Debt Ridden,
The old control narrative of the Divine Right of Kings lasted a long time. It was simple and direct, but the rise of other economic actors, "nobles" and their banding together to contest the king, produced the Magna Carta. The "Liberal Democracy" model has fared well since WW-2, though it has been corrupted whenever possible. The promises of future wealth and retirement for contributing into the system today has been persuasive. Supporting necessary wars , but not with your son'd lives, became acceptable, but the corrupted system cannot actually support the baby boomers retiring. there are not really any "savings". It was always a Ponzi scheme, though that was a good thing 40 years ago, good for almost everybody.
My assertion is that "World Wars" are the mechanism by which the social-contracts of the world can be reset. The owners want more than is ever possible, and everybody else wants a decent living and a basically fair system.
The COVID-Pandemic control-narrative made a lot of progress, but stalled out, and the facts are not treating it well at all.
The new global control narrative of a war in Europe, which can require any sacrifice named, and places the blame on Russia, not the WEF, NATO, Global Finance or other owner-factions or instruments, gives the owners and their creative-workers free rein to paint history, but if they "win" they still lose, because they need a vigorous global economy. The gradual decay of the corrupted economy is inevitable, even without the corruption. It's a finite world, with finite resources and problems add up.
What's the alternative narrative?
Stewardship of life on Earth will serve.
How do we get there from here?
Don't look to experts or authorities.
Macron and Putin talked on the phone, then Macron talked to Zelensky by phone:
On Thursday French President Emmanuel Macron held his third phone call with Russia's Vladimir Putin, coming also on the start of the second week of war. A statement from Macron's office said the call was 90-minutes long, but by all accounts didn't go well in terms of any prospects for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Ukraine.
A Macron aide later told AFP that the French leader "then called President (Volodymyr) Zelensky" in Kiev. After the lengthy talk with Putin, France is said to be "preparing for the worst."
"There was nothing that Putin said that reassured us," a source in Macron's office was cited as saying. Macron reportedly told Putin: "you are lying to yourself" while explaining that the continued invasion will only "cost Russia dearly" and lead to international isolation, as well as economy "weakened under sanctions for a very long time".
Macron said that Putin showed "determination to carry on operations" - according to a French official commenting on the call. Macron further retorted when Putin described war against a "neo-Nazi regime" that the Russian leader was "deluding" himself.
Further Putin reportedly denied that civilians were being targeted or attacked during the ongoing operations, or that Kiev is being bombed. . https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/macron-says-prepare-worst-ukraine-after-disheartening-putin-call
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are underway. Of Zelensky's statements, I am most interested in the last one, and I agree with it. I don't think it will be allowed by US/NATO.
The second round of Ukraine-Russia talks are underway, with a "ceasefire" possibility on the table - however this is unlikely given what both sides communicated to Macron prior to the meeting as to their demands. On the one hand Zelensky has said he will not negotiate with "a gun to his head" - and on the other Putin has reaffirmed his military objectives of the "neutralization" and "demilitarization" of Ukraine. Macron expressed dismay after the 90-minute phone call, saying Russia's objectives appear to be a complete takeover of the country. "The Russian delegation was led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who said that the Russian delegation was ready to speak with the Ukrainian side for as long as it may take to reach agreements," according to state-run TASS. While talks were underway, President Zelensky issued a statement saying that he's willing to sit down to direct talks with Putin. He called this "the only way to stop the war," according to AFP. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russian-forces-lay-siege-ukrainian-seaports-2nd-round-ceasefire-talks-start
Tom Luongo sees this as a clash of power factions, as do I, and at the moment that the game is about to fold, as do I. It's for "all the marbles" of financial narrative.
In a post for my patrons on February 25th, responding to an excellent article by Alistair MacLeod I wrote the following:
MacLeod: Both sides probably do not know how fragile the Eurozone banking system is, with both the ECB and its national central bank shareholders already having liabilities greater than their assets. In other words, rising interest rates have broken the euro system and an economic and financial catastrophe on its eastern flank will probably trigger its collapse.
I’ve been banging my shoe on this table for 3 years now. If the US/NATO respond with some kind of guerilla war here to hang Ukraine like an albatross around Putin’s neck, as we should expect, then Europe is in big trouble financially.
Because the financial war will keep escalating as Putin responds militarily. Remember, he’s openly threatened the ‘decision makers’ here. And no amount of mealy-mouthed CIA/MI6 disinformation will deter him from action anymore.
This is always what I meant by “spooks start civil wars, militaries end them.” There is no more War for Ukraine.
I still believe that. This isn’t a war for Ukraine, it’s a war for the future of the entire world. Ukraine represents the hill both Davos and Russia have chosen to live or die on. https://tomluongo.me/2022/03/02/opening-salvos-tossed-putin-next-moves-ukraine/
After Abstaining In UN Vote, China Blames US & NATO For Ukraine War
What was dubbed a 'special emergency session' was a very rare one - considering it was only the 11th in the UN's history. Such sessions are typically called when on pressing issues of war and peace at times the Security Council can't reach unanimous consensus - and obviously Russia has veto power when it comes to UNSC resolutions.
The resolution condemning Russia's attack on Ukraine was overwhelming:
141 in favor
five opposed
35 abstentions
The "no" votes included the following countries:
Russia
North Korea
Eritrea
Syria
Belarus https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/after-deafening-silence-un-vote-china-blames-us-nato-ukraine-war
The Saker, Andrei, summarizes the first week of War in Ukraine:
So, what’s my “final intermediate conclusion” after week 1?
The West gave Russia a bloody nose by forcing her intervention, thereby crushing any chance for the EU to get decolonized in the next decade or more.
The West gave Russia an even bloodier nose by very effectively controlling the narrative.
But what’s next?
Russia will/has disarm(ed) and will soon denazify the Ukraine, that is a given.
But what after that? Please remember that this is NOT about the Ukraine, this is about the entire future security architecture of Europe.
I will just say this: while, no, Russia won’t invade the EU or even Poland, the Russian war to push back NATO has only begun, it will last MANY MONTHS so be prepared for this. MONTHS.
Please ready yourself for a long and difficult struggle.
https://thesaker.is/one-week-into-the-russian-special-operation-in-the-ukraine-update/
The CIA has long prepared for a difficult and protracted war in Ukraine to drain Russia, prepared and trained Ukrainians to fight it, and will keep it well supplied.
Whitney Webb, Ukraine and the New Al Qaeda
With the CIA now backing an insurgency that prominent former CIA officials are claiming will “spread across multiple borders,” the fact that the forces being trained and armed by the agency as part of this “coming insurgency” include Azov battalion is significant. It seems that the CIA is determined to create yet another self-fulfilling prophecy by breeding the very network of “global white supremacy” that intelligence officials have claimed is the “next” big threat after the Covid-19 crisis wanes. https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/ukraine-new-al-qaeda/
Moon of Alabama (Germany) looks at broad impressions and repercussions:
The much bigger 'rest of the world' has not condemned Russia but understands how the conflict came about. They blame, like political scientist John Mearsheimer, the U.S. for causing the crisis. This includes, as far as I can tell, all of Africa (54 states), South America, Central America, the Middle East, and all of Asia ex Japan and Singapore.
This rest of the world that did not condemn Russia includes several notable U.S. allies and 'partners' like Turkey (Nato's second biggest army!), India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel.
The case shows how much the standing of the once unilateral superpower has been diminished.
Since 2014 the war in east Ukraine against the people of the Donbas regions has cost more than 14,000 lives. Some 10,000 of those were civilians on the Donbas side. The dying there continues as the Ukrainian army and its nazi battalions continue to shell the cities of Donetzk and Luhansk:
At least 136 civilians have been killed, including 13 children, and 400 have been injured since Russia invaded Ukraine last week, a United Nations agency said on Tuesday.
"The real toll is likely to be much higher," Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the U.N. human rights office (OHCHR), told a briefing, adding that 253 of the casualties were in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine.
Over the last days I also read several commentators claiming that that the Russian 'regime change' incursion into Ukraine would not have the support of the Russian people and would set them up against their president. Here is news for them: Putin's approval rating has raised from 60% to 71%
The sanctions put up against Russia will hurt its people. But due to global price increases they will be probably felt stronger in Europe and the United States and they may even cause mass starvation and revolutions in poorer countries of the 'third world'.
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/03/disarming-ukraine-day-7.html#more
EU Plans to Send Fighter Jets to Ukraine Fall Apart
Poland, Slovakia, and Bulgaria have all denied they are giving Russian-made warplanes to Ukraine
The plan announced Monday by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrel was meant to give Ukraine old Russian-made MiG-29 and Su-24 fighter jets, which Ukraine’s pilots are already trained to fly. Poland, Bulgaria, and Slovakia were reportedly lined up to transfer the planes, but officials from each country denied the plan. https://news.antiwar.com/2022/03/01/eu-plans-to-send-fighter-jets-to-ukraine-fall-apart/
Pepe Escobar: Follow the money: how Russia will bypass western economic warfare
The US and EU are over-reaching on Russian sanctions. The end result could be the de-dollarization of the global economy and massive commodity shortages worldwide.
To get the hang of how these NATO sanctions will “ruin Russia,” I asked for the succinct analysis of one of the most competent economic minds on the planet, Michael Hudson, author, among others, of a revised edition of the must-read Super-Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire.
Hudson remarked how he is “simply numbed over the near-atomic escalation of the US.” On the confiscation of Russian foreign reserves and cut-off from SWIFT, the main point is “it will take some time for Russia to put in a new system, with China. The result will end dollarization for good, as countries threatened with ‘democracy’ or displaying diplomatic independence will be afraid to use US banks.”
This, Hudson says, leads us to “the great question: whether Europe and the Dollar Bloc can buy Russian raw materials – cobalt, palladium, etc, and whether China will join Russia in a minerals boycott.”
Hudson is adamant that “Russia’s Central Bank, of course, has foreign bank assets in order to intervene in exchange markets to defend its currency from fluctuations. The ruble has plunged. There will be new exchange rates. Yet it’s up to Russia to decide whether to sell its wheat to West Asia, that needs it; or to stop selling gas to Europe via Ukraine, now that the US can grab it.”
About the possible introduction of a new Russia-China payment system bypassing SWIFT, and combining the Russian SPFS (System for Transfer of Financial Messages) with the Chinese CIPS (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System), Hudson has no doubts “the Russian-China system will be implemented. The Global South will seek to join and at the same time keep SWIFT – moving their reserves into the new system.” ...
As the managing director of Bocom International Hong Hao told the Global Times, with energy trade between Europe and Russia de-dollarized, “that will be the beginning of the disintegration of dollar hegemony.” ...
Additionally, Moscow already linked its SPFS payment system not only to China but also to India and member nations of the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU). SPFS already links to approximately 400 banks.
With more Russian companies using SPFS and CIPS, even before they merge, and other maneuvers to bypass SWIFT, such as barter trade – largely used by sanctioned Iran – and agent banks, Russia could make up for at least 50 percent in trade losses...
...Arguably, the lethal weapon in Russia’s arsenal of responses has been identified by the head of the Center for Economic Research of the Institute of Globalization and Social Movements (IGSO), Vasily Koltashov: the key is to confiscate technology – as in Russia ceasing to recognize US rights to patents.
https://thesaker.is/follow-the-money-how-russia-will-bypass-western-economic-warfare/
China Buys 700K Barrels of Iranian Oil Every Day, Violating US Sanctions https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/china-buys-700k-barrels-iranian-oil-every-day-violating-us-sanctions
The US and 30 other member states of the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Tuesday agreed to jointly release 60 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves to keep prices from skyrocketing amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The move was announced by the US Department of Energy and is only the fourth such major step in the IEA’s history.
About half of the planned release will come from the US oil reserves, while the shares of other IEA member countries in the release will be determined in the coming days, https://www.rt.com/business/551045-us-iea-to-tap-oil-reserves/
Czechs Could Face 3 Years in Prison For Supporting Russia on Social Media
The country’s Attorney General Igor Stríž announced in a press release that it was “necessary to inform citizens that the current situation associated with the Russian Federation’s attack on Ukraine may have implications for their freedom of expression.”
https://summit.news/2022/03/01/czechs-could-face-3-years-in-prison-for-supporting-russia-on-social-media/
After 3 weeks of a genial camp-out for freedom of choice, the "new-group" threw people's tents and belongings into fires they lit. Will Ardern "be defined" by this? We will not be defined by this,” prime minister Jacinda Ardern said, as New Zealand’s parliament grounds descended into chaos, fire and violence in a shocking end to the anti-mandate protests that have occupied the capital city’s centre...
Many protesters blamed the violence on police plants, outside agitators or “antifa” infiltrators. Christopher Best, a protester standing back from where the scuffles were breaking out, appeared shell-shocked. “What you’re seeing here is not the protesters that actually want to protest for the mandates, these are the extremists,” he said. Best had been at the encampment for 23 days and said the tone of the protest had shifted dramatically in the last 48 hours, but he struggled to articulate who the newcomers were., “We’ve seen another a group of people who just want to create trouble. These people are coming in and wrecking it.”https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/03/this-is-a-moment-new-zealand-reckons-with-aftermath-as-smoke-clears-on-violent-protests
Autopsies of two teenage boys who died days after receiving Pfizer’s COVID vaccine prove the vaccine caused their deaths. Pathological findings suggest there may be a way to distinguish SARS-COV-2 infection-induced myo/pericarditis from vaccine-induced cardiac injury. Vaccine-induced heart injury can be sub-clinical, but how often?https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/autopsies-vaccinating-teens-covid-heartbreaking/?
Identifying Pathology
The opening writing was spot on John.