US Space Force General Says China's Military Developing Space Assets At "Breathtaking Speed"

US Space Force General Says China's Military Developing Space Assets At "Breathtaking Speed"

Frank Fang

Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, recently warned about China’s “breathtakingly fast” development of space military capabilities, following his trips to South Korea and Japan.

“We are seriously focused at U.S. Space Command on our pacing challenge, which is the People’s Republic of China,” Gen. Whiting told reporters during a call from Japan on April 24.

“The People’s Republic of China is moving at breathtaking speed in space, and they are rapidly developing a range of counter-space weapons to hold at risk our space capabilities,” he added. 

“They’re also using space to make their terrestrial forces—their army, their navy, their marine corps, their air force—more precise, more lethal, and more far-ranging.”

Gen. Whiting was on his first Indo-Pacific trip after becoming the head of U.S. Space Command in January, succeeding Army Gen. James Dickinson. During his trip, he met with top military leaders from South Korea and Japan, including Adm. Kim Myung-Soo, chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara.

One particular concern was the number of Chinese satellites in orbit, Gen. Whiting said.

“Over the last six years, they have tripled the number of intelligent surveillance and reconnaissance satellites on orbit, and they have used their space capabilities to improve the lethality, the precision, and the range of their terrestrial forces,” he said. 

“And so that obviously is a cause for concern and something that we are watching a very, very closely.”

China’s satellite fleet stood at 359 systems as of January, according to his prepared remarks for a hearing of the Senate Armed Service Committee in February. He also noted that Beijing is developing hypersonic glide vehiclesalong with other advanced space weaponry to “overcome U.S. traditional missile warning and ballistic missile defense systems.”

Ukraine's Top Five Challenges Are Unsolvable

Ukraine's Top Five Challenges Are Unsolvable

Andrew Korybko

It’s beginning to dawn on most Westerners that the US’ long-delayed aid to Ukraine isn’t all that it was hyped up to be and will only at most temporarily slow down the pace of Russia’s increasingly rapid advances. The conflict’s tempo has gradually intensified as Russia exploited Ukraine’s disastrous counteroffensive to regain the military-strategic initiative. Ukraine’s problems are immense and multifaceted, but they’re all connected one way or another to the five following factors:

1. Russia’s Military-Industrial Complex Continues Outproducing NATO’s

Russia won the “race of logistics”/“war of attrition” with NATO long ago and that’s why it continued gaining ground over the past 18 months. The sanctions failed to bankrupt the Kremlin, required resources for production remain readily available, and sabotage had no impact on the assembly lines. Not only has NATO been unable to stop Russia’s military-industrial complex, but it couldn’t ramp up its own during this time either, thus creating an unbridgeable gap that weakens Ukraine more by the week.

2. Ukraine Is Struggling To Replenish Its Depleted Military Ranks

NATO’s loss in the abovementioned military-industrial competition with Russia, the consequent failure of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, and Russia’s subsequent on-the-ground gains combined to scare Ukrainian men away from joining the armed forces and helping to replenish their depleted ranks. Without enough soldiers, Ukraine can’t confidently hold off Russia’s advances, thus risking an impending collapse along the front. At the end of the day, it’s just a numbers game, and Ukraine’s continue trending downward.

3. Less Equipment & Troops Mean More Difficulty Building New Defenses

The pace with which Russia has recently gained ground in Donbass is stressing Ukraine’s existing defensive lines like never before, thus compelling it to build newer ones further behind the front lines. Although Zelensky demanded this be done late last year, little progress has been made due to the lack of equipment and troops for holding off the Russian advance while simultaneously accomplishing this task. The breakthrough that the Ukrainian Intelligence Committee warned about is now more likely than ever.

4. Political Instability Is Still A Damocles’ Sword Hanging Over Ukraine

The Committee also warned in their same message from February that political unrest might explode next month around the time that Zelensky’s term expires on 21 May. They of course claimed that Russia would be behind it, which he also preconditioned his partners to falsely believe late last year, but this would actually be a genuine response to growing problems. Authoritarianism, corruption, forcible conscription, serious economic troubles, and the lack of a realistic endgame all enrage Ukrainians.

5. Ukraine Continues Thinking That It Knows Better Than The US

The Washington Post’s two-part post-mortem report on last summer’s failed counteroffensive revealed that one of the reasons why it flopped was because Ukraine refused to listen to the US’ advice. This problem is attributable to Zelensky and most recently took the form of him ordering his forces to attack Russian energy infrastructure in defiance of the US at the expense of more tactically significant targets. It’s actually the US’ own fault, though, since their media convinced him that he was a “god among men”.

These unsolvable challenges have converged to create a full-fledged crisis for Ukraine that Commander-in-Chief Syrsky is unable to resolve,which is why he candidly informed Ukraine’s partners that “the difficult operational and strategic situation…has a tendency to get worse.” Unless Ukraine agrees to demilitarize the regions still under its control east of the Dnieper and turn them into a buffer zone, the front might collapse by summertime, which could either lead to capitulation or a NATO intervention.

'Environmental Pollutant' - How A Key Climate Agenda Tool Harms Endangered Species

'Environmental Pollutant' - How A Key Climate Agenda Tool Harms Endangered Species

Donna Anderson

As the Biden administration expands its offshore wind projects as part of its goal to reach a carbon-free energy system, whales and other marine life may become collateral damage, according to new research.

Two independent studies measuring ocean wind turbine construction noise found that the sound emitted by vessels mapping the seafloor was significantly louder than estimated, and that noise protection for whales and other sea creatures during wind turbine pile driving doesn’t work.

Intense noise causes hearing loss in whales, other marine mammals, turtles, and fish, compromising their ability to navigate, avoid danger, detect predators, and find prey, according to scientific studies.

Robert Rand, an acoustics consultant with 44 years of experience, took underwater readings of the sonar survey vessel Miss Emma McCall off the coast of New Jersey. He also recorded acoustic readings of pile driving for Vineyards Wind 1, an offshore wind farm project under construction 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.

In his pile-driving report, published March 28, Mr. Rand found that even the most advanced sound-dampening technologies didn’t adequately control harmful noise. The pounding was just as loud as seismic air gun arrays used for oil and gas exploration, long known to cause injury, hearing loss, and behavioral changes in fish and marine mammals.

Furthermore, the noise made by the construction vessel itself, which is not monitored, was almost as loud as the pile driving. Mr. Rand found that the standard formula used by the National Marine Fisheries Service to calculate how noise, over a period of time, affects a mammal’s hearing, significantly underestimates the sound levels experienced by dolphins and whales.

“These are real data,” Mr. Rand, who testified at a Congressional field hearing on January 20, told The Epoch Times. “I measured it. This is not a computer model. This is not a political press release. These are data.”

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Ukraine’s top general admits ‘tactical’ retreat underway

Ukraine’s top general admits ‘tactical’ retreat underway

RT

Ukrainian military units have pulled back from three villages in Russia's Donetsk People's Republic as Moscow's forces continue to  push westward from the regions' capital city, Kiev’s top general has conceded.

Ukrainian troops retreated from the villages of Berdychi and Semyonovka, to the northwest of Avdeevka, and from Novomikhailovka, to the southwest of Donetsk, commander-in-chief General Aleksandr Syrsky said on Sunday in a Telegram post. The outnumbered Ukrainians gave ground to preserve “the lives and health of our defenders,” he added.

“The most difficult situation is in the Pokrovsk and Kurakhovo directions, where fierce battles continue,” Syrsky said. “The enemy has engaged up to four brigades in these directions, and is trying to develop an offensive west of Avdeevka and Maryinka.”

After capturing the Ukrainian stronghold of Avdeevka in February, Russian units have made steady battlefield gains. They are now firmly in control of the battlefield situation and are steadily pushing back Ukrainian forces, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said last Monday. According to Moscow, Kiev’s forces have lost more than 8,000 soldiers in just the past week.

In recent days, Russian troops also liberated the town of Bogdanovka, located near the strategic town of Chasov Yar in the north of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Chasov Yar sits on high ground, and taking it would give Russian units a strong vantage point from which to attack other key areas held by the Ukrainians.

The Ukrainian general acknowledged on Sunday that Russian forces are attacking along “the entire front line,” spanning more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). On Friday he told his country's Western backers that Kiev’s forces face a “difficult operational and strategic situation, which has a tendency to get worse.”

Moscow said that no Western weapons can change the dynamics on the front lines. Some US officials told Politico that the White House is also not convinced that the latest American assistance will be enough for Ukraine to prevail in the conflict with Russia.

‘Motherland is not for sale’ – Moscow

‘Motherland is not for sale’ – Moscow

RT

Russia will not cede any territory in exchange for the prospect of recovering its assets frozen abroad, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram on Sunday. Zakharova was commenting on a Wall Street Journal article claiming that Germany is considering trying to use the funds as leverage during potential peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.

Berlin has been opposing the US push to seize the frozen Russian assets and use them to fund Ukraine’s military and economic needs, according to the article, which was published on Sunday. One of the arguments reportedly brought up by German officials revolved around using the money as “leverage in any talks to end the war.” That strategy would supposedly force Moscow to “cede” some of the territory that Kiev lays claim to, the WSJ said.

The outlet did not provide any exact quotes or identify any specific German officials supporting this line of thought.

“I do not know who says what but assets are not to be exchanged for territories,”Zakharova wrote in a Telegram post. “The motherland is not for sale.”

Zakharova also maintained that the Russian assets should “stay untouched” and warned that “any Western theft would be met with a harsh response.” “Many people in the West have already understood this. It’s a pity that not everyone [has],” she added.

The EU and other G7 nations have blocked an estimated $300 billion in reserves belonging to the Russian central bank since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Most of the funds are being held by the Belgium-based clearinghouse Euroclear.

Earlier in April, the US passed a bill allowing Washington to liquidate frozen Russian assets and transfer the funds obtained to Ukraine. However, the US holds only around $6 billion out of the total amount. Washington has long been pushing its allies to seize the money outright but has encountered resistance from some allies, particularly Germany, according to the WSJ.

The potential use of the funds as a bargaining chip in future talks is just one of Berlin’s reasons, though, according to the WSJ. Germany is mostly concerned about the move potentially opening a Pandora’s box of historical restitution and reparations claims, including those linked to the nation’s own Nazi past, it said.

Kim Jong Un tests new rockets to strike Seoul and perhaps sell to Putin

Kim Jong Un tests new rockets to strike Seoul and perhaps sell to Putin

AMN

Leader Kim Jong Un oversaw tests of a new North Korean rocket system that could bolster his ability to attack Seoul and it may become a weapon he attempts to sell to Russia for use in its assault on Ukraine.

Kim watched the test-fire of a 240 millimeter multiple rocket launcher with shells coming from a newly established arms producer that “would bring about a strategic change in bolstering up the artillery force of the Korean People’s Army,” the official Korean Central News Agency reported Friday.

This is the second test of the device this year reported by state media for what weapons experts said is a guided missile system with an estimated range of between 25 miles to 37 miles. Images from the previous test in February show the rockets were fired from a mobile launcher with a 22-tube configuration.

“North Korea can put the whole Seoul area within its shooting range if these rockets are fired from the front line,” said Yang Uk, a research fellow at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

“It could be meaningful in the exports market, say for Russia, and it could be a useful weapon for the war in Ukraine,” he said.

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik has said recent tests of weapons overseen by Kim could be part of a demonstration before exporting the arms to Russia for use by President Vladimir Putin for his war on Ukraine.

The U.S., South Korea and others have accused North Korea of sending massive amounts of artillery shells as well as its newest family of short-range nuclear-capable ballistic missiles that are easy to hide and quick to deploy. Pyongyang and Moscow have denied the charges.

Russia, in return, is providing North Korea with food, raw materials and parts used in weapons manufacturing, Shin has said. The food aid has helped Kim stabilize prices for necessities, and if the arms transfers grow, Russia will likely send more military technology to Kim, increasing Pyongyang’s threat to the region, Shin added.

The U.S. is set to resume its military aid to Ukraine with an initial tranche valued at $1 billion. It would include air defense interceptors, artillery rounds, armored vehicles, and anti-tank weapons — the first transfer from $61 billion in new funding. Ukrainian and U.S. officials acknowledged for the first time the assistance includes the longer-range version of a tactical ballistic missile system known as ATACMS, which Ukraine has long desired in a push to strike deeper into occupied territory.

Hamas fires more than 20 rockets from Lebanon at northern Israel

Hamas fires more than 20 rockets from Lebanon at northern Israel

Emanuel Fabian

The Lebanon branch of the Hamas terror group launched a barrage of dozens of rockets at northern Israel on Monday morning, as skirmishes on the border persisted amid the war in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the Gaza-based Hamas said it had launched a volley of rockets from Lebanon at an army base near the northern city of Kiryat Shmona.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, some 20 rockets had crossed the border in the attack. Most of the projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, while the others apparently struck open areas, it said.

Sirens sounded in Kiryat Shmona and nearby communities in the attack. No damage or injuries were reported.

The IDF said it had shelled the source of the fire with artillery.

Hamas’s Lebanon branch, which maintains a presence in Lebanon under Hezbollah protection, has claimed responsibility for several attacks on northern Israel amid the war.

Earlier Monday, the IDF announced that its fighter jets struck Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon overnight.

The sites included infrastructure in Jabal Blat, and several buildings used by the terror group in Marwahin, according to the military.

Israel has threatened to go to war to force Hezbollah away from the border if it does not retreat and continues to threaten northern communities, from where some 70,000 people were evacuated to avoid the fighting.

On Monday, the Hezbollah-linked al-Akhbar newspaper reported that France had removed a provision calling on the terror group to withdraw behind the Litani River in its outline to end the fighting in the north.

Citing informed sources, the report said that the new proposal submitted by French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne on Sunday in Beirut called for a “repositioning” of Hezbollah’s forces, without specifying where.

The new proposal also included a ceasefire in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, ensuring the return of residents on both sides living along the border, and the deployment of 15,000 Lebanese soldiers boosted with “adequate equipment” south of the Litani, the report said.

Then, negotiations would be launched on demarcating a border between Israel and Lebanon and forming a committee to oversee such arrangements.

US Campuses: Incubating Terrorism

US Campuses: Incubating Terrorism

Alan M. Dershowitz

Thousands of young students – from universities, high schools and even middle schools – are joining in demonstrations, marches and protests against Israel, against the United States and against Jews. Some even are Jews. They are joining Muslim and Arab anti-Zionists, radical anarchist anti-Americans and community organizers who oppose Israel’s right to exist.

Some of the signs say “pro-Palestine”, “ceasefire now” and “end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza”. But these benign statements hide a far more malignant agenda, the end of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, the end of America as the world’s leading power and the end of democracy and the free market economy. Even if there were a unilateral ceasefire, accompanied by massive humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, many of these protests would continue, because Gaza is merely an excuse for a much wider agenda: to destroy Israel and destroy America.

During recent protests in New York, there were calls to repeat the barbarity of October 7 “a thousand times.” There were shouts of “We are Hamas”, “Death to America”, “Burn Tel Aviv to the ground”, “Israel go to hell” and “Jews to back to Poland.” The chant of “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is pervasive. Free of what? Free of Jews. The goal is to make all of Israel Judenrein – ethnically cleansed of all Jews. One never sees a sign calling for a two-state solution or for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. These are not the goals. What is demanded is the end of any Jewish presence in the Middle East. “Death to America,” similarly, means the end of America’s influence and Western values.

Many of the signs call for “revolution.” These are not directed against Israel, but rather against America, American Jews and all other Western democracies. The war in Gaza, started by Hamas on October 7, has provided the most recent excuse for anarchists, revolutionaries and America-haters to organize and recruit young people, many of whom have no idea what they are marching for or against. They know that many of their professors support the radical agenda. For example, Columbia University Professor Joseph Massad praised the events of October 7, 2023, which included rapes, beheadings, kidnappings, and the murder of 1,200 Israelis. Other professors from many universities encourage student involvement in the protests.

As in the 1960s, many of these students are being groomed to be the terrorists of the future — in the manner of Kathy Boudin and Bernardine Dohrn back then – and, in the United States, a fifth column, the aim of which is taking down America.

For the most part, the groups protesting are comprised of four elements: the first consists of Arab and Muslim haters of Israel and Jews, who see this as an opportunity to call for the end of the nation-state of the Jewish people and the substitution of a Muslim caliphate or a radical Arab state; the second consists of old line radicals, anarchists, communists and America-haters who use any opportunity to seek to essentially overthrow Western democracies; the third are the organizers who stand ready to obtain funding and organizational logistics for well-planned systematic protests; and the fourth are the “useful idiots” who are recruited by the professors, the organizers and others.

Most of these young people have little or no knowledge of the substantive issues. They simply want to be part of current protest movements, which are popular on campuses and among many of their peers. It is this last group that is most troubling, because many of its members are good and decent people who are being led into dangerous territory by their elders. They are even more dangerous than the first three groups, because many of them come from influential backgrounds and may well become future leaders. The other groups tend to include mostly marginalized outsiders.

That these useful idiots are young does not make them less dangerous. Young students were instrumental in bringing to power tyrants such as Hitler, Stalin, Castro, Pol Pot and Mao. But the fact that they are young and ambitious makes them more amenable to change. And alternative influences.

There should also be consequences – including arrest and prosecution – for physically intimidating, blocking and harassing Jews or any minorities. Such actions are not protected by the First Amendment, university disciplinary rules, or employers after graduation.

Victims of those illegal actions have rights, too. They must be protected and their rights enforced. Universities are failing not only their Jewish students but all their students by refusing to educate them about what behavior is acceptable and what is not.

Insane vs Sane – Demonic vs Divine

Insane vs Sane – Demonic vs Divine

Catherine Austin Fitts

Catherine Austin Fitts (CAF), Publisher of The Solari Report, financial expert and former Assistant Secretary of Housing (Bush 41 Admin.), has long said, “The federal government is being run as a criminal enterprise. . . .not just a little criminal, but a lot criminal.”  Now, CAF contends what is going on in America is much more than greedy criminals.  CAF says, “This has turned into warfare against “We the People” on a spiritual level.”

CAF goes on to point out, “There is so much effort in persuading people to think there is nothing you can do, and it’s hopeless.  Let me tell you something . . . the central bankers are telling you what they are going to do, and this is not far away in the future.  You have all these merchant codes where you cannot use your credit card to buy a gun or the bank throws you out.  That’s the control grid getting built.”

CAF says not only do the Deep State globalists want control of the financial system, but they also want control of your food.  CAF says, “You see at this level when you are trying to protect freedom, they cannot get financial control unless they can control the food supply.  People can always start their own currencies as long as they can grow food.  If you look at the push for financial control and central bank digital currency, it is the same push.  They are pushing to control the food supply.”

CAF thinks Washington is so broken, corrupt and criminal that whoever wins the Presidential Election it will not make much of a difference.  CAF points out, “Look at how quickly Speaker Mike Johnson caved.  Speaker Johnson caved for Ukraine and war all over the world, but he won’t protect our borders.  Mike Johnson, Christian, conservative and not a dime to protect our borders. . . Washington is a criminal enterprise, and there is no electing someone big enough to change this.  This is not Trump vs Biden.  This is the pro-centralization team in Washington.  We have to pull power back from Washington.”

There is much more in the 56-minute interview.

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The March To The Third World War Continues - Washington Moves On To Plan B

The March to the Third World War Continues

Paul Craig Roberts

I admire Putin, but I am his critic. I think he is unintentionally leading us into World War 3.

Putin’s limited military operation in Ukraine confined to clearing Ukrainian Nazi militias and Ukrainian military forces out of Donbas, a Russian speaking province attached to Ukraine by Soviet leaders as was Russian Crimea, was a strategic blunder. 

It was a strategic blunder that followed four or five previous strategic blunders within the Ukraine context. There were others outside the Ukraine context. 

Donbas formed into two independent republics in response to the anti-Russian coup orchestrated by the United States that overthrew the elected Ukrainian government. Putin’s first strategic blunder was in permitting Washington’s overthrow of the democratically elected Ukrainian government.

In 2014 after the overthrow of the Ukrainian government the two independent Donbas republics voted overwhelmingly, as did Crimea, to be reincorporated into Russia. Putin accepted Crimea’s request, as otherwise Russia would lose its Black Sea naval base, but rejected the request of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics.

This was Putin’s second strategic blunder. If Putin or the Kremlin or the Russian government had given equal treatment to Donetsk and Luhansk a decade ago in 2014, there would have been no limited military operation with Ukraine. Neither Ukraine, NATO, nor Washington would dared to have attacked Russian territory in order to “recover Donbass.”

If the US persisted in bringing Ukraine into NATO, Putin would have been forced to recognize that he was at war with the West and that he had no alternative but to reestablish Ukraine to its many centuries existence as a part of Russia. Ukraine’s “independence” is an American creation 30 years old. Every Western analyst has overlooked, or kept silent about, the fact that the dismemberment of Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union is like the dismemberment of Germany after World War I, the difference being that Hitler was determined to put Germany back together but Putin has no such ambition. If truth be known, Putin is essentially a 20th century Western liberal, and this is why he is failing as a war leader of Russia in the 21st century.

Putin should read Mike Whitney’s latest. Whitney has an independent uncompromised mind concerned only with the truth. Whiteny says, backed with the evidence, that the US, understanding that it has lost the battlefront war, nevertheless still intends to win the real war and has moved to Plan B. 

Plan B is to prolong the conflict with aid not for the lost battlefield but for long distant strikes into Russia against civilian centers and essential social and economic infrastructure. The success of these strikes will show Putin to be a failure, a leader unable to protect mother Russia from a non-existant military power–Ukraine. 

Will the pro-Western Russian intellectuals seize on “Putin’s failure to protect Russia” by pushing for a peace accord that results in Ukraine’s admission to NATO? 

In other words, Putin’s timidy, restraint, and miscalculations have defeated him.
Here is Whitney’s analysis of the US Plan B: https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/washington-moves-on-to-plan-b/

Do we have here a second war front opening against Russia in addition to Ukraine? And what about the reports that NATO is focusing on Belarus where Russian nuclear weapons are stationed if not deployed? Will a third war front open? https://www.globalresearch.ca/nato-terrorists-launch-attack-belarus/5855863

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Washington Moves On to Plan B

Mike Whitney

Here’s what everyone needs to understand about Ukraine:

The United States has already moved on to Plan B. No, the Biden administration has not issued an official statement on the matter, but the shift has already begun. The Washington Brain-trust has abandoned any hope of winning the war outright (Plan A) and has, thus, adopted a different strategy altogether. (Plan B)

Plan B is a combination of two main elements:

• A—A Strategy of Denial, which is ‘a defensive approach designed to stop an adversary’ from achieving its goals. In this case, the objective is to prolong the conflict for as long as possible to prevent Russian from achieving a clear victory. That is the top priority.
• B—To continue to increase and intensify asymmetrical attacks on vital infrastructure and civilian areas in Russia proper in order to inflict as much damage on Russia as possible.

This, in essence, is Plan B. Any concern for the Ukrainian people or the future viability of the Ukrainian state, have not been factored in to Washington’s cynical calculation. What matters is preventing a Russian victory and inflicting as much pain on Russia as possible. 

Those are the primary objectives. In practical terms, that means that more Ukrainian soldiers will be slaughtered wholesale in order to continue using Ukraine as a launching pad for attacks on Russia. In fact, UK warlords have already confirmed what we are saying here. Check out this excerpt from an article at Zero Hedge:

… UK defense chief, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, telling Financial Timesthat the West’s new infusion of military aid will help Ukraine increase its long-range strikes on Russian territory:

Ukraine is set to increase long-range attacks inside Russia as an influx of western military aid aims to help Kyiv shape the war “in much stronger ways”, the head of the UK military has said….

Adm. Radakin continued, “As Ukraine gains more capabilities for the long-range fight . . . its ability to continue deep operations will [increasingly] become a feature” of the war…… More of Radakin’s words point to escalation (and not negotiations) in the following… UK Defense Chief Says Ukraine To Increase Long-Range Strikes In Russia, Zero Hedge

See what I mean? This is Plan B spelled out in black and white. There is no longer any expectation that Ukraine will win the war. None. The country will merely be used as a platform for hectoring, harassing and terrorizing the Russian people. That’s Plan B in a nutshell.

But how can we be certain that Plan B has already begun?

First, consider the allocation of resources provided under the new “National Security Supplemental” that Biden signed into law earlier this week. The bill provides $61 billion for Ukraine, of which a mere $13 billion will be spent on weapons and weapons systems. How is that paltry sum going to help defeat the Russian Army?

It won’t, nor is it intended to. As we said earlier, the real purpose of the money is to prevent a clear Russian victory by launching random attacks on critical infrastructure and civilian areas in Russia. Once you understand that the basic operational plan has changed, developments on the ground begin to make sense. The goal is to antagonize a geopolitical rival not to win a war. Capisce?

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The First Bank Failure of 2024 Won’t Be the Last

The First Bank Failure of 2024 Won’t Be the Last

Birch Gold Group

Breaking news: The Wall Street Journal announced the first bank failure of 2024…

Regulators are set to seize the troubled Philadelphia bank Republic First Bancorp and are near a deal to sell it to another lender, the fourth high-profile bank failure since last spring.

What happened to Republic First?

The same thing that happened to the others:

Republic First faced some of the same problems as the three regional banks that failed last year: paper losses on assets that lost value as interest rates rose and high proportions of uninsured deposits that can quickly flee

Why do I think this won’t be the last bank failure of 2024? WSJ captured the situation in a nutshell:

But regional banks are still on shaky ground. Two years of higher rates have forced them to pay more interest on deposits, which has increasingly eaten into profits. It will be harder for them to absorb the costs of potentially stricter regulatory requirements and technology updates, compared with megabanks… And some hold high concentrations of loans on offices and other commercial real estate that are under pressure.

I’m going to explain the issues banks are facing in greater detail, and then explain why I don’t think this will be the last bank failure of the year.

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Suicidal Society

Suicidal Society

Mattias Desmet

I guess you remember how a few years ago, the media called everyone who refused to wear a mask or get vaccinated a ‘grandma killer’. To protect the elderly, to save every minute of their lives – that was all what mattered.

Here is something to think about: Last week, I stumbled upon an article in a Dutch mainstream newspaper which declared in a technical and deliberate way that the ‘mysteriously persisting excess death’ has certain advantages: it saves the state hundreds of millions of costs of taking care for old people. I checked my calendar. An April fools’ joke maybe? No – it was no joke.

One could argue, of course, that this is just one article. What am I making a fuss about? Let me give you another example. A few weeks ago, the director of a government health insurance fund stated in an article published on the website of Belgian national television that euthanasia should be considered as a solution for the rapid ageing of the population. Exactly. Old people cost too much money. Let’s kill them.

These too are the words of only one man. Yet such words are not printed in the newspapers in such a guileless way if there is not a certain tolerance for such messages in society.

Let’s face it: some people want to get rid of the elderly. And these people look suspiciously lot like those who blamed you for being a heartless criminal when you suggested that the corona measures would do the elderly more harm than good.

Upon a closer examination, the sentimental ‘protection of the elderly’ during the corona crisis was rather cruel and absurd. For instance: why were the elderly dying in hospitals not allowed to see their children and grandchildren? Because the virus could kill them while they were dying?

Beneath the surface of the state’s concern about the elderly lurks exactly the opposite: the state wants to get rid of the elderly. Soon there might be a consensus: everyone who wants to live beyond the age of seventy-five is irresponsible and egoistic – a grandson killer. At least these old bastards must pay a carbon tax.

And in the end, not only the old people have to die. Humans cause climate change – they are a detrimental virus proliferating on the surface of the earth. The planet would be better off without humans.

How did we come to this point? Is there an elite who used propaganda to make us think like this? There is much more than that.

Jacques Ellul taught us that, for propaganda to be successful, it must always resonate with a deep desire in the population. Here is what I think: society is suicidal. That’s why it is more and more open to propaganda suggesting death is the best solution to our problems. That’s why so many people sleepwalk into war with Russia; that’s why so many people don’t really care about the ‘mysteriously persisting excess death’ or even think ‘it has certain advantages’.

And think about the corona measures: They wrecked the economy, destroyed the psychological well-being of people, ruined the health and wealth of children and adults, stripped us of our democratic rights. And all this without any reasonable degree of certainty that the measures would protect us from anything at all. Many people even participated in a quasi-ecstatic way in the cv measures

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