Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
January 7, 2026
Mafia Increases Activities

Both of these current news items about criminal U.S. behavior trigger the question “What are you going to do about it?”

RT.com

US military breached UN maritime convention – Russia

The Russian Transport Ministry has confirmed that the oil tanker ‘Marinera’ has been captured by the US military.

Earlier on Wednesday, the US European Command announced having taken possession of the ship, previously named the ‘Bella 1’, for alleged “violation of US sanctions.”

The tanker was boarded by US military personnel “in the high seas outside the territorial waters of any state,” and that “contact with the vessel was lost,” the Russian Transport Ministry has said.

“On December 24, 2025, the Marinera received a temporary permit to fly the Russian flag, issued in accordance with Russian and international law,” the ministry stated, adding that the attack on the vessel came in violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which ensures freedom of navigation in international waters.

AP:

Trump’s Energy Department outlines new policies for Venezuelan oil

The Trump administration is “selectively” removing sanctions to enable the shipping and sale of Venezuelan oil to markets worldwide, according to an outline of the policies published Wednesday by the Energy Department.

The oil sales are slated to begin immediately with the sale of 30 million to 50 million barrels from the South American country, and “will continue indefinitely,” the outline says.

Proceeds will settle in U.S. controlled accounts at “globally recognized banks” and then be disbursed to the U.S. and Venezuelan populations at the “discretion” of the Trump administration, it says.

If I were in Russia’s position I would look for valuable U.S. assets, at sea or elsewhere, to seize and hold hostage.

I do not know enough of Venezuela’s alliances and capabilities, but I not do see any other way out for it but to fight the pirates by all possible means.

Please comment with suggestions of other serious means of response.

Comments

Well, it appears that Russia is opting to pursue the legal route.
I think the issue may be regarding the reflagging at sea.

Posted by: jared | Jan 7 2026 17:05 utc | 1

Please comment with suggestions of other serious means of response.
Massive de-dollarisation. Now.

Posted by: ChatNPC | Jan 7 2026 17:06 utc | 2

An eye for an eye, and all that. Russia and China should launch a nuclear strike against as many US/Western targets as they can. This really is a case of enough is enough. Alternatively, sends the subs out into the Atlantic and sink every vessel that sails between the USA and Europe.

Posted by: PajamaPantz | Jan 7 2026 17:06 utc | 3

It is Putin’s flaccid approach to western aggression that has fueled all of this. 

Posted by: Maverick | Jan 7 2026 17:08 utc | 4

It’s nuke time without a shadow of a doubt 
a message HAS to be sent to these pirates on their own territory 

Posted by: Night Tripper | Jan 7 2026 17:10 utc | 5

Thanks for the posting b
 
Do you beat a bully by being a bully?  I see that as what Russia and China are trying to not to do…..not be bullies
 
Will they be successful?  I think they will and the RoW is seeing a form of social organization that they do not want to emulate….this is how the sausage of our social contract is going to change.  People need to develop a visceral hatred for the God Of Mammon cult and their jackboot of global private finance, property and inheritance.
 
Trump is doing a great job of facing dying empire and the fact that today is Orthodox Christmas should be noted as significant. Pope Bob and King Chuck are titular heads of the God Of Mammon cult and supportive of usury and Crusade like killings.
 
 
 
I am reading that Russia is removing all personnel from Occupied Palestine at this time…….welcome to our civilization war

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 7 2026 17:11 utc | 6

Russia has nuclear weapons to deter such behavior. It’s not working.I wonder how much longer Russia & China will put up with this?

Posted by: sirdavide | Jan 7 2026 17:12 utc | 7

With the raising of the issue of Greenland, I suspect that the US is trying to shift the discussion away from the topic of Venezuela – to the extent that is possible.

Posted by: jared | Jan 7 2026 17:13 utc | 8

Putin’s perpetual non-war in Ukraine is destabilising international law. Trump is consistently enforcing Putin’s evasiveness.Whether the Russians understand this remains to be seen.
Putin’s new weapons are being spared. Cubans are paying the price in Venezuela.

Posted by: Oberbayer | Jan 7 2026 17:15 utc | 9

Jolly Roger, wilco and out of their minds.

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 7 2026 17:16 utc | 10

Remember folk that the Epstein files are just a corner of the perfidy hidden by empire

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 7 2026 17:16 utc | 11

b, I agree. Fight the pirates. By any means necessary.

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 7 2026 17:17 utc | 12

We saw in Syria, if you dont fight back you and your family will be enslaved and your enslavers will glory in their rape and murder.  We saw the very same in Venezuela and now they move to Russia, the time has come for Russia to take the fight to Americans.  If the Americans only care about their money, then take the Americans’ money away and burn it in front of them.  Russia still hasn’t replied to the Americans attempted assassination of Putin and even Alastair Crooke claims that the Americans are now willing to casually threaten World War 3, Russia must reply in force, not at the UN, not in a diplomatic message, US assets must be destroyed and it must happen soon, within 72 hours, will that happen?  I have doubts 

Posted by: Kadath | Jan 7 2026 17:17 utc | 13

Oberbayer@1715:  Bayerische dumkopferi.  Zu viele jähren unter Romanische Militär und Kultur.

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 7 2026 17:17 utc | 14

b: Please comment with suggestions of other serious means of response.
 
Maritime trade traffic only travels in flotilla’s protected by Russian navy and allied ships. Very costly and many trade interrupts. To avoid comparative advantage of the US and EUnuchs, attack their trade ships in similar fashion. Iran has shown the way on multiple occasions.
Arm friendly belligerent nations with proper aerial defense to take down drones and other aerial assets as well as arm them with proper anti naval missiles. Iran’s military technology in Yemen was a nice demonstration which downed many Reaper drones and kept the US aircraft carrier very far from its shore and eventually forced it to seize hostilities and kindly ask permission for safe transit through the Red Sea.

Posted by: xor | Jan 7 2026 17:18 utc | 15

Sean Foo: ‘Fatal Mistake’
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCrOz89gYnI
 
“US oil war backfires as major US ally flips to China’s economy.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 7 2026 17:19 utc | 16

Please comment with suggestions of other serious means of response.
 
Posted by b at 17:02 utc | Comments (7)

 

 
Russia with China’s acquiescence could very easily make space unaccessible for a generation, courtesy of SpaceX.
 
Still, I think it is better just to allow the USA to continue to expend itself.  Perhaps lend them shovels so that the USA can find itself in a deeper hole.
 

Posted by: too scents | Jan 7 2026 17:20 utc | 17

All the benefits of the Slo-Mo are coming home to roost
 
Not instilling fear into to your enemy is a very costly mistakes and Russian tactics in ex-ukrainia have emboldened the “west”. Well, it’s water under the bridge now, you get one shot at these type of things.
 
Guess General Zhukov a Russian one off never to be repeated…huh?

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 7 2026 17:20 utc | 18

will Putin now act?
and if so, how?
and if not, why
and then, what?

Posted by: g wiltek | Jan 7 2026 17:21 utc | 19

Kadath@1717:  The ruling elite centered in City of London, Wall $treet, Basel and Rome are using the Di$trict of Corruption as a bludgeon in this act of piracy.  The thoroughly bribed and blackmailed Trumpeting Elephant is their microphone and general purpose expediter.  Those elite hangouts are virtually begging for Oreshnik visitations upon all four of their primary nodal points in the afore-mentioned centers.

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 7 2026 17:23 utc | 20

de-dollarization brings Peace

Posted by: exile | Jan 7 2026 17:24 utc | 21

Russia should sanction tankers carrying US LNG to Europe, seize them, and then swap them for all the oil tankers that the US has seized. If there’s no price to pay, Trump will keep probing.
 

Posted by: Dave G | Jan 7 2026 17:25 utc | 22

Multiple Oreshniks need to be launched tonight accross Western Europe 

Posted by: Night Tripper | Jan 7 2026 17:25 utc | 23

“Do you beat a bully by being a bully”? – Psychohistorian 6

Clearly, you don’t have much experience dealing with bullies.  You don’t beat a bully by acting like a pussy and your philosophical response is really hard for me to stomach.

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 7 2026 17:26 utc | 24

Russia stated there are Russian nationals on board and they want them released.
 
More significant, Ludkoil, sanctioned and confiscated, Russian  global assets are up for auction/bid today as Russia warned against this act of DJT.
 
Obvious global energy/oil war acerbated.
 
 I’m still most interested in Iran atm.
 
The “responses” seem to more economic than kinetic. 
Have to admit…. Russia/China/Iran s-t-r-e-c-h-i-n-g USA military assets costing multimillion’s chasing around oil tankers, moving and relocating  everywhere.  Just took a bunch of So Korean troops and threw them into the Philippines…
 
Dumping US dollars monthly….keep ‘em busy chasing squirrels while the real world moves on…
 

Posted by: Trubind1 | Jan 7 2026 17:26 utc | 25

For clarity this illegal action..which the US claims to be able to scale worldwide but of course anyone who knows the state of the IS navy knows that’s a boldface lie…is driven by desperation. Desperation as the short positions on precious metals thst were butressing the dollar begin to collapse and the end of the petrodollar appears on the horizon.
 
I dont think a lot is needed. Put armed Russian marines on some shipping and interdict American vessels if needed but the primary response should be China pulling the rug out from the US economy. They’ve been showing restraint as they didnt want to collapse the US but with this belligerence their choices are being removed. Foolish of the US but they dont care its the little people who will suffer.

Posted by: Doctor Eleven | Jan 7 2026 17:27 utc | 26

Looks like Pax Americana has revived it’s self post the beating it received in Afghanistan.
That and V.P. Delay and the generals have split $50 million amongst themselves. No other explanation is possible seeing the only fight was put up by Cuban soldiers. They were only one’s non-corruptable.
As for Chinese and Russian responses to pirating of thier ships and cargos; the Russians are owned by the same Pax Judea that operates Pax Americana. The Chinese on the other hand are traders and have have little they could do militarily. 
If only the Russians were wise enough to learn to bribe thier way into Kyiv instead of fighting. 
 

Posted by: Saag | Jan 7 2026 17:28 utc | 27

The US routinely violates every law of God and man.
 
What does anyone propose to do about it?

Posted by: Feral Finster | Jan 7 2026 17:28 utc | 28

Russia should consider going the Chinese route and start arming their merchant ships and staffing them with mercenaries. 
Chinese ships continue to evade the US blockade in the Caribbean (11 ships sailed through in the last week per Reuters).  

Posted by: Al | Jan 7 2026 17:28 utc | 29

Trump has descended in madness. Different to Dementia Joe – A fantasy world of American greatness and bluff.
 
Russia and China will now have to risk mutually assured destruction and call that bluff. Back to the WWII era of convoys with escorts, and those escorts willing to sink any American pirate that tries to attack.
 
Chess and poker are two different games. Trump is playing poker. The Americans do not hold any cards so now he is pulling a very high stakes bluff. Russia and China call him rather than throwing in their hands and the US will be screwed.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 7 2026 17:29 utc | 30

repost from prior thread;
 
Consequences: 

Gold has surpassed the US dollar to become the world’s largest central bank reserve asset. And so, quite simply, the dollar ceased to be the primary reserve asset. This was facilitated by the prolonged and systematic rise in gold prices due to worsening military and political instability. https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/10291021.html
 
Posted by: too scents | Jan 7 2026 16:58 utc | 633

Posted by: exile | Jan 7 2026 17:29 utc | 31

“Do you beat a bully by being a bully?”
 
Yes.

Posted by: Feral Finster | Jan 7 2026 17:30 utc | 32

for commenters in the core imperial countries, esp the US, it’s not a question of what OTHER countries do in response to Western global violence.
 
the public transportation sector of Washington DC could shut the US gov’t down in a matter of hours. sabotage the place, refuse to show up, everyone quit, watch the shitshow collapse on itself.
 
The Nazi US gov’t, NOT TRUMP, it’s the USG, just cut family support off for one million families. and not one of the victims will hear these words: Money isn’t real. 
 
Much less these words: get your classmates, walk out of school, go into the grocery store, all of you together, take anything you want, force the state to incarcerate every single one of you.
 
And expose all the adults for the cowards and base fawning slaves they are. The slaves who love war, because they hide their own cowardice and complicit obedience in the cries for NUKING the place. 
 
the other thing one might do: the churches could start marrying all the “illegals” to the “legals” and say, “this is your family now. HERE’S A GUN, HERE’S BULLETS. When ICE, you have the absolute right to defend what you love from these Nazi filth.”
 
oh, but they’d have to love something beside war, first…
 
the bees are dying. this was the question posed by a fucking Midsomer Murders episode I recently watched:
 
does homogenization or hybridization ensure vitality? the ruling class answer, and that of all you immigrant despising fascist clowns, is to homogenize the populace.
 
Aryanize the populace in preparation for its sacrifice upon the altars of capitalist war. In case you nationalist dickheads don’t realize this, the whole point of social homogenization is to create a “superbody” that exists solely for the ruling class to kill it, in war.
 
as for me, i’ve got too much of that fake disease covid to participate in the lies  of the US. “let me boast of my infirmities,” as Paul said. fucking Americans are too chickenshit even to say, with my favorite Christian Science musician, Isaac Hayes, “My heart’s on strike.”

Posted by: duck n cover | Jan 7 2026 17:32 utc | 33

 Major economic collapse of the U$$A and the EU appears to be accelerating exponentially.  The primary U$$A banking behemoths have got their panties in a twist.  They uniformly shorted silver in the markets and now they need to pay the price as they cannot fulfill margin calls.  China holds the bulk of physical silver.  Yes, a genuine monopoly by the heirs of Mao…if you can imagine THAT world turned upside down and inside out.
 
It is this looming financial calamity for the collective Waste which is undergirding these piratical outrages.  Their “think tanks” and suchlike full well know the history of creating a war in order to get those chestnuts outta the fire.  It’s a “Hail Mary” pass. Both China and Russia are holding a fistful of aces.  Likely they will employ them judiciously.

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 7 2026 17:32 utc | 34

Honestly, it reminds me a bit of the situation in 2008 when Georgia attacked South Ossetia: if Russia did not react then they would have looked weak and been dragged through the mud. When they did react, promptly as it was and with overwhelming force, the West went into overdrive and slandered them for being aggressive and brutal bullies etc. 
I would have thought that this event cannot not be allowed to slide, and that some reaction was needed that is public, forceful and unambiguous. But we can all see the risks. 
I listen to commentators that suggest the mood within Russia is darkening and becoming removed from the seemingly more mild approach that has been taken to date. And I understand that the SMO can hardly be considered mild in many respects…but here we are.
 

Posted by: Glossopteris | Jan 7 2026 17:33 utc | 35

In response to

“Do you beat a bully by being a bully”? – Psychohistorian 6

Clearly, you don’t have much experience dealing with bullies.  You don’t beat a bully by acting like a pussy and your philosophical response is really hard for me to stomach.
Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 7 2026 17:26 utc | 25

I was born with infancy trauma we now refer to as autism for some.  I was bullied all my life until I healed my traumatic brain injury and the infancy trauma that saved my life by turning my head into a brick so I could take that side mirror off that truck with the back of my head at highway speed.
 
reflect on what it says about you that you reject my philosophical approach……..

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 7 2026 17:33 utc | 36

not only but also
 
World News
US consortium moves on Russian oil giant’s overseas assets – FT
Published: 7 Jan 2026 | 15:10 GMT
Chevron and Quantum Capital Group are reportedly lining up a bid for sanctions-hit Lukoil’s $22 billion international operations

Lukoil’s tank storage is seen on November 15, 2025 in Brussels, Belgium. ©  Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

 
 
Two US majors, Chevron and Quantum Capital Group, are lining up a bid to take control of the international portfolio of sanctioned Russian oil giant Lukoil, with the administration of President Donald Trump signaling its support for the proposal, the Financial Times has reported.
Washington imposed sanctions on Russia’s second-biggest oil producer last October as part of its broader effort to pressure Moscow over the Ukraine conflict, forcing Lukoil to divest its overseas holdings worth $22 billion. Due to the sanctions, any transaction requires a specific license from the Treasury Department to proceed, with the clearance for negotiations extended until January 17.
Chevron and Quantum will bid for the whole portfolio of Lukoil’s international assets, FT wrote on Wednesday, which includes three European refineries, stakes in oil and gas fields in countries such as Iraq, Kazakhstan, several African nations, and Mexico, plus a retail network of over 2,000 fuel stations worldwide.
A senior US official welcomed the Quantum-Chevron proposal to the FT, stating, “We are looking for a divestment that places ownership of these assets into the hands of an American owner and operator ad infinitum.”
Other parties reportedly eyeing the assets include ExxonMobil, the Hungarian firm MOL, the Emirati International Holding Company, private equity major Carlyle, and Saudi Arabia’s Midad Energy. A previous offer from Swiss-based trader Gunvor Group collapsed in November after the US Treasury accused the firm of having Kremlin ties.
READ MORE: Ex-Pornhub owner looking to buy Russian oil giant’s Western assets – Reuters
Moscow has consistently condemned Western sanctions as politically motivated and illegal, warning they will backfire. Following the collapse of the Gunvor deal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the situation with Lukoil highlighted that “illegal trade restrictions” imposed by the US are “unacceptable and hurt international trade.”
 

Posted by: Jo | Jan 7 2026 17:33 utc | 37

Putin, IMO, does not answer the way the West wants precisely because he wants to deny them their so wished WWIII where to dilude their huge debt…
Russia and China could block the Pacific and declare it their ocean, as Trump has done it with the Atlantic…one guesses….and allow only vessels whose pavillion is from a law abiding country…that excludes the whole of Europe and the USA….
The Houthis could block the Gulf of Aden and the Bab El Mandeb Strait again…and allow only friendly decent vessesl through it….
The Iranians could block the Hormuz Strait and the Persian Gulf and allow only friendly vessels…whose countries of origins do not take part in fuelling protests and violent demonstrations inside their ocuntry
Spain could block the Gibraltar Strait and take it back from the Briton pirates, now that the Pirate Law is in full effect throughout the world..
It looks that there there is everything for grabs….and everybody with a pair can play this game….
We will end all injured, as in boxing,  for sure, but we will end the same way if doing nothing…I fear…thus at least give some punchs back….
P:S: the disarming of Europe through Ukraine War was highly likely thought for this very moment…

Posted by: Ghost of Mozgovoy | Jan 7 2026 17:36 utc | 38

Very simple actually. Just boycott US goods and services globally
 

Posted by: Michael J | Jan 7 2026 17:37 utc | 39

Easy to Monday Morning Quarterback what Russia/China/Iran woulda/coulda/shoulda done.  Clearly, Trump wants to escalate.  Giving him what he wants may not be the best course of action.
 
Rest assured that their leadership is taking notes and planning accordingly.  Revenge is best served cold, and may happen in ways that are not visible.  China announced that companies must halt orders for Nvidia H200 chips.  The timing does not seem to be coincidental.
 
 

Posted by: Ghost of Zanon | Jan 7 2026 17:37 utc | 40

Simple Simon@1726:  Where do you access your cranial intake?  Could it be transmitted via the nitely Boobtoob Noose?

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 7 2026 17:40 utc | 41

Psychohistorian 38,You’re living in a fantasy world, you “reflect” on that…disgusting.
 

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 7 2026 17:40 utc | 42

Test

Posted by: Test | Jan 7 2026 17:40 utc | 43

Just boycott US goods and services globally
 
Posted by: Michael J | Jan 7 2026 17:37 utc | 41
 

 
US services is a protection racket and hard to boycott without having your legs broken.
 

Posted by: too scents | Jan 7 2026 17:41 utc | 44

The mathematics of exponential demographic and economic growth on a finite planet have always been obvious.  The question of how it ends has never really been a question.  The late neolithic in both Africa and Eurasia ended with extinction of 90% of male Y haplotypes.  Essentially, when all of the good farmland had been claimed, genocidal conflicts erupted everywhere.  All living men are descendants of the winners.
Supposedly modern humanity is different, because we have electricity or some such nonsense.  All the evidence points to the contrary.

Posted by: Drifter | Jan 7 2026 17:42 utc | 45

The US is just throwing its toys out of the pram. Let them. They really don’t have many left.

Posted by: Default 0ptions | Jan 7 2026 17:43 utc | 46

Posted by: xor | Jan 7 2026 17:18 utc | 15 
 
Or:
Ensure that all ships carrying Russian cargo are properly registered as Russian, then declare that any interference with a Russian flagged ship will be treated as an act of war, and that any western warship trying to interfere will be sunk, and that any successful capture will lead to the same for a western ship.

Posted by: Jams O’Donnell | Jan 7 2026 17:47 utc | 47

It is a trap. The obvious response is what they want. Even if it seems like a no brainer – you can’t do it because it would be like them dictating your actions.

Posted by: Rae | Jan 7 2026 17:48 utc | 48

The UNITED STATES (run by Jews and their Mason puppets) is a criminal entity.
 
They now seize the vessels of others on the high seas.
 
They conducted a coup in 2014 but the Jew media has lied (by omission) about it for years.
 
Let’s start with the coup.
 
IN 2014 THE UNITED STATES CONDUCTED A COUP IN UKRAINE.
 
In 2014 the United States (aligned with a faction in the Ukrainian government) conducted a coup in Kiev (to replace the democratically elected Yanukovich government which was considered insufficiently pro-Europe).
 
Many in Eastern Ukraine rebelled against this coup-government.
 
A civil war began.
 
The coup-government claimed authority over all of Ukraine
 
and called itself “the Ukrainian government”.
 
The coup-government sent in the military to deal with the eastern rebels.
 
The media claimed, and still claims, that the U.S. backed coup-government had a “right” to all of Ukraine and they champion (vigorously support) a march to the Russian border.
 
WHAT IF THE RUSSIANS HAD CONDUCTED THE COUP IN 2014?
 
Imagine that in 2014 Russia (aligned with a faction in the Ukrainian government) conducted a coup in Kiev (to replace the Yanukovich government which many considered too pro-Europe).
 
Perhaps many in Western Ukraine rebelled against this coup-government.
 
A civil war began.
 
The coup-government claimed authority over all of Ukraine
 
and called itself “the Ukrainian government”.
 
The coup-government called in the Russian military to deal with the western rebels.
 
Of course, to be consistent, the media would have to claim that the Russian backed coup-government had a “right” to all of Ukraine and that they championed a march of the Russian military to the Polish border.
 
The important point is that statements such as “coup-Ukraine will not give up any of its land,” and “Zelenski Rejects Giving Land” make no sense.
 
This is because the coup-government, and its successors, never established authority over all of Ukraine.
 
WHAT IF THE CHINESE HAD CONDUCTED THE COUP IN 2014?
 
What if the Chinese (aligned with a leftist/communist faction in the Ukrainian government) had conducted a coup in Kiev. Would this give them authority over all of Ukraine?
 
What is the legal situation?
 
A few notes on the 2014 Coup in Ukraine.
 
About a month before the coup the US Under/Deputy Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, was taped telling US Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, why she wanted Arseniy Yatsenyuk to be the prime minister of the upcoming coup-government, rather than the boxer Vitali Klitschko who was apparently the favorite for the position.
 
The Russians released the tape to the internet. Some thought this would stop the coup going ahead.
 
However, the coup went ahead, Nuland’s order was carried out, and Yatsenyuk got the job of prime minister. Klitschko got the job of mayor of Kiev.
 
Everyone in sight (except possibly Tyahnybok) was a Jew but you are not allowed to call it a Jew coup.
 
You are allowed to call it a Nazi coup though.
 
All this led directly to the 2014 coup-Ukraine vs rebel-Ukraine civil war,
 
which led to the 2022 coup-Ukraine-NATO vs rebel-Ukraine-Russia war.
 
So here we are; the Jews get 80% of Ukraine with a coup. And they demand more.
 
And the Russians get 20% by war. Clearly, the Russians should get into the coup business.
 
And the Ukrainians get,…. killed in large numbers.

Posted by: John | Jan 7 2026 17:49 utc | 49

The piratical regime in the Di$trict of Corruption is desperate.  They appear to be pushing the envelope with no holds barred…excepting insane nuketivity.  Vulnerability for that entity are the 800+ military bases spattered all across the globe. Between submarines, surface ships, drones and missiles, a bevy of those bases could be “sanctioned”.  No ingress or egress. No fodder for their supply chain.
 
Sanctions is a double-edged sword.  They can work both ways.  China and Russia possess the wherewithal to disrupt the logistical chain for those scattered bases.  Those bases remind me of the Japanese-held islands during WWII.  The moves by Nimitz and MacArthur simply skipped over those redoubts, simply allowing them to wither on the vine.
 
Overestension of military bases invite consequences.

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 7 2026 17:50 utc | 50

China needs to step up.   They need to denounce this illegal action and announce sanctions on the US, starting immediately.
All Chinese ships going to the US need to turn around.  China needs to stop all shipping of commodities to the US. 
 
China has far more leverage than Russia over the US, and China is also being attacked with the seizure of Venezuela by the US.
 
They need to control their greed and stop selling to the USA.

Posted by: wagelaborer | Jan 7 2026 17:51 utc | 51

@Posted by: Glossopteris | Jan 7 2026 17:33 utc | 37
But, in Gerogia they played into their territory, just their border, thus logistics was not a problem…there the logistics problem they have it at NATO….
Now we are talking of the whole globe implied…
There is no other way than everyone doing its part, as I have pointed out above…

Posted by: Ghost of Mozgovoy | Jan 7 2026 17:51 utc | 52

the largest TB outbreak in the history of Kansas City is happening right now.
 
is there anything to do with a sick patient that refuses its only treatment, rest? except to let the patient die? (a zombie might demand more proactive measures than isolation, fer shur.)
 
what the fuck do you do with people who will insist the avian flu outbreak is fake, when RFKj publicly boasts about the mcnugget SUPERCHICKENS that can be deep fried after disease has culled the weaker brood?
 
nothing. they are already dead. they think nuking the place will liven them up a bit. i just qualified recently for the “over 55” super benefits that one gets at the local grocery store: 10% off on Wednesdays. what a depressing experience, to go to the store with a bunch of “adults” who are such sheep they think they are saving money, their every thought and action and gesture completely programmed, over a lifetime, by their perception of MONEY. why isn’t food included in the consumer price index? don’t ask. just be grateful for the “discount.” and watch “Extreme Couponing”  for survival tips.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=extreme+couponing

Posted by: duck n cover | Jan 7 2026 17:52 utc | 53

Simple Simon@1742:  Is your profound level of inanity innate…or have decades of programming split your synapses?

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 7 2026 17:52 utc | 54

My impression is that perhaps Russia has something substantial in process and they will not allow themselves to be distracted.
Well, that and it is Christmas.

Posted by: jared | Jan 7 2026 17:53 utc | 55

Russia should sanction tankers carrying US LNG to Europe, seize them, and then swap them for all the oil tankers that the US has seized. If there’s no price to pay, Trump will keep probing. 
Posted by: Dave G | Jan 7 2026 17:25 utc | 22
===========
 
That seems like a good idea. Seize a US-flagged tanker and then offer to trade it back for Russian-flagged tanker. Announce that this is the deal going forward. Except the next US seizure will result in the seizure of 2 US ships. Next time, 3 ships.
 
Seems to me like the person who needs to be kidnapped here is Rubio. Drop him in a parachute over Cuba.

Posted by: Jane | Jan 7 2026 17:54 utc | 56

Over the course of this century:

1) military teams with MANPADS in all non-western civilian ships;

2) Russia and China deploying their navy to Venezuela’s coast, and shooting anything that comes close to Venezuelan waters;

3) giving Cuba all the necessary weapons to exterminate all the pigs that are still occupying Guantanamo;

4) Iran developing nuclear weapons (and establishing a military alliance under nuclear umbrella of Russia+China+Pakistan) and doing to Telaviv and Haifa what the naZionists did do Gaza, if (when) “israel” strikes next against any country of the region;

5) Russian and Chinese agents making a “reverse Maidan” coup in Canada, taking Canada oit of NATO, and starting a “civil” war right next to USA’s border in the big lakes area;

6) use of tactical nuclear weapons (or weapons of mass destruction without radioactivity) against western “ukraine” (Lvov), make it inhabitable, create a refugee crisis in Poland, and completely stop any NATO delivery of weapons to Ukraine (because it will be physically impossible;

7) stop the SMO and declare war against Nazi Ukraine. Use the necessary means to seize Odessa and connect to Transnistria;

8) military blockade of Taiwan, nor just for days, but indefinitely. Blockade only stops when starving separatists surrender to Chinese military police to be judged for treason;

9) promoting separatism is Hawaii and Alaska, and provoke USA with warships and aircraft constantly entering territorial waters and airspace;

10) issue an ultimatum to Europe: stop supporting Nazis in Ukraine, and separatists in Taiwan, and fascists in Venezuela, and Mossad-aligned terrorists in Middle East, and also stop all sanctions against non-western countries, or the financial centers of the EU will be destroyed, NordStream style…

11) create a BRICS+ NATO, with the aim of expanding to ALL non-western countries, and declare the goal is to decolonize North America;

12) build a wall in Mexico’s northern border and state that it is to make sure that no pigs get out of the sty.

13) kidnapp Netanyahu, and sentence him to death in a court of any muslim country that has death penalty;

14) kidnapp Ivanka Trump, beat her, rape her, and start cutting pieces (fingers, ears) until the emperor accepts to get USA out of NATO, stop supporting naZionism, and accepts the separatism of Hawaii and Alaska and perhaps even Texas, etc.

15) develop BRICS space agency l, get a nation-killer asteroid, and send it on a collision course against Washington DC area, so that everything from Miami to Vermont is also damaged;

16) abolish UN, make a new “BRICS World Union”, with headquarters in reconstructed Palestine (now that “israel” no longer exists), and make a security council where not a single westenr country has veto rights;

17) forbid any trade in western currency.

18) consider USAtlanticism, EUropeanism, Globalism, Zionism, and NeoLiberalism, to be forbidden ideologies comparable to Nazism.

19) arrest western oligarchies known to have been central in western imperialism/aggression, seize all their property and assets, and distribute the money to poor countries that suffered western aggression: Cuba, Palestine, Venezuela, Iraq, Serbia, Lybia, Afghanistan, etc.

20) stop all energy and food supplies to Europe until Europe learns its place in the world.
Welcome each European country that 1000% accepts the new world order and also makes it mandatory for students to study Russian or Chinese instead of English at school.

21) help Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland to become free and independent;

22) forbid any religion that is based SOLELY on a nationalist racist interpretation of the misogynistic warmonger genocidal lunatic book called “Torah” aka “Old Testament”.

23) implementat a new world economic system based on cooperation and sharing, that leads to the end of inequality and is sustainable. For peopel6that don’t like the word “Socialism”, develop brain surgeries that can install intelligence where currently there is none…

24) develop a world government that puts everyone in the same military alliance (no matter how different the national governments and cultures are) and stop wars forever.

25) completely substitute fossile fuels with a nuclear energy, and late fusion energy.

26) erase any historical records aboit the existence of the once so called “USA”, in the same way they did to North American natives and Gaza.

Conclusion: the human creation “god” no longer needs to save us, because we saved ourselves!

Posted by: Nostradamus | Jan 7 2026 17:54 utc | 57

Russia gets hit from all sides.
 
-US consortium moves on Russian oil giant’s overseas assets – FT
Chevron and Quantum Capital Group are reportedly lining up a bid for sanctions-hit Lukoil’s $22 billion international operations –
 
https://www.rt.com/news/630701-us-consortium-bid-lukoil-assets/
 
 

Posted by: The Painter | Jan 7 2026 17:55 utc | 58

UK is complicit by militarily assisting with preplanned tactical support.On top of its Ukraine support supplying missiles intel and targeting intel to assist attackins within Russia.
 
Close USA and UK Embassies. Seize any properties diplomatic and commercial. Cease any “peace” negotiations. USA must be declared terrorist and if not ejected from U.N. Security Council that itself and its actions  must be declared unenforcable and null and void. Set up an emergency international  forum to invite intefested parties to enforce International war. Anyone not joining to be implicitly  stated as being partners supporting terrorism of USA. All trade Agreements  if any,  exports imports to be anulled and sanctioned , eg nuclear fuels. agricultural , industrial products, natural resources etc. 
 
“Incidental” point…does proposed USA ownership of Greenland infer that its “economic zone of interest” as so called by eg Baltics UK , could be so extended to create Exclusion zones for Chinese Russian shipping and any companies that ship for these countries??And these would be sanctioned too?

Posted by: Jo | Jan 7 2026 17:55 utc | 59

Posted by: Doctor Eleven | Jan 7 2026 17:27 utc | 28
 
Yes, the real target of the Venezuela farrago is China. China has invested heavily in Venezuela, and imported a lot of their oil. Trump thinks he has hi-jacked that, but China still has all the cards (they are, like most things, made in China), so we will have to wait for their response – they don’t rush into anything, but when they decide to act, that will be final. Rare Earths are still a problem for Yankeeland.

Posted by: Jams O’Donnell | Jan 7 2026 17:56 utc | 60

Might Makes Right.
 
Macht maak Recht.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jan 7 2026 17:57 utc | 61

“Do you beat a bully by being a bully?  
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 7 2026 17:11 utc | 6
 
Most bullies are stopped by the first punch they get in response to their bullying. Every school kid knows this. 

Posted by: The Painter | Jan 7 2026 17:57 utc | 62

Russia should blow up that tanker just as it is reaching the refinery in Mobile, Alabama or Texas. Surely they could target a missile on that ship.

Posted by: unimperator | Jan 7 2026 17:57 utc | 63

🇷🇺 🇮🇱 Departure of the Russian military plane from the airport of Tel Aviv
This is the third flight in the last 24 hours

Frankly, I think the Moscow chapter of Chabad Lubovitch has told Putin to stand down and let the New York chapter have its way …

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jan 7 2026 18:00 utc | 64

“Do you beat a bully by being a bully?  
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 7 2026 17:11 utc | 6 ”
 
Actually, yes. Speaking from experience.
 
It’s surprisingly effective.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jan 7 2026 18:01 utc | 65

There are a couple of issue here. Lurking in the background (foregrounded in some of the comments) is Trump personally. I still tend to think that he is decompensating after Butler, rather than dementia proper. It’s not clear that you can even speak of dementia proper without specifying which kind. Given that so many people are still trapped in delusions about magic drugs that can temporarily reverse any or all of the various causes, as opposed to general feebleness due to age and ill health (such as Parkinson’s) in persons never distinguished for their intellects, it’s unlikely we will see much sensible discussion on that. 
 
As to the advice to the Russian government, I’m not being paid by them. As I see it the US has responded to Ukraine’s loss of any possible path to victory in their theater by further expanding the war on Russia. Russia has never done much to counter or respond to such assaults (Nordstream and the attack on Russian nuclear assets in particular.) And I can’t see that changing. So I’m doubly motivated not to advise them. 
 
PRC might find implications in this but as I see it PRC is very weak politically. Their capitalist sphere still depends a lot on export markets. And though their domestic consumption is highly important and continually expanding, it still is nowhere near the kind of financialization found in imperialist so-called consumer markets. (I consider real estate mortgages, auto loans and credit card accounts to be finance capital, a large portion of which is fictitious. This keeps the crisis of deflation at bay at the cost of limiting growth in the longer run I think.) So I can’t see PRC as decisive enough to cooperate with even other socialist countries, much less mere fellow victims of imperialism. 
 
For the rest of us, the only long term advice I can think of right now is, no more excuses for Trump. Indeed no more pretending Trump is some sort of lesser evil than Democrats. They’re terrible, most of all because they are so much like Trump. Never because they are so anti-Trump. If you must hate Democrats, console yourself that if you are resolutely anti-Trump, that means you are not  a Democrat!

Posted by: steven t johnson | Jan 7 2026 18:02 utc | 66

You make them pay when you could. Venezuela surrendered and if they object what holds them to drone kill their leaders? It’s their oil, protect it, fight the naval blockade. Land invasion? US will pay a very high price. But you already lost that battle.
 
Russia could have mercenaries or militia under his control. They could have taken down helicopters. How would Trump look by invading Venezuela and getting Maduro plus dozens of body bags? You make Trump pay. But you already lost that battle.
 
Ukraine is a farce. Should have shot down a surveillance drone over the Black Sea long ago. But you already lost that battle, only left is to win the war and take Ukraine. Why? They are already mocking you with the idea of sending NATO troops. It becomes pathetic.
 
Iran is important for China. Lose Iran, lose oil. After the 12 day war I said Iran should reform and meet citizens demands as a reward. Look where we are now. Maybe too late? Announce referendum about the topics of protester, they decide what they want for their country, this could end the protest now.
China need to wake up. If doesn’t want to lose oil it should put it’s foot down in Iran. But both are idiots.
Russia should sanction western ships connected to Ukraine and just take it. Trump has been pissing Putin’s shins. Attack on Russian civilians, nuclear triad, Putin himself, fake negations. Don’t expect anything from the weak west, but BRICS could start sanctioning the US. 
China stops  exports to Japan and demand to cut off ties with the US? There’s only one power that can stand up. Who would trade with China when they get bombs and no protection? US is making it look bad, there are opportunities in BRICS but you have to arm them to the teeth. Trump is one mistake away from unleashing war.

Posted by: Isidoor | Jan 7 2026 18:03 utc | 67

This is clearly a provocation towards war with Russia, but the power structure is such that although Russia and China have options to respond to U.S. and Israel’s aggression, they don’t.  That has not changed since  the U.S. destroyed Syria, Hezbollah or Iran discontinued their successful military response just as Israel was on the brink of disaster, or Russia decided to withdraw, when they were on the doorstep of Kiev, a month after the Ukrainian war started.The U.S. regime understands this and they humiliate Russia whenever they want.   The question is not whether Russia or China have a means to respond, strategically and in such a way as to not the question is why they accept the humiliation, which will only lead to further disgrace, time and time again.

Posted by: Deniz | Jan 7 2026 18:03 utc | 68

Posted by: John | Jan 7 2026 17:49 utc | 52
 
For f***’s sake get a new script – you are boring everyone with old news.

Posted by: Jams O’Donnell | Jan 7 2026 18:04 utc | 69

with BP and Shell heading in the authors of the agenda become clearer.  

Posted by: Not Ewe | Jan 7 2026 18:04 utc | 70

“Do you beat a bully by being a bully”? – Psychohistorian 6

Clearly, you don’t have much experience dealing with bullies.  You don’t beat a bully by acting like a pussy and your philosophical response is really hard for me to stomach.
Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 7 2026 17:26 utc | 25
=======
 
Gotta say, I agree.
Challenging and stopping a bully is NOT BEING A BULLY, duh. 
Psycho ain’t the man I would want to have around when trouble looms.
 
Seems to me the SMO was in fact Russia’s response to NATO bullying.
 
Perhaps Putin should try the Trump trick on The Donald, namely, give him a time deadline to release the ship, after which he’ll be “really, really sorry,” but leave unstated what the retribution will be. Trump has to be made personally accountable for whatever retaliatory action Russia takes and any resulting loss of life.
 
 

Posted by: Jane | Jan 7 2026 18:04 utc | 71

I still maintain that trade in USD whether in oil or in bonds is a form of betrayal. Kindness towards one’s enemies is cruelty to oneself. 
Propping up the dollar ensures that the US economy never has to face an actual reckoning with reality and can persist on virtual resources for what seems like an indefinite period.

Posted by: PlatonicRorty | Jan 7 2026 18:05 utc | 72

Russia cant stand to USA.

Posted by: Fer | Jan 7 2026 18:06 utc | 73

Posted by: Jane | Jan 7 2026 17:54 utc | 59
 
Why bother with the parachute, or even going as far as Cuba – 20,000 feet over Washington would do.

Posted by: Jams O’Donnell | Jan 7 2026 18:07 utc | 74

So many emotional responses.
 
Has no one seen a Clint Eastwood movie?
 
Real tough guy don’t talk. When they act, the fight is over.
 
Everything is going exactly to plan.
 
The hole Trump has dug is becoming a grave.
 
This is playing out excellently, IMO.
 
When it’s done (this episode), the US will have exposed it all to everyone. No more childish delusions.
 
The death of innocence.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 7 2026 18:07 utc | 75

“Very simple actually. Just boycott US goods and services globally 
Posted by: Michael J | Jan 7 2026 17:37 utc | 41
 
Ostracization is obvious and simple yet countries just cant see.

Posted by: The Painter | Jan 7 2026 18:07 utc | 76

Regarding the notion that punching a bully stops the bully? I did that. The guy nearly knocked me out that day. Then after that he would still harass me but always ran away (literally) from me after every aggravation! He thought that was quite funny and laughed and laughed. I know personal experience seems irrefutable but sorry no, personal psychology does not rule government or society or markets. You can’t reduce it all to personal intentions and your particular version of rational. That guy knew I’d fight him even if I lost, didn’t make any real difference. (And looking back I rather suspect the way he’d hassle me then run was very amusing, the real reason for going to school.) 

Posted by: steven t johnson | Jan 7 2026 18:07 utc | 77

All Under Heaven is a poster I miss.
it is clear there is a provocation cycle goading China and Russia to do something foolish.
Nearly all the pumped up ideas for military response on this forum are misguided.
China knows the game. If they confront the U.S., the entire Western world will fall in line to effect another “Yellow Peril” alert and try to isolate and bring China to its knees.
China knows this. It sees what has happened to Russia. It won’t go down that route because it has a population to shepherd to stated goals. 
The world should watch because this isn’t about bullying or being meek. Russia I have always said want to be part of the big club. China knows it will never be. 
That is the weakness of Russia. That is the strength of China. 

Posted by: Shango | Jan 7 2026 18:08 utc | 78

“Revenge is best served cold, and may happen in ways that are not visible.   
Posted by: Ghost of Zanon | Jan 7 2026 17:37 utc | 42
 
Blah, blah, blah, another worn out trope. The time for action is now. 

Posted by: The Painter | Jan 7 2026 18:09 utc | 79

Look, Russia begged for this treatment
 
After a brilliant opening feint that scared the pants off Galicia’s Waffen SS, the Russians withdrew across the board instead of selectively reinforcing sectors that flanked the protective belts.  Then, all ex-ukrainia’s defensive belts had to be re-fought linearly.  Never and I mean never, reinforcing a Russian troops break though with reserve troops. Then choosing not to destroy resupply infrastructure…all rails, tunnels, bridges, electrical plants, transfer station, sewage and water treatment..etc.  I could hear the English/angliphiliacs running this war laughing at their good luck..they could fight this kind of war for a very long time without losing anything important. 
 
Then not bringing the war to a conclusion and handing Trump a fate-acompli which he could have blamed on Biden/Obama/Hillary…the list goes on and on and on.  Okay, now the bill for not instill fear into the “collective-west”, maybe we should pass the hat MOA since many here thought these mistakes were 5th Dimensional chess…and hey, they might have been, who knows, who cares…it failed miserably.
 
At this point Russia can’t worry about the US’s counter moves in places it lacks the power to project it’s forces, so stop with the fantasies.  Either a nation intimidates others or it doesn’t.  What Russia can do is take the BSC in it’s entirely to Transnistria all the way to the Hungarian/Slovak Border, destroy the US “peace” in Azerbaijan and secure that coast to Iran, bring/dig-in all the artillery/AA needed to protect the Kaliningrad enclave…both sides of the divide.

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 7 2026 18:10 utc | 80

Is it instructive that the usual suspects are bemoaning the Russian lack of immediate response? A provocation should be well considered before you reply. Interesting that even years after shadowbanned finally fucked off, that this is still the Western great hope, to bait Russia into some overreaction to try to justify larger action. Its like they haven’t noticed the Western ability to respond has gotten weaker and weaker, like the petrodollar. I no longer believe the dollar will survive Trumps term and perhaps not 2026. Silver seems to have been the first outpost overrun, but as I have repeatedly said, the decline is inevitable. the US should have worked with China for a soft landing, but the US are utterly beholden to the international capital faction. So who knows what happens next? Certainly not the shitheel bankers.

Posted by: Doctor Eleven | Jan 7 2026 18:10 utc | 81

Russia  World cant stand to USA.
Posted by: Fer | Jan 7 2026 18:06 utc | 76
FIFY 🙂

Posted by: Hiro Masamune | Jan 7 2026 18:12 utc | 82

Hegseth has certainly created a Department of War.What will happen to the ships…any insurance…will be sold or scrapped …just held as hostage or be reflagged to USA?Can U.N. declare all vessels seized to be under a Protectorate of some kind considering international maritime law is broken?
How can USA Federal.Law be judicially pplicable to International Maritime Law and ships in International waters 

Posted by: Jo | Jan 7 2026 18:12 utc | 83

Well, Italian dockworkers did go on strike re: shipments to Israel.
Strikes are in general a good method.
The problem for serious insurgency as applied by the Spanish under French rule in early 19th century or during the 1930s Spanish Civil War – where however the popular forces formed the actual government – is the lack of a substantial ally – during Napoleon it was Wellington, later the Russians. But, as Mark Sleboda and Andrei Martyanov have argued, neither RU nor CHINA are willing to go to WWIII over the Western Hemisphere nowadays.
The nuclear age can create gridlock´s situations.
(Okay, maybe non-nuclear systems like Oreshnik can upset the established rules and force the aggressor to reconsider. But then how do you preempt CIA maneuvers like this latest one?).
On the other hand I do wonder about the long-term planning in RU/CHINA. Since both countries´ intel services must have known what was hitting Venezuela. And they must have plans laid out for the aftermath (especially China and the oil issue.) So what are their assumptions (re: US overstretch).
Also the question over a serious military alliance in South America arises. Whether or not it makes sense to address the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in some extended ad hoc format I dunno. But as much as cross-border solidarity once was part and parcel of the Non-Aligned, the Bandung  processes, and in general insurgency “culture” – in recent decades it had been almost entirely abandoned and thus needs to be reinvigorated. 
The problem could be observed with Mamdani´s speeches and the Left in general:
Use of force and armed resistance in the name of progressive political goals has become anathema. All the while rightwing is stepping up its own use of force simply under disguise of pseudo-legitimacy built around national governments and normative powers. It´s all insane double standard! (think the new idiotism re: “antifa” dangers.)
But that national foundation obviously is fraught with fakers, dishonesty and manipulation of the very legal proceedings leading to the normative decisions – or does the US population really agree with POTUS? I don´t think so.
Of course this all leads to the question of UN SC. How does the world stop a rogue nuclear superpower without blowing up the world?

Posted by: AG | Jan 7 2026 18:14 utc | 84

Let’s post the gold and silver yield curves shall we? Overlay them with US treasury rates historically. Do the math its not fucking magic. And this, kiddos, is why the US is acting like a drunken pirate and shouting how tough it is while stuidously avoiding intervention in Ukraine.. I mean if the US was so fearless and strong, theyd deploy to Ukraine right?  Save their proxy…and the dollar? No? No takers?

Posted by: Doctor Eleven | Jan 7 2026 18:16 utc | 85

US Seizes Russian Tanker
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ArwUD6vOQc
 
“The Gaggle with Peter and George.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 7 2026 18:19 utc | 86

It is a trap.
Posted by: Rae | Jan 7 2026 17:48 utc | 51
 
No it’s not a trap. It’s a probe to see how far it can go. It will go further until it either gets stopped (likely violently) or has its way: OWN EVERYTHING.
And I guess Narco Rubio’s words (Rubio On Multipolarity) didn’t age well.
 
Ensure that all ships carrying Russian cargo are properly registered as Russian
Posted by: Jams O’Donnell | Jan 7 2026 17:47 utc | 50
 
Well euhm, let me just repost what I posted earlier today about what happened earlier this year:
1 Russian ship was sunk near Gibraltar as it was on it’s way to Vladivostok
About 3 were hit with limpet mines
A couple damaged near Turkey with BEC’s
2 or 3 boarded in/near the Baltics/Atlantic (latest was carrying steel and boarded by Finland, earlier France, Germany)
 
(And before anybody says “Medvedev should be in charge”, Medvedev is the (failed) president that let Libya happen by abstaining in the UNSC while it still almost mattered and got 2 Mistral contracts as a reward that were never delivered. Putin will find I way. If he seemingly does nothing, it must mean there is no alternative, just yet.)

Posted by: xor | Jan 7 2026 18:20 utc | 87

btw a nice quote from almost 4 years ago:
Noam Chomsky and Bill Fletcher Jr. in discussion
Fletcher doesn´t understand what the problem with the US is. He wants to know what it is he doesn´t see.
And Chomsky bluntly states it: The US is a rogue state the EU is simply afraid of. And this was re: the botched Minsk process. An eternity ago.
Noam Chomsky: A Left response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
“World-renowned linguist and analyst Noam Chomsky speaks with activist Bill Fletcher, Jr. about the geopolitical stakes of the war in Ukraine and how the left must respond.”
 

by Bill Fletcher, Jr. April 8, 2022

See TC: 29:20 min.+ Fletcher asking Chomsky: “What am I missing”
https://therealnews.com/noam-chomsky-a-left-response-to-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine

Posted by: AG | Jan 7 2026 18:21 utc | 88

Arch Bungle@67…..succinct…
 
Cheers M 

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Jan 7 2026 18:22 utc | 89

The oil sales are slated to begin immediately with the sale of 30 million to 50 million barrels from the South American country, and “will continue indefinitely,” the outline says.

But with the VZ government in place, how is this supposed to work?

Posted by: Norwegian | Jan 7 2026 18:22 utc | 90

China could enforce a complete embargo of its rare earths and other vital material such as graphite towards the US. It worked already.
Russia must stop any sale of enriched uranium to the US starting from now without warning.
And both must protect their ships with military personnel and AA artillery on board.
Since it is not normal that Russia and China import oil from a continent far away, it should also not be normal the US to be present in Taiwan and even to purchase electronic chips. China should hence control the flow of this material to countries that have nothing to do in this area, including by seizing those ships not complying.
 

Posted by: scc | Jan 7 2026 18:23 utc | 91

ICE agent fatally shoots woman in Minneapolis. Trump’s America 2026, one week in. 

Posted by: Princess Bodica | Jan 7 2026 18:24 utc | 92

The intended target for the American illegal seizure of the tanker is China and not Russia. The Chinese demand for oil is unable to be met by Russia and this is the reason why China has invested so heavily in Venezuela. It is deprive China of Venezuelan oil.
That being the case, China should stiffen its embargoes on the rare earths and other materials that it supplies to the USA and which is essential for US weapons manufacturers.  So it is China not Russia who should provide the response. 

Posted by: Vragtes | Jan 7 2026 18:24 utc | 93

All of the predictable, usual “agents” who cannot understand what is happening are offering the most retarded responses.
 
America is in no better shape in any tangible dimension today than it was 2 weeks ago. So why are people losing their minds right now?
 
Game your responses out. Just one step. What is the second-order effect of Russia doing “X”?
 
In Chess, you don’t make a move until you can understand what the response is likely to be, and thus your move after that. You cannot play the game to win by tit for tat or always reacting to your opponent. You have to steer them down a path that leads to their defeat. Make them participants in their self-destruction. Make them do the heavy lifting.
 
So many are talking violence for violence’s sake. Really, really dumb and childish. Violence never brings order. Stability brings order.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 7 2026 18:24 utc | 94

@Posted by: Nostradamus | Jan 7 2026 17:54 utc | 60
The thing is that all these measures, at this point of the film, do not sound to me exagerated at all, but just tit for tao for what the anglozionists have done to the peoples of this world…
I have missed destroying all US sources of cheap energy like they did to Europe, thus, provoking the destruction of its remaining industry in return…could be a 26 measure…may be….just tit for tat…
And that about Ivanka, btw, is just what his father did to the non-ISIS Syrian women by impossing Al Julani´s hordes rule there….
They take the advantage of being asured we are not able of reciprocating just the same way they do…

Posted by: Ghost of Mozgovoy | Jan 7 2026 18:25 utc | 95

Why Are US Ghostrider Gunships Landing in the UK?
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1_HNY5LzkFI

Posted by: PassionateProgressiv | Jan 7 2026 18:25 utc | 96

war essentially… that is what the bankers – wall st, city of london and their compliant politicians in the usa-uk-israel and etc – are asking.. they are asking for war… 
 
it’s a long time coming, but as the financial grip tightens, or worsens for these same ‘might makes right’ players, the pressure mounts for a resolution…  obviously the UN and international law doesn’t work with these cretins…
 
thanks b.. 

Posted by: james | Jan 7 2026 18:26 utc | 97

Posted by: Vragtes | Jan 7 2026 18:24 utc | 97
 
#####
 
China is not stupid and has accumulated massive oil reserves. Venezuela provides only 4% of Chinese oil imports.
 
China also generates surplus energy. They are diversified.
 
If this is about China, this is about the global reserve currency, which, based on gold prices at the moment, the US has already lost.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 7 2026 18:27 utc | 98

Andrei A. Gromyko 
“The influence of diplomacy without the military potential of a state is equal to the price of the ink with which treaties are written”.

Posted by: Harold Wilson | Jan 7 2026 18:28 utc | 99

If Russia and China are forced to take their navies out into open waters to protect their merchant fleet that’s a lot less vessels protecting their coasts, Russia has a lot of coast. Russia’s and China’s navies are defensive not offensive, the USA might want exactly that, to draw Russia’s navy away from Russia, China the same.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Jan 7 2026 18:29 utc | 100