Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
January 23, 2025

Trump's Opening Cry To Russia Falls Flat

In May 2017 the Russian president Vladimir Putin had an interview with Le Figaro. He explained his experience with policy preferences forwarded by U.S. presidents:

I have already spoken to three US Presidents. They come and go, but politics stay the same at all times. Do you know why? Because of the powerful bureaucracy. When a person is elected, they may have some ideas. Then people with briefcases arrive, well dressed, wearing dark suits, just like mine, except for the red tie, since they wear black or dark blue ones. These people start explaining how things are done. And instantly, everything changes. This is what happens with every administration.

It took only two days for that to happen with the second presidency of Donald Trump. Instead of seeking better relations with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, as he had promised during the campaign, Trump initiated a public 'dialog' with Russia that seems to make both of these aims impossible.

He posted on Truth-Social:

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump - Jan 22, 2025, 15:46 UTC

I’m not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin - and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX. We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process. All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don’t make a “deal,” and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries. Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way - and the easy way is always better. It’s time to “MAKE A DEAL.” NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!

One wonders what the people in dark suits were thinking when they fed such bullshit to Donald Trump.

Russia did not 'help' to win the Second World War. It did win it. It was the U.S. and others who were merely helpful in doing so.

As Kremlin spokesmen Dimitry Peskov rightly replied:

"The main burden in the fight against fascism and the biggest price for the victory in the fight against fascism was paid by our country, the Soviet Union." "The US did indeed help. It made a significant contribution. But there’s one caveat: America always makes money, for America it's always about business," Peskov emphasized.

The Soviet Union did not lose 60 million lives in that war but less than half of it - about 11 million soldiers and 15 million civilians.

Russia's economy is not falling.

Even Reuters, which has anonymous sources speculate about Putin's 'concerns' with the economy, has to admit:

Russia's economy, driven by exports of oil, gas and minerals, grew robustly over the past two years despite multiple rounds of Western sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russia currently has a somewhat higher than usual inflation. But a shortage of labor has let to wage growth beyond the inflation rate and to a spread of general prosperity:

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the Reuters reporting, acknowledged "problematic factors" in the economy, but said it was developing at a high rate and was able to meet "all military requirements incrementally" as well as all welfare and social needs.

"There are problems, but unfortunately, problems are now the companions of almost all countries of the world," he said. "The situation is assessed as stable, and there is a margin of safety."
...
After contracting in 2022, Russia's GDP grew faster than the European Union and the United States in 2023 and 2024. This year, however, the central bank and the International Monetary Fund forecast sub-1.5% growth, although the government projects a slightly rosier outlook.

Trump threat to put "high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States" demonstrates his plain ignorance. The only valuable product Russia is still selling to the U.S. is the enriched Uranium needed to run U.S. nuclear power plants. Trump can tax, tariff and sanction that as much as he likes.

He could also try to sanction other Russian energy exports. But those are double-edged measures:

Trump’s proposed tariffs and sanctions could also backfire on the United States and its allies:

  • Energy Prices: A reduction in Russian energy exports could spike global oil and gas prices, hurting Western consumers.

  • Geopolitical Realignments: Aggressive sanctions might accelerate the creation of parallel financial and trade systems outside of Western control, weakening U.S. influence.

  • Economic Blowback: American industries reliant on certain raw materials from Russia, such as metals for manufacturing, could face higher costs and supply disruptions.

No one in Russia, for certain not Putin, will take such Trump's attempt to open negotiations seriously.

If Trump wants to achieve a peace agreement over Ukraine he will need to reject the neo-conservative dark suits' opinions and find people who know what they are talking about.

Senseless barking at Moscow, as Trump has done so far, will be responded to with a rather bored yawn:

The Kremlin is not impressed by United States President Donald Trump’s threat to impose new sanctions against Russia if it does not agree to strike a peace deal with Ukraine.

"We do not see any particular new elements here," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media Thursday. Peskov added that Trump “liked sanctions” and used them often during his first presidential term.

“Russia is ready for an equal and careful dialogue with the United States, which we had during Trump's first term," Peskov said, according to Russian independent media outlet Meduza. "We are waiting for signals that have not yet been received."

Posted by b on January 23, 2025 at 15:44 UTC | Permalink

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The idiot is determined to take the loss upon himself and let the Democrats skate. In that case he deserves it.

Posted by: flying dutchman | Jan 23 2025 15:48 utc | 1

From 24 hrs to 100 days, now 99 days left. Who is advising Trump?

Posted by: pepe | Jan 23 2025 15:52 utc | 2

It is going to be very, very, VERY hard for ANY segment of the American political elite to accept that they have lost the war vs Russia in Ukraine. But they have. It will be fascinating to watch them twist and turn, and then, one hopes, finally admit reality. The danger, of course, is that rather than face reality, they will do something EVEN MORE STUPID than current policy. (When it comes to the Blob, it can ALWAYS get worse!) A fascinating--and nail-biting drama.

Posted by: Dhammaloka | Jan 23 2025 15:55 utc | 3

Time will tell. What Trump says for US consumption & what he says in private may be very different. Or not.

Meantime Intel Slava reports Putin interrupted an agency meeting to take an international call.
https://t.me/intelslava/72932

Posted by: Mary | Jan 23 2025 15:58 utc | 4

Not the same as "for as long as it takes." The opening "I’m not looking to hurt Russia" also represents a pretty substantial change from the fetish of trying to "weaken" Russia.

There is going to be a period of chaos as the DoD, State, etc. as they realign to the extent that they will. What will be interesting is the stories in the coming days citing unnamed persons with "reason to know."

Posted by: frithguild | Jan 23 2025 16:00 utc | 5

You can assume that Trump is talking nonsense, or you can assume he's got something in mind.

Secondary sanctions are what I think it is. He'll sanction, ban, tariff and otherwise
attack entities that are doing business with Russia. We've already gotten a taste of that
from the crash test dummy regime.

India and China, for sure. The US is getting fed up with India refusing to dump Russia and
throw their lot in with the US (aka "the West") and they hardly need an excuse to attack China
and Chinese companies economically.

Posted by: Billb | Jan 23 2025 16:04 utc | 6

Not to be a brok3n record...but...If RF has land bridge and Odessa they win..
If not, well?

Posted by: 5jumpchump | Jan 23 2025 16:05 utc | 7

trump is all bravado and cheap talk - an empty suit, with a few catchy phrases...

for an alternative take on russian finances - john helmer posted this yesterday...

COST OF POTATOES, COST OF BLOOD – WHEN INFLATION IS LETHAL

Posted by: james | Jan 23 2025 16:06 utc | 8

Posted by: Billb | Jan 23 2025 16:04 utc | 6

India is not interested in the US of A. They are happy with BRICS. Yes, the S stands for South Africa not Spain Trump!

Posted by: pepe | Jan 23 2025 16:07 utc | 9

Seems Trump is stepping back until the russians and ukies get sick of the killing and negotiate. I don't anticipate Trump will lead that. Why would he?

Posted by: seer | Jan 23 2025 16:08 utc | 10

@ Billb | Jan 23 2025 16:04 utc | 6

yeah, the usa is used to being dictator of the world.. we'll see how that works out moving forward..

Posted by: james | Jan 23 2025 16:08 utc | 11

With the Trumpeting Elephant threatening Russia with more sanctions and such; he's simply pissing into the wind. After all those prior sanctions following the SMO; the Russian economy has expanded to the point where unemployment is essentially non-existent, while industry and commerce thrive to a degree it has not had since 1913.

Projection of military power, whether more weaponry and money down the Ukraine rat-hole; simply is not gonna even reach first-base. The only major power projection at the military level would be via the AIRFARCE. That won't work either as the R.U. has not only the best anti-aircraft combined systems in the world...along with 6th generation fighter jets...and then consider their missilry...again world class and with its latest iteration, the Oreshnik, a total game-changer within its effective range. We may expect that their development system will soon enough include long-range iterations of that unparalleled force.

With the growing powersof BRICS, along with developmental levels of alternative money exchanges within that non-military alliance; the R.U. will ultimately escape the vise of international bank$terism.

In other words, Trump is great on rhetoric and bombast...but is a bit short on conventional bomb-blast. The newly inaugurated U$ president is clearly barking up the wrong tree. Mama Bear is comfortably perched on a different one...a sturdy oak.

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 23 2025 16:13 utc | 12

Flying dutchman:"The idiot is determined to take the loss upon himself and let the Democrats skate. In that case he deserves it."
________________________________
The idiot threatened Spain, saying it was a Brics country. His ignorance is beyond belief.

Posted by: hispanidad | Jan 23 2025 16:15 utc | 13

Thanks for the posting b

I like the quote from Peskov

"We are waiting for signals that have not yet been received."

How deep a hole is the bully Trump going to dig?

I don't think Trump is done being a barbaristic patriarch. He is only beginning.....where is the picture of Trump raging with spittle coming out of his mouth?

Between Trump and the Hollywood casting of his antics, we are in for a good show around the death of the God Of Mammon cult.....its all about the money folks

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 23 2025 16:15 utc | 14

By now it should be obvious, that there is no master plan, no eleven dimensional chess here.

Trump appers weak, stupid and easily manipulated, because he is, in fact, weak, stupid and easily manipulated. Yes, he is walking into an obvious trap in Ukraine. No, he is too stupid to recognize this or do anything about it.

https://korybko.substack.com/p/polands-president-is-trying-to-trick?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=835783&post_id=155509344&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1cc3o&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Posted by: Feral Finster | Jan 23 2025 16:16 utc | 15

Trump’s negotiation strategy may or may not be wise, but you haven’t a clue about him or his experiences over the last few years if you think he is letting the people who literally tried to jail him and kill him drive his policy.

Posted by: CullenBaker | Jan 23 2025 16:18 utc | 16

With the sword of Russian collusion hanging over his head,his public posturing vis a vis Russia has little meaning. Even some tactical moves could be misleading. Important is the strategic moves and discussions in private

Got to watch for type of weapons and aid flowing to Ukraine. Also whether US assets used for deep strikes into Russia

Posted by: Michael J | Jan 23 2025 16:18 utc | 17

Let us hope that this is just
"The Art of Making a Deal",
from Trump.

He makes his opening "bid" at one overly optimistic end of the range
and seeks to meet Putin eventually somewhere in the middle.

Posted by: librul | Jan 23 2025 16:18 utc | 18

Ever since Putin was elected, he's has been playing 3D chess while the US/UK puppets play checkers. Now the US (and UK) has someone who doesn't even know how to set up the board.

Posted by: motorslug | Jan 23 2025 16:19 utc | 19

"Senseless barking at Moscow, as Trump has done so far,"

Ok, I'm not under any illusions about Trump. He is a billionaire oligarch, blowhard, Zionazi. However, his is a "personalist" regime, so one must take his retarded subjective psychology into account. By that psychology he feels it necessary to talk a lot of shit before making a deal, which he probably sees as softening up his opponent. That's part of what's happening. The other side of it is the non Trump oligarchs are ready to pounce on anything that looks too friendly to Russia, so he has to placate those concerns also with tough talk.

The old adage: don't watch what one says, watch what they do, is doubly true in the case of a notorious shit talker like Trump. This is the error the Dems make routinely with Trump. They pounce on everything stupid thing he says as though it has already happened. He was already a "fascist", a new "Hitler" and going to lead us to nuclear war back in 2017.

Yes, he's a moron, the people around him are delusional lunatics, but he does make his own calls in the end. Let's just wait and see what he actually does before we go full retard panic like the woke army.

Plus, he has people close to him telling him this will be his Vietnam (absolutely correct) should he fail to get out of Ukraine.

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 23 2025 16:23 utc | 20

Shocker, Mr Putin says the MIB with brief cases exist in both camps, Russia and the USA, the only difference, according to him, their tie colours. Shocker......I tells ya!

Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Jan 23 2025 16:24 utc | 21

On the face of it, Trump seems to be the man to preside over the downfall of the American empire, and by extension, America. A predatory capitalist whose instincts can be effective, but is unable to grasp the larger picture, he takes multiple confounding positions on these issues. We are told that this is only Trump playing 5th dimensional chess. Does he really believe that the US has any remaining leverage with sanctions at this point, or is this rhetoric for the benefit of the public? He wants the Ukraine war over with, but the most effective path to that is for the US to simply get out of Ukraine, something his imperialistic and triumphalist instincts can't entertain. I don't think he is able to think this through to a principled conclusion (but then if he could, he would never have succeeded in US politics). It looks like the real danger has not gone away with Biden - that US imperialists, coming to the painful realization that they cannot defeat Russia or intimidate it into submission, will ramp up the escalation to a nuclear exchange. The danger of a nuclear conclusion to this conflict has always been from the US, and it looks like it will continue with Trump.

Posted by: Mike R | Jan 23 2025 16:25 utc | 22

The opening "I’m not looking to hurt Russia" also represents a pretty substantial change from the fetish of trying to "weaken" Russia. . .

Posted by: frithguild | Jan 23 2025 16:00 utc | 5

He believes that he (the US) is capable of hurting Russia without hurting itself. Like most Westerners, he believes that the US still has the upper hand, cards that it has not played. Do they ever contemplate that Russia still has some aces up its sleeve? His fundamental position comes across as no different than most of the West, that they have unused leverage which really doesn't exist.

Posted by: Mike R | Jan 23 2025 16:30 utc | 23

@ Mike R | Jan 23 2025 16:25 utc | 21

if trump was to do anything relevant, it would be to pull out of nato.. he could do that, but of course he won't as the military industrial complex has such a good thing going with the rest of the suckers inside this organization... nato is the cause of this too and if trump had a brain, he'd know this.. i am not sure he does... hard to say, lol..

Posted by: james | Jan 23 2025 16:32 utc | 24

any "dialogue" beyween USA and Pres Putin could jointly agree simply that Z as president is illegal...all government posts to be emptied from his appointments...Rada to be dismissed ..new elections and law that Ukraine cannot negotiate to be repealed before peace negotiations can commence?? Would be a great slap in the face for Z and associates supporters and those russophobic governments?

Gives time for military to be put in cold storage,.stops further military supplies,.neutralises EU and UK idiots policy support
for as long as is required?Could it release the 300b which stops the loans to Z as a step to dropping sanctions as those that rely on that will be neutralised?

Did read the 90 day hold on foreign aid does not affect the specifically allocated in different budgets funds to Ukraine? Mind you if all the USA administrators have been dismissed that might hold it all back?

Posted by: Jo | Jan 23 2025 16:34 utc | 25

Say what you need to say, do what you need to do ... so, some nonsense for the Lindsays of the world to quote on the Sunday talkies but then privately:

1) drop Nato for Ukraine,
2) assure no nukes for Ukraine,
3) Lines of control solidified where they currently are.

voila, you can end the war ...

Posted by: Caliman | Jan 23 2025 16:36 utc | 26

5jumpchump@1605 Jan 23

Looks as if Odessa is on the road-map...and so are Kharkov and Dniepropetrovsk. All three of those larger cities have Russian speaking majorities.

One by one, the UAF holdouts in the last ring of Donbass cities are being swallowed by the R.U. forces. Dealing with Ukraine's #1 general, General Mud, the steamroller has slowed down as long as the warming-spell holds. Some cold nights may be in the forecast. Should that develop frozen ground, the Russian advance will get back into a higher gear. We might expect that those last holdouts such as Pokrovsk, Toretsk and a couple others will either be liberated or thoroughly pocketed. At that point, with aerial supremacy and a defeated, disorganized, dissenting Ukraine ground-pounders high tailing it outta Dodge; the Big Arrow assaults may be set loose into undefendable open steppelands.

Kharkov and Dniepropetrovsk may fall like overripe plums. Zap-City and Kherson may take a bit longer. Then come Nicolaev and Odessa itself, right up to the border of Moldova.

By that time, the regime in Kiev will be overthrown by a combination of its citizens and remnants of the Ukrainian military. At that point negotiations for Oblast referendums will be agreed upon, while electrical power is restored by hooking up with the Russian system; while a NovoUkrainia is established in the majority Ukrainain dialect speaking Oblasts.

Ukrainian, Belorusian and Russian forces will seal off Galicia and neighboring Uniate/Banderite oblasts. Slovakia, Hungary and Romania will delight in dropping NATO and the EU like so many hot potatoes as they are granted those lands in the southwest of the now dead Frankenstein Monster, which have majorities of their ethnic brothers. Romania, under new governance, by the man whom their corrupted court system denied his elected status; will delight in returning Moldova, a majority Romanian speaking land, back to their motherland.

Full outcome: Both NATO and the EU will collapse, as nationalist parties achieve governance in most of those lands. A revivified Germany will demand a peace treaty (after only 80 years) with the UK and the U$$A and thusly become an independent nation once again, one friendly with its logical ally, the R.U.

Over the next five years we may expect such developments in the E.T.O. Meanwhile, Trump will concentrate on tidying things up in the Western Hemisphere...but may well be influenced by more powerful nations to not overdo it.

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 23 2025 16:36 utc | 27

A couple of days ago, we eagerly awaited that imminent call between Putin and Trump -- the only remaining detail being who would call whom... Now the negotiation-preparation tango soundtrack has ceased entirely. The record they've replaced it with a golden-oldie: nice country you got there.

That certainly didn't take long. Back on familiar soil, the CIA/Ukronazi shark has to keep swimming to survive. The only possible product of the Chaos-That-Be we can foresee is the same they've been producing thus far: terrorist attacks on Russian soil.

Kremlin retaliation for ongoing terrorist attacks in the US presidential interim has been notably measured, and limited to Ukranian soil. Perhaps diplomatic influences have urged holding back on more direct anti-NATO retaliation, with some slight hope for a change in the opposing philosophy, given Trump's skillful social-media frupperies.

If there has been any restraint, there likely won't be anymore. Not after the next attack.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Jan 23 2025 16:38 utc | 28

Much sound and fury, signifying nothing. The unspoken issue is Odessa. The Russian conquest of Odessa and surrounding area not only land locks the Ukraine, creating a larger margin of safety in the Black Sea but also exerts retribution for the Custom House murders wherein Russian speaking resistors were burned alive by azov predators. Given the lives and treasure expended by Russia to date, it is doubtful that they would walk away from this symbolic and geopolitically important prize.

Posted by: abierno | Jan 23 2025 16:40 utc | 29

Motorslug@1619 Jan 23

Unlike the rest of the gang and them playing checkers; it's looks far more probable that Trump is playing poker. He may keep up that game for a while...as long as he does not appear to be poking Mama Bear.

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 23 2025 16:42 utc | 30

Trump is quantitatively illiterate, so who's actually calling the shots here? One assumes the permanent military state to which Putin alluded to perhaps partially filtered through the libertarian/authoritarian tech oligarchs?

Posted by: Ludovic | Jan 23 2025 16:42 utc | 31

Mike [email protected] the Russians broke out, spearhead style, with a large concentration of men and equipment headed west across 404, they are ripe for a tactical strike, in the Ukraine, not in Russia but in 404. Who will Russia nuke in exchange......there might be something to nuke in 404, but at this stage, with the infrastructure destroyed, the working age men....all dead or wounded, that would be vindictive, especially since Zman and his cohorts get to live......in villas on the French Riviera if one believes what's written.

Cheers M

.....it's said the goal is not to defeat or embarrass Russia, just contain it, bleed it, Federate it.....might even take 100 years.... we'll all be dead we'll never find out...... nuclear exchanges aside.

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Jan 23 2025 16:44 utc | 32

Trump just isn’t a being good Protestant by not doing what he says he will do. Somebody needs to rasp his knuckles with a wooden ruler so we can get on with the geopolitical analysis.

The questions should be:

1. Is he inflating war rhetoric to shield his intention to create a peace initiative that will surely be attacked by the MIC?

2. Does he really believe 800,000 Russians were killed? Is it because he still does not receive honest information, or is it another tactic to create a perception that a strategic loss in Ukraine was a win so that the U.S. can save face on the withdrawal?

3. If he is still being lied to, will Tulsi’s appointment fix the problem or will she continue to feed him disinformation because she is compromised?

Posted by: Deniz 152 | Jan 23 2025 16:45 utc | 33

Trump didn't change anything here. The Russians are winning and will win, driving a deal that fulfils their security needs unless Putin completely loses his mind and give the victory away at the negotiating table. Its just a question of how long, especially how long can both Ukrainian society and the Ukrainian army hold on without collapsing. Russia will just keep adding pressure until that happens.

Putin risks a huge domestic backlash, including among many powerful people, if he doesn't continue until a true victory.

Posted by: Roger Boyd | Jan 23 2025 16:47 utc | 34

Posted by: CullenBaker | Jan 23 2025 16:18 utc | 15

Do you think the Russians give a fuck?

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 23 2025 16:48 utc | 35

Could it be that Trump extended the deadline to hundred days from 24 hours because Odessa capture taking too long which as stated here is Russia's bare minimum

Posted by: Michael J | Jan 23 2025 16:50 utc | 36

If you want to take this Trump-bravado as positive as possible, you could say this is a variant of the old "declare victory and leave" wrt. Ukraine.

But I am not really convinced.

Posted by: Norwegian | Jan 23 2025 16:51 utc | 37

Posted by: Deniz 152 | Jan 23 2025 16:45 utc | 32

No more than 56,000 (dead and wounded) soldiers from Russia have perished. Country 404 however is close to 900,000.

Posted by: pepe | Jan 23 2025 16:52 utc | 38

The Soviet Union did not lose 60 million lives in that war but less than half of it - about 11 million soldiers and 15 million civilians

clever slight of hand by the genociders. Genociders trying to lump the 30 million Russian Christians murdered by Bolsheviks with those killed by the Fascists. Always trying to cast blame on others.


Posted by: Exile | Jan 23 2025 16:54 utc | 39

Rob Urie put up an important piece in Naked Capitalism: On Being Censored For The Last Four Years

This should be read by anyone who still thinks Biden is anything but the warmongering, corrupt, power-mad senile old man that he is, and his presidential administration was.

Some key excepts:

In December, 2024, a Federal entity called the Global Engagement Center (GEC)— an offshoot of the US State Department tasked with censoring legal political speech on the internet, was closed after Congress stopped funding it. Within a day or two of this occurring, the internet as I haven’t seen it in four years suddenly reappeared. Hundreds of my articles that couldn’t be found under any arrangement of search terms over the prior four years have since reappeared.

...

Within hours of Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021, 99% of the 200+ essays that I had written over the prior decade disappeared from the internet, along with 99% of the digital evidence that I ever existed. Little of what I had written, and none of what I was then writing, could be found via searches no matter how precise and / or detailed the search terms. For what I imagine were political reasons, after a decade of writing near-weekly essays, I had been disappeared.

The alleged rationale for this censorship was ‘to combat disinformation.’ Having followed Joe Biden’s political career since the early 1980s, the man was never known for having a firm grasp on the reality that most of the rest of us share. Much of what Biden said regarding the Covid-19 pandemic was not only untrue, but deeply harmful. Telling people that the mRNA vaccines prevented both illness and transmission— both untrue, put millions of lives at risk.

...

Having done quite a bit of mathematical programming over the years, I sensed quickly that I was being censored as the GEC was firing up. What surprised me, but shouldn’t have, is that the American and world history that I had linked to as source material was also being systematically disappeared from the internet. At one point in 2021 – 2022, the only way that I could re-find relevant history was to already have the links. Using the same search terms as used before never yielded the same, or even useful, results no matter how many times I tried.

...

The Times reporter/disinformation censor worldview that only what they believe is true is widely prevalent amongst the American PMC. The logic of this view was put to me by a friend. My friend gets his news from CNN, NPR, and the New York Times. In discussing events in Ukraine, his standard response was ‘I never heard of that.’ The obvious reply: if I got my information from those sources alone, I wouldn’t know much that is true about the world either.

This ‘incredible sunshine of the spotless mind’ view, whereby the less that someone knows, the more power they are given to determine public policy, is the corporate model applied to government. CEOs fancy themselves as managers and deal makers, not content experts. Marketing ‘truth’ is a constrained optimization problem around what will best sell a product. American political discourse follows this corporate model as low-quality rhetoric.

...

As one who was called a communist for opposing the US war in Vietnam, a Saddam sympathizer (and a terrorist) for opposing two US wars in Iraq, a Putin puppet for opposing the current US war against Russia in Ukraine, and an antisemite for opposing the Israeli genocide in Gaza, the trail of official lies points to the US government being the most prolific purveyor of lies related to US foreign policy. This would seem fertile territory for actual inquiry into ‘disinformation.’

While ‘enshittification’ is a good general descriptor for what doesn’t work in the modern world, intention to enshittify hasn’t tended to be the explanation for it. Prior to 2016 or thereabouts, the internet yielded results that, taken together, provided reasonable approximations of the facts. Particularly after 2021, the internet search results that I got seemed increasingly intended to mislead.

...

As best I can tell, I had made it through the Trump years without being censored. The censorship that I encountered was conducted by the Biden administration.

...

I have no idea if the changes that I am seeing are visible to others. The tech ‘model’ of customization has produced a dystopian hellscape whereby critical comparison is impossible because there is no common basis by which to compare. This is reification of the individualist ontology of Western commerce. Good luck fixing the effect without first addressing the cause.

Posted by: c1ue | Jan 23 2025 16:55 utc | 40

I will not, cannot, believe Trump will ever put America First until he's signed an executive order BANNING all DUAL-CITIZENS from all forms of American governance--local, state, and federal.

One cannot serve two masters. Ever.

Posted by: Nooneuknow | Jan 23 2025 16:57 utc | 41

@ Deniz 152 | Jan 23 2025 16:45 utc | 32

he also said 60 mil russians died in ww2, which is obviously bullshit, or that russia helped win the war - no russia won ww2.. either he is intentionally lying - its possible, or he is talking to a really stupid group of americans - more probable, or he thinks everyone on the planet is stupid - he is very wrong about that... if this is his ''poker playing'' he doesn't even make it into the bloody game, lol..

Posted by: james | Jan 23 2025 16:58 utc | 42

When ww2 was raging, I was a child in New Zealand. I had two uncles who farmed so did not become soldiers. One had a sheep farm, the other dairy. Both were extremely gruff and had me scared when I came to stay. They swore at their animals and they swore at us kids. It took me a long time to realize that yes, I needed to be scared of one of them. For whatever reason, probably because it was the way he himself had been raised, he bullied and shamed even his own children, and he bullied and shamed me even more when I, a city kid, came to visit. He was mean.

The other uncle outwardly sounded exactly as scary as his counterpart. But he wasn't. He never purposefully took things out on his children, and he never took things out on me. Under it all his heart was a loving one, but he never showed that by hugging us when we fell down or praising our efforts to please. Once, when I was wailing over some bump or bruise accidentally caused by him, my aunt took me aside and said,severely for her, 'He didn't mean it! You should see that!" And then, I did.

I think Trump is like that uncle. He is the way he is. We all, including Putin, will have to take him the way he is. As my very hardworking farmer uncle, whom his chidren loved and I did too, was.

Posted by: juliania | Jan 23 2025 17:02 utc | 43

@ juliania | Jan 23 2025 17:02 utc | 42

i have the upmost respect for you juliania - seeing the good in everyone... kudos!

Posted by: james | Jan 23 2025 17:04 utc | 44

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 23 2025 16:23 utc | 19

Agree. What is important is what is being done, not what is being barked. Maybe some half-measures would be adopted like the half-measures (ok minuscule) against jewrael at icc.

Posted by: Ansocpol | Jan 23 2025 17:11 utc | 45

"[Trump] is determined to take the loss upon himself and let the Democrats skate". -Flying Dutchman 1

"...don't watch what [Trump] says, watch what [he does]...This is the error the [Blue-no-matter-who] make routinely with Trump. They pounce on everything...as though it has already happened...he has people close to him telling him this will be his Vietnam (absolutely correct) should he fail to get out of Ukraine".
-Ahenobarbus 19

Both correct, sans the dramatic denigration of a figure based on his style, which is nothing more than an over stylized characterture commonly seen in NY, Philadelphia, NJ & Boston et al.

But the truth is also war can not end for at least 6-9 months. This is because, ever since Team-Biden first understood that they would fail in [circa Jun/Jul 2024] they have been pouring enough fuel upon the ex-ukrainia funeral pyre to last the Galicians 6-9 months after 20 Jan 2025.

Trump, regardless of his actions is destined to be blamed for the ex-ukrainia debacle, it's already baked in the cake. The fire will have to burn down the air dropped jellied gasoline before the fire can be contained and extinguished. Both Trump & Putin are but actors in a tragic farce written by the administration of Hillary/Cheney/Obama/Biden [singular-intended]. Both actors must continue to command the stage until that fire burns down and can be safely approached. Admittedly, this gives the 3LAs/DNCers/RINOs time to cook up a new batch of napalm incendiaries to drop upon the world...in the hopes of setting the whole thing ablaze. DC and London is a nest of incestuous pedophilic arsonists.

Yes, Trump is a flawed character but then, so are we all...just as we all must die no matter how much we pretend otherwise, it is an immutable reality. So please, let's not virtue signal [at least in public] through the denigration of Trump, let's criticize what he does, not his acting style, not his delivery of a script intended for a different audience than frequents MOA.

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 23 2025 17:14 utc | 46

The accuracy of Trump's comments regarding the second world war are irrelevant. It's the sentiment that matters.

Trump could have simply issued an ultimatum, but didn't. He's heaping praise on Russia and, in his own bombastic way, extending an olive branch. This is an opportunity for Russia and they should grab it. Who knows, they may get everything they want. This won't happen, though, if they simply snort at historical inaccuracies.

Posted by: Pat Bateman | Jan 23 2025 17:18 utc | 47

I will not, cannot, believe Trump will ever put America First until he's signed an executive order BANNING all DUAL-CITIZENS from all forms of American governance--local, state, and federal.

One cannot serve two masters. Ever.

Posted by: Nooneuknow | Jan 23 2025 16:57 utc | 40

______

Every country should do this. (Hint hint, Vladimir Vladimirovich!)

Posted by: malenkov | Jan 23 2025 17:18 utc | 48

*** given Trump's skillful social-media fripperies. ***

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Jan 23 2025 16:38 utc | 27

Awesome turn of a phrase!

I find the interpretation of the dialog here at MOA so interesting because it appears to approach the Russia US negotiation from the point if view of assessing competence. As observed by poster Eighthman "The West is overwhelmed with incompetence." My take is that the products of a postmodern education are concerned only with exercises of power and their deconstruction, which makes competence a secondary consideration.

This is why I have called "weakening" Russia as a policy objective a fetish - it is a belief held almost universally throughout the mid-level foreign policy bureaucracies that originates from the same quarters as those who like men wearing skirts. Trump's post that "I’m not looking to hurt Russia" may represent a sea change in the fetishist thinking - or it may not. Regardless, there will be chaos in the apparatchiks first about what Trump means and next what is our policy if it is not the universally accepted goal of "weakening" Russia.

Regardless, Trump is acting "off reservation" because that is what he does and because it gives him more room to maneuver in a postmodern crowded environment. Competence is a less important consideration than what will the reaction be. So the US will continue talking to itself about how to negotiate, with what Russia actually states being only a secondary consideration.

On the other side, as reflected here at MOA, the focus of assessment is how competent are Trump's statements. For goodness sake, we all know the USSR won WWII, with a little assist on the western front! The zeitgeist in Russia is far more competence based, because it has to be. This is why Russia has maintained escalatory dominance - because it actually has the SMO all though out.

Frankly, Peskov's riposte for the RF was just about right. It was quick and nothing more than saying, "Oh - did I just hear you say something?" It did not assume anything of substance was imparted, which is the fact.

How a postmodernist American negotiates to resolve a difference will be the fly in the ointment. Frankly, they see only power and the need to deconstruct it. They believe they should be as doctrinally flexible as a perfect Lenin.

Posted by: frithguild | Jan 23 2025 17:18 utc | 49

I strongly disagree with this take.

Although Putin's characterization of American government is generally correct, I don't believe this is happening to President Trump.

The real problem is that Russia has a very strong negotiating position. The Special Military Operation has been successful and The Ukraine's ability to wage war is greatly diminished. Meanwhile, the new American President has promised to end the war but at the same time cannot send more weapons to The Ukraine for fear of being seen as backing down on his campaign promises.

So what leverage does Trump have over Putin right now? Very little, except more economic sanctions. He's been left with a complete mess.

Putin has realized what a strong position he has, and is going to hold out for a complete demilitarization of The Ukraine, so NATO can't come back and start this mess again in 20 years.

Posted by: DemocracyUberAlles | Jan 23 2025 17:18 utc | 50

They're LYING TO TRUMP about Ukraine & RUSSIA!
------

"CIA Busy Polishing Its Ukraine Legacy"
22 January 2025
by Larry C. Johnson

Excerpt:


"You know the end is nearing in Ukraine when the CIA — i.e., the Director and unnamed US government officials — start dishing on what we did in Ukraine that was so great. The CIA storyline is simple, this was not our fault. It would be hilarious if this was just a bungled coup where no one died. But that is not the case. There are more than a million dead, mostly Ukrainian, as a result of CIA activities, starting with the Maidan of February 2014.
...
We now have firm confirmation that the casualty numbers Donald Trump has been citing this week come from the CIA. Ignatius writes:

The CIA estimates that Russia has suffered more than 700,000 casualties over the past three years, 10 times what it lost in Afghanistan over a decade.

This is intelligence malpractice. It is a tacit admission that the CIA is simply parroting casualty figures it receives from Ukraine. The blame for this incompetence rests with Burns. Instead of being spoon-fed by the Ukrainians, he could have demanded that analysts use a combination of Open Source Intel and imagery of new graves in Russia to produce a more accurate number. The lie about Russian casualties has been used to deceive Congress and the American public about the true nature of the war....
...
CIA officials...are trying to sabotage Donald Trump's promise to negotiate an end to this war. . . a war provoked by the West....

-end of Excerpt...


------
------
Larry C. Johnson is a former CIA officer and intelligence analyst, and former planner and advisor at the US State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism. As an independent contractor, he has provided training for the US Military’s Special Operations community for 24 years.
====
--The text above is only an except.
www.sonar.com/cia-busy-polishing-its-ukraine-legacy/

Posted by: ColClinkski | Jan 23 2025 17:20 utc | 51

for an alternative take on russian finances - john helmer posted this yesterday...

COST OF POTATOES, COST OF BLOOD – WHEN INFLATION IS LETHAL

Posted by: james | Jan 23 2025 16:06 utc | 8.

Check out Sonar21 today. 2 Russian residents, 1 citizen(Gera1) & 1 visitor, say there is no big problem with food inflation. Haven't heard stories of people not being able to eat.

Other good sources (I forget which at the moment) say due to labor shortage, wage growth is outpacing inflation.

Personally, I stopped following Helmer long ago. His obvious Putin hatred leads to biased reporting, imo. Eg, inflation story leaves out wage growth

Posted by: Mary | Jan 23 2025 17:22 utc | 52

When Trump claims the war is destroying the Russian economy someone should remind him how the USA recovered from the Great Depression.

Posted by: HB_Norica | Jan 23 2025 17:25 utc | 53

Honestly, what do you expect? Donald Trump is a fraud and a product of a mediocre intellectual culture now being put on the pedestal in the whole collective West, especially in the U S of A.

Of course he's as clueless as his predecessors in the knowledge of the changing world.

Posted by: Steve | Jan 23 2025 17:27 utc | 54

“Every country should do this. (Hint hint, Vladimir Vladimirovich!)”

Posted by: malenkov | Jan 23 2025 17:18 utc | 47


Vladimir Vladimirovic did do that for certain positions in the RF government iirc. I read that some years ago. Sorry no link.

Perhaps Karlof1 or some other person will kindly provide this information —that dual citizens were prohibited from serving at certain levels in RF gov institutions? Or confirm i was mislead.

Posted by: suzan | Jan 23 2025 17:28 utc | 55

The idiot is determined to take the loss upon himself and let the Democrats skate. In that case he deserves it.

Posted by: flying dutchman | Jan 23 2025 15:48 utc | 1

End it quickly, & it's Biden's disastrous war.

The longer it continues, the more he owns it.

Posted by: Mary | Jan 23 2025 17:28 utc | 56

They're LYING TO TRUMP about Ukraine & RUSSIA!
------

"CIA Busy Polishing Its Ukraine Legacy"
22 January 2025
by Larry C. Johnson

Apologies for the bad link. This one works!
https://sonar21.com/cia-busy-polishing-its-ukraine-legacy/

Posted by: ColClinkski | Jan 23 2025 17:30 utc | 57

let's not virtue signal ...
Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 23 2025 17:14 utc | 45
======
Wokeism is now banned in the US of A, supposedly.

Posted by: pepe | Jan 23 2025 17:30 utc | 58

"you haven’t a clue about him or his experiences over the last few years if you think he is letting the people who literally tried to jail him and kill him drive his policy.

Posted by: CullenBaker | Jan 23 2025 16:18 utc | 15"

Word is, he didn't just remove Bolton's security clearance; he also removed his Secret Service protection 😂😂😂

Posted by: Mary | Jan 23 2025 17:33 utc | 59

The longer it continues, the more he owns it.
Mary 55

True, which is why I said in 45 that:

"Trump, regardless of his actions is destined to be blamed for the ex-ukrainia debacle, it's already baked in the cake...the truth is the war can not end for at least 6-9 months. This is because, ever since Team-Biden first understood that they would fail in [circa Jun/Jul 2024] they have been pouring enough fuel upon the ex-ukrainia funeral pyre to last the Galicians 6-9 months after 20 Jan 2025."

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 23 2025 17:33 utc | 60

Not so fast, B.

John Helmer has a new article detailing the rise in prices of key goods linked to sanctions etc as well as the stupid Russian Central Bank policy.

Trump's a cuck, sure. But there are some embers from the fire that is actually just smoke at this stage.

Let's see what happens next.
smoke.

Posted by: Skeletor | Jan 23 2025 17:34 utc | 61

On this site, and elsewhere, there is an incredible amount of comic book standard information provided FOC about WW2. No doubt what I will say now will raise temperatures. But the USSR did not "win" WW2 - it was part of a victorious alliance. Western aid provided at a rough calulation around 40% of the war potential of the USSR including such basic things as trucks, jeeps, aluminuim, radios, HE, food and uniforms. The joint USA/UK air offensive diverted around half the German war effort in 44/45. Don't believe me, then go do some research. For sure Russia paid the butcher's bill in terms of lives, and we all owe Ivan a huge debt for their sacrfice. The West decided to fight smart, the Soviets not so much. But to suggest that western efforts in WW2 were minor is a travesty of history. Indeed, the USSR was effectively allied to Nazi Germany at first and was an aggressive partner in crime pre-Barbarossa. The fact the 1941 invasion caught the RKKA with its pants down remains a conundrum - again until you do do your research!. Narratives ruled then, they have ruled since then, and continue to do so.Soviet, Russian, Western whatever. If you speak to the French it was the resistance that liberated France, not 6/6/44.I'd hope the bar flys might take a more sanguine and analytical view.

What I would say is that the post-war West learned much BS from captured Nazi Generals who [[Knew]] how to defeat the Red Army but were prevented from doing so by the mad bad moustache man. All BS. They took on an Eurasian superpower with insufficient resources and tried to out attrition them. Well that ended well.

The problem with the past is it keeps changing. I have been looking at this for 50 years and my opinion is solidly based.I'll admit my views are at odds with most professional historians, but then they have to make a living. Me not so much.And so with the SMO.I take a different view.And it is clear to me that if the Russians could have finished this earlier they would have. But they are winning and will win. All that remains to be decided is the timing and cost.And the opportunity cost of not continuing this until the bitter end.

Posted by: marcjf | Jan 23 2025 17:35 utc | 62

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 23 2025 16:23 utc | 19

Agree, 100%

Posted by: Mary | Jan 23 2025 17:36 utc | 63

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 23 2025 16:13 utc | 12

Ukraine had an even stronger air defense system than USA, deploying around 50 S-300 divisions. That is around 300 launchers. Russia took nearly two years to dismantle it to the point where it could very safely drop bombs on front lines and beyond, and reduce Ukraine ability to shoot down missiles. According to colonel Trukhan, the actual effectiveness of AFU air defense at this point is very generously 25%, but likely less than that (meaning how many % of missiles and drones are shot down).

Posted by: unimperator | Jan 23 2025 17:42 utc | 64

There's no need for an alternative view of Russia's budget and economic condition as that was discussed yesterday and reported "Putin Reports Preliminary 2024 Economic Results and General 2025 Outlook", but only 1850 views have been made of that translated transcript. Today's meeting with government began with an update on the situation of the two tankers that crashed in the Black Sea during a December storm and leaked oil into the sensitive environment. The remainder of that transcript isn't yet complete.

Russia's inflation is a fruit of its economic success and its labor shortage. The oft heard complaint during Soviet years was the lack of goods to buy; now there're plenty of goods but not quite enough being chased by far more affluent people which causes retail price inflation. Wages are rapidly rising too because of the lack of and competition for labor. Russia's central bank has used the old tool of raising interest rates to try and hold down inflation, but the realities of Russia's economy don't allow that tool to work. Plus, much lending is occurring at much lower rates in many areas to stimulate economic growth and resolution of national projects and social problems. The ruble exchange rate has little to do with all this as foodstuffs are almost all domestically produced as are most of Russia's consumer goods, although many Chinese products are available AND are being bought.

Politically, Team Putin has decided to stay the course as revealed in yesterday's budget talk, although we didn't get to read what transpired after Putin's remarks. Russia's development entails economic expansion, not regression, which is what the high interest rates would do if applied to all. Stagflation implies high unemployment, but that's not the case with Russia. Development of the Far East, Arctic and Siberia regions along with the continual modernization of European Russia and the rehabilitation of Novorossiya means a very hot economy which usually produces higher rates of inflation. Putin would like to see Russia's economy begin to produce surplus amounts of consumer and food products that overcome the amount demanded, but that can't be exceeded by too much otherwise you have a glut and the signal to business is to cut production which negates the political intent.

The critics Helmer corrals have it easy since they're on the outside and likely immune to the problems they cite. If we look at what the sanctions have done to skew Russia's economy, then the situation becomes more understandable. Sanctions act like tariffs by negating the importation of cheaper goods forcing the sanctioned nation to produce those goods itself, which Russia has done. But those goods cost more because labor costs more in Russia and the new production facilities need to be paid for. Then there're the issues with internal logistics costs because facilities of all sorts are lacking--roads, warehouses, trucks, drivers, etc. Indeed, Russia will be employing driverless heavy trucks because of the labor shortage. Meanwhile, the rail system is being expanded because its capacity must be increased. Sure, it's easy to be a critic, but the magnitude of the problems in the economy are never discussed by them. They merely attack the low hanging fruit.

Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 23 2025 17:44 utc | 65

To ColClinkski 56,

I wrote this the other day at Andrei's place about the lies being fed Trump

Issuing False Statements your command structure used to be a serious offense in the active, & I believe, retired US Military and, it probably still is but apparently...only for non-Flag Officers, NCOs and Enlisted ranks. It appears, Senior Flag Officers have gotten some kind of exemption from article 107.

Article 107 (False official statements; false swearing) UCMJ [Uniform Code of Military Justice]:

"The MCM states under Article 107 (False Official Statements; False Swearing), any service member may be prosecuted for false official statements if they:

1] sign any false record, return, regulation, order, or other official document, knowing it to be false; or

2] make any other false official statement, knowing it to be false.

To be convicted for false official statements, the prosecution must demonstrate the following:

1] the accused signed a specific official document or made a specific official statement;

2] the document or statement was false in certain particulars;

3] the accused knew it to be false at the time of signing it or making it, and the false document or statement was made with the intent to deceive.

False Swearing

False swearing is the making, under a lawful oath or equivalent, of any untrue statement, oral or written, not believing the statement to be true. Unlike a false official statement, the statement is not required to be made with the intent to deceive or be official.

When Senior Flag Officers exempt themselves from the USMCJ they are subjecting the US Military to ridicule. To Make America Great Again; the same set of standards must apply to all. All ranks must perform to set standards, this is particularly true with Senior Flag Officers whether active or...retired. To knowingly or, unknowing misinform your command structure is a punishable offense.

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 23 2025 17:44 utc | 66

Mary@1733 Jan 23

...and there is more about the Trump v. Bolton splash...and it's a hoot. He actually produced photos of Bolton's residence, with drawn-in red arrows delineating it. Seems there also was a not totally tacit inference directed to Iran.

Well: Wally Walrus definitely deserves such a shitstorm. After holding a position of high influence and evident trust in Trump's previous administration...he's now getting the door slammed hard on his face.

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 23 2025 17:49 utc | 67

The text above is only an except.
www.sonar.com/cia-busy-polishing-its-ukraine-legacy/
Posted by: ColClinkski | Jan 23 2025 17:20 utc | 50

Turds don't polish up well!

Posted by: jpc | Jan 23 2025 17:52 utc | 68

I like MoA a lot but gentlemen, are you seriously commenting a post made on "Truth-Social" ? This is not intended to russians or VVP, but to ignorant north-american people (60 millions ffs...)

Do you think the US and RF president are talking through social networks ?

This post by Trump is just a PR operation on a deal already done. The war will end sooner than later, so better pretend to have something to do with it (look ! The commies were afraid of my threats ! They stopped the war).

"This dirty war is over" will be the "victory" presented to the general audience, and every media will memory hole the meaning of that ending, ie Russia has won it.

Posted by: Pierrot | Jan 23 2025 17:54 utc | 69

Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 23 2025 17:44 utc | 65

Russian inflation has been caused by political weakness IMHO - that is a failure to be able to impose some form of rationing whilst engaging in a war whose financing causes too much money to chase too few goods.I don't buy the Western narrative that it is an economy in tatters but it is stressed. Now if Trump should make the mistake of seeking to increase sanctions etc, the "the Putin" would have the perfect excuse to introduce wartime type controls and measures to ensure that this problem is mitigated.The West truely does not understand the sacrifices that the Russian people are prepared to make.

Posted by: marcjf | Jan 23 2025 17:55 utc | 70

...he didn't just remove Bolton's security clearance; he also removed his Secret Service protection 😂😂😂
Mary 59

And guess what...

...Trump Revokes Security Protection for Pompeo...

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 23 2025 17:56 utc | 71

Trump's bombastic tone might be tactical, but citing so many plainly wrong facts just diminishes his credibility.

Posted by: Figleaf23 | Jan 23 2025 17:56 utc | 72

Mary | Jan 23 2025 17:28 utc | 56

"The idiot is determined to take the loss upon himself and let the Democrats skate. In that case he deserves it.

Posted by: flying dutchman | Jan 23 2025 15:48 utc | 1

End it quickly, & it's Biden's disastrous war.

The longer it continues, the more he owns it."

Yup, all this "making a deal" nonsense would just be Trump's stupid ego and vainglory forcing him to take personal ownership of this hopeless imbecile project. The US should cut off 404 cold turkey and walk away clean, blaming Ukro embezzlement and theft, Democrat bungling, and most of all blame the whole malign project on Europe.

Posted by: flying dutchman | Jan 23 2025 18:05 utc | 73

Trump is dumber than expected. He's 78, he already had 1 presidential term, he should know Spain as a NATO member couldn't possibly be part of BRICS.

https://tgstat.ru/en/channel/@DDGeopolitics/136852

Journo: What can we expect from the NATO countries that spend the least amount of money, Spain, France, below the 5%?
Trump: Spain is very low... and yet are they a BRICS nation?
Journo: What?
Trump: They're a BRICS nation Spain. You know what a BRICS Nation is? You'll figure it out... but eeeeh ... and if the BRICS nations wanna do that, that's ok because we're gonna at least put a 100% tariff on the business they do with the United States. You do know what the BRICS is right? You guy's know, you know what I'm saying, right.

When Ukraine is finally obliterated which might be a matter of months now (the interest in MAD seems to have waned), the US empire will try to save face and do damage control by initiating something big elsewhere, like the invasion Granada which was the result of the sudden 200+ GI casualties in Beirut. Countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua and now Panama should make preparations.

Posted by: xor | Jan 23 2025 18:05 utc | 74

Below are the Reuters contributions to the propaganda against Russia

Exclusive: Putin growing concerned by Russia's economy, as Trump mulls more sanctions

Domestic activity has become strained in recent months by labour shortages and high interest rates introduced to tackle inflation, which has accelerated under record military spending.

Five key challenges for the Russian economy in 2025

Economists describe the outlook for 2025 as an "ideal storm."

I agree with karlof1 | Jan 23 2025 17:44 utc | 65

Putin needs to ask Trump if anything he says should not be viewed as BS

US markets are indicative of peak BS currently

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 23 2025 18:06 utc | 75

@ Caliman | Jan 23 2025 16:36 utc | 25

Insufficient. The Ukraine constitution needs to be rewritten to enshrine neutrality, no armed forces except police, and ban on all variation of naziism. Furthermore, all regions that have not had an opportunity to vote on their future (in Ukraine, independent, etc.) must be given a free supervised referendum. Also all war criminals must be brought to justice.

Posted by: Figleaf23 | Jan 23 2025 18:14 utc | 76

@ Mary | Jan 23 2025 17:22 utc | 52

john helmer is a mixed bag.. i don't write him off as easily, but thanks for your take.. i will check out larry johnsons take...

@ marcjf | Jan 23 2025 17:35 utc | 62

that was a quick characterization on my part... however, russia paid a bigger price in terms of lives lost then all the others.. and clearly the weasel britian was hoping that germany would beat russia too, so their is that...

Posted by: james | Jan 23 2025 18:16 utc | 77

The US should cut off 404 cold turkey and walk away clean[?]...
-Flying dutchman 73

That is already being implemented. Problem is, as you should know, Team-Biden accelerated shipments and money transfers meant for the spring/summer 2025 to the fall/winter 2024. They have or, are about to be delivered supplies & funds that will last until ~ late fall 2025. This is meant to transfer the blame to Trump or, give them time to cook up another batch of napalm, it's baked in the cake.

This "idiotic" war has many players who need to find seats before the music stops.

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 23 2025 18:17 utc | 78

Posted by: james | Jan 23 2025 18:16 utc | 77

Apologies if I inadvertently caused offence. Good lunch today so maybe a bit loose with my words and opinions.

Posted by: marcjf | Jan 23 2025 18:18 utc | 79

marcjf | Jan 23 2025 17:55 utc | 70--

Thanks for your reply. I'd need to review but I seem to recall a discussion about imposing wage and price controls back in 2023 where it was deemed too burdensome bureaucratically. So, it's a political choice as I described. What's clear from yesterday's economic meeting is the sanctions aren't damaging Russia's economy. The budget deficit was deemed within acceptable limits and inflation will be countered by increasing the amounts of social payments to match or exceed it and wages were deemed to be outpacing inflation. IMO, the government is attuned to Putin's development plan as outlined in his Leap Day speech almost one year ago with inflation seen as an unavoidable side-effect needing to be closely monitored. The sources Helmer cites all yell at the private banks, but they are the smallest banks in the system--Russia's biggest banks are the publicly owned banks. Russia also offers its citizens the opportunity to directly invest in Russia's development. IMO, Trump would like to have Russia's economic woes because they're based on a rapidly expanding economy that's fueled by policies aimed at Making Russia Great Again.

Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 23 2025 18:19 utc | 80

Lost my post here grabbing another log to stack onto the fire- but I wanted to say that aristodemos' analysis is a good one - so I'll keep pushing the wintry weather back eastward, as Russia IS winter. We just have to hang in and be winter as well for a bit!

Posted by: juliania | Jan 23 2025 18:19 utc | 81

i like larry johnson and appreciate his perspective as an ex cia dude.... a lot of what he articulates has been known, although maybe it is news to americans who are so consumed in propaganda, they can't tell what is true and what isn't.. in that regard, much of the planet is in the same boat, easily fed bullshit and not able to tell what is or isn't true, and just why it is being revealed at this time.. etc. etc..

that the cia has been all in with ukraine for forever isn't news though.. how is the revolving door from cia to gigs in the military industry working out these days anyway?? has burns been hired to some well paid gig yet??

Posted by: james | Jan 23 2025 18:23 utc | 82

Trump’s negotiation strategy may or may not be wise, but you haven’t a clue about him or his experiences over the last few years if you think he is letting the people who literally tried to jail him and kill him drive his policy.

Posted by: CullenBaker | Jan 23 2025 16:18 utc | 16

Trump's continued use of CIA's casualty figures says otherwise.

Overall the forces that were hell bent on destroying him and America are relatively quiet considering the blitz of activity Trump has engaged in this week.

One could speculate that they're rather confident they have enough assets in place to hamstring him later, or that they're content to let him do the work finishing digging the grave they started for him.

Posted by: The Owl | Jan 23 2025 18:23 utc | 83

Actions and words.

If he stops sending money and weapons it’s finished. Actions.

Saying 100 days is just a way of saying the ukropians will have to have surrendered unconditionally or conditionally with demilitarisation and denazification and restoration off Russian language history monuments and names … and handing over the criminals who committed war crimes and free and fair elections and referendums allowing regions to choose to independent or join the other breakaway regions.

Plenty to be ironed out before the New Yalta.

Talking of words, I’ll ask again. does anyone know what Barron Drumpff whispered to Sleepy Joe as he left the stage?

Posted by: DunGroanin | Jan 23 2025 18:24 utc | 84

@ marcjf | Jan 23 2025 18:18 utc | 79

not at all! i appreciate your posts and commentary!

Posted by: james | Jan 23 2025 18:24 utc | 85

"On the face of it, Trump seems to be the man to preside over the downfall of the American empire, and by extension, America. A predatory capitalist whose instincts can be effective, but is unable to grasp the larger picture, he takes multiple confounding positions on these issues. We are told that this is only Trump playing 5th dimensional chess. Does he really believe that the US has any remaining leverage with sanctions at this point, or is this rhetoric for the benefit of the public? He wants the Ukraine war over with, but the most effective path to that is for the US to simply get out of Ukraine, something his imperialistic and triumphalist instincts can't entertain. I don't think he is able to think this through to a principled conclusion (but then if he could, he would never have succeeded in US politics). It looks like the real danger has not gone away with Biden - that US imperialists, coming to the painful realization that they cannot defeat Russia or intimidate it into submission, will ramp up the escalation to a nuclear exchange. The danger of a nuclear conclusion to this conflict has always been from the US, and it looks like it will continue with Trump."

Posted by: Mike R | Jan 23 2025 16:25 utc | 21

You could say that MAGA actually means Make America Go Away. That would be deliciously ironic: the guy that is allegedly trying to Make America Great Again will actually cause America's destruction.

Maybe Trump really is a Russian stooge, after all?! I kid. ;-)

More seriously, the Trump Regime represents the Red State faction of the American Empire, which wants another Minsk Accord scam (i.e. a temporary frozen conflict masquerading as a Ukraine peace deal) with Russia.

But this is only to free up resources so that America can threaten and wage war (covert hybrid war, economic war, or even direct war) against China or Iran. Or even Latin American nations like Mexico, Panama, etc.

American democracy (sic) is a case of jumping out of the Blue State frying pan--and into another Red State frying pan. Or vice versa.

Both the Conservative/Liberal propagandists and simps for these political factions don't want people not see this reality and push the lie that the Red Staters and Blue Staters are two partisan antagonists--instead of a Pro Wrestling-style political tag team.

This graphic below aptly captures the essence of American poli-tricks in terms of foreign policy:

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/19e29664bf48fc09ed12c6ec3d099886df9bc009f80be61b9faf59256e2172ce.jpg


Posted by: ak74 | Jan 23 2025 18:25 utc | 86

@ DunGroanin | Jan 23 2025 18:24 utc | 84

exactly... their is a big difference between cheap talk and action.. if trump was to get out of nato - i will have high regard for him.. but being the bullshitter he is, it is highly unlikely..

Posted by: james | Jan 23 2025 18:25 utc | 87

As many of us have undoubtedly experienced whenever we go off script with the cultist MSM followers, the one thing that nobody seems very interested is the truth. The only thing anyone cares about is their truth. Trump rules a country and perhaps a world in which everyone wants our leaders to discuss the purity of Christianity, the American heroes in WW2 that saved Europe and our now saving the Middle East and the miralce of Capitalism. The truth is about as welcome as a fart in a crowded elevator.

Posted by: Deniz 152 | Jan 23 2025 18:31 utc | 88

Master Negotiator Trump has started this one with a blunder, committing to a deadline, a very ambitious one at that, too. After already failing to deliver on his first one, 24 hours, he now HAS to reach an agreement. As opposed to Putin, who can just lean back, wait for Trump's proposals, politely shake his head and continue the war a little bit longer.

Doesn't mean that Trump won't find a big stick somewhere to beat Putin up. A lot of sticks have been found and used already with no result. Meaning that giving Putin the upper hand for nothing in return wasn't a great start for the new US president.

Posted by: Marvin | Jan 23 2025 18:35 utc | 89

Posted by: james | Jan 23 2025 18:16 utc | 77

James, I was referring not to Johnson's take as Gera's & another posters comments about food inflation in Russia. They live there & don't see a problem.

(I get the sense that Helmer's Russian contacts are from the 20% that don't support Putin. If & when that # approaches 50%, I'll consider his opinion!

Posted by: Mary | Jan 23 2025 18:39 utc | 90

When I saw this yesterday I wondered if Trump is really this stupid because I know Russia is not. The desperation in my country is palpable and the Trump carnival will not contain it for long.

Posted by: SO | Jan 23 2025 18:42 utc | 91

Larry Johnson (sonar blog) noted that the Pentagon has reportedly fired or suspended all personnel directly responsible for managing military assistance to Ukraine, signaling a “complete reboot” of U.S.-Ukraine relations.

Laura Cooper, the Pentagon’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, has already resigned, also on the way out is Lloyd Austin, who had expanded the Ukraine Defense Contact Group into a 50-nation coalition supporting Kiev.

Shipments in transit on European NATO bases will apparently not delivered.

All this is being discussed in insider channels for now, without much fanfare in the mainstream media.

Posted by: Marvin | Jan 23 2025 18:43 utc | 92

Trump's tweet seems more for his fan base than for Russia but it does appear he is setting up a scenario where he can blame Russia if the war continues. That's the take the hawks want for sure. But it appears Trump doesn't see the train crash coming for him. And why would he? The American upper class never pays a price for the country's failed incursions. He'll send just enough to Ukraine to look like he is doing something but not too much so it's a monster issue when it fails. And in that he sense won't be that much different from Biden other than the rhetoric.

Posted by: WG | Jan 23 2025 18:44 utc | 93

..for an alternative take on russian finances - john helmer posted this yesterday...

COST OF POTATOES, COST OF BLOOD – WHEN INFLATION IS LETHAL

Posted by: james | Jan 23 2025 16:06 utc | 8


I've found Johm Helmer to be a curious read in the few years of been reading him - he seems often oblique or enigmatic about with regard to what he is actually intending to say.

I prefer to read him a unz.com where there is an active comments section where his views get scrutinized.

https://www.unz.com/article/cost-of-potatoes-cost-of-blood-when-inflation-is-lethal/

To his credit, he doesn't like/trust Gilbert Doctorow. He wrote a piece somewhere labelling him as CIA.


Hey, all you BRICS Spaniards out there, just you remember, 'merika split the atom!

Posted by: Ново З | Jan 23 2025 18:47 utc | 94

*** committing to a deadline, a very ambitious one at that, too. ***

Posted by: Marvin | Jan 23 2025 18:35 utc | 89

On Truth Social?

The only matter of substance is the opening of the discission topic whether the Russian economy is under stress. This topic is a pile of dog poop Trump put put there. The RF wants a discussion based upon a competent examination of facts, so they stepped right in it when Peskov made this part of his discussion. RF should have ignored this. Instead they dignified it and now it's the focus of the news / propaganda cycle

Posted by: frithguild | Jan 23 2025 18:51 utc | 95

S Brennan | Jan 23 2025 18:17 utc | 78

"Problem is, as you should know, Team-Biden accelerated shipments and money transfers meant for the spring/summer 2025 to the fall/winter 2024. They have or, are about to be delivered supplies & funds that will last until ~ late fall 2025."

I do know the Democrat administration set that plan in motion. If the new administration froze it immediately, as I've read in some places, that would help. Any money and probably much of any hardware that did go through is likely to "go missing" at an even more accelerated rate than before, now that any sane Ukrainian who is in any position to cash in while the getting is good will likely do so, given the extreme uncertainty of the future of the war and of the country itself.

Regardless, what would they be able to do if cut off from Starlink, US aerial reconnaissance etc. Could the Eurotrash take over all these roles on their own?

Of course I don't expect the US to do any of this.

Posted by: flying dutchman | Jan 23 2025 19:00 utc | 96

Trump ends up betraying everyone of his partners and supporters no matter how integral or loyal they are to his success. Even betrayal, though, does not mean all of his retinue turn against Trump. Many are loyal from a subjectivity that will not be broken no matter how much misery they suffer from Trump's exploitation. Fortunately for the Russians, they are not beholden to Trump and know better than to accept anything but actions from this lying pitchman. Many observers are not as cognizant of Trump's sociopathy and demagoguery, willingly accepting the facade Trump erects to portray himself as concerned and motivated by the public interest.

Posted by: Keme | Jan 23 2025 19:02 utc | 97

Besides, isn't the only thing keeping morale up enough that the Ukrainians are still in the field at all the hope that one day soon the NATO cavalry will come? If Trump were to convincingly throw cold water over that hope, the complete collapse of the hohol lines would likely soon follow.

Posted by: flying dutchman | Jan 23 2025 19:04 utc | 98

I've always believed that Nation States are not rational actors. The Nation State is simply a tool used by the Oligarchs that control the society to enact their policies. Occasionally, States may appear to be rational when the best interests of both the Oligarchs and the Nation State aline. But when the interests of the Oligarchs and the State clash, the State bends to the desires of the Oligarchs and sabotages itself. The US and the EU have absolutely no meaningful interest in Ukraine that would justify severing their relations with Russia, even less having a war with Russia and China. But the Oligarchs who control the Western governments want a war with Russia and China so they can do a final looting of the Western economies, then bail out and let the Western Societies collapse. Just like the mafia doing bust out fraud, Oligarchs use a patsy (the Government) to take money from creditors (tax payers), give the money to themselves (government contracts), spend everything until the line of Credit is maxed (the government loses all legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry and collapses), then torch the place as you walk out the door (the government starts a war it cant win, loses and all the records are burned while the state collapses so that no one can do an audit or hold the Oligarchs to account)

All this talk about Trump cant stop the war in single day. US presidents have the power to launch a nuclear strike and end human civilization in 30 mins, yet I'm supposed to believe if he called up the war department, CIA and State departments and told them to stop all deliveries they would just ignore him. If that's the case (and I think it is), then the US is a Oligarchy and the US president is just the designated fall guy for when it falls to deliver for the people.

Posted by: Kadath | Jan 23 2025 19:05 utc | 99

Re:flying dutchman @98,

I believe a significant portion of the current Ukrainian army is made up of Polish and Columbian mercenaries. about 15 months ago I heard that nearly 5,000 polish citizens had been killed in Ukraine and more than 20,000 Polish soldiers had taken leave from the Polish army to join Ukraine but since then I haven't seen any hard numbers, but it must have significantly increased since then

Posted by: Kadath | Jan 23 2025 19:14 utc | 100

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