Category Russia

Jul 21 2022

Republicans Fail to Reject NATO Expansion


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Jul 21, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

We spend too much on the military, but we should give all our money to Ukraine. Make it make sense! Sweden and Finland made their grand debut in NATO this week. The Democrats helped push that into law in a vote that passed 394-18. Only 18 dissenters, all Republicans, saw the flaw involved with expanding NATO. That means most Republicans supported this act as well, utterly ignorant of the implications.

Former President Trump notoriously tried to leave NATO, citing that the US paid well above the 2% target and other nations relied on America’s military power but not the other way around. The left constantly complains when we spend money to protect our own country.

Thomas Massie (Ky.) reminded the public that other NATO members have failed to meet their obligation of spending 2% of GDP on NATO. In fact, more than two-thirds of NATO countries fail to meet this requirement, while the US pays much more. “America can’t afford to subsidize socialist Europe’s defense, nor should we,” Massie tweeted. Matt Gaetz bluntly stated that America simply cannot afford this unnecessary purchase right now. “Gas is a bazillion dollars… Inflation is over 9 percent… The House is currently voting on how we think other countries should react to our newfound commitment to NATO expansion in Scandinavia,” Gaetz tweeted.

The Biden Administration has completely abandoned all domestic policy in favor of international objectives that in no way benefit America. What happens if Sweden or Finland goes to war? Well, 394 US lawmakers do not seem to care if we are pulled into another war and may be actively instigating one. It is alarming that only 18 people in power understand the implications of expanding NATO.

Jul 21 2022

Biden’s Hatred of Russia Predates Putin


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Jul 21, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

I do not understand why our world leaders are so intent on creating war. Here in 1997, Biden wants to admit the Balkans into NATO at any cost to create an internal violent reaction inside Russia. This is two years BEFORE Putin. It appears to be what I have said all along. In 1997, Yeltsin had been reelected. He was pushing for democracy and economic freedom. The fact that he was battling the old-line Communists seems to have made no difference to Biden. It never mattered who was in charge of Russia. The narrative was that Russia was the enemy and nothing else would matter. If Russia was NOT the enemy, then NATO was no longer relevant.

Today, we have nothing but hatred building up on both sides, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader, has come out and declared that  he is waiting on an order from the Russian president to blast Western countries into “smithereens.” Once upon a time, we use to fear nuclear war. Today, we seem to be praying for it. There are no peacemakers anymore – only seating hatred. Anyone who takes against war is called a Putin Supporter. But this shows all along the hatred of Russia existed long before Putin.

Carl Gersham, the long-time director of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), came out in 2013 before the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution and wrote in the Washington Post that: “Ukraine is the biggest prize.” He advocated targeting Ukraine to break its ties to Russia and then “Putin may find himself on the losing end not just in the near abroad but within Russia itself.” The idea of regime change was one of the tools of the CIA. It is no longer a covert tool. It is now fully in the open. War is no longer abstract. It is now inevitable and our computer will be correct once more.

Since the 2011 World Economic Conference where I put out the forecast from our computer that the war cycle would turn up in 2014, that was precisely on target with the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution which started the whole nightmare.

Jul 20 2022

This will lead to WW3 according to Russia, US orders all Americans out now | Redacted News


Redacted News  Published originally on Rumble on July 19, 2022 

The U.S. State Department just issued a warning to all Americans in Ukraine to get out now. Russia says any moves against Crimea will be disastrous for the West. Starbucks closes 16 stores because due to liberal-run city problems. Justin Trudeau just hit a new low. And DHS is caught by ACLU buying millions of dollars in cell phone tracking software to track Americans.

Jul 19 2022

Russia to Cut off Germany from Gas Thanks to Zelensky


Armstrong Economics Blog/Energy Re-Posted Jul 18, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

It is very interesting how Volodymyr Zelensky is doing whatever he can, not merely to destroy all of Europe, but to push the world into World War III because of his and Ukraine’s inherent hatred of Russians. He has told Justin Trudeau that Ukrainians would never accept Canada’s decision to return a gas turbine intended for a Russian pipeline because it would encourage more sanctions violations. Meanwhile, Gazprom has come out and stated that it could no longer guarantee its “good functioning” pipeline to Germany due to crucial turbines that are being held up in Canada because of sanctions.

Gazprom has declared extraordinary circumstances to void itself from all contractual obligations to Germany, whereby the gas flow to Europe will stop flowing indefinitely. Reuters reported a letter dated July 14, 2022. Zelensky thinks cutting gas supplies to Germany will force NATO to invade Russia. Kyiv will be the first to go before Zelensky can make it to his private jet to run off to enjoy the hundreds of millions he is stashing offshore.

Perhaps Germany should now invade Ukraine. It seems to be the only way to save Europe.

Our computer has been targeting here late July and August and high volatility and August as a Panic Cycle in some markets. But just about everything is going nuts into 2023. A quarterly closing above $6.25 in natural gas, which it has NOT been able to achieve this far, will confirm this is going to get much worse. Therefore, a September closing ABOVE $6.25 will be a serious warning for 2023. We had a rare Double Directional Change this quarter, so it looks like we have the most brain-dead crop of world leaders ever in human history and Zelensky, who I warned was the man who would create World War III.

Even NYC lost over 5,000 small businesses thanks to COVID. There isn’t a single decision these people are capable of making. It has reached the point that people who I know personally, who would be qualified to lead, are simply not interested due to the WOKE culture. We are simply headed into a politically created nightmare.

We see sharply higher volatility in August and the SIGNIFICANT risk of war coming in the first quarter of 2023. This is NOT something that is my personal opinion. The only thing that can actually target periods well in advance is an unbiased computer. It was Socrates that targeted 2008 as a Panic Cycle published back in 1999, which can be verified on the Wayback Machine. That was not only the Great Crash that set in motion negative interest rates theories, but it was the historical high in the euro.

Jul 16 2022

WWIII is not Worth Supporting Ukraine in a Land Grab


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Jul 16, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The West is determined to invade Russia and they believe that they can destroy it despite the fact that they are no longer a communist nation or a threat. That does not seem to matter for they want war because Russia and China will not surrender their sovereignty to the United Nations under this Great Reset all for Climate Change & the WEF.

Indeed, many practical Western military strategists are starting to agree that Henry Kissinger’s advice must be taken and that peace negotiations should begin – NOW. There is a growing number of military strategists that realize that Russia and Belarus along with China and North Korea will all join to defeat the West and NATO which they see as the greatest threat now to humanity.

The West needs war because it can no longer maintain this Marxist socialism system borrowing endlessly with no intention to repay anything  back. This is coming to an end. Our computer has warned 40 years ago that the target for the collapse of socialism was due in 2023. Communism fell in 1989 and now it is our turn in 2023. Marx’s theories will be remembered throughout history. I find it interesting that it is forbidden even in the Ten Commandments warning that this idea of rob from one class to hand to another has never worked. We must now pay the price for this theory. When it was first imposed, over 200 million people died resisting communism in Russia and China. It is ironic that now we are the Marxism trying to impose our will upon Russia and China. What goes around, comes around.

Russia has been unable to use its air power because NATO is providing Ukraine with all the tactical information needed so they only need to turn on their radar minutes before launching and as such Russia cannot destroy those systems which have been supplanted by NATO. Either Russia takes out the AWACs providing that information which then is an act against NATO. The West thinks it is very clever in this arrangement but they really have entered the war and it is just a matter of time that this escalates out of control.

The danger here is that the West is pushing Russia into a very dangerous position. Russia can terminate the entire supply of arms to Ukraine by destroying dams that also form key bridges over the Dnepr. However, they can score a complete defeat of Ukraine by launching several dozen tactical nuclear weapons. What will NATO do then? These clever tactics of NATO being in the war but pretending they are not is a very risky game.

It is not likely that the West will ever take the advice of Kissinger and apply pressure to Kyiv to come to the table and face this unpleasant reality that they must relinquish their claim to territory occupied by Russians who they absolutely hate.

Jul 11 2022

UN Human Rights Report Shows Ukraine Military Used Nursing Home Residents as Human Shields


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 10, 2022 | Sundance 

A quietly released study from the U.N. Human Rights Commissioner [See Here pdf] looking into allegations of war crimes conducted during the Ukraine -vs- Russia conflict, specifically looked into allegations of Russian military targeting a nursing home facility in the eastern region of Luhansk.

What the UN investigation revealed was that Ukraine military soldiers had intentionally used the nursing home as an active base to launch military strikes against Russian forces. The Associated Press was forced to reveal, “Ukraine’s armed forces bear a large, and perhaps equal, share of the blame for what happened in Stara Krasnyanka, which is about 580 kilometers (360 miles) southeast of Kyiv. A few days before the attack, Ukrainian soldiers took up positions inside the nursing home, effectively making the building a target.”

The issue of the Ukraine military, intentionally and with purposeful forethought, using civilian locations to embed their military units, highlights the inherent dangers associated with western propaganda during the conflict.  In fact, the effort to create civilian casualties seems more purposeful as a strategy to gain western media support and create stories that can be used to advance sympathy toward Ukraine, even if it means putting their own civilians in harm’s way.

(Via AP) […]  The report by the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights doesn’t conclude the Ukrainian soldiers or the Russian troops committed a war crime. But it said the battle at the Stara Krasnyanka nursing home is emblematic of the human rights office’s concerns over the potential use of “human shields” to prevent military operations in certain areas.

The aftermath of the attack on the Stara Krasnyanka home also provides a window into how both Russia and Ukraine move quickly to set the narrative for how events are unfolding on the ground — even when those events may still be shrouded by the fog of war.

For Ukraine, maintaining the upper hand in the fight for hearts and minds helps to ensure the continued flow of billions of dollars in Western military and humanitarian aid.

[…] David Crane, a former Defense Department official and a veteran of numerous international war crime investigations, said the Ukrainian forces may have violated the laws of armed conflict by not evacuating the nursing home’s residents and staff.

“The bottom-line rule is that civilians cannot intentionally be targeted. Period. For whatever reason,” Crane said. “The Ukrainians placed those people in a situation which was a killing zone. And you can’t do that.” (read more)

Keep in mind, the United States is funding Ukraine to fight this war.  Without U.S. funding, including the shipments of weapons, the training of military units and the embedding of U.S. special forces to assist the Ukraine military, Ukraine and Russian governments would have likely entered into peace negotiations.

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Jul 7 2022

How Western Sanctions Crippled Syria


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Jul 7, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The West has placed some form of sanctions on Syria since the Carter Administration when the nation was added to the State Sponsors of Terrorism List. George W. Bush increased sanctions in 2004 to push the “War on Terror” agenda as the US invaded sovereign nations under false pretenses. However, it was not until 2011 that the sanctions against Syria really caused the economy to fold.

Former President Obama implemented new sanctions that directly target the Syrian oil sector. This wave of sections forbids all petroleum investments and imports as well as exports. Individual assets for individuals and entities were frozen as well. Obama vowed not to lift sanctions until President Bashar al-Assad stepped down. The US used the pretense of Assad being a brutal leader who the people needed to be liberated from with the help of the world police force aka America. Transcripts from Obama’s 2011 executive order:

“The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way… As a part of that effort, my Administration is announcing unprecedented sanctions to deepen the financial isolation of the Assad regime and further disrupt its ability to finance a campaign of violence against the Syrian people.  I have signed a new Executive Order requiring the immediate freeze of all assets of the Government of Syria subject to U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting U.S. persons from engaging in any transaction involving the Government of Syria.  This E.O. also bans U.S. imports of Syrian-origin petroleum or petroleum products; prohibits U.S. persons from having any dealings in or related to Syria’s petroleum or petroleum products; and prohibits U.S. persons from operating or investing in Syria. We expect today’s actions to be amplified by others.”

The European Union placed sanctions on Syria in 2011, as did the UK. Syria was essentially cut off from the world economy, and the hope of readmittance vanished in 2019 when former President Trump signed the Caesar Syria Protection Act. The act was named after a Syrian detainee names Caesar who documented human rights abuses and war crimes allegedly carried out by the Assad regime. Once the Caesar Act passed, there was no hope for Syria. People could not even send money to their relatives in Syria without repercussion. The US outlined six demands that needed to be met to lift the sanctions:

  1. End to Syrian and Russian aircraft bombing civilians.
  2. Iranian, Syrian and Russian forces, as well as entities connected to them, no longer restrict humanitarian access to besieged areas and allow for civilians to leave freely.
  3. All political prisoners are released, and the appropriate international human rights organizations are given full access to Syria’s prisons and detention facilities.
  4. Bombing of “medical facilities, schools, residential areas, and community gathering places, including markets” by Syrian, Russian, Iranian forces, as well as entities connected to them, ceases.
  5. The possibility for the “safe, voluntary, and dignified return of Syrians displaced by the conflict” is achieved.
  6. Accountability for “perpetrators of war crimes in Syria and justice for victims of war crimes committed by the Assad regime, including by participation in a credible and independent truth and reconciliation process.”

It all ties back to the US and Russia vying for Syrian oil. Both sides were bombing Syria into oblivion. The US has not lifted sanctions despite desperate cries for help from the Syrian people. At least 1.5% of the entire population of Syria is now dead, and over 90% live in extreme poverty. Biden recently claimed sanctions do not work, but he was referring to a country with a larger GDP and established infrastructure. Russia was able to bypass the sanctions, continue trading with allies, and most importantly hold power over one of the world’s most important natural resources. It is no wonder that Syrian men are fighting along with Russia against the West and will likely align with Eastern powers for generations to come.

Jul 7 2022

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Proactively Blames Russia for Pending Global Food Shortage


Step back for a minute and elevate the discussion to a bigger review.  In the past several months every single institution of policy making has stated, many emphatically, that a looming global food crisis is imminent.   No one is hedging on this point; everyone in the geopolitical system is in alignment saying there will be food shortages.

Joe Biden, NATO, the G7, the European Union, the World Bank, USAID, and every western leader in the United States and Europe has stated there will be food shortages.

They are not saying there might be shortages; their statements are emphatic, there will be shortages.

Accept this basic cornerstone.  Then ask why not a single proactive step has been taken by any of the aforementioned institutions or governments to alleviate what they declare is a certainty.  Why?

Simple question, “why?”

If all of the western nations, non-govt organizations and heads of state, are aware of a coming food crisis, why is there no proactive response?

It is a question that even the most hardcore leftists will not answer, because there is only one answer.  No action is being taken because they do not want to take action.  No effort to avoid the crisis is being done, because they do not want the crisis avoided.

Peel all the layers of obfuscation and causation away, and what we find is the epicenter of the food shortage is directly the result of the Build Back Better agenda.  A post-pandemic western government deliberate decision to radically change global energy development.  In succinct terms, the climate change agenda.

However, regardless of how you feel about the validity of “climate change,” the cause of diminished food supplies is purposeful.  It is not climate change causing food shortages. It is the purposeful action taken under the guise of mitigating climate change that is causing the shortage of food.

The collective Build Back Better energy policy of western governments’ is the reason for massive increases in energy costs, massive oil price jumps, gasoline price increases, significant increases in chemical costs, increases in diesel fuel costs, shortages of fertilizer created using natural gas, and the end result is lower crop yields, higher farming costs and eventually, food shortages.  They know this.

All of the organizations and government who have been decrying the future shortage of food, know it is the radical shift in energy resource development that is creating the crisis.  This acceptance of reality begins the framework to understand just how entrenched and committed these western leaders are toward their beloved climate change agenda.

We do not yet know the scale of food shortage, but we do know -and everyone admits- there will be severe shortages on a global basis.

Western leaders will not and cannot accept the blame for what they are doing.  So, they will blame-cast, excuse and justify what is likely to surface.

Food shortages will be blamed on the Ukraine conflict, Russian aggression, climate change and any various iteration of justification that does not identify the true cause, their energy ideology.

I’m not so sure that people fully understand what the entire system of western government would be willing to do to avoid being blamed for avoidable death on a potential scale that is quite alarming.  All of the western leaders, institutions and governments are on the same boat.   They are all in this together.

~ Deafening Drumbeats for War ~

~ Joe Biden Blaming Russia ~

Reminder, watch:

.

….. You think that guy is going to take responsibility?   What would he do to avoid it?

July 6, 2022 | sundance 

Jul 5 2022

Senator Lindsey Graham Returns from Turkey Hopeful to Close Deal on F16 Sales


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 4, 2022 | Sundance 


Senator Lindsey Graham (U-DC) was apparently in Turkey around the same time as the NATO summit.  According to a Twitter announcement by Graham he has returned to the U.S. hopeful to close the deal on selling F-16”s to Turkey now that Turkish President Recep Erdogan has removed opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

“I will do all in my power to support the Biden Administration’s decision to sell F-16s to the Turkish Air Force,” Graham writes.

Also adding, “These fighter jets, in the hands of our NATO allies, will create a sense of stability and provide capability to the Turkish military that is most definitely in America’s national security interests.” {link}

On Tuesday of last week Turkey removed their block of Sweden and Finland from joining NATO, and on Wednesday Joe Biden agreed to sell Turkey 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes:

Newsmax – The Biden administration threw its support on Wednesday behind the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, a day after Ankara lifted a veto of NATO membership for Finland and Sweden.

Celeste Wallander, Assistant Secretary for Defense for International Security Affairs at Pentagon, said strong Turkish defense capabilities would reinforce NATO’s defenses.

“The United States supports Turkey’s modernization of its fighter fleet because that is a contribution to NATO security and therefore American security,” she said. (read more)

Finland now represents an additional 1,340 km (830 mi) long direct border with Russia.  The border runs mostly through uninhabited taiga forests and sparsely populated rural areas.

Jul 5 2022

Facing Defeat in Lysychansk Ukraine Military Retreats, Russia Takes Full Control of Eastern Ukraine Region of Luhansk


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 4, 2022 | Sundance 

Separatists in Luhansk had been embroiled in a bloody civil war against the Ukraine military since 2014.  On Sunday Russia announced its military forces and allies had taken control of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region after capturing the final Ukrainian holdout of Lysychansk.   Based on ground reports showing celebrations of Russian troops and the citizens of Lysychansk, the end of that regional conflict appears confirmed.

According to Politico, “Ukrainian troops have retreated from Lysychansk, the last major Kyiv-controlled city in the eastern Luhansk region, the country’s military command said Sunday. “In order to preserve the lives of the defenders of Ukraine, a decision was made to withdraw,” according to a statement from the General Staff of the Armed Forces.” {link}

Previously Moscow media were reporting that Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin Luhansk had been “liberated”, after earlier statements saying the military had captured villages around Lysychansk and encircled the city.

Politico – […] Ukraine’s military command said that given the great “superiority” of Russia’s troops in terms of weapons, ammunition and personnel, attempts to prolong the defense of the city — which had a pre-war population of around 100,000 — “would lead to fatal consequences.

The eastern region of Ukraine is a major target for Russia: Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014 in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that make up the key industrial area of Donbas, and Russia’s recognition of the self-styled people’s republics there preceded its full-scale invasion of the country this past February.

[…]  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that “there is a risk” that the whole Luhansk region could be fully occupied by Russian troops soon. “There are such risks, and we realize them,” he said at a press conference after a meeting with Australian PM Anthony Albanese in Kyiv.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported earlier on Sunday to President Vladimir Putin that “full control” had been established over Lysychansk as well as “a number of nearby settlements,” and declared “the liberation” of the whole Luhansk region. (read more)

(Telegraph, India) – […] Russia also reported explosions on Sunday in its city of Belgorod, about 40km north of the border with Ukraine, that killed at least three people and damaged and destroyed homes.  Senior Russian lawmaker Andrei Klishas accused Ukraine of shelling Belgorod and called for a stern response.

Russian regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that five homes were destroyed in the city and at least 11 apartment buildings and more than 30 houses were damaged.

“The sound was so strong that I jumped up, I woke up, got very scared and started screaming,” a Belgorod resident told Reuters, adding the blasts occurred around 3am.

Moscow has accused Kyiv of numerous attacks on Belgorod and other areas bordering Ukraine. Kyiv has not claimed responsibility but says such incidents as payback, after Russia has pounded Ukrainian urban areas into rubble.  There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the latest Belgorod incident. Reuters could not independently verify the Russian accounts. (link)

Meanwhile there are even more reports of the Ukraine military burning crops in Eastern Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/Ukraine66251776/status/1543212713177976833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1543212713177976833%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheconservativetreehouse.com%2Fblog%2F2022%2F07%2F04%2Ffacing-defeat-in-lysychansk-ukraine-military-retreats-russia-takes-full-control-of-eastern-ukraine-region-of-luhansk%2F

Keep in mind….  (New York Times) […] “as the Biden administration has declared it will not deploy American troops to Ukraine, some C.I.A. personnel have continued to operate in the country secretly, mostly in the capital, Kyiv, directing much of the vast amounts of intelligence the United States is sharing with Ukrainian forces, according to current and former officials.” {link}