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Fox News announced Monday that Laura Ingraham will soon host the 7:00 p.m. lineup slot after moving Jesse Watters into the 8:00 p.m. prime time slot.
Ingraham, who currently hosts the 10:00 p.m. slot, will take over Watters’ spot while Greg Gutfeld will move into Ingraham’s original slot. Sean Hannity will remain in his 9:00 p.m. slot.
https://dailycaller.com/2023/06/26/fox-news-laura-ingraham-lineup-change/
(doesn't say when)
Prigozhin’s Gambit—Treason by any other name
Scott Ritter
[Saturday] Jun 24, 2023
https://www.scottritterextra.com/p/prigozhins-gambittreason-by-any-other?utm_medium=web
In the 1997 Disney animated musical fantasy film, Hercules, there is a particularly catchy number, Zero to Hero, which describes the rise of the star of the film from a clumsy boy into a strong and capable man. In the span of less than 24 hours, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the public face of the Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor with shadowy ties to Russian military intelligence, has flipped the script of this ashes to diamonds tale, transforming an organization that had, through virtue of its impressive battlefield performance, become a legendary symbol of Russian patriotism and strength, into a discredited band of disgruntled traitors seeking the violent overthrow of the constitutional government of Russian on behalf of nations who seek the strategic defeat and ultimate destruction of Russia.
If Disney were to write a song about Prigozhin and Wagner today, it would be called Hero to Zero.
Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind—Yevgeny Prigozhin has become a witting agent of Ukraine and the intelligence services of the collective West. And while there may be those within Wagner who have been unwittingly drawn into this act of high treason through deception and subterfuge, in the aftermath of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s address to the Russian nation on June 24, and Yevgeny Prigozhin’s impolitic reply, there can be no doubt that there are only two sides in this struggle—the side of constitutional legitimacy, and the side of unconstitutional treason and sedition. Anyone who continues to participate in Prigozhin’s coup has aligned themselves on the wrong side of the law and have themselves become outlaws.
Having taken Wagner down this unfortunate path, one needs to examine the motivations—stated and otherwise—that could prompt such a dangerous course of action. First and foremost, Prigozhin’s gambit must be looked at for what it is—an act of desperation. For all its military prowess, Wagner as a fighting force is unsustainable for any period without the logistical support of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The fuel that powers Wagner’s vehicles, the ammunition that gives its weapons their lethality, the food that nourishes its fighters—all comes from the very organization that Prigozhin has set his sights on usurping. This reality means that to succeed, Prigozhin would need to rally sufficient support behind his cause capable of not only sustaining his gambit but offsetting the considerable power of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Russian Federation which, if left intact, would be able to readily defeat the forces of Wagner in any large-scale combat.
In short, Prigozhin is looking to create a so-called “Moscow Maidan” designed to replicate the success of the events of early 2014 in Kiev, where the constitutionally elected government of President Victor Yanukovych was toppled from power through violence and force of will that was orchestrated by Ukrainian nationalists supported by the US and Europe. The fantasy of a “Moscow Maidan” has been at the center of the strategy of the collective West and their Ukrainian proxy from the very start. Premised on the notion of a weak Russian president propped up by a thoroughly corrupt oligarch class, the idea of creating the conditions for the rise of sufficient domestic unrest capable of bringing down the Putin government like a proverbial house of cards was the primary objective of the sanctions regime imposed by the West after the initiation of the Special Military Operation (SMO) on February 24, 2022. The failure of the sanctions to generate such a result compelled the collective West to double-down on the notion of collapsing the Russian government, this time using a military solution. The British Prime Minister pressured his Ukrainian counterpart to forgo a negotiated settlement to the conflict that was ready to be signed in Istanbul on April 1, 2022, and instead engage in a protracted war with Russia fueled by tens of billions of dollars’ worth of military and financial assistance designed to inflict military losses on Russia sufficient to trigger domestic unrest—the elusive “Moscow Maidan.”
This effort likewise failed.
Failing to create the conditions conducive for the collapse of domestic support for Putin and the Ukrainian conflict by pressuring Russia from without, the collective West began working to create the conditions for bringing down Russia by sowing internal seeds of dissention. This strategy hinged on a very sophistical information warfare scheme which simultaneously sought to suppress and discredit narratives which sustained the official position of the Russian government, while building up covert agents of influence within social media outlets deemed to be influential amongst the Russian public. Using these channels, the pro-Ukrainian practitioners of information war began promulgating narratives intended to highlight the failings of the Russian government and, more specifically, persons close to President Putin who were affiliated with the SMO. By focusing their angst on what these channels were highlighting as the “failures” of the SMO, the information warfare practitioners were able to wrap themselves in the mantle of “patriotism,” claiming only to be looking out for the best interests of “Mother Russia,” all the while denigrating the character of the constitutional government.
There were several compelling narratives that were used by these information warfare specialists to serve as the foundation of their attack on Putin’s Russia. One of the more popular was grounded in the mythology of “2014” and the early resistance to the Ukrainian nationalists who sought to impose their policies of cultural and linguistic genocide on the ethnic Russian population of the Donbas. Let there be no doubt—the fighting that took place in the initial months and years of the Donbas conflict was difficult and bloody, and those who rallied to the cause of the ethnic Russians of the Donbas deserve tremendous credit for their courage and resilience in the face of a dangerous enemy. But this resistance also served to foster a sense of entitlement among the early leaders and participants of this resistance which often transformed into resentment against Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, for abandoning the citizens of the Donbas to their own fate. The combination of resentful entitlement turned into hostility after the initiation of the SMO, when these “originals” took umbrage at whet they deemed to be the inadequate intervention on the part of the Russian government and the perceived incompetence of the Russian military. Characters such as Igor Girkin (perhaps better known by his nom de guerre, Strelkov) and Russell “Texas” Bentley perfected the art of “patriotic” criticism which, intentionally or not, was used by Russia’s enemies to further the notion of a weak and ineffective Russian government vulnerable to intervention by “real” Russian patriots who were concerned about “corruption” and “inefficiency” in the Putin regime. The pro-Ukrainian information warfare outlets were able to help magnify these “patriotic” voices of dissent by disseminating their message using Telegram and YouTube channels.
An expansion on the theme of “betrayed patriot” involves the Wagner Group itself and is pertinent to the present matter. The origins of the private military contract company, Wagner, are murky, but appear to be linked to the events of 2014 in the Donbas and the need for the Russian government to create a vehicle for the provision of relevant military expertise and material to the ethnic Russian resistance in the Donbas that would not conflict with Russian constitutional prohibitions against the deployment of regular Russian Army personnel on foreign soil. From its inception, Wagner was an adjunct of Russian Military Intelligence (GRU), and responsive to the commands of the Russian General Staff. This placed Wagner in the shadowy space between being an official agent of government policy and an independently-funded private military contractor.
Following the initiation of the SMO, the role played by Wagner in the Donbas conflict expanded, transitioning from an advisory capacity to major combatant by expanding the scope and scale of the Wagner presence. Wagner grew into a Corps-sized formation equipped with heavy weapons, including armor and artillery, as well as fixed-wing fighter aircraft, and was assigned responsibility for a section of the frontlines which included the twin-salt mining towns of Soledar and Bakhmut, both of which had been heavily fortified by the Ukrainian military. The bloody fighting for the Soledar-Bakhmut complex, which became known by the sobriquet “the meatgrinder,” helped transform Wagner into a legendary combat force in the minds of most Russians, and elevated Prigozhin’s profile considerably.
Wagner achieved its well-deserved martial reputation largely because it was able to operate independent of the suffocating bureaucracy of the Russian military. Thus liberated, Wagner was able to best exploit the experience and skill of its veteran fighters, streamlining command and control and tactical decision-making to enable Wagner to seize and maintain operational initiative, allowing Wagner to dominate the battlefield. While Wagner had operational independence, it received its operational tasking from the Russian General Staff, which also provided Wagner with the weapons, ammunition, fuel, and other logistical sustainment necessary to carry out its assigned mission.
The legal status of Wagner was secure so long as the territory it operated on was not Russian. This changed, however, in the aftermath of the September 2022 referendum which saw the Donbas transition from being an independent entity to being part of Russia. Wagner was able to maintain its unique status during the political transition of the Donbas to full Russian constitutional control, but once this transition was completed, sometime in early 2023, reality came home to roost. Logistical requisitions, which used to be treated as special requests approved as part of the general support provided by Russia to the Donbas, were not treated as part of the routine logistical establishment of the Russian ministry of Defense. From a practical standpoint, this meant that the quantities of ammunition, especially in terms of artillery shells, was cut back to reflect the “norm” used to support military formations of a similar size. Wagner tactics, however, were contingent upon the ability to support their operations with overwhelming fire support. Denied the quantities of ammunition they were used to receiving, Wagner’s assault detachment began to take heavy casualties, prompting Prigozhin to initiate a public feud with both Shoigu and Gerasimov, whom he accused of incompetence and corruption.
Prigozhin’s antics, which were played out in intimate detail on social media, caught the attention of pro-Ukrainian information warfare specialists, who began promoting the narrative of Prigozhin—a former convict with zero political experience—assuming a leadership position in Russia. Prigozhin himself seemed to feed off this notion. While publicly denying any such ambition, Prigozhin continued his public trolling of Shoigu and Gerasimov. The vitriol became so intense that Putin was compelled to summon both men to the Kremlin, where they were read the riot act by an irate Russian President and told in no uncertain terms to cease and desist or pay the consequences. Putin also at this time had Shoigu step back from being the overseer of Wagner logistical support, instead turning that task over to General Sergey Surovikin, a senior military commander overseeing the air component of the SMO.
In retrospect, this was a mistake, as it only reinforced the notion in Prigozhin’s mind that if he made a big enough scene, Putin would yield to his desires.
At some point in time, Prigozhin appears to have gone off the rails completely. Even after the presidential intervention, Prigozhin continued his public feud with both Shoigu and Gerasimov, at one point threatening to pull Wagner out of Bakhmut before that battle was concluded. Prigozhin went out of his way to promote himself as a frontline commander, appearing in videos he published on Telegram visiting the Wagner fighters on the frontline, often under fire, and then contrasting this with what Prigozhin articulated as the timid behavior of Shoigu and Gerasimov, whom Prigozhin mocked for managing the SMO from the safety of bunkers far from the zone of conflict.
At some point in time Prigozhin’s antics caught the attention of Ukrainian intelligence, and their British and US counterparts. The narcissistic need for attention, coupled with grandiose notions of self-importance, made Prigozhin an ideal candidate for recruitment by a hostile foreign intelligence service. A financial component—basic greed—can be added to this behavioral model as well. In addition to seeking to bring Wagner under the operational control of the Ministry of Defense through the rationing of ammunition, Defense Minister Shoigu announced that Wagner fighters would have to sign legally binding contracts with the Russian Minister of Defense to allow them to continue to serve in their capacity as a combat unit. The reason for this was the constitutional ban on private military companies operating on Russian soil. The Russian government was willing to turn a blind eye to this legality while the battle for Bakhmut raged, but once the “meatgrinder” shut down, and Wagner was withdrawn from the front for a period of well-deserved rest and refitting, the Ministry of Defense announced that before Wagner could resume its combat operations (Prigozhin indicated that Wagner would return to fighting around August 5), its fighters and commanders would have to sign contracts. The deadline for signing contracts was set for July 1.
According to Prigozhin, the military council of commanders—the real leaders of Wagner—refused to allow these contracts to be signed. Wagner and Shoigu were heading for a confrontation. Wagner was, during this time, building upon the good will of the Russian people that had been earned in the bloody fighting for Bakhmut. Wagner was engaged in an unprecedented public relations campaign designed to imprint on the Russian people the heroic status its fighters enjoyed, all the while seeking to recruit new fighters into it ranks. The success of this public relations campaign only reinforced in the mindset of Prigozhin the notion that he and Wagner were more popular amongst the Russian people than were Shoigu, Gerasimov, and the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The collusion between Prigozhin and the Ukrainians, while unproven at this juncture, appears obvious in retrospect. One of the key indicators is the decision by the Ukrainians to send so-called “anti-Putin” Russian forces across the border into the Belgorod region of Russia, helping create the impression of Russian impotence and incompetence, notions Prigozhin was only too happy to magnify on his own Telegram channels. This message was then further disseminated by Ukrainian-controlled Telegram channels, including those which operated under the guise of serving “Russian patriots.”
Soon both Prigozhin and the ostensible “pro-Russian” social media accounts were highlighting the potential of a Russian Civil War and the collapse of the Putin regime in a repeat of the collapse experienced in the Russian Army in 1917, leading to the downfall of Tsarist rule and the Romanov dynasty. Indeed, informed observers have stated that many of the Wagner fighters who accompanied Prigozhin into Russia as part of the ongoing armed insurrection apparently believed that they were being dispatched to reinforce the border region to guard against future incursions into Russia by forces loyal to Ukraine.
If the goal of Prigozhin was to achieve the collapse of the Putin regime, it appears to have failed miserably. No political leaders, no military leaders of units, no oligarchs have rallied to Prigozhin’s cause. Russia appears to be firmly behind President Putin, and supportive of his stated goal of bringing this insurrection to an end using all means necessary. While Prigozhin claimed to have assembled a force of some 25,000 men for his march of Moscow, the reality is the total number of Wagner soldiers involved is no more than half that number.
Unless Wagner receives substantial assistance, this invasion force will soon run into sustainability issues—gas, ammunition, and food supplies will become problematic. Moreover, as Russian forces begin to physically confront Wagner, it will become crystal clear to the actual fighters that far from defending Russia from a corrupt and inept regime, Wagner has become a pariah, forever linked in the minds of Russia as traitors who sought to stick a knife in Russia’s back at a time of great peril to the survival of the nation—in short, Wagner will have transitioned from Hero to Zero.
What Prigozhin and his supporters, both in the command and rank and file of Wagner, and those collaborators in the social media universe, have done in attacking the constitutional government of Russia is nothing short of treason. Unless something extreme happens in the next day or two, it is inevitable that Wagner will be defeated. The history books will always punctuate its existence as an organization with perfidy of having betrayed Russia to its enemies. But the critical point here isn’t Wagner’s treasonous behavior, but rather the fact that Russia’s enemies—in particular the British and American intelligence services—saw fit to facilitate a substantive armed insurrection designed to remove from power the government of a nuclear armed power. Imagine, for a moment, the righteous ire that would be on display in the halls of Congress and within the walls of the White House if Russian intelligence had actively conspired to have an entity like Blackwater march on Washington, DC with the goal of removing President Biden from power.
It would, some might say, constitute an act of war.
Russian nuclear doctrine allows for Russia to use nuclear weapons when faced with an existential threat to the survival of the Russian state.
If the CIA and MI-6 were involved in the recruitment of Prigozhin with an eye toward facilitating Wagner’s march of Moscow, then they would have been directly engaged in an action that constituted an existential threat to Russia.
Russia would, under its doctrine, have every right to use nuclear weapons in response.
For everyone cheering Prigozhin along this morning, think on that long and hard as you chew on your breakfast.
Because if Prigozhin were to succeed, there may be no tomorrow.
Video in story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPTqGmxEH1c
Flashback video
Here’s Biden lecturing & insulting Major Scott Ritter
one of the comments under the video
Biden wanted the Iraq war just as much as Bush and he clearly wasn't pleased with Scott Ritter exposing their WMD lies.
https://twitter.com/S_Padival/status/1673194231199047681
Gates vs RFKjr
🔸67 year-old Bill Gates is a “health expert”
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) June 24, 2023
🔸69 year-old @RobertKennedyJr is a “science denier”
Trust the experts 🤡 pic.twitter.com/CFYtkJxfn8
RFK Jr. is probably the most jacked presidential candidate we’ve ever had.pic.twitter.com/HYY1omN3Uq
— SOVEREIGN BRAH 🇺🇸🏛️⚡️ (@sovereignbrah) June 24, 2023
intellectual frog legs - magadonia
https://www.intellectualfroglegs.com/episodes/magadonia
one week old, missed it.
Happy birthday Flo.
I found a video of your squirrel after it was chased away from your place.
https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1672507690210189315
coup over, Wagner’s March on Moscow Halted as Belarus’ Lukashenko Negotiates Stand Down with Prigozhin
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/06/24/wagners-march-on-moscow-halted-as-belarus-lukashenko-negotiates-stand-down-with-prigozhin/
clip from earlier this morning, you won't hear on Biden's state owned media
Twitterverse Roasts Bud Light Over New Ad Mocking Its Own Customers
Crack a cold one: we've got an epic summer ahead. Sock tans included. pic.twitter.com/CGRCvkHC60
— Bud Light (@budlight) June 22, 2023
Tucker Carlson - Ep. 6 Bobby Kennedy is winning
Ep. 6 Bobby Kennedy is winning pic.twitter.com/jW51PYahLV
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 22, 2023
Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera announced Wednesday he would be departing the hit Fox News show “The Five.”
Rivera broke the news via Twitter.
“Morning, it’s official, I’m off @TheFive. My last scheduled show appearances are Thursday and Friday June 29th and 30th.
https://dailycaller.com/2023/06/21/geraldo-rivera-departing-fox-news-the-five/
I think I figured out old Joe's train
Corn pops favorite show
Tucker Carlson - Ep. 5 As in most of the developing world, it's safer to be the president's son than his opponent.
Ep. 5 As in most of the developing world, it's safer to be the president's son than his opponent. pic.twitter.com/AtRRaxYSjs
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 20, 2023
Mark Levin tweet
Bill Barr has been on every leftwing media Sunday show spewing his poison. He has smeared Trump more than he has ever criticized the worse drug dealers, arms dealers, international terrorists, terrorist states, or the Biden crime family and the millions of dollars they received…
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) June 18, 2023
NOT TONIGHT, JOE! Biden Goes for the Grope – But Eva Longoria’s Not Havin’ It (VIDEO)
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/its-thursday-biden-gropes-hot-actress-white-house/
Video in link. Geez!
Question of Manpower in Ukraine Offensive against Russia - SCOTT RITTER
Judge Napolitano
Tucker - Ep. 4 Wannabe Dictator
Ep. 4 Wannabe Dictator pic.twitter.com/MDcs5g0gxB
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 15, 2023
Re-balance of Indexes Friday after the close.
Monday is a holiday.
$FXI $KWEB - China strong, grasshopper
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom
NDI - National Defense Information
Happy Birthday K2
Originally I was for the Ukraine. I'm not now. The little punk Zelenskyy has destroyed the country.
Why did he think he could beat Russia?
John Kennedy threatened Cuba with mass destruction when Castro took in Russian weapons.
Castro blinked and got rid of them.
What if he didn't?
Bush threatened Saddam to get rid of weapons of mass destruction.
Saddam said come and get them. Backed by Iran, a lot of US soldiers are dead or maimed.
And hundreds if thousands of Iraqi's died.
Ukraine was supposed to be neutral. The Ukraine Nazis was tormenting the Russian Ukrainians in southern and eastern Ukraine. Does Putin have the same right as Kennedy? To disarm a country on it's border?
I agree with Trump. Stop the killing. They are not even trying for peace.
If Biden didn't send weapons to Zelensky a lot of Ukrainians would still be alive.
Blinken is a liar. The Ukrainian military is almost destroyed. They have 35,000 trained soldiers and maybe 50,000 untrained.
What's a Russian Ukranian? check
Tucker Carlson Ep 1
Ep. 1 pic.twitter.com/O7CdPjF830
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 6, 2023
the areas that Russia is occupying speak Russian. they don't want the areas that speak Ukrainian.
Kiev's Long-Term "Last Resort" Plan To Blow-Up The Kakhova Dam Exposed
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/kievs-long-term-last-resort-plan-blow-kakhova-dam-exposed
A day after Ukraine's much-heralded counter-offensive appears to have failed, almost before it had even begun, a major dam in the Russian-occupied region of Kherson is suddenly bombed, prompting mass evacuations as floods spread across the region.
As we detailed earlier, both sides accuse each other of the attack that puts tens of thousands of homes at risk and might even threaten the safety of Europe's largest nuclear power plant.
However, as Raul Ilargi Meijer writes, twice last year (here and here), Ukrainian officials discussed Kiev's plans to blow up the dam.
Andrew Korybko lays out the real narrative here:
The partial destruction of the Kakhovka Dam on early Tuesday morning saw Kiev and Moscow exchange accusations about who’s to blame, but a report from the Washington Post (WaPo) in late December extends credence to the Kremlin’s version of events.
Titled “Inside the Ukrainian counteroffensive that shocked Putin and reshaped the war”, its journalists quoted former commander of November’s Kherson Counteroffensive Major General Andrey Kovalchuk who shockingly admitted to planning this war crime:
“Kovalchuk considered flooding the river. The Ukrainians, he said, even conducted a test strike with a HIMARS launcher on one of the floodgates at the Nova Kakhovka dam, making three holes in the metal to see if the Dnieper’s water could be raised enough to stymie Russian crossings but not flood nearby villages. The test was a success, Kovalchuk said, but the step remained a last resort. He held off.”
[ZH: This clip purports to show the "test" firing last year described by WaPo]
His remark about how “the step remained a last resort” is pertinent to recall at present considering that the first phase of Kiev’s NATO–backed counteroffensive completely failed on Monday according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Just like Ukraine launched its proxy invasion of Russia in late May to distract from its loss in the Battle of Artyomovsk, so too might does it seem to have gone through with Kovalchuk’s planned war crime to distract from this most recent embarrassment as well.
The abovementioned explanation isn’t as far-fetched as some might initially think either. After all, one of complexity theory’s precepts is that initial conditions at the onset of non-linear processes can disproportionately shape the outcome. In this context, the first failed phase of Kiev’s counteroffensive risked ruining the entire campaign, which could have prompted its planners to employ Kovalchuk’s “last resort” in order to introduce an unexpected variable into the equation that might improve their odds.
Russia had over 15 months to entrench itself in Ukraine’s former eastern and southern regions that Kiev still claims as its own through the construction of various defensive structures and associated contingency planning so as to maintain its control over those territories. It therefore follows that even the most properly supplied and thought-out counteroffensive wasn’t going to be a walk in the park contrary to the Western public’s expectations, thus explaining why the first phase just failed.
This reality check shattered whatever wishful thinking expectations Kiev might have had since it showed that the original plan of swarming the Line of Contact (LOC) entails considerable costs that reduce the chances of it succeeding unless serious happens behind the front lines to distract the Russian defenders. Therein lies the strategic reason behind partially destroying the Kakhovka Dam on Tuesday morning exactly as Kovalchuk proved late last year is possible to pull off per his own admission to WaPo.
The first of Kiev’s goals that this terrorist attack served was to prompt global concern about the safety of the Russian-controlled Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which relies on water from the now-rapidly-depleting Kakhovka Reservoir for cooling. The International Atomic Energy Agency said that there’s “no immediate nuclear safety risk”, but a latent one can’t be ruled out. Should a crisis transpire, then it could throw Russia’s defenses in northern Zaporozhye Region into chaos.
The second goal is that the downstream areas of Kherson Region, which are divided between Kiev and Moscow, have now been flooded. Although the water might eventually recede after some time, this could complicate Russia’s defensive plans along the left bank of the Dnieper River. Taken together with the consequences connected to the first scenario, this means that a significant part of the riparian front behind the LOC could soon soften up to facilitate the next phase of Kiev’s counteroffensive.
In fact, the geographic scope of Kiev’s “unconventional softening operation” might even expand to Crimea due to the threat that Tuesday morning’s terrorist attack could pose to the peninsula’s water supply via its eponymous canal. The regional governor said that sufficient supplies remain for now but that the coming days will reveal the level of risk. While Crimea still managed to survive Kiev’s blockade of the canal for eight years, there’s no doubt that this development is disadvantageous for Russia.
The fourth strategic goal builds upon the three that were already discussed and concerns the psychological warfare component of this attack. On the foreign front, Kiev’s gaslighting that Moscow is guilty of “ecocide” was amplified by the Mainstream Media in spite of Kovalchuk’s damning admission to WaPo last December in order to maximize global pressure on Russia, while the domestic front is aimed at sowing panic in Ukraine’s former regions with the intent of further softening Russia’s defenses there.
And finally, the last strategic goal that was served by partially destroying the Kakhovka Dam is that Russia might soon be thrown into a dilemma. Kiev’s “unconventional softening operation” along the Kherson-Zaporozhye LOC could divide the Kremlin’s focus from the Belgorod-Kharkov and Donbass fronts, which could weaken one of those three and thus risk a breakthrough. The defensive situation could become even more difficult for Russia if Kiev expands the conflict by attacking Belarus and/or Moldova too.
To be absolutely clear, the military-strategic dynamics of the NATO-Russian proxy war in Ukraine still favor Russia for the time being, though that’s precisely why Kiev carried out Tuesday morning’s terrorist attack in a desperate attempt to reshape them in its favor. This assessment is based on the observation that Russia’s victory in the Battle of Artyomovsk shows that it’s able to hold its own against NATO in the “race of logistics”/“war of attrition” that the bloc’s chief declared in mid-February.
Furthermore, even the New York Times admitted that the West’s sanctions failed to collapse Russia’s economy and isolate it, while some of its top influencers also admitted that it’s impossible to deny the proliferation of multipolar processes in the 15 months since the special operation began. These include German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, former US National Security Council member Fiona Hill, and Goldman Sachs’ President of Global Affairs Jared Cohen.
The military-strategic dynamics described in the preceding two paragraphs will inevitably doom the West to defeat in the New Cold War’s largest proxy conflict thus far unless something major unexpectedly happens to change them, which is exactly what Kiev was trying to achieve via its latest terrorist attack.
The reason why few foresaw this is because Kovalchuk admitted to WaPo last December that his side had previously planned to blow up part of the Kakhovka Dam as part of its Kherson Counteroffensive.
It therefore seemed unthinkable that Kiev would ultimately do just that over half a year later and then gaslight that Moscow was to blame when the Mainstream Media itself earlier reported the existence of Ukraine’s terrorist plans after quoting the same Major General who bragged about them at the time. Awareness of this fact doesn’t change what happened, but it can have a powerful impact on the Western public’s perceptions of this conflict, which is why WaPo’s report should be brought to their attention.
Western mainstream media:
??The Russians blew up their own NordStream pipeline
??The Kremlin ordered a drone strike on the Kremlin
??Russia blew up the Nova Kakhovka dam to destroy the defences they had spent over half a year building and deny water supplies to Crimea
???? pic.twitter.com/jnqn6nI0vm
— Richard (@ricwe123) June 6, 2023
$BITI short bitcoin as a stock
$BITO long bitcoin as a stock
Binance yesterday $COIN today. The Biden admin is taking down bitcoin trading for Americans. If you want to trade crypto your going to have to work hard to do it with offshore accounts.
I think $SOFI might allow it, until they get hit too.
Stem started at buy with $12 stock fair value estimate at Janney
FBI AGAIN Refuses to Hand Over Biden Bribery Document to House Oversight, ‘We Will Initiate Contempt of Congress Hearings’
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/breaking-comer-fbi-again-refuses-hand-biden-bribery/
"..“At the briefing again, the FBI again refused to hand over the unclassified record to the custody of the House Oversight Committee — and we will now initiate contempt of Congress hearings this Thursday,” Comer said.
“Congress must investigate further,” he said. "....
Translation. Trump will have a bad day Thursday that steals the headlines.
$AAPL Vision Pro headset cost set at $3499, coming early 2024 (after Christmas)
Smoke and Mirrors, extra
"Ouching" Imminent? - Saudis To Make Additional Voluntary Cuts In New OPEC+ Deal
Sunday, Jun 04, 2023 - 12:05 PM
Update (1205ET):
On Sunday afternoon, Bloomberg quoted a delegate stating that OPEC+ members in Vienna had agreed to extend crude production cuts into 2024. However, the delegate provided no details about the size of the future supply cuts. The delegate also mentioned Saudi Arabia committed to an additional voluntary cut as part of this agreement.
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/opec-discussing-1-million-bpd-output-cut
Chuck Todd announces he will leave NBC's 'Meet the Press' after nine years this summer - and will be replaced by Kristen Welker
Longtime NBC News host Chuck Todd announced he will leave his Sunday show Meet the Press in coming months
Todd noted: 'I'd rather leave a little bit too soon than stay a tad bit too long' Ha!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12157717/Chuck-Todd-leave-NBCs-Meet-Press.html
$SOFI - $7.03 it appears they pulled a fast one and changed the Debt bill back to the original plan. Student loans resume 60 days after June 30th (Sep)
🚨 Mea culpa.
— Neely (@NeelyTamminga) June 3, 2023
(And sneaky sneaky…)
The final bill appears to show the date now being pushed back to the original “60 days after June 30…” despite McCarthy’s original proposal being 60 days after signing (today).
Regardless, student loans are going back into repayment. 🫣… https://t.co/fzMvDBZfIK pic.twitter.com/n1a02zJdS5
This is the beginning of the end of Putin': Moscow drone attack, Kremlin blasts and cross-border raids spell doom for the Russian tyrant and could see the break-up of his country, expert warns
In-fighting between Russia's military and Putin's warlords is now at fever pitch
Luke Coffey believes the break-up of Russia will begin with defeat in Ukraine
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12152585/Recent-attacks-spell-doom-Putin-break-Russia-expert-warns.html
This story is what the war mongers want you to read
This is another take. You have to watch it on Youtube, click the link and select the video
Straight Calls with Douglas Macgregor
https://www.youtube.com/@DouglasMacgregorStraightCalls
This was a trap that the Russians set for the Ukrainians
Churchill Downs SUSPENDS all racing activity after 12 horses died in six weeks with 2023 Spring Meet relocated
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/racing/article-12153999/Churchill-Downs-cancels-races-12-horses-died-six-weeks.html
Churchill Downs has suspended the racing operations at the track for the remainder of the 2023 Spring Meet following the deaths of 12 horses during the past six weeks.
Live racing will take place as scheduled this weekend on June 3 and 4 but following Sunday's activity the track will go dark.
The Spring Meet, which runs through July 3, will be relocated to Ellis Park, following multiple emergency meetings in Louisville this week.
Races for next Wednesday through Friday have been canceled and won't be made up with Ellis Park taking over the remainder on June 10.
The races at Ellis Park will have the same conditions and purse money that they would've at Churchill Downs, while trainers and jockeys will receive a stipend for extra costs, according to WLKY.
The announcement comes after 12 horses have died at the track since April with officials yet to be able to identify a commonality between the deaths.
Horse racing's oversight authority and Churchill Downs each announced additional safety and health measures Thursday.
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) will conduct additional post-entry screening of horses to identify those at increased risk for injury. It will also direct its Integrity and Welfare Unit to collect blood and hair samples for all fatalities for use while investigating a cause.
Earlier Thursday, Churchill Downs announced it would immediately limit horses to four starts during a rolling eight-week period and impose ineligibility standards for poor performers.
HISA's second independent analysis of Churchill Downs' training and racing surfaces, conducted by track superintendent Dennis Moore, continues with results to be made public upon completion.
The dual announcements came just before Churchill Downs' spring meet resumed after several days of meetings during an emergency summit convened by HISA to examine the troubling spate of deaths. All but two deaths have been attributed to racing or training leg injuries. The other two are from unknown causes, but all are being investigated by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and HISA.
The summit included the KHRC, HISA and Churchill Downs.
HISA called the dialogue productive in its release and added that conclusions from the summit have been shared directly with key stakeholders to inform next steps.
'While no obvious or specific pattern emerged, HISA welcomes Churchill Downs´ efforts announced earlier today to minimize risk of equine fatalities,' the release added.
Additionally, HISA said equine forensics specialist Alina Vale will conduct thorough review of all necropsies performed on covered horses. Vale performed postmortem reviews as an official veterinarian for the California Horse Racing Board following a spate of fatalities at Santa Anita in 2019.
Churchill Downs' other initiatives include pausing incentives, such as trainer start bonuses and purse payouts to every race finisher, with payouts limited to the top five finishers. Churchill Downs officials say they'll continue talks with horsemen to determine how to allocate funds.
A release from Churchill Downs stated that California-based equine surgeon Ryan Carpenter presented trainers and veterinarians with information and tools about advanced interventions for certain injuries. Churchill Downs' equine medical director, Will Farmer, said there was 'a duty' to offer information from someone who experienced similar challenges recently in California.
He said in the release that decisions regarding the long-term well being of horses must be first and foremost. 'It is imperative that all available, educated and informed options can be efficiently, confidently and thoroughly relayed to the owners.'
Cox said he did 'a lot of listening' at the meeting and left it at that
'I think Churchill is trying to dot every I and cross every T,' the trainer said during a NTRA teleconference. 'It´s been a lot of stuff happening since the meet began and hopefully we´re kind of coming to the end of this.'
Churchill Downs' ineligibility measure impacts horses losing by more than 12 lengths in five consecutive starts. They cannot race at Churchill Downs until approved by Farmer to return.
Seven horses died in the days leading up to the 149th Kentucky Derby on May 6, including two on the undercard. Five horses have died since then, including two 7-year-olds last weekend from similar leg injuries.
HISA veterinary teams reviewed information and analysis on Tuesday. Moore began a second independent analysis of Churchill Downs' training and racing surfaces on Wednesday.
rug pull on Monday? Opec is expected to not cut quota's this weekend.
Biden falls.
This is real not AI
https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1664344646854516738
College Grads - I'm expecting a hot jobs number for Friday. College gets out in May.
I'm not hearing complaints that their kids are not getting jobs.
US Tsy Delays Next Week's 3-Month, 6-Month Bill Sales Due To Debt Cap
- Plans To Upsize 6-Month Bill Sale To $58 Bln From $56 Bln
- Plans To Upsize 3-Month Bill Sale To $65 Bln From $63 Bln
- To Give More Updates On 3-Month, 6-Month Bills By 10am (Local Time) Monday
US Tsy Delays Next Week's 3-Month, 6-Month Bill Sales Due To Debt Cap
— LiveSquawk (@LiveSquawk) June 1, 2023
- Plans To Upsize 6-Month Bill Sale To $58 Bln From $56 Bln
- Plans To Upsize 3-Month Bill Sale To $65 Bln From $63 Bln
- To Give More Updates On 3-Month, 6-Month Bills By 10am (Local Time) Monday
$TBT $TMV - I wonder how many T-Bills Janet Yellen has lined up to sell as soon as Friday?
$SOFI $6.67 pre-market, as part of the Debt deal. Student loan payments resume in 60 days after Biden signs it.
SOFI has a lot of student loans outstanding.
Webush isn't convinced and issued a $3 target today.
Target WHISTLEBLOWER Just Sent Us This SHOCKING Internal Memo | Target RETREATS! | We Are WINNING