[This analysis was written for the Unz Review]
Roughly half-way through the year 2020 it is becoming pretty obvious that there are a number of major developments which almost got our total attention, and for good reason, as these are tectonic shifts which truly qualify as “catastrophe” (under the definition “a violent and sudden change in a feature of the earth“). These are:
- The initiation of the global collapse of the AngloZionist Empire.
- The immense economic bubble whose ever-growing size is the best predictor of the magnitude of the huge burst it will inevitably result in.
- The implosion of the US society due to a combination of several and profound systemic crises (economic collapse, racial tensions, mass poverty, alienation of the masses, absence of social protections, etc.).
- The COVID-19 (aka “it’s just like the seasonal flu!!“) pandemic which only exacerbates all the other major factors listed above.
- Last, but not least, it is hard to imagine what the next US Presidential election will look like, but one thing is certain: by November we will already have a perfect storm – the election will only act like a battery which will feed even more energy into this already perfect storm.
To be sure, these are truly momentous, historical, developments whose importance cannot be over-stated. They are, however, not the only very serious developments. There are, in fact, several areas of serious political tensions which could also result in a major explosion, albeit a regional one “only”!
I will list just a few, beginning with the most visible one:
Turkey:
Erdogan is up to no good. Again. What a big surprise, right? Every time I hear somebody writing something about Erdogan the dreaming of becoming the sultan of a new Ottoman Empire, I tend to roll my eyes as this is a cliche. Yet, there is no denial that this cliche is true – the neo-Ottoman ideology is definitely alive and well in Turkey and Erdogan clearly wants to “ride that horse”. So let’s list some of the things which the Turks have been up to:
- Syria: The Turks have clearly been dragging their feet in northern Syria where, at least according to the deal Erdogan made with Putin, the “bad terrorists” should have left a long time ago and the key highway should have been under the joint protection of the Russian and Turkish forces. Well, Turkey did some of this, but not all, and the “bad terrorists” are still very much present in northern Syria. In fact, they recently tried to attack the Russian Aerospace Forces base in Khmeimim (they failed, but that is still something which the Turks have to answer for since the attack came from a zone they control). Protecting terrorists in exchange for promises of immunity from their attacks has been tried many times in the past and it has never worked – sooner or later the terrorist groups always slip out of the control of their masters and even turn against them. This is now happening to Turkey.
- Libya: The Turks are also deeply involved in the Libyan civil war. In fact, “deeply involved” does not give enough credit to the Turkish military which used Turkish-made drones with devastating effectiveness against the forces of Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar, the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (which is backed by both Russia and Egypt). Only the prompt (and rather mysterious) deployment of Russian air defenses and a number of unidentified MiG-29s succeeded in eventually bringing down enough Turkish drones to force them to take a pause. The Egyptians have made it clear that they will never allow the so-called “Government of National Accord” to take Sirte or any land East of Sirte. The Libyan Parliament (of East Libya) has now given Egypt the official authorization to directly intervene in Libya. This makes some kind of Egyptian intervention an almost certain thing.
- Hagia Sophia: And just to make sure there are enough sources of tension, the Turks have now declared that the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul will no longer be a museum open to all, but a mosque. Now the CIA-puppet modestly known as “His Most Divine All-Holiness the Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch” Bartholomew should be the most vocal opponent to this move, but all he can do is mumble some irrelevancies (he wanted to go down as the Patriarch who patronized the Ukrainian schism and, instead, he will go down in history as the Patriarch who did nothing to prevent the Ottomans of seizing one of the holiest sites of the Orthodox world. Truth be told, he probably could not have prevented that (Erdogan’s move is entirely due to upcoming elections in Turkey) – but he sure could have tried a little better. Ditto for the head of the Moscow Patriarchate (and, for that matter, the Russian government) who expressed stuff like concern, or dismay, of some form of condemnation, but who really did nothing to make Erdogan pay for his move.
[Sidebar: what the Turks just did is a disgrace, not only for Turkey itself which, yet again, proves that the Ottoman version of Islam is a particularly toxic and dangerous one. It is also a disgrace for the entire Muslim world which, with a few notable exceptions such as Sheikh Imran Hosein, has done nothing to prevent this and, if anything, has approved of this move. Finally, this is a disgrace for the entire Orthodox world as it proves that the entire worldwide Orthodox community has less relevance and importance in the eyes of the Turkish leader than the outcome of local elections. Russia, especially, would have the kind of political muscle needed to inflict all sorts of painful forms of retaliation against Turkey and yet Russia does nothing. This is a sad witness to the extreme weakness of the Orthodox faith in the modern world]
Add to this all the “traditional” sources of instability around Turkey, including the still unsolved (and unsolvable!) Kurdish issue, the tensions between Turkey and Iraq and Iran, Turkish low-key support for anti-Russian factions in the various former Soviet Republics and the constant confrontation with Greece).
Turkey remains one of the most dangerous states on the planet, even if most people remain unaware of this. True, in the recent years Turkey lost a lot of its power, but it still has plenty of formidable assets (including a very strong domestic weapon systems manufacturing capability) which it can use for a vast spectrum of nefarious political and military interventions.
Egypt:
Egypt is another country which regularly makes some headlines and then disappears from the public’s radar. Yet, right now, Egypt is faced not with one, but with *two* possible wars!
- Libya: as I mentioned above, should it come to an open clash between Turkey and Egypt in Libya, there could be a rapid horizontal escalation in which initial military clashes in Libya could turn into clashes over the Eastern Mediterranean and even possible strikes on key military objectives in Turkey and Egypt. The only good news here is that there are a lot of major actors who do not need a shooting war in the Eastern Mediterranean and/or the Middle-East. After all, if it came to a true military confrontation between Turkey and Egypt, then you can be pretty sure that NATO, CENTCOM, Greece, Israel and Russia would all have major concerns. Besides, it is hard to imagine what kind of military “victory” either Turkey or Egypt could hope for. Right now the situation is very tense, but we can hope that all the parties will realize that a negotiated solution, even a temporary one, is preferable to a full-scale war.
- Ethiopia: Egypt has a potentially much bigger problem than Libya to deal with: the construction by Ethiopia of the “The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)” on the Blue Nile river. While nobody really knows what the eventual impact of this dam will be on Sudan and Egypt, it is pretty clear that a civilization built along the Nile river will face a major threat to its way of life if the way the Nile river flows is disturbed in a major way (which this dam will definitely do).
Of the two possible conflicts I mentioned above, it is the second one which has me most worried. At the end of the day, neither Turkey nor Egypt will get to decide what happens in Libya which is mostly a kind of multi-player “chessboard” where “big guys” (US, France, Russia) will eventually decide the outcome. In the case of the dam in Ethiopia, the local actors will probably have a decisive say, especially since both sides consider that this is an existentially important issue for them.
If you look at a map of the region, you will see that the distance between the Egyptian border and the location of the dam on the border between Ethiopia and Sudan is a long one (about 1’200km or 745 miles). Should it come to a military confrontation between the two countries, this distance will pretty much decide the shape of the warfare we shall see: mainly air and missile strikes. The main problem here (for both sides) is that neither side has the kind of air force or missiles which would allow it to effectively strike the other country. This, however, could change very rapidly, especially if Russia does sell 24 of its advanced Su-35 multi-role air superiority fighters to Egypt, and even more so if Russia throws in a few capable air-to-ground strike missiles into the package (the delivery of the first Sukhois appears to be imminent). Then there is this “minor detail” of Sudan being stuck between the two combatants: Khartoum simply cannot look away and pretend like all is well if two of its major neighbors decide to fight each other over Sudanese airspace.
In theory Egypt could also try to mount some attack from the Red Sea, but right now the Egyptian Navy does not pack the kind of punch which would allow it to effectively strike Ethiopia (especially with Eritrea in between the Red Sea and Ethiopia). But that could also change, especially since Egypt agreed to purchase the two Gamal Abdel Nasser (ex-Mistral) class amphibious assault ships and helicopter carriers which, while not ideal, would definitely boost the Egyptian’s command and control capabilities, especially if the Egyptians succeed in deploying AWACS and strike aircraft (rotary or even light fixed wing V/STOL) on these ships. In practice, however, I think that the Egyptians could engage these ships much more effectively in Libya than they would in the Red Sea (especially since these ships are poorly defended against missile strikes).
Finally, not only is the GERD defended by decent air defense systems (along with a few decent, if aging, air force aircraft), a dam is a pretty hard target to disable: it is big, strong, and has a large volume which, by itself, also contributes to the “hardness” against attacks.
So there are reasons to hope that a conflict can be avoided, but it will be very hard to get the two sides to agree to compromises on issues which both sides see as vital to their national security.
The Ukraine
Yes, the Ukraine. Again. This insanity which began with the Euromaidan has not stopped, far from it. In fact, ever since the election of Zelenskii the Ukraine has become something of a madhouse which would be outright hilariously comical if it wasn’t also so tragic and even horrible for millions of Ukrainians. I will spare you all the details, but we can sum up the main development of the past months as “Zelenskii has completely lost control of the country”. But that would not even begin to cover the reality of this situation.
For one thing, the war of words between Trump and Biden over the Ukraine-gate has now “infected” the Ukrainian political scene and each side is now busy with what is known locally as “black PR”: trying to dig up as much dirt against your opponent as possible. Zelenskii is so weak that, amazingly, the previously almost totally discredited Poroshenko has now made a strong comeback and thereby acquired the support of a lot of influential nationalists. The latest incredible (but true!) “informational bomb” was set off by a member of the Ukrainian Rada, Andrei Derkach, who released a recording of Joe Biden and Poroshenko discussing the pros and cons of organizing a terrorist attack in Crimea (see here for details about this amazing story). This makes both Biden and Poroshenko “sponsors of terrorism” (hardly a surprise, but still). Other “juicy” news stories about the Nazi-occupied Banderastan include Zelenskii possibly fathering a kid with an aid and the brutal attacks on the members of a small (but growing) “Sharii” opposition party which the authorities not only ignored, but most likely ordered in the first place. It is not my purpose here to discuss all the toxic intricacies of internal Ukronazi politics, so I will only look at one of the major dangers resulting from this dynamic: there is talk of war with Russia again.
Okay, we have all heard the very same rumors for years now, and yet no real and sustained Ukrainian attack on the LDNR or, even less so, Crimea ever took place (there were constant artillery strikes and diversionary attacks, but those remain below the threshold of open warfare). But what we hear today is a little bit different: an increasing number of Ukrainian and even Polish observers have declared that Russia would attack this summer or in September, possibly using military maneuvers to move forces to the Ukrainian border and attack. Depending on whom you ask, such an attack could come from Belarus and/or from central Russia – some even worry about a Russian amphibious operation against the Ukrainian coastline and cities like Mariupol, Nikolaev, Kherson or Odessa.
[Sidebar: the Ukronazis are truly amazing. First they cut off all the electricity and even water from Crimea, and then they declare that Russia will have to invade to retake control of the water supply. The notion that Russia will solve Crimea’s water problem by peaceful and technological means is, apparently, quite unthinkable for the Ukronazi leaders. In the real world, however, Russia has a comprehensive program to comprehensively solve Crimea’s water problems. This program has begun by laying down water pipes, improving of the irrigation system of Crimea, the use of special aircraft to trigger rain and might even include the creation of a desalination plant. The simple truth is that Russia can easily make Crimea completely independent from anything Ukrainian.]
And just to make things worse, the head of the Ukrainian Navy (which exists on paper mostly) has now declared that a new Ukrainian missile, the Neptune, could reach as far as Sevastopol. The problem is not the missile itself (it is a modernized version of an old Soviet design, and it is slow and therefore easy to shoot down), but the kind of “mental background noise” that this kind of talk of war creates.
From a purely military point of view, Russia does not even have to move any troops to defeat the Ukrainian armed forces: all Russia needs to do is to use its powerful long-range stand-off weapons and reconnaissance-strike complexes to first decapitate, then disorganize and finally destroy the Ukrainian military. Russia’s superiority in the air, on the water and on land is such that the Ukrainians don’t have a chance in hell to survive such an attack, nevermind defeating Russia. The Ukrainians all know that since, after all, their entire military could not even deal with the (comparatively) minuscule and infinitely weaker LDNR forces (at least when compared to regular Russian forces).
Still, the Ukrainians have one advantage over Russia: while this would be extremely dangerous to try, they must realize that, unlike in the case of their attacks on the Donbass, should they dare to attack Crimea, President Putin would not have any other option than to order a retaliatory strike of some sort. Any Ukrainian attack or strike on Crimea would probably fail with all the missiles intercepted long before they could reach their targets, but even in this case the pressure on Putin to put an end to this would be huge. Which means that it would not be incorrect to say that whoever is in power in Kiev can force Russia to openly intervene. This means that in this specific case the weaker side can have at least some degree of escalation dominance.
Now the Ukraine definitely cannot achieve strategic surprise and is even most unlikely to achieve tactical surprise, but, again, the actual success of any Ukrainian strike on Crime does not require the designated targets of the strike to be destroyed: all that would be needed, in some plans at least, is the ability to do two things:
- Force Russia to openly intervene and
- Choose the time, place and mode of attack most problematic for the Russian side
Finally, I would suggest that we look at this issue from the point of view of the AngloZionist Empire: in many, if not most, ways, the Banderastan the West created in the Ukraine has outlived its utility: the USN won’t get a base in Crimea which is now lost forever (it is now one of the best defended places on the planet), Russia has not openly intervened in the civil war, the Ukronazi forces were comprehensively trounced by the Novorussians and in economic terms, and the Ukraine is nothing but one big black hole with an ever growing event horizon. Which might suggest to some in the US ruling elites that to trigger a losing war against Russia might be the best (and, possibly, only) thing their ugly creation could do for them. Why?
Well, for one thing, such a war will be bloody, even if it is short. Second, since the Russians are exceedingly unlikely to want to occupy any part of what is today the Nazi-occupied Ukraine, this means that even a total military defeat would not necessarily result in a complete disappearance of the current Banderastan. Yes, more regions in the East and the South might try to use this opportunity to rise up and liberate themselves, and should that happen Russia might offer the kind of help she offered the Novorussians, but I don’t think that anybody seriously believes that Russian tanks will be seen on Kiev or, even less so, Lvov (nevermind Warsaw or Riga). So a military loss against Russia would not be a total loss for Banderastan and it might even yield some beneficial dynamics to whatever consolidated Ukronazi-power might come out from such a conflict. Actually, should that happen I fully expect the Ukronazis to declare a kind of jihad to liberate the Moskal’ -occupied Ukraine. This means that the initial bloodbath would be followed by a festering low to medium level military conflict between Russia and the Ukraine which could last a very long time and also be most undesirable for Russia.
[Sidebar: during my studies I had the honor and privilege to study with a wonderful Colonel of the Pakistani Army who became a good friend. One day (that was around 1991) I asked my friend what the Pakistani strategy would be during a possible war against India. He replied to me: “look, we all know that India is much stronger and bigger than Pakistan, but what we all also know is that if they attack us we can give them a very bloody nose”. This is exactly what the Ukrainian strategy might be: to give Russia a “bloody nose”. Militarily, this is impossible, of course, but in political terms any open war against the Ukraine would be a disaster for Russia. It would also be a disaster for the Ukraine, but the puppet-masters of the Ukronazis in Kiev don’t care about the people of the Ukraine anymore than they care about the people of Russia: all they want is to give the Russians a big bloody nose.]
In summary, here is one possible scenario which might result in a regional catastrophe: whoever is in power in the Ukraine would begin by realizing that the project of an Ukronazi Banderastan has already failed and that neither the EU nor, even less so, the US is willing to continue to toss money into the Ukie black hole. Furthermore, clever Ukie politicians will realize that neither Poroshenko nor Zelensii have “delivered” the expected “goods” to the Empire. Then the East-European US vassal-states (led by Poland and the Baltic statelets) also realize that EU money is running out and that far from having achieved any real economic progress (nevermind any “miracle”), they are also becoming increasingly irrelevant to their masters in the EU and US. And, believe me, the political leaders of these US vassal-states have realized a long time ago that a war between Russia and the Ukraine would be a fantastic opportunity for them to regain some value in the eyes of their imperial overlords in the EU and US. To people who think like these people do, even an attempted Neptune strike against Sevastopol would be a quick and quite reasonable way to force Putin’s hand.
Lastly, we can now look at the situation in Russia
Russia
One would think that following the massive victory the Kremlin has achieved with the vote on the changes to the Russian Constitution, the political situation in Russia would be idyllic, at least compared to the sinking Titanic of the “collective West”. Alas, this is far from being the case. Here are some of the factors which contribute to a potentially dangerous situation inside Russia.
- As I have mentioned in the past, besides the “official” (pretend) opposition in the Duma, there are now two very distinct “non-system” oppositions to Putin: the bad old “liberals” (which I sometimes call the 5th column) and the (relatively new) “pink-nationalist” Putin-haters which I christened, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, I admit – as a 6th column (Ruslan Ostashko calls them “emo-Marxists“, and that is a very accurate description too). What is so striking is that while Russian 5th and 6th columnists hate each other, they clearly hate Putin even more. Many of them also hate the Russian people because they don’t “get it” (at least in their opinion) and because time and again the people vote with and for Putin. Needless to say, these “5th and 6th columnists” (let’s call them “5&6c” from now on) declare that the election was stolen, that millions of votes were not counted at all, while others were counted many times. According to these 5&6c types, it is literally unthinkable that Putin would get such a high support therefore the only explanation is that the elections were rigged. While the sum total of these 5&6c types is probably not enough to truly threaten Putin or the Russian society, the Kremlin has to be very careful in how it handles these groups, especially since the condition of the Russian society is clearly deteriorating:
- Russia has objective, real, problems which cannot simply be dismissed. Most Russians clearly would prefer a much more social and economically active state. The reality is that the current political system in Russia cares little for the “little man”. The way the Kremlin and the Russian “big business” are enmeshed is distressing to a lot of Russians, and I agree with them. Furthermore, while the western sanctions did a great job preparing Russia for the current crisis, it still remains true that Russia does not operate in such a favorable environment, revenues are down in many sectors, and the COVID19 pandemic has also had a devastating effect on Russian small businesses. And while the issue of the COVID19 virus has not been so hopelessly politicized in Russia as it has in the West, a lot of my contacts report to me that many people feel that the Kremlin and the Moscow authorities have mismanaged the crisis. So while the non-systemic opposition of the 5&6c cannot truly threaten Russia, there are enough of what I would call “toxic and potentially dangerous trends” inside the Russian society which could turn into a much bigger threat should a crisis suddenly erupt (including a crisis triggered by an always possible Ukrainian provocation).
- More and more Russians, including Putin-supporters, are getting frustrated with what they perceive as being a lame and frankly flaccid Russian foreign policy. This does not necessarily mean that they disagree with the way Putin deals with the big issues (say Crimea, or Syria or the West’s sabre-rattling), but they get especially frustrated by what they perceive as lame Russian responses against petty provocations. For example, the US Congress and the Trump Administration have continued to produce sanctions and stupid accusations against Russia on a quasi-daily basis, yet Russia is really doing nothing much about that, in spite of the fact that there are many options in her political “toolkit” to really make the US pay for that attitude. Another thing which irritates the Russians is that arrogant, condescending and outright rude manner in which western politicians (and their paid for journalists in Russia) constantly intervene in internal Russian matters without ever being seriously called out for this. Sure, some particularly nasty characters (and organization) have been kicked out of Russia, but not nearly enough to really send a clear message to Russia’s enemies.
- And, just to make things worse, there are some serious problems between Russia and her supposed allies, specifically Belarus and Kazakhstan. Nothing truly critical has happened yet, but the political situation in Belarus is growing worse by the day (courtesy of, on one hand, the inept policies of Lukashenko and, on the other, a resurgence of Kazakh nationalism, apparently with the approval of the central government). Not only is the destabilization of two major Russian allies a bad thing in itself, it also begs the question of how Putin can deal with, say, Turkey or Poland, when Russia can’t even stabilize the situation in Belarus and Kazakhstan.
To a large degree, I share many of these frustrations too and I agree that it is time for Putin and Russia to show a much more proactive posture towards the (eternally hostile) West.
My problem with the 5th column is that it is composed of rabid russophobes who hate their own nation and who are nothing but willing prostitutes to the AngloZionist Empire. They want Russia to become a kind of “another Poland only further East” or something equally insipid and uninspiring.
My problem with the 6th column is that it hates Putin much more than it loves Russia, which is regularly shows by predicting either a coup, or a revolution, or a popular uprising or any other bloody event which Russia simply cannot afford for two main reasons:
- Russia almost destroyed herself twice in just the past century: in 1917 and 1991. Each time, the price paid by the Russian people was absolutely horrendous and the Russian nation simply cannot afford another major internal conflict.
- Russia is at war against the Empire, and while this war remains roughly an 80% informational/ideological one, about 15% an economic one and only about 5% a kinetic war, it remains that this is a total, existential, war for survival: either the Empire disappears or Russia will. This is therefore a situation where any action which weakens your state, your country and its leader always comes dangerously close to treason.
Right now the biggest blessing for Russia is that neither the 5th nor the 6th column has managed to produce even a halfway credible political figure who at least appears as marginally capable of offering realistic solutions. A number of 5th columnists have decided to emigrate and leave what they see as “Putin’s Mordor”. Alas, I don’t see any stream of 6th columnists leaving Russia, which objectively makes them a much more useful tool for outfits like the CIA who will not hesitate to infiltrate even a putatively anti-US political movement if this can weaken Russia in general, or Putin personally.
Right now the Russian security services are doing a superb job countering all these threats (including the still very real Wahabi terrorist threat) all at the same time. However, considering the rather unstable and even dangerous international political situation, this could change if all the forces who hate Putin and what they call “Putinism” either join forces or simply strike at the same time.
Conclusion
There are, of course, many other potential flashpoints on the planet, including India, Pakistan and China, the South China Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Korean Peninsula and many others. Thus the above is only a sampling of a much larger list.
The huge changes taking place before our eyes are real, and they are huge. But we should not follow the lead of the corporate media and focus on only one or two “hot” topics, especially not when there are plenty of very real dangers out there. This being said, there is no doubt that what will happen in the next couple of months inside the United States is by far the biggest and most important development out there, one which will shape the future of our planet no matter what actually happens. And I am not referring to the totally symbolic non-choice between Biden and Trump.
I am referring to how the US society will deal with a virulently anti-US coalition of minorities which hate this country and everything, good and bad that it stood for in the past. Right now the US elites are committing national suicide by not only failing to oppose, but also by actively supporting the BLM thugs and everything they stand for: BLM & Co. remind me of Ukronazis whose main expression of national identity is to hate everything Russian – the BLM thugs do the same thing: their entire worldview is pure hatred of the hetero White male and the western civilization; and just as the Ukies regale each other with stories about the “ancient Ukrs” the BLM folks imagine that they will somehow turn the USA into a type Wakanda before expelling (or worse) all those who are not willing to hand over their country to roaming gangs of illiterate thugs.
While Russia has to face the potential of internal violence, the United States is already facing a dangerous and violent insurrection which is likely to become much worse as the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic fully explodes. So far, the effects of this crisis have been somewhat tempered by a combination of 1) political denials about the nature of the threat (“oh, nonsense, it is just like the seasonal flu!“) 2) the mass distribution of money (which has only helped temporarily) 3) the existence of a huge financial bubble which will only make matters worse, but which temporarily can create the illusion that things are not nearly as bad as they really are.
It is said that nature abhors a vacuum. This is true. It is also true that the collapse of the Empire has now created several vacuums which will be filled by new actors, but there is no guarantee at all that this transition will be peaceful. So while we are watching some very big trees burning, we should not forget that behind these trees there is a big forest which can also burn, possibly creating a much bigger forest fire than the trees we see burning today.
The Saker
Saker,
You only wrote about the Western forests. In the East, China, Taiwan arming to the teeth, North Korea blowing up talks and denuclearization, the Indo-Pacific QUAD containment of China, Taliban winning, ISIS into Central Asia, Iran, Pakistan. Uyghurs in Xinjiang, BRI projects are ablaze, also.
My view of Russia and their non-activism on issues they might be more powerful is that Putin is conserving his forces, military, economic, diplomatic and personal. He sees what will become much worse than what we see now, and opportunities where he will have to act. For now, he has not had to act, as he didn’t have to act in Donbass nor shoot his way into Crimea. He manages as a minimalist and uses time and timing as strategic weapons.
Very much agree. Putin can take his time, the West has lost its time. The comparisons are different qualitatively and quantitatively by orders of magnitude. Agree also, many flashpoints in the East.
Larchmonter445
Well spoken. I fully agree with what you have written. I think that Putin knows perfectly well what needs to be done, and he is doing it. A few more points I would like to add:
When it comes to Turkey, one can never be surprised by what it does. As long as it exists, it will always cause trouble. It’s not only Erdogan who cannot forget the Ottoman empire, but the whole country. For example, the capture of Constantinople (today’s Istanbul) is a national holiday in Turkey, always commemorated. It is therefore no surprise that Erdogan has transformed the cathedral of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, an example of cultural genocide and political arrogance, an immense provocation. This should be a warning to Europe, namely that the feudal mentality is still active in Turkey.
When it comes to Ukraine, Putin and Lavrov are doing a superb job, playing the waiting game. They don’t need to attack and conquer Ukraine, as insinuated by Ukraine and the West, as it’s only a question of time when the bulk of Ukraine will beg Russia to accept it back inside Russian borders. Just to point out that by December of 2017 some 4.4 million Ukrainians fled to Russia, knowing perfectly well they are of Russian origin. Yes, the West might incite Kiev to attack the Donbass and Crimea, which would be the height of foolishness, as a negative reaction inside the country would certainly ensue, bearing in mind the bulk of the population has been impoverished. Such a move would only contribute to the breakup of Ukraine into three parts, as anticipated by analysts. As far as I can see, there is nothing the West or Ukraine can do to hurt Putin. As for Putin, all he has to do is sit back in the Kremlin and enjoy the political, social and economic show which is unfolding in Ukraine, whom the West has transformed into a feudal state, run by robber barons called oligarchs, and plundered by both oligarchs and Western banks and corporations. And yes, neither the US nor EU has any more money to give it, knowing perfectly well the money would be embezzled.
When it comes to Russia, I have to disagree with the Saker, who is giving too much emphasis to the 5th and 6th columns operating in the country. The internal situation in Russia is almost identical to the internal situation in Serbia, where I live. For example, in Serbia we too have the 6th column, which exists only on paper. At last count we had three communist parties, whom nobody takes seriously, and whose influence in the country is virtually zero. The same can be said for Russia, where communists have been outside Russian politics for some 31 years. How many are left, and how much power do they really have ? Yes, they have more influence than in Serbia, but do people in Russia really want them ?
When it comes to the 5th column, we too have it in Serbia. They are pro-Western liberals, blood brothers of liberals in Russia, and in reality nothing more than political mercenaries, always prepared to sell their services. During the past days they have been “active” in Belgrade, causing trouble in front of the Parliament building. And what kind of trouble did they cause ? They sent in football hooligans, backed by immature teenagers, to take control of the Parliament, and in the process doing their best to provoke the police to retaliatory action. They failed. The police were very professional, while the young, foolish teenagers began to disperse, realizing they have been duped, being transformed into stooges. In effect we had Soros type subversive methods, where a minority decided to represent the majority and in the process tried to control the majority. The tactic failed miserably. The majority did not join the minority, and there was no Kiev style color revolution. The same can be said for Russia. How many times did Russian liberals try a color revolution in Moscow, and how many “supporters” did they manage to bring to the streets ? Not once did they have the numbers to fill half a football stadium. I think the 6th column in Russia is almost impotent, while the 5th column can cause some street trouble. However, this trouble would basically be political melodrama. I don’t see Russians wanting a revival of the Yeltsin era, when people starved and when the country was looted of 100 billion dollars a year.
Finally, is there anything I disagree with Putin ? Not really. I, too, have been frustrated that he did not react more vigorously to Western sanctions, provocations and false accusations, as no doubt many Russians have been. Then again, over here where I live, we have a saying: “Every wooden bat has two ends, positive and negative”. Everything you do has both positive and negative consequences. The West has been playing the role of political thug and bully boy, losing credibility. Putin has responded with dignity, which has earned him immense prestige in the West, perhaps much more than people in Russia realize.
Larchmonter445
The Capture of Consantinople is not a national holiday in Turkey. Of course, it is commemorated, as are many important dates in Turkish/Ottoman history. The same happens in Russia, and the UK, among others nations, and varies according to significant anniversary years in intensity. But it is not a national holiday.
As for Hagia Sophia, many Turks oppose the change, but even Erdoğan claims the ediface will retain its icons and mosaics, as well as being open to all to visit – for free. The fact is that the building has belonged to the Ottoman/Turkish state since 1453 and they can do with it what they choose. They chose to make it a museum in 1934, and they have now chosen to use it as a mosque. At least it is still standing unlike many mosques in the former Ottoman Christian world.
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hagia-sophia-icons-to-be-preserved-presidential-spokesperson-156476
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hagia-sophia-to-be-open-for-all-says-erdogan-as-it-is-converted-into-mosque-156457
As for the Saker’s comment
The Russian government was correct in not opposing the move. Putin’s government recognizes the national sovereignty of nations, and this was clearly an issue of Turkey’s national sovereignty. The Syrian and Libyan issues are surely more important than this minor matter given that they involve the national sovereignty of other people’s.
In this way, I strongly disagree with Turkey’s stance on Syria, and have no doubt it is due to Erdoğan’s unwillingness to realease is neo-Ottoman dream. Assad is the leader of the UN recognized government in Syria and Turkey should recognize the people’s government and work with Assad to solve the Terrorist/rebel issues without occupying the country.
Similarly, I cannot disagree with Erdoğan’s support of of the GNA, the UN-backed government of Al Sarraj. Those supporting Hafter are acting illegally in this instance, even Russia, which is unfortunate. If Putin can recognize the present tyrany in Saudi Arabia, he can surely recognize the current UN-recognize government in Libya.
The fatal flaw in your argument is that Turks can do what they like. I would agree if everyone would play by the same rules, but no, much less the last wannabe ottoman. Every time some legislation is happening in Europe that is perceived to be anti-Islam by the lily put Erdowahnsinn is whining his tears out. It’s nothing but a calculated power play. It’s all double standards – all hypocrisy. Those, who are powerful get away with it, all the others are left with rhetoric.
Quoting Blue Dotterel: “At least it is still standing unlike many mosques in the former Ottoman Christian world.”
There are enough mosques standing in former Ottoman Christian lands even though the Ottomans were the invaders and occupiers.
Not to mention the fact that many of those mosques were built on top of destroyed Orthodox churches.
This is just stupid. Every mosque was a church by definition. Wherever Islam exists it usurped a pre-existing religion….as did Christianity. The descendants of almost 100% of the original Christians are today Muslims. And Christianity only came to Europe AFTER it had been completely usurped in the lands where it originated.
No point in trying to re-write history the way BLM needs to accept US past, so you guys must accept the Muslim past. Cancel culture gets us nowhere.
Blue Dotterel
Your arguments cannot be accepted. Yes, Russia, and others, have celebrations. However, they do not celebrate the capture and containment of another nations capital. The true name of Istanbul is Constantinople, a Greek Byzantine city.
“As for Hagia Sophia, many Turks oppose the change”. Every time a Muslim, or group of Muslims do something wrong, the reaction from other Muslims is meek, like in this case. I need to be convinced that many Turks oppose the change, bearing in mind how many celebrate the capture of Constantinople.
True. Putin is well respected .
My only contention is with the money that has been stolen out of Russia, last time I heard on national television (Soloviov’s evning show) was 10 trillion for the entire RF situation.
One thing I agree with on the article is that Russia needs to work more on winning the hearts of Kazakh and Belarus peoples. Maybe they should try first to start joint businesses or help those countries that are profitable to them. Otherwise, Russia will always be seen as a big bully who eyes on ending their sovereignty.
A very good summation. This is one of the only sites which is intelligently moderated. So satisfying as against the illiterate postings allowed on others.
All is not lost. Saker referenced Sheik Imran Hossein and his guidance to handover Hagia Sophia to Christian Orthodoxy – this will eventually come to pass. In my opinion Saker is wrong in his broad brush statement that Muslims are welcoming the conversion of the building. Today 99+% of the Muslims outside Turkey are not aware of the history of this building and its relevance to the Orthodox world.
Erodogan is a local Turkish politician, not a Muslim leader. Events in the East (and the West) are leading to a cataclysmic awakening for the arrival of a Muslim leader on the world stage. It is then Hagia Sophia will be handed to its real heirs – the Russian Orthodox Church; however, it will forever cease to reclaim its Orthodox ancestry.
When the Son of Mary returns to the earth, it is the belief of all Muslims that he he will denounce all gods except One true indivisible GOD. If me, an ordinary Muslim, can envision this, surely the Son of Mary in his exemplary GOD bestowed wisdom will unify the Muslims and European people, especially the eastern Europeans, in a momentous prayer to ONE GOD in Hagia Sophia.
i have spent part of my childhood in Ethiopia … been close to the Orthodox Christians because of my love for everything Russian …. read a lot .. but i swear by Allah i never heard about this Hagia Sofia Church….. and i can vow for 25 million muslim Somalis whom am sure had never heard it…….. and honestly as a sunni muslim i have more respect and love to Sheit muslims and Orthodox christians than Sunni muslims …… beacuse we sold out to Satan and his minions. Peace and Love.
95% of the Muslims are Sunni Muslims; the Muslim leader that is to emerge on the world stage will be a Sunni. The Shia ideology makes no sense even to ordinary Shia once they go beyond the borders of Shia geography; nearly all the Muslim converts in the West revert back to the true Islam which is Sunni Islam.
It is our belief that the Global Muslim leader will have a large following of Sunni converts from East and West Europe along with the new Sunni Muslims of North and South America.
In my previous reply i was supporting your argument and reassuring the Saker that like you stated most muslims don’t know about this Hagia Sofia Church. As for the Sunni what i had in mind was not the sunni ideology or sunni majority. What i had in mind was all these so called Islamic militants terrorist organizations (all sunnis) who have blown to smithereens millions of other sunni muslims in the name of Islam (all sunni mercenaries killing and maiming innocent people by the orders of their handlers and them being a satanic tanticles) . What i had in mind were the sunni elites and scholars. i wasn’t talking about the majority of us….. the common sunni person or the 90%.
Agree. These guys destroying Sunni lands have nothing to do with Islam. They are in fact managed by the combined forces which are anti Sunni. One has to remember that the forces fighting against religion in general across the world have concentrated their efforts to defeat Sunni Islam by selecting our own misguided youth.
The pain, suffering and heart aching prayers of the millions of Muslim mothers, wives, sisters and daughters will not go unanswered. We shall soon Inshallah see the tyrant leaders of the Muslim world gone.
So it shall be by His will.
^–This conversation above, ladies and gentleman, is why Europe shouldn’t ever had allowed Maghreb immigration. Demographics is destiny, and with great sadness I’m sure that you won’t have to pray to your god only in Istanbul. There will be mega-mosques in every European capital build on top former parliaments. After 1945 Europeans have completely lost any cultural foundation. When I see this LGBTQ++++, one side of me likes the idea of Islamization. At least Islam gets this right. I won’t have to see any blue haired feminist screeching lunatic leftist things, they’ll get the the appropriate response and the burka, lol.
Now dear censor is this tepid commentary to strong for your taste – how much free speech can you take?
@Nachtigall with due respect.
Magheb came to Europe after hundreds of years of colonization. If we are to consider an eye for an eye then we can settle for an uneasy peace for another couple of centuries. But the matter is the survival of humanity; when I say humanity, I mean survival with human value. Morality and religion in the West has taken a knee to the brute leftist wokeism. Parent #1/Parent#2 madness, an emerging vogue trend of abusing children as young as 3 years in changing their biological gender, destruction of family, free the nipple movement, legalization of contraband and the list continues with ever so new woke inventions as if scheduled at regular intervals.
There is only one civilization per the preaching of the American demigod “Samuel P. Huntington” which can defeat this woke Western civilization and it is none other than Islam. Thus a long 100 year war was launched on Islam to decimate or shall we say to reform Islam. After 30 years of creating misery in the Muslim world, the woke West perhaps is realizing that certainly Muslims can be defeated but the religion of Islam is emerging more stronger than before.
We know have former redneck Baptist preachers (Google Yusuf Estes) and your very own Greet Wilder’s lieutenants (Joram van Klaveren) actively taking up the mantle to bring Islam to their brethren.
If you ever feel challenged to pick a copy of the Holy Quran and read the soulful foreword by Marmaduke William Pickthall in his Meanings of the Glorious Quran where he pens “that inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy”……….I’d not be surprised when tears of gratitude and humbleness run down your physical and spiritual being.
As for the Burqa and Hijab, rest assured, the daughters of the West are adopting in alarming numbers to regain their morality and chastity.
I have a big big problem with hypocrisy. The hypocrisy of European elites, their anti-people/populace behavior and the idiotism of woke leftist politics (surely, the source of this goes much deeper than that – liberalism for starters).
Also the hypocrisy of Muslims, who talk to the idiotic naive (native, at least for some hundreds of years) people of Europe about Islam’s putatively tolerant ethics towards all of their deviant regressive ways.
It’s not about what I want in this context, it’s about speaking the truth. As far as Islam and religion goes, I don’t have a problem with any of that, if it stays truthful. The truth is that you can’t prove a thing about most topics in religion, almost everything devolves in useless sophistry and citing this and that in a book. If it is true, it will reveal itself every single time, in short, what is true exists. What we can be sure of is that Islam, Christianity etc. exist in the heads of people, no prove beyond that. That is reality and I accept reality.
Also true is that all working, time-proven ethics are derived from belief systems.
What every adult understands, is that by use of power (social, political, physical, informational…) you can change any group of people. Islam is a also used for this purpose – be truthful about this. If there ever could be a debate with all cards on deck, it would be great, but it is practically impossible – there is always a powerful interest (or self interest) in any group of people that won’t allow it.
Some of my comments have been censored on this website and I understand why. Rhetoric can be experienced as hurtful and this is a clear weakness of all of us. Just speak your mind freely and reap your consequences for that freely. Like Hebdo did. Like so many others did and paid with their life.
Hear, hear! If the LGBTQ+++ lunatics end up in burqas, that would be ironic justice. Let the Wokes of the world fight each other to eternity and a final end to identity politics madness.
@disgusted. May Allah convert your disgust into serene peace for you and your loved ones. But for the record, let’s not color the Saker readers’ perception with your definition of woke.
Once a woke artist decides to wear a Burqa or its lesser version, the Hijab, she generally goes through the following stages:
1. Gives up woke activism.
2. Gets on a soul searching journey to find inner peace
3. Gives up alcohol, drugs and illicit sex.
4. Generally finds a good man and gets married
5. Becomes a mother and strives to raise moral children
6. Takes up benevolent activism for the benefit of humankind, etc. etc.
Would you call Yvonne Ridley a woke lady when she decided to put on the Hijab? She went to Afghanistan as a journalist for the Sunday Express – a right wing British National tabloid, to cover the Nato aggression on the poorest people of planet Earth. She got captured by Taliban and later freed without being tortured, molested or raped. Upon returning to England she took up the religion of the maligned Taliban. Today she is an ambassador for world peace.
This is a very generous sentiment. Good on you.
“You only wrote about the Western forests. In the East, China, Taiwan arming to the teeth, North Korea blowing up talks and denuclearization, the Indo-Pacific QUAD containment of China, Taliban winning, ISIS into Central Asia, Iran, Pakistan. Uyghurs in Xinjiang, BRI projects are ablaze, also.”
The good thing is that the chinese communist mob party is in big big trouble. Can’t say i like it, but China needs to be put back in place. The CCP has managed to thoroughly destroy Chinese culture, by Mao’s cultural revolution and the systemic cultural regression. Totalitarian party, genocide, yada yada. Chinese party officials deserve a Nuremberg style court trial, just as the Murican “leadership”.
It doesn’t matter, only the worst rise to the top. Those with real geopolitical power show their true face – the vassals play games of virtue signalling. Technological level for surplus energy, resource transformation and production of 1. category goods dictates ethics and morals in the end. Religion and technological advancement take turns.
Perhaps what you of Chinese CP say stands, but before humanity puts them to trial the West needs to be purged of genocidal parties and politicians and for that 1000 Nuremberg-style trials need to be held. Someone has to pay for 100s of millions of dead worldwide directly or indirectly caused by the West, the UK, US, Germany, Belgium, France…
The entity that truly needs to “put in its place” is the monstrosity called (spit) Western Civilization in general, whether that be in its EuroNazi or Anglo-American mutations.
The West has been raping and looting the entire planet for several centuries to this very day–all the while masquerading as a crusader for civilizational deceptions like Freedom, Democracy, Human Rights, Christianity, or the White Man’s Burden.
Today, it is the West that is bombing, invading, politically balkanzing, or economically terrorizing multiple nations around the planet from Iraq to Afghanistan to Libya to Syria to Iran to Venezuela–genociding millions of people in all but name.
Yet, these EuroNazis whine about immigrants from the Middle East or Africa sullying their precious Aryan … my bad … European heritage–as if their own countries are not guilty of waging wars or imposing their predatory brand of Free Market capitalism on these regions, which have led to this migration in the first place.
And what the West seeks to do by “putting China in its place” is to return it back to Third World status so that the West can more effectively exploit it like during the colonial era of the unequal treaties, Opium War, and Western colonial penetration of China–in short, to treat China like the West currently treats the Global South in general.
But there will be hell to pay for this thinly concealed Western ambition.
And the West in general will not escape its blood price.
You are very naive to think, that the Western population in the last esp. 70 years is thinking much about anything. They do as they are brainwashed and told to do. This is true for any mass of people. Some strata or groups of people do know, some have learned to think for themselves, the vast majority not. Everyone is doing what is expected of him/her.
Immigration, if it’s not done carefully and with judicious foresight, will bring nothing good. Those who regularly advocate for this are the same criminal elites. There is nothing “aryan” about this, only incompatible cultures. I lived with Turks, Iranians, Moroccans, Polaks, Russians and I can say all are different, all have different values and perspectives. Only in a well fed, comfortable multicultural society you have peace. Even here I have experienced the hate and general distrust and at the end of the day very disgusting/criminal behavior of the good people from the Maghreb region (mostly youth). If things go sour, people revert to tribalism in a nanosecond and religion is like a glue that holds these groups together. Now in different parts of Europe, you have a latent possibility of a civil war, the latest example are the Chechen / Arab gang wars in Burgundy.
Those who are responsible are the owners of society and those who are participating consciously in the elites machinations.
Spare me the self righteousness, elites in every country duke it out and use the masses as tools. You think your African, Middle Eastern, Asian, American elites are different? Humour me. Yes, maybe you can ascertain the responsibility of each of everyone, but I suppose you cannot guarantee a fair trial for everyone. And I fear you won’t be looking good in a fair trial too…
Yes the elites responsible for the wars deserve the rope. Those who commit and order the crimes. No disagreement here. But to think you can sit here self righteously say that all the others are guilty and you are a puffy innocent little human is delusional.
Anybody that falls for the oldest trick the ones in power have used on the people, divide and rule, is only facilitating the ones in power to continue to organize their global exploitation policy from the ‘shadows.’
“Yet, these EuroNazis whine about immigrants from the Middle East or Africa sullying their precious Aryan … my bad … European heritage–as if their own countries are not guilty of waging wars or imposing their predatory brand of Free Market capitalism on these regions, which have led to this migration in the first place.”
All intentional effects of the policy implemented by the ones in power in the west. They know people will flee the misery they create and that it will create some tensions, all the better. Let the people fight each other while they keep on doing what they’re doing.
Ukraine Cleared To Move Javelin Missiles To Front Lines To Blow Up Russian Tanks “Defensively”
Ukrainian forces were previously prohibited from using the missiles against Russian or Russian-backed forces barring a full-on enemy offensive.
BY JOSEPH TREVITHICK JULY 7, 2020
Rumors of a Russian attack would trigger a defensive Javelin attack. One of the ways Putin is to be kept busy and away from what? imo
Ukrainian troops are now allowed to use their new American-supplied Javelin anti-tank missiles anywhere in the country and against any party, including against Russian tanks in its eastern Donbass region, as long they do so for purposes of defending themselves. This revelation follows the Ukrainian Army’s disclosure that it is preparing to send Javelin-equipped units to the front lines soon. Ukrainian authorities also recently said that they estimate Russia has at least 481 tanks of various types in Donbass, among other heavy weapons.
CNN’s Ryan Browne Tweeted out about the relatively limited restrictions on how Ukrainian forces can employ the Javelins on July 7, 2020. The Ukrainian Army first received a batch of the missiles, also known as FGM-148s, in 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration delayed the delivery of a second tranche of them until late 2019, which developed into a major scandal and the President’s impeachment. It had been reported in the past that, under the terms of the export agreement with the U.S. government, the Ukrainian Army could only employ these missiles against Russian forces in the event of an overt invasion westward from Donbass. It’s unclear when the current policy took effect.
IT LOOKS LIKE JAVELIN ANTI-TANK MISSILES ARE HEADED TO BATTLEFIELD UKRAINE
By Tyler Rogoway
Posted in THE WAR ZONE
“US officials tell CNN that there are no no [sic] geographic restrictions on where Ukraine can deploy the US-supplied Javelin anti-tank missiles as part of the terms of the agreement under which the US-made Javelins where [sic] provided to Ukraine as long as the weapons are used ‘defensively,'” Browne wrote in his post on Twitter. It’s not clear what the exact definition of “defensively” in this case might mean.
The U.S. military’s own definition of what constitutes a defensive action has been shown to be quite flexible on many occasions. For instance, over the years, the Pentagon has described airstrikes in Somalia against Al Shabaab terrorists engaged in firefights with Somali or African Union units, but not Americans troops directly, as being in “self-defense” because friendly forces were under attack.
The Ukrainian Army could conceivably adopt a similarly broad definition of what constitutes defensive action. For example, a unit in Donbass could conceivably claim to be using Javelins defensively in response to a counter-attack from Russian-backed separatists, or the Russian forces supporting them, after an initial assault.
Even if Ukraine adopts a more restrictive definition of defensive use, the missiles will still offer Ukrainian troops on the front lines a major boost in firepower. The Javelin is an extremely capable man-portable anti-tank guided missile that also has a demonstrated capability against troops behind cover and even low and slow-flying aircraft and helicopters.
Troops can employ the weapon in one of two modes, one which fires the missile directly at the target and another in which it executes a pop-up maneuver before diving down onto the target. The latter method is particularly valuable for hitting the top of tanks, where they are typically most vulnerable, even with additional defenses, such as active protection systems, as well as other targets tucked away behind hard cover.
The complete weapon system also features a reusable Command Launch Unit (CLU) with a thermal imaging system capable of 12x magnification, giving it a limited secondary surveillance capability at night, as well as during the day. You can read more about Javelin’s capabilities in this past War Zone piece.
The exact parameters for how and when Ukrainian forces in Donbass actually use the Javelins in combat may become more apparent soon. Lieutenant General Ruslan Khomchak, the Chief Commander of Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that the next rotation of Ukrainian Army brigades headed to the region would be equipped with these missiles in an interview that ArmiaInform published on July 2, 2020.
“Brigades of the Armed Forces will receive Javelins during the rotation in the combat zone,” he explained. “Currently, one of the brigades is completing training before deployment to the Donbass. I want to make sure that our soldiers can effectively use these ATGMs.”
It’s possible that the presence of the missiles, combined with ambiguity over the limitations on the use, might serve as a deterrent to Russia employing its heavy armored forces, at least to some degree. As such, the Javelins could have an impact on the fighting without ever being fired.
However Ukrainian troops do or don’t end up using their Javelins in Donbass, the threat of Russian armor is definitely very real. Lieutenant General Leonid Holopatiuk, who is in charge of the Main Directorate for International Cooperation and Verification of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said recently that the Kremlin had deployed approximately 481 tanks of all types to the front in Eastern Ukraine.
Holopatiuk made those comments during a remote meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Forum for Security Cooperation. The OSCE bloc, headquartered in Vienna Austria, is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Minsk II agreement, which came into effect in 2015 following negotiations involving Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany. Under this deal, Russia is supposed to withdraw all heavy weapons, including tanks and heavy artillery, from Donbass. OSCE officials have documented numerous and clear Kremlin violations of this provision, among others.
OSCE
Lieutenant General Holopatiuk said that the total Russian force in Donbass, at present, consists of 35,000 personnel spread out among nine brigades, five regiments, and 16 independent battalions. In addition to the tanks, they have around 720 howitzers and an estimated 202 multiple rocket launchers, he added. It’s not clear if Holopatiuk mentioned any other specific capabilities during his remarks, such as Russia’s extensive deployment of electronic warfare assets.
OSCE
It’s unclear what the risks might be of the U.S. government getting drawn deeper into the conflict if Ukrainian troops end up killing Russian forces with American-made missiles. Elements of the U.S. military do regularly train with their Ukrainian counterparts, but do so well away from the fighting in Donbass.
Regardless, relations between the United States and Russia are cool, at present. Reports emerged recently that a unit of Russia’s Main Directorate military intelligence agency, known better by the Russian acronym GRU, offered cash bounties to militants and criminals in Afghanistan to kill American and other coalition troops in that country, though the actual results of the effort remain murky.
What is clear is that Ukrainian troops are allowed, at least as far as the U.S. government is concerned, to blow up Russian tanks in Donbass, as long as they do so “defensively” and may have a chance to do so sooner rather than later.
Contact the author: Joe@thedrive.com
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34638/ukraine-cleared-to-move-javelin-missiles-to-front-lines-to-blow-up-russian-tanks-defensively
California
Just to point out that providing Ukraine with sophisticated weapons systems would not mean too much in the Donbass, where the Donbass Russians have been digging in since 2014. Should Ukraine attack, the Ukrainian military would be in the open while the Russians would be dug in. Also, did Donbass Russians, perhaps, succeed in procuring any sophisticated weapons ?
A Ukrainian attack against the Donbass ? Always possible, but with highly questionable results. How would the Ukrainian conscript Army perform ? The military is always a personification of the civilian aspects of a country. How many Ukrainians have been impoverished and how many really want to fight Russia, bearing in mind both countries are Orthodox Christian ? Yes, the neo-Nazis from Western Ukraine might want to fight. However, what about the rest of Ukraine ?
“… Russia, especially, would have the kind of political muscle needed to inflict all sorts of painful forms of retaliation against Turkey and yet Russia does nothing. …”
Unfortunately, true.
After all, let’s not forget: today’s Russia is a bona fide capitalist country. If there ever was one. Its power structure would not wish to spoil business relations with Turkey, too much being at stake there. The two “partners'” interests are hopelessly intertwined, like guts… Call the Russian leadership “smart” here, or call it “unprincipled”, or anything else you like, such is the very nature of capitalism.
(It was Lenin who wrote, “When it comes time to hang the capitalists, they will vie with each other for the rope contract.”)
The puzzle of how to handle Turkey is much more complex, and it’s not logical to focus too much on Russia’s role. Note that Iran, too, is giving diplomatic support to the same side in Libya, the GNA, as does Turkey. This seems to be 4D chess, and all I can do is watch and wonder.
The only thing clear to me is that the ruling elite in Ethiopia are looking for a fight. The dam pits the desire for electricity against water and thus food. So the dam is dangerous, and I’m a little surprised that China would have allowed a private company to participate. Perhaps the electricity vs. water could be finessed by filling the reservoir slowly, but only if losses from evaporation would not be too great. I think the only solution for Egypt is to destroy both the dam and the ruling elite in the capitol. Given that Israel has an over-large influence in Ethiopia, I have to wonder is this dam was cooked up by the Zionists as a way to damage Egypt.
Saker’s observation was specifically related to the Hagia Sophia’s (re-)conversion, and that Russia, being the bastion of Orthodoxy today, would naturally be expected not to keep avoiding the issue.
But you are right, on a larger scale, things are very convoluted indeed (starting from Iran’s strange position for instance, as you pointed). Apropos of the Blue Nile dam in Ethiopia, apparently it had already been filled! (BBC claims “… Sudan says River Nile water levels have dropped as a reservoir behind Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance dam has filled up …”, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53429014 ; seems the Russian press is slow to report this) And I agree: for Egyptians this being a bare survival issue, they ought to swiftly intervene militarily. Zionists got their fingers everywhere…
Richard,
Israel has nothing to do with it and the Egyptians are paying for 70 years belligerence. They refused to cooperate and instead wanted to control the flow. Ethiopia has no obligation but still wanted to compromise. Now that the dam has been filled for the first phase, Egypt cannot and will not do anything but soften its stance, which it begun to do. Unfortunately, US Treasury is trying to force Ethiopia to bend out of revenge for Ethiopia’s refusal to kiss Trump’s ass. Imagine giving up 85% of your water flowing out while you are dirt poor and no electricity? Would America accept that? Would Mexico force the USA for the use of Colorado river. Would Mexico control the Colorado river? No way. Why is the US doing what it does not want others do unto them? Egypt wants to control the flow of the Blue Nile. Ethiopia said no. If war is the option let them try it once again. They will fail. One reason they will fail is now the people of Ethiopia overwhelmingly approve the construction and are willing to finance it. Besides, Egypt has been known to finance terror groups in Ethiopia and they would pay for it. The better option: Egypt has to get off its high pedestal and negotiate, take care of its wasteful water management and be willing to invest if permitted.
I think you are overestimating the power of the violent BLM protestors. They are a very small minority and they do not have any organization or unifying principles so it’s hard to imagine they pose much of a threat. As for hating the country, it cannot be denied that the US has a history, like its Zionist ally, of systemic racism. Recognizing that fact and working to eliminate it do not constitute hatred of the nation. I do think that most of the protesters intensely dislike the US government and the neoliberal economic policy that has resulted in rampant poverty and inequality.
The Democratic Party and many major corporations have jumped on the #BLM bandwagon and are offering their support at least verbally. I doubt if many of them would seriously support defunding the police. They are more interested in turning this unrest into a get-out-the-vote campaign for Joe Biden and the rest of the Democratic candidates. I truly hope they do not succeed. The US needs a rational foreign policy that does not involve forced regime change and 800 overseas military bases. The US needs a domestic social safety net that can alleviate the worst poverty and provide decent health care for all its people. The US needs a new economic policy that doesn’t rest on austerity and actually stimulates growth for everyone. Those policy shifts are not on offer from the Republican or Democratic parties, and both parties are adamantly opposed to any such change. Taking to the streets is messy and lots of our public statuary will be removed but there are no real alternatives available.
Systemic racism ended in 1965. There are no laws that discriminate on the basis of race. In fact, since 1965 there have been enormous programs (~$20 trillion dollars), designed to achieve equal outcomes rather than equal opportunities. It was driven by White guilt and has resulted in Black dependency (not to mention the total destruction of what was a very strong Black family structure). This policy has been a total failure. Simply removing obstacles in law (Jim Crow, etc.) would have allowed for steady Black progress and integration. That is how you change peoples minds … not through Orwellian thought control to ‘eliminate it’.
No systemic racism? Are you effing kidding??
What do you call the pouring-in of massive amounts of cheap drugs into black neighborhoods in the 60’s and 80’s or the massive efforts of gentrification??
Thanks Anonymous. Let me add to your ‘no systemic racism’ comment.
Not to mention the mass killings and/or jailing of Black activists, such as Fred Hampton, MLK, Malcolm X, Bob Marley and many more. Not to mention the dramatic Clinton/Biden instituted Prison Industrial Complex that dramatically increased the prison slave paradigm. Not to mention ‘driving will black’. Not to mention the many murders by police that go unpunished.
And this doesn’t even count the long standing slow genocide of Native Americans confined to what amounts to detention camps, aka ‘Reservations. The average lifespan of Native American men is 48 years old. Neither they nor most blacks have access to fresh healthy food, which is why both groups live less long and have far higher mortality rates in this pandemic. No racism in the US?
It’s really laughable that BLM is seen as real threat when those who support Trump waltz into a State Capital with assault weapons. And get off scot free. Would that have happened if African Americans did that? Take a look at what happened to the Black Panthers, who armed themselves against the police. Where are they all now? Dead or Jailed.
But this doesn’t article doesn’t take into account the massive Class War being waged on the People. Trillions doled out to corporations. And meanwhile 25-30 percent of people can’t pay their rent or mortgage. Millions unemployed with benefits running out. A piddling ‘stimulus check’ which would barely pay rent in many places. (I still haven’t gotten mine).
Both political parties controlled by warmongers and corporatists. And even the Green Party is so corrupt, it rigged its own primary and nomination process.
Forgetting political and cultural conflicts. Hunger is something that millions will face and as this Depression sinks its claws into the population, anything can happen.
Please. The country has never reconciled itself for its genocide and slave history. Nor its 220 years of war against the planet. It’s killed minimum 20 million people since WWII, and impoverished billions more with the IMF/NATO vice grip.
It could all come crashing down at any time and the psychologically challenged folks at the top are resisting every effort to improve the situation.
Namely:
+Close the 90+% of foreign military bases/cut the kill (sociopathically called) ‘defense’ budget by 75%. Just keep the National Guard and Coast Guard to defend the borders. Like every other country. As true hero General Smedley Butler urged 86 years ago.
+Immediately institute funding small businesses so they stay in business and pay their workers, as Denmark and Germany have done
+Immediately implement National Public Health as National Defense government paid Health care. We don’t pay deductibles and copayments for missiles. Why pay that for medicine and health care, which is the bedrock of national security?
+Immediately demilitarize the police. No more transfer of weapons of war to local police. Institute Community Policing and start sending police to prison for their unaccounted for murder of unarmed people. And their own trafficking in drugs.
+Immediately create a total rebuilding of infrastructure to shore up or replace crumbling roads and bridges. Build the equivalent of China’s high speed rail system. This would solve the unemployment problem quickly.
+Immediately fund a massive environmental cleanup of radioactive sites, superfund sites, and getting plastic out of the oceans and out of the environment.
There’s probably more, but there is a lot that could and should be done.
Why are these issues not being addressed while people worry about statues of slaveowners and their defenders taken down?
Guys, Steve K9 means among the majority of normal Americans of ALL colors….and he is right!
Except for a few FBI run instigator nut jobs.
What you are referring to is not the policy preference of the average white person (ALSO a victim of the plutocracy as Subhuti points out) but the Bloodline Families including the social climbing Bush League which unleashed the crack epidemic into Compton and created an instant millionaire in Freeway Ricky Ross…who of course had no idea what the F he was doing to his own people…and didn’t care.
Such “born to rule” families are the racists against ALL other people of ALL other colors. But some of those with your “America will always be racist!” nonsense are like surgeons trying to do abdominal surgery with a machete. In this clumsy way, you feed right into the plan of the Oligarchs…who Saker is astute enough to realize RUN BLM……for their purposes….not the betterment of the lives of people of color.
Subhuti 37 does, however, make valid points of the Elite Not Racism Exactly but Divide and Conquer tactics to keep passions inflamed and thinking absent and asks ONE very pertinent question at the end:
“Why are these issues not being addressed while people worry about statues of slaveowners and their defenders taken down?”
ANS: Simple! Because they (the DNC) want the people to forget that the Dems ERECTED those statues in the first place!
DUH!
Anonymous, MLK would get it and so would Malcom X. It’s time you did too!
Maybe this intelligent Black Middle Class Man can help you to “get” it:
https://youtu.be/-pXcW1k3pJ0
Cancel culture goes retro/The NBA won’t let anyone be dumber than them!
…..as he won’t be “played” by these “Rich Black 6 ft 8 Pussies” in the NBA…………and neither should ANY of y’all.
Think.
The real racism going on that is global strategic….is aimed at the ENTIRE HUMAN RACE.
AND those “6 ft 8 in mofos” with “I Can’t Breathe” slogans on the back of their Jerseys and the other White Guilt multimillionaires joining them in such idiocy….are most definitely being played by the 0.0001%
Men like Jericho Green, who refuse to be programmed into generational impotent victimhood pushing that BS on themselves like Al Sharpton….AND Joe “If you are for Trump you ain’t BLACK!” Biden are selling….and they ain’t buyin’ are a growing social phenomenon that holds far more promise of putting some of the worst criminals serving the 0.0001% into Guantanamo…..or at least some zoo than Pity Party Participants will EVER drum up.
They are not being addressed precisely *because* instead of addressing them, the protesters went for the statues instead.
@ SteveK9
“… there have been enormous programs … designed to achieve equal outcomes rather than equal opportunities … This policy has been a total failure. …”
You are 100% correct. Everything that you said here and above is true. I have witnessed it all first hand, from various vantages.
—
P.S. Only a couple of snippets here from my memory, from a narrow academic perspective.
Almost half a century ago, when I started working on my doctorate at a large state university in the U.S., the so-called “affirmative action” had just made (rammed) its way – even into the natural sciences & mathematics graduate schools of the country’s known universities. I suddenly acquired half a dozen of colleagues, all on such a “specially” funded program, to get their master’s degrees within a couple of years.
All of them were intelligent and extremely nice chaps (in fact, far nicer than my white American colleagues, I must say) and we got along splendidly. It is just that they were so poorly prepared, had no prerequisites to pursue the subject, that after a year every single one of them dropped out.
(Now, mathematics is not a difficult subject, as it is widely believed to be, but the specific problem with it is that you cannot possibly start learning it “from the middle”. You can open a history book in the middle, and still understand and much benefit from what you read. Not so in mathematics, where you got to start from the beginning, and patiently build brick upon brick. Understandably, just throwing money at these poor fellows was ineffective. The funds could have been incomparably better used towards completely reorganizing, from the bottom, the entire (simply atrocious, by any world standards) American system of elementary and secondary education. But then … America would not be America…)
Fast-forward to much later. By this time it has already become very difficult to get faculty positions in the field. At the university department where I was now teaching, they hired a new faculty on a “special affirmative action line”. One could honestly not understand, how possibly could have this man ever gotten his Ph.D. – even at a small school from which he came. And so, after four years, he applied for tenure (a life position), as the rules mandated – and was rejected (no research papers, of course, no scholarly achievements). And then … he truly “raised Cain”… “Racism!” “Discrimination!” “Injustice!” he screamed. Got very busy, got involved all kinds of “politically correct” unsavory characters at the school & beyond. Campus newspapers, city newspapers. Letters. The result: he was “reconsidered” – and got tenure…
—
State laws banning interracial marriage weren’t struck down until 1967, two years after Steve K9 claims all US racial laws were eliminated. Segregated schools weren’t declared illegal until 1968. EEOC act applying non discrimination to state and local governments passed 1972.
The policies listed and a few others such as canceling college debt, a public housing program, repairing infrastructure (jobs program) and a few others would lead to peace in the streets. But these are not forthcoming from either main party.
Toppling statues is perhaps the most anodyne expression of the people’s disgust (although I am against this). Presumably the statues will be stored somewhere, not melted down.
A small price to pay to get the Deep State’s attention, but . . .not sure it will work . . .
Katherine
I knew who my enemy was when I saw the new American dream. I drove past third world decrepit cities, masses of ragged people with no homes. dispossed dying off in the broken streets. What does this say about the ‘greatest, fantastic, most incredible’ country ‘ever’ as Mr. Trump would have everyone believe? Perhaps that in itself is the humor as it is intrinsically without subtlety or intelligence. Something a clown might say when referring to his circus. See the 3 min video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgJIdgvOohs
Further to this I would add an update which is only in scatter mind terms as yet but perhaps some on this site may pick it up and run with it ….
Virus Problems in Thailand and their Consequences for the US military and the CIA.
Dr Taweesilp was referring to the 31 Egyptian military visitors who stopped over in the eastern province of Rayong on their way to China.
Initial inquiries showed 27 out of the 31 Egyptian officials had visited the mall, one of them being the soldier who later tested positive for Covid-19.
Mr Jeerapong said local people feared the Egyptian soldiers might have roamed around freely at night.
All 127 schools in the province were ordered to close on Monday and staff at the D Varee Diva Central Hotel, where the team of 31 officials stayed, as well as those who visited the shopping mall have all been ordered to go into a 14-day quarantine.
Thailand has seven US military bases
Germany has 30,000 US military personnel. Recently Trump wanted 10,000 to return to the US. Consider the position of the 10,000. Home is the worst country in the world for the Covid-19 virus. Germany has little. Currently US people are banned from entering Europe due to the virus. Who would want to return at this time?
Thailand has banned all diplomatic and military personnel from entering Thailand.
Are the soldiers in these foreign US bases ready for action to defend US interests either in Asia or the Middle East. Will they, on a dangerous assignment, be wearing masks and social distancing? If they subdue a foreign power or conduct a regime change operation what then? What if the invaded country has a poor record regarding the virus.
Where does all this lead? What is the future of US military bases outside the US if the virus persists?
———————
Next cruise ships and the US Navy.
About 2,700 passengers who disembarked a cruise ship in Sydney were told to self-isolate after three people who were onboard tested positive for Covid-19. As of 2 May 2020, over 40 cruise ships have had confirmed positive cases of coronavirus on board.
US Navy Captain Removed From Carrier Tested Positive for Covid-19
A day after U.S. Navy Captain Brett Crozier was abruptly removed from his post as commanding officer of the coronavirus-infected aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, a Navy official confirms that acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly intends for Crozier to be reassigned rather than dismissed from the Navy.
The COVID-19 pandemic spread to many military ships. The nature of these ships, which includes working with others in small enclosed areas and a lack of private quarters for the vast majority of crew, contributed to the rapid spread of the disease, even more so than on cruise ships.
The U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard in San Diego is listing because of water from the fire hoses, tugboats and helicopters fighting the inferno, which has destroyed the ship’s forward mast.
Which sane country with port facilities will encourage US Naval ships to dock, refuel, conduct repairs and allow the shore leave for the crew?
Should the US navy conduct a successful offshore assault on a state for reasons of regime change or economic advantage what then? Send in the Marines?
———————
The future of the US Air force bases outside the US.
Will military airplanes and their overseas bases, runways, airports and maintenance conduct operations as they did before Covid-19 or will they be restricted as are the bases regarding tours of duty, immigration bans and self-isolation laws of the host country?
There seems no great desire of urgency of those airmen and maintenance crews in Germany or the rest of Europe to return to the US .
———————
Next … I am working on ….
The future of US military sales of ships, airplanes and weapons to the rest of the world. That is serious money.
Addendum:
The future of US military sales of ships, airplanes and weapons.
The question is with covid-19 dominating what weapons do you need to keep safe? An aircraft carrier, a F35, a submarine with nuclear capacities or the latest M4/M4A1 Carbine for the troops?
Exactly who will be rushing to buy anything American before the epidemic is defeated and what will this do to the stock of Lockheed Martin or Boeing. In 2018, 36percent of the world arms exports were from the US and the US brought in $192.3 billion from weapon sales in that year and God knows what the real budget is for the Pentagon. I should think Trump or Biden would now gladly pay $200 billion for a cure for the virus. Think this through for its implications on US foreign policy and economic well-being bearing in mind that many of these company directors are no longer based in the USA. What use an aircraft carrier to destroy a virus? In fact an aircraft carrier is more likely to be defeated by the virus as is a US base in Germany.
Perhaps the greatest weapon in the world is a healthy, secure and well fed population and in that regard the US is certainly not leading as my video link above demonstrates.
Today the Washington Post has an article on how to use food that would normally be thrown out, such as orange peels and herb stalks. In the accompanying photo was a Goya can. As you all may know, the of Goya owner recently made the mistake of praising Trump, which has brought the wrath of the Cancellers down upon him.
Notable were the comments to the article which in great numbers called for the Goya owner to be jailed and his products boycotted. Saker correctly predicts it will be a nasty time a-coming.
Couple of factoids about BLM worth considering. Likely well-known here (I don’t follow comments that closely), but worth keeping in mind:
(1) Major U.S. corporations, foundations, and Soros’s outfit (not sure how to characterize it) have publicly pledged almost 2 Billion dollars in grants to BLM, for whatever purposes.
(2) The co-chairwoman of BLM (a black woman with an unusual first name, something like Pressie), in an interview on CNN on June 20th, matter-of-factly told the interviewer, Jack Tapper I think his name was, that the purpose of BLM was to defeat Donald Trump, period.
All of the above can be readily verified via Google. So it’s fairly obvious to me at least that BLM is simply a partisan political movement, likely a means to send funds to the DNC beyond such limits that still exist.
@Charles D
You don’t need a majority to win anything. All it needs, is a radical minority (Bolsheviks, LGBTQ+, ISIS…) to start a fire, you can’t control. As with all these cases as long as the majority accepts their behavior and does nothing and more importantly the elite’s power apparatus stands down – everything is possible.
Andrei I. Fursov has many beautiful books and lectures on that (esp. the concept of a “strategic subject”), I can only recommend his work…
You are right Saker the Hagi Sofia belongs to the othodox Christians, and there is no justification for what the turks plan on doing. One of the sheiks(Shi’ite Lebanese Australian) i listen to brought it up on his twitter and it created a fire storm of ignorance. Unfortunately the comment section shows how ignorant many muslims are. I’ll post some of his tweets related to the Hagi Sofia, and turks/ottomans.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Sh_NamiFarhat/status/1281742868139237376 this tweet from the Sheikh blew up, compared to his modest following. Just a warning the comment section is patricularly toxic, and filled with ignorance. Its filled with a t
https://mobile.twitter.com/Sh_NamiFarhat/status/1282557712144818176
This one is a mini thread on the topic.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Sh_NamiFarhat/status/1282131137230336003
In this video the Sheikh quickly gives his opinion on the oppression of the turks lol. Its from a older speech. I think he posted this as a message to all the trolls that flooded his feed after he called out the turks in the first tweet i posted above. If im right the sheikh has a funny sense of humor lol.
Feel free to check him out, as he is a good man, with little notoriety. Also feel free to argue with some of the trolls/morons on those tweets. I dont bother to dialogue with the turkish twitter troll brigade. I wasted to much of my time arguing with wahhabis and saddamite bath supporters. Until it finally hit me its mostly useless as these people enjoy ignorance.
Ahmed,
Though I too disagree with Erdoğan’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque, I do not deny the Turkish government’s right to do so. Afterall, the building had been a mosque for almost 500 hundred years, and hasn’t been a church for more than 500 years. It also belongs to the Turkish state, and its architectural integrity is not being compromised.
There have been many mosques converted to churches, particularly in Spain. One example, the Cathedral in Cordoba, is unique in that the cathedral is built inside the mosque. Any Christian will be able to visit the Aya Sofia Mosque and still see the icons and mosaics, or so Erdoğan has claimed.
I see what you’re saying but i don’t agree with it. It was wrong to change it into a mosque in the first place, from my point view it shouldnt have even been a museum, changing it into anything other then a church is a form of desecration. Im coming at this from the islamic point of view, as the sheikh clarified in the thread. Now of course Erdogan is using this as a political move, the problem is with simpleminded muslims who see this as something justified from the religion. Demogauges like erdogan always play between these lines. Saddam did it to, and so do the al saud family, and numerous examples throughout history. And because the west is thoroughly secularized its hard for them to distinguish a genuine religous mindset and those who use religion as a tool. Now if its between a mosque and a museum, i hope it stays a museum.
The mosque of Cordoba was built on the site of the former cathedral, that the Christians reclaimed when they reconquered Spain.
Why no mention of Israel with their endless attacks on neighboring countries?
Then there is the constant oppression of the Palestinians and the upcoming annexation of more Palestinian land which is bound to create more conflict.
Because the vast majority of Palestinians supported the move of converting haghia sophia into a mosque.. Israel is very important for Russia, the Muslim world focuses too much on Israel, so it does not create bigger problems for Russia
brad. Yes israel gets a pass even as it is the central issue. Is egypt or saudi like jordan mere proxies for israel? Certainly not enemies. You dont sell submarines or let neighbours have nukes if there isnt a detailed control mechanism in place. As far as russia, even the layman can see the links to israel. The fealty shown to israels attacks in syria is something to behold. Putin plays 666 chess like trump?. Or is just another tentacle of secret onion layered no namers
Yes.
Blowing up Israel or just “canceling” it would solve a number of problems.
(Not sarcasm—more like . . .. a thought experiment)
Katherine
this question occurred to me to…..why no Israel?
Maybe Larch…445 can add some anaylysis still. its not to late and I am all ‘ears’ – meaing eyes: others too I am sure.
My question is: when (not even if) the US collapses, how will it affect the situation in the Ukraine or Russia or the rest of the world? Would the liberda in Russia loose its collective mind (no more funding from the West?), complete meltdown? Since the US has its fingers in so many pies around the world, it seems to me that there might be some very nasty social unrest triggered (perhaps even civil war?). The puppets chased by angry mobs comes to mind. But, on the other hand, the masses still do not understand who their real enemies are. Time will tell but I believe that the Saker is right that the next few months will be crucial. Some interesting times indeed!
@Alexandra,
Your assertion about the Russian Liberals being in for a complete meltdown is scientifically accurate. They have literally breathed the very oxygen of the West, so the imminent collapse of the US means instant asphyxiation, simple as that. As regards the Ukro garbage, I don’t think they will find it totally unbearable. They have gotten so used to the fact that Putin always prevails, so seeing the US down and out in the gutter just corroborates them in their commitment to doubling down in fighting the Moskals, LOL.
The rest of the world is a mixed bag, but one part of it that will be immensely better off is South America. With no more invasions and other ‘regime change’ plotting to fend off, they will make tremendous progress due to sharing a common vision of Latin American popular unity and solidarity.
It is good to know that you finally understood that Islam is the main enemy of orthodoxy, most of the Islamic world REJOICED of seeing Haghia Sophia becoming a mosque… Christians must unite
Some few things from Turkish social media (thanks to a Turkish friend):
“Jewish and Christian bastards will now understand who we are.”
“Day of mourning for Crusaders and Jewish converts.”
“Cry, you Greeks! And wait for your turn, you Jews!”
“Sad day for Zionists.”
“You Jewish dogs, it will come to Al-Aqsa Mosque [in Jerusalem] too.”
That would not increase the sympathy for Palestinians, the more that in Israel churches are open.
Yes, a lot of Turkish nationalists are jackasses. All nations have them, unfortunately, and they always seem to be the most vocal scum.
” Islam is the main enemy of orthodoxy”
The above is a very dangerous statement.
I am a Muslim who rejects the move by the Turkish president. While it is true that many in the Muslim world have approved of the move, this approval is out of ignorance and lack of spiritual and political insight. They are merely fools.
The Quraan (the source of guidance, par excellence, for Muslims) has the protection of places of worship for all peoples enshrined in its teachings. Not only that, with specific regard to Orthodox Christians it goes on to prophesize their victory over their enemies and when that happens the (true) Muslims will rejoice. It also goes on to prophesize a Muslim-orthodox end time alliance. This move by the Turkish president is hence merely an attempted dagger at that coming alliance and an attempt to further drive a wedge between the two peoples. (After 600 years of Ottoman oppression).
As a Muslim, I can not stand for oppression. Truth, in all that encompasses, has no tolerance for oppression. In same token, I stand to oppose oppression by both Muslim imperialism (including Ottoman imperialism) and western imperialism.
Hence, we foresee a day when Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) will be liberated and Hagia Sofia will be returned to Orthodox Christians with an apology. In fact, our messenger has praised that Army and its commander who will liberate the city.
With Love,
Awab
” …and when that happens the (true) Muslims will rejoice.”
And who are the true Muslims?
Those who followed the Quran`s teachings would be my guess as a Orthodox Christian Prospeller.
“The Quraan (the source of guidance, par excellence, for Muslims) has the protection of places of worship for all peoples enshrined in its teachings.”
That is a direct quote from the comment you answered btw..
” “The Quraan (the source of guidance, par excellence, for Muslims) has the protection of places of worship for all peoples enshrined in its teachings.”
That is a direct quote from the comment you answered btw..”
So Islam expanded to its current size through charity work, love, and acceptance of everyone, or maybe by helping the poor of the world. I’m sure forced conversions and bloodshed had nothing to do with it.
Amen, Awab.
Conquest of Constantinople was the main objective of the ‘prophet’ Mahomed:
“The Liberation of Constantinople, Narrated ‘Abdullah Bin Bashar Al Khath’amy, fulfilled the prophecy of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, which he heard from his father, who heard it from the prophet (peace and blessings upon him) who said, “You will liberate Constantinople, blessed is the Amir who is its Amir, and blessed is the army, that army.” This is “a prophetic hadith (“tradition of the prophet”) found in the musnad (“collection”) of Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal (d. 855)”.
Liberation of whom from whom? Surely not of the Orthodox Christians of Byzantium oppressed by the Latin Unia. The conquest of Constantinople by Mahomed II was and is seen by Muslims as “a vindication of Muhammadan prophecy and its promise of universal Islamization, a vindication of Islam against the idolatrous and polytheistic worlds of Hellenism and Christianity”. The ‘great historian’ Ibn Khaldun related a tradition of the prophet stating that “he who will destroy the Byzantine Emperor and will spend his treasures in God’s behalf will be the mahdi [‘rightly guided one’] when he conquers Constantinople.” Constantinople, the so-called kjzyl elma (“red apple”) of prophetic tradition was, to Ottoman minds, destined to fall to the Turks. Ibn Khaldun was inspired by the ninth-century philosopher al-Kindi, who had prophesied that the Mahdi would come to “renew Islam and cause justice to triumph.” Al-Kindi foretold, “he will conquer the Spanish peninsula and reach Rome and conquer it. He will travel to the East and conquer it. He will conquer Constantinople, and rule over the whole earth will be his.” That’s what Muslims believe to the day and think it is their duty to bring it to fruition.
This is the language of Erdogan, playing for the Islamic gallery and posing as the new ‘Fatih’ Amir (even Caliph) defender of the Ummah against the ‘Crusaders, Zionists and Greeks (Orthodox)’. The Ummah approves him enthusiastically, notwithstanding a few voices of more rational Muslims who can see the harm that he does to the ‘image’ of Islam (and might court jail in the new Caliphate), making clear to the world that the Turks remained the same barbarians under a thin veneer of ‘secularism’ (which is nothing but the Turkish chauvinism which led to the Hamidian and Armenian genocides -‘grey wolves’ in sheep’s clothing).
It is a direct provocation to Russians and a signal to the Muslims of Russia (and China), make no mistake. He cannot be unaware that the Hagia Sophia Church was dedicated to God’s ‘Wisdom’ who is the Logos of God, the “one Lord Jesus Christ “the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, by Whom all things were made”, and not the mere Isa, son of Mary, who would be the servant of the Mahdi in smashing the crosses. Or, that Russians received their Christianity at Hagia Sophia and immediately built in Russia churches dedicated to ‘Saint Sophia’ (Kiev, Novgorod). The Russian reaction to the Muslim Brotherhood challenge (surely pushed by the ‘West’ despite its token protestations) was not as mild as it is presented. “A threat against Hagia Sophia is a threat to all of Christian civilization,” the head of the Russian Church, Patriarch Kirill, said in a July 6 statement, according to Reuters. “What could happen to Hagia Sophia will cause deep pain among the Russian people,” the patriarch concluded.
Actually he unwittingly (?) played in the hand of the ‘Zionists’. The eradication of the Dome of the Rock with its anti-Christian messages will be viewed with some indulgence.
But we know that “everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven”. Erdogan and his followers sealed their own sentence.
We are heading into a much dangerous world as the Anglo-Zionist stranglehold on much of the western world begins to diminish and retreat, worldwide regional conflicts that some were buried in the past are going to emerge and escalate
Religious terrorism, Islamic, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and others are going to play major role in upcoming conflicts.
This is coupled with internal strife and schism within the United States which would lead to either the breakup of the US as we know it or a transfer of real power from the federal level to local state or bio regions. People will want to live in regions or states that share the same political outlook, way of life, religion, militaristic, fringe, environmental and others. There will be mass migrations from large cities to the interior and to these bio regions.
Real power will devolve to corporate sudo governments. Large corporations such as Apple, Amazon, Google, etc will offer their employees benefits, Healthcare, security, pension and housing very much what governments used to offer. Employees will become virtual citizens of corporations.
Global warming, climate change and sea rise will affect millions of people living in coastal cities and force them to migrate inlands. The weather in some regions will become unbearable and in some places large domes will have to be erected over the cities to help control the extreme weather.
Pandemics are going to be a recurring theme. Some will be more deadly than others.
All the above will not only put a hold on population growth but rather contribute to massive decline which will affect many countries with aging populations. Some countries will cease to exist as we know them now. Some predictions and outlooks estimate that less than 1.5 billion people will be living around 2050.
People will be issued identity systems which could be implanted or carried on person which contains all information on the Individual such as health, (this is specifically will be introduced during this Pandemic season) to help facilitate travel. Other Information on education, financial, social media standings and others will be stored and updated continuously.
Hold on to your hats! It’s going to get bumpy…
I wonder about you Anonymous you seem so erudite at times yet you repeat the programming like a believer, and as a Believer you seem to welcome the Brave New World of Technological control that will reduce you to something ,seen by the rulers as less than a slave, Yes, there will be more Pandemics, there are Labs allover the World trying to create them, and there are programs at work now to weaken Human immunity to them, so barring some, unplanned, major societal upset that surely is in the plans!
Population growth is collapsing already according to a report on ZH today, all this stress doesn’t create a positive atmosphere to create children!
Global Warming, climate change and Sea rise have been breathlessly reported for many years now yet the sea hasn’t risen a Millimetre yet, perhaps it never will?
As for the implanted information and the ‘invisible tattoo’ well it is not uncommon for people to ‘Brand’ their slaves, if you wear the Tattoo you are the property of the entity that gave you the Tattoo and their AI machine will, unemotionally calculate your value and decide when it isn’t profitable to keep you living any longer, is the the future you seem anxious to move into?
I’ve always had the impression (sometimes based on actions by Merkel herself) that the Germans want Banderastan. Exactly as it is. Trust the Germans to see something useful in a black hole! (not to mention the creation of that black hole but never mind.) If the Ukraine launches an attack on Russia, how do you think Germany would react? And what about France and the UK, who will counter-react (like death and taxes, that counter-reaction is between these three, I guess.)
From Germany, I can tell that I don’t share that impression.
Let’s make a clear break here: when German politics dances along with the Empire, then that is to create some leverage over the outrageous US blackmail over Nord Stream 2. Merkels neck hangs loosely in a noose from the German industries, who are already outraged over sanctions against the Russian Federation (that has costed some 30% of their orders), while the US even increases its imports of Russian oil…
German citizens won’t say it openly very fast, but they are fed up with the anti-Russia hysterics and would rather have good relationships. Keep in mind, that gas deliveries originated from the eighties in high-time Cold War, and this trade has always been kept fair and smooth, so what is the problem now then?
When there might be a suspicion that liking Banderastan has something to do with sentiments going back to 1933-1945, I have a disappointing conclusion: that is a complete fantasy. Germans are very politically correct, the Bundestag must be one of the most polite and boring parliaments in the world.
Neo Nazi’s are very scarce and get way too much frightening attention – you’ll find these freaks in any nation. The rather fresh party AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) is always treated in the MSM as ‘extreme right-wing’, but that is nonsense. Their ideas are rather similar to the CDU in the eighties under Helmut Kohl.
[Sidebar: ‘right-wing’ and ‘left-wing’ or other slogans are diffuse. Like in most W-European countries there exist such ‘voting-help’ websites, where you get some 30 questions about political subjects, multiple choice, and then you get an advise which party suits you most. When you fill that out with the election ideas of the NSDAP from 1933, you’ll end up between ‘Die Linke’ and ‘Die Grünen’. So much for ‘extreme right wing’… ]
Let me end with a popular joke from Austria:
“The Austrians successfully made the world believe, that Hitler was a German and Beethoven was an Austrian” ;-)
Cheers, Rob
Russia has had one piece of good news recently. They have decided to stop imitating the idiotic West with their hysterical ‘lockdowns’. I don’t know if Putin finally wised up or ?, but Sobyanin is singing a very different tune now.
By the way, Russia currently lists 78.2 Covid deaths/million. France? 465.8, Spain? 593.1, even Germany is at 108.2. Any country that wanted to gain a huge comparative advantage had only to treat this epidemic as a bad flu. In fact, to be brutally frank, since the disease kills almost exclusively the very old/sick, it’s effect on the actual economy is nill. It is only the lockdowns that are wreaking economic havoc. The majority of those killed in the West were killed by the lockdowns, not the disease.
True, and not only the lockdowns.
Everywhere that followed the Gates / Ferguson model also had many empty hospitals because they:
[a] sent patients in home, or back to “nursing homes”, where there was little to no skilled medical care, and thus many died and
[b] were ordered to remain empty to “cope with the flood of Covid patients” which never came, thus many did not receive the medical care they needed. The worst hit have been cardiac patients who didn’t get their monitoring for adjustment of treatment and drugs, and cancer sufferers, many of whom were diagnosed much later than they would have been, and who were denied essential treatment.
How many of those deaths will be labelled “Covid” is a question, too.
Agree. I consider all this and more as part of the ‘lockdown’.
The only countries that I am aware of that have freed themselves of the virus are Taiwan and New Zealand – both countries are islands that immediately restricted travel and used best medical practice to limit and then eliminate spread. Brazil and India are currently both a mess, as is the US.
What many are ascribing to some grand conspiracy I believe, instead, is just the inability of most governments to find a ‘right’ solution to an actual, and rather thorny problem in a highly interconnected world. To not try and limit the spread of the virus will have undesirable political and economic consequences. The ruling classes are vulnerable to the virus for demographic and health reasons. Early on it spread rapidly among diplomats and politicians who travel often and widely. When it became established among “essential workers” they spread it widely from below. Health systems are vulnerable because of case load. The panic reaction was to seek a purely medical solution which led to the lockdowns.
Lockdowns are not a good or reasonable solution because they choke off basic economic activity from below and the financial impact on the majority of the population is severe. This will likely lead to widespread political instability within a relatively short period of time, but it appears to be a reasonable solution to the wealthy classes because they are not immediately affected and it does help to limit the spread of the virus in the short term – and decreases their personal vulnerability.
All world leaders are now taking extreme precautions not to get sick – many of those who did not soon enough got ill. Once you are ill having access to 1st class medical care is most assuredly an advantage, as is being in good health to begin with.
This is what happens to a city when there is uncontrolled spread without adequate medical care:
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/bodies-piled-ecuador-covid-19-hotspot-200617142117507.html
The poor suffer disproportionately – as they do from the lockdown strategy.
If your social safety net is absent or in disrepair, your economy is weak, your country is suffering political instability, etc there is no ‘best’ solution to such a crisis – your society was not prepared and you must suffer through as best you can. Almost any policy you try to enact to mitigate the problem will not work or will prove inadequate – because you were not prepared to begin with.
When, broadly speaking, social systems are unbalanced and inequitable there simply is no way to avoid problematic consequences from a stressor such as the coronavirus pandemic.One does not need to invoke conspiracy to explain the circumstances and events now in play. The disruption has occurred and there is no way back to the way things were.
some light in the darkness – Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, went from 450 deaths a day on April 6 to zero deaths by 10 May because the mayor, Jaime Nebot, organised the import of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin which were then supplied free of charge first to hospitals then to public and private clinics. https://www.idl-reporteros.pe/del-desastre-a-la-victoria-como-guayaquil-vencio-al-covid-19/. The focus seems to have been on providing preventive treatment early at the primary care level to allow the hospitals to focus on the very sick. Dr Vladimir Zelenko in New Jersey and Dr Pietro Garavelli in Novara, Italy operated on the same principle https://www.newsbiella.it/2020/04/28/leggi-notizia/argomenti/speciale-coronavirus-4/articolo/idrossiclorochina-vs-covid-19-una-terapia-considerata-efficace-ma-controversa-il-parere-dellinfet-4.html
“revenues are down in many sectors, and the COVID19 pandemic has also had a devastating effect on Russian small businesses. And while the issue of the COVID19 virus has not been so hopelessly politicized in Russia as it has in the West, a lot of my contacts report to me that many people feel that the Kremlin and the Moscow authorities have mismanaged the crisis.”
Now that the Saker has brought up this alleged “pandemic” I agree with those “many people” in Russia: Putin has fallen for the Con-19 hoax. Do not confuse the alarmist Western conspiracy (which I call Con-19, as in Con-911) with the real virus detected and sequenced by Chinese scientists, which they called “2019-nCoV” (short for: novel CoronaVirus-2019, now abbreviated to CoVid-19). Link:
Lu R, Zhao X, Li J, et al. Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding. Lancet 2020;395:565-574.
China, quite properly fearing this novel virus might be a U$ bioweapon from Fort Dietrick, rolled out a full civil defense program including tight Lockdown; but Lockdown was lifted as soon as the Chinese realized this novel Corona virus was no deadlier than all the other Corona viruses which form part of the world’s normal annual winter seasonal flu epidemics. Chinese economy soon got back to normal after speedy lifting of Lockdown.
Con-19 is not a real virus — any more than Con-911 was really the work of Osama Bin Laden and a handful of Saudi terrorists. Both Con-19 and Con-911 are Anglo-Zio-Capitalist psy-ops, designed to frighten Western sheeple into accepting a state of military emergency and financial loss.
Many medics predicted that Lockdown was going to cause more damage than Covid-19 would. I fear that Putin has fallen for the West’s Con-19 hoax. Great intelligence is no protection against primal fear. The Russian president should have taken advice from his stout ally, the Syrian president Dr.Assad: equally intelligent but a trained Medical Practitioner as well, Dr.Assad ordered sensible precautions but not much Lockdown in Syria.
“People will do anything if you frighten them enough” — Hermann Goering
Good points, doc. The Kafkaesque Corona circus is indeed the greatest hoax since 911 and the most extravagant up-to-date. And the most sinister. As from now on the ruling Zionist Crime Syndicates can and will run similar global goy-mocking exercises whenever they experience a bout of existential angst. And that is basically every time they look into the mirror …
“Putin has fallen for the Con-19 hoax”
I would dispute this.
When I saw the first speech President Putin gave announcing these early measures, he looked to me uncomfortable and actually resentful. I felt strongly that he didn’t want to do what he was doing, but had no choice – that he was facing some sort of pressure. I couldn’t think what that might be though. It seemed odd – until I read the points that he had put up for the changes to the Constitution, and read what, to me, is the most important one: that Russian Law will always supercede any International or foreign Law.
I realised that [a] Russia signed up to the WHO and accepted it’s entire premise, back in the day, before Putin began to claw back sovereignty and that [b] the Constitution as it was written largely by America during post Cold War collapse days, accepted Russia obeying all these foreign imposed laws. And if there is one thing Putin is, it’s a believer in Law, and following the Law. He has said often over and over again “the Law is the Law”.
However, he then used it clearly to identify the holes in the Health system. Isolated country towns had insufficient medical staff and hospitals – that was dealt with. New hospitals were built, for example 3 in Ingushetia alone. I think he used it also to “practice” for any true epidemic and also any bio-hazard invasion.
Remember, Georgia and Ukraine, both of which border Russia and are CIA owned and driven, have secret bio-weapons research labs in them.
That he saw right through this was also shown by the way he handled the economy, the money given fast to those in need, the support for small business – it’s estimated that Russian economy will not suffer much or at all from it, unlike those of Russias’ aggressors.
I dont think he “fell” for anything – he simply handled it’s range of issues in his own way, by getting something Russia wanted and needed, protecting Russia where it was needed, and not giving the aggressors anything to jump on and accuse Russia of – like spreading the disease across the world because it refused WHO measures.
Russia will emerge stronger – because of the measures he chose. Sure, I didn’t see it like that at first – I was cross too. But a little observation and thinking and I came around.
Dmitry Orlov’s argument is that the reason Russia and China have joined the COVID-19 circus is to exercise, get assets in place, condition the population and prepare for a real thing considering the Satanists (Deep State, Soros, Bill Gates et al) have 13 bio-labs just in Ukraine, a huge number in Gruzia (Georgia) and who knows what and where. The only way they can attack Russia and inflict huge damage without a devastating nuclear response is via biological warfare.
So, COVID-19 is a means of biological warfare as well as a money racket.
To protect it’s soverengity the Apartheid Regime that occupies Palestine regularilly bomb targets in other countries to protect said soverengity, under the guise of self protection…………the only country allowed to do such????? I’d insert spec opp tac teams ala mossad and have so many accidents happen at those locations and the people that work there, they’d be more of a treat to the locals never mind Russia
Cheers, M
The initial focus was whether this was a bioweapon released in China. A weaponized virus! It wasn’t the coronavirus which was weaponized. By the way, it appears this is not a novel virus. It is also referred to as Sars-Cov2 because it has about 76% similarity to the Sars virus. What was weaponized was the western controlled response to this which is ongoing and appears to be getting worse. This was gamed out at least 10 years ago. Planned out to the last ‘T’. They knew what was going to be done and what the reaction would be. As I’ve been saying for a few months, they are not going to let this pass, but will keep it going.
Huge trouble is knocking on the door.
Clearly the continual demonization of Russia, China and previously Iran, in the western MSM indicates that we’re heading for WWIII. Historically this is what the West does when preparing its domestic populations for an attack on an imagined adversary.
War most probably wont happen until after the USA’s Presidential Election and if the losing party’s members & supporters dont accept the result, individual blue states (if Trump wins) and individual red states (if Biden wins) may opt to secede from the Union.
When we see states petitioning to secede, we should also expect another American Civil War (the first wasnt really about slavery, but rather about states’ rights to secede) in an attempt to prevent the dissolution of the USA.
In order to try to prevent a Civil War, it may well come to pass, that the US elites will declare war on other country/ies in order to rally Americans around the flag.
Given how febrile the American electorate is currently, this last strategy of the elites will prove to be futile.
Turning a negative into a positive, it seems to me that the USA has to go through this process of death, regeneration and rebirth in order to become a less materialistic and a more spiritual society.
And hopefully then, all the rest of the countries of this world can determine their own models of economic development and their own systems of government and live in peace.
So be it.
Excellent observations. Not sure about these lines, however:
n order to try to prevent a Civil War, it may well come to pass, that the US elites will declare war on other country/ies in order to rally Americans around the flag. Given how febrile the American electorate is currently, this last strategy of the elites will prove to be futile.
Americans, especially red staters, have proven to be suckers for this ploy over and over again – it’s damn near a Pavlovian auto-response mechanism at this point. But regardless of whether they fall for it or not, the very act of going to war (kind of a redundant statement at this point) would allow additional draconian security measures at home (including false flag operations of course!), so we might well find that the DC establishment elects to go to war both internally and externally (not sure that’s ever been done before) to preserve its existence. Think a small nuke at a US port facility, as just one quick example, quickly blamed on a [fill in the country of origin here] terrorist smuggler wouldn’t get the masses riled up?
Color me extremely pessimistic that the US AZN infestation is going away without wholesale bloodshed such as we’ve never seen before. These people are ruthless beyond anyone’s imagination and they know full well the stakes of the deadly game they’re playing.
I’m an Orthodox Christian in Russia, and maybe I’m missing something, but why is there such a big commotion over Hagia Sofia? The Byzantine Empire is long gone, because they got conquered by the Ottomans. The Ottomans didn’t consider Christianity to be true, so they acted in accordance with their beliefs and turned Hagia Sofia into a mosque. What else could you expect? When you get conquered, as a rule of history, you can’t expect kind treatment for your cultural sites, your women and your possessions. If you don’t like that, then either 1) don’t get conquered, or 2) regroup, re-arm and later retake what you lost. Whining, complaining and hating for many years doesn’t achieve anything.
Regarding Russia and its present situation, this article is totally correct. Not much to add, other than the fact that wages and employment benefits/conditions, as well as pensions, are unsatisfactorily low overall, while some people in high positions of business or state administration earn enormous salaries. This goes against the social grain of Russia, which is still quite collectivistic. Also, there are a lack of “social elevators” here- I know some highly intelligent, ambitious, hardworking people in their 20’s and 30’s, who are far away from the places where real decisions happen. I also know other people, with less worthy character traits, who are close to centers of power only because of their personal or family connections. That all needs to change.
Nice to see clear-headed thinking on this, very sad that the Saker would react emotionally and quite narrow-minded on this subject. The Ottoman’s took it by right of conquest and turned it into a Mosque for over four centuries, just like the Russians took over Kazan by right of conquest and destroyed the grand mosque and the Bulgarians ethnically cleansed the Muslims out of Bulgaria and turned their mosques to churches. Making a big issue about a “church” puts the Saker in the same side with the nationalist Hindus that destroy mosques and build Hindu temples over them, very sad.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_Turks#From_Liberation_to_Communist_Rule_(1878_to_1946)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Saints_Church,_Sofia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kul_Sharif_Mosque
Nothing sad about it. It was Islam that conquered and genocided most of the known world. The would-be sultan is just reminding the non-Muslims of the shameful role of the “religion of peace”. He is playing his cards well at the moment but will pay for his insouciance sooner rather than later.
You’re thinking of the Europeans, who committed genocide in America, Australia, Africa and Asia until finally Allah turned their wickedness on themselves and they killed millions of Europeans in two world wars, not the Muslims; but I can see how someone with your intellectual limitations can make this mistake ;)
I hope, Saker, you’re happy with the quality of people you’re attracting.
Dear friend,
You cannot blame me, my blog or anybody else for the illiterate comments of one person! Furthermore, this person has the (ethical and logical) right to express his/her opinions about Islam. And I don’t have to agree with them to post them.
As for the quality of people I am attracting: I am quite grateful that my blog attracted a person like you! You are clearly a pious and God-fearing Muslim who is offended by illiterate and ignorant opinion about Islam. Good! I very much respect that.
What I hope for next is that you realize that your accusation is unfair and that you vented against me a frustration directed at somebody else.
Agreed?
The Saker
A very well deserved fate to the turks, this time Anatolia will be next
Do you think the constitutional amendments would pave way for progressive (not by western means) changes within the system in Russia? Including measures to those issues that you mentioned?
The biggest problem I have with your discussion really comes from the reiteration of the idea that a resolution could, if unlikely, be peaceful. It is with this I have the greatest disagreement. These conflicts arise because preceding decades have produced a superfluous number of actors at each other’s throats. It is necessary to thin the ranks before order can be restored.
This means some of the actors must be permanently removed for good or ill. The remainder will form a new order. For this reason a real fix that is peaceful would be an astonishment. The history of this period will show that some of the actors just had to go to achieve the observed outcome. Given such complete elimination it is doubtful they will go peacefully.
this contention requires there be an unchanging truth about life that has made life this way, unendingly recurrent, brutal and filled with war. thats not true at all.
the totality of the truth of existence is not known..we learn more every day..and what we have learned so far makes the class based reality humans live suicidal..not recurrenly breaking and resetting itself the same level always
precipitated by fundamental technological change we have global econmic crisis that cannot be reset in and by capitalism eventuated by the culling or thinning of the human ranks. there must be and will be, happening right now fiundamental, basic organization change of society to accommodate the new technologies going forward.
and that basic social change has been narrowd down to to 2 options: elitist win over the ordianry population of the world and their imposition of. Brave new world of total social control of the people..the introduction of a real permanent aspect into the social mix..biologically engineering the levels of ordinary humanity allowed to live by the elites, for whatever purpose the elites decide they need them for . such people will never be more than what they are engineered to be
if the ordinary people successfully and overthrow the elites them we can have a democratic, multi-polar world using technology driven by the general interest period, retaining full humanity in its current state from the start to currently.
contrarily life changes all the time..and what humans do in response to our need and responsibility to survive to make life safe, impregnable in nature, adds to the constant movement and change of life that requires social organizational change all the time to mange what we do, to respond successfully to natural development.. and to the ever expanding truth we prove about life, about existence as we go…and how we can survive indefinitely in it.
huge ever changing reality and there is no absolute orgnizational, ever unchanging recurrence in it..not even in the brave New World the elites will impose if they prevail. that I see to be a form of suicde that would speed up human extinction.. which we may not be able to avoid anyway..regardless of who prevails and whatever they do in response to the challenges to survival they would face as a small human rump, carrying all the humanity has been from day one.
they would not be enough..numbers do matter
ben sampson
Good analysis, many thanks. This is indeed the crucial human fulcrum: whether the few will rule the many or the many will finally overcome the few.
(And all this, as you say, within the larger-than-human world and its universe, wherein even humans may not be guaranteed a place, regardless of how few or how many.)
But within the human struggle, everything else is either detail of this one dynamic, or distraction from it.
Something which hasn’t been mentioned apropos of the US civil war was the economic considerations involved. The North and the South had different economic structures. A common explanation is that the Civil War was fought over the moral issue of slavery. In fact, it was the economics of two economies and political control of that system that was central to the conflict. In the south there was an agrarian/slave economy where the production of raw cotton was the principal pre-capitalist mode of production. Cotton was picked packed into bales which were then shipped off the Liverpool (UK) where the cotton was spun into cloth in the cotton mills of Lancashire in cotton towns like Bolton, Rochdale, Blackburn, Preston and Burnley. This was a major industry in the UK.
In the Northern US states the economy was much more skewed towards the production of goods and services and in sync with the earlier mercantalist views and policies of Alexander Hamilton and after the war confirmed by U.S.Grant. Free labour rather than slavery was the dominant mode of production employment. Hamilton himself was very much influenced by Georg Friedrich List (6 August 1789 – 30 November 1846) a German-American economist who developed the “National System” of political economy.
It had become apparent by the 1860s the two very different economies were unsustainable and had to be ‘rationalised’ under one system. After the war President Grant became a convinced mercantalist arguing for a national economic system to compete with the British dominance.
Paul Craig Roberts wrote a number of interesting articles on the American civil war which I found most interesting.
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2018/11/13/a-civil-war-lesson-for-the-uneducated/
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2017/08/23/know-called-civil-war-not-slavery/
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2018/11/09/the-prevalence-of-myth-over-history/
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2015/04/13/power-lies/
Saker
Regarding your statements about Russian government not saying anything regarding Hagia Sophia.
1. It is an internal matter for Turkey
2, Batholemew by his actions in Ukraine created a schism in orthodoxy against Russian Orthodox Church
3. Greece went along with Batholemew against Russia
4. Montenegro is attacking the Orthodox Church
So what is orthodoxy today ?
What would Russia be standing up for – when other countries have gone against Russia for political reasons
All Russia can do is say it is disappointing- that is all – all these other orthodox churches have made Turkeys actions possible – not Russia
Turkey is having elections and Erdogan knows how to shore up his base
Long term however who will visit Hagia Sophia if it is destroyed and icons covered over – which will have to happen if it is a mosque.
It will cease to be a UNESCO site of importance.
Cathedrals in Spain are repurposed Mosques. Same issue throughout eastern Europe. Same issue with many houses of worship being built over pre-existing temples. But yes Hagia special is special. Not special enough for the crusaders who destroyed it. It was the second Mohammed who restore it and set in place a legal structure for its presrrvation.
However, the mosques were there in the first place because the Moslems were invaders. Not really a comparable scenario.
Are you trying to claim that Christians never invaded anyone and forcibly converted them? You have missed at least 500 years of history
Get off your pompous high horse. I was only referencing the situation in Spain.
Your intent was clear
The dust storm about to descend on the US Panhandle will massively increase Covid infection and mortalities. But apart from that diabolical outcome the next factor jumps into play and that is Bubonic Plague. Dust plus fleas plus bubonic plague equals Black Death.
How many people you know died of covid ? I do not know anybody in my live to have died of covid. I am asking everybody, whom I have contact with, and there is no one, who can confirm death because of covid.
And I am talking to a lot of people, because I am looking for a job. No One died anywhere in everybody’s live I am talking with.
I would suggest to stop looking at news agencies and TV for the truth.
In 2018 there were 30 000 people dying of influenza in DE alone, another 25 000 in FR and millions worldwide. Ever heard of them ? Do you think that this covid is either:
1) a very deadly virus in an very unusual US election year killing millions
2) a very deadly virus out of a lab killing millions by accident
3) a very deadly virus from a wet market naturally (the logic is: a Chinese man infected with aids walks in a forest south in China and makes sex to a some kind of strange prehistoric animal infecting this animal with his aids virus. This animal then gets cosy with a bat. The covid 19 virus is then developing in this bat, and this bat ends up in Wuhan, the wet market)
4) Kill Gates and his natural surroundings are media hyping a flu virus in order to change the political situation in the US (go forward with globalism vs maga)
Your choice
BR
J
Same, accept that I haven’t been looking for a job. Nobody I know, or knows anyone who has died of Covid. People do die, that is natural as being born is. Imagine a lockdown and social distancing due to birth.
No doubt the Gates contingent could rustle up something.
I’m not sure about the correlation between the lack of deaths and the intended results of the viral infection, how can one know this ?
There will be another “outbreak” and 3 month lockdown, in GB after the summer, that is fairly obvious to me from the preparations occurring in the last weeks and ongoing which look to result in a far greater control of restrictions.They will need them as on top of this there will be far greater financial stress..
I do hope I’m wrong.
I don’t even know anyone who caught the virus and neither does anyone I know. I’m sure it exists, And I do my best to protect elderly parent who would die, but they would if they caught the annual flu. I see endless reports on the news, videos, fear, hysteria.
But it seems like one big mind-f….
In 2018 in a 3 month period well over 50k people died in the UK of flu.
Something else is on the cards. Behind the scenes. Economic collapse and a very big war seems the only explanation I can believe in. During or after which the digital ID new world order will be ushered in.
I think its every bit as deadly, if not more so, as novichok.
Correct me if I;m wrong, but isnt attacking and destroying a dam considered a war crime ? Wouldn’t that possibly kill thousands of people ?
The dam is not filled… yet. The current dispute is exactly over the filling of the reservoir – when it will begin and how it will be controlled. Ethiopia has threatened to begin filling it this month, unilaterally, without an agreement with Sudan and Egypt.
Hello Saker,
thank you for your articles and your insights.
We see some big trees burning, and the big forest can also burn. Yes, that conclusion I agree with.
The real question is: Who are the arsonist, those people who burn the trees. Who is the enemy ?
If we all keep on looking at burning trees, and talk about columns we never find the enemy.
I would suggest to take the eye of the eagle, slowly but surely to fly high, take a deep look into organizations, movements, politicians, political partys, state departments and oligarchs with big money, to find the ones, who are burning trees.
Then, after finding the ones who burn trees, we should decide, how to wipe them off the face of this earth, with all their belongings and close nature.
If that could be done in a non military matter, it is worth a try and a shot.
If that could not be done in a non military matter, we should go to war.
I know what this means. The choice today is between evil, and something that is reason, free choice, good, and people developing and living here within their own choices.
This is always a question and a choice, which comes once in a century. Last time it was Hitler, who pushed his own to the extremes. The same enemy today, has a different face, but the same nature.
And no, this time, is not different. Civilization, the future of our families are at stake again. Nothing has changed, we are just another generation facing the same game our grand father had to face.
My Best Regards
JM
Agreed, Saker, that The USA is the Tipping Point of Maximum Leverage…..to either burn the entire world “forest” down…………OR unleash a Rain Storm that raises humidity, soil moisture and plant and tree water content so high that the myriad of crazed arsonists around the world could face futility.
“Noah Was A Conspiracy Theorist”…. a recent meme is captioned…showing the Arc and black skies.
And at the bottom, a puddle with large drops of water splashing into it and the text:
“And Then It Began To Rain”.
Here are some pretty Big Moisturizing Drops….at least in terms of Russia and USA combustibility getting smothered by liquid Truth:
https://larouchepac.com/20200715/roger-stone-hannity-judge-blocked-binney-s-expert-testimony-there-was-no-russian-hack-dnc
Is it more possible now to douse Mike “Dry Empire Kindling” Pompeo?
Dunno! You decide:
excerpt:
“Roger Stone was in fine form July 13th, in a prime-time interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. Asked by Hannity if there had ever been any Russian collusion at all, Stone raised the hot issue which British snake Mike Pompeo has tried to cover-up for two and half years: that former NSA technical director William Binney has proven that the trove of DNC documents unveiled by WikiLeaks and showing that Hillary Clinton was a Wall Street hack engaged in stealing the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination from Bernie Sanders was not the product of a Russian hack. At President Donald Trump’s urging, then-CIA Director Pompeo met with Binney in October 2016 to hear his evidence, but Pompeo refused to budge from the lying “intelligence community assessment” that Russia had intervened in the U.S. election. There was no Russian collusion, Stone told Hannity as the interview was concluding on Monday night:
“There was evidence that I had a Twitter direct message exchange with Guccifer 2.0, a persona. But if you look at when that happened, it happened long after WikiLeaks had published all their material.
“And if you look at the actual content of the exchange, it’s benign. There is no collusion. There’s no collaboration.
“And, thirdly, we don’t even know that Guccifer 2.0 is a Russian agent. Just because John Brennan says something’s true—he said the Steele dossier was real, too.
“So, just because they assert something doesn’t mean it’s true. I could have proved at trial, using forensic evidence and expert testimony from fellows like Bill Binney, former NSA counterintelligence expert, and [former CIA analyst] Ray McGovern, that no one hacked the DNC, that there was no online hack of the DNC, that the information, based on the download times was downloaded to a portable disk and taken out the back door.
“But I wasn’t allowed to present that defense, because Judge Jackson would not allow it.”
The Forest Is Dangerously Dry
But the Heavens Are Loaded With Billions of Tons of Truthful Water Vapor
I seem to remember Lavrov in the last 2-3 years attemlting to mediate Azerbaiijan and Armenia situation
But
https://theduran.com/turkey-supports-azerbaijan-to-cause-instability-in-the-caucasus/
What will Russia think of Turkeys intentions here as well as the other stuff…….
The instability was originally caused by Armenia in Nagorno Karabakh.
Not at all clear how one can make such a definitive statement. Can you explain?
In the meantime:
“The roots of the conflict now go back to 1918-1920, when the newly established Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, sought to seize Karabakh, but Armenians crushed their plans after all. When the Russian communists took hold of South Caucasus (then Transcaucasia) in the early 1920s, however, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin made a hasty decision to annex Karabakh to the newly-Sovietized Azerbaijan. Armenia and the Armenians in Karabakh were against the decision but could do nothing about it.”
Whatever one’s opinion about the pandemic, the economic impact is huge and global and has not manifested it’s consequences yet. Tourism, travel, commodities – yes, the immediate impact is visible, but the economic and social disruption that is now baked in has not yet shown itself except in limited ways. The worlds poor (including the informal economies of countries and all those living pay check to pay check) are being subjected to a hammer blow, and how this will develop and find expression is not clear to me – South and Central America, Africa, India, SE Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East… everywhere one cares to look. Not to mention the USA, Russia, and China. In 6 months I believe we will begin to understand what is happening already, now, under the sheets. Look at Lebanon (one small example) and the economic crisis there and the political paralysis when all real solutions are so painful and disruptive to the status quo that they are still not considered seriously by those in power – even as the country falls off an economic cliff..
The political machine headed by Trump is taking a baseball bat to everything in sight using the leverage of the financial sector it controls. Targets seem to be any country that does not submit to being a revenue source for the flailing State, Western Europe included, adding to the current chaotic state of world affairs.
Our future is veiled in a fog – more obviously than is usual in my experience.
well! all who argued for depopulation may have a case indeed. those who argue for qualitative social change driven by game chaning technological development have more than case…they have reality on their side.
I saw the stock market going and going and going and I am asking myself: this is war really! the last time we had such a crash as this one is shaping up to be we had a world war. and the time before that to. but there cant be a world war as the human species would end this time. so what the hell is going on..how do they propose to get out of this one?
then indeed the stock market crashed and 40-45 million americans were instantly unemployed..with little or no safety net! oh mi god. what are they going to do?
then Corona virus in China! how did they get the Chinese to play as the Chinese did, that they could take and run with it straight into Pandemic and lock down?
or did the Chinese play at all..that their lockdown was just precautionary, not exemplary?
this lockdown is not just some willy nilly thing thats going on. the more I look the more I see or sense massive orchestration behind it all.
are all the world’s political leaders onside with the deep state/elites, with what is clealry a game against the ordinary people of the world?
there is no physical work war taking place but the effects of Pandemic/Lockdown on ordinary people of the world is, and seems destined to be even more davastating than a world war… in which say they did not use nuclear weapons but used everything else they have!
it looks like the deep state, the capitalists have indeed gone after the people, after all, in ways that appear indirect, disguised but total..ways that are devastating and developing, that will destroy ordianry people globally…a capitalist master stroke!
interesting. nothing else to say at this moment!
at the same time characterized and led by such as BLM there are all kinds of masking color revolutions and misdirections going on to distract the ordinary people of the world from the massive global attack on them that is effect as we speak
it is urgent that we understand whats really going on. I dont know if I do, or that i am right.. but this is the way it looks to me things are, by my way of my analysis
this is a point in human historical evolution, at which the elites should be under total popular attack in a fundamental and terminal way for them. this is the enmd of capitalism one way or the other. that is how basic I think this stage is. but if the elites are not under such attack then whose who should be in such attack on the elites would be and are in fact under terminal attack..the ordinary people of the world.
and we are under such terminal attack by lockdown and fake pandemic
@ Ben sampson
One little fishy, the lone little fishy iv only noticed over the years iv read this fantastic educational blog who dares to think out side the box that 1% elites are all oligarchs protecting themselves to keep ruling over the Sheeple.
oh and what about those Chinese Fentyle lethal drugs that USA purchase to kill there Sheeple off as part of the depop?
over here in UK mi5 does it with black market vallium!!!
Here’s another article published today that is somewhat similar to The Saker’s article. This other article by American author John Whitehead is more focused on conditions within the United Snakes as compared to The Saker’s global scope but the message is similar. “Iceberg Ahead!!!”
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/america_youve_been_blacklisted_mccarthyism_refashioned_for_a_new_age
A very good article – Thanks
Whilst I rarely comment here, I have been reading The Saker for at least 7 years, and have massive respect. I know The Saker has posted many articles by other people about COVID. I can agree with almost everything he has written here. It is entirely possible that The Saker has kept an open mind about COVID, and not posted his own personal view, or if he has posted his own personal view, like 9/11, he may actually have changed his mind.
I think changing your mind, as a result of more detailed information, is entirely admirable. It is the mark of a true scientist, aka the time I was born ( I am somewhat older than The Saker )
The Saker wrote this
“The COVID-19 (aka “it’s just like the seasonal flu!!“) pandemic which only exacerbates all the other major factors listed above.”
I want to understand what the Saker means, and what he thinks now, not with regards to the fact that its effect on the world, is completely different to anything ever seen before, at least since World War 1 (we can all agree on that), but whether he thinks, from an analysis of the physical effects with regards to actual deaths, so far to date, directly caused by the disease COVID-19, rather than the way people have been treated, whether or not the disease itself “it’s just like the seasonal flu“
Thanks for any reply.
Tony
Dear Saker,
All of the ‘burning trees’ (developments) that you describe, with the possible exception of the dam in Ethiopia, are part of the same ‘forest’ and this ‘forest’ was seeded in 1980.
1. In 1980 the ‘Anglo(-Zionist) Transnational Elites’ captured the political system in the U.S. with the election of their puppet, Ronald Reagan, followed shortly after by the election of their ‘operative’, Margaret Thatcher, in Britain.
2. Once in power in the U.S., this elite modified the economic system through tax policy, trade policy and regulatory capture, in order to transfer wealth to themselves from the lower classes. They also began to install a hidden government (the Deep State), to corrupt the electoral system and to capture the media to ensure that they could never be removed from power, creating an effective oligarchic dictatorship. Margaret Thatcher enacted similar policies in Britain.
3. With the dismantling of the Soviet Union, the ‘Anglo(-Zionist) Transnational Elites’ undertook a project to create a system of ‘Global Governance’, using international institutions under their control. The first steps of this plan were to implement such a system in Europe, using the Euro as an artifice to destroy national sovereignty, to overthrow the Communist government of China (Tiananmen Square Revolts) and to capture the government of, and eventually dismantle, Russia.
4. When they failed to overthrow the government in China (and later lost Russia), new programs to push their project of ‘Global Governance’ were developed. These included both soft-power aspects, such as the ‘Open Society’ initiative and the ‘Global Warming Crisis’ in order to mobilize the naive masses on their behalf, as well as hard-power such as the ‘ Project for a New American Century’, the policy of ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’. Numerous wars and ‘Color Revolutions’ in Eastern Europe and the Middle East followed in order to conquer recalcitrant nations and eventually surround Russia and China.
5. The growing alliance of Russia and China to create a Multi-Polar World Order (in opposition to the ‘Global Governance’ project) and projects such as the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ represent an existential threat to the ‘Anglo(-Zionist) Transnational Elites’ on the international level. The cold, and sometimes hot, war that erupted after Russia’s military intervention in Syria, beginning in 2013, is being fought on the information, economic, cyber and military fronts. It is this war that is behind all of the international events that you list, with the possible exception of dam in Ethiopia. The 2014 Maidan in Ukraine was a direct response to Russia’s blocking of Obama’s intended bombing of Syria in 2013, with the intention of taking the Russian naval base in Crimea, and thus bottling up the Russian Navy.
6. After decades of Elite rule in the U.S., Britain and Europe, and the devastating consequences of their policies for the overall population, domestic opposition has also emerged, in the form of Trump in the U.S., Brexit in Britain and nationalists/populists across Europe. Donald Trump has emerged as an especially virulent threat. All of the ‘tectonic’ shifts that you mention are a direct result of either the Elite’s devastating policies or of their attempt to get rid of their opposition, especially Trump. The ‘Virus’ is just the latest in a long series of attacks on Trump that began the day that he was elected.
The ‘Forest’ is the existential danger that the Anglo(-Zionist) Transnational Elites’ find themselves in both domestically and internationally. They will not give up until they either eradicate all domestic and international opposition and achieve their fascist dream of ‘Global Governance’ or are themselves eliminated. And judging by recent history, they will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. The ‘burning trees’ that you see are just the beginning.
If the World survives this fight, which is not sure, it will be either in the form of a ‘Multi-Polar World Order’ centered in Asia, or it will be a fascist paradise without borders under the ‘Elites’ ‘Global Governance’ system.
what part does social class play in your view of things?
All great points, but you’re off by several decades at least as to its origins. Both Dulles brothers were busy tilling the ground for the AZN empire well before the end of WWII, and the Global Government idea goes back well into the 19th century at least, when the Bush clan, among many others, first began their ascendance to power. But you’re right, the Reagan-Thatcher era and everything after represents the steroidal phase of the project, with the Clinton era providing the crown jewel and confirmation that big finance was now completely in control of the worldwide Duopoly Party in so-called “freedom loving, Democratic nations” (aka, the choice of no choice, or, any political flavor you like, as long as it’s the one we prescribe for you).
While I suppose it’s debatable exactly who the infamous “Protocols of the Elders…” was about, there’s no doubt that it has provided the exact road map for arriving where we are at now, and apparently, where we are soon going.
I’d add that it’s still debatable whether Trump is the real thing or not, too. I still suspect that he’s a perhaps unwitting straw man whose primary purpose was to preside over and take the blame for an empire in terminal decline and to taunt and totally demoralize the American electorate in the process. All jobs he’s succeeded at beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. The two “choices” on offer now, Trump and Biden – a raving idiot and a geriatric stiff – strongly indicate to me that this is the case. Resistance is futile!
I think the lid’s about to come off this boiling cauldron in earnest in Nov with the presidential elections and I would expect another really deadly pandemic false-flag event either before or shortly thereafter. And then the real fun will begin for those unfortunate enough to live through it!
Good points. When you mention Reagan, Thatcher and Clinton, I miss Bliar. Not to speak of all vassal politicians in EU and member states
Regarding the importance of Hagia Sofia’s change in status.
1. This change represents the open divisive use of religion as a political tool( check out why K. Ataturk, founder of Turkish secular nationhood declared it neutral territory in the first place)
2. It almost had a kind of dual citizenship both as a UNESCO site museum and also as decommissioned Church
3. A truce on the planet has been broken as conflicts will tend to become more openly tribal
4. This just is not any church, any where and this energetic change is not happening at just any time. As the Saker points out, the tinder is burning.
5. Anyone who believes that the Christian iconography will be kept safe under these circumstances will be disillusioned if they even take the time to care enough to stay informed.
and just a side note: Many Palestinians are Christian.
Has a timeline of how the Hagia Sophia played out in recent Turkish internal politics.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/hagia-sophia-and-turkeys-supremacism
” a dam is a pretty hard target to disable: it is big, strong, and has a large volume which, by itself, also contributes to the “hardness” against attacks.”
I am not so sure you are right in the above statement.
“The Dambusters” in ww2 succeeded pretty well, and i can not see that a submersed bomb today will be less capable. Water pressure + weight of the water + explosions is not on the dam`s side in my mind.
I can not back up my assumptions with any education in the field other than slowmo underwater explosions on MythBusters/interwebz, “playing” with black powder and army exercise/paintball grenades while growing up at the coast, progress in weapons and the success of the ww2 operation tho. So i admit i have no idea if progress/design have made dams blastproof since the brits destroyed one between 16–17 May 1943.
Egypt would kill a lot of civilians downstream if they destroy it after it is full, so i hope this get solved before that. Peacefully i might add!
Even if Ukraine decides to go for another provocation and shoot against Crimea, Russia can still maintain escalation control. They can easily shoot down all missiles and only counter attack against the launchers (plus some Ukrainian air and coastal defense systems can be wiped out). It will be a reasonable minor escalation and a clear enough message. There’s no desire in Russia or Ukraine for a war between the countries. I see it as extremely unlikely to have anything major between them. Ukrainian people are most likely to reject participating in a war against Russia. There will be no-one to fight. The west is clearly cowardly and strong in words but hollow inside. They fear any response from Russia.
Similarly, we will not see a major internal uprising in Russia. The nation learned a lot and is unwilling to perform revolutions. Russia will remain stable.
I think that the “appearing passive” approach by Putin is appropriate for the current times, while at some point a more active approach is going to be desirable. There’s no legitimate political or military threat against Russia and the west is hugely unpredictable and self-destructive. There are going to be cowardly provocations during the elections in the US and that’s all. Putin’s behavior is such that the west is afraid of him, because they cannot understand him and they see him as unpredictable. They have no idea how he might respond and when he may decide to escalate and make them pay. That’s how blind they are, even though Putin does exactly what he says.
The Empire exists only on paper and the only thing that makes it relevant is its nuclear weapons. The rest is largely irrelevant. The US is a country that is very incapable of large land operations and expecting that they can seriously threaten Russia only with navy, aviation, and cruise missiles is a form of an American naivety. In a real full war that involves a major large scale land confrontation, Russia is going to dominate heavily and everyone knows that. No-one wants to die, even the sociopathic ruling elite (especially them).
Now Turkey lost their mind completely. They attempt to demonstrate power and strength but there is no support for their claims in reality. Converting a church to a mosque is actually a sign of weakness. What is scary is that they don’t see it this way and may push their luck similarly to Georgia some years ago.
I want to tell something to all people that say that Russia needs to do this and that and to confront all those crazy people and rid us of the Empire and its oppression. Well, maybe that’s your task this time. Russians lost enough life and fought plenty. Other nations may need to sacrifice their sons and daughters this time and spill their blood. Why it should always be Russia? Why Russia needs to recover Constantinople for the Greeks? Why the Greeks don’t restore their own Byzantine empire? Why courage should be only a quality of the Russians? Why proud Americans don’t stand brave against the MSM mafia and all the slander? Why don’t they take humiliation openly and carry their own crosses? It seems to me that everyone wants to maintain their convenient and comfortable lives while someone else takes the responsibility for the world. My suggestion is that if anyone thinks that something needs to be done, they should go and do it themselves.
thanks for the rundown on stuff Saker, I’ve missed that for a long time. I’m glad you’re spending more time with your own blog and writing less for the Unz Report. It seems to me that you are fully there when there’s a need and otherwise you’d rather not be having to find somethings to write about when there’s no crisis.
@Saker,
An internet acquaintance on another forum has been posting news from Yerevan, of a rapidly heating conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan. There are videos of rallies in Baku, with young Azeri men chanting (I am not familiar with either language) … Armenians are still pretty sensitive about the Turkish genocide 100 years ago, however.
From this acquaintance, I know that Armenia borders Georgia, Turkey, and a tiny corner of Iran, as well as Azerbaijan. It was an SSR in Soviet times, but the tiny country is now ‘independent’. They have managed to defend the enclave of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh) since the ’90s — similar to Transnistria, in some ways. My contact says that the potential conflict line is not with the mountainous Artsakh, but along some recognized border of Armenia, I think. I have not seen a map of it.
I was wondering what you think of this development?
Ten years ago, I would not have thought anything would ever happen in the Ukraine …
Perhaps I should have posted this in the Moveable Feast, but it seemed relevant. This is another boiling teapot, on or near the borders of Russia.
Here is an English language video about the scuffle —
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOPInFrlpbQ
This OP gives me a lot to think about. Obviously Mr. Saker is right about how disappointing it is that Erdogan’s stunt with the Hagia Sofia didn’t create a bigger backlash in Russia.
Until I read this article, I knew nothing about the Ethiopian dam controversy. So his prediction of what that means is as likely as any other.
Now I do think we all need to be cautious about predictions of imminent catastrophe and collapse: does anyone else remember back in January when General Soleimani was killed and our host forecast a 90 percent change of war between the US and Iran… and then downgraded it to 80 percent… and then 50 percent?
One of the themes in my own blog is that civilizational collapse – which seems quick when you read about it in a history book and the whole thing is explained or at least summarized in a few pages – actually takes generations to take place in real life. I have drawn parallels between the American society’s collapse and those of Mexico and Ancient Rome; which you can read
here (Mexico) – https://www.twilightpatriot.com/2020/06/uncomfortable-lessons-from-george-floyd.html
and here (Rome) – https://www.twilightpatriot.com/2020/07/honorius-and-slowness-of-decline.html
The gist of it is that the US society won’t finish collapsing for a long time – possibly longer than the lifetimes of most of the people on this blog. And there is a big difference between the authorities actually losing control of the domestic situation, on the one hand, or on the other hand, the authorities deciding to let rioters topple statues and trash poor neighborhoods because they hold a sympathetic political ideology. The second one is what we’re seeing happen in the US. If you live in a wealthy neighborhood, your home is still safe, and will be for many more years.
ZOG destroys everyting in it’s path. The United States today is transforming into a complete nightmare. No escape from this reality will be possible until ZOG is totally and utterly destroyed, smashed, reduced to nothing! This isn’t about left or right anymore, it’s about Good versus Evil. It’s about us versus them. Either Humanity prevails over the global-zionist cartel, or we will be forever enslaved by these monsters that have completley taken over our institutions, our governments and even our culture. These psicopaths won’t stop until they are forced to. They will keep on grinding us, humiliating us, and bleeding our souls to death. Resistance is the only solution. Do not support the lying ZioMedia. Don’t give any money to anything linked to the globalist agenda. Do not finance your own destruction and above all, support the Axis of Resistance. Russia, China, Iran and Syria are not your enemies. These are the countries that everyday fight the global-zionist cartel and resist the ZioTyranny that wants to enslave us all. This is why the ZioMedia spews lies after lies every single day about these countries. They hate them, because they refuse to submit! Russia will not submit! China will not submit! Iran will not submit! Syria will not submit! The Axis of Resistance will not submit! Godspeed to you all and keep up the fight!
https://toranja-mecanica.blogspot.com/
Many good points. But if Biden is elected, the compelling event will be that the democrats will start a major war in roughly the 2022-2023 period. Saker lists the many areas where it can happen. The last 4-6 years of anti-Russian propaganda has pushed Americans to support any war with Russia should one break out. Biden would be stupid enough to attack targets on Russia soil.
Thanks very.much.for this survey.
Glad to see this balanced perspective.
Helps me.have a wide view of these troublesome times.
I had warned that Russians may elect someone less tolerant of American politicians demonization of everything and everyone Russian, based on absolute lies in the future if our incompetent politicians and media do not get their acts together and realize the profound consequences that they may be placing our nation as well as themselves in !
The people in power in this country cannot think five minutes ahead with any successful outcomes, much less 5 days, weeks, months, or years ahead.
That is really not an exageration at all either. Those are the consequences of pathological lying, and policies based on outright lies.
Every action is then dedicated to mitigating a crisis from their last disaster based on lies. It is all damage control. They have backed themselves into a corner! There is no forward! It is all just an out of control tail spin!
The insanity persists !
Locking down the global econmy, as well as locking people in their homes, forcing mask wearing, and social distancing was strictly an insane psy-op, precisely as 9/11 was, which bothed served as a reason for looting the Treasury, first to fight seven countries, as well as basically non existent domestic sleeper cell terrorist networks in America in Mosques, and now with Everyone Is The Enemy.
People had known for many years how precarious the financial sectors, stock markets, and economies overall were way before the coronavirus. The oil market started crashing in February, and the Chinese and IMF had warned that Chinese GDP was expected to contract by about 7% before 2020. The oil market reaching less than negative $47 a barrel on March 5th after the OPEC negotions had deteriorated in Februrary met by Saudis flooding the oil market.
That is what everyone was really reacting to, but they will not admit it, because it was far more convenient for everyone to use the coronavirus as a fall guy, than to admit systemic economic frailty and the economic collapses that keep occurring as a result of compounded interest, fraudulent business models, de-regulation, and economies that simply do not work because of constraints placed on governments by foreign trading partners, bankers, and corporations. These large multinational trade deals are fair in the sense that everyone is equally disgusted with them. Nobody is happy with them. Lose lose for everyone. I happened to have read a very large amount of the TPP, hundreds of pages of it, and that was not even the entire thing, but the demands were so all encompassing that they would have allowed corporations to sue sovereign nations for loss of future profits if governments were to place the interests of their citizens and the environment above the whims of foreign or international corporations, meaning that a country would be prohibited from raising the minimum wage, or in countries where pollution is extreme, like China, if the Chinese government were to limit pollutants they could also be sued, and those would not be covered in the Paris Agreement, because as shocking as this may be to some, there are other pollutants besides CO2, and the Paris Agreement only covers CO2.
The wars never cost anywhere near what they claim that they did. The Pentagon was diverting money directly over to Wall Street in a money laundering operation to support the Wall Street looters, and the tech sector, because most of them do not have viable business models. Many in the retail sector have suffered also from the internet, though some brick and moratar stores have seen sales increases through internet sales.
After the 2008 crash, the Rockefeller’s Studies Institute created the Good Jobs First Program diverting money to Wall Street, but as everyone knows, there has been over $21 Trillion in Pentagon accounting errors. How can you lose $21 trillion and keep your job? Work for the government or Federal Reserve!
So yeah, I do not support the vandals, looters, and arsonists in BLM, but I sure as hell don’t support the looters, war-mongers, and forced house arresters in the government or Wall Street either! Talk about thugs and illiteracy! You’re damned right!
Deeply ashamed as a Muslim to see such conduct happen in our name. Of course I never expected any decency from Erdogan who is still actively destroying his neighboring country of Syria, but I did expect better from the ummah. I wish more would speak out.
My take on “the nature of the threat (“oh, nonsense, it is just like the seasonal flu!“) ” regarding this virus is it is not so much the virus that is the threat but what they are ‘making out of’ the “event” that is a threat (to the economy so therefore to many, especially to the poor). They are using the virus as an excuse for doing many dangerous things they wanted to do regardless but needed an excuse (distraction) to do.
Who benefits when the world fights and weakens itself? Think of a shitty little settler country along the Mediterranean.
“a dark and dangerous forest”
Throughout history some social relations have found forests dangerous requiring control, whilst to others a forest is nasha mir where a modicum of burning trees are fertilisers.
@It is then Hagia Sophia will be handed to its real heirs – the Russian Orthodox Church; however, it will forever cease to reclaim its Orthodox ancestry.
Strange ‘liberation’! The ‘Son of Mary’ coming to smash the crosses and subdue the Orthodox and make them Muslims, as the Muslim ‘prophesies’ announce! That might happen when the ‘son of Mary’, the servant of “the Muslim leader on the world stage”, the Mahdi they expect, will come.
But one should make the Muslims aware of what the Christian prophesies say about the return of the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ., and beware what they wish for:
” When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)… then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory… And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and abolish by the majesty of His arrival”.
The Mahdi and Son of Mary are two different individuals; the former is an Arab and the latter the exact same Son of the virgin mother born some 2,000 years ago. This Messiah who was born without a father will revive the faith the father of humanity preached, the same faith Noah preached, the same faith Moses preached and the same faith the Arabian Prophet preached – they all preached there is no god but ONE GOD.
Everyone claims to have their version of truth; however we can agree that there is only one absolute truth. It truly pays to read (with an open mind) Surah Mariam – a full chapter on Jesus Christ in the Holy Quran.
Blessed thistle aka Cnicus Benedictus.
St Mary’s thistle aka Silybum Marianum.
Sweet Annie aka Artemisia Annua
Licorice root aka Glycyrrhiza Glabra
Perhaps some readers of this website want to survive?
Maybe this is just a coincidence that the super duper missile has the same capabilities as the Russian Avangard, with Mach 17 and an unpreductable trajectory that Trump tried to purchase from Erdogan. Or, maybe someone in the military or CIA purchased Avangards on the black market, or maybe it is just another one of their lies. Who knows, but one thing that I do know with certainty is that 17 times faster than the speed of sound is not seventeen times faster than any other missile, even if it is in the technically super duper class of missile technology.
https://sputniknews.com/military/202007161079908071-us-reportedly-tested-hypersonic-missile-that-flew-17x-faster-than-speed-of-sound/
We have to wonder what the motive of telling such an openly blatant and easily disprovable lie like claiming that a Mach 17 missile is 17 times faster than any other missile in existence. Did Pompeo or the IDF or Mossad put Trump up to it to try to capture intellegence leads by the KGB by getting people to point out the strikingly similar technological capabilities to the technically super duper missile and Avangard, so that the KGB would start investigating and try to capture signals intelligence on engineers and storage facitities? That is pretty much what appears to be the motive, considering that Trump has made it known that he tried to purchase missiles from Erdogan. This is just a guess in just trying understand what the motive would be for such a ridiculous lie. Maybe Netenyahu, it kind of seems like something that he would tell Trump to do, really into visual aids of the BIBi bomb and the theft operation with massive visual aids of the IDF raid on Iran claiming that they were developing nuclear weapons, again, when they were not and are not. It is all hat and no cattle with things like that with Netenyahu and this basically bears that hallmark.
This erasing and replacing of printed history continues. This has happened with other printed material and periodicals in the past as well, now with papers on the 9/11 attacks being replaced. The New York Times did not publish until at least the 15th, and maybe even longer. I had the first issue published after 9/11, which was replaced with one dated 9/12/01 and a Milwaukee Journal published right after the attacks, that was replaced with one from 9/09/01. The spooks have even stolen printed books, and replaced them with revised versions of printed books, they were not valuable books that were stolen and replaced from me either, they were in most cases books that were recently published. Of course at libraries, they do it frequently with periodicals in Milwaukee, or at least they used to, but I haven’t been to a Milwaukee library for over a decade.
It kind of reminds me of this older movie, “Proof” where this man compulsively and obsessively video-recorded everything, so that he had proof. When they break into peoples homes, and have stolen written material and other material to prevent the family from reading it, and internet searches no longer provide answers for what is being searched for, we have a big league psychopath problem on our hands in this country!
I wonder if the idea to do this came from The Committee of 300 Assholes.
“Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.” 1984, George Orwell
“motive”
Framing conditions perception.
Why not substitute hope for motive to “widen” perception.
In general there is agreement on the description in the article. Most importantly, I think that Rúsia has to regain control over the periphery of the former Soviet Union (Ukraine, Belarus, Kazkistan, Georgia, Azerbadjan, Armênia, Moldávia), both for the possible political evolution of these countries and for the question economic, since the rebuilding of a regional market is essential for the economic survival of Russia. The Russian government needs to take tough measures in relation to Ukraine because membership in NATO is not admissible, nor is an Odessa acceptable in NATO (it is intolerable and dangerous). In addition, a strategic alliance with China is urgent to counter the decaying empire.
In short, either Rúsia acts firmly and decisively or then she will suffer disastrous internal consequences
Putin wants to save russia ,the problem is he understand the first rule in war is to know your enemies.
he don’t understand his enemies , how they build their empire , why 5th column exist , what fuels the empire
existence . Dedolarization strategy of putin and brics will do absolutely no harm at all to the empire ,will not reduce the anglo empire world influence without a major radical change and modernization of Russian economy and russian culture. the biggest mistake of putin ,is not how he did in syria or ukraine whether it was good or bad..
the biggest mistake of putin ,is how he was caught with pants down in those 2 conflicts.. and how Russia did not avoided those conflicts.. The west targets Russia most vulnerable parts.. and putin have done nothing to completely remove Russia weakness ,during his 20 years of powers. and have done next to nothing putin to end russia dependence on energy business , that the west can very easily collapse the profits of that business.
what happened with putin’s russia world capital of olympics and his monumental waste of billions in total distractions ? the west totally neutralized putins attemps to diversify the economy through tourism and olympics with the so called “wuhan virus” but that china told the world it came from US. it will be not a surprise if this is a military western operation as china suggested it.. the sad truth in all this is that putin lack of understanding of their enemies ,is the reason he was caught offguard in ukraine and syria.. had putin ,developed the economy differently ,in a more sanction proof way , then all this pipeline wars will not be happening at all in middle east..
is unbelievable how much money Russia wasted in gold medals distractions ,when they could have used that money to truly modernize the nation economy , as china is doing.. china is the only nation in the world that is offering true competition to the empire with modern business . Russia under putin ,have been running russia economy in a similar way soviet union did it.. a country heavily dependent on commodities , which is a heavily saturated market and very easy to manipulate. if putin was smart ,he will have understood when came to power ,that if russia want to exist ,it needs to become true independent nation , not just in politics ,but in technology too and moderniza russian culture too.. a powerful military is important for sure.. but there are other things equally important and is modernization of russia , otherwise its influence will not be enough to attract europe away of NATO and away of destructive policies they have been following. Russia number 1 problem is that it lacks of leadership in world development and so nations continues to follow the already created system of the west. their banking ,their internet ,their high tech ,their media entertainment ,their modern culture and later putin is surprised why russia is not taken seriously. Is the lack of leadership ,why russia doesn’t convince the west to stop its destructive system.
The anti-Russian hysteria is stemming from the DNC which finds it easier to blame Russia for their political failures, than to admit that they simply do not tolerate voters choosing candidates that do not support their policies of the status quo.
I cannot help but wonder if the reason that they chose to blame Putin, rather than Maduro, or Xi, which they could have done just as easily and as ridiculously because dating back to the Kennedy administration, and into the Nixon administration, they viewed the Israeli presence in the Middle East as a way to counter Russian influence in the region. Of course, Putin stepped in in Syria and thwarted Israeli plans, which must have been kind of a deja vu for the Israelis and Zionists. It is probably also the only reason that Nixon supported and re-established ties and trade with China, in order to counter Russian influence, and is probably why the DNC is so pro-Chinese to the point of Sinophelia and treason. Everything is viewed through a prism pretty much with DNC Zionists that fails to capture the support of the majority of American voters. This is not a statement in support of the RNC either, but the tone deafness of the DNC which claims to be the party of the 99% seems to consistently be the party of the 1% every bit as much as the RNC, which has never really even tried to be the party of the 99%, and usually just blames people for the situations that they happen to be in, and the DNC says, oh, if it wasn’t for those evil Republicans, you would never be in the situation that you are in, but when they get elected, they strictly support government employees and the 1%, and just continue to blame Republican opposition for the unfortunate circumstances that people may be in, but there was not a public healthcare option when the DNC was in control of all three legislative bodies of the House, Senate, and Presidency. It was Democrats that opposed a public healthcare option, and chose to appease the private insurance industry. Now the entire health care industry has been exposed for the racket that it is, and if the Democrats do get elected and intend to expand government, it must be for the sake of serving and protecting citizens aka consumers, rather than making life nearly impossible for the citizen with outrageous compliance, regulations, fees, licenses, permits, fines, and bureaucratic red tape.
Saker the majority of members of BLM, and for that matter Antifa, are ethnically Caucasian. A majority are probably working under US government contracts from the CIA, DIA, Homeland Security or any other government agency that has funneled money to Mr. Soros, a Mossad frot company or one of the thousands of other contractors that feed off the US taxpayers wages.
Let’s look back:
Blue sky laws were totally abolished for the tech sector under Bill Clinton. None of the new tech companies had viable business models. Other deregulation including the end of the Glass Steagall Act and allowing foreign owned banks to become Federal Reserve member banks recieving bail outs, and cheap money also destroyed the economy, in addition to the slow boat to China, which transferred not only our manufacturing jobs, but our money as well directly to China.
Abbey Joseph Cohen and many others instructed everyone to buy and hold, despite the fact that the companies that she instructed people to buy and hold did not have real earnings.
I guess that they thought that it did not matter because they believed that they could steal as much as possible and get away with it because of Y2K, erroneously believing that all electronic communications would magically disappear, and destroy the evidence of the crime spree!
Well, that did not quite pan out, and Bush was elected and Rumsfeid announced that over $4 trillion was missing from the Pentagon on 9/10/01.
The faked attacks followed the next day, using the faked attacks as an excuse to go to war in the Middle East, which was a psy-op that turned the Pentagon into a money laundering front diverting money to Wall Street.
David Rockefeller knew that it was just a temporary patch, because immediately after invading Iraq in 2003, he “theorized” that their would be a virus that would be an epidemic, also supported by Bill Gates and the Council on Foreign Relations funded by the Rockefeller Studies Institute, in Gates’ sponsored Event 201.
Then Obama issued a space weather warning that space weather could cause EMPs that would destroy all electronic information, but the cloud is stored in satellites and fiber optic cable in unaffected by EMPs.
An audit of the Pentagon then revealed that there have been over
$21 trillion in accounting errors since 1998.
Then the DoD stated asserting that China or North Korea would launch an EMP that would annihilate the internet!
They have been exposed for scientific, medical, and financial fraud including control fraud, in which over another $6.5 trillion has already transferred from the Treasury to Wall Street primarily, in addition to state and local governments, harming small businesses and individuals forcing many deeper into debt over scientific and medical fraud, in which the economy and indivduals never should have been forced into remaining in their homes to begin with.
This is nothing short of an armed robbery in action being perpetrated by the Federal Reserve, its member banks, Wall Street, large corporations, the media, universities that receive giant research grants from Big Pharma, the medical mafia, ( who also had financial losses from being deprived of their opioid and Obamacare fraud schemes, in addition to being sued by state and local governments over the opioid epidemic which was also based on scientific and medical fraud claiming that Oxycontin was less addictive than regular opioids, and that opioids were suitable treatment for chronic pain and would not
result in addiction. ) The Federal, State, and Local governments are also guilty.
They have also gone to extroirdinary lengths to incite war on false charges against Russia and China, and have also gone to extroirdinary lengths to incite civil war in America, whether between races, religions, political parties, regions, and capitalists verses socialists.
It is time to end the fraud! This is not working! We are dealing with organized crime thugs that typically have an 80 or lower IQ.
We know who the thieves that have raided the cookie jar are, because they have cookie crumbs all over themselves and have gained a ton of weight! It is not exactly a mystery to anyone at all!
The Jewish holocaust memorial at Freedom Tower really ought to be removed and replaced with a Muslim Holocaust memorial. The faked 9/11 attacks did not have anything to do with the Jewish holocaust perpetrated by Nazis on Jews, but did have a lot to do with the holocaust perptrated by the United States and Zionists on Muslims, resulting in the deaths of 23 million Muslims that did not have a single thing to do with the deaths of roughly 3,000 that died on 9/11. How “lucky” that the Emergency Response Team that met in World Trade Building 7 were that it imploded after they had their emergency response meeting in it, rather than when they were in it, since they met in it since the original meeting place was in one of the World Trade twin towers! How “lucky” that the narrative of four planes, the attacks on the Twin Towers and building 7, and the Pentagon, that just didn’t see that one coming only resulted in the deaths of less than 3,000 people, that the majority of had reasons not to go to work that day, in which we are talking about probably about at least 400,000 people between the World Trade towers and Pentagon!
Why did they turn the Freedom tower into a Jewish holocaust memorial?! That is really obscene behavior! Kind of like being asked to deliver a eulogy about a friend, and refusing to mention the deceased friend, and telling the funeral attendees all about your own suffering and how hard your life has been instead! Truly offensive and disgusting! Shameless! Really, take the Jewish holocaust memorial at Freedom tower down! It is a sick, evil, and disgustingly opportunistic and offensive propaganda psy-op that makes you look terrible! 9/11 had nothing to do with the Nazi holocaust on Jews and the whole world knows it! It is out of place, and totally inappropriate! Disgraceful! Tear it down! Move it to your DC holocaust museum if you want to, but it is sickenning and gut wrenching that you placed it there at Freedom Tower! You are really not helping your cause, in fact you are hindering it tremendously, by basically legitimizing the many claims made against you by having it in Freedom Tower! It is a grotesque display of poor taste and bad form!
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