Western Sanctions Not Impacting Russian Economy as Much as Expected


Posted originally on the CTH on August 9, 2023 | Sundance 

I have been researching the MACRO economic dynamic in Russia quite deeply for the past six months.  Essentially looking to discover not only what impact the western imposed sanctions might be having, but more broadly looking to see what happens to self-sustainability when essentially locked out from the world of commercial imports.

The research is fascinating, not simply because it is a unique opportunity, but also because national economic issues play a big role in the overall social dynamic.  That said, I can say the social aspect is stunningly more interesting than the data driven outcomes.  When you really dig deep into actual life of the ordinary people in Russia, far away from the geopolitical contexts, you get an entirely different perspective.  My worldview of the average Russian person/family has completely changed.

There is a really good thread on how the western sanctions against Russia are having a much lesser impact than initially thought [SEE HERE].  On the economic side, one thing I would point to is how the economy is essentially an outcome of two facets: (1) the internal production strength, and (2) the service side of the ledger.

[READ HERE]

The author makes the accurate point that from a production side perspective, Russia actually has a larger economy now than Germany, the largest EU nation.  The cause for this is “autarchy” or self-sufficiency.  Indeed, as the timeline of the sanctions closes in on the second year completing, the Russian production economy is even stronger than when the sanctions began.  Quite simply, they are making even more of their own goods now.

The sanctions hit what would typically fall into the service side of the economy, as well as financial and economic roadblocks.  However, that aspect of the Russian economy was much smaller than most suspected and there were sanctions going back to 2014 which made the outcome of the 2022 western imposed restrictions less impactful.

I will be finishing my review of the economic data once Q3 is over, that will give me an entire year of data to share.  However, the social stuff is even more fascinating.

I have a new understanding of why former NSA contractor Edward Snowden was so comfortable using Russia as the place to hide after his release of classified intelligence showing how the U.S. government was spying on Americans via social media and metadata collection.

I have mostly been looking at three areas in Western Russia.  Kazan, Moscow and St Petersburg (formerly Leningrad).  Of the three generally large metropolitan areas, St Petersburg is by far the most interesting.  It’s beautiful there and the city is alive and vibrant.

In many ways you might compare Russia in 2023 to the USA in/around 1988.  Life is just not complicated and far more socially engaged.

I’ll have more on this later, but if you are ever bored check out the Russian YouTubers who livestream broadcast “a day-in-the-life” type of activity.  The infrastructure is in generally good repair, the people seem warm and friendly and there is a strong social value placed on family and kids.

There are certainly negatives and the cultural dynamic of the former USSR is still evident.  Technologically they are somewhat behind in some details, but the overall cohesion of their value system is something I did not fully appreciate until I started down this road of research.

I can see why the average Russian could be wide-eyed during a visit to the USA and fascinated with the overall quality of life that might be considered indulgent.  However, I can also see how reciprocally the average American could be wide-eyed and smiling at the overall sense of the Russian people.

Strip out the politics, and we are all much more similar than we are different.

Ukraine is a Disaster, Putin is the Moderate, & Truth is the Victim


Armstrong Economics Blog/Press re-Posted Jul 25, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong, At first, I questioned why you were more pro-Putin than the media. But given your reliable forecasting and being renowned for your sources, I kept an open mind. Whilst it is becoming clear that Putin has been going after the people who wanted to nuke and totally invade Ukraine, the media seems to overlook that agenda of invading all of Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin disagreed with Putin on only protecting the Donbas. Igor Girkin, who advocated the invasion of Ukraine, was also arrested. The press even tried to pretend that China’s Xi warned Putin not to use nuclear arms in Ukraine when he was against it. Putin did tell the leader of Chentna that a nuclear on Kyiv was off the table. I can see what you have been pointing out. Putin has been the moderate.

Now the British press is admitting that Ukraine is a disaster. The WSJ also just came out and said the United States knew Ukraine was not up to this offensive. I must say, you and your sources are better than anyone out there. Your comments that you had dinner at Trump’s place when he was president and wanted to exit Afghanistan because he was anti-war were very interesting. You actually have the contacts, not conspiracy theories.

I just wanted to say that now I value your comments more than anyone else.

Keep up the good fight. I hope Scotty does not beam you up just yet.

Paul

REPLY: Thank you. My sources are renowned because they all share the same passion for truth. We all work together, sharing information that is off the grid so-to-speak. We all understand how we are being manipulated by the media, which I am so disappointed in for not being independent. The mainstream media was supposed to protect our liberty – not sell it to the highest bidder. News to them has become opinion – not fact.

I feel sorry for all of those who have been brainwashed to hate Trump, for they have been manipulated into being supporters of World War III. When Iran shot down an unarmed and unmanned American drone, Bolton was pushing for the US to attack Iran. As I have said, he would bomb Canada for one Russian. He is a hateful Neocon. Trump said no. It was not manned, and it was unarmed.

John Bolton would have started another war over a drone. The Neocons have launched all of these actions against Trump BECAUSE they know if he ever got back into the White House, they would be fired or perhaps even put on trial. As I have said, if they did this outside of Washington, they would be charged criminally for hate crimes.

I have met many heads of state. I am the longest person ever held in civil contempt for refusing to turn over the source code to Socrates. I have stared these people in the eyes face to face. What I write is not a conspiracy or just an opinion – it is a fact. I was asked to covertly invest $10 billion to take over Russia back 1n 1999. They blackmailed Yeltsin in their attempt to rig the 2000 Russian election. That is why Yeltsin turned to Putin, who was a nobody – not a politician, not a communist, and not an oligarch. I was in the middle of all of this shit. I know what happened.

They threw me in with the terrorists from the World Trade Center, all to prevent me from communicating with my lawyers while they took them away. They threw me into solitary confinement and took all my legal preparation away so they could sift through it all to see what my defense would be. They even tried to kill me, but I survived to their dismay.

You do not know what these people will do to ensure they win. They own Wikipedia, which is now joining the agenda to shut down all dissent on climate change, for that is in the works for the next lockdown when civil unrest rises. I feel sorry for the people who actually think elections are not rigged. Wait for 2024. We will see massive civil unrest, for it will become obvious what they are doing to the world.

Ukraine Complete Disaster – Neocons Lose Again?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Jul 25, 2023 by Martin Armstron

Ukraine is a complete disaster. I have been warning that our sources from UKRAINE, not Russia, have been warning that the country is on the brink of collapse. The American Neocons are being confronted with the fact that there NEVER was any chance that Ukraine would defeat Russia and putting this high-heel questionable gender dancer in high heels in charge of war was in itself a war crime. There is absolutely no war Ukraine can win anything. This is why Zelensky has been so desperate o drag in NATO because he knows they cannot retake the Donbas no less defeat Russia. The American Neocons were hoping to weaken Russia so they could contrive some scheme to justify going in for the kill.

There are rumblings behind the curtain now that a peace deal has to be struck of Ukraine will collapse if their own troops do not rise up and assassinate Zelensky for his profiteering and slaughter of his own people. After all, numerous Roman generals found themselves in a position where they did not want to fight so they assassinated their leader. In the case of Maximinus I (235-238AD), his own men, humiliated by their defeat, now entered the tent of Maximinus and murdered him. To demonstrate their new loyalty to Rome, they cut off his head and sent it to Rome. This was no isolated incident. It became rather common for the troops when ordered to fight a wrong war, turned to assassinate their own general.

The fact that the Wall Street Journal on July 23rd wrote:

“Western military officials knew Kyiv didn’t have all the training or weapons—from shells to warplanes—that it needed to dislodge Russian forces. But they hoped Ukrainian courage and resourcefulness would carry the day.”

The fact that this even appeared in the press shows that there is discontent behind the curtail. All we have heard to date are lies about how Russia is weak and losing. That is precisely the opposite of the truth and that is info from Ukraine – NOT Russia. Zelensky has kept up a false image of victory only to keep the money flowing into Ukraine. The population of Ukraine had stood at about 36 million before the war. At least 500,000 are now dead and the real number of Ukrainians who have fled their home may now exceed 10 million. Zelensky has destroyed his country all for the Donbas which was never Ukrainian territory nor occupied by Ukrainians. This has been a proxy war against Russia and Zelensky has BETRAYED HIS OWN PEOPLE for a handful of silver.

Selensky’s dream of selling Ukraine to Blackrock is really disgusting. He has had no problem letter his country brun because the more that burns, the greater the rebuilding project. He has been bragging that this will be the biggest investment opportunity for Europe with no mention of how many Ukrainians must die for he dream. Many have compared him to Nero letting Rome burn so he could build his grand golden palace.

Poland is likely to take Western Ukraine in the outcome here. That was their territory 1918-1945 and the Ukrainians slaughtered more than 100,000 Polish simply for ethnic cleansing. What is not given a lot of attention is that within Ukraine, there are ethnic Polish and Hungarians who have also been abused by the Ukrainians. The Ukrainians did far worse than just killing Polish for which they have refused to ever apologize.

The Polish Association of Memory of Victims of Crimes of Ukrainian Nationalists documented 135 methods of torture and murder practiced by Ukrainian Nazis. Poland officially called the Ukrainian actions genocide. The Ukrainians have been protected by the CIA for decades ONLY because they hated Russians. They continue to protect the Ukrainian Nazis only because they are waging war against Russia.

The Ukrainians were unprecedented in their war crimes during WWII and the sheer outright cruelty one would expect only exists in some B-Rated horror movies. This included:

  • Running children through with stakes
  • Cutting a person’s throat and pulling their tongue out through the hole
  • Sawing a person’s torso in half with a carpenter’s saw
  • Cutting open the belly of a woman in an advanced stage of pregnancy, removing the fetus, and replacing it with a live cat, before sewing up her abdomen.
  • Cutting open a pregnant women’s abdomen and pouring in broken glass
  • Nailing a small child to a door.

In retribution, Ukraine is likely to lose the Western provinces to Poland. As I have said before, Ukraine had finally achieved sovereignty. They have thrown that all away for their hatred of Russians when in fact the

What the Ukrainians overlook is that Stalin’s seizure of the food from Ukraine and their starvation have two MAJOR factors they do not want to acknowledge.

(1) Stalin was not Russian, he was from Georgia.

(2) Stalin’s right-hand man proposed starving Ukraine and he was Ukrainian – NOT Russian.

Lazar Kaganovich (1893-1991) was in charge of taking the food from Ukraine. Some say he was Jewish and sought retribution against the anti-Jewish attitude in Ukraine. His real name was KAGANOVICH, LAZAR MOISEYEVICH. He joined the Communist Party in 1911 and became a member of the Kiev committee of the party in 1914. The following year, he was arrested and restricted to residence in Kabana. He fled Ukraine and lived in various parts of Russia under the false name of Kaganovich. There he played an active role in the October Revolution in the Red Army. He rose to be the right hand of Stalin and then convinced Stalin to take the food from Ukraine most likely as retribution for his arrest.

Ukraine is a very troubled country. Its people suffer under propaganda and Bandera’s philosophy was pure hatred and ethnic cleansing. In speaking with some very naive Ukrainians, they were told they had to fight for Russia and would not stop with the Donbas. Now they will lose a lot and the West is more likely to be taken by Poland. The only peace deal will be to surrender the Donbas to Russia. Odessa at best would be a neutral demilitarized city to allow access to a port for exports. Zelensky is desperately still seeking to get NATO to intervene and now escort their grain exports. He will never be satisfied until he creates world war III. The entire population of Ukraine stands at best 0.4% – not even half of one percent of the world population.

Ukrainian General said Zelensky is Responsible for 100,000’s Dead Ukrainians


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Jul 20, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong, My cousin is in government here ___________________, and he said you have the best sources that even surpass some intelligence agencies. Only you have been reporting that your Ukrainian sources told you that Zelensky is corrupt and has destroyed his country for a handful of silver. It is coming out that the Ukrainian Army General Serhiy Krivonos has openly said that Zelensky has indeed destroyed his country. He actually said, “This colossal mistake resulted in hundreds of thousands of dead Ukrainians and the destruction of a huge number of cities.”

My cousin said people from all countries go to you because they have a similar mindset. Would you agree? Why are your sources better than anyone else?

GDK

ANSWER: Zelensky is an actor – nothing more. He is destroying his country because he cares nothing about its people and plans his exit to a mansion in Miami. He always dresses in army clothing as a psychological ploy to constantly pretend he is fighting for freedom. This is such a lie, for Ukraine would never have been in such a position if Kiev did not start the civil war attacking the Donbas. This is the dissent against Putin that he did not invade Ukraine as the US did to Iraq. They are ethnic Russians who have been there for centuries in the Donbas. The US has done similar actions involving Americans in foreign nations. Zelensky wants them to surrender their language and their religion. This is absurd. He is willing to destroy his country and hopes that he will be able to sell the farmland and resources to Blackrock and live in Miami as a billionaire – tax-free, of course.

Zelensky is listed in the Panama Papers, and the fact-checkers try to divert people away from this fact. When Zelensky’s European tour took place begging for money, online claims went viral that he had purchased luxury villas in Crimea, Italy, and England with Western military aid money. This appears to be fake news. However, this may, in fact, be to cover the fact that he does have a property in Miami, most likely stashed under a fake name since this is where you find all the super-rich Ukrainians and Russians in Miami.

There are people in Ukraine, as there are in every country, who are the opposition to the current government. The Western press will never tell you about them because they are trying to create a false impression that the country is 100% behind him. Over 8 million have fled and are living mostly in Germany and Poland. They have lost everything, and many are now asking – For War? To occupy the Donbas with Russians?

People have been coming to us for decades. I have had central banks sharing info because they want it out but know that we have the largest institutional client base. Thus, they want the info to the people that matter. In addition, most journalists can spell and write nicely, but they do not know the subject matter of their writing. I remember an institutional session I did in Toronto, and the Bank of Canada took a table with 10 people. All the institutions knew who they were. They would ask me what the central bank was looking at. I would tell them, and everyone would look at that table for some reaction. When it was over, I told the head guy I hoped I did not say anything offensive. He responded it was fantastic. He wished he could tell these people outright but could not.

Even when I was invited by the People’s Bank of China during the Asian Currency Crisis of 1997, I had been warning that the capital flows shifted and turned back to Europe for the coming Euro in 1998. They said I was doing a fantastic job and to keep up the work. When I asked why they would not come out and say what I said, they replied that they could not criticize another central bank.

My sources are the best BECAUSE, in most cases, they cannot speak freely even to mainstream media, especially today. After what they did to me, it has had the OPPOSITE effect. Today, I have even more sources coming to me because they say

NOW I KNOW YOU ARE NOT PART OF NEW YORK. 

Interesting times. So yes, every intelligence agency reads this blog. I have the real-world experience of an international hedge fund manager, the only AI model that monitors the entire world.

When Nigel Farage came to our Rome WEC, he stood up and said, of course, he would appear because my WEC is the “alternative to Davos.”. I regard Nigel as a friend. Now the uproar over his treatment by the private bank Coutts, owned by NatWest Group, whose biggest shareholder just so happens to be the UK government since the 2008 financial crisis, has finally compelled them to apologize to Nigel. This is the world we live in. It has become so corrupt that you have to not just count your fingers when shaking hands with some; you better make sure you still have your arm.

The Truth About Ukraine’s Failed Counteroffensive


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Jul 19, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The American Neocons have been pushing for weapons and everything they can muster. They tell Ukraine they MUST get back the Donbas even though the people there are ethnically Russian and not Ukrainian. This would be like Mexico invading Texas, claiming it was their former border even though Americans live there. The Neocons want to believe that Russia is weak, so that is all they tell the press. How else to get Americans to support another endless war like they did in Vietnam?

Western weapons have proven not enough to give Kiev a decisive advantage to defeat Russia. Fighting in Ukraine has reached “a bit of a stalemate,” which is the first time a US Defense Intelligence Agency Chief of Staff John Kirchhofer told a conference in Washington. His assessment of Ukraine’s chances of actually winning this counteroffensive is about zero.

“Certainly we are at a bit of a stalemate,” Kirchhofer said, according to Bloomberg. “One of the things that the Russian leadership believes is that they can outlast the support of the West.”

Ukrainian forces have been unable to advance from Kherson to Donetsk since early June. They have failed to make any significant territorial gains against the Russians whatsoever. So much for the Nuland claims that weapons will defeat Russia. The Senate leader of the warmongers, Lindsey Graham, was willing to sacrifice every Ukrainian to defeat Russia.

Here is Graham cheering that it’s the best money the US has ever spent to kill Russians. They claim they are fighting for freedom when in fact Russia is not interested in conquering all of Ukraine. They are defending the Donbas which was supposed to have been granted the right to be free from Ukraine. Zelensky has destroyed his own country all to conquer the Donbas, occupied by Russians for hundreds of years. This has nothing to do with Ukraine’s freedom. It is the freedom of the Donbas — not Kiev.

If it were Americans in the Donbas, the US would also be there to defend them in a civil war had Russia instigated it. This is a sick individual who takes pleasure in killing Russians. This is how Americans are being viewed because we elect such people. He cares nothing about the loss of lives. This offensive cost Ukraine 26,000 men and over 3,000 pieces of military hardware in the first two weeks. Zelensky has publicly blamed the West for failing to provide enough weapons – including long-range missiles and fighter jets – to guarantee the offensive’s success.

UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace reportedly told Ukraine that his country was not “Amazon” for weapons and that members of NATO wanted “to see a bit of gratitude.” The Guardian reported that Wallace said during the NATO summit in Vilnius that “whether we like it or not, people want to see a bit of gratitude” from Ukraine. Zelensky never bothers to say thank you. Wallace made the point that Zelensky is running through all the NATO stockpile of weapons. He is “persuading countries to give up their own stocks” of weapons and ammunition,” and that they also had “to persuade doubting politicians” that supporting Ukraine was “worthwhile” in its war with Russia. Wallace then added: “I told them that last year, when I drove 11 hours to be given a list, that I’m not like Amazon.”

The Neocons keep putting out propaganda that Russia is losing. The truth is that 20% of Ukrainian weapons were destroyed in just the first two weeks. To my shock, New York Times actually told the truth that 20% of Ukrainian weapons were destroyed in just two weeks.

All of my sources are saying the same time. No weapon system will change Kiev’s fortunes. Neither US-supplied HIMARS rocket artillery and cluster bombs, nor British Storm Shadow cruise missiles, have thus far tilted the battlefield situation in Ukraine’s favor, he pointed out. All of this has failed, yet Zelensky continues to push his country toward annihilation, all to profit from Blackrock and JP Morgan.

The Neocons keep claiming using the White House that the pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive is progressing. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said last month that Ukrainian forces were “advancing steadily,” but that progress would be slow and “very bloody.” This is simply an outright lie. There is no independent source on either side that confirms that outlook. The other Neocon spokesman of the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, told CNN last month that heavy Ukrainian casualties are “to be expected” but that Zelensky will continue to receive “the support he needs not just from the United States, but from 50 other partners.”

This is clearly propaganda coming from the White House, most likely at the direction of Victoria Nuland and crew refusing to acknowledge that their current war game is failing. The fellow Neocon Secretary of State Antony Blinken has repeatedly rejected the idea of Ukraine entering into peace talks with Russia. This is why India and France are turning their backs on the Biden Administration. They can see that the United States has undergone a coup, and the Neocons are in full control.

Russia maintains that Western arms deliveries will only serve to prolong the conflict without altering its eventual outcome. That appears to be an honest assessment from all my sources on both sides. This is why Zelensky wants F16s to escalate the war dramatically by attacking Crimea and Russia to provide a major confrontation to drag in NATO.

Western-supplied tanks and armored vehicles have all burned. Beginning in early June, Ukrainian forces launched a series of attacks all along the front line from Kherson to Donetsk. Advancing through minefields. That is what cost 26,000 men and more than 3,000 pieces of military hardware in just two weeks. Ukrainian losses were at their highest during the initial two weeks of the offensive. This was Ukraine’s 47th Mechanized Brigade – a NATO-trained unit – which by all reports, apparently lost 30% of its 99 Bradley Infantry Fighting vehicles in two weeks. Ukraian’s 33rd Mechanized Brigade lost nearly a third of its 32 German-made Leopard tanks in a single week. According to Russia, they destroyed a total of 311 Ukrainian tanks in two weeks. They claimed: “At least a third of them, I believe, were Western-made tanks, including Leopards,” was reported on Russia 24 TV.

This is why Ukrainian commanders decided to pause the counteroffensive. They simply lost so much. Zelensky acknowledged that there was a pause but blamed the West for failing to supply him with enough weapons and equipment for a successful operation. He omitted that some say he has lost more than one-third of all the weapons sent to Ukraine. Zelensky claims that the decisive phase of their counteroffensive has yet to begin. This, too, seems to be just propaganda.

Zelensky is running through ammunition like water, particularly 155mm artillery shells. Even Biden was forced to admit that “we’re low” on these shells, explaining that the shortage compelled him to send controversial cluster munitions in their stead, which is a war crime by all standards. What’s next? Tactical nuclear weapons instead of peace?

This is why there will be NO Real Election in 2024

The Neocons will NOT Allow their Loss of Power

There Worst Nightmare — Trump & RFK together

Depleted Uraniun Shells Explode in Ukraine


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Jul 17, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The interesting issue concerning radiation detection in Ukraine is that after stating that radiation was detected, the West claims there is none. Russia claims to have bombed an ammunition depot containing depleted Uranium shells, which will contaminate the landscape. Britain supplied these shells to Ukraine – that must we know.  Russia claims that a radioactive cloud is now drifting toward Western Europe, and the EU denies it. As I have said, the first casualty of war is always the truth. The EU will certainly not admit such a thing, for that would confirm that they gave Ukraine illegal weapons. On the other hand, denying that means people, crops, and animals can get sick, and then what, we blamed another virus?

The United States in April wired Ukraine so they could identify any nuclear attack. We do know that the British defense ministry confirmed it would provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. The U.S. developed these during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks.

Putin did accuse London of proliferating “weapons with a nuclear component,” while the British called this “disinformation.” Depleted uranium is based on the isotope U-235 which is extracted from natural uranium ore and this is even used as fuel for reactors and in nuclear weapons. This process is called enrichment. But the content of the “useful” isotope in the ore is about 10%. The remaining 90% of the isotope contains negligible amounts of U-235, which consist mainly of the slightly radioactive U-238. This is the depleted uranium which can be described as waste from the enrichment process.

This depleted uranium is very dense. This means that it is much heavier than, for example, steel shells of the same size. Consequently, the force of energy upon impact is very strong which enables it to penetrate armor. The depleted uranium does not explode, but small fragments that can penetrate armor can easily be ignited. Therefore, a projectile made of this material is an armor-piercing incendiary material. The US has also been using it in shells of high-speed smaller caliber guns of 25-30mm used on Infantry-Fighting Vehicles (IFV) and attack aircraft.

The US first used them during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Literally, hundreds of thousands of such shells were used in Iraq. The Pentagon also acknowledged that they used these shells in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Syria. These depleted uranium shells are not subject to nuclear non-proliferation rules. Therefore, in terms of international law, they have yet to be classified separately. Nor are there any international agreements that would regulate the supply of them specifically. Thus, the West argues Russia cannot object to their use. They are not party to any treaty and they are outside of any consideration being nuclear weapons.

What we do know is that depleted uranium shells have a radioactive component. Prior to firing, such projectiles are safe whereby the weak radiation is unable to penetrate skin and clothing. However, if such a shell penetrates armor, a cloud of tiny fragments or dust is produced. It is this radioactive and toxic dust that presents a danger both to the crew of the affected vehicle, as the dust can enter the lungs and digestive tract, and to civilians, as it can enter the soil and water in the area.

There were secret studies on the dangers of uranium dust following Desert Storm given the high volume of their use. The only people anyone was concerned about were approximately 170 Americans who came in contact with this dust. The conclusion was that they could NOT rule out that depleted uranium might be one of the causes of “Gulf War Syndrome” – the chronic, poorly-explained varied ailments of ex-soldiers. This matched similar findings from Yugoslavia where it was called “Balkan syndrome” where once again depleted uranium was cited. Tens of thousands of aircraft rounds were left in equipment debris and soil. Then, soldiers from several European countries also fell ill. Many died of Leukaemia – in the Belgian contingent alone, five died rather abruptly.

Only when these strange diseases were emerging in the Balkans during the mid-1990s were finally uncovered in 2001, did we find European protests. Belgium, Germany, Italy, and France all approached Washington and were demanding explanations. The military just insisted that the shells were safe. However, it was also in 2001 when the USA finally conducted research involving military veterans. They concluded at that time that depleted uranium in a quantity that they considered dangerous had not been found in the bodies of wounded soldiers. Germany conducted its own research not trusting the United States. Tests were carried out on 120 soldiers who had served in Kosovo and showed no deviations from the age norm.

In 2009, an Italian court ordered the country’s defense ministry to pay a hefty compensation – €1.4 million – to the family of a soldier who fell ill with cancer and died after serving in Somalia in the early 1990s. The death was attributed to depleted uranium. In truth, a number of organizations have been calling for a ban or restriction on the use of depleted uranium projectiles since the early 2000s. The military seems unmoved to conduct any study on the possible long-term effects on civilians who return to the land where the battle was fought. Rumors of cancers in Iraq get no press time.

Naturally, those in the military claim that the danger of depleted uranium projectiles is exaggerated. Of course, we have no idea if the use of these shells is polluting the environment whereby Ukraine has been the bread basket of Europe. Nobody knows if this will have any impact on the food supply of Europe in the decades ahead.

Possible False Flag – Claim of Radiation Detected in East Ukraine


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Jul 15, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Other than a report that radiation has been detected, there is no other information out as yet. We cannot rule out that Ukraine is getting desperate and was very upset that they were not ushered into NATO instantly. We must be on guard of Ukraine now deliberately trying to pull another false flag to get NATO to attack Russia.

Zelensky Cancels All Elections Becomes Dictator for Life


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Jul 8, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Is it true that Zelensky is canceling elections?

HZ

ANSWER: On June 22, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a dictator installed by the West to create World War III against Russia. Zelensky told the BBC that Ukraine’s scheduled 2023 parliamentary and 2024 presidential elections would occur only if martial law had ended by that time, as reported by the New Voice of Ukraine. Hence, he has a personal reason not to seek any peace whatsoever.

There is NO WAY Zelensky is fighting for democracy – this is all propaganda. He hates Russians and refuses to allow them to separate as per the Mink Agreement and, at the same time, refuses them to vote in any Ukrainian election, no less for their independence. Zelensky is an outright war criminal, and over 8 million Ukrainians have now fled their own country because he refuses to end the war and is destroying his own country all for Blackrock’s investment scheme. His own people would remove him from office, so he cannot allow any election, and there is no way NATO or the USA will allow free elections in Ukraine.

There is no way this war will end without the Donbas’ destruction and Russia’s fall. It is a proxy war that the United States started. CIA chief John Brennan traveled to Kiev in 2014 and instructed them to begin the civil war. Kiev called the Russians of the Donbas “terrorist” because they sought independence from Kiev just as Kiev sought independence from Moscow.

Biden & Harris are clearly a no-brainer for the Neocons. There is way too much at stake. If the Neocons could, they would suspend elections in the USA as well. These people have wanted to destroy Russia for decades. They have waged endless wars, one after the other, and never won a single one. The Taliban are now major arms dealers selling billions of dollars of the weapons we left behind. They intend to escalate Ukraine and need to get the US directly involved because they cling to the idea that no president has ever lost an election during a time of war. They need to escalate this war and soon. The rumor is that Ukraine will detonate a dirty nuclear bomb and blame Russia, and then NATO and the USA invade.

Replay – President Trump MAGA Speech, Farmers for Trump – Council Bluffs, Iowa (Full Video)


Posted originally on the CTH on July 7, 2023 | Sundance

Earlier today President Trump kicked off a new coalition of Farmers for Trump in Council Bluffs, Iowa

While much of the first segment of the speech covers topics of significant importance to farming and agriculture, President Trump also expanded his remarks to cover current political events. WATCH:

FULL SPEECH: President Donald J. Trump Holds MAGA Rally in Council Bluffs, IA – 7/7/23

Russia Accuses US of Preparing for Biowarfare via Mosquitos


Armstrong Economics Blog/Disease Re-Posted Jul 5, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

This story seemed far-fetched when first public, but now we know the extent of Bill Gates’ plan to modify mosquitos. We have seen a resurgence of once dormant viruses at the precise time that Gates’ allowed Oxitec to release diseased mosquitoes into the environment. Russia has repeatedly said it has information that the US is planning to drop diseased mosquitoes on Russian troops.

The head of Russian Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops, Igor Kirillov, first reported that the US had plans to drop mosquitos on the battlefield via drones. “The flooding of Kherson region planned by the Kyiv regime can complicate the situation, including with regard to arbovirus infections,” Kirillov said. “After a drop in the water level, it is possible to form foci of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, primarily West Nile fever.” He further stated that the US has patented a drone that would be used for this exact purpose. “The description of the patent emphasizes that the infected soldier is not able to perform the combat missions assigned to him,” he stated.

The US is already using drones to drop disease-ridden mosquitos on its own citizens. They claim that they are only dropping male mosquitoes that do not bite, but people are already falling ill with malaria after it was dormant in the US for 20 years. The United Nations also has access to these drones.

Spreading disease is against the Geneva Convention which protects soldiers against inhumane treatment during war. Nothing is fair during war, and the Neocons do not care about the men and women on the battlefield. The chance of this biowarfare tactic happening in the near future is high. Again, they are already infecting American citizens in this manner in plain sight.