“Kiev has a plan to obstruct the launch of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will bring gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea, a top Ukrainian energy executive has claimed.
Yuri Vitrenko, Chairman of the Board of state-owned energy firm Naftogaz, wrote on Facebook on Thursday that “we have a plan for further legal steps to hinder the launch of this Russian pipeline.”
not sure if Germanic politicians will be happy to go along with this….but they might be tempted to just shrug their shoulders to put the blame back between Ukraine v Russia and just say tough luck it is the EU rules and we stand by those however flawed…….or it is just another example with rt.de being banned from broadcasting by Germany that russophobia is so deeply embedded there?
Indicative of internal strife…..just as
“The US is “closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe”, a member of a key CIA advisory panel has said.
Why Trump appears deeply unnerved as Capitol attack investigation closes in
The analysis by Barbara F Walter, a political science professor at the University of California at San Diego who sits on the Political Instability Task Force, is contained in a book due out next year and first reported by the Washington Post.
At the same time, three retired generals wrote in the Post that they were “increasingly concerned about the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election and the potential for lethal chaos inside our military”. etc
Last month, she tweeted: “The CIA actually has a taskforce designed to try to predict where and when political instability and conflict is likely to break out around the world. It’s just not legally allowed to look at the US. That means we are blind to the risk factors that are rapidly emerging here.”
The book in which Walter looks at those risk factors in the US, How Civil Wars Start, will be published in January. According to the Post, she writes: “No one wants to believe that their beloved democracy is in decline, or headed toward war.”
But “if you were an analyst in a foreign country looking at events in America – the same way you’d look at events in Ukraine or Ivory Coast or Venezuela – you would go down a checklist, assessing each of the conditions that make civil war likely.
“And what you would find is that the United States, a democracy founded more than two centuries ago, has entered very dangerous territory.”
Walter, the Post said, concludes that the US has passed through stages of “pre-insurgency” and “incipient conflict” and may now be in “open conflict”, beginning with the Capitol riot.
Citing analytics used by the Center for Systemic Peace, Walter also says the US has become an “anocracy” – “somewhere between a democracy and an autocratic state”.
yes….but she says it is all Trump’s fault and people who support him
There are so many of these women in Washington……..they are all the same…..PhD in whatever, maybe Georgetown…..sponsored by older white male……..introduced to president and spent time alone in Oval Office…..very influential……job at Harvard, MIT, UCal or whatever – Council on Foreign Relations – married to Lawyer with political connections…….board seat on defence contractors…….sessions at Chatham House……Atlantic Council…….articles in The Guardian
All these people predicting “civil war” in the US have yet to answer the question: “Who’s going to fight it?”
Yes, we have a lot of guns here. Yes, 20 million people conceal carry. Virtually none of them except a bunch of militia nutcases are willing to go out and fight – and all the militia nutcases are already known to and infiltrated by the Feds who will round them up in five minutes.
In short, there is no “fight” left in the US population – just a major capacity for bitching and moaning, then sullenly accepting the situation. Same as it ever was.
This might be of interest in the context of Russia’s preparations (machine translation):
Due to the actions of the Russian Federation NATO has increased the combat readiness of its 40,000 rapid reaction forces (NATO Response Force, NRF), the German newspaper Welt reported citing an unnamed senior diplomat of the alliance.
“In view of the buildup of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine, NATO responded with the first concrete military measure and increased the readiness of its 40,000-strong rapid reaction forces,” the newspaper writes.
LOL They fire one shot or set one foot in Russian territory, they get wiped out in thirty minutes. The important thing is that this once again proves the West is not listening to Russia.
22 DEC, 12:13
Kremlin disagrees with US accusations of Russia’s violating WTO rules
According to the US trade representative report, Russia implements an industrial policy seemingly driven by the guiding principles of import substitution and forced localization
“We do not agree with this point of view. Russia does not violate anything in this area,” he said.
On Tuesday, US trade representative Katherine Tai said the US intends to use the WTO mechanisms to hold Russia accountable for its alleged trade activities. She made this statement after her Office released its “2021 Report on the Implementation and Enforcement of Russia’s World Trade Organization (WTO) Commitments.”
According to that report, “Russia maintains restrictive at-the-border measures, institutes behind-the-border measures to inhibit trade, and implements an industrial policy seemingly driven by the guiding principles of import substitution and forced localization.”
Dear FM Lavrov is always worth a listen, thank you. Just wish i didn’t see both RT & YT as frauds, empires murdoch’s, spoils recent event believability for moi
At the very beginning of Mr. Lavrov’s “interview”, the RT questioner asks Mr. Lavrov the following question (I could not catch the first word out of the question):
“…with regard to NATO’s eastward expansion, in this regard I have two questions. Why are they doing this and will Russia tolerate it, and will the collective West be able to accept Russia’s proposals on peaceful coexistence? Thank you.”
Because I have my own answer to the first part of the question, I listened very carefully to Mr. Lavrov’s response. As far as I can tell, Mr. Lavrov did not answer the “Why are they doing this?” part of the question and simply carried on with his prepared statement.
(Because of Mr. Lavrov’s IMO subdued demeanor throughout the rest of the “interview”, I couldn’t help speculating that since the release of Russia’s ultimatum (or promise or whatever) to the controllers of NATO, “something big” has happened, or is happening, at the highest level of the Russian government. Or maybe it’s just that Mr. Lavrov knows that there is about to be a war and such knowledge would probably subdue just about anyone. We’ll soon find out which is correct.)
Anyway, luckily, Mr. Putin answered Mr. Lavrov’s first, IMO most important question very recently in his speech to the Expanded Meeting of the Defence Ministry Board.
”I have already said this in public and will remind you of this again: American specialists were permanently present at the nuclear arms facilities of the Russian Federation. They went to their office there every day, had desks and an American flag. Wasn’t this enough? What else is required? US advisors worked in the Russian Government, career CIA officers gave their advice. What else did they want? What was the point of supporting separatism in the North Caucasus, with the help of even ISIS – well, if not ISIS, there were other terrorist groups. They obviously supported terrorists. What for? What was the point of expanding NATO and withdrawing from the ABM Treaty?
They are to blame for what is happening in Europe now, for the escalation of tensions there. Russia had to respond at every step, and the situation was continuously going from bad to worse. It was deteriorating all the time. And here we are today, in a situation when we are forced to resolve it: After all, we cannot allow the scenario I mentioned. Is anyone unable to grasp this? This should be clear.
Sometimes I wonder: Why did they do all this in the then conditions? This is unclear. I think the reason lies in the euphoria from the victory in the so-called Cold War or the so-called victory in the Cold War. This was due to their wrong assessment of the situation at that time, due to their unprofessional, wrong analysis of probable scenarios. There are simply no other reasons.”
___________
The reason for the US’s and its disgusting vassals’ behavior since Gorby did what he did was (and still is) NOT “their wrong assessment of the situation due to their unprofessional, wrong analysis of probable scenarios.”
There is in fact another, very easy to understand reason for “their” behavior that, once fully understood and appreciated, can lead to only a few very logical countering actions. I spelled out that reason and countering actions in a comment I posted on an article written in September of this year by Michael Hudson and posted with his permission on The Saker website. /the-vocabulary-of-neoliberal-diplomacy-in-todays-new-cold-war/#comment-973789
That reason also answers perfectly all of the questions Mr. Putin asks within the above quote from his speech.
I will add now that the servitude of the Oligarchs from the US’s disgusting vassal states to the US-directed empire was fully secured in 2008 by the enactment into law of the so called “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008” (EESU) – the act that prevented the Western Transnational Elite Collective (WOTEC) from suffering financial losses and loss of political power within their societies; while at the same time creating the so-called TBTF banks (G-SIBs). https://www.congress.gov/110/plaws/publ343/PLAW-110publ343.pdf
Regarding military action in Novorossia, or at least a strong hint of such action to NATO, the following images were captured by a Sentinal Synthetic Aperture Radar System overlooking Novorissia. It shows clear, selective, area suppression of SAR coverage. You can bet US/NATO is aware of this. I have seen this effect before but not in this area.
Camera pans across his audience. White haired senior military.
They all looked: Sober solemn, resigned, determined.
The day and events they never wanted to see has regretfully arrived.
They are going to war.
They look like they don’t want to go to war.
But it is necessary. And they have spent a lifetime prepping for this. Always hopeful it would not be necessary.
Very very sad.
No hyperbole from Shoigu. Just confirmed verified facts.
No “yeeehaaaa”, we gonna kill us some goddam yankeees!
None of that.
Just really terrifying serious assessment.
And an unspoken “men. You know what to do. Today you defend the Motherland.”
the statement below seems to indicate the cohesive delusional and mistaken western resolve for such
2
23 DEC, 04:29
Any military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences — statement
The US, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Ukraine, Poland also called on Russia “to cease its hostile disinformation campaign against Ukraine”
UNITED NATIONS, December 23. /TASS/. The possible military aggression of Russia against Ukraine would have “massive consequences” and “a severe cost in response”, according to the joint statement by the US, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Ukraine, Poland, a number of other European countries, as well as the EU.
“The timing of this Arria-formula meeting is especially troubling, coming against the backdrop of Russian military build-up on the Crimean peninsula and on Ukraine’s borders,” the statement reads. “The UN Charter prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State. Any further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and a severe cost in response.”
The countries also called on Russia “to cease its hostile disinformation campaign against Ukraine, to de-escalate tensions in and around Ukraine, and to withdraw without delay the forces and equipment it has stationed in the country without Ukraine’s consent.”
“Russia’s actions are of global concern and in violation of international law, including the UN Charter, run contrary to Russia’s commitments under the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter, and increasingly threaten the security of Europe and the rules-based international order,” the statement says.”
Ukraine meanwhile is complaining to EU for not confronting Russia to get more gas yet Germany is reverse flowing gas to Poland via Yamal pipeline. …but is upset with Poland as once again their courts have come out against the validity of EU law supremacy .
Oh what an unholy mess they all weave.
“Kiev has a plan to obstruct the launch of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will bring gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea, a top Ukrainian energy executive has claimed.
Yuri Vitrenko, Chairman of the Board of state-owned energy firm Naftogaz, wrote on Facebook on Thursday that “we have a plan for further legal steps to hinder the launch of this Russian pipeline.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/543916-ukraine-plan-stop-nordstream2/
not sure if Germanic politicians will be happy to go along with this….but they might be tempted to just shrug their shoulders to put the blame back between Ukraine v Russia and just say tough luck it is the EU rules and we stand by those however flawed…….or it is just another example with rt.de being banned from broadcasting by Germany that russophobia is so deeply embedded there?
Indicative of internal strife…..just as
“The US is “closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe”, a member of a key CIA advisory panel has said.
Why Trump appears deeply unnerved as Capitol attack investigation closes in
The analysis by Barbara F Walter, a political science professor at the University of California at San Diego who sits on the Political Instability Task Force, is contained in a book due out next year and first reported by the Washington Post.
At the same time, three retired generals wrote in the Post that they were “increasingly concerned about the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election and the potential for lethal chaos inside our military”. etc
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/20/us-closer-to-civil-war-new-book-barbara-walter-trump-capitol-attack
Last month, she tweeted: “The CIA actually has a taskforce designed to try to predict where and when political instability and conflict is likely to break out around the world. It’s just not legally allowed to look at the US. That means we are blind to the risk factors that are rapidly emerging here.”
The book in which Walter looks at those risk factors in the US, How Civil Wars Start, will be published in January. According to the Post, she writes: “No one wants to believe that their beloved democracy is in decline, or headed toward war.”
But “if you were an analyst in a foreign country looking at events in America – the same way you’d look at events in Ukraine or Ivory Coast or Venezuela – you would go down a checklist, assessing each of the conditions that make civil war likely.
“And what you would find is that the United States, a democracy founded more than two centuries ago, has entered very dangerous territory.”
Walter, the Post said, concludes that the US has passed through stages of “pre-insurgency” and “incipient conflict” and may now be in “open conflict”, beginning with the Capitol riot.
Citing analytics used by the Center for Systemic Peace, Walter also says the US has become an “anocracy” – “somewhere between a democracy and an autocratic state”.
yes….but she says it is all Trump’s fault and people who support him
There are so many of these women in Washington……..they are all the same…..PhD in whatever, maybe Georgetown…..sponsored by older white male……..introduced to president and spent time alone in Oval Office…..very influential……job at Harvard, MIT, UCal or whatever – Council on Foreign Relations – married to Lawyer with political connections…….board seat on defence contractors…….sessions at Chatham House……Atlantic Council…….articles in The Guardian
All these people predicting “civil war” in the US have yet to answer the question: “Who’s going to fight it?”
Yes, we have a lot of guns here. Yes, 20 million people conceal carry. Virtually none of them except a bunch of militia nutcases are willing to go out and fight – and all the militia nutcases are already known to and infiltrated by the Feds who will round them up in five minutes.
In short, there is no “fight” left in the US population – just a major capacity for bitching and moaning, then sullenly accepting the situation. Same as it ever was.
Lol love it when the fodder think they’ll be spare. If there is a god may you trumpet cults shills suffer the faith that awaits you
Lol all you like……
I look forward to “suffering my faith”.
And for you to suffer yours.
This might be of interest in the context of Russia’s preparations (machine translation):
Due to the actions of the Russian Federation NATO has increased the combat readiness of its 40,000 rapid reaction forces (NATO Response Force, NRF), the German newspaper Welt reported citing an unnamed senior diplomat of the alliance.
“In view of the buildup of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine, NATO responded with the first concrete military measure and increased the readiness of its 40,000-strong rapid reaction forces,” the newspaper writes.
Источник: https://rusvesna.su/news/1640176941
LOL They fire one shot or set one foot in Russian territory, they get wiped out in thirty minutes. The important thing is that this once again proves the West is not listening to Russia.
attack by another means?
22 DEC, 12:13
Kremlin disagrees with US accusations of Russia’s violating WTO rules
According to the US trade representative report, Russia implements an industrial policy seemingly driven by the guiding principles of import substitution and forced localization
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS
MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. The Kremlin disagrees with US allegations that Russia’s policy of import substitution violates World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“We do not agree with this point of view. Russia does not violate anything in this area,” he said.
On Tuesday, US trade representative Katherine Tai said the US intends to use the WTO mechanisms to hold Russia accountable for its alleged trade activities. She made this statement after her Office released its “2021 Report on the Implementation and Enforcement of Russia’s World Trade Organization (WTO) Commitments.”
According to that report, “Russia maintains restrictive at-the-border measures, institutes behind-the-border measures to inhibit trade, and implements an industrial policy seemingly driven by the guiding principles of import substitution and forced localization.”
Dear FM Lavrov is always worth a listen, thank you. Just wish i didn’t see both RT & YT as frauds, empires murdoch’s, spoils recent event believability for moi
At the very beginning of Mr. Lavrov’s “interview”, the RT questioner asks Mr. Lavrov the following question (I could not catch the first word out of the question):
“…with regard to NATO’s eastward expansion, in this regard I have two questions. Why are they doing this and will Russia tolerate it, and will the collective West be able to accept Russia’s proposals on peaceful coexistence? Thank you.”
Because I have my own answer to the first part of the question, I listened very carefully to Mr. Lavrov’s response. As far as I can tell, Mr. Lavrov did not answer the “Why are they doing this?” part of the question and simply carried on with his prepared statement.
(Because of Mr. Lavrov’s IMO subdued demeanor throughout the rest of the “interview”, I couldn’t help speculating that since the release of Russia’s ultimatum (or promise or whatever) to the controllers of NATO, “something big” has happened, or is happening, at the highest level of the Russian government. Or maybe it’s just that Mr. Lavrov knows that there is about to be a war and such knowledge would probably subdue just about anyone. We’ll soon find out which is correct.)
Anyway, luckily, Mr. Putin answered Mr. Lavrov’s first, IMO most important question very recently in his speech to the Expanded Meeting of the Defence Ministry Board.
”I have already said this in public and will remind you of this again: American specialists were permanently present at the nuclear arms facilities of the Russian Federation. They went to their office there every day, had desks and an American flag. Wasn’t this enough? What else is required? US advisors worked in the Russian Government, career CIA officers gave their advice. What else did they want? What was the point of supporting separatism in the North Caucasus, with the help of even ISIS – well, if not ISIS, there were other terrorist groups. They obviously supported terrorists. What for? What was the point of expanding NATO and withdrawing from the ABM Treaty?
They are to blame for what is happening in Europe now, for the escalation of tensions there. Russia had to respond at every step, and the situation was continuously going from bad to worse. It was deteriorating all the time. And here we are today, in a situation when we are forced to resolve it: After all, we cannot allow the scenario I mentioned. Is anyone unable to grasp this? This should be clear.
Sometimes I wonder: Why did they do all this in the then conditions? This is unclear. I think the reason lies in the euphoria from the victory in the so-called Cold War or the so-called victory in the Cold War. This was due to their wrong assessment of the situation at that time, due to their unprofessional, wrong analysis of probable scenarios. There are simply no other reasons.”
___________
The reason for the US’s and its disgusting vassals’ behavior since Gorby did what he did was (and still is) NOT “their wrong assessment of the situation due to their unprofessional, wrong analysis of probable scenarios.”
There is in fact another, very easy to understand reason for “their” behavior that, once fully understood and appreciated, can lead to only a few very logical countering actions. I spelled out that reason and countering actions in a comment I posted on an article written in September of this year by Michael Hudson and posted with his permission on The Saker website.
/the-vocabulary-of-neoliberal-diplomacy-in-todays-new-cold-war/#comment-973789
That reason also answers perfectly all of the questions Mr. Putin asks within the above quote from his speech.
I will add now that the servitude of the Oligarchs from the US’s disgusting vassal states to the US-directed empire was fully secured in 2008 by the enactment into law of the so called “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008” (EESU) – the act that prevented the Western Transnational Elite Collective (WOTEC) from suffering financial losses and loss of political power within their societies; while at the same time creating the so-called TBTF banks (G-SIBs).
https://www.congress.gov/110/plaws/publ343/PLAW-110publ343.pdf
Regarding military action in Novorossia, or at least a strong hint of such action to NATO, the following images were captured by a Sentinal Synthetic Aperture Radar System overlooking Novorissia. It shows clear, selective, area suppression of SAR coverage. You can bet US/NATO is aware of this. I have seen this effect before but not in this area.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FHC4pg0WUAI1xLZ.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FHC4oBRXIAMITGJ.png
Watched Shoigu presentation.
Russian Defence Minister Shoigu: American PMCs Delivered Unidentified Chemical Components To Donbass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X270kbJdcJk
Camera pans across his audience. White haired senior military.
They all looked: Sober solemn, resigned, determined.
The day and events they never wanted to see has regretfully arrived.
They are going to war.
They look like they don’t want to go to war.
But it is necessary. And they have spent a lifetime prepping for this. Always hopeful it would not be necessary.
Very very sad.
No hyperbole from Shoigu. Just confirmed verified facts.
No “yeeehaaaa”, we gonna kill us some goddam yankeees!
None of that.
Just really terrifying serious assessment.
And an unspoken “men. You know what to do. Today you defend the Motherland.”
EU FUKUS AUKUS whatever. Have no clue.
the statement below seems to indicate the cohesive delusional and mistaken western resolve for such
2
23 DEC, 04:29
Any military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences — statement
The US, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Ukraine, Poland also called on Russia “to cease its hostile disinformation campaign against Ukraine”
UNITED NATIONS, December 23. /TASS/. The possible military aggression of Russia against Ukraine would have “massive consequences” and “a severe cost in response”, according to the joint statement by the US, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Ukraine, Poland, a number of other European countries, as well as the EU.
“The timing of this Arria-formula meeting is especially troubling, coming against the backdrop of Russian military build-up on the Crimean peninsula and on Ukraine’s borders,” the statement reads. “The UN Charter prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State. Any further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and a severe cost in response.”
The countries also called on Russia “to cease its hostile disinformation campaign against Ukraine, to de-escalate tensions in and around Ukraine, and to withdraw without delay the forces and equipment it has stationed in the country without Ukraine’s consent.”
“Russia’s actions are of global concern and in violation of international law, including the UN Charter, run contrary to Russia’s commitments under the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter, and increasingly threaten the security of Europe and the rules-based international order,” the statement says.”
Ukraine meanwhile is complaining to EU for not confronting Russia to get more gas yet Germany is reverse flowing gas to Poland via Yamal pipeline. …but is upset with Poland as once again their courts have come out against the validity of EU law supremacy .
Oh what an unholy mess they all weave.