22 2023 3:36 utc | 162

The Dolphin | Jun 22 2023 2:19 utc | 149
…who wrote so clearly a chunk of truth.
Leo Szilard hoped his 1034 patent on Nuclear chain Reaction would fail, bec he was able to predict the human quagmire of its “success” and use. He rightly feared that the Nazis would develop the A-bomb first and dominate the world.
His whole, uncomfortable life was actively spent endlessly lobbying for its non-use. I believe the spread of his thoughts has prevented its further use after Hiroshima/Nagasaki. He got little recognition for his efforts.
But he did write a short story called “The Dolphins”. I reccomend it to you.
Szilard did not have the internet to help warn others who might listen. But thankfully he persisted albeit cost him a life of discomfort.

Posted by: chu teh | Jun 22 2023 3:48 utc | 164

There’s a U.S. civilian government Earth observing satellite program that is now over 50 years old. It had acquired millions of multi-spectral images of the planet since 1972. The small budgeted civilian agency that operates and disseminates these images likes to show “change pair” (or more than two) images of land change events that are in the news. Its good PR for the satellite system and its longevity which has actually been very useful in observing land change over time. You would think that the failure of a major river dam and the subsequent emptying of its reservoir would be great stuff for a “before” and “after” series of images. You would think. But it hasn’t happened. Hmmmmm… why not? Perhaps the subject is deemed “too controversial” to publish officially by this agency– its leaders abhor controversy, probably stemming from that its small budget is chump change in DC and piss off the wrong people and you’ll have hard days ahead making your payroll and getting your programs done. So no “before” and “after” Kakhovka dam and reservoir from these people.
However, the images have been free to the public (have to registrar to be a download user) since 2008 and there’s a version that’s just a “pretty picture” form of the imagery for the non-scientific types of users. And the number of scenes needed to do a nice mosaic of the Kakhovka area would be fewer and far easier to stitch together than say Planet imagery from their constellation of orbiting “bread boxes”. Just saying…

Posted by: DakotaRog | Jun 22 2023 4:01 utc | 166

Canadian antiwar activist Dimitri Lascaris, currently on a cross-country speaking tour for peace, was shut down in tonight’s Toronto venue after pressure from pro-Ukrainians resulted in a last minute shutdown by sellout OPSEU union leadership, who cancelled the room booking.
“Unfortunately, due to pressure tactics from persons who support the escalation of the Ukraine war, the venue for my speech in Toronto this evening has been cancelled at the last moment. This is my statement on the cancellation…”
https://twitter.com/dimitrilascaris/status/1671632068617420801

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jun 22 2023 4:07 utc | 168

Posted by: The Dolphin | Jun 22 2023 2:19 utc | 149

Lol. Truth be told, EVERYONE posting here is either “looking for attention” (ie, inviting a response) or just getting stuff off their chest into the ether in the intellectual vanity of thinking that others need to read what they have to say … myself included, of course :), but some others much more so :)) .

Some these people have a message to share though.
“Did you see how those jews shot a 16 year old girl straight through the head?”
Either way, one leaves with an education.
(Personally, when I need attention I go downtown, to Chinatown 😉 )

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jun 22 2023 4:31 utc | 170

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Jun 22 2023 3:52 utc | 166

Gorgeous George always worth a listen – if you have the two hours, ten minutes.

I could listen to George all day long – they don’t make them like the used to.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jun 22 2023 4:44 utc | 172

[172]
A clear sign of how they are in thrall to Lobby Funding and Media Influence of a clique at the cost of national interest and voter control
It is necessary for voters to prise back control which with the loss of Trade Union power as a countervailing bloc has allowed Capital to buy the system wholesale

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Jun 22 2023 5:10 utc | 174

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jun 22 2023 5:20 utc | 178
Spot on. As I always say, shoot the right people.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Jun 22 2023 5:41 utc | 176

The Financial Times buries the lede again.

Sullivan will travel with Victoria Nuland, the number-three official at the US state department. A senior EU official will also participate. The White House declined to comment.
The planned meeting to expand the pro-Ukrainian coalition comes after Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, warned that Kyiv’s counteroffensive launched earlier this month to roll back Russian advances had been “slower than desired”.

The story’s headline reads

Top US official agrees to meet Ukraine war sceptics in Denmark
Jake Sullivan to fly to Copenhagen at Kyiv’s request to meet India, Brazil and others in ‘global south’

https://www.ft.com/content/c30f3bcb-19d7-4f93-87e5-129f28a18172
One wonders what Ms. Nuland brings to the table?

Posted by: too scents | Jun 22 2023 5:51 utc | 178

Re: Sullivan lecturing Neutrals
Sullivan doesn’t fathom the impact of his threats and blackmail have on representatives of India, Brazil, and others. All they hear is a war mongering neo-colonialist. While he lectures them, they think of Abu Ghrab, starving children in Yemen, Emilio Aguinaldo, 3 million Vietnamese, the East India Company crimes, and so much more.

Posted by: Exile | Jun 22 2023 7:09 utc | 180

Chongar bridge to Crimea, in Kherson region, was hit using Storm Shadow, apparently the French version

Posted by: rk | Jun 22 2023 7:14 utc | 182

Short German-language text on how US now surpasses EU GDP by 30%, EU without GB even by 50%.
Mission accomplished
https://www.telepolis.de/features/Wirtschaft-Die-USA-haengen-ihre-europaeischen-Verbuendeten-ab-9194317.html

Posted by: AG | Jun 22 2023 7:36 utc | 184

Most of the $bn she wants to give are supposed to come from the stolen money from Russia. Ursula herself will present the plan “soon”, so the money can be stolen before the year ends. For the moment they have a bit of a legal problem which I’m sure will be ignored, law is for peasants.

Posted by: rk | Jun 22 2023 7:57 utc | 186

Intelligent Dasein 26
Alcohol is the product of rotting fruit. If you recall, King Salman asked if the US took them for fools because the US broke all its promises about Syria. It was all bombast and mouth, and it collapsed after Russian
cruise missiles destroyed Hillary’s bunkers.
Are you wishing Nato would do something for the Khazars they wouldn’t do for the Sauds? Keep wishing. The US is incapable of fighting Russia, but they do like using Islamist and Nazi proxies to annoy Russia. That’s as far as the bluster goes. Both sides have plenty of carpet bombs.

Posted by: Giyane | Jun 22 2023 8:14 utc | 188

@ Posted by: jr | Jun 21 2023 22:02 utc | 103
Napoleon “Blownapart” 🙂
The total french losses in the napoleonic wars is around 1 million soldiers.
To that we can add almost the same number, probably more, for other countries.
If you understand french, I recommend Henri Guillemin Napoleon portrait.
It’s far from idyllic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRUfFeTmuc8

Posted by: FromFrance | Jun 22 2023 8:37 utc | 190

They wiped out two hundred years of financial responsibility in about 20 years.
It is however, what it is – and that is where we are at…
@SCF
Posted by: Unfed | Jun 22 2023 7:38 utc | 188
You nailed it Unfed

Posted by: jpc | Jun 22 2023 8:49 utc | 192

The European Commission bankrupting itself is truly the cherry on top.
Posted by: too scents | Jun 22 2023 7:58 utc | 191
You really believe that ??????
EU Commission has NO money nor does it have under Treaty any borrowing powers………it has simply usurped the legal constraints of TFEU and subsequent Treaties with connivance of Council of Ministers who have created a plethora of Non-Consolidated Off-Balance Sheet Liabilities with no Sinking Fund to repay…………..
Similar situations exist at nation-state level including Germany which has a new “Ampel Konzept” of “Sondervermoegen” – this is Special Purpose Vehicles of say €100 bn for Bundeswehr or Special Situations Funds for Covid (now they are trying to divert €60 bn to Klima) which is in the Constitutional Court for scrutiny……………any how none of this is backed by a repayment schedule……..
Since the value of the EURO is predicated on German trade surpluses alone – EU being ex-growth for decades – and German trade surpluses are melting away………….
It is not clear what Reserves banks in Europe hold since both US Treasury and ECB Debt looks like it might not have any positive value as such……………and how the banking system survives default storm is not evident………
De-Dollarisation is essential if Russia wishes to survive economically – not sure how China will back its Shadow Banking liabilities…….or whether Hong Kong will retain a US dollar peg

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Jun 22 2023 8:50 utc | 194

Perhaps relevant: The European Union has agreed to the “intrusive surveillance” of journalists to identify their sources under new draft legislation exemptions demanded by France.

Posted by: Jonathan W | Jun 22 2023 9:19 utc | 196

Intel Slava Telegram Channel Reports..
https://t.me/intelslava/49077
As the Ukrainian offensive begins to culminate well short of its intended objectives, Ukrainian channels have begun to analyze their failures and it provides an interesting insight into the operational difficulties the AFU now finds itself in. ZeRada has this to say:
1️⃣Complete absence of surprise effect. The APU went where they were expected. Why the hell did the speakers of the OP announce an offensive there in six months? The question is open.
2️⃣Mistakes in the general planning of the operation. Kharkov relaxed. The command expected that the battle of the Sea of Azov would be the same easy walk. There are no tactical surprises at all‼️
3️⃣Underestimation of the engineer-sapper training of the enemy. Conspiracy theorists even wrote that the Russian Armed Forces carried out mining covertly. This, of course, is nonsense. It’s just that even theoretically SUCH total mining was not calculated, although the Tsar trench was visible even from space.
4️⃣The RF Armed Forces were able to produce and accumulate a sufficient amount of guided weapons, both ground and air based. The equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that passed the first minefields was met by Kornets and their counterparts.
5️⃣Echeloned EW front cover by the defenders. Combined-arms systems are also operating, and, which was completely unexpected, trench EW of the RF Armed Forces, which were not often seen before. The Armed Forces of Ukraine faced a loss of communication during the offensive, and FPV drones were ineffective.
6️⃣Massive use of guided bombs. Even at the stage of preparing the offensive, the Aerospace Forces knocked out warehouses and accumulations of equipment with UABs and KABs, preventing them from concentrating normally for a full-fledged strike. Residents of Berdyansk and Primorsk say that after the start of the Sushka offensive, they began to fly even more often. The Aerospace Forces do not spare for the key targets of planning bombs.
7️⃣ Alligators. Ka-52 are back in the game. Since the beginning of the great war, they have been written off by drone aficionados. But during the offensive, they were able to fully cover their troops, as if in a shooting range, knocking out the armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with impunity. Arestovich’s stories about 6 downed Alligats are not confirmed by anything at all, except for his and Malyar’s statements.
8️⃣Deficiency of air defense. A couple of months before the start of the offensive, the command of the Russian Federation declared the main priority of the radar and air defense systems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. During this time, they managed to knock out a large number of complexes and their components. Therefore, when the offensive began, the infantry of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the contrary, was left without cover. During the Battle of the Sea of Azov, not a single helicopter was shot down.
9️⃣ The human factor. One and a half years of war are beginning to affect the quality of personnel. Mariupol and Bakhmut, Lisichansk and Severodonetsk, Marinka and Vuhledar – the Armed Forces of Ukraine have lost a huge number of military personnel, volunteers and ideological fighters. Tankers and attack aircraft, even trained in the West, but consisting of mobilized citizens simply do not want to die. They sometimes break and abandon equipment (as the world press wrote about), refuse to follow orders.
Any subsequent offensive actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine MUST take into account the above factors. Otherwise, this will continue to be not an offensive, but the destruction of our own troops.
Finally…. the Ukies are confronting reality….
AMLO banned GMO Maize (corn), so the US & Canada ganged up on Mexico using NAFTA…
In consequence… as reported
https://t.me/intelslava/49081
Senators urge Biden admin to slap sanctions, visa bans on Mexican officials to force action against cartels
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, senators led by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., say that the administration’s approach to diplomacy with Mexico has downplayed the Mexican president’s “provocations” and accommodated “his insistence on fundamentally negotiating security cooperation with the United States.”
“President Lopez Obrador has proven unresponsive to the administration’s policy to date,” the Republicans wrote. “Despite the Executive Branch’s overtures and attempts at accommodation, he has clearly made the deliberate choice to pursue a permissive and non-confrontational policy toward the cartels, to turn a blind eye toward pervasive corruption in Mexico, and to downgrade counter-narcotics cooperation with the United States.”
The letter is co-signed by Sens. James Risch, R-Idaho, Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and John Barrasso, R-Wyo.
Loss of Hegemony sucks….
INDY

Posted by: Dr. George W Oprisko | Jun 22 2023 9:35 utc | 198

From 202 above:
….5️⃣Echeloned EW front cover by the defenders. Combined-arms systems are also operating, and, which was completely unexpected, trench EW of the RF Armed Forces….
What da‘ heck is trench EW ?

Posted by: Exile | Jun 22 2023 9:44 utc | 200