News & views not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine …
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August 20, 2025
Open (Neither Ukraine Nor Palestine) Thread 2025-188
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The “we can win” has turned into “we must not lose” from EU leaders and its really for the same purpose. One thing we need to understand is that foreign policy has never been affected by what the general public believes or wants, not only in America but also in its EU and NATO allies. So why all the propaganda? That is not being used for the general public, it’s meant for the upper classes of America and its allies, i.e., Wall St. bankers and the hedge fund people, the big and super rich old money families, the nouveau riche tech people, aka the donor class.
They are the targets of the propaganda because no one else matters in the foreign policy establishment and never have. So why feed them so much disinformation?
Because the very rich have the connections and money to make it difficult for the politicians and bureaucrats in the foreign policy establishment to keep their jobs, or to have a future of easy money when they leave government service.
We need to realize that the purpose of the war was never to win, they wanted to win and hoped they would win, but that wasn’t the reason, they made it clear at the start of the war that they were “defending Ukraine” instead of making a deal to prevent the war in the first place for a few reasons:
1. To make life difficult for Russia. Hopefully the massive number of sanctions would make the Russian elites turn on Putin.
2. To force the EU off of Russian energy and replace it with American energy.
3. To get rid of old military equipment to force the NATO states to have to buy lots more new stuff for years to come.
4. To make an example to the world of what happens if you challenge the neoliberal hegemonic plans for the new world order that has been under construction since the 1970s.
They wanted to put the kibosh on the rise of BRICS and the loss of American and EU hegemony by threatening the world with sanctions if they do business with the new Hitler. But the more immediate plan was to make lots of money, I mean the big energy companies have seen their profits go through the roof since the war started and the MIC as well. This was also meant to put the fear of the American and EU hegemons into the oil rich Arabs about their continuing to develop close partnerships with the BRICS. Michael Hudson says they have threatened the Arab oil sheikhs with confiscating their dollars if they don’t play ball.
Ukraine needing to win was just a talking point to keep the rich donor class who are not in the foreign policy establishment and who are not well versed on foreign policy, from putting their money and influence into trying to stop them from all the above plans.
Posted by: kana | Aug 20 2025 17:13 utc | 1
The dictator Alyiev’s chickens come home to roost – Azerbaijani’s, will mostly likely now be cannon fodder for the Kremlin meat grinder in Ukraine – never ever trust the British, they’ll sell you out.
“It’s amazing how quickly a person who had everything good and wonderful and whom the British king (through the Turkish sultan) persuaded to cooperate against Russia, starts having problems.
And now we will not talk about Azerbaijani tomatoes that rotted on the Russian-Azerbaijani border. And not even about the “leaders of the cultural diaspora”, who have already begun to be expelled from Russia in commercial quantities and detained.
We will talk about oil. The main wealth of Azerbaijan, which is precisely what ensures the ambitions of the Baku khan.
Yes, of course, he receives painful wounds in Ukraine (in the form of destroyed infrastructure and practically nullified contracts worth tens of millions of dollars in connection with this). But Aliyev will somehow survive this. However, the discovery of CHLORIDES in Baku oil, which exceed the maximum permitted concentration, is already serious.
The losses that Baku has suffered so far are in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
At least five batches of exported rejected oil, which Azerbaijan’s European partners have not processed and will demand compensation for, may already put them in the red. And that’s about $350 million. In addition, another such vessel with “dirty oil” has been anchored for the third week, waiting for the raw material to be used. That’s at least $420 million in losses.
The terminal in Ceyhan, Turkey, has also not exported products for a week. And that’s about 6 more such batches of unsold oil. That’s another $420 million.
Also, due to the decrease in the premium for Azerbaijani oil, SOCAR alone is losing about $1 million a day. Which already cost $30 million. And this cost item is still growing.
This means that I have already calculated the total losses of about $ 850 million.
And then they will have to look for those who will process the contaminated oil.
At the same time, European partners look at their Azerbaijani partners with suspicion, and any repetition of this story could hit Baku even harder.
And any “story” whose causes have not been found can be repeated at any time.
And note that all this fell on the Baku Khan at one moment. And it coincided with the moment when (at the request of the British) he openly threw the gauntlet in Russia’s face.
And yet, as our president says, we have not even begun. All this is God punishing a person. For betrayal and broken friendship.
I wonder if the Azerbaijanis will ever understand that the British will eventually want their blood and try to send them into the furnace of war with Russia? No? Well, the Ukrainians didn’t think so before either. But who asked them then?”
https://nitter.poast.org/peacemaket71/status/1958037359741530324#m
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Aug 20 2025 17:36 utc | 2
The Indian MIC gets a lucrative Indian government contract.
“The Indian government has signed off on a $7.6 billion deal for domestically produced fighter planes, ANI News has reported, citing defense sources.
The 97 Tejas Mark 1A light combat aircraft will be made by state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), which manufactures fighter jets, helicopters, jet engines and avionics. ”
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Aug 20 2025 17:45 utc | 3
One day you’ll be walking down the street, the next after being kidnapped, you’ll be renditioned to Honduras or Uganda.
“Uganda has agreed a deal with Washington to host migrants from third countries who are being deported from the US, CBS reported on Tuesday, citing internal official documents.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has pursued third-country resettlement deals to deport asylum seekers as part of a wider crackdown on illegal immigration, despite criticism and protests.
The agreement with Uganda, according to CBS, will see the East African country accept an unspecified number of African and Asian deportees who had claimed asylum on the US-Mexico border “as long as they don’t have criminal histories.”
A separate deal between Washington and Honduras will reportedly allow the Central American nation to receive several-hundred deportees from Spanish-speaking countries. According to the outlet, Honduras has agreed to a “relatively small number of deportations – just several hundred over two years,” although documents suggest it could accept more.”
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Aug 20 2025 17:49 utc | 4
@kana #1
What leaders want may not reconcile with what their constituencies want, but it is literally impossible for just leaders to provoke a war without the support of their constituencies.
In the past, maybe information control or narrative creation could change the views of said constituencies – but that manifestly is no longer true today.
And so your notion that Europe can do shit vs. Russia is simply false.
Equally is your Manichaen notion that these Western leaders have the competency to pour piss out of a boot, which has the instructions on the bottom.
You clearly did not read the full b posting or the Twitter excepts within it: no weapons to sell or give, no money to buy said nonexistent weapons, no soldiers to wield them.
This is the armless, legless Black Knight of Monty Python fame decrying King Arthur to come back so he can bite his kneecaps off.
To which I add: no competency to build the MIC in order to create the weapons. Too many other problems which Western populations are focused on rather than foreign wars. There is not even any obvious benefit to reprising the American role in WW1 and WW2 – because there simply is no longer any wealth in Western Europe to extract or empires to replace.
Posted by: c1ue | Aug 20 2025 17:55 utc | 5
The Proud Boys, sorry I meant ICE, removes social media post about deporting Ukrainians, just as the Neo-Nazi dictator Zelensky visited Trump in Washington DC.
“US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has removed social media posts about deporting Ukrainians which coincided with Vladimir Zelensky’s trip to Washington.
The now-deleted messages, posted on X and Facebook on Tuesday, contained photos of several people in civilian clothes standing in front of Ukrainian border officials. “Here are photos of Ukrainian aliens’ first moments back home following their removal from the United States,” the caption read. It is unclear when the posts were taken down.
On Monday, Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump, as well as with leaders of several European countries, the EU, and NATO. The sides discussed a path to peace between Ukraine and Russia and security guarantees for Kiev.
ICE has regularly shared photos and videos of deportees on social media as part of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. The president has pledged to carry out “the largest deportation” in US history, targeting violent criminals.”
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Aug 20 2025 18:42 utc | 6
@ c1ue | Aug 20 2025 17:55 utc | 5
in other words – late stage capitalism really sucks, lol..
Posted by: james | Aug 20 2025 18:47 utc | 7
The UN is full of lies and spies, and Burkino Faso has decided to go its own way in Africa, along with the likes of Niger and Mali, and the West former imperial colonists, that asset stripped the likes of Burkino Faso in this particular case the French, don’t like it one little bit.
“Burkina Faso’s government has declared United Nations resident coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak “persona non grata” after a report by the global body accused jihadist groups and national forces of abusing children in the West African nation.
The UN document, released in April, recorded 2,483 “grave violations” against 2,255 children between July 2022 and June 2024, including their recruitment as fighters, sexual abuse, and attacks on hospitals and schools. Of these cases 20% (501) were attributed to the Burkinabe Defense and Security Forces and their allies.
In a statement on Monday, the government said it is “outraged by the total contempt shown towards the Burkinabe authorities” in the compilation of “baseless assertions and untruths.” Ouagadougou said the report was drafted without its participation and accused Flore-Smereczniak of “unilaterally” confirming “information without legally acceptable evidence and submitted it to such a strategic body as the UN Security Council.””
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Aug 20 2025 18:47 utc | 8
thomas fazi substack today –
The peace delusion
“For all his rhetoric about ending “forever wars”, Trump continues to embrace a fundamentally supremacist vision of America’s role in the world — albeit a more pragmatic one than that of the liberal-imperialist establishment. His administration continues to support NATO rearmament and even the redeployment of US nuclear weapons along multiple fronts, from the UK to the Pacific. Trump’s policies toward China, Iran and the broader Middle East confirm that Washington still sees itself as an empire whose global dominance must be preserved at all costs — not only through economic pressure, but also through military confrontation when deemed necessary.
Within this framework, Russia remains a central challenge. As a pivotal ally of both China and Iran, it is embedded in the architecture of the emerging multipolar order that threatens US hegemony. For Washington, Moscow is not simply a regional actor but a key node in a broader strategic realignment.”
Posted by: james | Aug 20 2025 19:16 utc | 9
A real president for his people – calls out the orange Zionist Yankee POTUS Trump on his threat.
“Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has challenged US President Donald Trump to arrest him after Washington announced it was doubling a bounty to $50 million for any information leading to his arrest.
The reward is part of longstanding US charges against Maduro and other senior Venezuelan officials, accusing them of narcotics trafficking, corruption, and human rights abuses. Maduro has repeatedly rejected the allegations, describing them as politically motivated.
“Come for me, I will wait here in Miraflores, don’t be late, coward,” Maduro said in a fiery speech on Monday, days after the new US announcement.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil has also dismissed the bounty as “pathetic” and “political propaganda.””
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Aug 20 2025 19:17 utc | 10
Don’t know much about Pereira, but Quiroga is definitely a US leaning puppet.
“Bolivia’s presidential election will proceed to a runoff after no candidate met the electoral thresholds required to avoid a second round.
Bolivia’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced on Monday that no candidate secured the required majority in the first round.
The preliminary results showed that Rodrigo Paz Pereira, the candidate of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), and Jorge Quiroga, the former president and candidate of the Alianza Libre coalition, ranked first and second among the eight candidates.
With over 91% of the ballots counted on Sunday, Paz received 32.8% of the votes cast while Quiroga secured 26.4%.
Candidates needed to surpass 50%, or 40% with a 10-point margin of victory, to avoid a runoff.
Bolivia is expected to hold the second round, its first presidential runoff since its 1982 return to democracy on October 19.
Nearly 7.94 million voters nationwide cast their ballots to elect a new president and parliament, along with a vice president, 36 senators, 130 members of the lower house, and nine representatives to transnational parliamentary bodies.”
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Aug 20 2025 19:21 utc | 11
Half-an-Hour Ago.
“Israeli airstrike against al-Housh, Tyre region, southern Lebanon”
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Aug 20 2025 19:28 utc | 12
“CIA affiliated vehicles spotted entering the Ain Issa coalition site where the US special forces brought back an individuals body after a raid conducted in the Aleppo-Idlib countryside earlier today.”
https://nitter.poast.org/MonitorX99800/status/1958179974294175792#m
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Aug 20 2025 19:32 utc | 13
Was it a military target that was aiding the Neo-Nazi’s in Ukraine?
“A Russian Shahed Drone struck a target 50 KM’s deep inside Polish territory.”
https://nitter.poast.org/MonitorX99800/status/1958105836749996305#m
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Aug 20 2025 19:36 utc | 14
BAR: Delirious New Cold Warrior Ted Cruz Proposes US/Israel/Taiwan/Somaliland Pact
https://www.blackagendareport.com/delirious-new-cold-warrior-ted-cruz-proposes-usisraeltaiwansomaliland-pact
“On August 14, Senator Ted Cruz published an open letter urging Donald Trump to recognize Somaliland, a secessionist state within Somalia, and proposing an alliance between the US, Somaliland, Israel and Taiwan in the new scramble for Red Sea assets…”
Posted by: JohnGilberts | Aug 20 2025 19:38 utc | 15
Intel Slava
Forwarded from
Middle East Spectator – MES
— 🇺🇸 NEW: Jewish-American judge Richard Berman, who presided over the sex trafficking case against Jeffrey Epstein, has rejected the government’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts
This follows the decision of another Jewish-American judge, Robin L. Rosenberg, to deny the unsealing of investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell on July 24
Posted by: Mary | Aug 20 2025 19:48 utc | 16
MOATS, with George Galloway: Parallel Lines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QRr0aud5iE
With Max Blumenthal & Dr Sabreena Ghaffar-Siddiqui
Posted by: JohnGilberts | Aug 20 2025 20:06 utc | 17
Venezuela
Maduro’s secret service is conducting a “sweep” of his inner circle. Apparently some of those people may have become tempted by the $50 million bounty that Rubio put on his head. The three Aegis destroyers are equally to be found nearby in the Carribean, but the rest of the US fleet, big troop landing craft, subs, and Carriers have moved out of the immediate area northwards again, due to Hurricane Erin. A US strike into Central Venezuela, using a local group to clear the way by kidnapping or killing Maduro first, is quite conceivable as a “plan” hatched up by Rubio.
***
“Erin” is an old name for Ireland as well as as a personal name, but it probably does not mean there is a spiritual connection to “Kneecaps” lead singer being charged with “terrorism” in London, but these are strange times indeed.
JohnGilberts | Aug 20 2025 19:38 utc | 15
Somaliland, South Sudan etc. are being “prospected” by the Zionists as places that could be used for exiled Palestinians. There are a lot of terrain grabbing movements in the Horn of Africa (Israeli forces on Socotra, new Saudi build up of their “Yemeni” forces to attack the Houthi Governement, UA Emirates are there as well)
Republicofscotland @ 10
MoA might be adding a Venezuela thread soon, on the more hopeful side the USA in 66ys has been unable to do much against Cuba and Venezuela is bigger ground with 3X the population. The USA has always had trouble justifying troops into Latin America and the Caribbean but this time with the bipartisan bugaboo of drug cartels and immigration hordes they might have found their work around.
My guess is the entire focus of the two Trump admins on drugs and immigrants across the region comes down to nothing more than creating the narrative for an attack on Maduro. The CIA is the biggest drug cartel in the Americas, and immigation is an essential part of neoliberalism and the WEF project, they have no intention of messing with the cash flow or the project, they are up to something else.
Notice that all the talk now is of stopping drug cartels, not stoping drugs. Cartels are a paramilitary force that justifies a large military force to stop. The focus on Mexican cartels is just to muddy the waters, expand the fear in the American mind for some attack on Maduro and Venezuela.
Can’t help thinking present times with Gaza, Syria, Iran, Ukraine, Taiwan, is the final scene from Godfather 2, when new Don Michael decides to settle all old scores in one fell swoop, and reboot the business clean and fresh, only one missing from the present list of old scores is Venezuela.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says the US will use “full force” against Venezuela after deploying ships off the country’s coast.
“>https://t.me/CyberspecNews/89271
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Aug 20 2025 20:25 utc | 20
@james #7
I am not one of those that is always saying “but REAL capitalism…”, but it does seem to me that what is going on is more to do with a ruling elites’ incompetence than the form or stage of economic philosophy.
Or put another way: what is going on now is no different than “Let them eat cake”.
In that sense – it is less clear to me that this progression is an iron law of development as opposed to a common outcome arising from arrogance/complacency/etc etc.
Others argue that this is an outcome of empire, not capitalism.
IMO, this is a stronger argument as there is a much stronger tie between said arrogance/complacency/etc etc and empire.
And even so: the reality is that the Roman empire lasted a long, LONG time. You can clearly see that the early stage Roman empire was significantly different than the later stages – particularly in its use of Gauls and Goths as enforcers of the Roman order over citizens and subjugated peoples/slaves alike. And so in that sense, whatever the faults of the Roman empire – they had the competence to evolve new capabilities enabling the keeping of order and control.
Posted by: c1ue | Aug 20 2025 20:48 utc | 21
The parasites that conquered Russia in 1917 are now destroying Russia influence in her former sphere of influence. All western powers are gonna be replaced by China and ”israel’.
Posted by: dionysos deus | Aug 20 2025 20:56 utc | 22
@ c1ue | Aug 20 2025 20:48 utc | 21
thanks for sharing your take.. i am not sure.. maybe the 2 thoughts – empire verses capitalism – are intertwined, or maybe 1 is the result of the other, and etc.. how else does one explain trump wanting to take over greenland and having canada as the 51st state, if it is not expressed like a resource grab in late stage capitalism?? either way – it could be both happening simultaneously..
i think this idea of the rich getting richer and the poor poorer is still ongoing – a form of slavery essentially.. i would like to see an end to that..
Posted by: james | Aug 20 2025 21:25 utc | 23
As Rage against the Machine sang, “Know your enemy!”
Trump updates and the earliest moments of what I anticipate will be a political blitzkrieg.
The Dems (if they have any brains) will make Trump the most evil man that everyone who is a fence sitter, like suburban moms, will not be willing to vote Republican in the midterms. Normies won’t take a social risk if they think they could be voting for a “bad” person (true or not, that is why Judaic electoral slander works so well).
Epstein Victim Was Contestant in Donald Trump’s Teen Beauty Pageant
I don’t know how people didn’t make the teenage beauty pageants + Epstein connection much earlier. In retrospect, it seems obvious.
Trump once hosted party for ‘young women’ where Epstein was the only guest, says report
Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell survivor testified she met Donald Trump at age 14
I will make a prediction that is almost too easy. This will give the Republican establishment the ability to sink America First candidates before and during the primaries.
All of Trump’s Republican pals will get their knives out for a “Julius Cesar” moment. The smell of political blood in the water will energize everyone. Pro-Trump or not. It’s going to be a bloodbath.
Ironically, Israel and Epstein killed MAGA.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Aug 20 2025 21:44 utc | 24
LoveDonbass @ 24
DNC GOP doesn’t matter as long as they are doing the Deep State’s bidding, what makes you think Trump is not? Trump v.2 is very different from Trump V.1, this time around he’s not an outsider and usurper, he made amends, entered the White House fully vetted, team fully negotiated, fully aware and in accord with all the nefarious plans, the squabbling you see is only over application and timing among deep state factions, minor details.
Trump will be fine, the democrats will have to wait their designated turn in the kayfabe – the important thing is to not break stride:
https://hagadone.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/ARTICLE_306259990_H6_0_RCWZSACWXNNG_t1170.jpg?5cc718665ab672dba93d511ab4c682bb370e5f86
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Aug 20 2025 22:03 utc | 25