Category Russia

Mar 31 2022

Why Arab Mercenaries Fight for Russia


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Mar 31, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Yemen is the largest humanitarian crisis that no one discusses. As I mentioned: “People are not driving around with “We Stand With Yemen” bumper stickers, and schools are not requiring children to make sense of this war. The public does not discuss or shed tears for the people of Yemen who live in unfathomable conditions because they are not a piece of the larger agenda and no one can profit off of their suffering at this time.”

It appears that Saudi Arabia and Qatar feel similar sentiments. “The humanitarian suffering that we have seen in Ukraine, and everyone is talking about it right now… has been the suffering of a lot of countries in this region for years and nothing happened,” Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani stated. “We have never seen a global response to address those sufferings.”

He went on to note the forgotten people suffering in Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan, and Libya. Countless people, in the hundreds of thousands, have been killed from these seemingly endless conflicts and millions have been displaced – forgotten and discarded by the West.

Ukraine’s Zelensky has criticized Russia for helping Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad to secure power in 2015. Russia did in fact help fight the Islamic State group and pushed them out of areas of Iraq and Syria. Putin has called on people from the Middle East to provide backup. “If you see that there are people who want of their own accord — not for money — to come to help … then we need to give them what they want and help them get to the conflict zone,” Putin told Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu at a security council meeting in Moscow.

Considering the dire economic situation for countless individuals across numerous Middle Eastern nations, the prospect of having a stable income is a deal many men cannot refuse. Yet, in addition to the money, the lack of Western support for these nations has caused a sense of resentment toward Ukraine and its Western allies. Putin postured himself as an ally many years ago.

Mar 31 2022

Neocon of Vietnam War Repents


Armstrong Economics Blog/Neocons Re-Posted Mar 31, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Robert McNamara (1916 – 2009) was a leading Neocon that pushed the country into the Vietnam war.  He was famous for saying: “I learned early on never answer the question that is asked of you. Answer the question that you wish had been asked of you. And quite frankly, I follow that rule. It’s a very good rule.”

Before he died, he finally admitted that they were wrong particularly in their assessment of Russia as a threat. The perception that Russia is a threat is still dominating the agenda today. The propaganda that Putin is a KGB guy who wants to re-establish the Soviet Empire is absurd. In the 22 years that he has been in power, he has neither tried to re-establish communism nor has he sought to retake the old Soviet states like Poland, the Czech Republic, or even Ukraine. The same claims today about Russia are the very same ones that justified Vietnam.

Apparently, McNamara died with the guilt of sacrificing 58,000 Americans on the Neocon altar of war.

Mar 31 2022

Must Watch, Three Minutes of Truth Bombs Delivered in the Australian Senate


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 30, 2022 | Sundance 

People criticize CTH saying ‘stop revealing the evidence of problems and start talking about the solutions‘.  What critics do not realize is we are not trying to win a battle, we are trying to win a war.  Every person who accepts the reality of the problem, becomes the solution.  CTH will not stop revealing, digging, researching and revealing the truth as it can be found.   Again, I am not Paul Revere.  I am the guy who hangs the lantern.  YOU are Paul Revere.

An Australian Senator from South Australia named Alex Antic {Facebook Link} delivered a speech in Parliament that deserves widespread attention.  This is three minutes of unrelenting truth bombs. Each sentence represents a detonation in the heart of globalism.  WATCH:

People want an elevator speech they can share and explain.  Alex Antic just gave you one. [Facebook Link]

Alex Antic did not kill himself.

Mar 31 2022

Biden Says U.S. Govt Has No Money to Fight Pandemic, Moments Later Biden Says U.S. Govt Sending $500 Million to Ukraine


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 30, 2022 | Sundance 

During a speech to highlight the administration’s ongoing effort to battle COVID-19, today Joe Biden said:

WHITE HOUSE – […] “Congress hasn’t provided enough money to keep purchasing these monoclonal bo- — antibodies.  We’ve had to cancel planned orders and cut the supply we’re sending to the states.  Without more funding, we’ll start to run out of them by the end of May — the end of May.  We’ve also had to scale back our plan to purchase more preventive therapies for Americans who are immunocompromised — critical tools to protect the most vulnerable among us.  Without more funding, we risk running out of the supply by this fall.” (link)

Approximately 3 minutes after making that speech, the White House provided a readout from a telephone call between Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that took place shortly before the speech:

WHITE HOUSE – “President Biden informed President Zelenskyy that the United States intends to provide the Ukrainian government with $500 million in direct budgetary aid” (link)

We the People are in an abusive relationship with our government.

Mar 30 2022

Weaponizing Russian Energy


Armstrong Economics Blog/Energy Re-Posted Mar 30, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

In an attempt to boost the ruble and avoid sanctions, Russia will stop accepting payments in dollars and euros from “unfriendly countries.” India is on board and willing to change to a SWIFT alternative to easily convert rupees to rubles. The G7 has declared that they will not pay for gas in rubles. “[A]ll G-7 ministers agreed completely that this (would be) a one-sided and clear breach of the existing contracts,” German energy minister Robert Habeck stated. “Payment in ruble is not acceptable, and we will urge the companies affected not to follow Putin’s demand,” Habeck said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “we clearly aren’t going to supply gas for free” and Russia would not “engage in charity for Europe.” Europe’s pipeline systems are largely connected so it would be difficult to cut off flows to individual nations within the continent. Gazprom, the largest supplier of gas from Russia, has been notified. The company provided “unfriendly countries” with around 70% of exports in 2021 totaling $69 billion.

The contracts are already in order. “I want to emphasize that Russia will definitely continue to supply natural gas in line with the volumes and prices and pricing mechanisms set forth in the existing contracts,” Putin said as he knows that gas exports are essential to the Russian economy. “It’s pretty clear that it makes no sense for us to supply our goods to the European Union, to the U.S. and receive payments in dollars, euros, other currencies,” Putin also stated.

Europe still imports 40% of gas and 25% of oil from Russia. Since the Kremlin is open to all possible outcomes, Europe is preparing for gas shortages. Germany, the largest importer of Russian gas, has asked some energy companies to be aware of possible shortages. The current contracts in place should be safe if Putin keeps his promise, but then a real problem will arise.

Mar 30 2022

An Easier Solution for Rupee-Ruble Payments


Armstrong Economics Blog/World Trade Re-Posted Mar 30, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

India imported $3.3 billion in goods to Russia in 2021, and the finance ministry has no plans to slow that source of revenue. India has not placed sanctions on Russia. The Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) announced that India will now switch to a SWIFT alternative that permits rupee-ruble payments between the two nations. This renders removing Russia from the SWIFT system a moot point for India as exporters may continue business as usual with their Russian partners. Furthermore, this will permit India to continue purchasing Russian energy at a time when other countries are shunning the resources they need the most.

In fact, India is hoping to profit off of the West’s ban on Russian exports. “Export to Russia is not much, only in agriculture and pharmacy products. Now that the whole of the West is banning Russia, there will be a lot of opportunities for Indian firms to enter Russia,” a member of the FIEO stated. Indian Oil Corp has begun purchasing more oil from Russia and there are talks of purchasing highly sought-after fertilizer from both Russia and Belarus.

India, the largest oil importer in the world, was only purchasing around 2% to 5% of their crude from Russia in recent years, but with the prospect of seeing a heavy discount, they are likely to turn to Russia instead of the Middle East. “Countries with oil self-sufficiency or those importing themselves from Russia cannot credibly advocate restrictive trading,” an Indian government official cited weeks ago.

So if there is an easy solution for rupee-ruble payments, we should expect to see an easy solution for yuan-ruble payments. These nations are looking at finances rather than politics and will profit as a result.

Mar 30 2022

Ukraine & Russia Peace Talks – Will Sanctions Be Lifted?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Turkey Posted Mar 29, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

While the news is spinning this as Russia is losing for they are now negotiating, there is a lot more going on behind the curtain than people suspect – this will be a true TEST of international law. Indeed, Russia has promised to drastically scale down its military operations around Kyiv and the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv given Ukraine’s proposed neutral status with international guarantees. This will turn on the guarantee that Ukraine will not only remain out of NATO but will also no longer host bases of foreign troops. This will be under the original security guarantee in terms similar to “Article 5”, the collective defense clause of NATO. The proposal will be that this guarantee will be secured by NATO members Canada, Poland, and Turkey.

In addition, Ukraine will agree to a 15-year consultation period on the status of Russian-annexed Crimea upon a complete ceasefire. These proposals are being submitted to President Vladimir Putin. The Donbas is on the table for that must be settled to end the civil war which the US has been covertly funding against Russia thanks to the US Neocons.

While it appears based on our computer that some decision will come perhaps the week of April 18th, the real test will be something even far more important. Can the powers that be get our insane leader of the Free World, Joe Biden, to terminate all sanctions against Russians? If there is a peace settlement, then the White House should rescind all sanctions. That should include those put on by Obama back in 2014 because of Crimea. If that is NOT done, then there is no way to restore the world economy nor to aid the reduction of inflation. As long as sanctions remain in place, peace or no peace in Ukraine will mean nothing going forward.

Mar 30 2022

Ukraine President Zelenskyy Demands Europe Transition to “Green Energy” Quickly


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 29, 2022 

And there it is….. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a public broadcast urging the allied western nations to quickly adopt “green energy” policies which he says will undermine the influence of Russia in Europe.  If you’ve been following events, this demand is yet another big puzzle piece coming together.  {Go Deep 1, Go Deep 2, and Go Deep 3)

The Recount has the video HERE. I cannot locate the shareable video on any other tech platform, which, given the importance, is not surprising. I doubt any govt in the western world wants to have the dots connected.

In the video Zelenskyy urges the NATO alliance, specifically western Europe, to quickly adopt the Build Back Better climate change agenda as it helps his country.  He advocates for “green energy” as a top priority so that alliance members are not reliant on Russian energy sales.

If it seems a little odd that a president, in the middle of a war zone, would be advocating for the climate change agenda, you are not seeing the big picture.  Ukraine is a crisis that cannot be wasted.  The Green New Deal, Build Back Better, and western nation climate change agenda is far more important than a single proxy war nation.  Ukraine is a tool in the bigger agenda, nothing more.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is controlled by the western alliance, NATO, Dept of State, CIA and western allied intelligence.  This is part of the reason why Russia took action in the first place.  Zelenskyy has a role to play and pushing the Build Back Better (WEF) agenda, while the opportunity exists, is all part of the organized global cleaving.

Two fractured geopolitical groups globally.

The green energy group (economic globalists), and the fossil fuel group (economic nationalists).

Behind the G7 and NATO, we know the multinational corporations assembled in the World Economic Forum are ultimately the driver of political policy. The central bankers, finance ministers and politicians all operate under the guidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB) and World Trade Organization (WTO).

Together, the WEF, IMF, WB, WTO, EU central banks and U.S. federal reserve, collectively represent what we call the globalists.  And the globalists are pushing the climate change agenda hard {WEF LINK}.

It is always important to remember the ultimate goal of the ‘climate change’ promoters is not an energy system that changes the global climate. The goal of the ‘climate change’ group is to create a carbon trading system; a new financial mechanism (a global tax program) to control human activity on a world-wide basis.  This system also needs a digital identity in order to work.

As a consequence, when we look at the fracturing of the global energy marketplace, it is worth viewing the divided group through the prism of the globalist carbon trading scheme.

Two world groupings.  One group, oil-based energy (traditional) – let’s label them the RED GROUP (grey on map below), and one group GREEN energy (the build back better plan, yellow on map below).  It is not accidental these two groups hold similar internal geopolitical views and perspectives, hence, their alignment with the sanctions against Russia.

♦ The important part to see is… if this cleaving continues, there are going to be two sets of nations with two structurally different economies. A red group and a green group.

The Green group is going to be at a strong disadvantage, at least for a generation or two, as the costs associated with the production of goods and systems is going to be much more expensive to operate, as the transition into Build Back Better sustainable or renewable energy takes place.

However, this is where the strategery comes in.  If they can control the world effort globally, the GREEN GROUP may be able to offset their operational costs with a global tax against the RED GROUP.  That’s what yesterday’s G7 announcement was really about {GO DEEP}

This geopolitical contest is for all the marbles folks.

The opportunity to use disposable Joe Biden is the globalists once in a lifetime chance….

…And they are sure as hell acting like it.

Mar 30 2022

Russia Indicates Withdrawal in Position From Ukraine Capital, Kyiv


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 29, 2022 

While the western propaganda about the Russian objective in Ukraine remains at a fever pitch, most intellectually honest observers have always held that liberation of eastern Ukraine was the goal of Russia and western Ukraine was never part of the objective.

With a decade-long civil war in eastern Ukraine preceding the current Russian operations, and with western forces supporting one side while Russia supported the other, it was always presumed -prior to the Russian military operations- that Vladimir Putin’s central goal was removing the NATO influence from eastern Ukraine.

That objective has seemingly remained visible throughout the conflict with Russian activity in western Ukraine limited in scope to targeting inbound NATO weapons and material support.

We might remember the 20-mile-long armored convoy that sat in place for weeks north of Kyiv while the media narrative was ‘any day now’. Those troops never moved on Kyiv, and in hindsight looked more like a strategic positioning of resources to keep western Ukraine in check while the more important goal of clearing eastern Ukraine was the ongoing operation.

It seems a little silly to point out the obvious, but everything Putin said about what he was doing in Ukraine is factually what has taken place. The western media narrative spinning his ‘true intents’ to be much more significant than his open statements, has never played out when reviewing the actual military operations. In short, Putin was then (as he said), and continues now, to be carving out eastern Ukraine and the Donbas region.

As the Russian operations in eastern Ukraine enter the clean-up and finalization stage, this report about the shift in Russian operations near Kyiv and western Ukraine makes a great deal of sense.  The Reuters spin is that Putin was losing western Ukraine, ergo he is reducing activity.  However, it never appeared that western Ukraine was part of the objective.

ISTANBUL/KYIV OUTSKIRTS/MARIUPOL, Ukraine, March 29 (Reuters) – Russia promised on Tuesday to scale down military operations around Ukraine’s capital and north, while Kyiv proposed adopting neutral status, in confidence-building steps that were the first signs of progress towards negotiating peace.

Their talks took place in an Istanbul palace more than a month into the largest attack on a European nation since World War Two. Russia’s invasion has been halted on most fronts by stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces who have recaptured territory even as civilians are trapped in besieged cities.

He made no mention of other areas that have seen heavy fighting, including around Mariupol in the southeast, Sumy and Kharkiv in the east and Kherson and Mykolaiv in the south.

Some analysts noted that Russia’s promise to reduce fighting mostly covered areas where it has been losing ground.

[…] Ukrainian negotiators said that under their proposals, Kyiv would agree not to join alliances or host bases of foreign troops, but would have security guaranteed in terms similar to “Article 5”, the collective defence clause of the transatlantic NATO military alliance.

They named Israel and NATO members Canada, Poland and Turkey as countries that may give such guarantees. Russia, the United States, Britain, Germany and Italy could also be involved.

The proposals, which would require a referendum in Ukraine, mentioned a 15-year consultation period on the status of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. The fate of the southeastern Donbas region, which Russia demands Ukraine cede to separatists, would be discussed by the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.

Kyiv’s proposals also included one that Moscow would not oppose Ukraine joining the European Union, Russia’s lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said. Russia has previously opposed Ukrainian membership of the EU and especially of NATO. (read more)

Mar 29 2022

Biden’s Approval Rating Reaches New Low


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Mar 29, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Biden’s approval rating is now at its lowest point since he entered office. America is now at its worst point since he entered office. Biden has repeatedly shown the people that he is an incompetent leader. Even the White House has had to clarify Biden’s statements as a misstep while speaking as the POTUS could lead to a world war.

Around 71% of respondents say America is “on the wrong track” under the Biden Administration. Inflation has caused the cost of living to become unmaintainable for 62% of American families who stated they are “falling behind” on finances, and 63% said they do not approve of his handling of the nation’s economy.

Only 28% of respondents said they had a “great deal” (12%) or “quite a bit” (16%) of confidence in Biden’s ability to handle the conflict in Ukraine. Around 51% of Americans disapprove of his management of foreign policy overall. Everyone knows that Joe Biden is unfit to lead America at this point.

Public confidence is gone.