The Last Swing of a Dying Empire

 

By: Stewart Brennan

Although many already seem to know that a financial collapse is imminent, some may not know or see the whole picture due to the dystopian hysteria and blinding lies emanating from the wall of western mediums, governments and think tanks; a sickening noise with its roots in the lunatic asylums of the United States government.

To give a brief overview as to what the driving force of economic destruction is in the world as opposed to the insanity being echoed by our pathetic governments and mainstream media, (Tucker Carlson of FOX news seemingly being the exception), I will sum it up with a few brief points.

1. US Economic Growth & Consolidation
2. US Energy Demand
3. US Dollar Expansion
4. US Military Growth
5. US Corporate & Military Government
6. US Empire (800+ Military Bases)
7. US Wars, Coups and Sanctions
8. US Global Economic Dictatorship
9. US Economic Wars Against Powerful Nations
10. US Global Power Decline
11. US Unpayable Debt
12. US Empire Collapse and / or Global War

Ukraine

Right now, as most informed people know, Ukraine is the battlefield being used in a proxy war between US led NATO and Russia. A war in which Russia is going to win.

I know, I know, your government and news reports say that Russia is losing and that a united NATO helping Ukraine will certainly beat Russia. However, if one is bold and adventurous enough to look for the censored alternative sources that are not affiliated with the western propaganda mediums, then an entirely different picture unfolds which shows a completely different story. (For alternatives to the noise, See Global Research [01] Consortium News [02] Mint Press News [03] New Eastern Outlook [04] and Off Guardian [05])

Further investigation through the many interviews of the Ukrainian people affected by the US proxy war conducted by investigative reporters ON THE GROUND in the Donbas region of Ukraine / Russia also tells a different story than western mainstream news. (See Patrick Lancaster [06] Alina Lipp [07] and Eva Bartlett [08]) And so the alternative circles that discuss these topics from a position of greater knowledge, offer a more rounded view on which to form your opinions. (See The Duran [09], The Saker [10] Southfront [11] and 21st Century Wire [12])

Without a clear uncensored picture, no one can truly make a sound decision unless presented with all the facts, right? Unless of course you’ve done a 360-degree research and dared to read and listen to what the west is censoring. Common sense and critical thinking can then connect the dots to a realistic picture which is much more palatable to what mainstream medias are reporting.

The United States and NATO, an organization filled with European vassal states controlled and occupied by the American economic system, who are driving a massive sanctions war on Russia, are currently in meltdown mode in the knowledge that they are losing the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. led energy sanctions war that NATO countries are driving on Russia has backfired on them bigtime, and so the economic destruction of Europe is now underway as the US has forced all EU and NATO nations to impose sanctions on Russia or face economic consequences.

As the world falls into economic collapse due to the massive disruption in economic supply lines that the energy sanctions cause, Europe leads the way as there is no replacement for Russian Gas and oil, the energy which powers economics.

The destruction of the Nord Stream one and two gas pipelines from Russia to Germany by the west was a terrorist attack and the US government's exclamation point to Germany and to anyone else in Europe that dares to defy the American economic policy.

Germany was once the economic powerhouse of Europe, but not anymore as their economy is now heading for total collapse without a cheap supply of gas and oil.

Occupied Germany

Since the end of World War II, the United States has occupied Germany and never left. In doing so, the U.S. Government has had the final say on every geo-political and geo-economic trend in the country. I suppose it would be considered foolish or unwise for an occupied country to think about any type of independence, especially when tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers occupy their nation. But then, Germany seemed to have its own independent economic decision making, which made it the power-horse of the European Union…that is until the US government disapproved of Germany’s growing energy and economic ties with Russia.

What little independence that German business leaders made over the past few decades has been destroyed by U.S. policy. Today, destruction of the German economy is almost complete due to the sanctions on Russia that Joe Biden said that the Americans “Insisted” [13] their European vassals implement on Russia. No doubt there were a few threats to occupied Germany and then came the destruction of the Nord Stream one and two pipelines which Biden promised would be destroyed [14] during a press conference with the German chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington on Feb 07th, 2022.

Where has U.S. occupation brought Germany today? There is a massive contraction in their economic viability which means they will most likely be consumed into the American maw of economic consolidation and dictatorship with no way out but a popular revolution from the German people.

The same situation is playing out right across Europe as the US drags the entire block of nations down with them into the economic abyss and possible war with Russia.

The Energy Shift

Russia is the largest energy producer in the world so forcing Europe and the world to not buy Russian energy creates upheaval throughout the global economy. Nations are faced with an economic ultimatum; [A] economic disaster if they follow the American government dictates due to loss of energy streams to feed their economies or [B] economic sanctions by the United States government if they do not obey.

Those who obey are given a front row seat on the American road to collapse as the high cost of energy and soaring inflation go hand in hand with soaring U.S. dictatorship and debt.

Although in the past, refusing an American government dictate would prove perilous due to U.S. military dominance, it is not the case today, as many nations are seeing an alternative option for economic viability and protection as Russia and China stand up against U.S. global economic dictatorship. Russia and China are not only standing up against the Americans, they are much stronger together. The Russians are much more advanced and years ahead of the Americans in the military sphere, while China has become the anvil of industry with advanced technology, telecommunications, and business sense.

Russia’s SARMAT ICBM’s, their hypersonic missiles, and S-500 missile defense systems are far superior than the older outdated American weapons, while the Chinese have emerged as an advanced technological nation that has checkmated the US economic model of parasitism.

Seeing this new option, nations around the world have made their decisions to survive economically and defy US sanction dictates on Russian energy, with the exception of Europe, the U.K. and the commonwealth of nations it seems, who’ve decided that riding on the American road to collapse would be great fun.

In essence, the world is no longer a unipolar American World Order but a multipolar world where two economic spheres are now present. {A} The US and all its NATO vassal’s trading in U.S. dollars, and {B} the rapidly growing B.R.I.C.S. sphere (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) that has a number of new applicants already trading with each other in their own currencies.

Now that Saudi Arabia is going to sell its oil to China in China’s own currency [15] instead of U.S. dollars, the momentum of excluding the U.S. dollar in business transactions between nations is quickly expanding. Panic is unfolding, as the NATO nations under the US economic yoke have been trying to drum up more weapons for Ukraine during the 2023 World Economic Forum Meeting in Davos Switzerland. It seems that they believe that if they pull together and drive Russia to defeat in Ukraine, they will somehow solve their energy and economic problems.

There is no doubt that momentum in global economics, which relies on oil and gas energy, has shifted away from the U.S.A. and you can also be sure that the more wounded the U.S. government gets, the more vicious it will become.

Although the economic downturn with its soaring inflation and high cost of energy have begun to light the fires of rebellion across Europe, the European governments seem to be focused on winning a losing war in Ukraine rather than focusing on the well being of their own people. Three years of totalitarian mandates with a brutal enforcement of them should have convinced people in NATO countries that their governments really care for them…right?

The solution for the European leaders is actually quite simple, but they seem to be hypnotized into committing economic suicide with the United States and destroying their own nations, when all they need to do is to stop following U.S. dictates and look to their own economic survival. After all, Europe does not need the U.S. to supply them with oil and gas if they can forge their own foreign policy and make deals with the oil producing nations next door, such as Russia, Iran and the many other oil and gas producers in the region where more than 72% of the worlds recoverable oil is.

However, if the E.U. countries continue to obey American dictates, well, there won’t be any hope for economic relief anytime soon, if ever…and the longer they take to do the right thing, the more damage they will do to their own nations.

Soon, Russia will win the war in Ukraine while European borders will be flooded with additional economic refugees (already the case) which of course adds an additional burden to their already collapsing social programs, healthcare and economies.

What will the NATO nations do if the economically wounded American animal who controls NATO decides they will make their war in Ukraine against Russia their final military stand? Europe just gave away a bulk of their weapons to Ukraine and don’t have the ability to defend themselves…The panic and anxiety around this very question is now spreading amongst the most vocal antagonists [16].

LINKS:

[01] Global Research
[02] Consortium News
[03] Mint Press News
[04] New Eastern Outlook
[05] Off Guardian
[06] Investigative Journalist – Patrick Lancaster
[07] Investigative Journalist – Alina Lipp
[08] Investigative Journalist - Eva Bartlett
[09] The Duran
[10] The Saker
[11] Southfront
[12] 21st Century Wire
[13] VP Joe Biden insisting EU impose sanctions on Russia (2014 - Oct 3rd)
[14] Biden pledges end to Nord Stream 2 if Russia invades Ukraine - (2022 Feb 7th)
[15] Saudi Arabia ready to ditch dollar in trade – Finance Minister
[16] Poland threatens ‘coalition’ to overcome German stance on tanks – PM

Additional Links:

[A]Press TV - Iran
[B] Russia Today

RELATED:

[AA] Blinken - Nord Stream sabotage ‘a tremendous opportunity’
[BB] Germany’s Energy Crunch Explained
[CC] Moscow warns West of ‘global tragedy’
[DD] Russian Hypersonic Missiles enter Combat Duty
[EE] The Undeclared Declaration of War on Russia By Western Windbags
[FF] Ukraine - Europe, Energy Supplies & Economic Collapse
[GG] Energy Crisis – A Ticking Time Bomb

Ex-Russian president explains why Moscow can’t lose in Ukraine

 

FILE PHOTO. Dmitry Medvedev. © Sputnik / Ekaterina Shtukina

Source: RT

Nuclear nations have never lost when their fates were at stake, Dmitry Medvedev has warned

Nations that are demanding Russia’s defeat in Ukraine seem to be oblivious to the fact that such an outcome could result in a nuclear escalation, the former President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev has pointed out.

Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, reiterated the warning ahead of a meeting on Friday of Ukraine’s military donors at the Ramstein US air base in Germany. He lashed out at Western politicians advocating a loss in the conflict for Russia as the only possible option in Ukraine.

“Not one of those morons is apparently willing to make the next logical step: a loss by a nuclear power in a conventional war may trigger the start of a nuclear war. Nuclear powers never lost a major conflict on which their fate depended,” he said on social media on Thursday.

The Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki is among those who support sending as many arms as possible to Kiev. He claimed this week that “the defeat of Ukraine may become a prelude to World War III, so today there is no reason to block support for Kiev and postpone matters indefinitely.”

A nuclear escalation was cited by some Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden, as a scenario they want to avoid by restricting their involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. They have also warned Moscow against deploying nuclear weapons in Ukraine, stating that this would be considered a major provocation.

The Russian military doctrine allows the use of such weapons of ultimate resort either in retaliation for an attack against Russia or its allies with weapons of mass destruction, or during a conventional conflict that puts the Russian statehood at significant risk.

Moscow considers the situation in Ukraine to be a proxy war waged against it by the US and its allies. Their goal is to hurt Russia as much as possible, which is why they are prolonging the hostilities by arming Kiev and forbidding it from pursuing a negotiated settlement, senior Russian officials have assessed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that his government would not hesitate to use all means at its disposal.
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RELATED:

[01] Ukraine’s defeat may lead to WWIII – EU state's PM
[02] UK to ‘go further’ in support for Ukraine
[03] NATO tanks ‘will burn’ – Kremlin
[04] US encouraging terrorist acts against Russia – ambassador
[05] US may assist Ukrainian strikes on Crimea – NYT

Energy Crisis - A Ticking Time Bomb

 

This article was also published at Global Research

By: Stewart Brennan

In November of 2022, a Reuters report on yahoo stated that U.S. crude oil stocks in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to 390.5 million barrels, the lowest level since March 1984 as told by the Energy Information Administration.

The report also stated that U.S. East Coast gasoline stocks fell in that period to 47.1 million barrels, which was its lowest level since November 2012. Refinery utilization in the region also rose to 102.9%, which was the highest on record.

So, what does this mean;

The US has been drawing on its strategic Oil reserves for over a year while refining it into gasoline for internal consumption while trying to keep the cost of gasoline down. But why is there an energy crisis in the first place?

If there is enough oil in the world to last a long time as some believe, there would be no crisis at all and the US oil reserves would not have to be used, right?

Some may believe that the so called pandemic we experienced is the cause of the energy shortage. But that just simply isn’t true.

During the early stages of the 2020 plandemic, oil demand dropped around the world due to population lockdowns but the production that was already in the supply lines would have covered the restart of the economy. Remember, large corporations did not shut down then, nor did ocean going vessels. They continued offloading despite the delays at the ports due to labor shortages caused by lockdown mandates.

If the theory of endless oil is believed then, there would not have been 22 years of western oil wars if the oil abundance were true.

Today, in January 2023, diesel prices in Canada are still extremely high, $2.30 / liter in Montreal on Jan 14th, 2023. Possibly because the oil refinery is burning the midnight oil (pardon the pun) to maintain its gasoline needs. Maybe diesel fuel is being diverted to energy deficient Europe. Whatever the reason, as everyone knows by now, the high price of diesel fuel feeds inflation because if its on your table or in your home, it was brought by a diesel-powered truck.

The graph above shows that the SPR oil stocks continued to fall through December 2022 and no doubt will continue this year into 2023 or the price of gasoline will rise. The question is, how long will they draw on the strategic oil reserves before a major crisis causes a North American energy and economic crash? AND where will they get the future oil supply to power the growth of western economies?

We are in the midst of the economic storm, so by all indications given the current geo-political stance of the western nations with their economic energy war on Russia, I'd say less than a year...but where does it go from there, as economic wars can lead to military wars, but energy wars, with no off switch, will definitely lead to war between powerful nations.

The sooner sanity comes back into the world, the sooner we can address the long-term problems that the shortage of energy creates...and they are massive problems which require massive restructuring in the way in which we live.

The problem is simply not going to go away because the supply of oil and gas have limits with respect to growth economics. Economies and energy demand have been falling especially as this current recession has taken hold, yet energy prices remain high. We certainly do not need the kind of dystopian solutions that our western governments have provided, lockdowns, wars etc. Nor should we allow them to continue the warring trend that they're currently on towards the future either.

We the people of the western world need to stand up and put the brakes on our governments, force them to sit down and begin rational conversations in foreign and domestic affairs.

Our governments are on the road to a major War and this is simply NOT an option that should even be contemplated in the nuclear age. The longer we the people wait and do nothing to stop them, the more real a global conflict will become; and the only way to stop our governments from going to war is for the people to unite together in each nation and then globally. Our divisions which are based on “belief” weather its based on research or propaganda, must end if we are to survive the road we are on. Surely people can see a major war on the horizon by now.

Stand up and put the reigns on your governments, war will surely come if we do not. Time is quickly running out..

Tick, Tick, Tick...

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About Stewart Brennan:

Stewart Brennan is a Geo-political and economic analyst, activist, blogger and author. He’s worked in the Aviation, Packaging, Transportation and Logistics industries and is the author of “The Activist Poet”, three books of political activism and poetry. (See Here, Here and Here) He's also the author of several blogs including World United News and World United Music and a contributor on Global Research.

Davos elite troubled by cost-of-living crisis

 

© Getty Images / Andrew Bret Wallis

Source: RT

Governments should cooperate in tackling a mix of risks to prevent a major crisis, World Economic Forum experts warn

The cost-of-living crisis, looming recession and mounting debt are the biggest short-term threats facing the global economy, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual Global Risks Report has warned.

The world will hardly see any relief in the next two years as countries struggle with “energy, inflation, food and security crises,” the annual survey of 1,200 government, business and civil society professionals, published ahead of the Davos summit, said.

Two thirds of respondents suggested that multiple shocks stemming from the recent Covid-19 pandemic and an ongoing conflict in Ukraine will cause distress to the global economy in the near future, while a fifth of the experts are forecasting “catastrophic outcomes” within a decade.

“We’re looking at something that feels new, but at the same time eerily familiar,” risk management leader for Continental Europe at Marsh, Carolina Klint, told CNBC. “So we see a return of some older risks that we felt we had made good progress in terms of solving, but are now very much back on the risk map,” she added.

The cost-of-living crisis is seen as the most immediate risk which is “very difficult to accept” as it hits most vulnerable populations.

“Governments are now really working towards mitigating that impact, at the same time as they’re trying to protect from spiraling inflation and servicing historically high debt loads,” Klint concluded.

The authors of the report call for global cooperation and claim that if authorities fail to manage the current crisis, they “risk creating societal distress at an unprecedented level, as investments in health, education and economic development disappear, further eroding social cohesion.”

WEF managing director Saadia Zahidi, who believes that the world might be entering a “vicious cycle,” warns that “in this already toxic mix of known and rising global risks, a new shock event, from a new military conflict to a new virus, could become unmanageable.”

The world could face a challenge of “polycrisis” in the near future, with overlapping problems, the report said, highlighting “resource rivalry” as one of the biggest threats, as countries have entered into global competition for natural resources.
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Related:

[01] Oil prices may soar above $100 this year – Goldman Sachs
[02] US stocks face massive drop – Morgan Stanley
[03] China Warns West on Africa
[04] G7 wants to force India to accept Russian oil price cap – Reuters
[05] Russian oil giant wants to supply gas to China – Kommersant
[06] West-bound Russian oil diverted to Asia
[07] Western sanctions reshaping global energy markets – WSJ
[08] Eurozone economy forecast to shrink
[09] Energy major warns of gas shortages
[10] One-in-four Europeans have trouble heating their home – survey
[11] German property market plummets - Report
[12] Sweden facing worst economic slump in EU – Bloomberg
[13] Spiraling inflation cools Norway’s economy

Covid-related tech exploited for mass surveillance

 

FILE PHOTO: Monitoring view of temperature measurement at an airport © Getty Images / izusek

By: Rachel Marsden

Source: RT

Various governments across the world have co-opted digital tracing for use by police and intelligence services

Covid-related tech was exploited for mass surveillance, just as we were warned

New revelations show that the Covid pandemic has allowed for governments and Big Tech to expand the surveillance-industrial complex that tightens the state’s grip on thought and movement.

A recent batch of Twitter internal documents released by Elon Musk via journalist David Zweig [01] on the platform itself reveals that one of the first meetings that the Biden Administration requested with Twitter executives was on the topic of Covid vaccines and specific high-profile accounts that deviated from the official narrative.

“Twitter did suppress views [02] – many from doctors and scientific experts – that conflicted with the official positions of the White House. As a result, legitimate findings and questions that would have expanded the public debate went missing,” Zweig wrote.

He added that “with Covid, this bias bent heavily toward establishment dogmas,” and cited examples of various experts, including prominent epidemiologists, whose views were censored as a result of being qualified by the non-scientists at Twitter as Covid “misinformation.”

We’ve also learned from previous Musk-approved Twitter file releases of the cozy relationship between government officials – including those working for the Pentagon [03], CIA, and FBI [04] – and big US social media outlets like Twitter, which routinely cooperated on various government priorities and agendas ranging from framing foreign wars to promoting certain narratives about geopolitical competitors (like Russia) under the guise of fighting “disinformation.” All of this in an ostensibly democratic country that’s supposed to value free speech and debate.

It’s only now, when most Westerners are jabbed, that taboos on scientific information about the true efficacy of the vaccines (particularly on new variants [05]), associated side-effects and risks (like myocarditis [06]), and the high protective value of post-infection immunity, are being loosened and no longer routinely suppressed or vilified as dangerous fake news.

Just like they do with war propaganda, the US government and its Western allies went out of their way to manufacture consent, and they used the very same Big Tech platforms that were once the great hope of those seeking to break free from more controlled corporate media. And the gatekeepers of those platforms, like those at Twitter, were far too keen to abide. Under the guise of combating disinformation, citizens ended up applauding censorship and descending in lynch mobs on those designated as the current threat to virtuous Western societal norms – be they “Russians” or “anti-vaxxers.”

From Covid tracking to mass surveillance

And that’s not all that the pandemic has in common with other crises shamelessly exploited by governments. A new report by the Associated Press has found [07] that the pandemic permitted the expansion of global surveillance, with police in multiple countries using “technologies and data to halt travel for activists and ordinary people, harass marginalized communities and link people’s health information to other surveillance and law enforcement tools. In some cases, data was shared with spy agencies.”

According to the AP’s investigation, Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, has used contact tracing technology to track people located near a zone of unrest, sending them threatening messages even if they weren’t involved.

China’s health QR code system, managed by three separate levels of government, has required that Covid passes flash green to take a plane or train, but those en route to protests have inexplicably and routinely found their passes turning red.

Authorities in India reportedly used the Covid mask mandate as a pretext to scan faces with hand-held devices using facial recognition software, which can be added or compared to a preexisting database of criminals.

The watchdogs for Australia’s intelligence services disclosed in November 2020 that the country’s Covid contact tracing app was used by the spies to collect data on citizens – “incidentally” – even though it was deemed to be virtually useless in uncovering unidentified Covid cases [08]. But Aussie police have since used the Covid app’s check-in data as an investigative tool, according to the AP.

The US government has used CIA-linked [09] data company, Palantir Technologies, to “power the digital operating system for the U.S. public health response to the pandemic,” according to a February 2022 press release from the company, which has been awarded multiple contracts worth tens of millions of dollars [10] amid the crisis [11].

Remember when the global war on terror scared people so badly that US-led Western democracies, with little pushback, set up a global surveillance panopticon under the guise of keeping everyone safe? Well, the Covid scare has been used by governments all over the world to expand their surveillance networks – all the while telling their citizens that it’s being done to keep them safe from a virus.

It’s not like no one predicted this would happen. “Do you truly believe that when the first wave, this second wave, the 16th wave of the coronavirus is a long-forgotten memory, that these capabilities will not be kept? That these datasets will not be kept? No matter how it is being used, what is being built is the architecture of oppression,” warned [12] NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in an April 2020 interview. “We could have a parallel epidemic of authoritarian and repressive measures following close if not on the heels of a health epidemic,” said the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in April 2020, while referring [13] to Covid as a “pathogen of repression.” “Civil society can expect governments to justify using digital surveillance beyond the pandemic as a means to protect national security, implement governance priorities, and serve future public health interests,” the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace warned in October 2021 [14].

Just a few days ago, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who just retired as Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, lamented that “we’re living in a progressively anti-science era.” But if he is looking to place the blame for the blow that science has taken as a result, then he should do some soul-searching along with his government colleagues who chose manipulation and information control over open scientific discussion and debate. And where are the demands for the Covid-related mass surveillance to be immediately dismantled? It shouldn’t just be forgotten about so that it can stick around to be exploited or further enhanced during the next big government authoritarian bender. It needs to go.
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LINKS:

[01] The Twitter Files: How Twitter Rigged the COVID Debate
[02] Twitter Suppressed Views by Doctors and Scientific Experts
[03] Twitter Aided the Pentagon in its Covert Online Propaganda Campaign
[04] Twitter Files show CIA, FBI have spent years meddling in content moderation
[05] Covid-19 vaccine trials cannot tell us if they will save lives
[06] Myocarditis Cases Reported After mRNA-Based COVID-19 Vaccination in the US From December 2020 to August 2021
[07] Police Seize on COVID-19 tech to Expand Global Surveillance
[08] Document - Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (Australia)
[09] Israel-linked CIA-funded Palantir goes public, making espionage mainstream
[10] Palantir expands from Covid role, wins $90m deal with US Department of Health
[11] CDC Partners with Palantir to Bolster the Fight Against COVID-19
[12] SNOWDEN: Govts will use the Corona Virus to seize more Power
[13] UN Document - Disease Pandemics and the Freedom of Opinion and Expression - PDF
[14] Intrusive Surveillance After the Coronavirus Pandemic

Brazil - Lula orders ‘federal intervention’ against rioters

 

Supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro clash with police as they storm the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, January 8, 2023 © AP / Eraldo Peres

Source: RT

The newly-inaugurated Brazilian president has declared a state of emergency after former leader's supporters overran government buildings

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has declared a state of emergency in the Federal District of Brasilia after thousands of supporters of his right-wing predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, overran Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential Planalto Palace.

The leftist leader, inaugurated just last week, gave the order on Sunday, appointing justice minister Ricardo Garcia Capelli to lead the ‘federal intervention’. Lula’s order gives Capelli the power to ask both civil and military bodies for “the necessary means to achieve the object of the intervention.”

The scope of the order, which expires at the end of the month, is limited to Brasilia’s Federal District, and its stated aim is to “end the serious compromising of public order in the State in the Federal District, marked by acts of violence and invasion of public buildings.”

To achieve that goal, Capelli may call upon “the financial, technological, structural, and human resources of the Federal District” – including, but not limited to, the military and police – as needed.

By Sunday evening, after hours of clashes and hundreds of arrests, riot police managed to regain control of the government buildings using tear-gas and water cannons. The Justice Minister announced that at least 200 people were detained, and warned that the arrests could continue throughout the night, as authorities are trying to identify everyone involved in what he dubbed an act of “terrorism” and an attempted “coup.”

Promising to make those responsible for the chaos “pay with the force of the law” in a speech broadcast to his social networks, Lula pledged to get to the bottom of “who are the financiers” of the swarm of protesters – most outfitted in matching attire with the colors of the Brazilian flag – who rushed through a barricade and into the government buildings.

He denounced the demonstrators as “vandals and fascists,” blaming Bolsonaro for filling their heads with extremism. The former leader’s supporters have been staging chaotic demonstrations since he lost a close election to his leftist rival in October, blocking roads, setting vehicles on fire, and at one point even surrounding a military facility to try to convince the soldiers inside to rise up and restore Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro left Brazil several days before the traditional handoff ceremony installing Lula in the presidency rather than appear to legitimize the leftist’s win by showing up, maintaining that his defeat had been unfair even as he condemned the violent protests that had resulted. Lula blamed what he described as the day’s “unprecedented” violence on his nemesis, declaring “this is also the responsibilities of him and of the parties that belong to him.”

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Related:

Neighbors react to ‘coup attempt’ in Brazil

1000s of Bolsonaro's supporters raid Brazil Congress, surround presidential palace in protest at Lula's inauguration

Neighbors react to ‘coup attempt’ in Brazil

 

Supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro storm the Planalto Palace building in Brasilia, January 8, 2023 © AP / Eraldo Peres

Source: RT

World leaders express their solidarity with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government

The newly-inaugurated Brazilian president was forced to declare a state of emergency in the Federal District of Brasilia on Sunday, after thousands of supporters of his right-wing predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, overran Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential Planalto Palace.

The leftist leader denounced the demonstrators as “vandals and fascists,” blaming Bolsonaro for filling their heads with extremism, and vowed to make those responsible for the chaos “pay with the force of the law,” while pledging to get to the bottom of “who are the financiers” of the unrest.

Security forces already detained at least 170 people for storming the government buildings and other crimes allegedly committed during the riot, according to police. The Governor of the Federal District Ibaneis Rocha claimed that “more than 400 people” have been detained.

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, was among the first regional leaders to address the crisis he dubbed an attempted coup.

“Fascism decides to carry out a coup. The right wing has not been able to maintain the non-violence pact,” he tweeted on Sunday, calling on the Organization of American States to prove its relevance and hold an urgent meeting.

President Alberto Fernandez of Argentina meanwhile declared that his nation stands “together with the Brazilian people to defend democracy and never again allow the return of the coup ghosts promoted by the right.”

“I put the member countries on alert so that we unite in this unacceptable anti-democratic reaction that is trying to be imposed in Brazil,” he added as a rotating president of two other regional organizations, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the Southern Common Market.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also described the chaos as a “reprehensible and anti-democratic coup attempt,” accusing the “leaders of oligarchic power, its spokespersons and fanatics” of inciting the unrest.

Chilean president Gabriel Boric slammed the incident as a “cowardly and vile attack on democracy,” also expressing full support for the government of Brazil.

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro expressed confidence that Brazilian people “will surely mobilize in defense of peace and their president,” blaming the violence on “Bolsonaro's neo-fascist groups.”

Havana also expressed solidarity with its “sister nation,” with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemning the “violent and undemocratic acts that occur in Brazil, with the aim of generating chaos and disrespecting the popular will.”

Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry condemned the violence as an attack “against the institutional framework in Brazil” and reaffirmed the country's “unrestricted support for democracy and the legitimately elected government.”

The US also issued a brief comment on the events unfolding in the South American neighbor, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying that “using violence to attack democratic institutions is always unacceptable.” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan added that President Joe Biden “is following the situation closely and our support for Brazil’s democratic institutions is unwavering.”

Bolsonaro responds to Brazil riot charges

Former president said that “peaceful demonstrations” are “part of democracy”

Former Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro has denied any responsibility for the unrest that unfolded in the capital Brasilia on Sunday, after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused his right-wing predecessor of filling the heads of his supporters with extremism.

“Peaceful demonstrations, in the form of the law, are part of democracy. However, depredations and invasions of public buildings as occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, escape the rule,” Bolsonaro tweeted on Sunday evening, after authorities regained control of the government buildings seized by rioters earlier in the day.

“I repudiate the accusations, without evidence, attributed to me by the current head of the executive of Brazil,” Bolsonaro added, without mentioning Lula by name. The former leader left Brazil several days before the traditional swearing-in ceremony on January 1 rather than appear to legitimize the leftist’s win by showing up.

“This genocidist... is encouraging this via social media from Miami,” Lula claimed in a televised address earlier on Sunday, blaming what he described as the day’s “unprecedented” violence on his nemesis. He vowed to make those responsible for the chaos “pay with the force of the law,” while pledging to get to the bottom of “who are the financiers” of the riot.

On Sunday, a massive crowd of Bolsonaro's supporters marched through the capital in yet another protest, reiterating claims that Brazil’s electronic voting system was open to fraud and other llegations of voting irregularities. After reaching the Three Powers Plaza, where all three branches of the government are located, swarms of protesters rushed through barricades and overran the Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential Planalto Palace.

As the crowds wreaked havoc inside, authorities struggled to contain the unrest. The president, who was in Sao Paulo at the time, was forced to declare a state of emergency in the Federal District of Brasilia, appointing justice minister Ricardo Garcia Capelli to lead the “federal intervention.”

By Sunday evening, after hours of clashes and hundreds of arrests, riot police managed to regain control of the government buildings using tear-gas and water cannons. The Justice Minister announced that at least 200 people were detained, and warned that the arrests could continue throughout the night, as authorities are trying to identify everyone involved in what he dubbed an act of “terrorism” and an attempted “coup.”

Ukraine on ‘NATO mission’ – Defense Minister

 

File photo: Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov © AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

Source: RT

Aleksey Reznikov has argued that Kiev is shedding blood for the military bloc and expects weapons in return

Kiev is shedding blood to carry out the mission NATO set for itself and expects the “civilized West” to provide weapons and ammunition in return, Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov has said in an interview for a domestic TV channel.

Appearing on the 1+1 network’s TSN channel on Thursday evening, Reznikov pointed out [01] that at the Madrid summit last summer, NATO declared [02] Russia the greatest threat to the US-led bloc.

“Today, Ukraine is addressing that threat. We’re carrying out NATO’s mission today, without shedding their blood. We shed our blood, so we expect them to provide weapons,” he said.

Reznikov also claimed that his NATO colleagues have told him, both in conversations and via text messages, that Ukraine is the “shield of civilization” and “defending the entire civilized world, the entire West.”

Ukrainian officials, from President Vladimir Zelensky on down, routinely make public appeals for tanks, missiles, artillery and ammunition. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu [03] told the General Staff in December that Moscow was de facto fighting the collective West. By his estimates, the government in Kiev has received almost $100 billion worth of weapons, ammunition and other supplies in 2022 alone.

Reznikov has led that effort, boasting [04] to the US outlet Politico in October that he had figured out the Pentagon’s political process. His goal, he said, was to keep raising the bar until Ukraine received main battle tanks.

While that particular threshold has yet to be crossed, on Friday Washington announced the delivery of 50 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, the most modern armor sent to Kiev so far, as part of a $3 billion weapons package. Earlier this week, France pledged a number of wheeled ‘light tanks’ [05] as well.

These shipments are intended to replace Ukraine’s battlefield losses. Last month, Kiev’s top general Valery Zaluzhny told The Economist he would need 300 more tanks, up to 700 infantry fighting vehicles, and 500 howitzers to conduct offensive operations. This is more than the number of such vehicles in British or German inventory.

Moscow insists that Western weapon deliveries only serve to prolong the conflict, and has repeatedly warned Ukraine’s backers that this could result in an all-out military confrontation between Russia and NATO.
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LINKS:

[01] Oleksiy Reznikov: They are stupid and did not understand that we cannot be defeated!
[02] NATO's Madrid Summit Declaration - June 29th, 2022
[03] Russia is fighting West in Ukraine – Shoigu
[04] Ukraine's defense minister ‘optimistic’ about new tanks, fighter jets from allies
[05] France promises old ‘light tanks’ for Ukraine

RELATED LINKS:

[06] US to Arm Kiev with Sea Sparrows
[07] Ukraine conflict at 'critical point' – Biden
[08] Putin announces Christmas truce
[09] Zelensky finds excuse to reject Christmas ceasefire
[10] Donetsk shelled in first minute of Christmas truce – authorities

US-made HIMARS destroyed in new strikes – Moscow

 FILE PHOTO. © JAM STA ROSA / AFP

Source: RT

More than 200 Ukrainian troops and foreign ‘mercenaries’ were killed in the missile attacks, Russia’s Defense Ministry has claimed

Russian forces have destroyed several US-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers and eliminated scores of Ukrainian troops and dozens of foreign fighters in a fresh series of missile strikes, Moscow’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

According to the military, two launchers were destroyed at the Druzhkovka railway station in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). The second pair of launchers, which were firing at other DPR cities, were located near the Ukrainian-held city of Kramatorsk, the ministry added.

In addition, nine HIMARS rockets were intercepted near the frontline in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), as well as in Kherson Region to the north of Crimea, the statement said.

The Russian Air Force’s “precision strikes” on positions of the “foreign legion” fighting for Ukraine near Kramatorsk and Maslyakovka destroyed over 130 “foreign mercenaries,” it added.

Up to 120 Ukrainian soldiers were eliminated at Druzhkovka railway station, the military claimed.

This attack comes after Russia confirmed on Monday that over 60 of its soldiers were killed in Makeyevka, when Kiev's forces targeted the building they were housed in with missiles fired from HIMARS launchers.

The strike had earlier been reported by the republic’s Information Minister Daniil Bezsonov, who claimed it happened precisely at 0:01 am on New Year’s night.

Ukraine continues to request more weapons from the US and other Western countries, while Moscow insists that deliveries of foreign arms to Kiev will not change the course of the conflict and can only lead to more casualties.

Russian military issues update on deadly Ukrainian strike

Russian emergency workers remove the rubble of vocational school 19 destroyed by shelling in Makeyevka, Donetsk People's Republic, Russia. © Sputnik

Source: RT

The number of casualties in the New Year’s night strike has grown to at least 89 people

Nearly 90 troops were killed by a Ukrainian missile strike that hit a temporary housing area used by the Russian forces in the city of Makeyevka in Donetsk People’s Republic just after midnight on January 1, the Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The death toll has grown to 89 people, including the unit’s deputy commander, the ministry said, as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of a vocational school where the troops were stationed on New Year’s night.

The facility was targeted by six missiles from a US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launcher, four of which penetrated air defenses, and hit the building at precisely 0:01am on January 1, the Defense ministry said, claiming that the launcher was later destroyed in a retaliatory strike.

While the fact-finding mission is still investigating the tragic incident, it is “already obvious that the main reason for what happened was the turning on and mass use of mobile phones by personnel – contrary to the ban – within the range of enemy weapons” which has allowed Ukrainian forces to trace their coordinates, Lieutenant General Sergey Sevryukov from the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces told reporters.

Moscow reiterated its pledge to provide all necessary assistance and support to the families of the fallen troops. Russia’s Foreign Ministry earlier condemned Washington for not only supplying sophisticated weapons to Kiev, but also providing the Ukrainian military with intelligence about the location of the Russian forces.

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Related:

The U.S. has sent around $113 billion in aid to Ukraine since February 2022

The U.S. has sent around $113 billion in aid to Ukraine since February 2022

This graph compares that aid to the 2021 military budgets of:

‣ India ($76.6B)
‣ U.K. ($68.4B)
‣ Russia ($65.9B)
‣ France ($56.6B)
‣ Germany ($56B).

The U.S. 2021 military budget was $800.67B.

So, who's at war with Russia? 

Is it the Ukraine or USA?

Dozens dead in Ukrainian strike on Russian troops – Moscow

 

Russian emergency workers remove the rubble of vocational school 19 destroyed by shelling in Makeyevka, Donetsk People's Republic, Russia. © Sputnik

Source: RT

The deadly attack took place in the city of Makeyevka in Donetsk People’s Republic, the Defense Ministry says

More than 60 Russian troops have been killed by a Ukrainian missile strike, Moscow confirmed on Monday. The bombardment hit a temporary housing area used by the Russian forces in Donbass.

The facility in the city of Makeyevka in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic was targeted by six missiles from US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, the Defense ministry said. Two projectiles were intercepted by air defenses, but four made it through, the statement added.

"As a result of a strike by four missiles with high-explosive warheads on a temporary deployment point, 63 Russian servicemen were killed,” Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said during a briefing.

All necessary assistance and support will be provided to the families of the fallen troops, the ministry assured.

The strike was earlier reported by the Donetsk People’s Republic’s Information Minister Daniil Bezsonov, who said the missiles targeted the building of a vocational school where the troops were stationed. It happened precisely at 0:01 am on New Year’s night, while the serviceman were celebrating, he added.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry earlier condemned Washington for not only supplying sophisticated weapons to Kiev, but also providing the Ukrainian military with intelligence about the location of the Russian forces.

RELATED:

Stoltenberg warns of potential new Russian offensive in Ukraine

Military support for Kiev should be long-term, the NATO secretary general said

The West needs to brace for a protracted conflict between Ukraine and Russia, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday, insisting that arms shipments to Kiev must continue.

Stoltenberg told the BBC that Russia’s partial mobilization, launched in September, shows that Moscow has no plans to end the hostilities in the near future. “All that indicates that they are prepared to continue the war and also try to potentially launch a new offensive,” he claimed.

The head of the US-led military bloc also insisted that the West continues to provide arms and other forms of support to Ukraine. According to the secretary general, “that's the only way to convince Russia that they have to sit down and negotiate in good faith and respect Ukraine as a sovereign independent nation in Europe.”

"What we do know is that what Ukraine can achieve around that table is totally dependent on the strength on the battlefield," he stressed.

On Friday, Stoltenberg claimed that while “it may sound paradoxical,” Western military support for Ukraine is "the quickest way to peace.”

Following the start of Russia’s military operation in late February, Western countries have ramped up their weapons shipments to Ukraine, a move that has been condemned by Moscow. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that NATO was using the military potential of nearly all of its member states against Moscow in Ukraine. According to the president, efforts to undermine the Russian economy in the “sanctions war” over Ukraine have largely failed.

Earlier, he also accused the West of turning Ukraine into “a colony”, and using its people as “cannon fodder, a battering ram against Russia.”

At the same time, the Kremlin maintains it is open to talks with Ukraine, accusing Kiev of refusing to negotiate. However, Moscow has insisted that Kiev must “recognize the reality on the ground” as a prerequisite for any peace talks, including the new status of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye as parts of Russia.