Category Russian President Vladimir Putin
Has the US Gone to DEFCON 3?
Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Mar 26, 2023 by Martin Armstrong
NATO has effectively declared war on Russia hiding behind Ukrainian surrogates. Ukraine launched new versions of their marine drones in an attempt to sink the Russian Fleet base in Sevastopol. They were blown up just before hitting Russian ships as the Russians managed to intercept them. The Russians know that these attacks are carried out under NATO directives. Meanwhile, NATO has sent 300,000 troops to the border in Poland with Russia. They are strategically placed and could launch an invasion of Russia, which has been the plan all along. In Asia, the US routinely invades China’s claimed territory in the South China Sea simply claiming the US does not recognize China’s territorial border.
The US Administration has launched its early warning nuclear missile detection vessels from Pearl Harbor. The Neocons have been pushing for war very hard and the launching of these ships indicates that we are heading into a major nuclear crisis which may be up there with the 1962 Cubas Missle Crisis which by next year will be 2x Pi – 62 years ago. These Neocons have no interest in the nation, or the people, only their dream of destroying Russia and China and forcing Regime Change. They have pushed for endless wars and have NEVER won a single one so far. Their track record is horrible. But they have seized full control of the Biden White House.
Blinken has come out and said that Putin should be arrested and handed over to the ICC which has surrendered to his fellow Neocons. He knows that would provide World War III. This is their agenda. I have warned that the game of borrowing year after year with no intention of ever paying off the debt has come to an end. There is no outcome other than the default. They need war to cover up decades of fiscal mismanagement and they will get it.
Blinken has most likely taken the United States to a DEFCON 3 situation. US Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, a former adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, openly admitted before the Senate Armed Services Committee that Ukraine must win. This obviously is to use the Ukrainian people to accomplish this Neocon goal without US casualties as they have done in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, just to mention a few. He testified stating:
“The reasons for this American interest are many. This war threatens the American-led
international order that our fathers and grandfathers painfully won in the Second World War, and
in the Cold War that followed. Our prosperity right here at home depends directly upon the
maintenance and perpetuation of that order, with America in a leading role. We cannot be secure
in that position while Russia pursues a war of aggression that overturns the global order,
destabilizes commodities markets, and renders food-supply chains unstable. The fact that Russia
does so as a strategic ally and partner of America’s number-one rival and threat, the People’s
Republic of China, only accentuates the danger. Make no mistake: weakness against Russian
aggression is weakness against the Communist-Chinese threat. We know from history that the
dictatorial powers watch and learn, to discover just how far they can get: and we know that
Russian victory in Ukraine today almost certainly means war for Taiwan tomorrow.”
The problem is that the US has back-tracked on the one-China policy under Biden and that is what has suddenly put Taiwan in danger. But to think if Putin wins then China will take Taiwan is nonsense. China has been slapped in the face and it will take Taiwan regardless of what transpires in Ukraine. If anything, it would make more sense to wait for NATO to engage Russia and then move against Taiwan.
It is very clear that the Neocons have taken the US military most likely to DEFCON 3, which is generally seen as a standby level of alert, and it is the highest level of alert during peacetime.
Medvedev warns The ICC Has Instigated an Act of Arbitrary War
Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Mar 24, 2023 by Martin Armstrong
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned the West and rightly so that the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant against his successor, Vladimir Putin, will have dire consequences for international law. But it would also justify immediate World War III. The ICC has been usurped by the Neocons and has lost all its integrity and authority whatsoever.
The Neocons who have seized control of USW Foreign policy are the aggressors and unless we overthrow them, we are headed into a dark period. They have divided the world economy and the loyalty of nations. Just as many who were in league with ancient Athens turned against them for their arrogance, history is repeating. Their usurpation of the ICC crossed the Rubicon.
Medvedev made it clear that the change in International law and the institutions themselves, such as the ICC, that were once to govern the world have been corrupted just like everything else the Neocons get their hands on. The No. 1 goal of Russia and China now in the context of this new divided world order is to reestablish international law.
Medvedev explained this on his Telegram platform.
“They decided to try the president (…) of a nuclear power, which is not a member state of the ICC
for the same reasons as the USA and other countries, … “There is a definitive breakdown of the international law system.”
As I have explained, the rule of the ICC is that they have no jurisdiction over nonmembers, and that includes Russia, China, and the USA. Even the former prosecutor at Nuremberg has come out in protest against the ICC. The Neocons have usurped the ICC and it is now just a corrupt court no longer worthy of any respect.
Things Are Getting Spicy in France as Mass Protests Turn Violent in Some Areas – Macron Declares This Is France’s January 6th Insurrection Moment
Posted originally on the CTH on March 23, 2023 | Sundance
History tells us the French ‘do revolution’ quite well, the current status of the protests against President Macron’s unilateral pension reform cuts are no exception.
Worker strikes have hampered France for over a week in protest to: (1) the pension reform; and (2) the undemocratic way it was enacted via unilateral fiat by the French President, Emmanuel Macron.
Today the worker strike turned to massive protests in the streets throughout several regions.
As the day wound down, those protests then turned violent as the ultra-left-wing “Black Bloc” anarchists began attacking police.
(Reuters) – PARIS, March 23 – Police fired tear gas and fought with violent black-clad anarchists in Paris and across France on Thursday as hundreds of thousands of protesters marched against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the pension age.
The ninth day of nationwide protests, mostly peaceful, disrupted train and air travel. Teachers were among many professions to walk off the job, days after the government pushed through legislation to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.
Demonstrations in central Paris were generally peaceful, but groups of “Black Bloc” anarchists smashed shop windows, demolished street furniture and ransacked a McDonald’s restaurant. Clashes ensued as riot police drove back the anarchists with tear gas and stun grenades.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 149 police officers were injured and 172 people were arrested across the country. Dozens of protesters were also injured, including a woman who lost a thumb in the Normandy town of Rouen.
[…] Police had also fired tear gas at some protesters in several other cities, including Nantes, and Lorient in the west, Lille in the north, and used water cannon against others in Rennes in the northwest. Labour unions fear protests could turn more violent if the government does not heed mounting popular anger over pension curbs.
Unions called for regional action over the weekend and new nationwide strikes and protests on March 28, the day Britain’s King Charles is due to travel to Bordeaux from Paris by train.
The main entrance of the Bordeaux town hall was set ablaze on Thursday, days before the monarch was due to walk through on his visit to the southwestern city.
On Wednesday, Macron broke weeks of silence on the new policy, insisting the law would come into force by year end. He compared protests to the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol.
[…] The French Interior Ministry said 1.089 million protested across the country, including 119,000 in the capital which was a record since protests started in January. The CGT union said 3.5 million people marched in the country, equalling a previous high on March 7.
“I came here because I oppose this reform and I really oppose the fact that democracy no longer means anything,” Sophie Mendy, an administrative medical worker, told Reuters at the Paris rally. “We’re not being represented, and so we’re fed up.” (read more)
World War III may break out against Russia in/around Moldova. However, another more widespread war may break out even sooner that has nothing to do with nation states.
Lord, what fools these Ukrainians Be!
Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Mar 23, 2023 by Martin Armstrong
I get hate mail from Ukrainian Nazis routinely now. They of course deny there are any Nazis ever. Yesterday it was “You are definitely on the wrong side of history” and of course calling all Russians “scum” while Ukraine walks on water and is so honorable it makes me sick. Here we have Zelensky bragging about how Ukraine will be the biggest bonanza in European history. As for the American “titans” lobbying for more destruction and death so they can make money, I can only warn them – what goes around comes around. They have no problem advocating drafting your children to die on Ukrainian territory for their lucrative construction projects.
Sorry – I only wish them what they wish to put others through for their profits and bottom line, When this is done, they will probably also flee to Dubai like Halliburton for the Iraq War to avoid American subpoenas. So jump up and down cheering war for dollars. I for one will not invest 1 cent in any company joining Ukraine. I lost most of my high school friends for Vietnam and their profits back then. Screw you and your manipulation of human lives for profit.
And as for Ukrainians, how blind do you have to be not to see the real enemy in home-grown?
Returning to Neocon Roots – DeSantis Backtracks on His Tucker Carlson Ukraine Position as Territorial Dispute, Now Says “I think it’s been mischaracterized,” and “Putin is a war criminal”
Posted originally on the CTH on March 22, 2023 | Sundance
After attempting to navigate through the politics in order to curry favor with the base Republican voters on a Ukraine position, when confronted by Piers Morgan who is a pro-NATO war voice, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis now says his former position on Ukraine has been “mischaracterized” and Vladimir Putin “is a war criminal.”
The walk back highlights once again that Ron DeSantis is an empty vessel using poll testing to formulate his policy stances.
The reversing comments on Vladimir Putin and Ukraine come from the interview DeSantis gave to Piers Morgan as noted in a recent New York Post article:
(Piers Morgan, NY Post) – Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis has branded Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” and demanded he be “held accountable” for his barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
Taking a tougher tone from his statement last week appearing to dismiss the year-long war as a “territorial dispute,” DeSantis now says Russia was WRONG to invade Ukraine and was WRONG to invade and take over Crimea in 2014, and won’t win the war. And he’s made his strongest attack yet on Russia’s dictator, calling him a loser who is “basically a gas station with a bunch of nuclear weapons.”
His assertion, in a statement to Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, that it is not in America’s “vital national interests” to become “further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia” was strongly criticized by numerous senior Republicans — including Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Marco Rubio.
When I asked him specifically if he regretted using the phrase “territorial dispute,” DeSantis replied, “Well, I think it’s been mischaracterized. Obviously, Russia invaded (last year) — that was wrong. They invaded Crimea and took that in 2014 — That was wrong.
[…] “There is a move now to hold [Vladimir Putin] accountable for war crimes,” I told DeSantis, “bombing maternity hospitals and genocidal activity in parts of Ukraine wiping out whole cities like Mariupol. Would you support that?”
“I think he is a war criminal,” he replied. “This ICC … we have not done that in the US because we’re concerned about our soldiers or people being brought under it. So, I don’t know about that route, but I do think that he should be held accountable.” DeSantis is convinced Ukraine will eventually prevail in the war. (read more)
The DeSantis team has also hired the notorious dirtbag, Jeff Roe.
You might remember Roe as the former 2016 campaign manager for Ted Cruz who falsely told the people of Iowa, on the night before the primary caucus, that Dr. Ben Carson dropped out of the race. The Cruz Crew amplified this false message, and duped Carson caucus supporters who subsequently switched candidates on election day to support Ted Cruz. Jeff Roe created the lie, then tried to deny it.
(Via Politico) – […] Jeff Roe, who previously ran Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign, has signed on to be an adviser to the super PAC, Never Back Down, according to an operative with direct knowledge of the move.
Never Back Down is being spearheaded by executive director Chris Jankowski, another seasoned Republican operative. Ken Cuccinelli, a former top Homeland Security official to Donald Trump, is serving as chair of the super PAC. Over the last several weeks, Cuccinelli has visited four key early GOP primary states. (read more)
A DeSantis political group that would hire Jeff Roe highlights, yet again, how the DeSantis 2024 campaign is a mirror of Ted Cruz campaign in 2016.
Factually, almost all of the 2016 never-Trump Cruz Crew are now members of the 2024 never-Trump Desantis Crew. To assist this overall ‘never-Trump’ endeavor, in 2024 Vivek Ramaswamy is now playing the former role of Evan McMullin in 2016.
The professional political class of the GOPe, the DeceptiCons, are never as vicious against Democrats as they are against candidates who do not conform to the Republican UniParty orthodoxy. If you want to see the Republicans fight dirty, just become a Republican political candidate that does not comply with them. Then, and only then, will you see a side of the Republican wing that doesn’t surface against Democrats.
Threaten their GOPe Wall Street multinational corporate interests, ie. ‘their money‘, and the DeceptiCons get vicious.
If the professional Republicans are NOT targeting a Republican politician, you can be assured that Republican politician is a member of the GOPe club operation.
Yes, it really is that simple, and Ron DeSantis is a member of that club.
President Putin Together with Chairman Xi, Warn NATO About U.K. Plan to Send Depleted Uranium Rounds to Ukraine
Posted originally on the CTH on March 22, 2023 | Sundance
The alarming provocations and escalations continue as the U.K. has pledged to send depleted uranium anti-tank rounds into Ukraine.
During a four-hour public meeting which included international press, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted the NATO intent to use depleted uranium artillery and tank missiles against Russian forces would be met with countermeasures.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted the British decision leaves fewer and fewer steps before a potential “nuclear collision” between Russia and the West. “Another step has been taken, and there are fewer and fewer left,” he told reporters in remarks cited by domestic agencies.
(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday condemned British plans to send tank ammunition that contains depleted uranium to Ukraine, saying Moscow would be forced to respond accordingly.
Speaking in London on Monday, Minister of State for Defence Annabel Goldie said some of the ammunition for the Challenger 2 battle tanks that Britain is sending to Ukraine includes armour piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium.
“If all this happens, Russian will have to respond accordingly, given that the West collectively is already beginning to use weapons with a nuclear component,” Putin said in remarks after a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He did not elaborate. (read more)
Keep in mind, all remarks by the heads of state during these sessions are known in advance by both nations. Chairman Xi knew what Vladimir Putin was going to say. Additionally, at the end of their three-day summit, Chairman Xi made comments that were strategically positioned publicly to be overheard by international media.
Chairman Xi is cunning panda and is very well skilled at making statements in front of media that drive his own interests. These comments are always strategically placed by Chairman Xi and his people who plan every possible angle in advancing their agenda.
These end of summit remarks were specifically made by Xi, knowing they would be picked up on microphones by media, interpreted and then broadcast.
[…] “change is coming that hasn’t happened in 100 years, and we are driving this change together”.
I said it yesterday, and I will repeat it again:
All of these tremors point to a larger issue in the background of “western government” policy. Something is going to eventually erupt. Government cannot keep a lid on the chaos they create forever. Sooner or later a spark will ignite something… and it will not just be in France.
Do not focus too heavily on the weeds of any particular issue or nation lest we lose sight of the much larger dynamic. One thing is most certainly assured; Chairman Xi and President Putin can see that larger dynamic clearly, and there’s abundant opportunity within the geopolitical unrest.
I told you So
Armstrong Economics Blog/China Re-Posted Mar 22, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

For the life of me, I have stated the obvious that the Biden Administration has been pushing China and Russia together not to mention North Korea, Iran, and perhaps even Turkey. I cannot believe that I am so brilliant that none of these people in the White House understood the historical event that just took place. That leaves me with the only possible conclusion that they KNEW what they were doing, and that this was DELIBERATE with the intention of creating World War III.
They made it clear that Russia is willing to negotiate but the USA wants war – not peace. All they need to do is honor the Minsk Agreement which they refuse to do. In addition, they expressed concern about the West effectively creating NATO in Asia and the AUKUS (Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and their plans to build nuclear submarines that would violate the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Russian and China came to an agreement concerning a comprehensive partnership in the energy sector. They also expressed concern for the American Neocons who have been pushing military-biological activities and demand full disclosure. They are furthermore pushing for the US to accelerate the elimination of its stockpile of chemical weapons, which the Neocons seem to be dragging their feet intentionally under the Biden Administration.
They also stressed that the United States is pushing Ukraine into this proxy war that they viewed as leading “to an uncontrollable phase.” Moreover, they have also pointed out that the United States and the UK are bypassing the UN Security Council and acting in a rogue manner. The Biden Administration has already divided the world economy. Now, China and Russia are moving to a joint security policy on food and energy which will include defense.
NATO is by no means a defensive organization. They violated the agreements of 1991 and moved Eastward to the border of Russia. In return, China and Russia have called on NATO to strictly observe the defensive nature of their organization and respect the foreign sovereignty of nations, which they have not. Aside from the fact that they invited Russia to join in 1991 which led to the Gorbachev coup, the need for Russia to be the evil empire has been vital. Without an enemy, NATO serves no purpose.
They have also expressed concern that the United States has clearly intensified its activities in the field of missile weapons and has called out the US insisting that it is undermining international security. The Biden threats have been rejected and imposing sanctions on China will only further destroy the world economy.

Without question, this alliance between Russia and China has been created by the American Neocons who assumed that they could intimidate China into remaining distant from Russia so they could wage war and destroy Russia once and for all. This has undone everything that President Nixon did to separate the two MNixon went to China on February 21, 1972, and this is 51.6 years from that target – just UNBELIEVABLE. This also confirms that we are staring into the eyes of history in the making.
Consequently, the China-Russian alliance is historically a true game changer. The Neocons have upset the entire world and NEVER do they ever consider what if their judgment was wrong. The world we have known it is changing and the Neocons have succeeded in undermining not just our future in the United States, but that of the entire world.
Just as World War I and World War II marked the collapse of the British imperial empire, the stupidity of the Biden Administration has sealed the fate of the world and the United States. The world is now firmly divided and the future will never be the same. Welcome to the 2023 Financial Crisis.
White House Neocon Spokesman Admits – They Do Not Want Peace in Ukraine
Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Mar 22, 2023 by Martin Armstrong
I have had two employees from Ukraine – Kiev and Donetsk. The one from Kiev just mouths the standard Ukrainian propaganda. If they give up the Donbas, they will then want all of Ukraine. The UK is deeply involved walking hand and hand with Biden into world war III. They have clearly crossed the Rubicon here and for no justification. Had they simply honored the Minsk Agreement and let the Donbas, which is ethnically Russian, separate from a regime that hates their guts the war would be over in 5 minutes.
Instead, Britain appears to have been planning to give Ukraine nuclear weapons with depleted Uranium. Putin has come out and warned the UK that “the delivery and use of depleted uranium missiles by the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be perceived as an attack against Russia with a weapon that has a ‘nuclear component’.” Putin elaborated:
“Today it became known that the United Kingdom, through the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Defense of the country, announced the supply of not only tanks to Ukraine but also shells with depleted uranium. It seems that the West really decided to fight Russia in the last Ukrainian not with words, but with deeds Russia will be forced to react once the collective West starts using weapons with a nuclear component.”
There are some who believe that Ukraine should just be nuked. Give the people 2 weeks to flee to Poland or Germany, and then nuke the region and make it unlivable. That is basically the legion that Rome certainly razed the city entirely, but there are no contemporary sources stating that the Romans salted the land to prevent the city of Carthage from rising a fourth time. The Greek writer from the 1st century BC, Diodorus Siculus, informs us that the city had been razed and Carthaginians destroyed. Horace informs us that after the city was destroyed, the land was symbolically plowed. Polybius in his “The Histories” makes no mention of the land being salted just that the city was completely destroyed. Appian of Alexandria does record that Carthage was reconstructed by the first Emperor Augustus (27BC-14AD) and to avoid the evil spells that were cast on the ground, Carthage was rebuilt in a different location.
Surely, if Russia nuked Ukraine that would kill the European breadbasket and it would guarantee Ukraine’s neutrality. Is that the only way to terminate this Neocon Proxy Way and save the world?
The three Punic Wars (264 BC–146 BC) between Rome and Carthage were a turning point in the history of the Mediterranean world and, more than any other conflict, the Second Punic War (218 BC–201 BC) appears to have been a defining time in Roman history. We also see the debasement in that coinage of Carthage as they waged war to defeat Rome. You can see the early silver coinage debased as the war unfolded.
As Hannibal marched through Spain and invaded Italy from the North, Rome issued its first gold coinage more as a symbol of wealth to the other Italian city-states that they should standby Rome and not join Hannibal.
On the Roman side, we also see the consequence of the war with the debasement of the silver quadrigatus, which was the Greek denomination of the didrachm they complied with for trade with the Greek world. Here too, we can see the cost of war is not just the lives lost, but also the inflation and the monetary debasement.
Hannibal’s war also forced Rome to establish the denarius, which was the weight reduction from the Greek standard of the Didrachm 6.5 grams to 4.0 grams in 211BC. Even though Rome won, the lesson here is that sometimes wars result in the complete collapse of a monetary standard and the rebirth of a new currency. This is what we face. The Neocons care nothing about the economics, nor about the lives of the people they send to die for their arrogance. They are the worst of humanity and should be driven from governments on a global scale.
Indeed, King Louis XIV (1643-1715) was on his deathbed when he lamented.
“I have been too fond of war.”
Meanwhile, the arrogance of the Neocons trying to dictate to the world and ordering China not to help Russia, Xi’s trip to Russia had no other outcome but to support Russia as he called Putin a ‘dear friend’ as China now pushes back against U.S. power knowing full well the real agenda here is to weaken Russia and then for NATO to invade on any pretense to destroy Russia once and for all. This is the Neocon’s dream and they could care less about the Ukrainian people. I have warned that the Ukrainian people are there to be slaughtered for the glory of the Neocons.
Chairman Xi and President Putin Meet in Russia, Four Hours of First Day Discussions
Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 20, 2023 | Sundance
Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in person today for the first time since the Ukraine conflict began last February. The public side of the conversation appeared to be very warm as the two allies outlined the nature of their relationship and the plans for their discussions.
It is being reported the private side of the discussions lasted for four hours on the first day with more talks scheduled for tomorrow. “I am pleased to once again set foot on the soil of our friendly neighbor Russia,” Xi said in a statement after arriving in Moscow on Monday for the three-day state visit.
(Via Daily Mail) – Xi Jinping said he was ready to ‘stand guard over a world order based on international law’ as he met Vladimir Putin in Moscow today.
In his first state visit to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, the Chinese leader spent more than four hours in talks with his ‘dear friend’ Putin, discussing proposals to end the war previously outlined in a 12-point peace plan.
‘We are always open to negotiations,’ the Russian leader said, welcoming China’s plan to settle his ‘acute crisis’ in Ukraine.
Xi meanwhile hailed his ‘close ties’ with Russia as Putin said the two countries had ‘plenty of common objectives and tasks’.
Presented as a ‘journey of friendship, cooperation and peace’, the summit marks the deepening of ties between China and an increasingly isolated Russia, who have relied on Beijing to soften the impact of western sanctions by buying Russian energy and commodities. (read more)