"Russia will stop 'in a moment' if Ukraine meets terms - Kremlin" by Reuters via Yahoo News...but Reuters suddenly cut out the balanced part of the story.

[notsonice + 1,065]

20 hours ago, Andrei Moutchkine said:

The share of the dollar in various countries reserves and its share in SWIFT transactions is dropping like a stone as we speak. I hope you live long enough to experience living according to your actual means. You won't like it a bit.

It does not have to be ruble, but it is going to be commodity-backed financing next. The dollar is backed by absolutely nothing, but goodwill. Which you broke big time. Ruble is trading at 87 today, which is almost back to prewar level.

The dollar is backed by absolutely nothing, but goodwill. Which you broke big time???? do you babble BS full time for Putin???? How much is he paying you???

Love it now NATO is standing King and Russia is trying to dig itself out of the hole it is buried in.

The Dollar.....Solid as  a rock.......no bank runs in the US.....

No one in the US selling dollars and buying Rubles.....

How is the Russian stock market today??????? still decimated I see.....

Inflation in Russia?????? Tops in the world......How much does it cost for a White flag in Russian??? I hear the stores can not keep them in stock

March 16 (Reuters) - Annual inflation in Russia accelerated to 12.54% as of March 11, its highest since late 2015 and up from 10.42% a week earlier, the economy ministry said on Wednesday, with weakening rouble sending prices soaring amid unprecedented Western sanctions.

Edited March 30, 2022 by notsonice

[surrept33 + 609]

Petrodollar is a meme, because the petrodollar system doesn't really exist. The USD is "merely" the most stable and widely available currency. At this point, the oil trade, which is only measured in "merely" trillions yearly is absolutely dwarfed by how much USD changes hands (which is trillions daily). It's not 1973 anymore. 

The yuan will probably continue to be internationalized. China has been trying to do that since what? 2008? 2004? A major reserve currency? Certainly not to most countries. However, China will surely have to continue to do major reforms and release a lot of capital controls (which the US and IMF actually supports) to make that happen. 

In other news, 2.66% of foreign exchange reserves are denominated in yuan: https://data.imf.org/?sk=E6A5F467-C14B-4AA8-9F6D-5A09EC4E62A4

People have been predicting the collapse of the dollar for various reasons for 50+ years now. it's great clickbait. 

But yeah, countries like Russia will need to invest in a backup plan. 

[RichieRich216 + 454]

On 3/28/2022 at 9:40 PM, Andrei Moutchkine said:

You say it like it was a bad thing?

What are the benefits for the people in the former USSR that don't want to be part of it and enjoy 21st-century life without a murderous dictator?

[frankfurter + 562]

16 hours ago, surrept33 said:

Petrodollar is a meme, because the petrodollar system doesn't really exist. The USD is "merely" the most stable and widely available currency. At this point, the oil trade, which is only measured in "merely" trillions yearly is absolutely dwarfed by how much USD changes hands (which is trillions daily). It's not 1973 anymore. 

The yuan will probably continue to be internationalized. China has been trying to do that since what? 2008? 2004? A major reserve currency? Certainly not to most countries. However, China will surely have to continue to do major reforms and release a lot of capital controls (which the US and IMF actually supports) to make that happen. 

In other news, 2.66% of foreign exchange reserves are denominated in yuan: https://data.imf.org/?sk=E6A5F467-C14B-4AA8-9F6D-5A09EC4E62A4

People have been predicting the collapse of the dollar for various reasons for 50+ years now. it's great clickbait. 

But yeah, countries like Russia will need to invest in a backup plan. 

Well, yet again, you prove your ignorance.

At the time the US was encouraging China to join the WTO, the US was also demanding China to allow the CNY to float freely. China did join, but did not float its currency. Then the CNY traded 15:1 USD. Today, CNY 6:1 USD.

Uh, when was the last time you heard any amurcun in finance demanding a floating CNY?  The US keeps the CNY a restricted currency, deliberately. You think the US wants a strong competitor to the USD?  If CNY were to be used more freely, it would be 1:1.

No, China does not need to accept capital structures and controls demanded by the IMF.  Those measures were demanded long ago, China refused, resulting in Hitlery convincing Obama and the Pentagon into the Asia Pivot.

The USD is not the reserve currency any longer: SDRs are. Nobody wants USD as a reserve of capital. The USD is used in the world, because it is forced upon the world. It has no value other than as insurance against violence and invasion by the US Military.

Here is history lesson for you and your fellow dumbshits..  In 1972, when USA defaulted on its debts, Nixon unilaterally voided the gold standard. Kissinger created OPEC, for the sole purpose of supporting the USD. At the time, gold was $35/oz, and SLCO traded for $12/bbl. So, roughly, 3 bbls of SLCO bought 1 oz of gold. Today, gold is $1900/oz, and SLCO is below $100/bbl. So today roughly, 19 bbls of SLCO are needed to buy 1 oz of gold.

Yet, the utility of the SLCO has increased over time. So, by forcing KSA to sell in USD only, amurcuns have robbed KSA of its national wealth, by 600%. Who in their sane minds want USD?  Even the Saudis have realised this, and MBS refuses to speak with your geriatric Bidet.

USA has no wealth left. Your only option now is war, to attempt to subjugate those countries with real wealth. Ukraine is but a piece of litmus paper.

The real question is: will you vile amurcuns come to your senses and play fairly with the other world players, or will you try one last 'hail mary' bomb before you lose the game?

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by frankfurter

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

2 hours ago, RichieRich216 said:

What are the benefits for the people in the former USSR that don't want to be part of it and enjoy 21st-century life without a murderous dictator?

USSR was not a dictatorship and neither is Putin, if you mean him.

The benefits would be similar to other collective bargaining arrangements, like the EU or the USA.

All of which is beside the point, because USSR is not really getting resurrected. It is impossible to do so in practice.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

On 3/29/2022 at 5:47 AM, Tom Nolan said:

New Ukrainian Trend: Tying People to Trees (including kids), Flogging and Undressing Them

VIDEOS and Photos - Painting their faces green with chemicals & See the Nazi symbols

https://anti-empire.com/new-ukrainian-trend-tying-people-to-trees-flogging-and-undressing-them/

https://anti-empire.com/

 

The chemical

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brilliant_green_(dye)

is a part of political tradition everywhere in ex-USSR. There is no specific reason for it to be applied, except it being not easily removable (only after the skin renews in several days) and easily available. (any pharmacy) You can think of it as an alternative to classical iodine tincture, except a different color. See also

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelyonka_attack

Edited March 30, 2022 by Andrei Moutchkine

[surrept33 + 609]

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/world/europe/putin-advisers-ukraine.html

U.S. intelligence suggests that Putin’s advisers misinformed him on Ukraine.

WASHINGTON — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has been misinformed by his advisers about the Russian military’s struggles in Ukraine, according to declassified U.S. intelligence.

The intelligence, according to multiple U.S. officials, shows what appears to be growing tension between Mr. Putin and the Ministry of Defense, including with the Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, who was once among the most trusted members of the Kremlin’s inner circle.

With evidence of Mr. Putin’s frustration growing, the United States has in recent weeks been building up an intelligence case that he had not been getting accurate assessments from the Ministry of Defense and other senior officials. The U.S. officials believe that Mr. Putin is continuing to be misled and that senior advisers are unwilling to tell the truth.

What American intelligence sources there might be in the Kremlin is a tightly held secret. But since Russia began its troop buildup along Ukraine’s borders last year, U.S. intelligence officials have accurately predicted Mr. Putin’s moves.

Speaking in Algiers, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken acknowledged Mr. Putin had been given less than truthful information from his advisers.

“With regard to President Putin, look, what I can tell you is this, and I said this before, one of the Achilles' heel of autocracies is that you don’t have people in those systems who speak truth to power or who have the ability to speak truth to power,” Mr. Blinken said. “And I think that is something that we’re seeing in Russia.”

Other American officials have said that Mr. Putin’s rigid isolation during the pandemic and willingness to publicly rebuke advisers who do not share his views have created a degree of wariness, or even fear, in senior ranks of the Russian military. Officials believe that Mr. Putin has been getting incomplete or overly optimistic reports about the progress of Russian forces, creating mistrust with his military advisers.

Mr. Putin seemed genuinely unaware that the Russian military had been using conscripts in Ukraine, and that drafted soldiers were among those killed in action, according to the U.S. officials. Mr. Putin’s ignorance showed “a clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information to the Russian president,” according to a U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the declassified, but still sensitive, material. There “is now persistent tension” between Mr. Putin and the Defense Ministry, the official said.

The war continues to go poorly for Russian forces. Ukraine’s military has not only held its own but also begun counterattacking. Some U.S. officials believe that senior Russian officials are wary of delivering truthful assessments — potentially afraid that the messengers of bad news will be held responsible for the battlefield failures.

The Russian military’s stumbles have eroded trust between Mr. Putin and his Ministry of Defense. While Mr. Shoigu had been considered one of the few advisers Mr. Putin confided in, the prosecution of the war in Ukraine has damaged the relationship.

Mr. Putin has put two top intelligence officials under house arrest for providing poor intelligence ahead of the invasion, something that may have further contributed to the climate of fear.

On the ground, as the Ukrainian military has kept Russian forces from taking over Kyiv and even regained some ground in the northeast, Russia appears to be shifting its focus to eastern Ukraine, particularly the Donbas region, which borders Russia and where residents tend to feel a connection to Russia.

Russian forces announced a shift in their posture around Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, on Tuesday, though American officials voiced skepticism that Russia was stopping its attacks as a peace gesture. Rather, some believe the moves are a further sign that Russia is adjusting its failing strategy. It is also possible that the shifting strategy is a sign of dysfunction and miscommunication in the upper ranks of the Russian Defense Ministry.

[Tomasz + 1,608]

#GotGoldorRubles? Did Russia Just Break The Back Of The West?

BY TYLER DURDEN

TUESDAY, MAR 29, 2022 - 09:30 AM

Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, 'n Guns blog,

I don’t think everyone has yet caught the significance of Russia announcing they are putting a floor under the price of gold.  

But, to be clear, Russia just broke the paper gold suppression scheme.

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On Friday the Bank of Russia announced:

RUB5000 to the ounce at an exchange rate of 100 RUB/USD implies a $1550 per ounce gold price.

For a few days previous to this announcement, which they knew was coming, The West was running around with multiple bits of legislation to try and keep the Russians from selling their gold.

The G7 think the sanctions are hitting so hard that Putin will be forced to sell his gold to evade sanctions to pay for things.  They are literally running a script in their heads that is not actually playing out in the real world.

But, whatever, Neocons never met an ugly stick that they didn’t want to use to beat someone over the head with.  Too bad all they’re doing is hitting a rubber tire.

Boing!

Because here’s the gig, Russia won’t be selling any gold. They’re buying it.

These are supposed to be the architects of the global monetary system and you would think they are the ones that understand it the best.  But, clearly they do not.

What they think they understand is that they still control the flow of commodities around the world through price suppression schemes on the CRIMEX, LBMA and ICE.

They do not.

Ultimately, ‘outside money’ trumps ‘inside money.’  

Austrians, like myself, have always understood that eventually Inside Money [money that exists within the financial system] fails because it is ultimately nothing more than a Ponzi Scheme built on top of Outside Money — money that exists outside the financial system, like commodities and bitcoin.

Money, It’s a Hit!

Let’s start with the basics. Why do we create money? To act as a way to mitigate the time risk between selling what we have and buying what we want. So we sell our labor today to buy gasoline, printer paper or blow jobs tomorrow. In the meantime we hold money.

It is a way to turn thought and personal application of energy and time into a token which can procure for us real goods in the real world.

With that in mind, now think about the current financial system where all inside money is created by first selling a debt instrument to someone willing to hold it for a vig.

Back to the ruble and gold. Because once I lay out the new incentive structure it will be clear as to why the G7 has no friends in this fight anymore.  

Davos’ power rests on the ability to create credit and sell it at a positive interest carry to commodity producers.  Since base commodity production in any kind of efficient market should be a very low margin enterprise, think 1-4% real annual return, selling them debt to extract oil or gold out of the ground at higher rates than that ultimately sucks all the profit out of the venture.

Free markets when allowed to function properly grind out profit through competitive arbitrage. It is both brutal and the spark of new innovations and efficiencies.

It is the desire for higher profits over baseline that does this.

In base commodities that is difficult, at best, to do. Why? Because they aren’t anything more than a second order good. First order would be the ore or timber harvested. Second order would be the ingot or lumber produced. The higher order the good, the more specialized it is and the higher opportunity for profit through product differentiation on something other than price emerges.

That’s most difficult to do in improving resource extraction because, it follows, most of the major gains in efficiency occurred in the past when the economy was less specialized.

Confusion Over ‘The System’

If the banks are on both sides of the trade setting the price of money, then they ultimately control who wins and who loses while this goes on. And let’s not mince words, it’s them. The profit rolls up to those that produce the highest order goods with the most complex supply chains.

The banks plough the profits from getting interest on the original debt into the very companies producing the higher order goods needed to ensure the lower order goods produce no wealth through the grinding out of profit via arbitrage throughout the supply chain.

Don’t believe me? Ask cattle farmers.

In this respect the current financing of these industries is nothing more than a virtualized version of the colonial economic model of the 15th through 19th centuries.

Instead of using physical men to subjugate the locals through superior weaponry and bribes to get them to extract the mineral wealth which the colonialists take back home, today we use the post-WWII institutions to run that same system through debt issuance for capex and the interest payments (in this case pure economic rent – unearned wealth).

The producer countries of all the mineral wealth in the world are nothing but debt slaves to the money masters in Brussels, City of London and New York.  That’s the gig.

Since we’ve reached the point of debt saturation where no more debt can be issued to extract mineral wealth and have the markets believe it could ever be paid back at these real yields, the system has to be reset.

The whole Great Reset is a way to crash the existing system but leave the same colonialists in power legally.

It’s not really more complicated than that.

When you understand that dynamic now you can understand why Russia, in particular, is the vanguard of the Global South’s desire to change the System of the World.

It is also the one country that has the commodity production power to expose the vulnerabilities of this System.

That’s Nice… #GotRubles?

And that’s where pegging the ruble to gold comes in.

The Bank of Russia is now a buyer of gold at 5000 rubles to the gram, or 155,500 rubles to the troy ounce.  At a Friday March 25th closing price of RUB96.62 vs. the USD that implies a gold price of $1610 per ounce.

The ruble is now freely strengthening versus the US dollar.

Now, that is not that remarkable on its own. 

As I explained on Twitter that day:

• 1: At $1550 per ounce the first order effect here is that is implies a RUB/USD rate of around 75. Incentivizing those holding RUB to continue and those needing them to bid up the price from current levels.

• 2: This creates a positive incentive loop to bring the ruble back to pre-war levels.  Then after that market effects take over as ruble demand becomes structural, based on Russia’s trade balance.

• 3: Once that happens and the RUB/USD falls below 75, then the USD price of gold rises structurally draining the paper gold markets and collapsing the financial system based on leveraged/hypothecated gold.  Now we’re into the arb. phase @Lukegromen postulated w/ 1000bbls/oz.

So, this scheme incentivizes Russians to hold savings in rubles, because the ruble is undervalued.  It also incentivizes foreign traders to hold rubles because the ruble is undervalued relative to an overvalued open gold price.

Clearly currency speculators in Moscow, Shanghai, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong are having a field day with this.

Coupled with Putin demanding ‘unfriendly countries’ paying for their Russian imports with either gold or the ruble, the natural choice is for them to buy rubles until such time as the price of gold and the ruble are in sync on international markets.

The howls of pain from the G-7 and Germany in particular are equal parts pathetic and hilarious as they complain that Putin is in ‘breach of contract’ for demanding a different payment currency for gas other than the euros stipulated in the contract.

Earlier Monday German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said from Berlin that the Kremlin demand for natural gas contracts to be paid in rubles is a “one-sided and clear breach of contracts” – saying the contracts must be honored under prior conditions, according to Bloomberg. “That means that a payment in rubles is not acceptable and we urge the relevant companies not to comply with Putin’s demand,” Habeck said. “Putin’s effort to drive a wedge between us is obvious but you can see that we won’t allow ourselves to be divided and the answer from the G-7 is clear: the contracts will be honored.”

The Kremlin’s quick shooting down of the German economy minister’s comments and the G-7’s stance on the ruble came Monday via a Russian lawmaker to state-run RIA Novosti: “Russian lawmaker Abramov says G7’s refusal to pay in Russian roubles for gas will definitely lead to a halt in supplies.”

Pissed off Russians certainly have a way with words, as a writer, I appreciate this greatly. According to TASS:

Moscow is handling the details of its gas delivery plans to unfriendly countries for payment in rubles, but it won’t engage in charity if Europe refuses to pay in the Russian currency, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

…The Kremlin spokesman remained tight-lipped on what measures Russia might take if Europe refused to pay for gas in rubles, noting that these “issues should be sorted out as they develop.” “But we will definitely not supply gas for free, that’s for sure. It is hardly possible and reasonable to engage in charity in our situation,” he emphasized.

Do you hear that Davos? That’s the sound of the ticking clock.

The Trade’s the Thing…

The reason why this current scheme is already working is that Russia runs a positive trade balance mostly in base commodity exports. Davos doesn’t want them making any money selling those commodities to the world and will continue to put sanctions on to get people to not use rubles.

They are however fighting the invisible hand of Adam Smith’s market. The demand for the ruble will rise above the pre-war exchange rate of around 75:1 vs. the USD.

The price point for gold/ruble implies that exchange rate. Russia will revisit this at the end of Q2.  This also implies they expect the ruble/dollar rate to fall to 75 by the end of Q2, if not earlier.

After that if the ruble strengthens beyond that they can adjust the gold buying price.  

If the ruble/dollar rate dips below their pegged price, buyers are getting oil at a discount when paying in gold. That will force the CRIMEX and LBMA into a supply shortage situation or they will have to end the expansion of paper gold versus real gold and allow real price discovery to the upside.

If the sanctions are successful in scaring everyone into not using rubles gold Russian commodities then the exchange rate will stay stubbornly above 75 and the boycotting world will lose competitive advantage versus those willing to brave the US’s ire by getting Russian commodities on the cheap.

As I talked about in previous articles, this sets up the opportunity to end the suppression of the price of gold through rehypothecation of physical gold in the paper markets which is the basis for the entire financial colonization system I described above.

FYI, this same scenario is going to play out in Bitcoin now that Russia has said ‘friendly countries’ can pay for imports with Bitcoin.  Has anyone noticed the current rally in the World’s Most Hated Cryptocurrency?

We now have a full gold/bitcoin/ruble (and soon Yuan) interconversion system that completely and utterly cuts out Davos and destroys their colonial debt model while also taking away their power to crash economies through hot money in and out flows.

Because the next step in all of this is for Russia to close their capital account and nationalizing the Bank of Russia making the only source of international rubles be the Russian government.  

Internally, the ruble will be de facto backed by gold and can circulate freely.  

The War Without End, Ended

The war is over folks.  Russia, China and the rest of the Global South have already won. As Luke Gromen replied to me., “in the end there’s nothing they can do about it.” 

What scares me is the last thing I tweeted out in that thread: 

“Other than widen the war on the ground.  That’s the part that scares me.”

And that’s exactly what I expect to happen next, sadly.  Biden is in Brussels saying the quiet parts out loud talking with the 82nd Airborne about going into Ukraine and calling for regime change in Moscow.  

These people still believe their own bullshit to the point where they think this becomes a war the Russians can’t win.

Putin let the world down easy with this announcement.  He could have walked right in and said 8000 rubles to the gram or $2575/oz and that would have broken the markets Friday going into the weekend, by selling his oil and gas at a steep discount.

He waited until after OpEx last Friday and the Fed’s interest rate hike plan was announced.

Timing matters guys.

But, by doing this he has very subtly also supported the Fed and it’s plan to withdraw dollars from Europe, because this will keep the price of gold in check for a little while and keeping the ECB from offsetting spiking Eurobond yields with higher gold reserves on its balance sheet.

Putin on the left arm, Powell on the right and Lagarde is about to get pulled apart at the seams if Davos doesn’t play ball and give up.

The problem there is the unquenchable arrogance of these European elites who simply do not believe they could be bested by the “colonies” in the US and the “dirty slavs” in Russia.  I’ve told you for years now that it is their inherent racism that drives their actions. 

So, do not be surprised if they empower the neocons in the UK and US to escalate from here. The signs are piling up that the Pentagon and the White House are at odds over the planned escalations. The State and Treasury Depts. are nests of vipers having usurped Congress to wage war without declaring it.

I can only hope that serious and adult people within the Pentagon will finally end this nonsense before we wind up in a war no one wants except a bunch of inbred Eurotrash well past their ‘use-by’ date.

I always say that spooks start civil wars but militaries end them. Let’s hope that we never get to the point of needing any other military than the Russians’ to end this war.

In the meantime, the message is clear, #GotGoldorRubles?

 

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/gotgoldorrubles-did-russia-just-break-back-west

[Tom Nolan + 2,441]

On 3/29/2022 at 9:06 AM, Tom Nolan said:

On 3/29/2022 at 12:24 AM, surrept33 said:

Russia Is Lying About Evidence of Bioweapons Labs in Ukraine, Russian Biologists Say

Russian scientists who have looked at the documents Russia calls proof of “bioweapons labs” in Ukraine say there is no evidence for such claims.

https://theintercept.com/2022/03/17/russia-ukraine-bioweapons-misinformation/

Expand  Expand  

The U.S. has BioLabs around the world, along with many covert CIA (NGO) operations.
 

 

Dilyana Gaytandzhieva is a Bulgarian investigative journalist, Middle East correspondent and founder of Arms Watch. Over the last years she has published a series of revealing reports on weapons supplies to terrorists in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Her current work is focused on documenting war crimes and illicit arms exports to war zones around the world.
http://armswatch.com/

 

EXCERPT: …These US bio-laboratories are funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) under a $ 2.1 billion military program– Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP), and are located in former Soviet Union countries such as Georgia and Ukraine, the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa…

 

…The DoD Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has funded 11 bio-laboratories in the former Soviet Union Country Ukraine, bordering on Russia….

 

April 29, 2018 – Dilyana
The Pentagon Bio-weapons
http://dilyana.bg/the-pentagon-bio-weapons/
[Lots of info and graphics in article.
Lots of stuff on UKRAINE…]

 

On 3/29/2022 at 12:24 AM, surrept33 said:

Russia Is Lying About Evidence of Bioweapons Labs in Ukraine, Russian Biologists Say

Russian scientists who have looked at the documents Russia calls proof of “bioweapons labs” in Ukraine say there is no evidence for such claims.

https://theintercept.com/2022/03/17/russia-ukraine-bioweapons-misinformation/

Expand  

The U.S Funds BioLabs around the world, including Ukraine.

https://community.oilprice.com/topic/26101-biolabs-in-ukraine-who-are-metabiota’s-investors-by-rhoda-wilson/

 

Moscow’s claim that Hunter Biden helped finance a US military 'bioweapons' research program in Ukraine is at least partially true, according to new emails obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.

 

[LINKS/REFERENCES to backstory in first article.]

Wed March 30 – Zero Hedge
Hunter Biden Dam About To Burst? WaPo, CNN Go Scorched Earth Over ‘Laptop From Hell’
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/hunter-biden-dam-about-burst-wapo-cnn-go-scorched-earth-over-laptop-hell

…and this Zero Hedge from Saturday March 26…
Daily Mail Drops Hunter Biden Emails Linking Him To Ukraine Biolab Funding
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hunter-biden-emails-tie-first-son-ukraine-biolab-funding
Emails from Hunter Biden’s notorious laptop reveal that the first son helped secure millions of dollars for a DoD contractor – Metabiota – which specializes in researching pandemic-causing diseases that could be used as bioweapons, according to the Daily Mail, which obtained Hunter’s emails.

 

The U.S. has BioLabs around the world, along with many covert CIA (NGO) operations.
 

 

Dilyana Gaytandzhieva is a Bulgarian investigative journalist, Middle East correspondent and founder of Arms Watch. Over the last years she has published a series of revealing reports on weapons supplies to terrorists in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Her current work is focused on documenting war crimes and illicit arms exports to war zones around the world.
http://armswatch.com/

 

EXCERPT: …These US bio-laboratories are funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) under a $ 2.1 billion military program– Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP), and are located in former Soviet Union countries such as Georgia and Ukraine, the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa…

 

…The DoD Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has funded 11 bio-laboratories in the former Soviet Union Country Ukraine, bordering on Russia….

 

April 29, 2018 – Dilyana
The Pentagon Bio-weapons
http://dilyana.bg/the-pentagon-bio-weapons/
[Lots of info and graphics in article.
Lots of stuff on UKRAINE…]

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by Tom Nolan

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,129]

On 3/30/2022 at 3:52 PM, Tom Nolan said:

The U.S Funds BioLabs around the world, including Ukraine.

https://community.oilprice.com/topic/26101-biolabs-in-ukraine-who-are-metabiota’s-investors-by-rhoda-wilson/

 

Moscow’s claim that Hunter Biden helped finance a US military 'bioweapons' research program in Ukraine is at least partially true, according to new emails obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.

 

[LINKS/REFERENCES to backstory in first article.]

Wed March 30 – Zero Hedge
Hunter Biden Dam About To Burst? WaPo, CNN Go Scorched Earth Over ‘Laptop From Hell’
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/hunter-biden-dam-about-burst-wapo-cnn-go-scorched-earth-over-laptop-hell

…and this Zero Hedge from Saturday March 26…
Daily Mail Drops Hunter Biden Emails Linking Him To Ukraine Biolab Funding
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hunter-biden-emails-tie-first-son-ukraine-biolab-funding
Emails from Hunter Biden’s notorious laptop reveal that the first son helped secure millions of dollars for a DoD contractor – Metabiota – which specializes in researching pandemic-causing diseases that could be used as bioweapons, according to the Daily Mail, which obtained Hunter’s emails.

 

The U.S. has BioLabs around the world, along with many covert CIA (NGO) operations.
 

 

Dilyana Gaytandzhieva is a Bulgarian investigative journalist, Middle East correspondent and founder of Arms Watch. Over the last years she has published a series of revealing reports on weapons supplies to terrorists in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Her current work is focused on documenting war crimes and illicit arms exports to war zones around the world.
http://armswatch.com/

 

EXCERPT: …These US bio-laboratories are funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) under a $ 2.1 billion military program– Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP), and are located in former Soviet Union countries such as Georgia and Ukraine, the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa…

 

…The DoD Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has funded 11 bio-laboratories in the former Soviet Union Country Ukraine, bordering on Russia….

 

April 29, 2018 – Dilyana
The Pentagon Bio-weapons
http://dilyana.bg/the-pentagon-bio-weapons/
[Lots of info and graphics in article.
Lots of stuff on UKRAINE…]

 

Yes, partnership programs around the world... Been true for decades.  Are you going to list all the ones in Europe and USA in exact same program?  Literally HUNDREDS more than you are listing... what is the hold up?  Oh right, that would be called basic science institutions acting as... basic science institutions.... all with biolabs at EVERY university and using STANDARDS. 

[Tom Nolan + 2,441]

46 minutes ago, footeab@yahoo.com said:

Yes, partnership programs around the world... Been true for decades.  Are you going to list all the ones in Europe and USA in exact same program?  Literally HUNDREDS more than you are listing... what is the hold up?  Oh right, that would be called basic science institutions acting as... basic science institutions.... all with biolabs at EVERY university and using STANDARDS. 

The real story here is the covert activity by the U.S. (including Biden and his son), and how it is interconnected with major institutions in clandestine activites.  Remember the Anthrax attacks shortly after September 11th, 2001?   Where people were killed and members of Congress were sickened...you surely know where the anthrax came from and you know that the government's fall-guy did not play the role.  The entire Anthrax event wwas a covert U.S. activity on its own citizens...it is well documented.

  The point of all this is that all governments are corrupt.  They are participants of nefarious activities. 

The public needs to realize that we the people are the target in this World War 3 activity that is taking place.

You and I are the targeted enemy.  Nations and Corporations desire to control and manipulate us.  There is no White horse good guy vs bad guy, because the real war being waged is upon the general population.  That people trust their overlords is beyond me. 

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,129]

2 hours ago, Tom Nolan said:

The real story here is the covert activity by the U.S. (including Biden and his son), and how it is interconnected with major institutions in clandestine activites.  Remember the Anthrax attacks shortly after September 11th, 2001?   Where people were killed and members of Congress were sickened...you surely know where the anthrax came from and you know that the government's fall-guy did not play the role.  The entire Anthrax event wwas a covert U.S. activity on its own citizens...it is well documented.

  The point of all this is that all governments are corrupt.  They are participants of nefarious activities. 

The public needs to realize that we the people are the target in this World War 3 activity that is taking place.

You and I are the targeted enemy.  Nations and Corporations desire to control and manipulate us.  There is no White horse good guy vs bad guy, because the real war being waged is upon the general population.  That people trust their overlords is beyond me. 

You mean the FAKE anthrax event or inside job?  Is that your angle?

https://www.justice.gov/archive/amerithrax/docs/amx-investigative-summary2.pdf

Edited April 1, 2022 by footeab@yahoo.com

[RichieRich216 + 454]

On 3/30/2022 at 11:39 AM, Andrei Moutchkine said:

USSR was not a dictatorship and neither is Putin, if you mean him.

The benefits would be similar to other collective bargaining arrangements, like the EU or the USA.

All of which is beside the point, because USSR is not really getting resurrected. It is impossible to do so in practice.

You say “Not Possible “ yet You have a bat shit crazies at the top of the food chain in Russia!

[Tom Nolan + 2,441]

1 hour ago, footeab@yahoo.com said:

You mean the FAKE anthrax event or inside job?  Is that your angle?

https://www.justice.gov/archive/amerithrax/docs/amx-investigative-summary2.pdf

FOOTeabYAHOO You trust the government.  You can live their lies if you wish, because you prefer to live in your Masters's shadows.

Here is one well-researched and documented resource of many...

In this 2014 interview about his book “The 2001 Anthrax Deception,” Dr. Graeme MacQueen lays out the case for a domestic conspiracy in the 2001 anthrax attacks in the US. James and Graeme discuss the context in which these attacks happened, the way they were portrayed by the government and the mainstream media, their ultimate effect, and the voluminous evidence that disproves the FBI’s assertion that the attacks were the work of Dr. Bruce Ivins.   https://www.corbettreport.com/graeme-macqueen-reveals-the-anthrax-deception/

[Tom Nolan + 2,441]

3 hours ago, Tom Nolan said:

The real story here is the covert activity by the U.S. (including Biden and his son), and how it is interconnected with major institutions in clandestine activites.  Remember the Anthrax attacks shortly after September 11th, 2001?   Where people were killed and members of Congress were sickened...you surely know where the anthrax came from and you know that the government's fall-guy did not play the role.  The entire Anthrax event wwas a covert U.S. activity on its own citizens...it is well documented.

  The point of all this is that all governments are corrupt.  They are participants of nefarious activities. 

The public needs to realize that we the people are the target in this World War 3 activity that is taking place.

You and I are the targeted enemy.  Nations and Corporations desire to control and manipulate us.  There is no White horse good guy vs bad guy, because the real war being waged is upon the general population.  That people trust their overlords is beyond me. 

I advocate peace and individual freedom.  I am for transparency.  I am against corrupt governments and corporations (which include ALL the mainstream media, Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

There are no "good guys" in these nation state wars.  The real casualities are people.  People need to realize that governments and corporations do NOT have the people's best interest at heart.  That duped people trust governments and the Mainstream Media leads to their own enslavement.

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,129]

33 minutes ago, Tom Nolan said:

FOOTeabYAHOO You trust the government.  You can live their lies if you wish, because you prefer to live in your Masters's shadows.

Here is one well-researched and documented resource of many...

In this 2014 interview about his book “The 2001 Anthrax Deception,” Dr. Graeme MacQueen lays out the case for a domestic conspiracy in the 2001 anthrax attacks in the US. James and Graeme discuss the context in which these attacks happened, the way they were portrayed by the government and the mainstream media, their ultimate effect, and the voluminous evidence that disproves the FBI’s assertion that the attacks were the work of Dr. Bruce Ivins.   https://www.corbettreport.com/graeme-macqueen-reveals-the-anthrax-deception/

Yea dude, the whole world is a conspiracy.  Irvins put in zero overtime before or after the letters were sent date, yet in the time window when letters were sent he spent time, lots of time, in the lab with said equipment able to produce and dry said anthrax. 

Common man, take off the tinfoil hat.  Governments are shit, but the evidence is damning... Unless you are going with CIA ninjas in a different lab doing the dirty deed and erasing records for access to said material. 

[Bearish on western society 0]

On 3/8/2022 at 1:16 PM, footeab@yahoo.com said:

If you actually believe that, I have some swamp land to sell you below sea level.  Has great bio diversity.  A sucker like you will pay top dollar right?

ill take that swamp land over U.S currency, they can't print more swamps lol

[SUZNV + 1,197]

There are 3 functions of money:

1 Medium of exchange

2 Unit of account

3 Store of value

Currently only USD was qualified with these 3(EUD or Yen is just kind of USD derivatives), and Gold in the past. Gold has lesser medium of exchange compares to USD but better in term of Store of value but unit of account is currently is still USD.

Rouble and China Yuan won't be able to replace USD, especially with capital outflow controls. I don't see any alternatives. Bitcoin at the moment is not qualified for Unit of account, and may not be a store of value with that big volatile because much smaller market cap compares to gold or US treasuries.

Note that many Eurodollar banks are using US treasuries as not for storage of value function, but medium of exchange, collaterals  or to qualify for Basel 3 to be able to give more loans and to have income from the yield when they don't dare to give out more loans so they won't conflict with the US Government's goal of  inflating away US public debt in the long long run  (off course with the help of Fed) but in the short time Fed will need to increase the rate no matter what so the people won't panic. 

I don't under estimate Putin's financial gambit strategy:

Offer to buy gold in Rouble , so if he can keep the Rouble up by creating demand for Rouble by selling Russia raw commodities in Rouble and have enough demand for Rouble which makes Rouble increase in value and surpass paper gold price, there would be a mass request of gold delivery from Western Gold Custodies/Exchanges to sell to Russia. And because paper gold price was shorted for decades by these exchanges/custodies, there wouldn't enough physical gold and that means they would need bail out from Western Governments (with future taxation and recession). Before that  these exchanges will need to always keep the gold price in USD above gold price in Rouble, less shorting paper gold. 

So the real financial war now is Putin has to print enough Rouble to fund the war while manage to push Rouble up by create more demand for Rouble. If he can do that, he will have more leverage on negotiation table when Western countries people have to absorb the inflation& public debt increase & recession caused by high gas prices and interest rate is up, which is bad for elections.  Ironically most Western Governments and institutions wished Putin could defeat Ukraine in 3 days, the longer the wars, both kinetic war and financial war, the higher the risks from both sides.

There is no risk of USD lost the status of reserve currency in the foreseeable future. Otherwise the long term US bonds wouldn't be that low (which means the bonds price is high when bubble is everywhere and the banks are afraid of loaning out). 

Conspiracy theory is failed under assumption that there is some organization is powerful enough to make sure everything works according to their evil plan in a very decentralized world, no unintended consequences and black swan events (such as Russia invaded Ukraine).  However I won't deny that  some global elite would have a plan for "the greater good" to keep their controls and playing god, which would lead to unstable global economics and wars. 

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by SUZNV

[Tom Nolan + 2,441]

For those folks who have an interest in the DETAILS of the Russia-Ukraine campaign, this is a good source of information.

Edward Slavsquat is a moniker sometimes used by Riley Waggaman, an American writer and journalist based in Moscow. He contributes to Anti-Empire and Russian Faith, and previously worked for Press TV, RT and Russia Insider.

https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/

Recent article with maps...

"I am in awe of the sheer ruthlessness of Russia's withdrawals"

Russia has abandoned its failed, non-military Plan A for a by-the-books Plan B

https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/i-am-in-awe-of-the-sheer-ruthlessness?s=r

[Tomasz + 1,608]

The Economist has finally found a war it doesn't like.

 

[Tomasz + 1,608]

First is TIME after Bush invaded Afghanistan. Below is TIME after Putin invaded Ukraine. Spot the difference.

 

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by Tomasz

[Tomasz + 1,608]

Ongoing war to some military expert Scott Rittter

Big Arrow War—a primer.

For all those scratching their heads in confusion, or dusting off their dress uniforms for the Ukrainian victory parade in Kiev, over the news about Russia’s “strategic shift”, you might want to re-familiarize yourself with basic military concepts.

2/ Maneuver warfare is a good place to start. Understand Russia started its “special military operation” with a severe manpower deficit—200,000 attackers to some 600,000 defenders (or more). Classic attritional conflict was never an option. Russian victory required maneuver.

3/ Maneuver war is more psychological than physical and focuses more on the operational than on the tactical level. Maneuver is relational movement—how you deploy and move your forces in relation to your opponent. Russian maneuver in the first phase of its operation support this.

4/ The Russians needed to shape the battlefield to their advantage. In order to do this, they needed to control how Ukraine employed it’s numerically superior forces, while distributing their own smaller combat power to best accomplish this objective.

5/ Strategically, to facilitate the ability to maneuver between the southern, central, and northern fronts, Russia needed to secure a land bridge between Crimea and Russia. The seizure of the coastal city of Mariupol was critical to this effort. Russia has accomplished this task.

6/ While this complex operation unfolded, Russia needed to keep Ukraine from maneuvering its numerically superior forces in a manner that disrupted the Mariupol operation. This entailed the use of several strategic supporting operations—feints, fixing operations, and deep attack.

7/ The concept of a feint is simple—a military force either is seen as preparing to attack a given location, or actually conducts an attack, for the purpose of deceiving an opponent into committing resources in response to the perceived or actual actions.

8/ The use of the feint played a major role in Desert Storm, where Marine Amphibious forces threatened the Kuwaiti coast, forcing Iraq to defend against an attack that never came, and where the 1st Cavalry Division actually attacked Wadi Al Batin to pin down the Republican Guard.

9/ The Russians made extensive use of the feint in Ukraine, with Amphibious forces off Odessa freezing Ukrainian forces there, and a major feint attack toward Kiev compelling Ukraine to reinforce their forces there. Ukraine was never able to reinforce their forces in the east.

10/ Fixing operations were also critical. Ukraine had assembled some 60,000-100,000 troops in the east, opposite Donbas. Russia carried out a broad fixing attack designed to keep these forces fully engaged and unable to maneuver in respect to other Russian operations.

11/ During Desert Storm, two Marine Divisions were ordered to carry out similar fixing attacks against Iraqi forces deployed along the Kuwaiti-Saudi border, tying down significant numbers of men and material that could not be used to counter the main US attack out west.

12/ The Russian fixing attack pinned the main Ukrainian concentration of forces in the east, and drove them away from Mariupol, which was invested and reduced. Supporting operations out of Crimea against Kherson expanded the Russian land bridge. This phase is now complete.

13/ Russia also engaged in a campaign of strategic deep attack designed to disrupt and destroy Ukrainian logistics, command & control, and air power and long-range fire support. Ukraine is running out of fuel and ammo, cannot coordinate maneuver, and has no meaningful Air Force

14/ Russia is redeploying some of its premier units from where they had been engaged in feint operations in northern Kiev to where they can support the next phase of the operation, namely the liberation of the Donbas and the destruction of the main Ukrainian force in the east

15/ This is classic maneuver warfare. Russia will now hold Ukraine in the north and south while its main forces, reinforced by the northern units, Marines, and forces freed up by the capture of Mariupol, seek to envelope and destroy 60,000 Ukrainian forces in the east.

16/ This is Big Arrow War at its finest, something Americans used to know but forgot in the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan and Iraq. It also explains how 200,000 Russians have been able to defeat 600,000 Ukrainians. Thus ends the primer on maneuver warfare, Russian style.

[SUZNV + 1,197]

It gives Putin's plan or his military  advisor on Ukraine invasion too much credit for feint. It is traditional rush to capture Kiev as first priority and if it  failed, then the backup plan is to get South East and turn the first plan into feint. No defense force would have a back up plan about what if their President run away (like in Afghan) and the West would have no excuse to escalate more and more sanctions and risk no economics recovery, again "for the greater good".

If many Western military  experts expected Ukraine would lose in first few days, there would be no reason why Putin, a former KGB not a military general, wouldn't believe the same assessment from his military advisor. And in most authoritarian country, the most loyal subordinate will get the position, not the best one.  

Even if Mariupol fell soon, and the West couldn't pressure Zelenskyy to have a agreement to cease war with Russia to get back, then this would turn into marathon proxy war where both sides in a stalemate and financial war in the background is escalating. In wars, both sides propaganda machine always acted as if the end is near in their favors to keep the moral up for enduring hardship. 

Worst case scenario for Putin is Russia will collapse and lose his power and worst case scenario for the West and the whole world would be in a decade recession, which would happen no matter what at some point, high inflation and the incumbent governments would be voted out of their positions to give the public some hopes to endure (which was not the first time for the US economy since WW2 while most of other big economies or emerging markets didn't have much experience, such as China was hot for 30 years, a generation, without any chance for adjustment).

Looks in the bright side for the West's worst case scenario, new politicians, and less free stuff promising which encourage US people go into minimalist mode, appreciate their jobs and what they have, working hard and learn hard, less  marketing or media/game entertainment. Hard time creates strong men. 

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by SUZNV

[surrept33 + 609]

2 hours ago, Tomasz said:

Ongoing war to some military expert Scott Rittter

lol, if Scott Ritter says something, the opposite is probably true. The last time he was right about something was probably WMDs in Iraq 20 years ago. It's interesting how a former marine can become a total shill, but not surprising since he's paid by RT.

I mean it's obvious that Russia had a botched attempt at a quick regime change. His "expert" military analysis is just a post-hoc rationalization of why it wasnt that. It's insulting that anyone would fall for this nonsense outside of Russia. 

Look at some of his other recent hot takes:

Feb 17th (pre war) - people screaming about invasion are not serious people:

 

https://twitter.com/RealScottRitter/status/1494283524815343618

 

 

The Ukrainian military will be annihilated in short order:

https://twitter.com/RealScottRitter/status/1494337754531971084

 

 

March 1 - the Russian military was on the cusp of encircling troops in Donbass:

https://twitter.com/RealScottRitter/status/1498635393327054849

 

Dude was claiming that Russia will force NATO back to its 1997 borders a few weeks ago. WTF? 

 

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by surrept33

[Tom Nolan + 2,441]

IMAGE -Hit link for larger

https://www.strategic-culture.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Inf76_unfr.jpg

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2022/03/31/which-nations-on-russia-unfriendly-list/