Below is our translation of an article from RIA Novosti with this foreword and notes [in brackets] by Vince Dhimos. Economists understand that it was China that brought the world back to its feet after the 2008-9 Great Recession, and despite the anti-China hate campaign currently emanating from the White House, economists are expecting China to again fuel the recovery.
 
Of course, the US financial press, as an obedient lapdog of the White House, must not state this all too openly lest it sully the Washington political machine. Which is why I resort to analyses from Russia, where economists are free to speak their minds.
 
A little salt for Washington’s wounds:
 
“... according to the results of the year, China will grow by 2.6%. And this is a sensation – which of the major economies in the world even dreams of positive growth these days?”
 
Note the author’s upbeat and friendly attitude toward China. This is an important observation because the US has been trying desperately lately to drive a wedge between Russia and China, by going easy on Russia and viciously smearing China in the Western press. It should have been obvious to the US manipulators that there is not a snowball’s chance in hell that Russia and China could be driven apart with such barbarian tactics. The worse the US treats China, the more sympathy it garners in Moscow. Hurt my brother, hurt me. These two brotherly nations will support each other through thick and thin. It is time for a major foreign policy overhaul in Washington.
 
BEGIN TRANSLATION
 
The Chinese locomotive of the world economy is cautiously picking up speed
 
5-23, 2020
 
Dmitry Kosyrev
 
Why is the annual spring session of the Chinese parliament a more and more important event for the world, and especially now? At least for two reasons. First: at the session it will become clear whether the Chinese economy will again, as in 2009-10, be the engine of global growth, that is, help other countries overcome the viral crisis. And the second: everyone is interested in discussing how ready China is for further confrontation with the United States at least until the presidential elections in November – that is, it is simply a matter of military spending.
Big and small sensations on these topics have been expected from last Friday (when the session solemnly opened) until the very end of the event, that is, until the end of next week. But already in advance, the world media have meticulously analysed all the opinions and leaks from China itself and the surrounding area: in the end, we are talking about the health of the world's first economy. (The parliament is traditionally occupied primarily with the economy; foreign policy declarations are in second place there.) [By contrast with the US, Russia freely calls China the number one economy because it understands the difference between an economy up to its eyeballs in debt and on life support (thanks to the Fed’s dollar printing press) and a real economy that still makes things to sell and export.]
 
Speaking of health and pandemics, Beijing propaganda emphasized the very fact of the opening of the session. For obvious reasons, it was detained for 78 days. But now several thousand parliamentarians have flocked to Beijing, if we count the delegates of the All-China Assembly of People's Representatives together with colleagues from the analogue of our Public Chamber – the People’s Political Consultative Council. They sit sometimes in masks, but live and side by side: it is clear that there is a demonstration of the country's return to normal.
 
Although this is already in order, zoom-diplomacy is falling away. For example, no one stopped preparing for the joint SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) and BRICS summits in our Northern capital in July (communication will be completely natural), while Donald Trump wants to organize the equally live G7 meeting at his home in the USA.
 
As for China's economic growth: in the first quarter, GDP fell by 6.8% and industrial production by 8.4%. However, the economy is reviving explosively (everyone is eager to work). Estimates of private expert economists (for example, China International Capital Corporation): according to the results of the year, China will grow by 2.6%. And this is a sensation – which of the major economies in the world even dreams of positive growth these days?
 
But there was an even greater sensation. On the first day of the session the head of the Chinese government, Li Keqiang, announced in his report: this year we have decided to completely abandon the announcement of target figures (in terms of GDP). Because the risks and challenges, both external and internal, are of an unprecedented scale.
 
This is the first time in decades that this has happened. This can be interpreted in different ways. The challenges are both pressure from the United States and the need to understand what is generally happening with the economy after quarantine damages. In general, the point now is not to set records, but to stabilize. But if the records (the 2.6%) are still there, then a new sensation will be born.
 
However, the prime minister very clearly outlined the parameters of the stabilization. It is necessary to create nine million jobs in cities in order to keep unemployment no higher than six percent. And yet, a long-standing goal is confirmed: to overcome extreme poverty in 2020. This refers to the village, the remaining one thousand depressed villages. Apparently, this plan was recognized as realistic.
 
The role of the locomotive of world development can be manifested in different ways. China may well allow itself to increase imports. Exports to countries like the United States (waging a full-scale economic war with China) will fall, but they would fall anyway – who expects any achievements from the United States or Europe today? In addition, there are no obstacles to the development of high-tech projects with countries in the framework of the "Belt and Way" project, which includes Russia. In addition, China is lucky – oil and gas prices so far are conducive to growth.
 
Any amount of growth is possible if you pour a lot of money into the economy. But here, the financiers of the world are watching China especially intently: too much money means inflation and various events with the renminbi. But the fact that precisely this year the new rules for foreign financial investors have gone into effect, removing the limits on the volume of investments from them – which turns out to be timely, because new money will come to the country. Not from the USA – it’s not necessary, the world is big.
 
In terms of finance, the guidelines are set as follows: a deficit of 141 billion US dollars, no more than 3.6% of GDP. Domestic loans for the same amount. Encouraging banks to reduce business debt by 353 billion. Inflation is no more than 3.5%. Few countries in the world are capable of keeping their systems in this order this year.
 
Military spending is a separate and interesting topic. On the one hand, the military suffered additional burdens and expenses to combat the pandemic (and the army even took part in this). And this despite the fact that American military activity in the South China Sea has quadrupled over the year. On the other hand, in a difficult year, military spending can be cut back and all efforts can be dedicated to restoring the civilian sphere.
 
In recent years, these expenditures in China have grown along with the the overall growth of the economy, but have never gone beyond two percent of GDP. So, now they should grow only slightly, if at all. In any case, officially and in dollar terms, last year they amounted to 177.6 billion (second place in the world), vs 732 billion, and 3.4% of GDP in the US. Does China bury military spending in other budget items? At any rate, even independent estimates, such as those of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, set a figure of 261 billion. To the US level.
 
Although plans to get four aircraft carrier groups by 2050 instead of the current two have not been cancelled, details will become clearer during the session.
 
In the meantime, the bottom line is the belief that it is in this difficult year that poverty will be lifted in China. The outside world, following the course of the Beijing parliamentary sessions, understands that this is also an indicator of the country's internal strength. [Yes, and which of the countries that constantly malign China has raised a pinky to help the poor?]
 
* * *
 
Vince Dhimos posted an answer at Quora relating to the US’s current anti-China propaganda war:
https://www.quora.com/While-the-US-is-paranoid-about-China-surpass-the-US-economy-are-the-people-aware-of-Indias-real-ambitious-and-strategical-taking-over-of-the-US-corporations-eliminating-US-jobs-and-making-US-the-servant-for-India/answer/Vince-Dhimos
 
WHILE THE US IS PARANOID ABOUT CHINA SURPASSING THE US ECONOMY, ARE PEOPLE AWARE OF INDIA’S AMBITIOUS AND STRATEGIC TAKEOVER OF US CORPORATIONS, ELIMINATING US JOBS AND MAKING THE US A SERVANT OF INDIA?
                                                                           
While the US is paranoid about China surpass the US economy, are the people aware of India's real ambitious and strategical taking over of the US corporations, eliminating US jobs and making US the servant for India tycoons?
 
Vince Dhimos Editor-in-Chief at New Silk Strategies (2016–present)
Because the US has created an alternate universe all its own in which it lives and it drags its satellites into this universe. The goal is, as stated by Caitlin Johnston:
 
The United States treats China as if it were Nazi Germany. This fall towards the third world war must be stopped before it is too late - World Affairs | News1 English
 
Point 1: We are in the midst of a slow-moving World War III between the centralized power alliance from the United States and the nations that have resisted their absorption.
 
The second point is that this is to be accomplished by propaganda. Your question says it’s paranoia, but the driver here is a fear on Trump’s part that he may not be re-elected. The anti-China hysteria is over re-election.
 
India is one of the countries targeted by Washington as potential allies in this war and they are being encouraged to participate in it. But the US knows it must make concessions, and one of the concessions is allowing India to absorb US corporations and profit from them.
 
Trump pretends that he cares about returning jobs to the US but he is, as usual, lying. He lies about everything. Just listen to one of his speeches if you don’t believe it. There is not an ounce of truth in him. If he cared about restoring jobs to America, he would not be giving these jobs to India, but his goal is not to get back US jobs, it is to form a quick ready-made coalition to help wage the propaganda war on China.
 
You may think this sounds outlandish. It is.
 
The latest in this war is the narrative that China is supposedly harvesting the organs of executed Falun Gong members. This story was fed to the news media by a group called the China Tribunal, which is linked to Falun Gong, which was founded by a megalomaniac by the name of Li Hongzhi, who claims to be able to perform miracles but refuses to do them and says he is the saviour of humanity. Obviously, this man has a severe mental problem. He has concocted fantastic stories before that turned out to be lies. But his group worships him and they are stoking these lies. The unscrupulous elites in Washington and their sock puppets in the media regurgitate these stories to smear China. [see http://www.newsilkstrategies.com/international-relations/western-media-regurgitate-as-gospel-horror-stories-about-china-fed-to-them-by-a-pathological-liar]
 
India is lucky for the moment because it enjoys the indulgence of the US. But woe to India once the US no longer needs it as an ally against China or in the event China pulls out of the economic crisis and comes roaring back to life even as the US lies prostrate. If India – perhaps along with China – rises to an economic level exceeding that of the US, it will be treated just as shabbily then as China is now.
 
WAR NEWS                           
 
The US keeps threatening to enforce its embargo on Venezuela and has warned Iran. But what can it do. It knows that if it tries to capture or turn back an Iranian vessel, Iran has the option to fire missiles at its bases, as it did in Iraq, where there was no US response. Washington also knows Russia and China are allies of Iran. China, for example, is relying heavily on the Iranian role in the BRI. If the US goes too far, an armed conflict could occur and that could sink Trump’s chances in November.
 
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/first-iranian-tanker-to-reach-venezuela-in-next-24-hours-report/?utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=push&utm_campaign=push%notificationss&utm_content=varies
 
First Iranian tanker to reach Venezuela in next 24 hours: report
 
By News Desk
 
2020-05-23
 
BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:30 P.M.) – Iranian state television reported on Saturday that five tankers are heading to Venezuela, loaded with 1.053 thousand barrels of fuel.
They pointed out that the first tanker is scheduled to arrive in Venezuela on Sunday, while the remaining four are still sailing in the Atlantic Ocean.
The fuel tankers, which have been identified as the Petunia, Faxon, Fortune, Forest, and Clavel, all entered the Atlantic Ocean’s waters earlier this week after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar.
According to data from maritime tracking services, the Fortune was last monitored in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco on May 16th, and it is expected to reach its destination tomorrow.
The Petrunia, Faxon, and Clavel were also last detected in the same area on May 18 and May 19 and today May 23 respectively, and are expected to reach their destination on May 25, May 29 and June 2.
As for Forest, it is expected to reach its destination on May 25.
The ship tracking sites did not specify the destination of these carriers, but Iran made it known that these vessels were heading to the South American nation.
This issue raised international interest, especially in light of the incident of the British detention of an Iranian tanker at the Strait of Gibraltar last year.
The government of Venezuela has pledged to provide Iranian tankers with the required protection in its territorial waters, in anticipation of possible steps by the United States that imposed severe sanctions on both Tehran and Caracas.
 
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/us-provoking-conflict-between-china-and-india-analyst/?utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=push&utm_campaign=push%notificationss&utm_content=varies
 
US provoking conflict between China and India: analyst
 
By News Desk -2020-05-230
BEIRUT, LEBANON (9:00 P.M.) – The U.S. is pushing for a conflict between China and India after a recent confrontation between the two world powers along the Line of Contact between the them.
 
Quoting the Southern Asia expert, Andrei Volodin, Sputnik News reported that the latter pointed out how the recent statements by the U.S. Ambassador to India has been seen as an attempt by Washington to increase the tensions between the two countries.
 
“The statement (by the American ambassador) is just one example. Moreover, this statement obviously fits into the Trump administration’s current general strategy to discredit China as the ‘source’ of the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S., which is conducting an anti-Chinese campaign, is now trying to involve the maximum number of not only their satellites in Western Europe, but also the maximum number of Asian states. Asian countries, in general, react quite neutrally to these attempts”.
 
The expert said the U.S. support for India in the border conflict with China could provoke it to take unilateral action. In the context of the epidemiological crisis, even the Indian military believes that it’s necessary to focus as much as possible on the economy and development.
 
They are ready to come to terms with the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is redistributing forces and assets in favour of the civilian sector.
 
“In addition, the experience of the 1962 war and subsequent conflicts between China and India is not in India’s favour”, Andrei Volodin said.
 
China’s restraint and its ability to achieve mutual understanding with India frustrate Washington’s strategic goal of them coming into conflict, as Delhi appreciates its independence and is unlikely to want Washington to use it as a tool to contain Beijing, Wang Peng from the People’s University of China said, commenting on the US diplomat’s statements:
 
“The Indo-Pacific Strategy is the key strategy among the Trump administration’s global foreign policy aims. In June 2017, there was a standoff between China and India in Doklam, and in November of the same year, the United States introduced the concept of the Indo-Pacific Strategy at the APEC meeting in Vietnam. There were only a few months between those events. It is no coincidence that many analysts believe that the Sino-Indian confrontation could have affected the development of Trump’s strategy. The US has never stopped trying to form a political ‘square’ consisting of the United States, Japan, India, and Australia to deter China”.
 
“Meanwhile, China maintains restraint and seeks mutual understanding with the Indian side; therefore the United States cannot achieve its strategic goals. The Trump administration relies heavily on provoking disputes and increased tension between certain countries and China to achieve its own goals, which allows the United States to make these countries even more strategically dependent. However, the problem is that the US strategy is contrary to India’s national interests and cultural traditions. India really appreciates its independence and doesn’t want to be used as a tool”.
 
The provocative nature of Alice Well’s statement is obvious given the difficult situation in the northwest section of the Line of Actual Control between China and India. In fact, her words can even be regarded as US support for India’s territorial claims against China, which could make the situation on the Sino-Indian border even more explosive. This month there have already been two, albeit minor, clashes involving dozens of military personnel from both sides.
 
Additional defensive structures are also being constructed on both sides of the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, which also increases the tension. The other day, the Chinese military reported that India had built fortifications to deliberately foment conflict and unilaterally modify the existing border control system. The Global Times reported, citing a source in the PLA, that it had successfully restored the status quo in the Galwan Valley.
 
For its part, the Indian Express reported on 20 May that tensions along the Sino-Indian border in Ladakh near lake Pangong Tso had increased. According to the Indian newspaper, the Chinese military had tripled the number of patrol boats in the area to match the number of Indian craft in the waters off the western shore of the lake.
 
Source: Sputnik
 
 

Vince Dhimos answered a question at Quora.
                                                                   
https://www.quora.com/If-China-has-the-Belt-and-Road-Initiative-why-is-the-US-not-doing-anything-This-is-obviously-a-very-good-idea/answer/Vince-Dhimos

If China has the Belt and Road Initiative, why is the US not doing anything? This is obviously a very good idea.

Vince Dhimos -- Editor-in-Chief at New Silk Strategies (2016–present)
 
Yes, it is obviously a good idea.
 
But in US “democracy” today, the government does not solve problems or build good relations with other nations. Its ONLY motivation is purely political. The question it asks is: if I do this, will I get more votes?
 
Russia and China are not motivated by this kind of thinking.
 
The US thinking in international economics is zero-sum. Thus, if we hurt their economy, this helps our economy. It is irrational but that is how they think. Using this kind of “logic,” Steve Bannon, the psychopathic former adviser to President Trump, once said “we need to screw up the BRI” (China’s Belt and Road Initiative). Even US Democrats like Chuck Schumer agree!
 
In their sick minds, hurting the Chinese economy automatically boosts the US economy. How? They don’t say. They don’t have to. Their spew garners votes.
 
Given this kind of thinking in the US vs the win-win approach of the Chinese – and also the Russians, who do you suppose will win in the long run?
 
 
WAR NEWS
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-rejects-israels-plan-to-annex-west-bank/?utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=push&utm_campaign=push%notificationss&utm_content=varies

Saudi Arabia rejects Israel’s plan to annex West Bank
 
By News Desk
 
2020-05-21
 
BEIRUT, LEBANON (6:45 P.M.) – The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom’s rejection of Israel’s plans and measures to annex lands in the West Bank and impose Israeli sovereignty over them.
The Ministry stressed that the Kingdom condemns any unilateral actions, and any violations of international legitimacy decisions, and all that may undermine the chances of resuming the peace process to achieve security and stability in the region.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry reaffirmed the Kingdom’s steadfast stance “towards the brotherly Palestinian people and its permanent standing at its side and supporting its options by establishing an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
They also affirmed the Kingdom’s support for the efforts calling for advancing negotiations in accordance with the international legitimacy decisions, to reach a just and comprehensive solution that meets the aspirations of the Palestinian people.
It is noteworthy that the deal proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump for a settlement between the Palestinians and Israel gives the latter the right to annex lands from the occupied West Bank.
 
Source: Saudi Press Agency

Vince Dhimos answered a question at Quora.
 
https://www.quora.com/Why-can-not-USA-buy-out-other-countries-as-it-prints-dollars-freely-There-might-be-collateral-difficulties-in-maintaining-it-but-I-dont-think-the-dollar-drops-this-way-as-the-excess-money-is-used-to-buy-foreign-and/answer/Vince-Dhimos
 
WHY CAN NOT USA BUY OUT OTHER COUNTRIES AS IT PRINTS DOLLARS FREELY? THERE MIGHT BE COLLATERAL DIFFICULTIES IN MAINTAINING IT BUT I DON’T THINK THE DOLLAR DROPS THIS WAY AS THE EXCESS MONEY IS USED TO BUY FOREIGN AND NOT TO REDESTRIBUTE IT TO THE MARKET.
 
What will result in the growth of public debt of the USA and Europe. Is it possible to build up debts without consequences.
 
US financial media are keeping the true economic picture hidden, which is why I turn to Russian analysis.
 
Following is my translation of an economic analysis from here https://zen.yandex.ru/media/id/5d5f39b11e8e3f00adf4d4ea/k-chemu-privedet-rost-gosdolga-ssha-i-evropy-neujeli-mojno-narascivat-dolgi-bez-posledstvii-5eb16ed66c15632218124aca?&utm_campaign=dbr
 
May 5, 2020
 
There is a belief that public debt can be increased indefinitely without consequences. This is actually not the case. I will briefly tell you why
 
2007: Senator Obama criticizes George W. Bush for growing government debt by 4.5 trillion. over 8 years
 
2016: Trump accused Barack Obama of increasing the public debt by 9 trillion dollars over 8 years and promised that he will get rid of public debt
 
Following this logic, the next president should accuse Trump of building up public debt by 18 trillion. Rights?
 
2020: Trump justifies high public debt and its growth of 9 trillion over 4 years.
 
Well, yes, each new president scolds the previous one and doubles the public debt over the next 8 years.
 
The media write that low interest rates make public debt risk-free. Let's look at the dependence of economic growth on public debt
 
dependence of US GDP growth on public debt (for chart, see orig)
 
Bond yields are approaching zero, public debt is growing faster every year, and the pace of economic growth is lower.
 
Fact: a couple of years ago, each new dollar of debt added 0.4 dollars to GDP, vs only $ 0.25 now, and this trend will continue
 
The economy grew rapidly until 1980, when it did not begin to actively build up public debt, which after that led to 40 years of deflationary pressure, lower interest rates and a slowdown in economic growth.
 
Throughout the world, countries have accumulated 78 trillion in debts, 20% of which have a negative interest rate.
 
If large debts and a low prime rate equal economic growth, then why do neither Japan nor Europe show anything but growth in public debt?
 
Japan’s GDP by years (see orig)
 
0-1% growth is called stagnation, but this is actually a de facto decrease, because global average growth is 3.5%. It is as if countries were participating in a marathon, where the average speed of the athletes is 35 km, and but you are at 5 km and you are glad that you are at least not moving backward. Your competitors are overtaking you and this is a decline, not stagnation. It’s just that the share of developed countries with great debt will decline year after year in the global economy, just as has been happening continuously for centuries.
 
Japan's similar situation to Europe and the USA (see orig)
 
And accounting for imaginary income from illegal activities in GDP and other manipulation of statistics does not help. An increase of 0% is a decline. The United States under Trump had increases of 2% or even 3%, but this is a temporary effect of a change in the tax system and the squeezing of "allies."
 
Countries are caught in a liquidity trap. A contraction in the money supply will lead to an even greater economic downturn, and a further reduction in the prime rate down to negative values ​​will not lead to economic growth. If the economy does not grow even with super-cheap loans, then it is impossible to do without a deep purge of inefficient enterprises and a decline in living standards, but you can only delay this and accumulate the consequences.
 
In a crisis, currencies like the yen, the dollar and the euro, as well as the bonds of these countries are very much in demand so new debt does not cause a surge in inflation, but when the crisis ends, investors will go back to emerging markets and drop reliable securities and to avoid high inflation, the prime rate will have to be raised, bankrupting many businesses, which fail to show good results even with super cheap loans.
 
Conclusion
 
Debt build-up only disguises the consequences of economic problems and without a deep purge of inefficient sectors of the economy and lower living standards, these is no way out of the crisis.
 
China regularly bankrupts inefficient companies, which is why Western media like to complain about problems in the Chinese economy, but this is just the right choice.
 
I think a severe crisis is coming in the next +three years and this crisis will be much more severe than 2008. And yes, it’s not a crisis yet, but only the consequences of an epidemic that they are hiding with debt as before.

                Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools...
                                     Romans 1:22
 
Below is our translation of an article from rueconomics.ru with a foreword and notes [in brackets] by Vince Dhimos.
 
The inability of most grassroots Americans to see the whole picture of the US Establishment’s actions and intentions will be the downfall of the US.

Many Trump supporters blindly believe that Trump is pro-Russia but anti-China.
 
I get many messages from Trump supporters indoctrinated by MAGA propaganda, who say they admire Putin but that they don’t trust China. Some acquaintances of mine who lead “peace” organizations say essentially the same thing, praising Putin but smearing Xi. These people are hopelessly naive to think that Putin would ever betray Xi Jinping because of some foolish suggestion of theirs or their government’s. Look, if you want to be friendly toward Russia, then you have to be aware that Russia’s main hope in the world is China, nothing else. Only China and Russia have the clout and the economic and military power to oppose the war-mongering US-led West, and they both know it. To think that some puny little peace activist or some oversized US official could possibly sway one of them to turn against the other is utter brainlessness.
 
Of course many MAGA enthusiasts remember that Trump had said in his campaign that he thought he could “get along with Putin,” and they foolishly figured that Trump is a friend of Russia and that the whole “Deep State” wants the poor man to be punished for his supposed friendliness toward Putin. They are partly right because certain prominent Democrats have tried to have Trump impeached on silly charges, but these hyperliberals are not deeply enough embedded in the Establishment to understand the nuances of US foreign policy. Further, these hyperpatriots on the far right have apparently slept through all the anti-Russian sanctions that Trump promoted, and all the flashing lights spelling out that, despite the show of friendliness toward Putin, he is fully engaged in the Establishment’s game of trying to drive a wedge between Russia and China. Of course, Trump and his cronies in Big Government miss the clear signals that this policy of theirs is a non-starter and that Russia and China will not only always be close partners – de facto allies – in their opposition to the US and its sleazy tricks, and the more virulent the anti-China campaign becomes, the tighter their bond will become. This is because Russia and China are a whole lot smarter than the Washington misfits give them credit for.
 
Since Congress first opened up trade with China in the 80s, the ulterior motive of the biggest Neocons and Neoliberals was to use China as a tool to keep these two countries from forming an alliance that might throw a spanner into Washington's plans for world domination. It never worked out, especially after Putin stepped into the picture. Yet they keep hatching their childish plots to propagandize Russia into abandoning its partnership with China. The very existence of these obvious ploys to weaken their friendship is a major factor that drives them together, but that never occurs to the Washington game players, who never bother to follow Sun-Tzu’s advice to know the enemy.
 
Just last week, a rumour surfaced in both Israeli and US media that supposedly Putin was ready to turn his back on Assad. It was a brainless attempt to sow chaos by making Assad think Putin was about to ditch him, and was the umpteenth time this kind of fake news had been tried, to no avail, of course. Just a few days ago, Russian officials pointed out that the Russian who started this rumour was not a Russian official and that the rumour was not true.
 
Now comes Mike Pompeo offering an olive branch to Russia, obviously in an attempt to ensnare Russia into a plot to weaken China. Nobody is falling for it in Russia or China, but that won’t prevent Pompeo from thinking he is a genius for dreaming up this cute little plot.
 
BEGIN TRANSLATION
 
US friendly gesture is no doubt Trump's trick to drag Russia into the anti-China game
 
21:25 May 17, 2020
 
The friendship of Russia and the United States, according to Mike Pompeo, will end in unpleasant surprises for Moscow from Washington, said FBA Economika Segodnya (rueconomics.ru) Doctor of Economics and chief researcher at the US and Canada Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Vasiliev.
 
US will try to lure Russia into forming a coalition against China
 
United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in an interview with Washington Examiner said the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and terrorism is an area in which successful collaboration between Moscow and Washington is possible.
 
“I adhere to a rather pessimistic view of the prospects for Russian-American relations. As soon as the United States of America makes some kind of conciliatory gestures, later negative actions take place that sharply worsen bilateral relations.
 
Therefore, such statements can be called a harbinger of the unfriendly steps that Washington is preparing for us. It’s difficult to say which specific area it may affect,” comments Vasiliev.
 
The expert believes that the mention of the successful cooperation between Russia and the United States in preventing terrorist attacks was made by Mike Pompeo as a standard statement.
 
The US Secretary of State emphasized during the interview that he had been working with Russia since the time he was director of the CIA. He recalled that Moscow helped Washington save American lives by providing information, and the United States, in turn, helped Russia prevent the terrorist attack planned in St. Petersburg.
America gathers a coalition
 
The expert suggested that Mike Pompeo's statement is primarily related to American policy regarding the Chinese side.
 
“Turning to the topic of coronavirus under conditions when Pompeo is considered Washington’s main mouthpiece in the anti-Chinese course seems very suspicious. The United States of America is interested in using the Russian factor to pressure China,” the expert assures.
 
It is noteworthy that in his interview, Mike Pompeo openly declared Washington’s intention to force the world to unite in order to impose on China the costs incurred by states due to the pandemic. Pompeo also expressed hope that a union of countries would emerge that understands that the only way to get the world out of the coronavirus crisis is to rid it of the risks allegedly emanating from China.
 
Pompeo gave the interview after a trip to Israel, where he put pressure on the US ally to weaken its relationship with China. Among other states that Washington would like to bring around to its idea of ​​confronting the PRC, the US Secretary of State named India, Japan, Australia, and Brazil.
 
“The United States of America is forming an international position, and the statements of some states testify to this. I think that European countries will also join.
 
In other words, Washington has begun to form a coalition of states, which together with it will put pressure on the Chinese side in order to persuade the authorities to conduct an investigation into the emergence of coronavirus infection,” the expert believes. [Australia was one of the countries whose fawning leadership opted to fall into step with Washington. As soon as Australian sanctions on China were announced, China immediately banned Australian beef exports, causing an outcry among beef growers down under.]
 
Vladimir Vasiliev believes that America thinks only the Russian Federation can appeal to the Chinese leaders directly.
 
“Therefore, the White House will try to use Russia as a factor that could theoretically influence China’s position and persuade it to be more compliant with the West. Other states do not have such potentials.
 
Knowing the American approach, we can say that the principle of pressure permeates the actions of the United States to use Russia as a lever in relations with China. It is this motive that is embedded in the offer of friendship, voiced by Mike Pompeo,” the agency’s interlocutor is sure.
 
US is working on a strategy
 
Vladimir Vasiliev recalled that recently, the American side has been actively trying to pressure the World Health Organization to echo the White House’s opinion.
 
“The United States is gradually building its own tactics, as part of which they are also trying to probe the state of the Russian Federation, which is fighting the coronavirus epidemic. Thus, Washington intends to find out the state of our country’s economy, its epidemiological situation, and the extent to which the coronavirus has weakened Russia's position and made it compliant with the possible demands of America,” the expert explains. [At this point, Russian economists are saying that Russia’s position is strong thanks to its vast gold and foreign currency reserves, including yuan].
 
Marshall Billingsley, appointed by US President Donald Trump on April 10 as special representative for arms control, recalls Vasilyev, bluntly stated that the situation in the world has changed dramatically, and Russia's allegedly deteriorating economic situation opens up opportunities for the United States to strengthen the arms race.
 
“This logic is also observed in the statements of Mike Pompeo, who intends to launch a kind of mechanism and probe how much the pandemic has changed the Russian Federation’s posiiton.
 
The Americans do not share the views of Moscow, which supports China through its information activities. However, against the backdrop of United States actions, the question arises of how the Russian Federation will react and whether it decides to support the Western side to some extent instead of the Chinese side. The reaction of our country will show what role it will play in the information war that Washington has unleashed against Beijing.
 
However, I do not rule out that the friendly gesture by Mike Pompeo will be followed by a surprise or a gift in the form of a threat of new sanctions against Russia, ”the expert said.
 
by Alexandra Melnik
 
END TRANSLATION
 
WAR NEWS
 
Below is a report from Al-Masdar that Egypt is in the process of acquiring Russia’s fastest and best fighter jet, Moscow’s answer to the US much-ballyhooed F-35, which is supposedly invisible to radar but which Russian radar can see just fine from 200 km away. Remember that the US sent $1.2 trillion to Lockheed Martin to design this bird, which Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan has discreetly called “F—ed up.”  We explained at NSS why the US is willing to send so much money to arms makers for so little, and it has nothing to do with keeping America safe.
 
The wonder jet F-35 has a top speed of about 1,200, less than half the top speed of the Russian Su-35.
 
But the obvious advantages of the Su-35 and the pitiful performance of the F-35 does not stand in the way of the Trump administration threatening countries showing an interest in purchasing the obviously superior Russian fighter and strong-arming allies into buying the US flying tin can.
 
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/egypt-challenges-us-to-acquire-one-of-russias-most-powerful-weapons/?utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=push&utm_campaign=push%notificationss&utm_content=varies
 
Egypt defies US to acquire one of Russia’s most powerful weapons
 
By News Desk
 
2020-05-18
 
BEIRUT, LEBANON (7:20 P.M.) – Egypt is facing potential sanctions from the U.S. after reports began to surface this week about the start of its acquisition of the Russian-made Su-35 fighter jet, which has threatened U.S. aircraft in the past.
 
It has become known that the deal is on the way to being implemented despite the threats from the United States to Egypt, which were made by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
 
According to experts, the appearance of the Russian Su-35 fighter in the Egyptian Army will lead to an imbalance in the region, as it is one of the most powerful combat aircraft in the world, and will ensure its superiority over the air forces in the region. [And let’s not forget, Israel is right there on the border and has purchased huge numbers of the overpriced F-35s, which can be easily defeated by the Su-35. Of course the US is concerned. If an Egyptian Su-35 were to shoot down an Israeli F-22 or F-35, both touted as “invisible,” just think what that would do to US arms sales! No wonder Pompeo is worried.]
 
The Russian newspaper “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” said that the analysis and hypothetical battles of the Su-35 against F-15 and F-22, showed that the Russian fighter was designed to defeat these two fighters, and in the near battle there are no opportunities for American fighters against the Russian fighter.
 
On Saturday, Russia’s TASS news agency quoted a military diplomatic source as saying that Russia had begun producing the latest generation of Su-35 fighters for Egypt, under a signed contract with Cairo.
 
A document published by the official website of the Russian government contracts and tenders revealed a tender related to the contract to supply some electrical connections and cables that will enter the manufacture of a new weapon for Egypt.
 
The document stated that the contract was concluded between Russia and the Egyptian side in 2018.
 
The Su-35 poses a threat to American fighters in an air battle. It belongs to the 4th generation and can compete with Western warplanes, including their 5th generation aircraft.
 
The Russian fighter weapons include air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles of all kinds, anti-ship missiles, and laser-guided bombs, as well as a 30-mm cannon equipped with 150 shells.

Vince Dhimos answered a question at Quora.
 
https://www.quora.com/How-critical-will-be-the-role-of-the-banks-in-reviving-the-economy-post-the-crisis/answer/Vince-Dhimos
 
WHAT WILL BE THE ROLE OF THE BANKS IN REVIVING THE ECONOMY POST-CRISIS
 
To understand the machinations of the Federal Reserve Board and why they are tolerated by a once-free people, we need to look at history.
 
The US Constitution in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 5 plainly states that the Congress shall have the power to “coin money and set the value thereof...”
 
But way back in 1913, the US Congress betrayed this constitutional principle and the US people by empowering a group of bankers that they dubbed the Federal Reserve Board, which usurped this constitutional role reserved strictly to the Congress. It was the biggest sell-out of all times, and within less than 20 years, the policies written by this group of thieves had unleashed the biggest depression the world had ever seen thanks to an easy money policy that gave loans to stock market speculators with little or no collateral required. This scam was intended to boost the banking business, but was sold to the public as a means of making America great by boosting the stock market. It was the first example of the now-accepted principle of financializing the economy. Finance and economics used to be two separate disciplines, and by rights, they should remain separate, but the thieves of the Fed cunningly conflated the two, making it seem as if finance could make America prosper. The concept has grown wings since then, as Trump touts a dangerously ballooning stock market bubble as a sign of prosperity.
 
This was a direct result of turning over the constitutional power of the people via their elected Congress to a group that was unaccountable to Congress. The drafters of the Constitution were absolutely right to want the power over the monetary system kept safely under the control of Congress. But Congress gave away its power to a group intent on asserting its own interests.
 
The Federal Reserve Board is already responding to the pandemic by doing the only thing it knows how to do, issue unbacked dollars by the trillions, a patently irresponsible practice that creates more unpayable debt on top of already-unpayable debt. So far, it has issued an additional $3 trillion on top of the $22 trillion debt, which was already threatening the credibility of the US dollar. The Fed calls such printing sprees Quantitative Easing (QE).
 
The Fed’s policy is based on a belief in a hare-brained theory called Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), which postulates that it doesn’t matter how much unbacked currency a world power like the US issues because the rest of the world has placed its full faith and trust in the US and will never stop believing in it. This, of course, defies common sense and creates a distortion. But nature abhors a distortion and will always seek to eliminate it. Irresponsible money printing destroyed the Weimar Republic and Zimbabwe. Of course, those were not world powers, so the Fed says that these models are not relevant to our times. Based on this untested theory (MMT), the Fed fired off several QEs after the 2008–9 crisis, which crisis, by the way, was caused by the Fed’s own ineptitude when it pursued a reckless policy of issuing subprime mortgages, allowing customers to buy homes with little or no down payment at rates below the prime lending rate – for the ostensible purpose of helping the poor buy homes, but for the underlying purpose of allowing banks to profit from a scam. This lax lending policy was promoted both be GW Bush and by prominent Democrats. 

The reason banks had traditionally required buyers to make down payments on properties was that home prices fluctuate, and if the buyer fails to make a down payment, then if the home loses value, the buyer can simply walk away from the mortgage and leave the bank holding a bad debt. The only recourse for a bank in the case of default is to foreclose and sell the home at auction. But if the home is no longer worth what it was sold for, and the buyer paid no down payment, the bank loses money. Thanks to this reckless easy money policy for home buyers, such default inevitably happened countless times across America and banks were left holding the bag. So the big bankers came up with the bright idea to bundle mortgages, including tranches of bad debt, tranches of moderately bad debt and some tranches of debts that were still collectible. The whole package was worthless, but the bankers managed to sell these stinky packages as “mortgage-backed securities.” Unsuspecting banks, mutual fund managers and individuals were lured into buying these MBSs and billions of dollars were lost. It was a scam and the unscrupulous sellers should have gone to jail. But bankers came up with a euphemism, ie, Too Big to Fail, meaning the banks that bought and sold these slimy mortgages, which would have failed and gone bankrupt in the good old days of honest banking, were bailed out by the Fed, which “lent” them trillions to keep them afloat in a practice dubbed “bailouts.” Some repaid the loans, others did not. This practice of bailing out businesses that made bad investments was added to the repertoire of “remedies” for various emergencies (like today’s pandemic) and has become accepted by the brainwashed grassroots and, of course, by elected officials in the highest echelons of government.

But it was a nail in the coffin of the free market, which had once been based on the righteous principle of sink or swim for businesses. No market is free once the government – or a quasi-government enterprise like the government-supported Fed– intervenes to favour incompetent investors. Traditional capitalism weeded out bad investors to keep the economy healthy. But now bad – or stupid – investors are rewarded in the new predatory capitalism or government-backed corporate capitalism that has become entrenched in America. (BTW, During WW II, this unsavoury blend of government and business was known as fascism).
 
This practice is, in the final analysis, a form of corruption because it robs from the taxpayer to support business malpractice by cronies. The people who granted subprime mortgages should have been held accountable, ie, should have been allowed to fail. The scumbags who bundled these bad mortgages with good mortgages to create worthless securities should have been held accountable as frauds under criminal law. Instead, they were rewarded with bailouts under the  concept of “Too Big to Fail.” Thus criminal activity was legalized and rewarded by stealing the sustenance of the working class to pay big racketeers who had usurped the reins of government and quasi-government, ie, the Fed.
 
As for the concept of Modern Monetary Theory behind which perpetrators of quantitative easing are hiding, there are two facts that no one in the Fed or the US government wants you to talk about, and these are:
 
1—After the first volley of wild rampant trillion-dollar issuance following the outbreak of the 2008-9 Great Recession caused by the issuance of subprime mortgages and their irresponsible sale under the guise of aiding the poor, and the fraudulent issuance of MBSs as a “remedy,” there was talk in the mainstream financial media of a “recovery.” But in fact no real recovery ever happened. It was all talk. Thus, the pre-pandemic Trump economy, thought touted as prosperous, was in a state of unrecovered crisis.
 
2—After the QEs went into effect, and even before, due to the increased amount of Treasuries on the market, it became impossible to sell enough US Treasury bonds, the instruments that enabled the US government to operate. The bonds had always been bought by individuals, mutual funds and whole countries, like Saudi Arabia, Japan and China. The biggest “buyer” was the US tax payer, who unwillingly and often unwittingly “bought” the bonds using cash from the social security fund into which working individuals had paid. But now, with these sources depleted, the Fed had to establish a permanent practice of buying back its own bonds with money created from thin air. In plain language, this is fraud and intuition tells us it will ultimately fail.
 
Modern Monetary Theory did not take these 2 facts into account. Therefore the older models on which the theory was based are no longer relevant.
 
And worst of all, MMT did not account for the possibility of a Black Swan event such as the current pandemic. Eastern countries like Russia and China do not play such kiddy games with their currencies. Instead they resort to the traditional method of preparing for emergencies by keeping reserves on hand, mostly in precious metals.
 
The US is now in the most precarious position of its history and has no reserves to fall back on. What if MMT proves to be a house of cards, as I think it will? Money printing was the last resort. There are no other options available to the Fed.
 
WAR NEWS

Syrian army unleashes big attack in Southern Idlib

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-unleashes-big-attack-in-southern-idlib/?utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=push&utm_campaign=push%notificationss&utm_content=varies

Fleeing ISIS terrorists resort to dressing like women to evade capture

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/fleeing-daesh-terrorists-resort-to-dressing-as-women-to-evade-capture-in-eastern-syria/?utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=push&utm_campaign=push%20%notificationss&utm_content=varies

Syrian army recaptures all territories lost in northwest Syria
​
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-recaptures-all-territories-lost-in-northwest-syria/?utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=push&utm_campaign=push%notificationss&utm_content=varies
 

Vince Dhimos answered a question at Quora.
 
https://www.quora.com/How-will-the-USA-come-out-of-the-COVID-19-crisis-Can-Trump-get-the-economy-back-and-running-in-full-fledged/answer/Vince-Dhimos
 
HOW WILL THE US COME OUT OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS? CAN TRUMP GET THE ECONOMY BACK AND RUNNING IN FULL-FLEDGED [SIC]?
 
I had written a response that pretty much answers this question (see link below).
 
The expression “back and running” betrays a deep misunderstanding about the economy prior to the outbreak, which was not at all healthy by normal standards, despite the administration’s constant hype to the contrary.
 
Three items are ignored in the discussion, which is controlled by the US Establishment, a specialist in deception.
 
Here’s what you’re not supposed to know or even talk about:
 
1—One of the big pillars of the Trump economy was shale oil (and gas). This sector was never healthy. There were constant bankruptcies among shale producers even before the pandemic. Trump and other US politicians knew nothing about shale energy and thought that it could make America prosper, but it was trending in the opposite direction. Shale resources are a highly risky venture that has never been profitable, for two reasons: their production requires fracking, which adds an extra cost, and in addition, the well lives are extremely short requiring frequent drilling, which adds still more to the cost. Thus the break-even price per barrel ranges from at least $45–55, much higher than that of conventional wells of the Middle Eastern, North African and Russian type. Thus shale was doomed to fail from the start. The pandemic and the refusal of Russia to re-negotiate the production cuts mandated by OPEC (surreptitiously controlled in the background by Washington -- no, your financial pages didn't mention that) was the final nail in the coffin. There is no going back to that. The reason Russia, and later Saudi, refuse to continue the cuts stipulated in the expired agreement is that they saw as grossly unfair that Washington was demanding production cuts of the whole world but was refusing to cut its own production – precisely to prop up the unprofitable shale business. How could that be fair?
 
2—Trump had told Americans that the escalating stock prices were a signal of a booming economy. It was a lie. In fact this was a signal of a stock market bubble, which threatened to burst at any time – just like the stock bubble that burst in 1929, throwing the world economy into a tailspin. The bubble was caused in part by Big Business buying back its own stocks to keep up the pretence of profitability. The pandemic was the catalyst that started the process of popping the bubble.
 
3—The debt was already unwieldy, but the over-confident Fed and its captive journos kept telling the US people that debt doesn’t matter. This dubious proposition is based on a cockamamie untested theory called Modern Monetary Theory, which is being sress-tested by the pandemic, which in turn has prompted the Fed to issue another risky unpayable unbacked $3 trillion added to the already unpayable $22 trillion. Now the world will see whether debt matters or not for the US (see: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-odds-of-hyperinflation-and-social-unrest-in-America-because-of-COVID-19/answer/Vince-Dhimos)
 
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-odds-of-hyperinflation-and-social-unrest-in-America-because-of-COVID-19/answer/Vince-Dhimos


WAR NEWS

Yes, there are wars going on in Syria, Iraq. Libya and elsewhere, but the Western msm won't tell you the details because the truth spoils the US narrative. Al-Masdar and Souhtfront are some of the only sources. Naturally, Western media and social media are doing their best to censor and smear them. Ignore the background noise.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/heavy-clashes-breakout-in-northwest-hama-as-jihadists-attack-syrian-army-points/?utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=push&utm_campaign=push%notificationss&utm_content=varies
 
Heavy clashes breakout in northwest Hama as jihadists attack Syrian Army points
By News Desk -2020-05-120
 
BEIRUT, LEBANON (3:45 P.M.) – A series of clashes broke out on Tuesday when the jihadist rebels launched a new attack on the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) positions in the Al-Ghaab Plain region.
 
According to a field report from northwestern Syria, the jihadist rebels launched artillery shells towards the Syrian Arab Army’s defenses in the northern region of the Al-Ghaab Plain; this prompted the SAA to return fire.
 
The two sides reportedly exchanged machine and light gunfire, despite an ongoing ceasefire that was brokered by the Russian and Turkish authorities on March 5th in Moscow.
 
These latest clashes come a few days after the jihadist rebels of the Hurras Al-Deen group launched a powerful attack that killed over 30 Syrian Arab Army soldiers in the town of Al-Tanjara.
 
The jihadist assault on Al-Tanjara was the deadliest attack launched on the Syrian Army’s positions since the ceasefire was reached at the start of March.
 
Prior to the jihadist raid, the two sides only exchanged artillery and rocket fire, with most of these attacks taking place along the southern front-lines in Idlib.
 
​

​

For this reason, God sent them a strong delusion so that they should believe a lie.
                                  2 Thessalonians 2:11
 
Vince Dhimos answered a question at Quora.
 
https://www.quora.com/What-would-happen-if-the-Chinese-decided-to-abandon-the-dollar-and-work-with-India-and-other-countries-to-establish-the-Yuan-as-an-alternative-or-competing-reserve-currency/answer/Vince-Dhimos

What would happen if the Chinese decided to abandon the dollar and work with India and other countries to establish the Yuan as an alternative or competing reserve currency?
 
Vince Dhimos, Editor-in-Chief at New Silk Strategies (2016-present)
 
China and Russia have been working for years to de-dollarize world trade, with mixed results. While most countries are sceptical about the yuan, there is some very serious thought in various parts of the world about ditching the dollar. And in fact, India is one of those countries that now used their own and other local currencies in international trade settlements. Iran has an iron-clad policy of zero dollar use in trade. The recent increased use of the dollar as a weapon to impose sanctions, even now that the affected populations need medicine and food more than ever, is highlighting the utter cruelty of the US regime and the need to dethrone the dollar at all costs. It’s not a game, it is a matter of life and death. This pandemic period has presented the world with a real opportunity to see through all the media lies and obfuscation and to contemplate what has suddenly happened to them and why. No one can argue with hunger pangs and no propaganda campaign, no matter how clever, can paper over hunger. Trump’s one-time allowance of only $1200 amidst a pandemic that could go on for years shows his utter disdain for the poor. Just as he has sanctioned millions of people abroad, he is now sanctioning the American poor in much the same way. The fate of the US dollar is in the hands of billionaire Federal Reserve bankers who clearly despise the poor and are printing up trillions mostly for distribution among people just like them who have never worked a day in their lives and have been sucking the life blood out of poor workers since the inception of the Fed in 1913. No one seemed to notice then or seems to notice even now that the US Constitution clearly states, in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 5: Congress shall have the power “To coin Money, [and] regulate the Value thereof, ..” but in 1913 Congress betrayed its voters and handed this fundamental constitutional power over to a pack of thieves who in less than 20 years ushered in a Great Depression through their foolish policy of easy money to stock market speculators. This was the first symptom of the government’s and the Fed’s predilection for financializing the economy, and this obsession with financialization is precisely why you’re hungry. Unlike Russia and China, which have reserves stashed away for such emergencies as COVID-19 or a depression, the US has full faith and trust in the printing press. Just as Trump today touts a dangerous stock market bubble as a sign of economic prosperity, they too thought that they could somehow make America prosperous by raising stock prices through the roof. The depression was a lesson for America but, like all such lessons, was never learned. Because America is collectively deluded. Neither the grassroots nor the elites have so far gotten any wiser for this experience, and the deluded people continued to trust the fox to guard the hen house. Contrast this dangerous aberration to Russia and China, where people recognize that finance and economics are two separate entities and no one would ever think of using raw finance to build the real economy. Because that is impossible, as we are seeing now with our own eyes and without the prism of delusional financial journalism.
 
Yet even that horrendous depression failed to wake up the masses, who instead of throwing out the thieves, looked to them for help to solve the crisis of their own making.
 
There will be no substantive change in America until the thieves are finally utterly overcome and thrown out.
 
This pandemic is the best opportunity to do this. For decades, financial “journalism” kept telling the public that the Fed would fix all the problems, even the 2008–9 Great Recession that they had helped create, again, with easy money, this time for mortgages. Still, the public trusted them when they fired up the printing presses and made counterfeit money to “solve” the crisis. And yet economists admit that the Great Recession never went away in all that time. But the public believed the propaganda and managed to convince themselves that the counterfeiting operation was a success.
 
But now here we are as a result. You can feel the hunger pangs, and hunger is stronger propaganda than any of the lies the liars in the msm can tell you. Perhaps this time around Americans will see the abject failure of their system, their Fed, their Congress, their “democracy.”
 
One of my interlocutors at Quora wrote that when the current scoundrel is thrown out in November, that will show the world the beauty of “democracy.”
 
I reminded him that this would be another exchange of one empty suit for another, and that this exchange of one scoundrel for another is in fact the essence of American democracy.
 
After all, Biden is not the anti-Trump many have awaited, far from it. Trump endangered the US economy with his brainless trade wars. Biden has accused Trump of not being “tough enough on China” and has promised to take this US-China confrontation a notch higher. So instead of reducing the dangerous tension that has reigned in the world since the beginning of the trade wars, he will do nothing but escalate it. Nothing could better illustrate the failure of the American system, which trades politics for problem solving.
 
Remember, folks, for all the legitimate misgivings the West may harbour toward that country, more than any other nation on earth, China has kept down inflation and provided us all with a decent standard of living for decades despite the gross missteps of our Western leaders, simply by harnessing their 5000 year old work ethic and brain power to produce things everyone can afford.
 
And now the thanks these incompetent Western leaders are showing China are nothing but sour grapes. Accusations, allegations, suspicions, threats. Racist hate. And the public is buying it on both sides of the political spectrum.
 
But all this ingratitude may be rewarded when the dollar fails utterly. And then it won’t matter if Americans can drop their delusion, they will be forced by circumstances to adopt a new way of life.
 
An analysis by a Russian expert that I translated and posted on Quora gives some insight into the future fate of the US dollar: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-odds-of-hyperinflation-and-social-unrest-in-America-because-of-COVID-19/answer/Vince-Dhimos
​
Answer requested by Jeff Reno

In the following you will find our translation of an article from rueconomics.ru with commentary and notes [in brackets] by Vince Dhimos. I would like to point out a surprising takeaway from this analysis:
​
There are millions of people, mostly Democrats, who have an unshakable belief that the Russians support Donald Trump as president and will support his candidacy this year just as they supposedly did in 2016. However, as a daily reader of the Russian press, particularly the very serious site RIA Novosti, I have long seen article after article criticising Donald Trump’s bizarre, warlike, hostile, arrogant, reckless and senseless moves in economics and foreign policy. Generally speaking, regardless of where they may have stood in 2016, the Kremlin, which stands behind RIA Novosti and many other news sites, including rueconomics.ru, is just about fed up with the antics of Donald Trump. After all, he and his pals in Congress managed to shut down the arguably most potentially lucrative Russian exportation project Nord Stream 2, designed to deliver 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to Germany. The loss incurred from this brazen interference in European affairs is hard to calculate but it represents a fairly large percentage of Russian revenues once the project is finally completed (Russia estimates it should be finished sometime this year or at the beginning of 2021), and it threatens the European economy by depriving the Germans of cheap gas needed to fuel their industries. Although in fairness, it must be said that for now, part of the gas stream to West Europe is already being supplied via Ukraine, Russia is eager to break economic ties with a hostile state that has been a thorn in the side for Russia since the Maidan coup. But news like this rarely reaches the average US news consumer. Only the relatively few Americans who read the financial pages will have heard of this pipeline project and its suspension due to grossly unjust US sanctions. Therefore, the Democrats can keep up their chorus about “Russian meddling” and keep bashing Russia for supposedly supporting a president that in reality, they are sick to death of. Because hardly anyone knows the truth.
 
BEGIN TRANSLATION
 
US record debt is burying the dollar and Trump's presidential ambitions
 
May 07, 2020 Washington, United States
 
https://rueconomics.ru/440936-rekordnyi-gosdolg-ssha-khoronit-dollar-i-prezidentskie-ambicii-trampa
 
Despite the fact that the US public debt has reached a record level and will continue to grow, large-scale borrowing will not be able to seriously help the American economy. FBA Ekonomika Segodnya learned this from the head of the international economic organizations sector of the Centre for Economic Research, RISI Vyacheslav Kholodkov.
 
The US national debt has reached a new record level, having exceeded $25 trillion. In November, it reached the $23 trillion mark, but since February of this year it has begun to grow rapidly. The level has now reached the highest rate in history, and this is not the limit. In early May, the US Treasury announced plans to issue bonds for three trillion dollars over the next three months. That is, the size of borrowings for the third quarter is more than double the same indicator for the entire last year.
 
The sharp increase is associated with budget expenditures to combat the coronavirus pandemic. From July to September, total borrowing will amount to $677 billion. The Federal Reserve System (FRS) and its head Jerome Powell have already announced their readiness to buy back as many government securities on the secondary market as needed to overcome the effects of the crisis.
 
“These borrowings will have some impact on the American economy, as they are intended to be distributed to the population in one form or another – direct subsidies or social support,” Kholodkov notes. “But these financial injections can’t be considered a serious pillar of the economy – the impact will be small, because the situation in the USA is so difficult that it is already impossible to stop the negative processes with money.
 
For example, we are seeing a record level of unemployment which was not seen even during the Great Depression of 1928-1933. Borrowing will not fix it. In addition, we need to talk about the size of the public debt itself – it is, on the whole, unprecedented for the planet. Such a large debt will inevitably affect the status of the dollar in the world, as well as confidence in the US currency, which will inevitably be undermined."
 
The dollar is no longer omnipotent
 
In his day, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner notified Congress on May 16, 2011 that the country's public debt had reached the maximum statutory level of $14 trillion. According to the official, he had to use "various accounting tricks" as measures to prevent default. In response, President Barack Obama said that if Congress does not increase the state debt limit by the morning of July 16, the United States may declare a technical default.
 
Congress people took this step, and since then it has been repeated periodically. In September 2017, the US government debt exceeded the $20 trillion mark. That day, President Donald Trump signed a law to temporarily raise the country's national debt threshold, which allowed unlimited federal loans. Thus, America accrued 10 trillion dollars in debt in just eight years. The previous 10 trillion took more than 100 years.
 
"After the Second World War, confidence in the dollar was unlimited, but in recent years its position as a global currency has been increasingly eroded. Investors no longer see it as a reliable financial instrument. The dollar is being squeezed off its pedestal by cryptocurrencies and gold, and countries are actively switching to trading in national currencies, as the abuse of sanctions toppled confidence in the dollar.
 
So far no one can tell at what point the process of abandoning the dollar will take on an avalanche-like character. Once this point is reached, investors will begin to massively ditch dollar assets, bringing down the US currency. While there is no viable replacement for the dollar, one will appear sooner or later. It will stay afloat only until the world community finds what the “buck” can be completely replaced with,” points out Kholodkov.
 
Trump had promised to reduce US debt
 
Despite the high debt, thanks to extremely low rates, the United States spends no more than $300 billion a year on interest payments on its securities. That means they can save up indefinitely. But if the rate on ten-year bonds rises from the current 2% to 4.5% (the basic forecast of Congress), then this will increase the cost of services to $ 800-900 billion a year in 7-10 years, and up to half of the tax revenues will be spent on government coupon payments.
 
Last summer, the US Congress warned that by 2049 public debt could reach the "unprecedented level" of 144% of the country's GDP. At that time it was stated that this meant "significant risks" for the American economy. It is noteworthy that this danger was taken into account by Trump during the 2016 election race. He promised to stop debt growth, and then lower the debt level. But today we learned that the White House is considering the possibility of not returning China's investments in US government bonds – Beijing holds $ 1.1 trillion in Treasuries.
 
“If the United States dares to withhold China’s money, it will accelerate the collapse of the dollar – China will withdraw its investments if possible, and all other players will follow suit. The consequences for the US currency and economy will be catastrophic. But so far this option is unlikely.
 
However, the situation in the American economy is very serious, and now Trump promises "rapid growth" and an "economic miracle" to America immediately after the quarantine has been lifted. These promises, in my opinion, should also be divided by at least three. After all, Trump has already failed all points of his election program, including a decrease in public debt.
 
Many have forgotten about Trump's tax reform, which also ended up being worthless. And now it is not necessary to say that the president will be able to radically change something by raising the state debt. But the situation may well affect Trump’s presidential ambitions, "concludes Vyacheslav Kholodkov.
 
WAR NEWS
 
Below is our translation of a report from Al-Maalomah, the media arm of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Force.
 
I decided to post this translation because I was unable to find this report in any English-language, or even Russian-language sites.
 
You need to be aware that the PMF, though kept off the books, is actually recognized as a legitimate part of the Iraqi armed forces and does a large percentage of Iraq’s anti-terrorism operations. The Iraqi government must be careful not to trumpet this too loudly for fear of US reprisals, so they have not yet declared the PMF an official arm of their armed forces. But off the books, the PMU is appreciated and recognized for the anti-terror organization that it is. After all, after Soleimani was murdered by the Trump administration, the Iraqi people thronged to the centre of Baghdad in protest and the Iraqi parliament voted to oust not the Iranians but the American military!
 
However, the sleazy US media and political class have kept up a constant din of propaganda noise aimed at convincing the public that the PMU is controlled by Iran against the will of the Iraqis. This was their excuse for various attacks on PMF bases and, of course, for the killing of General Soleimani and a high-ranking Iraqi PMF official.
 
BEGIN TRANSLATION
 
https://www.almaalomah.com/2020/05/03/472021/
 
The PMF kills three “ISIS” members in a security operation in Salah al-Din
 
almaalomah / Baghdad ..
 
On Sunday, the deputy brigade commander of the 35th Brigade of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, Farhan Khudair Al-Deir, announced that three ISIS terrorist operatives had been killed and some of their arms, equipment and supplies were found in a security operation along the Tigris River in Salah al-Din Governorate.
 
Al-Deir said in an interview between Al-Maalomah and the PMF media, "The PMF carried out a security operation in the islands located in the Tigris River in response to the martyrs of Machkisha," noting that "the operation resulted in the death of three ISIS members."
 
Al-Deir added, "Some supplies of the terrorist organization were also found, as well as American-made weapons and foreign currencies in the possession of ISIS terrorist remnants."
 
END TRANSLATION
 

Vince Dhimos answered a question at Quora.
 
https://www.quora.com/If-the-world-decided-to-not-buy-anything-from-China-anymore-and-re-distributed-manufacturing-throughout-the-rest-of-the-world-how-would-this-effect-the-rest-of-the-world-Every-other-country-would-be-better-off-right/answer/Vince-Dhimos

If the world decided to not buy anything from China anymore, and re-distributed manufacturing throughout the rest of the world, how would this effect the rest of the world? Every other country would be better off, right?
 
Vince Dhimos, Editor-in-Chief at New Silk Strategies (2016-present)

It’s complicated.
 
For decades, ever since the US decided in the 80s to grant China Most Favoured Nation status, China has been manufacturing goods at low inflation-fighting prices that no other country could match, at least perhaps until recently. This is due in large part to the culturally entrenched industriousness of the Chinese people that has been cultivated over centuries. Western countries generally lack this work ethic, with the partial exception of Germany — which, not coincidentally — is the world’s second biggest exporter. These 2 countries are willing to work harder for less money, whereas Americans have been watching how billionaire investors and bankers have gotten rich by fleecing the poor. Many emulate them. In vain.
 
But the West has recently taken the attitude that these hard-working Chinese are somehow suddenly doing the West deliberate harm by being the busy bees they have always been for 5,000 years.
 
If the West had emulated the Chinese over, say, the past 4 decades instead of merely exploiting their hard work, we would have had the opportunity to duplicate the Chinese experiment in the West. But that will never happen because the West is run by sharks like the Federal Reserve, whose mandate was to keep the dollar stable. Yet they have always claimed that to keep it stable, they had to maintain a 2% annual inflation rate. They never explained why that was necessary, and keen observers realize that it is a scam that makes the poor poorer and squeeze the middle class. The main factor countering this inflation has been the availability of cheap products from China.
 
Yes, of course, countries like Vietnam, which has a similar work ethic, could eventually complement China’s economic contribution.
 
But other than the ongoing 24/7 campaign demonizing China, what earthly reason do we have to suddenly stab this country in the back after all its heroic work in fighting inflation for over 4 decades?
 
The real reason the US Establishment is trying to bring down China is twofold:
 
1—The West has finally awakened to the fact that China is a serious competitor, capable of overtaking the US in every way, and suddenly, all that jingoistic rhetoric about free competition has been thrown out. The US has become the country with the least spirit of free competition in the world, with Trump claiming that the Chinese are “stealing patents” (any patent attorney would laugh at that expression since patents are published and the text is available to the public) and now deliberately releasing viruses to kill everyone, and under these and the like pretexts, making the gullible masses believe that free competition is a bad thing when it comes from China. It is reminiscent of the old paranoia about the “yellow hordes” that the same imperialists used as an excuse for their genocidal attacks on North Korea and their hate campaigns against “Red China.”
 
2—Back when Congress was debating granting China Most Favoured Nation status, some public figures admitted they were motivated in part by a desire to drive a wedge between China and Russia by making China rich and thereby bringing it over to “our side.” They underestimated the intelligence of Chinese leaders, who saw through this cheap subterfuge and resisted. It was only recently, when China and Russia started holding joint military and naval drills, that some of the less drugged or dumbed-down US leaders finally realized — after almost 40 years — that the Chinese were not about to break ties with Russia and decided it was time to “do something.” But even these less-brain dead “leaders” failed to grasp that it was way too late, and the entire nation therefore went into a paroxysm of angst and hand-wringing anti-China paranoia. This is where we are today. (And for those who think the Democrats can fix this, Biden has also jumped on the anti-China bandwagon in an attempt to outflank Trump).
 
The last part of your question “every country would be better off, right?” is a reflection of the current US-imperialist desperation to drag the rest of the world into the US’s anti-China racist hate campaign. (Although it might be sarcasm on the part of the enquirer. Who knows?).
 
US policies toward the Third World have been Neo-colonial in spirit and intent, aimed at looting resources, and have only beaten down the poor even further, while China, with its BRI, has proclaimed its intent to lift their people out of poverty. Africa, for example, got this message, having seen the altruistic Chinese in action, and although the US media and political class have tried feverishly to convince Africans that China is only trying to ensnare them in a debt trap, it turns out that Africans are not stupid — as they were assumed to be by US imperialist racists. So this is where we are at now. Africans and other peoples are not buying the kind of propaganda reflected in this question and by the US-led Western propaganda machine that spawned the mentality behind it.
 
As I said above, it took the brain dead US “leaders” 40 years to figure out that their scatter-brained scheme to drive a wedge between Russia and China was an epic failure, and likewise, it will eventually dawn on these same failed schemers that their latest hate campaign is also doomed to fail.
 
So instead of asking how the West can rope other countries into this non-starter scheme, how about we focus on cooperating with China and the other countries that the US Establishment wants us to hate? We can start by cooperating in the fight against COVID-19.
 
Instead of looking for scapegoats to blame.
 
Vince answered this question as well:
https://www.quora.com/How-can-the-USA-become-more-self-sufficient-and-not-lose-Chinese-consumerism/answer/Vince-Dhimos
 
How can the USA become more self-sufficient and not lose [to] Chinese consumerism?
 
Vince Dhimos, Editor-in-Chief at New Silk Strategies (2016-presento
 
America needs to stop falling for the feel-good sound-good propaganda about self-sufficiency that has led to the US shale oil and shale gas disaster. Shale was unprofitable from the start because it relied on fracking, which was too expensive to provide profits and also harmed the environment. The latest oil price crisis should have been a lesson but it was not learned. The US receives many such lessons but rarely learns them. It is like the student who misses half his classes to go out behind the school building and smoke pot with his friends.
 
Shale oil was touted as a means to self-sufficiency but it led to numerous bankruptcies among uninformed investors and is now about to crash for good. This failure is due to the US’s infamous lack of foresight. If leaders had been smart, they would have discouraged oil companies from producing shale this early instead of encouraging them with enormous tax breaks. If the US had waited, this shale oil could have been produced in the distant future after traditional wells were nearly depleted in Saudi and Russia, for example, and the shale oil would have been more profitable, at the expected higher prices. The US leadership is to blame for the string of shale oil bankruptcies but they are looking for scapegoats instead of owning up to their own failures and rectifying them. We are in for a very rough ride as the current administration takes a wrecking ball to the US — and world — economy, all for the purpose of gaining votes from an unwary public. Only a dumbed-down public could have produced such a dumbed-down crop of clueless leaders.
 
The trade war and the anti-China policies are another example of such utter stupidity. For the moment, the US, with its yawning gap between rich and poor, desperately needs the inflation-fighting Chinese products. Of course, if the US can make them cheaper at home, fine. But that is not generally the case. For years, the US grew more and more interdependent with China and there were no serious consequences. It was not until the trade war and the desperate measures to hurt China that things went sour.
 
Right now, in the midst of a world-wide pandemic, is no time to be sowing hostility toward our trading partners. We need to cooperate with all countries and international organizations that are fighting the pandemic.
 
Please read a previous answer of mine:
 
Vince Dhimos's answer to If the world decided to not buy anything from China anymore, and re-distributed manufacturing throughout the rest of the world, how would this effect the rest of the world? Every other country would be better off, right?
 
 
WAR NEWS
The US and NATO Establishment has a lot of nerve criticizing SouthFront for publishing the truth about the US-instigated conflict in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon and elsewhere, because the US Establishment “news” hardly mentions these important events, and the main reason for this self-imposed censorship is that these conflicts are now being won against the terrorists and in favour of the fighters not aligned with the US – ie, Russians, Iraqis, Iranians, Syrians. We have shown here at NSS abundant evidence that it was the US-led West that introduced and promoted the terror organizations scattered around the Middle East. Here is our composite report on this: http://www.newsilkstrategies.com/international-relations/how-the-west-created-isis
Americans’ reliance on officially approved news and their utter refusal to look at other viewpoints are responsible for the deplorable state of affairs in the Middle East and in Western countries.
 
https://southfront.org/an-in-depth-look-behind-the-scenes-of-southfront-censorship/
AN IN-DEPTH LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES OF SOUTHFRONT CENSORSHIP
An In-Depth Look Behind the Scenes Of SouthFront Censorship
Click to see the full-size image
 
The situation surrounding the censorship of Southfront on Facebook has turned into a display of the stereotypical Big-tech super villain. Facebook has published a report justifying its actions, which is an egregious, textbook example of fake news. The report contains only disjointed accusations under the cover of meaningless words, and without a single example being presented. Special attention should be paid to the fact that in the full 29-page report, there are no mentions of SouthFront itself, besides the baseless accusations at its outset.
 
Furthermore, in order to label SouthFront as allegedly official Russian propaganda, Facebook first identifies another media site with a similar name, and then proceeds to emphasize the similarity of the brands. The name of this organization is “News Front”, which indeed shares the word “Front” in its name, yet the similarities end there. News Front is an official Russian organization that is located in Crimea and publicly pursues an acute pro-Russian patriotic informational agenda for a Russian speaking audience.
 
In the case of News Front, to assert that the site is engaged in pushing fake news or disinformation is also nonsense. There are no hidden “trolls” infecting the weak minds of the citizens of Russia or other countries of the post-Soviet space through devious attempts to manipulate and mold their innermost perception. This is a regular Russian patriotic media site with a declared pro-Russian bias. Having a declared and obvious bias is not a crime in a democratic world.
 
As for the wider, global, non-Russian-speaking audience, News Front has a minimal presence. So why it was necessary to censor this Russian organization? The answer is now obvious, as described above.
 
The comparison of the audience of southfront.org and news-front.info by Alexa:
 
An In-Depth Look Behind the Scenes Of SouthFront Censorship
Click to see the full-size image
 
The comparison of the audience of southfront.org and news-front.info by SimilarWeb:
 
An In-Depth Look Behind the Scenes Of SouthFront Censorship
Click to see the full-size image
 
The catalyst that led to these actions concern mass complaints made by propaganda units created and funded by NATO, the EU and other Euro-Atlantic organizations. A majority of these propaganda units, like Euvsdisinfo, StopFake, or the Atlantic Council, have offices and representatives in Ukraine and Baltic states. They operate with the designated goal of utilizing both formal and informal tools to undermine the work of independent and non-mainstream media. To achieve their goals, the pro-NATO propagandists often exploit the so-called ‘Russian threat’ concept; however, this merely provides a cover for their aggressive actions to silence and discredit opposing opinions and sources of information they deem to be counter to their own interests.
 
The reason behind their activity is simple – they must justify their existence in reports to their sponsors. They are constantly and fiercely working to engineer ‘successful actions’ regardless of their validity. In order to continue securing funding to expose and defeat an imaginary enemy, they must create imaginary victories, irrespective of reality.
 
At the same time, the quality of the analysis and approaches of these propaganda units are of a surprisingly low quality. Their main ‘innovation’ is in bombarding the likes of YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and other global media platforms with thousands of complaints. In more simple terms, a glorified spam operation. The structure of these complaints is simple. They irately claim that some media organization or a media activist violates the policy of the social platform; for example: by spreading misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, or by simply asserting that the offending party is creating fake news (in general without any explanation). Such complains may include one or several links to posts that allegedly violate the policies of the social platforms as evidence of wrongdoing. However, even this does not happen in most of the cases, or the evidence turns out to be nothing more than a link to a substantiated post that includes either opinion or factual information.
 
We, the international team of authors and experts working under the brand SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence, has evidenced this and regularly faces such hostile actions from pro-NATO propaganda organizations. Moreover, we have the impression that many employees of large social platforms have grown tired of the shameless actions of some of these pro-NATO propagandists.
 
From its very creation, SouthFront has stated that we provide the opportunity to express a multitude of opinions and views covering international issues on our platform. We make sure that these points of view do not go beyond rationality or violate any national or international laws. Southfront and our authors can make a multitude of assumptions, but when we make claims they are always based on facts and substantiated by identified sources. We specifically do not use the term ‘reliable sources’, since in this modern world of information warfare and media noise and obfuscation, each combatant has their own understanding of the world ‘reliable’. More often than not, the term ‘reliable sources’ is the first clue that no such sources exist.
 
Let’s take a closer look at accusations against SouthFront put forward by Euvsdisinfo, a propaganda unit of the EU East Stratcom Task Force. Since the start of 2020, SouthFront has released about 3,000 articles. Pro-NATO propagandists found a grand total of 3 (0.001% of the total) that they can use to back up their claim that SouthFront supposedly promotes some disinformation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. (EXAMPLE 1, EXAMPLE 2, EXAMPLE 3)
 
An In-Depth Look Behind the Scenes Of SouthFront Censorship
EUvsdisinfo’s propaganda piece
 
The real title of the article is “COVID-19 – THE FIGHT FOR A CURE: ONE GIGANTIC WESTERN PHARMA RIP-OFF” (source)
 
This article is written by Peter Koenig and submitted via Global Research. Peter Koenig is an economist and geopolitical analyst. He is also a water resources and environmental specialist. He worked for over 30 years with the World Bank and the World Health Organization in many parts of the world, including in Palestine, in the fields of environment and water. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for Global Research; ICH; RT; Sputnik; PressTV; The 21st Century; Greenville Post; Defend Democracy Press, TeleSUR; The Saker Blog, the New Eastern Outlook (NEO); and other internet sites. He is the author of “Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed”, a fictional work based on historical fact and over 30 years of World Bank experience around the globe. He is also a co-author of The World Order and Revolution! – Essays from the Resistance. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (Global Research). Global Research itself is run by a group of authors that have advanced academic degrees from respected academic institutions and teach in universities of the United State and Canada.
 
So, what kind of ‘fake news’ or ‘disinformation’ did Mr. Koenig push in the article? The article provides a critical look at and addresses the concerns regarding the goals of the global pharmaceutical industry, otherwise known as Big Pharma, in the larger context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Are these global corporations not commercial entities that seek to gain larger revenues and increased profits? Yes, clearly so. So, what is wrong with this logic? Furthermore, Mr. Koenig wrote his article based on official statistics and sources.
 
For example:
 
“The vaccine that might eventually be applied to COVID-19, may most likely no longer be valid for the next coronavirus outbreak – which, also according to Mr. Redfield, CDC, will most probably occur. A later virus may most certainly have mutated. It’s quite similar to the common flu virus. In fact, the annually reoccurring common flu virus contains a proportion of 10% to 15% (sometimes more) of coronaviruses.”
 
This is an obvious scientific fact – a specific vaccine acts against a particular strain of virus. Complex vaccines act against several strains, but the accumulated modern scientific knowledge has yet to invent a vaccine that can act against all the possible strains. The converse statement is a falsehood and is aimed at misleading the public.
 
A biased critic may label as conspiracy the author’s point of view towards the aggressive advertising of vaccines or the need for electronic IDs; however, this very same point of view has been voiced by various politicians or representatives of big business. Even the term ‘New World Order’ which appears twice in the subject text, was itself widely used by the mainstream political establishment, and even presidents of the United States like George H. W. Bush.
 
However, this did not stop paid propagandists from labeling the article the work of a conspiracy theorist and thus labelling it as disinformation. One could claim that the author asserted a notion of conspiracy, but there was zero disinformation, as the author’s hypothesis was based on scientist fact and common knowledge.
 
An In-Depth Look Behind the Scenes Of SouthFront Censorship
EUvsdisinfo’s propaganda piece
 
The real title of the article is “WESTERN MEDIA TALKS UP BIG PHARMA’S SEARCH FOR CORONAVIRUS VACCINE WHILE IGNORING USE OF HIGH DOES VITAMIN C TO SAVE LIVES IN CHINA” (source)
 
This article is written by a well-known international author, Dr. Leon Tressell. The main assertion of the article is that high dose vitamin C therapy apparently helps to deal with acute respiratory disease and viral pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2. The article clearly shows that the methods of treating the symptoms caused by SARS-CoV-2 share some commonality with the actions taken to treat the symptoms of respiratory disease and viral pneumonia caused by other viruses. There is no correlation between the effectiveness of a particular drug or method of treatment and its monetary cost. This fact is also universally recognized in the scientific community.
 
Mr. Tressell writes:
 
Clinical trials using high dose vitamin C therapy in China ignored by Western media
New York hospitals now using vitamin C therapy to treat coronavirus patients
Are these false statements? No. These points are demonstrably true.
 
Indeed, the author states that the “mainstream media, and the scientific and political establishments are completely under the spell of big pharma”; however, in the same article he explains this point of view in detail. This remark is based on his personal point of view (protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution) as well as those of scientists quoted in the text. For example:
 
Dr. Andrew W. Saul, Editor in chief of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service
 
Dr. Richard Cheng, an American-Chinese doctor currently based in Shanghai
 
Dr. Andrew G. Weber, a pulmonologist and critical-care specialist affiliated with two Northwell Health facilities on Long Island
 
Thus, there is no reason to say that Tressell distributes fake news. In the worst case, the author writes about a valid hypothesis and only once does he make a personal judgment regarding the motives and aims of big pharma. Is this false news or disinformation? Of course it is not. Is some conspiracy theory present here? If one claims “yes”, then that person will have to accept that most of the political establishment of the United States, which also uses the terms the New World Order and Big Pharma are also conspiracy theorists. Surely one statement of the article’s author pales in comparison to the thousands of statements of politicians and top businessmen espousing similar views. How popular does a dissenting view have to become before it is no longer considered a conspiracy theory?
 
An In-Depth Look Behind the Scenes Of SouthFront Censorship
EUvsdisinfo’s propaganda piece
 
The real title of the article is “WHILE THE WORLD IS IN DISARRAY, COVID-19 IS BREAKING UP RUSSIA” (source)
 
The article was likely used by the Euvsdisinfo authors either out of a lack of humor, ignorance, or sheer stupidity. This article is a critical review of the political and administrative situation in Russia amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the first part of April 2020. The article provides a critical look at the actions of the Russian government (in particular the Moscow authorities) and points out that, while the COVID-19 pandemic presents a significant public health challenge, the threat of the pandemic may be estimated inaccurately, resulting in the government making poor decisions in dealing with it. The developments in Russia in the second half of 2020 confirmed this analysis. Meanwhile, the article itself regularly refers to scientific and state sources of data and criticizes political and administrative actions of the Russian government. It also looks critically at actions of Moscow mayor Sergey Sobaynin, which at the time went contrary to the Russian legislative system.
 
Euvsdisinfo labeled the article as conspiracy theory and disinformation. This decision raises some eyebrows. Does NATO really support the actions of the Moscow authorities? If this is the case, perhaps President Putin should consider taking a closer look at the mayor of the Russian capital. Another explanation is that nobody in Euvsdisinfo actually read the article. The aforementioned article regularly refers to publicly available facts and quotes numerous substantiated sources, while providing a critical point of view of the author towards the administrative and political situation in Russia.
 
The aforementioned articles are all that pro-NATO propaganda organizations have been able to highlight to accuse SouthFront of spreading disinformation. Three articles out of approximately 3,000 published since the start of the year. The attention of such propagandists to SouthFront comes amid the termination of our YouTube channels. These arbitrary and unjustified actions lead us to believe that there is almost no objectivity in the modern world. So, if somebody wants to claim that white is black, he will continue to do so as long as it serves the interests of his sponsors. Nonetheless, in the case of YouTube, the situation is even more surprising. SouthFront released no videos that could be labeled as ‘COVID-19 disinformation’ even theoretically. There were only 3 video infographics on the topic on our YouTube channel. They presented facts and data and did not even feature narration. SouthFront’s YouTube channel had zero active strikes to over 1,900 uploaded videos up until the point of termination.
 
In this situation, it will be especially interesting to witness how YouTube will react to the developing scandal.
 
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As always, but especially during this uncertain and economically challenging time, your donations are especially important in keeping SouthFront alive.

Vince Dhimos answered a question at Quora.
 
https://www.quora.com/What-countries-have-sanctions-against-the-US/answer/Vince-Dhimos

International sanctions: Has any nation placed sanctions on the USA?

Vince Dhimos, Editor-in-Chief at New Silk Strategies (2016-present)
 
I enjoyed Todd Autman’s surprising answer, namely, that many countries have imposed tariffs on US goods and that these tariffs are de facto sanctions on the US. China is the prime example. It almost put US soybean farmers out of business. Trump bragged that China paid the tariffs, but that was just another lie. The US public paid them, and each dollar they paid was a dollar extra added to inflation.
 
But the recent intervention by Russia in OPEC has had — and will have — the most devastating impact on the US economy of any such actions by any country so far.
 
I explained the role of the Russian de facto sanction here: https://www.quora.com/Is-China-a-bigger-threat-to-the-western-democracy-than-Russia/answer/Vince-Dhimos
 
To further expand on that answer, let me say that Russia will almost certainly keep up the pressure on US shale oil after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. The prices of oil will rise, but from here on out, Russia will never allow the US to stay on the side-lines and dictate terms to OPEC as it did in the past. Russia, using the “nuclear option” of threats to produce oil without restraints, will keep the US at the OPEC bargaining table very much against its will, and, unlike the past situation, will demand of the US to make the same percentage of cuts as the rest. For years, the US was getting a free ride, making zero production cuts while the other oil producing nations were forced to cut their production by a given percentage just to prop up US shale oil companies. I suspect those days are over. If the US wants the others to cut by 15% or 10%, then the US will cut its production by the same percentage. And that will probably mean the end of US shale oil, which has always been selling at near-loss anyway. Now there may be even less profit for shale oil, although a few companies could actually benefit from the US cuts – if they’re lucky. At any rate, there is no longer a free ride, and the cuts imposed on the US will hardly allow the US to maintain its status as the world’s biggest oil exporter. (And you know what is just mind-bogglingly, amazingly brainless? The US has been desperate to sell its shale oil at a decent price but at the same time it has been trying feverishly to destroy China – it apparently never occurred to these geniuses in Washington that without China, there would be very little market for their oil!).
 
Of course, Russia did not call this pull-out from the OPEC deal a “sanction,” but in fact that is exactly what it was. And it stands to cause much more damage to the US economy than any of the previous US sanctions have caused in Russia. Frankly, I do not see any way forward for the US from here on out.
 
And the biggest bonus for Russia is that it now can use the threat of unrestrained oil production to secure benefits in other areas as well. This should temper those wild anti-Russian statements by members of Congress, the White House, the Pentagon and NATO for a long long time to come.
 
Another question:
 
https://www.quora.com/Is-President-Trumps-suggestion-to-seek-billions-of-dollars-in-damages-from-China-for-causing-the-pandemic-a-legitimate-claim-or-politically-motivated/answer/Vince-Dhimos

Is President Trump's suggestion to seek billions of dollars in damages
China for causing the pandemic a legitimate claim or politically motivated?
 
 
Vince Dhimos, Editor-in-Chief at New Silk Strategies (2016-present)
 
It’s more than politics, it’s desperation, trying to deflect attention from his earlier statements that his administration had “everything totally under control” and that the Democrats were politicizing the virus.
 
Fact check: Trump tries to erase the memory of him downplaying the coronavirus
 
The sad thing about this is that he has a large base of true believers who will believe his claim that he never said the things he said. And an alarming number of his acolytes will believe this lie even though they have heard him say what he is saying he didn’t say!
 
Never before have so many people fallen for such a Pied Piper who obviously lies constantly. And never before has such blatant hypocrisy and obvious lying been tolerated by any nation. But unfortunately, both parties are capable of such incompetence and mendacity and the grassroots of both of these parties will believe anything that their particular chosen one says. This spate of lies is a demonstration not of what Trump and his followers are but of what US “democracy” is.
 
I have commented on this before: https://www.quora.com/Is-China-a-bigger-threat-to-the-western-democracy-than-Russia/answer/Vince-Dhimos
 
Yes, the US dollar is in trouble
 
Monetary expert Byron King says yes, we’ve heard it before, and the dollar pulled through each time. And back then they said it’s different this time. But, he goes on, this time is different.
 
After all, economists are now saying that what lies ahead is Great Depression No. 2. Indeed, the US – and world – economy has lost more in the last few weeks than in any time before the Great Depression, and there are no means available to stop the free-fall. No one can predict what is coming next. Except that it will be a disaster.
 
https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2020/04/25/byron-king-gold-will-hit-3-000-but-its-going-to-be-a-wild-ride.html
 
“...the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency—is under extreme threat with the breakdown of international oil markets. Breaking down international oil is another way of breaking down the petrodollar. And when the petrodollar fails as a monetary instrument in the world—notice I said when it fails because I'm not sure how you can fix it from here—we are in for a really wild ride.”