What are Washington's goals in Ukraine?

 

 

The Grayzone

Watch The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal address the UN Security Council on the role of US military aid to Ukraine in escalating the conflict with Russia and the real motives behind Washington's support for Kiev's proxy war.

Amsterdam: 'No weapons for peace'

 

 

Last weekend protest in Amsterdam, Netherlands

See more of these protests in other EU cities here

Greta joins the war in Kiev

 

I shouldn't have been surprised. 

But after US-UK-NATO blew up the Nordstream pipelines (U.N. said was biggest release of methane in recorded history) I just figured Greta Thunberg would stop avoiding the issue of war$ impact on the environment. But far as I know this was her first public trip into the mush.

And needless to say it was ugly - and infuriating.  

RT reports that Greta went to Kiev to offer 'professional help' to ascertain how destructive Russia has been to the environment in Ukraine.

What about the UK's gift of DU to Ukraine that got blown up in the western side (nationalist side) of the country? And now Biden is sending DU over to Kiev. How is that good for the environment? How about Kiev taking out the Kakhovka Dam? Any damage from that?

Back in 2019 when Greta was sailing across the Atlantic it became well known that she now had corporate fiscal sponsors and a public relations firm. 

The same thing happened to Cindy Sheehan back in the day when she was protesting against the Iraq war after her son Casey had been killed there. Cindy was offered big money by the Democrats if she would 'come on side' and swing with them during the reelection campaign of George W. Bush. 

Cindy declined and went independent to her enormous credit. Looks like Greta took the bait and is riding high now.

There are alot of people across the west that have sold their 'progressive' souls to the corporate Dems and their Neo-con masters. 

They work in the our movements as staff and directors, NGO's, media, staff to politicians, 'elected officials', academia, judiciary, Wall Street and anywhere decisions get made about the life of the United States. 

In other words anything that involves $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Greta is a star to be used - just like her new friend Z-man in Kiev. They will make a nice contemporary 'power couple'. Wow....here comes front page of Time Magazine. On the rack in every grocery store checkout aisle.

Bruce  

~ See a short clip on Twitter here

News from friend in Crimea

 

I had a nice chat this week with friend Regis Tremblay from Maine who now lives and works in Yalta, Crimea.

Regis just took a trip to Armenia and reported that the US was working hard to take control of the government there. In addition he suggested the same Washington strategy is currently underway for regime change in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Maldova and other former Soviet Union republics in the region. The US goal is clearly to create a circle of control all around Russia.

Regis said that in Armenia the US has undue influence inside the government, academia, NGO's and the media. 

RT reports:

The West may not currently have the ability to drag Central Asia over to its side, but this does not mean that it will give up on such attempts in the future. In this respect, Western countries are using their traditional “soft power” tools: Non Government Organizations (NGO) and media outlets. 

“In Bishkek alone, 18,500 such organizations are registered. Contrary to the constituent documents, many of them interfere in the political life of the country, including by financing the organization of political rallies in Kyrgyzstan,” says a note to the draft law on the tightening of control over NGOs that has been submitted to the Kyrgyz parliament.

The concern of local parliamentarians, however, hasn’t stopped the work of these cut outs. In early June, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) allocated a first tranche worth $12 million to the non-profit organization KazAID, which is to distribute the funds among Kazakh NGOs in order to “increase the resistance of society to disinformation” and “increase the media literacy of the population.”

This is the first installment of the planned $50 million package indicated in the program’s budget estimate. Moreover, another $15 million was spent on USAID projects in Kazakhstan in 2022.

 

Virtually every level of US culture/Neo-con politics has been seeded throughout Europe under the auspices of protecting democracy and human rights.

In response to last weekend's ill-fated coup by Evgeny Prigozhin, Regis reported that he believes that MI6 and CIA were paying Prigozhin. 

He suggested that nearly everyone in Russia was happy with Putin's decision to pardon Prigozhin and the Wagner troops because it averted the civil war that the west was counting on.

He reported that the country appears to be peaceful, harmonious and with safe streets. People are not worried. Many Russian citizens are helping to build support for the troops on the front line by sending food, clothes, funds, etc.

 

Samantha Smith from Maine had the courage during the Cold War (1982) to say that Russia was not our enemy and that WW3 should be averted.

 

While on the train during his trip to Armenia he met two young people (14 & 16 years) who knew about the former young Maine girl Samantha Smith. In 1982 she wrote a letter of peace to Soviet premier Yuri Andropov. Smith was invited to Russia and became a huge hit while attending the youth camp called Artek in Crimea.

During our Global Network study tour to Russia in 2019, while in Crimea, we visited Artek. We saw that there was an area in the museum where Samantha Smith is still honored. It's too bad that many people who talk about Smith today don't appear to make the connection to the current US-UK-NATO proxy war on Russia that could lead to nuclear Armageddon! Sadly they lack the vision of Samantha Smith who refused to see Russians as our enemy.

Regis has applied for a full Russian residency permit which is now in process.

He is very happy living in Crimea and uses his alternative media skills to help people around the world learn more about Russia which is continually demonized across the west by politicians under the control of the MIC and the corporate media.

Bruce 

Sweden will allow NATO deployments in ‘Signal to Russia’

 

 

By Kyle Anzalone AntiWar.com

The soldiers and equipment from NATO countries would be sent to Sweden

before Stockholm is admitted into the alliance 

Stockholm plans to send a "signal to Russia" by allowing NATO troop deployments in Sweden before the country is admitted into the alliance, according to top officials. Turkey is holding up Sweden’s bid to join the bloc.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Defence Minister Pal Jonson announced that Sweden’s military would step-up preparations with NATO in an article published in Dagens Nyheter on Friday. “The preparations may consist of temporary basing of foreign equipment and personnel on Swedish territory. The decision sends a clear signal to Russia and strengthens Sweden’s defense,” they wrote. The joint operations send "a clear signal to Russia that our ability to give and receive military aid is good."

On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported the Swedish and Finnish militaries were rapidly integrating into the alliance due to a campaign by internationalist officials who worked to integrate the Nordic states into the bloc despite public opposition.

"Behind that long-standing public reticence was a meticulous, decades long campaign of preparation by internationalist officials," the WSJ wrote. "Who since the 1990s sought to move their countries as close to the alliance as domestic public opinion – dead set against full membership – allowed."

The article explained, "By the time public and political opinion last year swung behind joining NATO, the Swedish and Finnish militaries had been streamlined to NATO standards through participating in joint missions for 30 years."

Last year, Sweden and Finland broke their long-standing policy of neutrality and formally applied to join the North Atlantic alliance. Their bid met stiff opposition from Turkey, which believes the Nordic states provide too much support for Kurdish groups that Ankara labels terrorist organizations.

A trilateral pact between Ankara, Stockholm and Helsinki led to Turkey lifting its opposition to Finland’s membership. However, Ankara says that Stockholm has refused to fully comply with the agreement and is still preventing Sweden from joining the bloc.

Russian officials have said Moscow will respond to NATO expanding its presence in Finland and Sweden. In December, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that "given NATO’s desire to increase its military potential near the Russian borders, as well as to expand the alliance by adding Finland and Sweden, it is necessary to take retaliatory measures and to create an appropriate grouping of troops in the northwest of Russia."

The Washington-led alliance believes Sweden becoming a member will significantly change the geopolitical dynamics in the region. If Sweden and Finland join NATO, it could turn the Baltic Sea into an "inner sea of NATO," Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur explained in September.

~ Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.

The times in which we live.....

 

 

Why is there so little anti-war protest in the U.S.?

 

 

Professor Joan Roelofs is interviewed by Bruce Gagnon in this month's Global Network podcast.
 
Joan Roelofs is a retired Professor of Political Science at Keene State College in New Hampshire.
 
She is currently an Instructor at the Cheshire Academy of Lifelong Learning.
 
In this interview she talks about her latest book 'The Trillion Dollar Silencer: Why There Is So Little Anti-war Protest in the US'.
 
Joan has been a peace activist since the Korean war.

The military mutiny revived the West’s dream of defeating Russia

 

By Endre Simó (President of the Hungarian Community for Peace)

The Western powers are using the situation created as a result of the Wagner group’s military rebellion to exacerbate Russia’s internal and international problems.

Since Sunday, a number of ministerial meetings indicate that they are trying to undermine the position of the Moscow leadership by means inside and outside Russia, preventing President Putin from achieving his goal of neutralizing Ukraine and eliminating the American unipolar world order.

In addition to the military support provided to Ukraine and the increase in sanctions against Russia, internal subversion in Russia is playing a greater role in the Western toolbox.

Using organizational and propaganda tools, they are trying to turn the Russians’ love of peace against Putin’s leadership, and at the same time to strengthen the pacifist sentiments among the Russian soldiers, portraying the Wagner army’s mutiny as something that happened because they were tired of fighting.

In parallel with the negotiations between the American-Canadian and the American-British special services in this direction, the foreign ministers of the European Union are putting their heads together in Luxembourg to see what they can do to make the West’s dream come true, to strategically defeat Russia, taking advantage of – as they claim – the weakened power of Putin due to the rebellion.

The West may try to increase distrust of Putin’s leadership among Russians by confronting the Russian man with the Kremlin’s triple goal of de-Nazification, demilitarization and neutralization of Ukraine, indicating that none of them has been achieved. Consequently, they must find those responsible for the ineffectiveness, since the price of the prolonged warfare must be paid by the people, including the lives of their soldiers.

The US and its main allies see Putin’s compromise with Prigozhin and his 25,000 fighters as a sign of weakness. After all, the Russian president originally envisioned a showdown and prosecution before the law against the “traitors”, and then came to terms with them to avoid more serious bloodshed, as well as the development of a civil war situation, which he himself mentioned in his address to the nation on June 24.

After the military rebellion was disarmed by political means, the Kremlin announced that the rebellion does not change the goals of the special military operation in Ukraine in any way, but there can hardly be any doubt that in the future the Russian leadership will have to fight its battle on a wider and more complex front than before for the realization of his goals. With particular regard to the anti-Putin and pacifist attitude of a part of Russian society.

Against those who demand a heavy-handed approach to Ukraine and its Western supporters, the knowledge that the vast majority of Russians follow him can give Putin confidence. At least the majority of society has followed it so far.

June 26, 2023 

FSB spooked the CIA on Prigozhin coup

 

 

By M. K. Bhadrakumar (India Punchline)

 

The CNN, followed by the New York Times, broke the story on Sunday that the US and western intelligence were indeed aware of the failed coup attempt on Friday night by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group of Russian military contractors, “for quite some time and making preparations for such a move, including by massing weapons and ammunition.”

What we do not know is at what point Russian intelligence got wind of it. The  Kremlin acted forcefully, decisively and with foresight in real time to scotch the coup attempt within hours. By Saturday evening, the foreign intelligence chief Sergey Narishkin announced that the coup attempt had failed. The Russian authorities were waiting for Prigozhin to make his move.

It is only natural that Russian intelligence kept a strong presence right inside the Wagner tent all through. Damn it, it is a war zone where Russia’s fate is hanging in the balance. The lyrics of the famous Sting song come to mind: ‘Every breath you take / And every move you make / Every bond you break / Every step you take / I’ll be watching you…’

And the Chorus sings, thereupon: ‘Oh, can’t you see / You belong to me? / How my poor heart aches / With every step you take…’

Just as the CIA or most intelligence organisations do, the FSB also psychoanalyses the remarks of their targets for profound meanings. They do that routinely and have trained analysts who do only that.

It wouldn’t have escaped the attention of Russian intelligence analysts that Prigozhin’s ranting and ravings from Donetsk from last autumn and winter began originally on the operational aspects of the Bakhmut war front in Donetsk oblast, but incrementally began acquiring political overtones, culminating finally in his incredible statement that the raison d’être of the special military operation in Ukraine since February 2022, was all baloney.

Even more strangely, this man who physically witnessed the Battle of Bakhmut, came to the bizarre conclusion that Kiev or Nato had no mala fide intentions toward Donbass or Russia.

Therefore, the ‘known known’ here is that the Russian intelligence was under instructions to be in ‘listening mode,’ give the eddies a free flow in the Battle of Bakhmut where Wagner was in the driving seat. (Interestingly, though, at some point, much to Prigozhin’s annoyance, Moscow also began deploying regular troops selectively on the Bakhmut front alongside the Wagner fighters. )

On Saturday, top US intelligence officials sprang into action to brief the media as it emerged that Russian authorities were literally waiting with a road map to squash Prigozhin’s coup attempt. Even the Chechen militia was put on standby.

The crucial element in the deal struck with Prigozhin has been that he will not be prosecuted but must simply get lost. And where else could his exile be arranged better on Planet Earth than in Belarus under the benevolent eyes of President Alexander Lukashenko?

Now, we may get to know at some point from Lukashenko, who struggles to keep secrets for long, as to when exactly would Putin have taken him into confidence on a ‘need-to-know basis.’ It strains credulity that such a complex dealmaking was possible within a clutch of hours via tortuous 3-way negotiations between Moscow, Minsk and Rostov-on-Don even as the renegade Wagner column was approaching Moscow.

An intriguing sub-plot here is that amidst all this heavy traffic, Lukashenko also negotiated with Nurusultan Nazarbayev, the former Kazakh dictator  who headed a pro-western regime in Astana and was ousted from power after reigning for nearly three decades, following the failure of a similar US-backed coup attempt like Prigozhin’s in the winter of 2021-2022, which too was crushed with the help of the CSTO forces (Russian troops) led by a Russian general.

On the previous day, in fact, Putin had spoken with two Central Asian leaders  — Kazakh President Jomart Tokayev and Uzbek President Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev. Did he share any crucial intelligence? In fact, both these countries have been facing western plots for regime change lately. By the way, Given Moscow’s preoccupations in Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping has stepped in to take a hands-on role to consolidate the stability and security of the Central Asian region. (Please see my recent articles — China takes leadership role in Central Asia  ; An “Axis of Seven” to supplement SCO ; and, Russia, China take holistic view of the Pamirs and Hindu Kush.

Clearly, something was seriously afoot in Kazakhstan, which is sandwiched between Russia and China and is the most crucial piece of real estate in geopolitical terms in Central Asia.

In all probability, this was what the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken alluded to when he told ABC on Sunday that the situation with the attempted coup in Russia “is still developing… I don’t want to speculate, and I don’t think we saw the final episode.” That said, however, Blinken has piled up a consistent record for being horribly wrong on his assessments on Russia — starting from the deathly blow the ‘sanctions from hell’ were expected to give to the Russian economy; Putin’s hold on power; Russia’s catastrophic defeat in Ukraine; Russian military’s deficiencies; Kiev’s inexorable military victory, and so on.

In this case, he has reason to feel embittered particularly because of the spectacular unity of the Russian state, political elite, media, regional and federal bureaucracy, and the military and security establishment in rallying behind Putin. Arguably, Putin’s political stature is now unchallengeable and unassailable in Russia and the Americans have to live with that reality long after Joe Biden’s departure from the scene. 

 

 

Going forward

The Kremlin has adopted a very thoughtful strategy. From available details so far, it has the following five key elements:

• Principally, the top priority is to avoid bloodshed so that life moves on and the focus on the war in Ukraine, which is at a tipping point, doesn’t suffer;
• In immediate terms, get the few renegade Wagner fighters and Prigozhin to leave Rostov-on-Don and return to their camps in Lugansk;
• Clinically separate Prigozhin from the rest of Wagner Group (In fact, not a single Wagner commander or officer joined his revolt);
• Offer immunity to the bulk of the Wagner Group — except the participants in the coup, of course — and facilitate their formal integration into the defence ministry. That is, the logic behind the creation of Wagner Group by the Defence Ministry (and an unnamed top secret internal security agency) holds good still, but it will no longer be a quasi-state force, but will have a habitation and name and led by designated professional military commanders instead of free-wheeling fortune hunters like Prigozhin.)
• Get Prigozhin to leave for Belarus, which was not difficult once he realised that he should request mercy from none other than Putin (who agreed to the oligarch’s safe passage to Belarus.)  

The last element is utterly fascinating. The Kremlin is extremely annoyed with Prigozhin for his seditious behaviour but is also aware — presumably on the basis of intelligence inputs — that he has been manipulated by western powers. Of course, there is going to be a price to pay. Prigozhin will never get back his towering stature as an oligarch with a personal fortune of $1.2 billion or the fabulous lifestyle he led.

But at least, the 62-year old oligarch is spared a possible twenty-year prison term. This is of a piece with Putin’s handling of oligarchs in general. (Read my article The Rise and fall of a Russian oligarch.)

Make no mistake, Lukashenko will eventually make Prigozhin sing — sooner rather later — and the song will be transmitted live to the Kremlin. And that accounts for the great nervousness in Washington, which has raised the spectre of nuclear war, etc. to give the spin to distract attention from the CIA’s plot to destabilise Russia. The irrepressible Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov calls it a “turbulent stream of consciousness.”

To be sure, now that the CIA-MI6- Prigozhin plot has failed, out of its debris, new western narratives will be born like a Phoenix out of the ashes. And the US’  sleeping cells abroad, including in the Indian media, will parrot that narrative.

But, not for long. For, what lies ahead is the manifestation of the steely resolve of the Kremlin — and Putin himself — to seek an all-out military solution to the Ukraine crisis. Putin declared last week — most likely in anticipation of the storm brewing on the horizon — that the war will be over when no Ukrainian army will be left on the battlefield, or NATO weapons.  

Read the official transcript of a videoconference that Putin took last Thursday, in the immediate run-up to Prigozhin’s coup attempt, with the full quorum of the Security Council (post-Soviet Russia’s ‘Politburo’), which gives a flavour of the mood in the Kremlin and will provide some clues to what to expect on the battlefields of Ukraine, going forward. It is a huge signal in advance to the “collective West” that nothing will be forgotten. 

~ By M. K. Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. Roughly half of the 3 decades of  his diplomatic career was devoted to assignments on the territories of the former Soviet Union and to Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Other overseas postings included South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey. He writes mainly on Indian foreign policy and the affairs of the Middle East, Eurasia, Central Asia, South Asia and the Asia-Pacific. 

The dry residue of the Prigozhin armed rebellion

 

Prigozhin leaving Rostov for Belarus after his 'mutiny' fizzled out

By Gilbert Doctorow

Analysis of the Prigozhin armed rebellion inside and outside Russia has just begun. Without any assistance from me, consumers of mainstream Western media know very well the official interpretation that, as always, is being handed down from Washington and is re-posted by our journalists as their own original reporting: how the Prigozhin affair demonstrates the fragility of dictatorships, how it shows the real weakness of the Putin regime, and so forth, and so on.

I will offer here a glimpse into what is now being said in Russian public space.  I say ‘a glimpse,’ because the diversity of views inside Russia is almost as vast as the country itself and only our ignorant and bigoted opinion formers in the West miss that point.

Discussion of the Prigozhin mutiny on the Evening with Vladimir Solovyov show yesterday gave a nice insight into where Russians differ and where they agree on the events of Friday-Saturday.

As is often the case, Solovyov gave the opening word to panelist Margarita Simonyan, editor in chief of the RT television channel.  She delivered a powerful and emotional argument in favor of the peaceful outcome to the crisis that appears to have been reached on Saturday, with the exile to Belarus of Prigozhin and the return of Wagner Group forces to their barracks and field camps.

Simonyan began her little speech with a reminder of the horrors of a civil war, wherever it breaks out.  As she noted, the greatest number of casualties that the United States has experienced in any of its many wars since its founding came precisely during the Civil War. And in Russia, the country witnessed greater loss of life in its own Civil War of 1917-21 than it did fighting on the front in WWI. The official number is set at over 10 million. The Russian death toll from the Civil War was only surpassed on the battlefields of WWII. Simonyan’s account was not for the faint-hearted: she listed the kinds of cruel and horrific deaths that both White and Red forces practiced on captured enemy troops as well as on civilians who stood in their way.

For these reasons, Simonyan said, such a possibility of armed conflict on the home front had to be avoided at all costs. And to those who object that the terms of the settlement violate the legal norms of the Russian Federation, her answer is that laws are not God-given but are written by men to regulate relations and maintain order in the country. The legislators cannot foresee extraordinary circumstances wherein strict observance of legal norms would have exactly the opposite effect and cause complete disorder and chaos. Therefore the settlement of the crisis as it turned out deserves our support.

A diametrically opposite opinion, also very well argued, was made by Lieutenant General in retirement and State Duma member Andrei Gurulyov, who, like Simonyan, is an occasional panelist on the Solovyov  show, where he may be said to represent hardliners on issues of patriotism and civic duty. Gurulyov said flatly that treason such as Prigozhin committed must be punished by the physical elimination of the perpetrators, by a bullet to the head.

This Lieutenant General went on to explain that he knows the Wagner Group from the time of its inception back in 2014 when it numbered less than 150 and he fought with their then unit commander Utkin side by side in the Donbas. Then they were fighting side by side in Syria in 2015. By 2016 Gurulyov and the Wagner detachments parted ways.

With regard to the events of Friday and Saturday, Gurulyov expressed shock and indignation that the rebels were able to enter and take control of an airbase in the Russian-Ukrainian border region and that they were able to march north to Voronezh without meeting resistance from local defense forces. Clearly measures must be taken to strengthen Russia’s defense preparedness in the regions closest to the military action of the Special Military Operation.

As regards the settlement negotiated by Lukashenko, Guyulyov said that only those Wagner soldiers who sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense and come under its direct control may be allowed to bear arms. All others should be disbanded and sent away from the war zone.

The third panelist on the Solovyov show whom I will cite very briefly was Alexander Babakov, deputy chair of the State Duma and a parliamentarian from the United Russia party. His point was that the armed mutiny failed because it was rejected by the regular Army, by the Russian government at all levels and by the people as a whole. In this way, Russia demonstrated to the world its unity in time of war, its readiness to stand up to the Collective West.  The lesson for the West was precisely the strength of the country and of its Commander in Chief.

Is anyone listening in Washington?

 

I have two further comments to make in today’s dispatch.

The first arises from the video material Solovyov presented at the start of the show, before the discussion with panelists got underway.  In particular, it was interesting to see video images of Solovyov’s visit to the front lines, which he now does almost weekly with assistance from the Ministry of Defense. His chat with soldiers operating drones in the battlefield complemented very well what you see from the reporting of war correspondents on the regular news programs of Russian state television. And it is this point:  the war in Ukraine has upended traditional Soviet-Russian military doctrine about deployment of forces.

The use of both reconnaissance and kamikaze drones in tandem by Russian soldiers at the front reverses entirely the advantage in real time targeting that the Ukrainians may have had at the start of the war thanks to U.S. reconnaissance aircraft and satellite images.  This new warfare which, as we see from the destruction of Bradleys and Leopards in the attempted attacks of the ongoing Ukrainian counter-offensive, makes clear the fact that the Russian army is emerging from the military operations in Ukraine much stronger than it entered the war.  Not just in manpower numbers resulting from the autumn 2022 call-up of reserves, or from the 160,000 volunteer signups this year, not just from the near tripling of production by the Russian military industrial complex, but by being war hardened and possessing the latest knowledge of what works and what doesn’t on the battlefield.  In this sense, the weakening of Russia that was said to be the objective of American support for the Kiev regime by Blinken, by Austin, by Biden, has had the opposite effect. I say this without considering the emptying of military equipment stocks across Europe resulting from massive deliveries of arms to Ukraine.

My second point is that talking heads everywhere, East and West, share the common susceptibility to talk in inverse proportion to what they know from the facts on the table. What we hear on the BBC, on Euronews, on CNN about the Prigozhin affair, about the war’s progress in general, is nearly all unfounded speculation.

Russian public space also has its share of idle chatter. Yesterday evening the news portal Tsargrad published an attention grabbing feature article on Shoigu’s expected resignation Monday morning and speculation on who might be tapped to replace him.

I do not entirely dismiss the possibility that Shoigu will leave office as part of the overall settlement of the Prigozhin affair. But at this point, the discussion is being spun from thin air.

~ ©Gilbert Doctorow is an independent political analyst based in Brussels. He chose this third career of 'public intellectual' after finishing up a 25 year career as corporate executive and outside consultant to multinational corporations doing business in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Tucker: Who is the most censored person in the U.S.?

 

 

TheDC Shorts

 

On the 6h episode of 'Tucker On Twitter,' Carlson talked about presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr. and censorship.

An update from the people in Rostov, Russia

 

 

American ex-GI and now journalist Patrick Lancaster in Rostov. He even got a quick word with  Prigozhin (the leader of Wagner).

German people rally against U.S. war$

 

Thousands gathered in the southwestern German town of Ramstein to protest against US military hegemony and demanded US military’s withdrawal from Germany.

Holding banners people took part in the march and many delivered speeches in front of the US air force base.

Demonstrators called on the West to stop providing arms to Ukraine and resolve the crisis in Ukraine through peaceful means.

Since the conflict erupted between Russia and Ukraine, the air base in Ramstein has played an important role.
 
The NATO-led contact group on Ukraine's defense holds regular meetings at the base, discussing plans on military support for Ukraine.

The Evgeny Prigozhin follies

 

 

I've grown tired of listening to this clown Evgeny Prigozhin. I never understood why the Russian government has put up with his constant narcissistic behavior for so long.

People often asked me about him but I had to respond that I didn't know much more about his antics than they did. I wrote to a couple contacts I have in Russia asking them to help me understand Prigozhin but they were not much help. Maybe they could not figure it out either.

But the last couple days truly revealed the arrogance, manipulative nature, and headline grabbing sense of entitlement of Prigozhin. The fact he was willing to risk a civil war inside of Russia was enough for me to want to see him locked away in prison for a lifetime.

I saw Scott Ritter yesterday on video saying that he believed that Prigozhin's traitorous behavior could have been part of a MI6 and CIA operation. (Ritter has many contacts inside Russia and was recently there on a book tour.)

As potential evidence of that theory we see today the following:

US intelligence agencies strongly suspected that Evgeny Prigozhin was planning a major move against the Russian government, days before the Wagner chief ordered his troops to march on Moscow, The New York Times reported on Saturday, citing sources.

It is quite possible that Prigozhin was double dealing. A couple of months ago there were stories circulating that he had been giving the Ukrainian military heads-up about some Russian military operations. Who knows for sure, but it seems highly possible having watched his road show during the past year.

So why did Moscow put up with him all this time? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe because the Wagner outfit was doing alot of the hard work in Bakhmut?

Australian journalist Caitlin Johnstone made this humorous point about Prigozhin's ill-fated revolution:

'Putin's just lucky he didn't suffer a REAL coup attempt like several wingnuts wandering around a government building [in Washington] for a few hours'.

RT reported this morning about the deal that ended this nightmare:

The criminal case against Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) founder Evgeny Prigozhin will be dropped and he will leave Russia, the Kremlin announced on Saturday evening.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov revealed that Prigozhin, a Saint Petersburg tycoon who made his initial fortune in catering, "will go to Belarus."

He added that Wagner's fighters will not be persecuted, taking into account their efforts on the frontlines of the Ukraine conflict. Peskov explained that President Vladimir Putin's team "have always respected their exploits."

PMC contractors who refused to take part in the mutiny – and whole units did not – will be allowed to sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry, Peskov stated.

 

Obviously with his inflated ego Prigozhin likely thought the Russian people would come running to him with open arms. Maybe he truly believed his own ramblings to the point that he thought a nationwide movement would enshrine him as the new Minister of Defense (MOD). Instead the people rallied around Putin and likely made him even stronger than his current 80% popularity ratings indicate.

You know that Washington-London-Berlin-Brussels-Paris were biting their fingernails in anticipation of a big Russian blow-up. How sad they must be today. Foiled again!

My only question now is who inside of the Russian MOD collaborated with him and will there be any firings and legal action taken against such co-conspirators? I've long known that there are leading oligarchs inside Russia who favor the west (Atlanticists they are called) who might have been urging Prigozhin along. If so, what will happen to them?

I'm sure that we will learn more in the days and weeks ahead. In the meantime the US-UK-NATO will likely use this orchestrated coup attempt to twist arms at the upcoming NATO confab in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 11-12. They will attempt to squeeze more weapons (maybe F-16) and money for the Ukraine war project from NATO members.

In the meantime hold onto your hats as NATO might take this moment to up their war game planning a notch or two thinking that Russia has been weakened which of course is pure nonsense.

Bruce 

Sunday song

 

 

Who is the real threat in the Pacific?

 

 

US-UK-NATO are provoking conflict with China.

It's similar to their strategy against Russia where they use Ukraine as a proxy.

In this case the west uses Hong Kong and Taiwan as an excuse to militarily encircle China and expand its bases throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

This growing aggression from the west puts the entire region in the middle of any shooting war that might begin.

The time to publicly denounce the US-UK-NATO war mongering is now.

See links to all Global Network monthly educational videos here

Why US-UK-NATO want nuclear-capable F16 in Ukraine

 

In trying to make sense of this moment in the conflict, it seems to me that the US, this week, has led the Kiev inner-circle to execute, in the guise of a counter-offensive, a premeditated slaughter of thousands of their soldiers to create an inexorable demand for air-fighting power to match Russia’s air superiority (and that Western air-power will just happen to be equipped with tactical nuclear weapons).

I caught a segment on RT today, Paul Craig Roberts speaking about the possibility of F-16’s being sent to Ukraine. Impressed with the importance of his analysis, I made a quick transcript of his statement, included below (its a bit choppy in reading, but the gist comes through).  

The utter depravity of this Western ‘Russia-must-be defeated’ decision-making cabal and the utter inhumanity of their campaign to impress, on the public mind, an utter disregard for the ethnic Russian
populace of the region — it leaves any thinking person absolutely shocked and stunned.   

David Occhiuto 

NYC  

 

 Paul Craig Roberts, RT segment, 23 June 2023:

“Washington started this. American foreign policy, controlled by the neocons, is, stated very clearly, the principle goal of American foreign policy is: to prevent the rise of Russia, or any country, that  could serve as a constraint on US unilateralism; so, the US cares nothing about Ukraine, it is a weapon to be used against Russia; so, they will continue to use that weapon as long as its available; and that’s why the Russians should take sufficient action to close this conflict down, they have the power, they have the conventional power; why do they want another agreement that the West isn’t going to hold; we had the Minsk agreement, which Putin held to for eight years, while the Americans built up an army in Ukraine. The F-16’s, they will not be a game changer on the battlefield, but the ones that are coming first, according to the reports from two NATO countries, are F-16’s that have been modified to carry tactical nuclear weapons. Now, a Kremlin war planner has to say, why are they sending those if all they want to do is challenge air superiority; are they intending to use these planes with tactical nuclear weapons; the Kremlin cannot overlook this, it would be taking unacceptable risk; that fact about the planes, is a war-widening fact; the Kremlin has to say, hey, this could be used for tactical weapons against our troop formations; so they would have to take some action against the deployment of these planes; it’s not a question of shooting them down in the air, it’s a question of why are tactical nuclear-prepared airplanes being given to Ukraine; that is the question, it is a very war-widening development, and this could be dangerous." 

Finding hope on the street

 

Keep moving folks, nothing to see here. There is no democracy in America.

We've got neo-feudalism.

We have a nation that is owned and run by corporate oligarchs who long ago captured all the relevant governmental agency decision making processes.

Our wealth-poverty divide is growing dramatically every day.

Yesterday I was out on the street again in Brunswick, Maine for an hour as I've done almost each Thursday for the last 16 months. Also every Friday I do the same at the weekly PeaceWorks vigil (on-going since 9-11) in town.

I hold signs that read 'No war with Russia, Stop NATO, or 'No more $$$$ for Ukraine - $160 billion so far'. 

Brunswick is a 'liberal Democrat' run town. Those driving by during my weekly vigil reflect that reality. They are mostly brainwashed by their loyalty to their political party which has been running this Ukraine operation since the Obama-Biden orchestrated coup d'état in Kiev in 2014. They mostly have swallowed the 'blame Russia' mantra.

It's surprisingly not much different here in Maine than it was during my 30 years in conservative central and north Florida. While out on the street during those years standing for peace the reaction was oh so similar to what I get today.

It goes to show that the American people are thoroughly manipulated and lobotomized. Of course about 20% are different but the vast majority just regurgitate what they hear on corporate media, in school, in the military and at church. 

The constant media commercials paid for by big Pharma, the MIC, the banksters and the companies that try to feed us a poisonous diet do have an impact on all of us. I've swallowed a ton of BS during my life. More times than I care to recall.

Often I get comments on my Fazebook page calling me a Putin-ista or the equivalent.  Those comments largely come from North Americans. 

In the counter on this blog I get a daily list of the nations from which readers come. Historically the majority of the hits come from overseas as people in those nations have little trouble (with the exception of Europe these days) when it comes to separating the wheat from the chaff. 

Americans are hung up on believing the daily dose of crap they are fed from the likes of NPR, MSNBC, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, BBC, etc. They fear their social circles will reject them or they might even lose their job if they don't go along with the corporate narrative. They essentially hand over the decision making about their own children and grankids future because they fear being judged in public. 

So as people like to say in America, they 'stick to their guns'. In other words they do as they have been told by 'authority'.

I am truly thankful though to the few Americans who honk, wave or flash peace signs while I am standing on the street. It gives me the courage to return again and again. I can see the appreciation in the expressions of those people who give positive acknowledgement. They don't feel so alone when they see us on the street. It feels good to be connected to those passing by even if we don't really know each other.

Thanks to you thinking and caring people.

And thanks to you blog readers too - no matter from where you come from.

Bruce

Macron's 'infiltration of BRICS' is a bust

 

RT 

 Macron is ‘inappropriate’ for BRICS – Moscow
There should be no place for the French president at the bloc’s upcoming summit, a senior diplomat has argued

French President Emmanuel Macron’s attendance at a meeting of BRICS leaders would be “inappropriate,” considering his government’s stance against Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said. Paris confirmed this week that Macron is seeking an invitation to the bloc’s summit in South Africa in August.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Ryabkov explained that Russia’s opposition to Macron’s potential appearance was based on France’s efforts to isolate Moscow and its support for NATO’s goal of inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia in the Ukraine conflict.

“We are not hiding this position and have informed our South African colleagues about it,” Ryabkov said, as cited by Interfax. “We expect our point of view to be fully taken into account.”

As host of the summit, South Africa would have the right to invite Macron, although it would be important for Pretoria to consult other BRICS members beforehand, Ryabkov suggested. 

He noted that the bloc is currently discussing the criteria for future members. The rejection of unilateral economic sanctions as a geopolitical tool is likely to become one such condition, and France would certainly fail to qualify based on that indicator, Ryabkov argued.

Around 20 nations have reportedly formally applied to join BRICS or indicated that they are considering such a move, although France is not among them. The organization, which started as an informal economic club, currently lists Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as full members.

Macron’s wish to attend the summit in Johannesburg was first reported by French news outlet L’Opinion, and was confirmed on Tuesday by Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna during a visit to South Africa. Her host, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, said inviting Macron would be an “innovation” for BRICS, but noted that a decision had not been made on the matter.

Ukrainian POW: 'It's a mess'

 

 SouthFront

The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) during the offensive operation amount to thousands of lives of Ukrainian soldiers. According to the Pentagon, such losses were fully taken into account.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian servicemen do not agree to be used as cannon fodder and for the interests of NATO. More and more units of the AFU and assault groups surrender on the front lines. 

Ukrainian POWs confirm that Kiev’s counter offensive is a failure. Previously, units of the AFU that were thrown into the bloody battles made similar claims and refused to fight under the command of their unprofessional officers

See some very touching interviews with Ukrainian POW's at https://southfront.org/in-video-ukrainian-pows-confirm-counter-offensive-is-mess/ 

In one of the videos an AFU soldier says:

"It's a mess out there...some units come in, suffered losses and ran away. Instead of evacuating their wounded and holding the line, they just left the positions. Our command was extremely incompetent. They don't know how to motivate, don't care about them, don't follow their promises. Well, people are not willing to fight, the moral is very low, people refuse to go on the offensive. There are no reinforcements."

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The US-UK-NATO keep pressuring Zelensky to round up more troops and send them to the front. Mostly they are farm boys, rural and urban poor and working class. Videos from Lviv (in western Ukraine far from the front) young men of means are seen partying on the streets at night. 

Zelensky tells the west he needs F-16 war planes.Washington wants to drag this out. Evidence is the announcement in the last few days that the Pentagon says it miscounted the value of weapons sent to Ukraine and they found another $6.2 billion in unspent budget allocation for more arms to stoke the Ukraine debacle.

Those in the west who claim they care so much about the Ukrainian people (and their cannon fodder troops) ought to get off their duffs and call for an end to the US-UK-NATO money and weapons pipeline that keeps this bloody war going. 

Watch these videos linked above and see these AFU troops for yourself and then tell me that Russia is the one who started this war and keeps it going.

Bruce

The Rebellious Youths of Jenin are not terrorists

 

 

Everybody killed in the cycle of bloodshed - Israelis and Palestinians alike - are victims of the occupation.

By Adam Keller

Yesterday the army invaded with great force the city of Jenin and killed several of its inhabitants. Today, Palestinians took an act of revenge and killed Israelis in the West Bank settlement of Eli. The cycle of bloodshed continues to turn and claim ever more and more victims, of both peoples. The Israelis killed today in the settlement of Eli, like the Palestinians killed yesterday in Jenin, are all victims of the continued and aggravated occupation.

Those who deepen the occupation and build ever more settlements are guaranteeing the continuation of bloodshed. Those who call for a "major military operation" to defeat the Palestinians are perpetuating  a dangerous delusion. It is enough to remember that this entire occupation, with its 56 years, resulted from what seemed the fastest and most decisive victory in the history of Israel, the defeat of three armies in six days. But all that this victory brought Israel was the perpetuation and deepening of the conflict with the Palestinians, with the army required to repeatedly reconquer the same places, repeatedly invade the same cities and villages - and for all that it did not succeed and will not succeed in defeating the Palestinian resistance.

Only a peaceful solution that will enable the Palestinians to live a sovereign life in their own independent state can bring a future of peace to Israel.

Gush Shalom: This is not terrorism, the city of Jenin is rebelling against the oppressive occupation regime. 

The residents of Jenin fight and sacrifice their lives in a just struggle to be a free people in their country. Gush Shalom calls on the soldiers of the occupation army to refuse orders and fill the military prison.

The media reports tell of soldiers fighting against "terrorism".

The Palestinians who fight, with inadequate arms, against the most powerful army in the Middle East are stigmatised as "terrorists" and their killing is described as an "elimination" or a "liquidation".  This terminology is nothing but false and ugly propaganda. There is no terror in Jenin except for the terror that the occupation army tries to intimidate the city's residents. Jenin is a rebel city, a city whose inhabitants have had enough of fifty-six years of oppressive occupation and embarked on an all-out rebellion.

While masses of protesters against the Netanyhau government's anti-democratic "reforms" coup crowd the streets of Tel Aviv, singing the Israeli national anthem and emphasize the words "To be a free people in our country", a short drive away young Palestinians are ready to fight and sacrifice their lives in a justified struggle to be a free people in their own country. This is a battle that the State of Israel cannot and should not win.

What is happening today in Jenin is a sign of things to come.The day might not be far when also in Nablus, Hebron and Ramallah the occupation soldiers will encounter stubborn resistance and ambushes of explosive charges. The Palestinian Authority with its security forces would be forced to join the liberation struggle of its people, or it will be swept away and disappear.

In the later 1940's, when Jewish underground organizations were struggling against British rule, Chaim Weizmann - future President of Israel - said "a people do not get their liberty on a silver platter. This later inspired a famous Israeli poem, often read on memorial ceremonies, where the fallen youths are commemorated as "The silver platter on which Israel got its statehood". In the present moment, many young Palestinians are ready and willing to be the silver platter on which Palestinian independence will be presented to their people.

However many acts of oppression will be perpetrated against them, they cannot be defeated.

Gush Shalom calls on the IDF soldiers who are required to attack Jenin and the other Palestinian cities to refuse these orders and fill up the military prison. The army gave its brand new military prison, established in the town of Kfar Yona, the name "Neve Tzedek" - "Abode of Justice". Soldiers who refuse to take part in the dirty work of the occupation can expect little military justice there. But they can help do justice to the Palestinians who strive for their liberty.

Gush Shalom statement, June 20, 2023 

Israel must end its occupation & settlements

 

 

My friend Fra Hughes from Ireland in this interview. He is a long-time dedicated supporter of the Palestinian people. He and others in Ireland raise money to send to Palestine for children's needs. MB and I proudly donate monthly to this fund.

Fra and I toured the Donbass region (Lugansk and Donetsk) in 2019.

Bruce 

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Following the Israeli military raid on the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin that took place on Monday, a sixth Palestinian has died. Before the lastest development, five Palestinians, including one minor, were killed and more than 90 other people injured. 

The Palestinian health ministry says Amjad Aref al-Jaas, 48, succumbed to his pains from the intensity of his wounds on Tuesday morning after he was shot in the stomach. Separately, Israeli forces also shot dead a 20-year-old Palestinian male, near Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank, bringing the total Palestinian death toll since Monday to seven. 

At least 22 injured Palestinians are believed to be in critical condition, including a 15-year-old girl. 

See more from Fra here 

Imperial collapse: Mounting U.S. debt & endless war

 

 

The current U.S. debt amounts to just over $32 trillion.

In the first quarter of 2023, interest payments hit $929 billion on an annualized basis and the United States now spends as much on interest payments as it spends on the annual Pentagon budget.

The only winners are the banks and the war industry. Everyone else is on their knees.

How much longer can Washington sustain this kind of debt spending? Especially at the very time that homelessness is mounting all over the nation, millions and millions can't afford healthcare, rent, food and much more.

In the middle of all that Washington has a hot war going against Russia and has spent over $140 billion supplying its proxy Nazi-led army in Ukraine.

In addition Washington is threatening China with war over Taiwan. The funny thing is that neo-con warmonger Secretary of State Blinkin was just in Beijing where he publicly said the US still supports the 'One China policy' that clearly states Taiwan is part of China.

This is why many countries around the world are now calling the US an 'empire of lies'. You can't trust one word coming out of the mouths of US mis-leaders in Washington.

I call them magicians - you have to watch both their hands, or both sides of their mouths. 

 

'The glory of the American experiment' says Pompeo in the video above.

What a joke.

I'm sorry to say that the experiment is over - and it was a huge failure!

Bruce

Indian retired Major General Bakshi

 

 

Major General G. D. Bakshi is a retired Indian Army officer. He served in Jammu & Kashmir Rifles. He has been awarded several medals for his distinguished service in the Indian Army.

From Andrei Martyanov's Blog:

 ... Bakshi talks here about strategy and he makes much more sense than any of the NATO or US generals parading themselves as military amateurs in the capacity of military "experts" for all kinds of "news" outlets.

The only point I disagree with General is the NATO involvement which will only trigger Russia's additional mobilization and escalation of the SMO into the War. I do agree with our own ARW's observation that Blinken is in China for more than just discussion of US-China relations. As ARW astutely observes:

    My guess... : USA can not be seen picking up the phone and calling Russia. So, they are in China trying to get them to negotiate the US position with Russia which is a peace deal that splits Ukraine but with NATO security guarantees for the western portion. Edit…I also think that all the public disclosures of the Korean solution, no NATO, NATO security council, etc. were the Wests attempts to negotiate with Russia but doing it publicly. I also don’t think China would have agreed to mediate unless Russia showed a willingness to talk about it.

I think he absolutely nails it here and the search for off-ramp in Biden Admin has started some time ago. But as I stated the minute Putin showed the draft of the agreement with 404 last year's May, Putin never does anything just because. Meeting of the leaders of African countries is a big deal and a highly publicized event, and those drafts saw the light of day (and media) for a very specific reason. Things may get very-very hot and very-very soon.

This is America....

 

 

Circus, circus, circus....

How much of it is real and how much paid by the two corporate parties in order to keep the people snarling at each other? There are some quite good actors in this orchestration of distraction and utter madness.

It's bat shit crazy here nowadays and getting worse. The oligarchs are squeezing the hell out of us, trying to extract as much $$$ as possible, before they bail out of this crashing airplane.

Bruce 

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

Sunday song

 

 

 

What is wrong with Poland?

 

 

2nacheki

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the joint press briefing of the African Heads of State and Government following peace talks in Kyiv, Ukraine but now Poland Blocks their Plane to Russia.

 

NATO opening an office in Japan

 

All this week I was working on the next edition of the Global Network's newspaper Space Alert. 

I've now sent all the copy off to our layout design person and then it should go to the printer and be mailed soon after that. 

One of the most striking stories that indicates how serious the US-NATO war machine is about next attacking China is the story that NATO will be opening a HQ office in Japan.

NATO is planning to open a liaison office in Japan (likely hosted at Yokota Air Base), the first of its kind in Asia. The station will allow the military alliance to conduct periodic consultations with Japan and key partners in the region such as South Korea, Australia and New Zealand as China emerges as ‘a new challenge’, alongside its traditional focus on Russia. Danish Ambassador to Japan Peter Taksoe-Jensen told Nikkei Asia in a phone interview that a NATO liaison office would be the first of its kind in the Indo-Pacific and more than just symbolic. "It would be a very visible, real way to strengthen the relations between Japan and NATO," he said. "There will also be a look at interoperability," Taksoe-Jensen said, regarding how NATO and Japanese forces work together in different areas.

 

 BRICS is a problem for the west

There can be little doubt that the US-UK-NATO shake in fear of the growing partnership of China and Russia and the legions of nations now lining up to join BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). BRICS is the multi-polar challenge to the western colonial exploitative capitalist system epitomized by the IMF and World Bank. More than 25 nations including Venezuela, Mexico, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Indonesia are in line to join BRICS. The US-UK-NATO cannot abide by this challenge to their global imperial control.

The question for this moment: will US-UK-NATO destroy the world in order to block the multi-polar movement now underway?

NATO war games and Biden's DU gift

The current NATO war game bumping up to the borders of Russia with hundreds of western military aircraft (fighters and bombers practicing a nuclear attack on Russia) is a clear indication that NATO continues to put a loaded gun to the heads of Moscow and Beijing. The threat is back down, submit to western authority or we WILL take you out.

Is it just a blustering threat or does the US-UK-NATO war machine really intend to carry through with their furious insanity?

The announcement earlier this week in the Wall Street Journal that Biden has decided to send Depleted-Uranium (DU) shells for Abrams tanks to Kiev is one more indication that the western terrorists are indeed willing to create a 1,000 mile radioactive zone across the eastern Ukrainian border with Russia. How is Moscow supposed to respond?

I'm certain that the Russian military will try its best to locate the storage facilities that house the American DU cargo and bomb them before the DU is shipped toward the Donbass like they recently did to the UK's shipment of DU shells to Ukraine.

African delegation meets Zelensky

Representatives from seven African countries met with Ukraine's prez Zelensky on Friday to look for solutions to the Ukraine crisis. Zelensky blew them off and said there will be no serious peace negotiations unless Russia essentially surrenders.

With that in mind how come so many western 'peace movement leaders' keep calling for negotiations and ceasefire instead of demanding that their countries stop funding, arming, training and directing the Nazi-led army of Kiev?

The African peace mission brought together South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Comoros Azali Assoumani, Senegal’s President Macky Sall, Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema, as well as Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Florent Ntsiba and Ruhakana Rugunda, special envoys of the presidents of the Republic of the Congo and Uganda respectively.

The African delegation landed first in Poland and over 100 of the African journalists and other political representatives were forced to remain on their plane for nine hours. The top African leaders were allowed to fly to Moscow but the others stuck on the plane are still in captivity.  Poland is of course a NATO member. Do you think that this mis-treatment of the African leaders was just happenstance or was it a coordinated decision by the west to show them just how little NATO 'appreciates' their peace pilgrimage?

I guess the EU doesn't care about securing any more African resources - maybe they plan to get them when they leave for Mars.

The African delegation travels to Russia today where they will certainly be treated with greater respect I am sure.

It is our challenge to speak out and protest this western arrogance, exceptionalism and insanity while we still can.

Sometimes it also means you might have to publicly call out some of the weak leaders in our movement. This idea that only Russia can be blamed and that Biden and NATO tend to get a free pass on their Ukraine war project is just not going to fly anymore.

Bruce