9-23-2018
 
Following is our translation from newzfeed.ru with a commentary by Vince Dhimos,
 
We showed you here how Ukraine became the poorest state in Europe by following the US and EU Pied Pipers at the Maidan and staging an illegal and violent coup against a democratically elected but pro-Russian president. Kiev had no experience working closely with the US and Europe but followed the lure of potential EU and NATO membership and the glitter of US wealth.
 
And they got exactly what they asked for from these con artists, who neither gave them EU membership nor allowed their Nazi sympathizers to join NATO. It was a blind date. Neither side knew what awaited them, which turned out to be very little. Like much of the former Soviet Bloc, the naïve citizens assumed that, since the US hated and feared Russia, all they had to do was play along and they would be rewarded richly. But it turns out that Russophobia is a thankless job. You get no real protection and the Western prosperity doesn’t wear off on you. In fact, being a US puppet has just the opposite effect, ie, poverty and tears of remorse.
 
In all cases where these former satellites of the Soviet Union peeled off and cleaved to the West, their dreams were shattered. It turns out that their former close ties to resource-rich Russia had been their bread and butter. But there was no turning back. Weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth are their future.
 
The tragedy is that, thanks to their naïveté, they only learned too late. Ukraine was doing fairly well thanks to its ties to Russia. It only makes sense. Russia was right next door and was relatively rich, and the US was far away and was reeling under a massive debt from profligate spending on bombs, ships and planes to murder countless souls throughout the world. Who would trust such a nation?
 
According to the below article, not only Ukraine, but the Baltic states also trusted it, and now they are paying the price.

​

BEGIN TRANSLATION

09-23-2018
 
After many years in the Baltic States, they finally began to calculate the losses from Moscow’s response to sanctions. Local experts concluded that there was no longer any “Russian money” but they could not earn their own either. In the end, the Balts began to observe real panic over the fact that the country's economy is on its deathbed. Experts note that the Baltic countries have ceased to be dependent on Russia, and now they have fallen on really hard times.
 
As a result, following Moscow’s political and economic retaliatory measures, the state of the Republics is extremely critical. However, retaliatory sanctions were imposed by Moscow only after the Baltic states themselves challenged Russia, introducing a list of their restrictive measures against it.
 
At first, the Balts were inspired by the magnificent beginning of their development in the period of 2000–2008, having a GDP growth of about 10% per year. At that time, these Republics could compete even with China and the countries of Europe in terms of this index.
 
Latvia began to develop the service sector and to ship imported goods. In the port of Riga alone, more than 20% of the country's GDP was earned. Thus the Russian side actively used these sea harbors to transport their cargoes. Companies from Europe also invested in them, thanks to which the state literally “thrived and prospered” until 2008. And the locals were happy with their income, which had grown more than 10 times.
 
Oil exports accounted for about 25% of GDP in the Baltics, which was a quarter of the income of the population of the Republics. Therefore, we can safely say that it was thanks to Russian oil that the inhabitants of the Baltic countries then had such high salaries. Coal, household goods and chemical products also went through Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. It seems that Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia mediated between the Russian Federation and Europe, earning more than half of their GDP from this.
 
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Lithuania was nevertheless in a rather precarious position. However, the Europeans provided the country with investment and cheap loans, thanks to which it could, like Latvia, earn income through transit between the Russian side and European countries.
 
In time, despite this assistance from the Russian Federation, anti-Russian sentiments continued to be observed in the Baltics. In the end, after all the unjust actions of the Baltic states, Moscow also decided to retaliate, gradually declining he services of the Baltic ports and switching to its own.
 
In the Russian Federation, the modernization of domestic harbours and the construction of new ones began at an accelerated pace. Moscow has increased the capacity of its ports from 10 million to 236 TEU. It was then that the prosperity of the Baltic countries began to end. Countries have lost both GDP growth of 10% and a large part of the working-age population, which simply did not want to sit by and watch how their state decline.

END TRANSLATION

Following is our translation of an article from mirnovostey.info.
 
QUOTES from translated text below:
 
“I hope this basic text [Putin’s 2007 Munich speech] will be included among those recommended by American intelligence on the eve of the meeting.”
 
and
 
 “The crucial moment is now. The need to ‘take a fresh look at foreign policy’ is being discussed today, even in the United States.”
 
The author is right that even US commentators are talking about the need for a new foreign policy. Examples:
 
The Atlantic does indeed discuss the need for a new foreign policy but contends that the new policy must be written by the Democrats, the party that insists that Russia is an enemy. Not much can be expected from the partisans on either side of the aisle.
 
Many articles in Foreign Policy demand changes in US foreign policy, and one criticises Trump’s refusal to talk to Putin at the G-20 summit. Of course, FP takes the standard view that Russia is an “aggressor” and says that a meeting between Trump and Putin would have given Trump a chance to confront Putin, so this article is misguided because it ignores the fact that the recent incursion of Ukrainian military vessels into the Russian territory was an illegal provocation.
 
The bad news is this. Firstly, the Russian author optimistically hopes that US intel will brief Trump on Putin’s 2007 Munich speech. This will not happen. To US policy makers and pols, Putin’s statements are anathema, they are all propaganda, and listening to or reading them will “threaten democracy” or worse. Secondly, the author of the translated article claims that there is discussion of the need for a new foreign policy in the US, and though this is true in general, there is no evidence that policy makers want to relinquish US power or even wage fewer wars than in the past. Things are therefore much more critical than many Russian observers think. I did a search with the search terms
 
us needs new foreign policy
 
and found not even the slightest hint that the publications informing foreign policy makers in the US even know what Putin’s “multipolar world” is, let alone understand the need for a world that is not virtually fully controlled by Washington and Wall Street. I have always said that no necessary change in US policy will ever come from within the US, ie, from the higher levels of political power or from the clueless grassroots. The change must come, for better or worse, from the other two main world powers, China and Russia, and from their partners, such as Europe.
 
As for how the Russians and Chinese might eventually influence the US, the salient example is found in the words of Special Operations chief Gen. Raymond Thomas, who, in a high level speech, let slip that Russia [he did not name the country but it was understood] had created in Syria “the most aggressive electronic warfare environment on the planet.” He bitterly lamented that the EW systems were disrupting the operation of his EC-130 recon planes, rendering them virtually useless. US politicians and influencers only understand power, and any change in US foreign policy will come about thanks to a show of power by the countries they mistakenly call “adversaries.” These “adversaries” are by no means the enemy of the American people but only of the warmongering elites.

Gen. Thomas is one of the few US officials who may, perhaps, see the handwriting on the wall, and not because he listened to reason but because he ran up against that wall.


BEGIN TRANSLATION

Putin's prophecy came true. The whole West is abuzz
 
12-5-018
 
The need for a wonderful Russian radar station would not have emerged if 10 years ago America and the West led by it had listened to Putin’s speech at the Munich Security Conference. At that time, the president of Russia warned the United States against striving for world domination through sole leadership. Instead, Putin proposed to ensure global security through international law as a derivative of the moral and ethical basis of mankind. No other approach will work.
"I believe that for the modern world, a unipolar model is not only unacceptable, but impossible in the first place. And not only because with sole leadership in the modern world, neither military-political nor economic resources will be enough. But more importantly, the model itself is not workable, because there is not and cannot be a moral basis of modern civilization on its basis,” said the head of the Russian state.
 
 
 
That is, nothing amoral will work. This seems to be a simple idea, but it was beyond the scope of both George W. Bush and Barack Obama. For world domination, they got involved in shameful wars and lost them. The United States itself paid its price for this disastrous policy.
 
I'm not talking about waste of resources here. The country has been split, losing its moral unity. The price is the lying American press and the hate rampaging across America. Actually, exactly this result was predicted by Putin ten years ago, speaking of the destructiveness of the unipolar world.
"No matter how this term is embellished, it ultimately means only one thing in practice: it is one centre of power, one centre of military might, one centre of decision-making. This is the world of one owner, one sovereign. And this is ultimately pernicious not only for everyone within this system, but also for the sovereign itself, because it destroys it from the inside,” said Putin.
 
These words could be called prophetic, because they came true. But a seer relies on some guesswork, astrology, or faith. Not so with Putin. His support is knowledge and respect for human civilization, its experience and potentials. Plus, of course, the awareness of Russia as a stronghold, which will not allow anyone to penetrate it, completely ignoring everything. The Americans, however, throughout these last ten years, have pushed into the Middle East, North Africa, in Ukraine – hoping for something new. The result is the same. Putin’s words, spoken 10 years ago, sound impeccably accurate today.
 
“And what’s the result? Unilateral, illegitimate actions often failed to solve a single problem. Moreover, they became a generator of new human tragedies and hotbeds of tension. Judge for yourself: there are no fewer wars and local and regional conflicts than before – many more in fact," said Putin.
 
In general, if Trump really wants “to get along with Russia,” as he says, then it is better to rely on generally accepted principles on which to build relationships.
Now they are saying on both sides that preparations for the meeting of the leaders of our countries are not yet underway. If so, then Trump can start by personally familiarizing himself with the speech of Russian President Putin on the program in Munich in 2007. I hope that basic text will be included among those recommended by American intelligence in the lead-up to the meeting. Without it, the report package will definitely be incomplete, especially since there is a lot about the USA in the text.
 
 
"We see an increasing disregard for the fundamental principles of international law. Moreover, certain norms, and almost the entire system of law of one state, above all, of course, the United States, crossed the national borders in all spheres: in economics, in politics, and in the humanitarian sphere, and is imposed on other states. Who would want this?" said Vladimir Putin.
 
 
Actually, then he directly proposed to discuss, “painstakingly” work out and agree upon a new, modern architecture of global security. "I am convinced that we have come to the crucial moment when we should seriously think about the entire global security architecture," said the Russian president.
 
The crucial moment is now. The need to "take a fresh look at foreign policy" is being discussed today, even in the United States. In this sense, Putin’s speech in Munich 10 years ago is an indispensable guide. It sounds fresh.
At the same time, the old American policy of supporting coups, eliminating countries and peoples is still ongoing by inertia. It has not made anyone happy yet. But a lot of blood is still flowing. Petro Poroshenko still expects that he will receive a pat on the head by America for the war, and he keeps killing.

END TRANSLATION

Vince Dhimos
 
As I was writing about the Saudi connection to US foreign policy, I was keenly aware that many Westerners think of Israel as having more clout in US affairs than Saudi, and to some extent they are right. The reason I focus so heavily on Saudi is that the petrodollar agreement signed in 1974 between Nixon and King Faisal is believed by the most prolific Western investors in Treasuries to be responsible for propping up the value of the US dollar. However, I showed here and here that the Saudi share of Treasury holdings amounts to only about one-fortieth of the value of the US sovereign debt and could not possibly have anywhere near the significance assigned to it. Certainly not enough to make US presidents bow to its kings and the US Congress, Senate and White House mould its foreign policy in the Saudis’ favour. So there is definitely something fishy going on here.
 
And indeed, US foreign policies favour not only the Saudis but also Israel, and roughly to the same extent. But does it not seem logical that the myth of the US-Saudi petrodollar agreement was no doubt crafted in large part for the purpose of pleasing Israel? Thus, the myth of the petrodollar agreement gave the policy makers in Washington and their Deep State drivers an excuse to forge policy that served the ulterior purpose of changing Western culture while extirpating Christianity from the Muslim world (as explained here and here). And whether or not you believe that this ulterior purpose really underlay the machinations of policy makers, you will admit it was indeed implemented and was fulfilled to a t, as witnessed by the enormous exodus of Christians from the Middle East and Kosovo and the waves of mass immigration of Muslims to Europe as a result of US-instigated or US-waged wars.
 
Just one of myriad examples of the enormous power wielded by Israel is the fact that this country, which boasts of being the “only democracy in the Middle East,” has an official Military Censor, of which the Jerusalem Post wrote:
 
“The Israeli military censor banned the publication of 271 articles in 2017 and partially or fully redacted another 2,087 news stories that had been submitted for review.”
 
But Israel has a long arm and its censorship also extends to other parts of the world, including the “Land of the Free,” as shown here and here (we would encourage you to click on the latter link and also to click on the link to the video embedded in the article it will bring up).  In fact, many Westerners who have sought to expose Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians have been shut out of social media.
 
 
Counterpunch reports (my highlighting):
 
“In January of this year, MintPress News reported that Facebook spokespeople admitted that Facebook was deleting accounts, as directed by Israel and the United States. This was a natural outcome of meetings that Facebook had with some of the most extremist of Israeli officials, to establish which Facebook accounts of Palestinians and their supporters around the world were to be deleted.”
 
I was one of those whose pro-Palestine posts were eliminated from Twitter and I lost my account as a result. When I emailed the censor and asked why, the people behind the curtain simply sent me a list of Twitter’s rules. Which is like a prosecutor telling an accused that he violated the law and when the accused asks which one, the prosecutor sends him to the local law library and says “see for yourself.” When I asked which of the rules, I had violated, I got no further response. This total refusal to dialogue is reminiscent of the way the US and other Western governments treat foreign governments like Russia, calling it an “adversary,” blaming it for misdeeds without proof and then issuing sanctions against it.
 
But you know what? Censorship is a sign that the censor is incapable of debate under fair rules, and is losing the hearts and minds of the people it censors. When you can’t think of any way to defeat the truth through honest straightforward debate, you have already lost the debate and can only await the final collapse of the construct that you are defending based on ignorance of the public and information blackouts.
 
In the case of Palestine, the world now knows that the IDF has issued a shoot to kill order against unarmed Palestinian protesters. The Guardian was only one of many outlets to report on the IDF’s shoot to kill orders.
 
The Jerusalem Post reported on the IDF gleefully killing unarmed protesters and then cheering as the victims fell. The journalist quotes Israeli authorities endorsing this outright murder. The article closes:
 
“ ‘No wonder the soldiers behave this way when ministers, lawmakers, the media and public opinion are party to the jubilation at the mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza,’ Zahalka said.”
 
If it were not for the misreading of the Bible that holds Evangelicals in thrall to “Christian” Zionism, this apocalyptic nightmare would not be happening because while the US – the staunchest supporter of Israeli policies – rarely protests anything done by the Israeli government or military, this is an indirect result of a populace that believes that present day Israel is the one prophesied by Ezekiel – even though modern secular Israel in no way meets Ezekiel’s description of a people obedient to God.  (If you wonder why I say this religiously based Zionism is based on a misreading of the Bible, see my straightforward explanation here).
 
The UN has issued more condemnations against Israel for human rights violations than against any other country since the all-white regime in South Africa fell. It is only a matter of time before the US joins the rest of the world in recognizing Israel's crimes.
 
Relevant:
 
Christians, it’s time for a frank, loving dialogue with our Jewish friends
 
http://www.newsilkstrategies.com/news--analysis/christians-its-time-for-a-frank-loving-dialogue-with-our-jewish-friends
 
“Christian” Zionists (about 80% of all Evangelicals) say they support Israel, but they do so out of fear, not love. Fear that God might withdraw His blessing. This is based on a misreading of the verse in Genesis referring to Abram, not to Israel. It is also based on a misreading of Ezekiel 37 prophesying the resurrection of Israel. Verse 24 of that chapter says the resurrected nation will be obedient to God. A Reuters poll shows that 60% of Israelis self-describe as “irreligious.” Ezekiel was obviously not talking about today’s Israel. That is where the whole construct collapses. But when Jesus said to Jerusalem “you will not see me again until you have said blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” He was sending a clear message to His followers to evangelize among the Jews – not send them arms to kill their neighbours. Today’s Evangelicals are too preoccupied with idolizing the secular, irreligious Israel and sending them arms to murder Palestinians to even think about evangelizing among them. This is the great sin of modern Evangelicals and if they truly loved the Jews they would not forsake this great commission.
 
Putinology 102. Israel sees the light
 
http://www.newsilkstrategies.com/news--analysis/putinology-102-israel-sees-the-light
 
According to Bloomberg, a ranking Israeli official, has admitted the US is not “in the game” with regard to controlling Iran in Syria and that they are counting on Russia to handle the diplomatic dealing.
 
QUOTE:
 
“The American part of the equation is to back us up,” but the U.S. currently “has almost no leverage on the ground,” Michael Oren, Netanyahu’s deputy minister for public diplomacy and a former ambassador to Washington, said in a phone interview Sunday. “America did not ante up in Syria. It’s not in the game.”

Vince Dhimos
 
Perhaps at the beginning, when the Saudis were the most prolific user of dollars in world trade, there was some truth to the belief that they were capable of aiding the ailing dollar. But recall that at the time the deal was concluded, the Saudis and their allies had an oil embargo in place and were playing games with oil prices and hence with the US economy. Simply dropping this tampering may in fact have been sufficient to save the dollar. In fact, I have pointed out that, as of now, as the Saudi star fades, the Japanese and Chinese each hold over twice as much cash in Treasuries as the Saudis, and besides, Saudi oil reserves may be nearing their end, as witnessed by the fact that they tried to sell stocks in their oil business to raise money (but failed). SRSrocco Report, reposted at New Silk Strategies with permission, stated ominously:
 
“QUOTE: Saudi Arabia’s cash reserves are in free-fall and the country could have only five years of financial assets remaining due in large part to the fall in oil prices, according to a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).”
 
Never before has Saudi Arabia been in a weaker position to serve as a prop for the USD. The notion that the Saudis are suitable for this mission is looking more and more like a false myth, the true underlying motive of which must be sought.
 
Of course, you might retort that the Chinese are building up structures such as the Shanghai gold exchange and the Shanghai oil futures market, which are not trading in dollars, so they are working against, not for, the dollar. But I would remind the reader that China’s (and Russia’s) de-dollarization campaign is relatively new and for many years, the Chinese have held – and still hold –staggering amounts of cash in Treasuries – this chart shows China held about a half trillion in 2008 and 1.5 trillion by 2014 and today, holds well over a trillion USD. And a chart compiled by the Federal Reserve in 2012 shows, at the top of page 21, that in 2010 – during the decades-long period when the biggest investors in the world believed, or more accurately, behaved as if they believed, that the Saudis and Gulf statelets were propping up the dollar (and, BTW, China was not talking about de-dollarization then), Europe held more reserves in Treasuries than the oil exporters, while China and Japan each held over a trillion and the oil exporters held just a tad more than Japan’s 3 trillion plus. Further, as stated above, China and Japan now hold over twice as much in Treasuries as Saudi. Finally, Social Security contributors hold – albeit involuntarily – several times the amount of Treasuries as any country. The fact is, the measly half-trillion dollars in Saudi Treasuries amounts to only less than about one-fortieth of the US sovereign debt. So why are US presidents still bowing to the Saudi royals with their increasingly anemic contribution to the USD? Don’t you smell a rat here?
 
Every president has treated the Saudis with an inordinate, unmerited, amount of respect. Trump tops them all, having gone to Saudi on his very first state visit, dancing a diabolical-looking sword dance with the royals, and recently having, absurdly, practically blamed Iran (the no. 1 enemy of Saudi Arabia and its de facto ally Israel) for the grisly killing of WaPo journalist Jamal Kashoggi by Saudi operatives, even though the evidence has convinced much of the world that the top-ranking Saudi royals ordered the killing. Iran, of course, had nothing whatsoever to do with the murder. But Saudi is more important than truth in amoral Washington.
 
But surely you will have noticed that the behaviour of Washington officials from the White House on down in no way reflects the Christian principles that most Americans still profess to adhere to, while oddly, generally supporting a foreign policy that has gotten the majority of Middle East Christian communities killed or banished ever since the start of the Bush wars, and has caused a mass exodus of mostly Muslims to Europe, which diluted, and is diluting, Western – particularly Christian – culture in Europe. (An article in TheGuardian details this phenomenon).
 
Of course, you may well have been steeped in the belief that the US government has no business supporting Christianity or any other religion, and this is essentially true. It is true in the sense that Reagan, for example, should not have supported militarily the Christian minority in Lebanon over all other factions in the complex struggle there in the 80s because this had all the appearances of anti-Muslim support on the basis of his personal religion alone, with little thought given to the complexity of the socio-political situation on the ground – and that policy had no chance of survival in the Arab world. The upshot was a tragic loss of American lives when a Marine barracks was blown up and Reagan had to walk away from the conflict, defeated. His support for the relatively small Christian faction at the expense of all the others was simply inappropriate (as he later realized). The only sensible approach would have been to use diplomacy to bring all factions together, treating each of them with equal respect (the kind of diplomacy that is working beautifully for the Russians. BTW, it would be much more effective for the US to imitate Russian diplomacy than to engage in an arms race with Russia).
 
But that situation in Lebanon has nothing in common with, say, the policy of waging war on Iraq, which, before the war, had a functioning government that respected both branches of Islam as well as the Christians and other minorities (with the exception of the rebellious Kurds, who were considered terrorists). After the war, it had ISIS.
 
GW Bush and his cabinet had to know that by invading Iraq, he was going to upset a delicate balance that had kept the Assyrian Christians (and other minorities) safe for millennia. After all, the world already knew that the Arab world banished their Jews when Israel was declared a state in 1948, even though these indigenous Jews bore no responsibility for the removal of the Arabs from the future Jewish state by the Zionists and British do-gooders. One could therefore have expected the Christians in Iraq to suffer an analogous fate for analogous reasons, as indeed they did. Ironically, Iraqi Islamists blamed Christianity for a disaster caused by a Deep State that in fact despises Christianity. Though the Bush policy seemed on its face to be religion-neutral, it had the immediate effect of causing the persecution, murder and banishment of many of these indigenous Christians. Likewise, since it was well known that the ruling Assad family was one of the most tolerant governments in the Middle East, the anti-Assad hysteria that led to the Syrian war, which was instigated by the US support for the “moderates,” who were all radical Islamists, could have been expected to lead to the killing, persecution and banishment of Syria’s indigenous Christian population, as indeed it did. Ditto the Libyan government, which was also more religiously tolerant than most Middle Eastern Sunni-majority countries. Further, the instigators of the Middle East wars had to know that their attacks on mostly civilian populations would cause a mass exodus of Muslims to Europe, with the foreseeable disastrous effects on Western culture there. My firm conviction is that the people behind these conflicts did not accidentally cause the social chaos that emptied the countries in question of their Christian population, thrusting hordes of Muslims into Europe -- and not the more responsible and peace-loving ones, most of whom sayed behind hoping for better times and willing to help build their countries back up. Many of those who fled to Europe were in trouble wih the law back home or had participated in terror acts and were no longer welcome there.
 
Thus I strongly suspect that the myth of the Saudis as props for the US dollar was devised by people – whom we call the Deep State for want of a better term – whose underlying motive was not so much to shore up the USD as it was to rid the world of Western, and more specifically Christian, culture.
 
So who might some of these anti-Christian activists be?
 
Global Research drops a familiar name in the context of the Arab Spring that led to the wars:
 
“None [of the Arab Spring movements] were spontaneous – all required careful and lengthy (5+ years) planning, by the State Department, CIA passing through foundations, George Soros, and the pro-Israel lobby.”
 
Nor am I ignoring the fact that Israel and Saudi share the same interests (eg, anti-Iran racism) in the Middle East, and this fact will be further discussed as I continue to research this issue. I would also like to analyse for you the Russian response to the Kashoggi affair and to MBS following the grisly killing in the Turkish embassy.
 
Meanwhile, I would be grateful if readers could share their thoughts on this topic by posting in our forum. Your input will help me refine our analysis. Thanks for reading.
 
 
Definition of 4-D chess: The strategy of calling people stupid when they fail to see the genius behind behaviour that really is stupid.
​

 
Vince Dhimos
 
This analysis is intended to explain the world to the reader. Literally, the whole world. And if the following really explains geopolitics and universal economics as controlled by Washington and Wall Street, as I assure you it does, why don’t the high-paid big shots at Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, etc, explain it to you? I assure you the highest-paid ones do indeed know, and if you are in the dark about this, it’s because they won’t or can’t tell you.
 
New Silk Strategies explained a while back that the Saudis had been appointed as the keepers of the dollar back in the 70s under a petrodollar agreement that was responsible for the direction that each of the US-waged wars outside the New World took. The mechanism of this relationship between the Saudis and US wars and the proof of this theory is summed up here. And no, I am not forgetting the role of Israel, the arms manufacturers, the msm, Wall Street and the Fed in generally supporting war. But the myth of Saudi power over the US dollar seems to be the most powerful underlying motive for the specific direction each war took, ie, the countries invaded or the leaders targeted for removal. Further, as I showed before, none of these wars benefitted the American people in any way whatsoever, while on the whole, they cost US tax payers more money than their great grandchildren will ever be able to pay. The Saudis emerged the real winners and their violent, intolerant, terror-inspiring Wahhabism was furthered.
 
All of America’s billionaire investors know the Saudi myth while almost none of the little people in America have a clue. They’re running around trying like elves trying to help Donald Trump fight off the Deep State and interpreting the latest message from Q, or, on the other side of the aisle, they’re helping the Deep State take him down; or they’re supporting their favourite political flavour oblivious to the fact that both sides of the aisle are using the antipathy for each other amongst the gullible populace to disguise the Big Truth that we are addressing in this analysis.
 
When I first set out to analyse US monetary policy in light of the petrodollar agreement concluded between Richard Nixon and King Faisal in 1974, I was convinced that the Saudis had used this agreement to blackmail the US into fighting wars solely for them and, specifically, to help them spread their violent, intolerant sect of Wahhabism throughout the world. All evidence seemed to point that way. Bad bad Saudis.
 
But when you dig more deeply, unanswered questions pop up.
 
Recently, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) unleashed a bombshell revelation, to wit:
 
“Asked about the Saudi-funded spread of Wahhabism, the austere faith that is dominant in the kingdom and that some have accused of being a source of global terrorism, Mohammed said that investments in mosques and madrassas overseas were rooted in the Cold War, when allies [read the US] asked Saudi Arabia to use its resources to prevent inroads in Muslim countries by the Soviet Union.” [my highlighting]
 
MBS is actually saying what many have suspected all along, namely, that the chaos that reigns throughout the Muslim world today, thanks to ISIS, al-Qaeda and the latter’s re-brandings, were not the creation of the oil exporters themselves but rather the brainchildren of Western leaders so unspeakably evil and depraved that no wickedness is beyond them. Leaders who would not only work evil but would certainly revel in it. They, the Western Dark Ones, so said the Saudi prince, caused the wars that killed at least a half-million men, women and children, almost all innocent bystanders in wars fought by US and allied pilots safely ensconced in their cockpits high above them and out of sight and out of earshot of the anguished cries and awful explosions that instantly snatched away their homes, their lives, their dreams. Even as their countrymen insouciantly scurried about their business, spending or receiving in payment the horrid blood-stained instrument at the origin of all this apocalyptic misery.
 
But would I take the world of a man like MBS, whom most of the world considers a heartless cold-blooded killer? No, I would not. But I am not relying on his honesty – if he has any – I am looking at how the above bombshell statement of his fits the behaviour pattern of the billionaires who have seized the reins of America and the world and ridden the pale horse over the bodies of the saints for over a century. And I recall how MBS and his kinsmen have in the past threatened to expose the Deep State and its involvement in skulduggery of various kinds, particularly in foreign affairs.
 
For instance, Quartz reports:
 
“The Saudi statement added:
The Kingdom also affirms that if it receives any action [in response to Trump’s threat of “severe punishment,” which, though empty, clearly offended him] it will respond with greater action, [NCC highlighting] and that the Kingdom’s economy has an influential and vital role in the global economy and that the Kingdom’s economy is affected only by the impact of the global economy.”
 
The above statement suggests very strongly that the Saudis have the dirt on the US Deep State, another reason presidents fear them and most high ranking officials avoid criticising them.
 
So how does this fit my theory? Like a glove.
 
I had mentioned previously that the petrodollar agreement is based on a myth, ie, that the Saudis are supposedly the key to the dollar’s stability. And I pointed out that the mechanism by which the Saudis were supposed to prop up the USD was their charging only USD for their oil and keeping their cash reserves in US dollars. But is this mechanism really doing the heavy lifting or is there another aspect to how the dollar is kept afloat?
 
To be continued
​

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In the following we present our translation of an article from RIA Novosti with a commentary by Vince Dhimos.
 
This is an excellent analysis of the heart breaking situation in Ukraine, where economic solutions to the problems real people face, such as keeping warm in the winter and having power to light their homes and cook their meals, are being sacrificed on the altar of senseless pro-Western anti-Russian politics. The following is just one of many examples.
 
QUOTE:
 
“It is quite simple to give them [the nuclear power plants] another fifteen years of active life – all they need to do is negotiate with Russia. In other words, the question is purely procedural. However, in 2015, Petro Poroshenko banned by decree any cooperation with our country, which is why the solution to a number of vital issues was immediately suspended.” [something like refusing to talk to the other great nuclear power--Vince]
 
The issue of power is particularly critical for Ukraine because they are already starved for energy. A few years back, the Ukrainian government shot itself in the foot by failing to pay for their natural gas consumption. The gas was easy to steal at one time because the pipeline running from Russia to Europe passed through Ukraine, and the resourceful Ukrainians just helped themselves to as much as they wanted. Eventually, Russia did what any sensible supplier would do and shut off the spigot. This is the main reason for the Nord Stream II that is now being laid, bypassing Ukraine and other Russia-hostile countries, despite all the Western hysteria to stop it, including sanctions on every investor in the project. Never mind that stopping the project would force Europe to buy the extravagantly expensive LNG, which Trump is eager to foist on them as part of his MAGA strategy. If Europe were forced in this direction, Germany would cease to be the second biggest exporter in the world and would fall on hard times. We have pointed out before that, in the West, notably the US, economics is now reduced to politics in this brave new era. If you will recall, the US was once the biggest advocate of the so-called “free market,” where each participant competed on the bases of price, availability, ease of delivery, quality and the like economic factors. Today, though Trump complains of unfair trading policies by China, US car manufacturers are blatantly subsidized and oil and gas execs who foolishly invested in fracking ventures and lost their shirts were later bailed out by a 2017 tax law that gives these incompetents tax credits, read subsidies. The fracking process is inherently extravagant and can be profitable only in an environment of horrendously high prices at the pump – or if the government props up the investors at tax payers’ expense. BTW, the WTO considers these subsidies unfair trading practices when the product in question is exported. But who would dare enforce the law on the Exceptional US? China is the only target of these rules.
 
Meanwhile, the brilliant folks who run the Ukraine are paying extra to have Russian gas. Since they are too proud to buy their gas directly from Russia (politics trumps economics), they are buying Russian gas from middle men in Europe who simply reroute it to the Ukraine. Cash on the barrel head, no cheating this time.
 
It is not wonder that, as President Poroshenko has admitted (and as we reported here), US-backed Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe.
 
Once these nuclear reactors are off line, thanks to Poroshenko’s shooting himself and his country in the foot, it will be lights out for the Ukrainians who elected him.
 
It didn’t have to be this way.
 
(As usual, you won’t find this information in your msm or even the alternative press).
 
BEGIN TRANSLATION
 
Ukrainian roulette for Russia: five nuclear reactors are at stake
 
11-27-2018
 
 
Sergey Savchuk, for RIA Novosti
 
The following is not another attempt to show how bad things are in Ukraine, and particularly, it is not another rant. It is simply an analysis of the situation and an attempt to predict the possible development of events outside the context of the political situation. I will confess at once that Ukrainian specialists asked me to consider this topic, as local news resources on this issue are keeping deathly silence.
 
Russia saved Ukraine from a new Chernobyl. But for how long?
 
... At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine turned out to be one of the most "atomic" states on the planet (it still ranks no. eight in the world in terms of the power generation). Ukrainians received up to forty-six percent of all electricity from their nuclear power plants inherited from the USSR. There are five of them: Zaporizhzhya, Rivne, Khmelnitsky, South Ukraine and Chernobyl. Let us separately dwell on the latter. The conviction prevails in the mass consciousness that after the 1986 technological disaster the station was stopped and the entire area around it was evacuated. This is not true. As a result of the well-known events, only the fourth power unit failed, and the other three were working well and further, generating electricity. The last (third) power unit was decommissioned back in 2000.
 
And now to the topic of conversation. It is known from open sources that by 2020 Ukraine will reach the end of the life of its four power units:
 
• Rivne NPP, the third block, term - December 2017
 
• Khmelnitsky NPP, first unit, term - December 2018
 
• South-Ukrainian NPP, the third block, term - February 2020
 
• Zaporizhia NPP, fifth unit, term - May 2020
 
VVER-1000 water-cooled reactors are installed in all of these units. It is easy to calculate that in less than two years, the leadership of Ukraine will face the question of saving or losing four gigawatts of generation all at once. To make it a little clearer: this amounts to 35 terawatts per hour, while the whole of Hungary, for example, produces 38 terawatts a year.
 
Naturally, Ukraine received Soviet infrastructure as a legacy from the broken family of fraternal peoples. During the years of independence in the energy sector, our neighbours did not build anything new; even the construction of the third power unit of the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant (NPP), to which the Czech company Skoda was supposed to deliver the reactor in keeping with the political exigency, was not completed. Over the years of independence [NSS—the author is referring here to Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union], only two energy projects have been successfully implemented: this is the commissioning in 1995 of the sixth power unit at the Zaporozhia NPP and the fourth unit of the Rovno nuclear power plant. Of course, these projects were successful only thanks to cooperation with Russia. All other initiatives were confined to the statements of politicians and to the pages of the press.
 
As you know, any equipment requires constant maintenance, repair and sensitive operation. What can we say about such a complex and high-tech facility as a nuclear power plant? The issue of extending the life of Ukrainian reactors over the past few years has already been raised more than once. For example, in 2010 and 2011, the life of the first and second power units of the Rovno NPP, respectively, expired. They are reliable "old" VVER-440s. Energy infrastructure in the literal sense of the word, depends on the kind of political system in the country and the stage it is in. All reactors that heat and light Ukraine have been developed and created in the USSR, and only one country, Russia, can extend their life. More specifically, representatives of Russian production and regulation: Rosatom and Rostekhnadzor - the latter is the company that performs licensing of such facilities. No one else in the world will ever take responsibility, no matter how much they ask, or even beg.
 
No, of course, in theory, a conventional Mitsubishi corporation can start research and development work, but the time frame for such events usually exceeds ten years, and licensing is needed today.
 
Rings, Welding and Radiation
 
Let us explain why expiration of operation is so important. To put it quite simply, every reactor is a huge pressure cooker welded together out of steel rings. During operation, various chemical and thermal processes take place inside the reactor, which naturally cause wear and tear on the metal. Over time, excess carbon begins to accumulate in the welds of the shell. To test the potential operability of the reactor, water is drained from it and the fuel assemblies are removed. After this, the so-called "annealing" of the internal volume of the reactor is carried out, entailing raising the temperature to 475 degrees (sometimes higher).  This process itself takes at least one hundred hours. After this, the shell is allowed to cool down and the most rigorous analysis of the condition is carried out, including microflaw and flaw detection, and the state of the welds is carefully checked. In the case of the Rovno VVER-440, this technology has long been worked out to the last detail by Russian nuclear scientists and allows us to extend the life of the reactor by twenty years. At the time of expiration, there were no critical disagreements between our countries, and both units received licenses for another two decades of hard work.
 
As for the more modern VVER-1000s, their annealing is also tested. Recently, a research group represented by Rosenergoatom, OKBM Gidropress and NRC Kurchatov Institute reported on the first successful annealing of the WWER-1000 reactor vessel in history. The results will extend their life for fifteen years. It is difficult to overestimate this event; suffice it to say that this is the most ubiquitous of all the reactors in operation. At the very moment as you read these lines, thirty-seven VVER-1000s are operating simultaneously around the world, including the four Ukrainian ones mentioned above.
 
What’s the problem?
 
Let's start with the purely technical part. To better understand the essence of the issue, the four units mentioned above shall be divided into two equal groups. In the first group we will include the third unit of Rovno and the first unit of the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant (NPP). These are reactors, in which no changes have been made, operating on the initially defined fuel, which is produced and supplied from Russia by TVEL. It is quite simple to give them another fifteen years of active life – they need only negotiate with Russia. In other words, the question is purely procedural. However, in 2015, Petro Poroshenko banned by decree any cooperation with our country, which is why the solution of a number of vital issues was immediately suspended.
 
The second group is much more interesting. The third power unit of the South Ukrainian and the fifth power unit of the Zaporozhia NPP uses nuclear fuel supplied by the American company Westinghouse [this change was made by Poroshenko to please the US and spite the Russians--Vince]. And here is where the aforementioned problem begins. Rosatom and Rostekhnadzor simply cannot physically extend the life of the resource because the reactor is powered by freelance fuel. All its physical and other characteristics are classified and are the intellectual property of a foreign country. Moreover: Ukraine, of course, does not provide any data on the results of the use of American fuel. Even if we assume that Russia will still be invited as a licensor, the study of this data alone will take considerable time. For its part, Westinghouse cannot extend the life of these two reactors: the reactors and the entire plant are not their production. Dead end.
 
The work of all five NPPs in Ukraine is managed by the National Atomic Energy Generating Company Energoatom. But the supervisory functions are assigned to the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (HIARU). Here we must point out that, although the word “state” is present in the title, the leadership of the power is subject to a very arbitrary attitude. The only body to which the inspectorate submits fully and unconditionally is the IAEA. This is understandable: presidents come and go and the composition of the parliaments and the vectors of political trends change, but no one wants to wind up with a second Chernobyl.
 
And so: on November 22, a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Centre for Nuclear Property Management was held, at which the issue "On the status of the work to extend the life of power unit No. 1 of the Khmelnitsky NPP" was considered. The KNPP leaders spoke at the board, and an official resolution was adopted on the basis of the hearings, the first paragraph of which reads: "we consider it possible to contemplate the issue of restarting the operation of the Khmelnitsky NPP power unit No. 1 at power levels, subject to extension of the service life of the reactor building, transport equipment and the like.” There are, of course, many points here, but we are interested in the first and main one. If translated from clerical to Russian, this means that until the reactor receives permission and a license, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine prohibits its operation. We have discussed above the entity that can issue this very license. In fact, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine shifted responsibility from a sick head to a healthy one, that is, to Energoatom. If we evaluate only the facts, then we see that Ukraine actually has given up on the first power unit of the Khmelnitsky NPP.
 
We will not venture to predict how the Ukrainian authorities, who have just declared another deadly battle against Russia, will behave in this situation. On the one hand, they can save four gigawatts of generation by simply agreeing with Moscow. On the other hand, we see that Ukraine prefers to think without its head.
 
END TRANSLATION

Vince answers on Quora
 
https://www.quora.com/Why-dont-China-and-Russia-become-allies/answer/Vince-Dhimos
 
The question was “Why don’t China and Russia become allies”?
 
A person claiming to be a “Russian propagandist” answered this question first repeating all the usual anti-Russian mantras.
 
My response:

 
American neoconservatives and Russian "liberals" have evil intentions towards Russia and China and want to create conflict and mistrust between the two.
 
Nixon and Kissinger were the first US officials to advocate granting Most-Favoured-Nation status to China. The ill-disguised ulterior motive was to drive a wedge between China and Russia. The sneaky trick backfired. The status was granted after Nixon’s term was truncated and the main effect was that the US lost its status as the world’s chief manufacturer. Relations between Russia and China were never seriously affected by this trade policy.
 
But the decrepit old gang of Russia baiters never gave up trying to implement their decrepit old idea.
 
One of the most subtle techniques these anti-Russian militants use is propaganda designed to create hostility between Russia and China.
 
First of all, let me say that I have a master's degree in Russian; I lived in the Soviet Union while studying at Leningrad University, and later I studied Chinese for three years in the Chinese-speaking world (primarily at the Mandarin Training Centre in Taibei).
 
Over the years I learned to love the Russian and Chinese cultures and peoples, not to mention their languages and literatures.
 
There is so much disinformation in the West and among the Russian "liberals" that it is difficult to cope with the lies, but my unique background obliges me to try.
 
There is this absolutely false notion that China wants total control over Russia. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest this. But plenty of propaganda.
 
The "experts" sometimes say that the only common interests between the two countries are economic and are ethnocentric, with each country focussing only on its own narrow interests. But the main shared interests are in fact geopolitical. One of the main interests is de-dollarization, ie, reducing the use of the US dollar in world trade in order to fight US hegemony and usher in the multipolar world coveted by both states. This is a very long-term goal that will not be achieved for years. It is therefore not urgent to worry about China controlling Russia. For Russia, China is the key to the success of this effort, and vice-versa. Already in 2014, the two countries had signed an agreement to deliver Russian gas to China for 30 years thenceforth using a rouble-yuan currency swap – effectively eliminating the use of the USD! This means that, in any case, the two states must get along well enough for the next three decades, and there is ample motive to do so. So, how can anyone claim there is an impending rupture in China-Russia relations? It is pure empty propaganda.
 
Some "experts" also want us to believe that the new Silk Road is only a Chinese enterprise. It's just not true. China has invited all countries to participate and Russia is already participating. 29 heads of state, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, were invited to the Belt Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing. The US was also invited to participate but was too proud to join. That is, it had already absurdly projected failure for China, and joining the OBOR would have conspicuously contradicted that foolish forecast. Too bad because the project promises to be lucrative for all investors.
 
Some "experts" also say that Putinism is capitulation of Russia to the West. However, these experts provide no evidence of this. There is none. Quite to the contrary, Putin has begun to completely dominate Syria and the entire Middle East, edging out the US with every passing day. A recent survey amongst young people in the Middle East shows that the country the majority of them trust is Russia, whereas the same survey showed several years ago that most of them trusted the United States and not Russia. Thus the situation has reversed itself since Russia entered the fray in Syria and quickly helped Syrian troops root out ISIS almost everywhere (except in those areas like Deir Ezzor and Al-Tanf where the US is protecting them). In addition, Russia has sold arms to almost all states in the Middle East, including US allies such as the Saudis. Russia has also sold nuclear power plants to several countries in the Middle East, and also industrial parks, including one along the Suez Canal.
 
In addition, the commander of the US Special Forces, General Raymond Thomas, recently lamented that his EC-130 reconnaissance aircraft are no longer able to carry out their mission in Syria (where the United States is illegally present) because of "the most aggressive electronic warfare environment on the planet." He was referring of course to the superior Russian system of electronic warfare. This was confirmed when Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said, after the installation of S-300 air defence systems in Syria, that "satellite navigation, radar and communications of any aircraft participating in the attack on Syria from the West will be suppressed.” Russia is the master of Syria and the United States will soon have to leave. The recent interception of 3 Ukrainian naval vessels in the Kerch Strait also illustrates that Russia is capable of defying the US in the boldest of terms. So, how is this compatible with the notion of Russia bowing to the west? Again, it is empty propaganda devoid of facts.
 
Putinism is superior because it masterfully avoids military conflicts while showing the United States that Russia is boss. It forces the United States to its knees without directly using its weapons against them. This is the work of a true diplomatic and military genius. There has never been a man like Putin anywhere in the world at any time in history.
 
Finally, how can anyone say that Russia is slowly deindustrialising its economy? [as the Russian “expert” had asserted] It's quite the opposite. Since the United States began imposing sanctions on Russia, the country is working diligently to become self-sufficient, and succeeding. When China stopped buying US soybeans in response to Trump's sanctions, Russia began to assume the role of supplying soybeans to China.
 
As far as industry is concerned, Russia manufactures its own machinery, its own autos - very high quality automobiles and in diversified lines; Russia is also leading the world in the construction of nuclear power plants and is seeking to become the leader in artificial intelligence. Furhter, it is  a leader in shipbuilding; it also makes its own computers and develops its own software; it has developed a system that plays the same role as the SWIFT system (which is located in Belgium and controlled by the United States so as to punish states that refuse to bow to the Exceptional Nation), and allows various countries to bypass the Belgian SWIFT system.
 
Finally, as a kind of extension to the Chinese OBOR, Russia has developed an arctic trade route that cuts off many miles from the standard shipping route between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal.
 
Russia is a land of miracles. Anyone trying to minimize, undermine or slander Russia and its government will eventually be humiliated. If you are Russian, be proud of it and be proud of your patriotic leader.
 
If you are a Russian “liberal,” you will inherit the earth despite yourself.

Following is our translation of an article from the Russian site Nation News, with a foreword from Vince Dhimos.

 
Back in December 2013, Assistant Secretary of State, wife of notorious Neocon Robert Kagan, gave a rousing speech before the National Press Club praising the work of her administration in bringing democracy to Ukraine. She sounded like a charismatic evangelist pleading with sinners to surrender their souls to the Lord, or motivational speakers selling AMWAY to hopeful perspective entrepreneurs. Oddly, Ukraine had already had a democratically elected government at the time of the violent, illegal Maidan coup, which was supported in part by USAID and a Soros foundation. Soros admitted his involvement on national TV. (Funny how “conservatives” will condemn Soros but, thanks to Trump’s support for the failed government of Ukraine, will also support weapon deliveries to Ukraine to kill Russian speakers as part of Soros' fendish plans).
 

“SOROS: Well, I set up a foundation in Ukraine before Ukraine became independent of Russia. And the foundation has been functioning ever since and played an important part in events now.”

 
It was supported as well by European politicians, who dangled EU membership before the greedy eyes of Ukrainian politicians. 
 

Anyone who needs unbiased, non-government sponsored information on the Maidan coup needs to keep a safe distance from US politicians and msm, and to read this.

 
The Maidan coup involved an illegal change in the Ukrainian constitution, making US intervention, or more precisely instigation, illegal as well. In law, whether international or other, it is axiomatic that aiding and abetting a crime is never legal. The US committed a crime in supporting this illegal action and is still sending US taxpayer-paid lethal arms to support the Ukrainian government’s murder of Donbass citizens. To better understand the intricacies of the Maidan coup. I urge the reader to read the following article in its entirety:

 
https://gpforecasts.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/yanukovychs-removal-was-unconstitutional/

 
Western msm want us to think that the reason for Ukraine’s failure is Russia, which added Crimea to its national territory in 2014 and supports, at least morally, the insurgent groups in Donbass (now the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics). They never mention that Crimea held a referendum in March 2014 and over 90% of Crimeans voted to accede to the Russian Federation. This referendum is supported by international law and precedent. Further, the predominantly Russian-speaking Lugansk and Donetsk also held referenda in 2014. 89.07% of Dontetsk citizens and 90.53% of Lugansk citizens voted for independence. These results unequivocally give Donbass the right to be independent under international law and precedent. Yet Western msm and pols insist on calling this independence movement Russian aggression. It isn’t either.

 
The upshot of the Maidan coup, based on the promise by the EU to make Ukraine an associate member and hence improve its economy, is that the Ukrainian economy is now the worst in Europe, and its GDP fell sharply after the coup “succeeded.”
 

The chart posted here shows that the Maidan coup, purporting to bring prosperity, almost completely ruined the country.  Ironically, in 2013, the year just before the coup, Ukraine was enjoying the highest GDP ever – 181.31 billion –  under a pro-Russian government (thanks to Russian investment and trade). The year of the coup – staged on the promise of greater prosperity – it fell drastically to 133.5 bil and then further, to 91.03 bil in 2015 and remained low until the present. You might suppose the loss of certain territories to Russia and Russia-loyal citizens could have caused this, but President Poroshenko himself admitted in the statement quoted below that “the leadership of the country was to blame.” He didn’t mention it, but Ukraine is suffering the effects of corruption, supported by the hope of US and EU intervention, which is not forthcoming. Money cannot solve the problem of corruption, which is a moral, not an economic, issue.

 
This should show every American that the delivery of lethal weapons to this failed regime is nothing short of a crime against humanity, supported by the silence of the American people.

There was a time when America had a sound economy and actually helped out other countries, for example, Germany under the Marshall Plan, and Europe still remembers this. But they are slow to learn that there will never be another example of US altruism. We showed here what the US does to countries that it defeats in war. Ukraine has behaved like a spoiled kid who steals other kids' lunch money and threatens to have his mafia father beat them up if they complain. What they don't know is that the US is struggling with its own foundering economy and can't give them any substantive aid, only a token amount of useful new weapons and a lot of old decommissioned ships and planes that cost them millions to refurbish. And they have adopted the Russia hate of this bully state thinking this will ingratiate them with the bully. But in fact the bully is tired of Ukraine and its constant whining. As for Europe, people there are horrified at the fascist ideology that pervades the Ukrainian populace and parts of the military structure. They have forgotten that Germany is embarrassed at its own Nazi past and France is embarrassed at its Vichy past. They want to bury Ukraine somewhere in a dark corner. The future of the country as an EU member is not very rosy.


 
BEGIN TRANSLATION

 
Poroshenko says why Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe

 
November 12, 2018

 
https://nation-news.ru/411948-poroshenko-povedal-pochemu-ukraina-samaya-bednaya-strana-v-evrope

 
According to the Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko, the pace of economic growth in the country does not meet the requirements of the population, and Ukraine itself today is the poorest country in Europe.

 
During the meeting of the Regional Development Council in Kiev, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko acknowledged that the country today remains the poorest state in Europe. He acknowledged that economic growth does not meet the requirements of the population, and said that the leadership of the country was to blame.
 

As Poroshenko said, if 70% of the population is confident that the country is clearly moving in the wrong direction, then the Ukrainian authorities are not working hard enough.
 

Commenting on the expected increase in gas tariffs, he said that this is a necessary measure.

 
As previously reported by the publication Nation News, "If this is not stopped, problems await Ukraine": a fatal forecast for the country was voiced in Kiev.

 
END OF TRANSLATION
​
 
Relevant

 
Stephen Cohen on Ukraine

https://www.thenation.com/article/four-years-of-ukraine-and-the-myths-of-maidan/
 
Official laments situation in Ukraine

https://nation-news.ru/407200-esli-eto-ne-ostanovit-ukrainu-zhdut-problemy-v-kieve-ozvuchili-fatalnyi-prognoz-dlya-strany
 
Back in December 2013, Assistant Secretary of State, wife of notorious Neocon Robert Kagan, gave a rousing speech before the National Press Club praising the work of her administration in bringing democracy to Ukraine. Oddly, Ukraine had already had a democratically elected government at the time of the violent, illegal Maidan coup.  
 
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37599.htm
 
Ukraine army attacks Donbass

https://mirnovostey.info/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnewzfeed.ru%2F22048-na-slovah-oni-vse-za-mir-v-kieve-osudili-zayavlenie-deputata-rady-o-razvale-ukrainy%2F&utm_source=24smi&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=11261&utm_content=1932350&utm_campaign=11910&mod=iframe-mod
 
Urkaine murders Russian speakers, destroys homes

https://novosti-n.org/video/read/67489.html

Vince Dhimos
 
Quora is a forum that enables people to consult experts on just about any topic. I have been listed as an expert in languages and international affairs, among other things, and am directly asked questions on related topics.
 
You can learn a lot from Westerners who are indoctrinated by the statements of politicians and the msm and believe implicitly in them. These people are generally not the enemy. They just need help.
 
I responded to a question as to why the US and the West want to remove Bashar Al-Assad and fund groups that oppose him. I said that the US had signed in 1973 an agreement with the Saudis to use their military to “defend” them and that things had gotten out of hand. My response:
https://www.quora.com/What-were-the-US-and-Wests-interests-for-the-removal-of-Mr-Bashar-al-Assad-and-the-funding-and-arming-of-the-groups-that-opposed-him/answer/Vince-Dhimos
 
At this same URL I showed that the US has been a mercenary of the Saudi royals ever since Nixon and King Faisal signed what I call the petrodollar agreement, in 1973.
 
(This same text is available at the NSS page: http://www.newsilkstrategies.com/news--analysis/the-us-military-is-a-mercenary-force-in-the-hire-of-the-saudi-dictatorship)
 
A respondent retorted:
 
“These aren’t facts. There’s are your opinions and interpretations. Many of which I believe are no where near the truth.
You isn’t cute anything you said [sic]. Didn’t source.”
 
It may be worth noting that I have written at Quora numerous commentaries on the brutality of the Israelis and am sometimes attacked by Israeli trolls whose English usage and grammar tips them off as non-native speakers of English. It appears as if some of these trolls follow me all over the forum just to harass. But their views are rather uniform and include a pronounced pro-Saudi stance, thanks to the shared hostility toward Iran. (BTW, the anti-Iran position of the White House has everything to do with US kowtowing to the Saudis/Israelis). Since this mentality infects others, it is important for the other side to be heard. BTW, instead of directly answering the trolls, I generally just post links to sites that show, often with videos, the brutality of the Israeli army against the hapless residents of the occupied territories. (Such as this one: https://vimeo.com/86575949). Most of my linked material is from Israeli sites like Haaretz or Jerusalem Post. I also like to post links to articles showing how the Israeli government is losing the support of young US Jews and Evangelicals. These reports and videos eventually cool of the hotheads and send the trolls packing. Facts are still facts.

BTW, unlike liberal critics of "Christian" Zionism, I do not criticise these "Christians" for being overly literal in their scriptural interpretations. In fact, quite the opposite is true. They are no literal enough in this case. They base much of their Cult of Israel on Ezekiel 37, but if they examined Ezekiel 37 more closely, they would see in verse 24 that David is the king of this Israel and that this nation is obedient to God's decrees. Thus, since David has been dead for millennia and has not been resurrected, and since a Reuters poll shows that a full 60% of today's Israelis self-describe as "irreligious," there is no way modern Israel could be construed to be the nation prophesied by Ezekiel. So where did their heresy come from? Mostly from the Scofield Bible commentaries, which are full of flaws.
 
I responded as follows:
 
First off, which of my facts would you need sources for? After all, my arguments are based on the kind of countries and leaders that the Saudis hate, and which just happen to be the targets of US wars. The wars are common knowledge and the kinds of leaders are well known as well. I entered into detail, covering all the wars and the leaders who were taken out by the US and showed how the outcomes of each war were all in keeping with Saudi wishes. This is not rocket science. The main hurdle is allowing yourself to see the obvious.
 
On the issue of “sources,” let us look at an analogy.
 
In the early 1500s, a Polish scholar named Mikołai Kopernik (we call him Nicolaus Copernicus now) burned the midnight oil for many years doing research on planetary movements relative to the sun, and after this painstaking research, wrote a book titled De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres—back then, European scholars wrote in Latin) explaining, based on Kopernik’s mathematical calculations (only his, no one helped), that the planets, including earth, rotate about the sun and that, contrary to popular belief everywhere in the world, the sun does not move relative to the planets but rather it’s the other way around. (Do you need a source for that too?)
 
Kopernik knew that if he published this book too early, the Church would likely try him as a heretic. Religion was the centre of Western thinking, just as it is today, where US foreign policy is based in large part on a misreading of the Bible, as I showed here https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-follow-the-thousands-year-old-religion-and-kill-for-it. Worst of all for Kopernik is that the poor fellow was unable to provide a single footnote in his book. Why? Because his was pioneering research and no one had ever written anything like it. Further, it was taboo material. Even if someone else had thought about writing on this topic, they would have been deterred by fear of the Church.
 
Now some Westerners today are also doing pioneering research, and because they are breaking new ground, there just is no one to cite as a source. And in the field of geopolitics, pioneering can be fatal. There are agencies watching those who dare to challenge the received wisdom from the msm, Washington, Wall Street, AIPAC and the ADL. And they have their henchmen in social media.
 
Thus many Western zombies will say “but you have no sources.” Because every time a Westerner says or writes anything, Westerners expect the ideas expressed to have a safe, approved precedent somewhere. But if that person is basing his text on his own personal research, no matter how meticulous the study or how accurate the observations may be, many Western readers will reject it and will condemn the unfortunate messenger for daring to step out of line.
 
The upshot of Kopernik’s story is that he was obliged to have the book published on his deathbed because he was afraid, based on the experience of others, that he was literally risking being burned at the stake simply for reporting his scientific findings.
 
Westerners have not changed since then. We still burn “heretics.”

In the following we present our translation of an article from gazeta.ru on the chilling implications of the US’s exit from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty).
 
QUOTE:
 
“If the United States, under the leadership of Donald Trump, withdraws from the INF Treaty and applies medium-range missiles to Russia, the system will not be able to give an appropriate response. For this reason, Russia may turn to a strategy of a preventive nuclear strike.”
 
Americans discuss the possibility of a nuclear war with aplomb, mostly because Evangelicals, the largest voting bloc, believe implicitly that US war policy enjoys the blessings of the Almighty, particularly when the government is in harmony with the policies of Israel. It does not matter that Israel does not in any way meet the description in Ezekiel 37 upon which their “Christian” Zionism is based. And it matters not that this Israel is 60% “irreligious” or that its leadership grievously violates the Ten Commandments and the Levitican commandment to love one’s neighbour. Nor does it matter that the Old Testament God of Abraham had banished the Hebrews from their homeland for disobedience and this disobedience had never gone away. All that matters is that they believe in this Israel and many think the Holy Spirit has told them that Trump is somehow God’s man. When mere men base their theology on the feeling that the Holy Spirit is telling them things that clash with what the Bible clearly spells out, mischief is just around the corner.
 
But it is not just Evangelicals who feel invulnerable to atomic radiation. The bulk of Americans never learn of the dangers of backing out of long-standing arms control treaties. Very few are reading this and other blogs that inform them of what the Russians themselves are saying, and, unlike in real democracies or governments resembling them, US msm and politicians keep telling their subjects that the US is invincible so not to worry.
 
It doesn’t matter that all warlike theocracies of the past (such as the invading Mongols) have come to a bitter end. Because the US is different we are told. It is the Indispensable and Exceptional nation, like ancient Israel and has a special blessing from the Almighty. Thus it can toy with nuclear war all it wants and no harm will come to it. It therefore has no responsibility to its future generations to raise a finger to prevent a nuclear holocaust.
 
This lack of concern on the part of the American cult of Israel and the terminally brainwashed fits in perfectly with the evil designs of the US elites to wreak havoc in the world and even to court disaster. And yet these elites are mostly atheistic. It is a perfect symbiosis between two groups that could not be more different from each other, working in concert to create chaos, one intentionally and one in complete childish innocence.
 
It’s a perfect storm.
 
Meanwhile, commentaries like this one never get finished because news continues to break.
 
This just in:
 
Thanks to Trump’s exiting the INF treaty, Russia considers reopening a base in Cuba:
 
https://jamestown.org/program/moscow-set-to-re-activate-cuban-base-it-closed-in-2002-and-perhaps-open-new-ones/
 
Oops. Did someone forget that Russia also as options?

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BEGIN TRANSLATION
 
The “dead hand” withers: How Trump is depriving Russia of protection
 
Why Russia has recognized the futility of the nuclear "Dead Hand"
 
"Army" section 11-9-2018
 
The “Perimetr” system, also known as the “Dead Hand” system, which provides for a retaliatory nuclear strike on the enemy in the event of the country's leadership perishes, may become useless. If the United States, under the leadership of Donald Trump, withdraws from the INF Treaty and threatens Russia with medium-range missiles, the system will not be able to provide an appropriate response. For this reason, Russia may turn to the strategy of a preventive nuclear strike.
 
The ex-chief of the Main Staff of the Strategic Missile Forces (1994-1996), Colonel-General Viktor Yesin, said that the Russian system of automatic retaliatory nuclear attack “Perimetr,” known in the West as the “Dead Hand”, may be useless in the event of a military conflict.
 
According to Yesin, after the possible withdrawal of the United States from the Treaty on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), the Perimetr system may lose its effectiveness. He stressed that, although the system is functioning and has undergone modernization, the Russian side will be able to launch only those missiles that will “survive” after the “aggressor’s” first strike.
 
According to the former military leader, the United States will be able to deliver the first blow if they deploy intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Europe, where the INF currently does not allow the deployment of intermediate range missile. Such missiles will be able to destroy almost all of the missile forces in the European part of Russia, and the rest of the missiles will be intercepted by the missile defence system, Yesin concluded, who expressed his opinion in an interview with the newspaper Zvezda.
 
“Frankly, we do not yet have an effective response to US intermediate-range missiles in Europe.”
 
If the United States starts to deploy its missiles in Europe, we will have no other choice but to abandon the retaliatory strike doctrine and move on to the pre-emptive strike doctrine,” the retired military man emphasized.
 
The so-called "Perimetr" system, commonly known as the "Dead Hand", is a system of automated atomic weapons use, in case the country's leadership dies as a result of an enemy nuclear strike.
 
The decision to retaliate with the "Perimetr" is made on the basis of information from numerous sensors deployed in the country - seismic, radiation and atmospheric pressure, which determine the signs of nuclear explosions. In peacetime, this system can determine with almost 100% accuracy where in the world a nuclear device was detonated.
 
Following the decision by the Perimetr system to use strategic nuclear weapons (and this is actually a computerized solution), a command missile (or rockets) is launched with a special warhead, which in flight sends commands to launch all nuclear weapons carriers that have corresponding receivers at control points. In this case, intercontinental ballistic missiles and missiles from submarines are launched automatically.
 
At the same time, as experts note, the operating characteristics of the Perimetr system can only be judged speculatively at this time. There is no exact data on this.
 
There is some reason to assume that the Perimetr consists of command posts, command ballistic missiles, receiving devices and an autonomous command and control system (all terms are very, very conditional).
 
It is worth noting that in March 2018, one of the leading American experts on nuclear disarmament, Bruce Blair, warned that the Russian Perimetr (Dead Hand) system was still being improved.
 
Earlier, US President Donald Trump had said that Washington was withdrawing from the INF Treaty, which was signed in 1987 by the presidents of the USSR and the USA and is still considered the cornerstone of international security. It meant the destruction of the whole class of missiles of this type in Europe.
 
 
Russia's permanent representative to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, warned that in the event the Treaty on the Elimination of Short-Range and Medium-Range Missiles (INF) is dissolved, European countries "will face nightmares." According to Chizhov, quoted by RIA Novosti, this agreement is one of the main pillars for maintaining world peace.
 
“Europe ... will inevitably have to face again those nightmares that haunted it more than three decades ago,” said Chizhov. He added that in order to prevent such a development of events, Europe should take a decisive position on the treaty.

 
END OF TRANSLATION