Russia not seeking to revive Soviet Union – Putin


Reuters Published originally on Rumble on September 30, 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday (September 30) denied seeking to revive the Soviet Union, moments after announcing Moscow would annex four Ukrainian provinces following what it called “referendums”, votes that were denounced by Kyiv and Western governments as illegal and coercive.

Beware of April 2023


Armstrong Economics Blog/Russia Re-Posted Sep 25, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

There is a serious question as to why the Western press has been putting out nothing but one-sided propaganda. I have been warned that my sources in Russia are concerned that the hardliners behind the scene have been critical of Putin for NOT being more aggressive. Of course, there is the youth protesting over the war and the Western press has been happy to project only that image.

Today, for the very first time, the New York Times has actually reported what I have been reporting for weeks:

“Powerful, well positioned and ideologically committed, they want a much more aggressive war effort. “

I am concerned that if Putin is overthrown, the propaganda of the Western press makes it sound like everything will be back to normal. That is so far from the truth, it is not even funny. The Pi Target from the fall of the Soviet Union will be April 6th, 2023. Zelensky stood up on February 23rd, 2022 and said he wanted to restore nukes in Ukraine in direct violation of all the agreements since 1991. The next day Putin invaded.

John McCain was there at Maidan promising US support to overthrow Yanukovich and to create a revolution against Russia. It was John McCain who was pushing to fund the proxy way against Putin in 2014. In December 2016 after Trump was elected, he traveled to Ukraine promising military support to wage war on Russia backing the neo-nazis. Trump rejected that and that is why McCain hated Trump. McCain has been pushing war with Russia all along. It was the US-installed “interim” government in 2014 that began the civil war attacking the Donbas and the Minsk Agreement was brokered by Germany and France to allow the Donbas to vote on their separation from Ukraine. Zelensky has refused to recognize that agreement.

Zelensky promised peace and the end of corruption. He has done the exact opposite. He rejected Henry Kissinger’s advice to let the Donbas vote. Zelensky would rather destroy his entire country than yield “one inch” to Russia.

I am deeply concerned that if Putin falls for any reason, we are looking at significant risk and our computer’s forecast back in 2013 that Ukraine will be the hot sport, is exactly on track. Russia has its hawks just as we have had to endure John McCain who has supported endless wars for his personal vendetta. Despite his death, other has taken up the agenda and are working hard for war with Russia and the Hawks are doing in Russia and China right now. The smartest play they can make is to attack Taiwan and go fully into Ukraine simultaneously. The West is economically too weak to support a war on two fronts simultaneously. I cannot believe our world leaders are this stupid.

Allow the Donbas to vote and monitor it by independent observers from both sides. The people are predominantly Russia and they are Russian Orthodox, which Zelensky has also outlawed their religion. It will be hands down that they vote for their independence. The alternative is not something we really want to head into cheering for our own destruction on both sides.

Conservative Nationalist Giorgia Meloni Wins Big in Italian Election, Certain to Become First Female Prime Minister


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on September 25, 2022 | Sundance 

GREAT NEWS – Looks like the Italians have decided to Make Italy Great Again and voted overwhelmingly to support Giorgia Meloni and the nationalist coalition.  With an anticipated 45% of the exit polls, this outcome will almost certainly make Giorgia Meloni the first female prime minister in Italy.

Giorgia Meloni’s electoral alliance is holding a wide lead in Italy’s national vote. Exit polls on state television are putting the ‘Brothers of Italy’ result around 45%, with an alliance of League leader Matteo Salvini and conservative former Premier Silvio Berlusconi resulting in a solid majority in Parliament.

Rai state broadcaster said the closest contender, the center-left alliance of former Democratic Party Premier Enrico Letta, has apparently garnered only 29.5% of the vote.

ROME, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Giorgia Meloni, head of the nationalist Brothers of Italy party, said on Monday Italian voters had given a clear mandate to the right to form the next government and called for unity to help confront the country’s many problems.

“If we are called upon to govern this nation, we will do so for all Italians, with the aim of uniting the people, of exalting what unites them rather than what divides them,” Meloni told reporters. “We will not betray your trust.” (link)

Lega (League) leader Matteo Salvini, Forza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi and Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni

The European Union bureaucrats have lots of sad tonight.

Sunday Talks, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan States the U.S. Will Never Relinquish Control of Ukraine as a Proxy State


Posted originally on the conservative tree house September 25, 2022 | Sundance

Appearing on CBS Face the Nation today, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan proudly boasted of the $15 billion in weapons the U.S. has shipped into Ukraine, while restating the official position of the Biden administration that the U.S. will never permit Russia to hold the eastern part of our proxy state.

Ukraine is to the United States as North Korea is to China. WATCH:

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Good morning to you, Jake. Thank you for joining us.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR JAKE SULLIVAN: Thanks for having me.

MARGARET BRENNAN: President Zelenskyy told us that if this annexation happens, it will make diplomatic talks with Vladimir Putin impossible. They need artillery in Ukraine, he says, more air defense systems and tanks. Will they get it? And how significant of an escalation is this?

SULLIVAN: Well, Margaret, not only will they get it, but they’ve been getting it. The United States at this point alone has provided more than $15 billion in weapons, and that’s included air defense systems, hundreds of artillery pieces, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of rounds of artillery. And we facilitated the transfer of tanks from NATO allies who have the Soviet era tanks that the Ukrainians have trained on, we will continue to do all of that. As President Biden made clear on Friday, nothing that Russia has done with this mobilization of troops, with the sham referenda in the occupied regions, is going to deter us from providing Ukraine with the necessary means and technologies they need to defend themselves. And what Putin has done is not exactly a sign of strength or confidence, frankly, it’s a sign that they’re struggling badly on the Russian side. And we’re going to help the Ukrainians be able to take advantage of the gains they’ve made, and to continue to push back against the Russian forces that are brutally occupying portions of their country.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yesterday, Putin replaced one of the top logistics generals with a man who’s known as “the Butcher of Mariupol.” Are we seeing the beginning of the collapse of the Russian army?

SULLIVAN: I think it’s too soon to make comprehensive predictions like that. I think what we are seeing are signs of unbelievable struggle among the Russians, you’ve got low morale, where the soldiers don’t want to fight. And who can blame them because they want no part of Putin’s war of conquest in their neighboring country. You’ve got Russia having depleted its stores of prec- precision guided munitions. You’ve got Russia disorganized and losing territory, to a capable Ukrainian force. And you’ve got a huge amount of infighting among the Russian military leadership, and now the blame game has started to include these replacements. So Russia is struggling, but Russia still remains a dangerous foe, and capable of great brutality, as we’ve seen with these mass graves outside of Izium. So we continue to take that threat seriously. And we continue to see our obligation, being providing Ukraine all that it needs to be able to effectively defend itself and defend its country and defend its freedom. That’s what we’re intent on doing. And we are not taking our eye off the ball.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Vladimir Putin will carry out this annexation of eastern Ukraine within the next few days. If Russia is expanding its nuclear umbrella over this part of the country. Does that put the US in more direct conflict with Russia? And does a nuclear weapon being used there, p-put Russia in conflict directly with the US and NATO?

SULLIVAN: We have been crystal clear up to and including President Biden that we will not recognize the sham referenda, they in no way represent the will of the Ukrainian people. And we will treat this territory for what it is – Ukrainian territory, not Russian territory. And we will continue to support the Ukrainians as they seek to deoccupy this territory. So we’ve been clear, we’re not going to stop or slow down our support to the Ukrainians, no matter what Putin tries to do with these-these fake elections and fake referenda and annexation. Now, when it comes to the question of nuclear use, President Putin’s been waving around the nuclear card at various points through this conflict the last few days are not the first time–

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: –But he hasn’t been as cornered as he is now.

SULLIVAN: It’s true, and it is a matter that we have to take deadly seriously because it is a matter of paramount seriousness – the possible use of nuclear weapons for the first time since the Second World War. We have communicated directly, privately, at very high levels to the Kremlin, that any use of nuclear weapons will be met with catastrophic consequences for Russia, that the United States in our allies will respond decisively. And we have been clear and specific about what that will entail. We have, in public, been equally clear, as a matter of principle, that the United States will respond decisively if Russia uses nuclear weapons and that we will continue to support Ukraine in its efforts to defend its country and defend its democracy.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Russia has been talking about this nuclear power plant rather than nuclear weapons just for the past 24 hours. Where does that fall? Is this an escalating threat?

SULLIVAN: So, for your viewers, there is a nuclear power plant that is in Russian occupied portions of Ukraine. It has been put into cold shutdown to make it less likely that there’s some kind of catastrophic incident at the plant. It is actually still being operated by the Ukrainian operators who are essentially at gunpoint from the Russian occupying forces. And the Russians have been consistently implying that there may be some kind of accident at this plant. We’ve been working with the International Atomic Energy Agency and with Ukrainian energy regulators to try to make sure that there is no threat posed by a meltdown or something else from the plant. We will continue to do that, but it’s something we all have to keep a close eye on.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Jake, you’re a busy man watching the world right now. There’s a lot I want to ask you, but I have to ask you about Iran. And these protests led by women after the death of this 22-year-old woman who didn’t have her hair covered properly in the view of the morality police. She died. How significant is this, and is it making you reassess the offer you put on the table to lift sanctions on Iran in regard to its nuclear program?

SULLIVAN: Well, first, Margaret, the fact that we are in negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program is in no way impacting our willingness and our vehemence in speaking out about what is happening on the streets of Iran. President Biden went to the floor of the UN General Assembly and said that we stand with the brave citizens and the brave women of Iran as they stand for their rights and their dignity. We have in fact taken tangible steps to sanction those morality police –

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

SULLIVAN: – who caused the death of Mahsa Amini. We’ve taken steps to make it easier for Iranians to be able to get access to the internet and access to communications technologies that will allow them to talk to one another and to talk to the world. So, from our perspective, we will do all that we can to support the brave people the brave women of Iran –

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: – I was asking you, though, about the offer to lift sanctions off of Iran in regard to its nuclear program, because that would allow for the regime to have a financial lifeline.

SULLIVAN: Well, I think it’s important for everyone to understand that at the height of the Cold War, as Ronald Reagan was calling the Soviet Union “the evil empire” –

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. Arms control.

SULLIVAN: – he was also negotiating an arms control with Russia. So that’s– that is what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about diplomacy to prevent Iran from ever getting a nuclear weapon. If we can succeed in that effort, and we are determined to succeed in that effort, the world America and our allies will be safer. And that will not stop us in any way from pushing back and speaking out on Iran’s brutal repression of its citizens and its women. We can and will do both.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, so I understand the offer is still on the table. Strategy hasn’t changed. Jake, thank you very much for your time. We’ll be right back with a lot more Face the Nation. Stay with us.

Putin is at War with the West – Not Ukraine


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Sep 22, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Vladimir Putin’s recent speech is making headlines as people falsely claim Russia is about to launch an all-out nuclear attack. Putin is sticking to his same plan and says it in his opening statement: “The subject of this address is the situation in Donbas and the course of the special military operation to liberate it from the neo-Nazi regime, which seized power in Ukraine in 2014 as the result of an armed state coup.” Russia must now play defense as they are no longer simply battling Ukraine.

Putin stated that in 1991 the West prided itself on dividing the USSR, and believes “now is the time to do the same to Russia, which must be divided into numerous regions that would be at deadly feud with each other. They decided these plans years ago.”

Putin knows that he is fighting a NATO offensive and not simply Ukraine and directly calls out Washington, London, and Brussels. He correctly stated that the West first set out to demonize Russia and spread “Russophobia,” as they did during the Cold War. NATO and the West are now the opponents of Russia in this proxy war, while the Ukrainian people are merely cannon fodder used to usher in this new world.

Putin has been trying to reclaim land since 2014. He had no plan to seize Ukraine, but did want to reclaim the Donbas. This is much bigger than Russia v Ukraine as he fears he must act on the offensive against most of the world’s superpowers who want to seize Russia. They are shoving endless funds into Ukraine because they expect a prize in the end. Putin stated that he attempted peace talks, but the West shot them down because they craved war.

“After the start of the special military operation, in particular after the Istanbul talks, Kiev representatives voiced quite a positive response to our proposals. These proposals concerned above all ensuring Russia’s security and interests. But a peaceful settlement obviously did not suit the West, which is why, after certain compromises were coordinated, Kiev was actually ordered to wreck all these agreements.

More weapons were pumped into Ukraine. The Kiev regime brought into play new groups of foreign mercenaries and nationalists, military units trained according to NATO standards and receiving orders from Western advisers.”

This will not end well; the West made it clear that peace would not be an option. Zelensky is simply the face of a much larger plan at play that involves an ongoing plot to seize Russia, which has been happening behind the scenes for decades.

Putin: Xi is On My Side


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Sep 19, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

China is no stranger to Western alienation and hostilities. Putin is looking to strengthen his alliance with China by affirming that Russia will adhere to China’s domestic policies as long as China repays the favor.  “We intend to firmly adhere to the principle of ‘One China’,” Putin stated as Taiwan has become a hot topic. Putin went on to say that he “condemns provocations by the United States and their satellites in the Taiwan Strait.” China was bordering on neutrality until recently coming under fire for its One China policy. China can now see itself in Russia.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin met this Thursday in Uzbekistan for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine. Both want to end NATO expansion and agreed to a “no-limits” partnership. Xi warned Biden at the beginning of the year that sanctions on Russia could cripple the global economy. The US warned China to stay out of its affairs but then provoked China by sending leaders like Pelosi to Taiwan. The New World Order first targeted Donald Trump in an effort to remove him from power. Putin is second on their list, followed by Xi.

China knows that the US is in a decline and is strategically placing its finances and policies accordingly. When I met with the central bank of China, they were not bureaucrats – they were traders. When I was asked by people in the US Treasury upon my return what it was like, I responded that they only hired people with experience. They sent everyone to work on trading desks around the world, and then they returned to China to run the central bank. The West hires academics who believe reading a few books is sufficient experience. Similarly, politicians no longer understand diplomatic relations and are willing to sacrifice the economy to uphold petty perpetual disagreements while demonizing opponents.

Panicked Germany Seizes Russian Energy Company Rosneft, Uses National Trusteeship to Control Oil Refinery – The Current Economic Outlook of Europe, Full State Control of Critical Energy Production


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on September 16, 2022 | sundance

Welcome to the new “democratic norms” in the industrialized west as Germany seizes the private assets of Russian owned energy company Rosneft; because oil refining is critical to fuel prices and German has just realized their vulnerability.

Within this new Build Back Better system, driven by the policies of western nations, it appears things are changing quickly.  Democracy or capitalism in Germany is now quickly dispatched, as socialism -state control- becomes the priority.

Heck, I’m old enough to remember when everyone decried China’s authoritarian economic model for doing the exact same thing as Germany (a few months ago).  But, well, we must pretend not to notice these things comrades….

(Reuters) – BERLIN, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Germany took control of a major Russian-owned oil refinery on Friday, risking retaliation from Moscow as Berlin strives to shore up energy supplies and meet its European Union commitment to eliminate Russian oil imports by the end of the year.

The economy ministry said it was putting a unit of Russian oil firm Rosneft (ROSN.MM) under the trusteeship of the industry regulator and taking over the business’ Schwedt refinery, which supplies 90% of Berlin’s fuel.

“This is a far-reaching energy policy decision to protect our country,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz told a news conference to present the government’s plans to put the Schwedt refinery under the control of the Federal Network Agency regulator. (read more)

Who knew economic security was national security?

Now, let’s start talking about USA food exports, shall we?

Also, I’ll take “Things That Won’t End Well” for $1000, Alex.

Zelensky to head US Defense Industry Conference


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Sep 16, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The military-industrial complex continues to grow with the proxy war. The annual Future Force Capabilities Conference and Exhibition hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) will feature none other than Zelensky as their keynote speaker, as well as his minister of defense, Oleksii Reznikov. Everyone in attendance is directly profiting off of the war. The IRS deems the NDIA to be a nonprofit organization when in fact, it is blatantly lobbying.

Defense contractors need war, as do corrupt government officials who prosper off of pain. America has already provided Ukraine with over $15 billion since February, yet Zelensky is poised to request more funding and weapons at this meeting.

Boeing Defense, Space & Security; L3Harris Technologies; Raytheon Technologies; BAE Systems; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Huntington Ingalls Industries; General Dynamics; and Northrop Grumman all met in April to discuss how they could profit off of the war. The Pentagon recently announced (see video above) that they want to set up “the backbone of a Ukraine force…for years to come.” Meanwhile, the US military is suggesting that its own soldiers, 24% of whom are food insecure, begin applying for food stamps.

The Biden Administration seems to have unlimited funds for Ukraine. This event will show all the “innovative” ways that the US can pay to kill Russian soldiers on behalf of Ukraine “for years to come.”