What is the choice in 2024?

 

 

Glenn Greenwald 

African people rejecting western colonization

 

Wongel Zelalem

 

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally published by ZeroHedge

Last week’s coup in Niger is already fast becoming an internationalized conflict situation, as the West African nation’s former colonial ruler France has denounced and condemned the junta—while urging that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum be immediately reinstated. Coup supporters are now attacking diplomatic locations and French interests, including the French embassy in the capital of Niamey.

Bazoum is reportedly in good health following the harrowing events days ago when he was taken captive by his own presidential guard. 

Interestingly, the very rationale of those who overthrew his democratically elected government (merely two years in) centers on geopolitical matters: growing jihadi violence has become a major issue and he’s been severely criticized for failing to secure the nation and the safety of the population. But others say that’s just a pretext for what was an internal power struggle and military machinations. Currently, there are emerging reports in Mideast-Africa regional sources that Niger (under the junta) has suspended all exports of uranium and gold to France. FT is confirming:

    The junta has continued to step up anti-French rhetoric. It announced it was suspending the export of uranium to France with immediate effect. Niger is the world’s seventh-largest producer of Uranium and France, which relies on nuclear energy for 75 per cent of its power, is a significant importer.

 

There are already widespread allegations of direct French military intervention being imminent, after on Friday the head of the presidential guards unit Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani declared himself Niger’s new ruler of the country.

France has asserted it will only recognize the only legitimate authority as Bazoum, whose precise whereabouts remain unknown —though he has just met with the leader of Chad, who is reportedly trying to mediate.

France and the now-ruling military have exchanged threats and warnings, amid claims that the now ousted government has been encouraging French strikes against the presidential palace and coup leaders.

Protest at BIW destroyer 'christening' - arsenal of hypocrisy

 

Click on the photos for better view

 

Yesterday 23 activists from around the state gathered on very short notice to protest at another Aegis destroyer 'christening' at Bath Iron Works (owned by General Dynamics) here in Maine.

In the past the event was open to the public with weeks advance notification. But after  a series of large protests and several high profile civil resistance actions things have changed.

In current times there are only a few days notice and attendance is by invitation only. The past long lines of the general public wishing to enter are over.

These destroyers are outfitted with nuclear-capable Tomahawk cruise missiles as well as so-called 'missiles defense' systems. The MD interceptors are key elements in Pentagon first-strike attack planning. After the first-strike cruise missiles are launched against Russia and China (regularly war gamed by the Pentagon) both Russia and China would launch their remaining nuclear retaliatory capability. It is then that the MD shield would be used to theoretically pick off those responses. 

Currently there are 6-7 of these Aegis destroyers being built at BIW and will be sent near to Russian and Chinese coasts.

Russia and China have a 'no first use policy' while the US refuses to make such a commitment.

Most of those attending the 'christening' had to drive by our peace vigil and they parked in the lot right next to where we were standing.

The Portland Press Herald covered the event and much to our surprise interviewed Mary Beth Sullivan about the protest. Usually we get virtually no mainstream media coverage at these events.

 “The money should be going to human needs in our own community,” Sullivan, a social worker, said. “We could be building solar panels or windmills. There’s so many other projects we could be building if only we had a different mindset. There’s so much profit in war.”

Destroyers today cost roughly $2 billion to build.

Maine's congressional delegation showed up as usual and Sen. Angus King (I-ME) was quoted saying: 

“There are people who say we shouldn’t spend so much money on defense and we shouldn’t build these ships,” King told the crowd. “The problem is there is evil and aggression in the world. If there’s any doubt of that: Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The whole purpose of building this ship is notifying our adversaries … we have the capacity to punish them if they commit an act of aggression against the United States or its allies.

“We are building these ships so they will never have to be used.”

Warmonger Sen. King misrepresents where the real aggression in the world is coming from. It is the US that spends more money on the military than the next 10 nations combined. The US is currently occupying Syria and stealing their oil and wheat. It is Washington that is leading the war against Russia using Ukraine as the hammer. It is the US that is now arming Taiwan to use that nation as a trigger for war against China.

The US is building an arsenal of hypocrisy. 

See the post about this same event by Lisa Savage here

Bruce

Sunday song

 

Ritter impressive interview with Polish journalist

 

 

Through the eyes of

Skepticism is healthy

 

Carl Sagan speaking in 1996


We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science and technology. And this combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces. Who is running the science and technology in a democracy if the people don’t know anything about it? …

Science is more than a body of knowledge, it’s a way of thinking. A way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine understanding of human fallibility. If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us that something is true, to be skeptical of those in authority, then we’re up for grabs for the next charlatan, political or religious, who comes ambling along. 

Alternatives to the collapsed Black Sea Grain Initiative

 

 
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov on the grain deal

“The US and other Western countries are making mistake after mistake. In general, their path in recent years is a path of mistakes and suffering… the inability to combine their ambitions, their arrogant expectation that everyone around them should obey them, and what they see in practice. Well, someone once used the expression ‘impotent rage’ to describe this situation, I don’t want to use this kind of cliche but the facts remain facts, we’re dealing with a deep foreign policy imbalance; this is something that could be described in terminology as a dangerous mixture of megalomania with an inferiority complex.

Our firm position on what led to the collapse of the agreement of last year and caused the impossibility of continuing that part of these agreements was stated by the Russian foreign ministry. We had warned the UN and their leadership as well as our foreign partners about this for many months; this goes to demonstrate their inability to fulfill their part of the agreement; this is another manifestation of the chronic incompetence of the collective West and its habit of always trying to play the same game; this will not happen, they need to understand this. As for mining the ports, they will invent any story so that gullible readers and viewers and listeners consume and perceive all this uncritically; this is done to continue forming the image of Russia as an enemy; we oppose this with a confident course…

I assure you, that our position in terms of helping those in need is radically different from the selfish and so contemptuously arrogant-to-their-own-needs position of the European Union itself… I don’t want to delve into the economic aspects of all this, but the political aspect boils down to the fact that we will help those in need and we will find ways to do it with grain and fertilizers and we will not be hindered in this regard."

Shared by David Occhiuto
NYC  

~ From the Russia-Africa summit 2023 in St. Petersburg.  See interview with Zambian Socialist Party president Fred M'membe here

~  The Russian government has written off over $20 billion of debt historically owed by African nations, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, speaking at a plenary session of the Russia-Africa forum in St. Petersburg.

“The total amount of debt of the African countries written off by Russia amounts to $23 billion dollars with another $90 million to be allocated for the same purposes,” Putin stated, with reference to historical trade and finance links between Moscow and Africa.

On Thursday, the president said Russia would provide hard-pressed countries on the continent with free grain. Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somali, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea will each receive between 25,000 and 50,000 tons of grain, while Moscow will cover the delivery costs of the shipments.

Unraveling the Ukraine-U.S. corruption ring

 

Former Ukrainian government official and diplomat Andrii Telizhenko joins Aaron Maté to discuss how, in his view, powerful US figures including Joe Biden have used Ukraine for personal corruption and the geopolitical aim of bleeding Russia -- all to the detriment of Ukrainians.
 
Telizhenko worked for the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office in Kyiv before moving to Ukraine's US Embassy in 2015. He went on to work for Blue Star Strategies, a Democrat-run lobbying firm that  represented Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company that appointed Biden’s son Hunter to a lucrative board seat. 

Telizhenko, who cooperated with Rudy Giuliani's effort to dig up information about the Bidens' alleged corruption in Ukraine, has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for "having directly or indirectly engaged in, sponsored, concealed, or otherwise been complicit in foreign influence in a United States election."

Guest: Andrii Telizhenko. Political consultant who was previously a Ukrainian government official and diplomat.

Declaration of Pan-Cyprian Mobilization for the Freedom of Cyprus

 

20.07.2023 – Today, on the 49th Anniversary of the Turkish invasion, 49 citizens of the Republic of Cyprus from both the occupied and the free areas, are publishing a declaration that aims to become a point of reference for the solution to the Cyprus issue.

We propose a solution based on the European acquis communautaire and the Charter of the United Nations, which define internationally accepted democratic norms within which normal states operate.

Declaration of Pan-Cyprian Mobilization for the Freedom of Cyprus

We hereby declare our unwavering commitment to the struggle for the freedom of Cyprus and we stand united in the pursuit of a just and sustainable solution.

We consider and ascertain the following:

• The Cyprus problem has its roots in Turkey’s expansionism and is perpetuated by its intransigence. It has resulted in military occupation and demographic alteration due to forced displacement of Cypriots and settler colonization.
• Turkey’s strategic goal is the control of the whole of Cyprus. An apartheid-style arrangement with two constituent states, with political equality and separate sovereignty, which would facilitate Turkey in this pursuit.
• A sustainable and just solution can be achieved through the will of Cypriots; no power or international organization is going to grant it to us or help us ensure it.

We aim for the following:

• The withdrawal of all Turkish troops and settlers from the territories of the Republic of Cyprus, the consolidation of the Republic of Cyprus’ sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, as well as the removal of all foreign troops and military bases on the island.
• Ensuring the right and the conditions of safe return of all displaced persons.
• Promoting the peaceful coexistence of all citizens of the Republic of Cyprus and emphasizing the unity of society, the economy, and the institutions of state power throughout its territory. The guarantee for this can efficiently be ensured via the membership of Cyprus in the European Union.
• A future where all citizens will have the freedom to settle and move throughout Cyprus, have the right to work in any desired sector and exercise property rights, and enjoy the democratic freedoms of electing and being elected based on the democratic principle of “one person, one vote.”
• Ensuring the continuation of the Republic of Cyprus, based on a political system that operates within the framework of modern pluralistic democracy, within the European Union, in order to achieve a fair, functional, and sustainable solution.

 

In our pursuit of saving and liberating our homeland by achieving a comprehensive solution, we propose and support:

• Pan-Cyprian unity and solidarity.
• Development of a multi-level and multi-dimensional foreign policy to forge strategic alliances with neighboring and other states based on common interests.
• Working through international and European mechanisms to implement measures against Turkey while the occupation is lasting.
• Initiating a global boycott and sanction campaign against Turkey for its war crimes and violations of human rights in Cyprus.

We, the signatories of this initiative, share the vision outlined in this Declaration. We categorically reject any so-called solution that include partition, two states, or any other arrangement with a geographical separation of Cypriots based on ethnic origin, such as a confederation or a bi-zonal bi-communal federation (BBF) which, with the separatist provisions will inevitably lead to two states. We strongly support a fully independent, truly democratic, and unitary Republic of Cyprus.

Really good radio show host

 

Gagnon part of the interview comes at 19:20

Tell your momma, tell your pa

 

From an artist named Gagnon. Don't know the rest of the story. It's a spot on the Canadian coast.

It's a hard time ahead,

most of us afraid,

depressed,

furious, motivated,

but lost in the shuffle.

 

Elections ain't

gonna help,

nor will,

many 'liberal institutions' that swear loyalty 

to Mr. Big.

 

People with heavy

stock investments

will likely stay quiet.

 

Don't we know 

it's time to get on-board?

Truth train.

Needed more than ever.

Lift every voice.

 

Having to face, 

at the same moment,

our present reality and the need for serious public action,

many find it hard

to join hands.

 

But we are older

and maybe a bit wiser now.

 

We know our lives are meaningless

unless connected to our 

ancestral generations 

who fought their way

thru wars, plagues, famine,

droughts, earthquakes, floods and

cold nights.

Their hard lives brought us here today.

Their spirit is inside

all of us.

 

We,

in our relative luxury,

complain when we have to answer the door.

Some accept the grim reaper. 

Many have given up hope.

Witness the current difficulty

of building a revolution.

 

We must protect the next 7 generations.

We don't have much time to play a round.

Being human

trumps

all the rest of the shit show around me.

I'm willing to share hands with anyone

who is principled and wants to help 

fight for life.

Peace and love,

Bruce  

 

PS Special thanks to Lightnin' Hopkins and the O'Jays.

The coming Russian-Polish war

 

Poland is the new Israel. A max-fortified bastion of western power. Armed and ready to fight for Mr. Big - for democracy and.....all the buried treasures. Washington for years has been supplying Poland with all kinds of weapons for just this moment. All the wars these days are resource war$.

 

By Gilbert Doctorow

This evening's [July 23] News of the Week program on Russian state television opened with a 30 minute documentary survey of Polish-Russian relations from the end of WWI and during the period of the Russian Civil War, when the government under Marshal Pilsudski wrested substantial territory from Russian control. It also dealt extensively with Poland’s well documented role as aggressor and occupier of Czechoslovak, Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Belarus lands from before the start of WWII and until Hitler overran Poland.

This reportage was all built around Vladimir Putin's speech to the RF Security Council on Friday which was partly broadcast then. Excerpts from that speech were used to introduce segments of the overall documentary.

Let us recall that on Friday Putin explained how and why we may expect the formal entry into the war of a Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian joint military force that will officially be presented as defending Ukrainian statehood by occupying the Western Ukraine. However, Putin described this as an occupying force which once installed in Lvov and Western Ukraine would never leave. This would in effect be a repeat of the sell-out of Ukrainian interests to Poles and cession of territory to Poland such as had been perpetrated by their leader Semyon Petlyura in April 1920 and has now been repeated in the secret agreements between presidents Zelensky of Ukraine and Duda of Poland.

However, that was not the only pending Polish aggression announced by Vladimir Putin on Friday. He said that Poland also had designs on Belarus land. The documentary this evening fleshed out that remark and reminded us of what Belarus territory Poland had grabbed by force in the 20th century when it had the opportunity. It also pointed a finger at those Belarus fighters abroad who will be used by Poland to spearhead their move against Minsk from Polish territory, and what armaments they are receiving from the United States and NATO member countries.

With respect to Polish designs on Ukraine, Putin did not tip his hand on what Russia’s response may be. But as regards Belarus, he stated directly on Friday that any act of aggression against Belarus will be considered an attack on Russia and Russia will respond with all the military force at its disposal. He warned Warsaw to consider the consequences of their actions.

Putin’s speech on Friday appeared to be directed at Warsaw.  The program this evening was clearly directed at the broad Russian public, to prepare them for the onset of a possible Russian-Polish war in the immediate future.

Mark Brzezinski (son of Zbigniew) has served as the United States Ambassador to Poland since 2022. He previously served as the United States Ambassador to Sweden from 2011 to 2015 under President Barack Obama. He is a neo-con.

This point was highlighted by the ongoing visit of Belarus president Lukashenko to Petersburg. There has been pomp and ceremony in this visit. Both presidents today visited Kronstadt, touring its principal church, which is the spiritual home of the Russian Navy. They also visited the about to be opened new museum of the Russian Navy, and its featured exhibit, which is Russia’s first nuclear submarine, the country’s answer to the American Nautilus at the time.  And they held talks on the military and political threats their countries face. These talks unexpectedly will continue in the Konstantinovsky Palace outside Petersburg tomorrow.  The reason for extensive consultations was clear from remarks that Lukashenko made to the press during his meeting with Putin: namely that Belarus military intelligence has been following very closely the build-up of Polish forces including tanks, helicopters and other heavy military equipment close to the Belarus border near Grodno and Brest.

Tonight’s News of the Week program explained to the Russian public that the Poles’ new aggressive plans are proceeding only because of their confidence that Uncle Sam supports them. And they named the person embodying this link as former Foreign Minister of Poland Radoslaw Sikorsky (2014-15), who is today a Member of the European Parliament and delegate responsible for relations with the United States. Photos of Sikorski’s latest meetings with Pentagon officials and with Joe Biden and his advisers were put on the screen. For those who may wonder about Sikorsky’s political views, it pays to remember that he is the husband of neo-con, Russia-hating journalist Anne Applebaum, who is very well known to American audiences for her regular columns in The Washington Post. 

 

 

From Russian talk shows of the past several days, it is easy to understand the Kremlin’s reading of the present proxy war in and around Ukraine: Washington sees that the Ukrainian counter-offensive is a complete failure that has cost tens of thousands of lives among the Ukrainian armed forces and has seen the destruction of a large part of the Western equipment delivered to Ukraine over the past months. Instead of suing for peace, Washington seeks to open a ‘second front,’ using Poland for this purpose.

One possible Russian response to any move against Belarus has also been discussed on air: to seize the Suwalki corridor that connects Kaliningrad to Belarus across Polish territory.. Taking control of that corridor would have the effect of isolating the Baltic States from Poland and thereby put their security at peril. It would also secure Russia’s Kalliningrad enclave, which is heavily armed with missiles capable of striking Central Europe.

 

The inescapable conclusion from the latest news is that Washington’s incendiary policies and continuing escalation of the conflict cannot secure Russia’s defeat. On the contrary, they may well lead to the total collapse of the NATO alliance once its military value is disproven in a way that cannot be talked away or papered over by the most creative propagandists in DC.

~ Gilbert Doctorow is an independent political analyst based in Brussels.

Destroyer 'christening' protest July 29 at BIW

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more info: Lisa Savage

Phone: 207-399-7623

Email: lsavage3@gmail.com

Twitter: @naturalguard

 

Activists force BIW to conduct stealth celebration of nuclear-capable war ship July 29

Protesters will gather at General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works shipyard on Saturday July 29 at 9:30am to protest the christening of the Harvey C. Barnum Jr. DDG-124, an Aegis Guided Missile Destroyer capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

Organizers have reason to believe that President Joe Biden may be present for the christening ceremony. Maine's congressional delegation generally attends, and the President has announced a visit to Maine on the previous day, Friday, July 28.

In the past, christenings were events open to the public with extensive advance publicity, however, the steady presence of protesters outside such events has forced BIW to limit publicity and to exclude the general public from ceremonies. In 2018 nine protesters who stood at the gates with signs were acquitted of criminal trespass charges after Justice Dan Billings of Sagadahoc County Superior Court ruled that their rights to political speech were protected under the 1st Amendment.

On Saturday protesters will gather across from the Post Office on Washington Street in Bath holding signs calling for an end to building weapons and an urgent need for conversion of the facility from military production. It is unknown if there are plans to risk arrest.

 

Organizer George Ostensen of Smilin’ Trees Disarmament Farm issued the following statement: 

“General Dynamics continues to build these warships that launch a variety of weapons [such as] Nuclear capable [Tomahawk cruise missiles]. At a cost of billions of dollars, these warships are a theft from the poor and from our children's future. We must find a way to bring about the conversion of Bath Iron Works to peaceful purposes so BIW can build something that promotes life. [For example commuter rail systems, tidal power systems and offshore wind turbines.]

Our permanent war economy is not only a crime against humanity but it is also terribly addictive. It is killing us spiritually and ecologically. We must move towards disarmament both nuclear and conventional. Disarmament is the way to put our resources to benefit society instead of endless war. 

Our security comes from our ability to love our sisters and brothers around the world and to share the Earth's resources fairly.”

Ostensen is available for comment and may be reached at (207) 763-4062.

War Industry Resisters Network holds space militarization meeting

 

 

The arms race is moving into space. Since the end of World War II, the US has aimed to “control and dominate” space.

In 2019 the Trump administration created the ‘Space Force’ [with the strong support of the Democrats in Congress] to further operationalize this space control mission.  

Now, as the US sets it sights on maintaining its global uni-polar hegemony, the militarization of space is proceeding more rapidly than ever. 

This webinar will address the realities and dangers of space militarization, including how the profiteers of the military-industrial complex drive the process.

Our presenters Dave Webb (UK) and Bruce Gagnon (Maine) are with the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space

Geopolitics thru an Indian eye

 

Abhijit Chavda

Very interesting review of the US-UK-EU-NATO reaction to the fall of the former Soviet Union.

Then and now. 

Chavda interviews Kanwal Sibal, a career diplomat who retired as Foreign Secretary to the Government of India.

In 2017, The Government of India awarded him with the Padma Shri award for his distinguished services in the field of Public Affairs 

Statewide protest in Augusta: No war with Russia or China

 

Click on photos for a better view

Busy intersection in Augusta, Maine. More honks than usual. Is the public figuring it out?

Are people getting tired of sending $$$ to the Ukrainian Nazi regime?

U.S. has a long and sordid history of running Coup d'état around the globe. The one in 2014 in Ukraine just might be the most dangerous one ever.

NATO is offensive

U.S. sending cluster bombs to Ukraine has finally enlivened some previously quiet peaceniks across the west. Add the UK and U.S. sending depleted uranium tank shells and what does all that say about the 'exceptional' moralistic west?

Talking about Biden hitting the Nordstream pipelines in case you missed that one. The biggest release of methane in human history. Where are the howls of indignation from the big environmental groups?

Ukraine and Taiwan are the 'twin triggers' for WW3. If you want to prevent nuclear war doesn't it make good sense to oppose US-UK-NATO expansion into a global military alliance on behalf of corporate capitalism aimed at Russia and China?

We had about thirty of us yesterday in Augusta. Thanks to all.

 

Our next three statewide protests will be:

• August 19 in Ellsworth at 1:30 pm (Intersection High St/Rt 1 & Main St)
• September 23 in Unity during Common Ground Fair at 1:30 pm (Rt 139 & Hwy 202 by Pizza shop)  
• October in Waterville (Date TBA) 
  

Sunday song

 

 

Majority of Finns oppose deployment of NATO’s nuclear weapons

 

A recent survey showed that 61 percent of the respondents opposed the transportation of NATO’s nuclear weapons across Finland, and 77 percent  would reject the deployment of such weapons in the country.

 

Defend Democracy Press

A significant number of respondents to a recent survey in Finland said they would oppose the storage or transportation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO’s) nuclear weapons in or across their country, according to a report published Thursday by researchers from three Finnish universities.

The report, drafted by the University of Helsinki, the University of Turku and Abo Akademi University, examined the expectations of Finns regarding their NATO membership based on survey data collected in June this year. A total of 2,877 respondents between the ages of 15 and 79 participated in the survey.

Hanna Wass, one of the authors of the report and a researcher at the University of Helsinki, told national broadcaster Yle that there is a limit to the Finnish public’s support for NATO.

Most Finns do not support the transportation or stationing of nuclear weapons in their country, she said.

The report found that the Finnish public’s attitudes toward nuclear weapons are overwhelmingly critical. It said that 61 percent of the respondents opposed the transportation of NATO’s nuclear weapons across Finland, and an even higher percentage — 77 percent — would reject the deployment of such weapons in the country.

The authors of the report suggest that these attitudes likely stem from Finland’s emphasis on nuclear disarmament in its defense policy, and from the recognition that allowing nuclear weapons would require changes to current legislation.

The report also highlights the division among citizens regarding the establishment of a permanent NATO base and the deployment of non-Finnish NATO troops on Finnish soil. According to the survey, 46 percent of respondents would welcome such troops, while 43 percent would not. 

Poland itching for a fight?

 

 

Scott Ritter - Subscribe👉🏻

Poland considering being the next NATO stooge to attack Russia via Ukraine.

How do the citizens of Poland feel about war with Russia?

They appear to be not so anxious.

But their government takes orders from US-UK much like Kiev does.

Time to speak up our dear ones in Poland.

See more on this story here

Still at it in Brunswick

  

Luke joined us this week from Waterville. (Click on the photos for a better view)

Rosie (left) and Mary Beth are regulars at the weekly Thursday vigil

Holding my current favorite sign at the busy intersection in Brunswick

 

Each Thursday since February 2022 I have vigiled for an hour at our busiest intersection in Brunswick, Maine about the US-UK-NATO proxy war on Russia using Ukraine as the sledge hammer.

Yesterday was quite hot - during the winter we were dressed to the nines. I've only missed a couple of weeks during these past 17 months.

On Friday each week I also join the local PeaceWorks vigil in almost the same spot. That vigil has been going on year round since 9-11-2001. That is real commitment.

It's my best guess that about 20% of the people in cars and trucks honk, wave or give peace signs. We get very few negatives (maybe 2 or 3 each time out on the street).

One big beer truck that regularly passes by always gives us a loud blast of the horn.

Sometimes I am alone - mostly though we have anywhere between 2-5 of us out there.

For me it is one of my most favorite organizing things to do. I like the eye-to-eye contact with the public. In this case cars heading north on US Hwy 1 come thru this intersection. So this time of year we get loads of traffic with tourists and such in Maine.

For skeptics our signs make them think a bit. For people who agree with us they don't feel so politically isolated when they see us with our signs.

The vast majority of people just keep their heads down and drive by with no reaction. But most of them still read our signs, they can't really avoid doing so.

With the current corporate media capture, and the cancel culture on social media, this is one way for me and others to break thru all the censorship of our messages.

Bruce

Legacy of Operation Paperclip

 

 

The Nazi rocket team were first brought to New Mexico and then Huntsville, Alabama to create the Pentagon's space program. Today Huntsville is called the 'Pentagon of the south'.

 

Wernher von Braun was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany and later led the rocket and space technology program in the United States.

 

 

 

 

Thousands of prisoners (Jews, Communists, Gypsies, French) were brought to a mountain tunnel in Germany to secretly build the V-1 & V-2 rockets for Hitler. Wernher von Braun was in charge of the operation.When the allies arrived at this site near the end of the war they found thousands of bodies that had been burned and many starving prisoners.

 

V-2 rockets from Nazi Germany were brought to Huntsville to be used to create the US space program.

Wernher von Braun and some of his rocket team along with their Pentagon handler.

This excellent book tells the chilling story of Operation Paperclip. Was there an ideological contamination that accompanied the Nazis who were secretly brought into the US after WW2? 

Senate votes for U.S. to lose its national sovereignty

 

Senate Rejects Congressional War Powers Over NATO’s Article 5
 

An amendment to the NDAA declaring that NATO's Article 5 does not override congressional war powers failed in a vote of 16-83

 

By Dave DeCamp 

Antiwar.com

 

The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted down an amendment to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would declare NATO’s Article 5, which outlines mutual defense commitments, does not override congressional war powers.

The amendment, introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), states: “It is the sense of Congress that Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty does not supersede the constitutional requirement that Congress declare war before the United States engages in war.”

The amendment failed in a vote of 16-83 and received no support from Democrats. “It should have been an easy vote to affirm the Constitution, to vote against affirming the Constitution actually places doubt in the Constitution. But it was defeated,” Paul wrote on Twitter after the vote.

The Senate also approved an amendment introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) that requires Senate approval for a president to leave NATO in a vote of 65-28, with only Republicans opposing the measure.

The Kaine amendment reads: “The President shall not suspend, terminate, denounce, or withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty… except by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, provided that two-thirds of the Senators present concur, or pursuant to an Act of Congress.”

Versions of the Kaine and Paul amendments were previously introduced as stand-alone bills. When Paul and several other Republicans introduced legislation to reaffirm congressional war powers over NATO commitments, he noted that while NATO members are required to assist each other in the event of an attack, military action is not mandated.

“Furthermore, Article 11 of the NATO Treaty states that the provisions of the Treaty are to be carried out in accordance with each country’s respective constitutional processes,” Paul said in a statement last month.

Once the Senate passes its version of the NDAA, it needs to negotiate the finalized version with the House. Both versions will allocate $886 billion for military spending, but a partisan battle is expected to ensue as Republicans added amendments to the House version relating to social issues in the military, including abortion, transgender surgeries, and diversity policies. The House passed its version of the NDAA last Friday in a narrow vote of 219-210. 

Global Network 31st Annual Conference space issues video

 

 

We had a very successful Global Network Zoom annual meeting on July 15.  We now have the video of the entire event available above.

 

Speakers were: 

• Bruce Gagnon: Panel discussion moderator 
  

• Tamara Lorincz: Censorship Industrial Complex - How NATO, national intelligence services and universities coordinate and weaponize information 
  

• Ray McGovern: US Missile Bases in Poland & Romania – ‘Cuban Missile Crisis in Reverse’ 
  

• Juyeon Rhee: US-NATO expansion into the Asia-Pacific 
  

• Lisa Savage: Declining Empire Chases Fading Dream of Full Spectrum Dominance
  

• Christian Sorensen: How corporations form the backbone of space militarization? 
  

• Professor Em. Dave Webb: The drive to militarise & weaponise space 
  

Ukraine-NATO pirates lose control of the grain deal

 

 

 Ukraine Used Black Sea Grain Corridor for Weapons Smuggling and Terror Attacks

Sputnik

The Kiev regime took advantage of the deal to transfer weapons and as a convenient guise for its terrorist operations against Russian civilian infrastructure, military experts told Sputnik.

On July 17, the Black Sea Grain Deal expired and Russia decided not to extend it, given that the agreement was never implemented in its entirety by the collective West. 

What's more, Ukraine used the safe grain corridor for military purposes, as per Russian military expert Retired Сolonel Viktor Litovkin. 

"[Ukraine] used civilian ships to transport weapons back and forth," Litovkin told Sputnik. "We know that the Ukrainian authorities (maybe not the authorities, but people close to the authorities) actively used black markets for supplies, for resale of weapons to the Middle East and even to France. In France those types of weapons were found that had been supplied to [Ukraine] by Western countries. They managed to resell some of these weapons to the West, to Africa, to the Middle East."

"They also received weapons covered with grain: it came to Odessa and was then sent from Odessa to various other places. Let alone the fact that under the guise of a grain deal, including the one that occurred last night [on July 17], they launched an unmanned sea surface drone that blew up part of the Crimean Bridge," continued Litovkin. 

On Monday, the Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee said that Kiev carried out a terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge that connects mainland Russia and Crimea. The July 17 sabotage became Ukraine's second attack on the bridge. Earlier, on October 8, 2022, Ukrainian saboteurs exploded a truck on the bridge and caused seven fuel tanks of a freight train to catch fire and two car spans partially to collapse, killing three civilians. Kiev admitted its complicity in both terrorist attacks.
In addition, part of the attacks carried out by Ukrainian drones against the peninsula was conducted from the area of the Black Sea safe corridor, as per Boris Rozhin, a military expert with the Center for Military-Political Journalism, an independent Russian military affairs think tank. 

"Part of the drone attacks was carried out from the zone where the grain corridor passed, that is, it was used as a cover," Rozhin told Sputnik. "The ships that sailed there were also used as cover. Therefore, of course, it was initially clear that the enemy would use the grain corridor specifically for military purposes. Attacks on Sevastopol and other attacks originated from the grain corridor zone or passed through the green corridor zone, especially those attacks that came from Izmail or from the Odessa region. That is, they somehow passed through the territory of the grain corridor." 

How Will Deal's Suspension Affect Special Military Op?

 

Having frozen the Black Sea Grain Deal, Moscow highlighted that it is ready to resume it if the West implements its part of the agreement, with Ukraine ceasing its terrorist activities in the region. As of yet, Russia is expected to step up its security in the Black Sea, according to Sputnik's interlocutors.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has shrugged off Moscow's proposal and signaled that it wants to continue shipping its grain regardless of Russia's suspension of the deal. 

According to Litovkin, Russia has a number of possible options to ensure its security: First, it can declare the northwestern part of the Black Sea a combat zone. "And [the Russian military] will not let a single ship go there, not a single vessel, not only warships, but also civilian ships," the retired colonel assumed.

Second, Russia could target the Odessa and Nikolaev ports, where the grain is being loaded, thus halting their operation. Ideally, if Russia liberated Odessa and Nikolaev from the Kiev "Banderite" regime, it would be completely guaranteed that Ukraine would not strike Crimea and Russian ships with unmanned surface or underwater drones, Litovkin suggested.

In general, Sputnik's interlocutors don't expect any drastic shift in the course of the Russian special military operation in the aftermath of the grain deal suspension.

"I don't think any major changes would happen in the northwestern part of the Black Sea," said Rozhin. "Landing operations aren't expected, forcing the Dnepr from [Russia's] side in the direction of Nikolaev in the coming months is also unlikely to take place." 

However, the expert projected that military actions on the Krasnolimanskoe and Kupyanskoe directions will be intensified. Likewise, there will be more active operations in the Donetsk region, Rozhin suggested. 

"Naturally, at least until the [autumn] thaw, intense fighting will continue in the Zaporozhye direction on the front from Kamensky to Ugledar," the military expert concluded. 

This spring, the Russian Federation supplied 4.9 million tons of wheat to foreign markets in May; five million tons in April; and 5.2 million tons in March. Among buyers of Russian grain are Egypt, Yemen, Brazil, Bangladesh, Oman, Mexico, Mozambique, Tunisia, Senegal, Tanzania and Rwanda, to name but a few.

The story behind Z-man

 

 

An investigation of Volodymyr Zelensky. It is very comprehensive and should be seen and widely shared.

Parts 1 & 2 (#2 is the best one)

By Scott Ritter

Another terrorist attack on Crimean bridge

 

RT

The Crimean Bridge has been targeted by a Ukrainian terrorist drone attack, Russia's National Anti-terrorist Committee (NAK) announced on Monday.

In a statement, the NAK said that the key link between the Crimean Peninsula and mainland Russia was attacked by two Ukrainian unmanned sea vehicles at around 3am local time.

“The terrorist act resulted in the road component of the Crimean Bridge sustaining damage. Two adults were killed and one child was injured,” it stated, adding that law enforcement agencies are investigating the matter.

The NAK statement comes after several Ukrainian media outlets described the attack as a “special operation” conducted by the country’s security services and naval forces. Publicly, however, Ukrainian officials stopped short of assuming direct responsibility, while cheering the incident.

The fatalities were first reported by Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, who said that those who died were a married couple from his region, adding that their daughter had also been injured.

Following the raid, Russian authorities stopped traffic from crossing the bridge, although several hours later, train service on the undamaged section was resumed.

Ukraine has attempted to target the bridge in the past. Last week, Kiev’s forces launched a missile at the key link but failed to break through Russian air defenses, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow.

In October 2022, the bridge was damaged in a deadly truck bombing that Russia said was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services. At the time, Moscow responded by intensifying missile strikes on the neighboring country’s energy and military infrastructure.

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At what point does Russia's patience run out?

Knowing that the US-UK are calling the shots in this long running terror campaign aimed at Russian-ethnics (since the US orchestrated coup in Kiev in 2014) at what point does Moscow find ways to strike back at the 'masters of disaster' in Washington-London-Berlin-Brussels-Paris?

One reason the Wagner PMC's head Prigozhin is so popular inside Russia is because he was claiming that Putin was slow-walking the war. The public pressure will only build as these terrorist incidents by the west's attack dog in Kiev continue and escalate. More of the same see here.

To his credit Putin has indeed been quite restrained during this battle hoping that calmer heads will emerge that wish to seriously negotiate an end to the war. Diplomatic offerings from China, African-nations and others so far have not appeared to penetrate the hard-hearts of war mongers across the west. But at some point one has to take the mutterings of US-UK-NATO seriously when they say it is going to be a long war. 

The west is very good at organizing terrorism - just ask Korea, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen and more.

Bruce