Sunday, 10 July 2022 — The New Dark Age
There may be some duplication due to cross-posting and may be updated throughout the day, so please check back. If it gets updated, I usually insert the time on the line above. A lot of cross-posting usually indicates that the article is popular and some links may not work, depending on your location but I’ve kept them anyway, so at least the reader has some idea of the scale of censorship now operating in the ‘democratic’ West.
Hoisted by their own Petard: Wimbledon’s Russian Player Ban
Binoy Kampmark
It was, all and all, an odd spectacle. The Ladies’ Singles victor for Wimbledon 2022 had all the credentials that would have otherwise guaranteed her barring. Being Russian-born, news outlets in Britain walked gingerly around The All England Club’s decision to ban Russian players yet permit Elena Rybakina to play. Sky News noted that, “Moscow-born Elena Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, has won the Wimbledon women’s singles title in a year that Russians are banned from the tournament.”
Capitalist realism, the belief that capitalism is the only system humanity is capable of functioning within for the foreseeable future, follows a circular reasoning. Because the people are conditioned to believe there’s no alternative to capitalism, they don’t take action to end capitalism. And the existing social order is allowed to continue ravaging the globe with impunity, its supporting ideology unable to see beyond this artificially constructed framework. It’s assumed that the rule of the bourgeoisie is an immutable fixture of life, and that the idea of ending their rule is as impractical as the idea of eliminating modern technology.
Introspective on Clausewitz by Bernhard and Other Business
Bernhard of MoA did a good write-up on Clausewitz and Kool Aid where he absolutely justifiably points out… well, the Kool Aid many of those military “experts” in the West are drinking.
Le Pen blasts reverse effect of anti-Russia sanctions
The EU’s punitive measures ‘sanctioned the French more than they sanctioned Russia,’ she told French media
Russian economy more resilient than expected – Bloomberg
The EU imposed a raft of new sanctions after Russia attacked Ukraine in late February, following the nation’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.
Only news & views related to the Ukraine conflict … The current open thread for other issues is here.
Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers – Part 4L. Without substance or proof, shallow US journalism condemns Putin’s alleged goals False Bias #12. Putin Bemoans the Fall of the Soviet Union Because He Is a Creep Who Loves Power, Status, Gulags, and Empires. In her article in The Atlantic, “Who Is Vladimir Putin’s Revisionist History For?”[Read More…]
Nuclear Russian Roulette in Ukraine
NATO is a beaten docket, whose race has run and whose chips have all been lost, Declan Hayes writes.
Biden attempts to justify Saudi Arabia trip
Riyadh can help the US to counter Russia and China as well as to mitigate the impact of the energy crisis, he wrote in an op-ed
US President Joe Biden has defended his plan to visit Saudi Arabia by saying engagement with Riyadh is paramount for countering “Russia’s aggression,” achieving “greater stability” in the Middle East, and ensuring Washington’s ability to “outcompete China.”
Reality trumps principles as Biden plans a meeting with the Saudi crown prince
Biden also stressed that “violent extremism” is less likely to rise in a region “that’s coming together through diplomacy and cooperation.”
Admitting that his visit is seen by many as controversial, Biden said his administration had reversed “the blank-check policy” towards Riyadh by releasing the intelligence report on the murder of a Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 in Turkey (which deemed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for ordering the killing) and imposing new sanctions on the state. Riyadh claimed its security agents “went rogue” in Istanbul.
EU to build new top-secret bunker – media
Leaders’ phones, watches and hearing aids will be banned from the supposedly spy-proof dugout
The European Union is spending €8 million ($8.1 million) to build a secure bunker in Brussels where leaders can meet in secrecy, EU Observer reported on Friday. The chamber will be insulated against electronic interference, and all gadgets will be banned from entering, with the
news site claiming that such measures are necessary against “Russian or other eavesdroppers.”
US Homeland Security officers face ‘Chinese spying’ charges
According to the supposed EU memo, the facility will be swept “before and after the meetings to detect, locate and neutralize any eavesdropping device,” and anyone entering will be required to leave phones, laptops, smart watches, electronic key fobs and hearing aids in soundproof lockers outside.
Ukraine News Links 8-9 July 2022
Saturday, 9 July 2022 — The New Dark Age There may be some duplication due to cross-posting and may be updated throughout the day, so please check back. If it gets updated, I usually insert the time on the line above. A lot of cross-posting usually indicates that the article is popular and some links …
Ukraine dismisses controversial ambassador
Kiev has sacked its envoy to Germany, who’s been entangled in multiple scandals over the past few months
Ukrainian envoy likens Nazi collaborator to Robin Hood
“Andrey Melnik is very much appreciated in Kiev for his work,” an unnamed Ukrainian government official told the paper.
Ukrainian ambassador ‘regrets’ insulting German chancellor
Back in May, Melnik insulted Chancellor Scholz –calling him an “offended liverwurst” – over his refusal to pay a visit to Kiev. Scholz’s move was prompted by Kiev’s refusal to receive German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in mid-April, over his allegedly too close ties with Russia.
China warns US about ‘smears’ and ‘attacks’
During a meeting of top-level diplomats, Washington once again tried to press Beijing into backing its anti-Russia position
NATO a threat to world peace – China
Furthermore, the US should “stop smearing and attacking China’s political system and domestic and foreign policies,” Wang said in a statement that could refer to multiple lines of attack from the US, including allegations of human rights abuses and the FBI’s recent cybercrime warning.
West chasing ‘imagined enemies’ – Beijing
Blinken also accused China of “amplifying Russian propaganda,” likely a reference to China’s vocal condemnation of US foreign policy and the multiple conflicts it has started since the end of the Cold War.
Training for thousands of Ukrainian soldiers begins in UK
The first group out of what will become nearly 10,000 service members has been welcomed by UK Secretary of Defence Ben Wallace
Pentagon plans ‘years’ of military aid to Ukraine
Approximately 1,050 British personnel will be conducting the training at a number of undisclosed locations across the UK, with each course lasting several weeks.
The ´Rape Russia´ plan backfires
By Jorge Vilches for the Saker Blog The war in the Ukraine will be short, not long. Contrary to what today´s Western casino politicians and MSM talking heads tell us
Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers – Part 4K. US “experts” display skills in creative fiction, but they fail in history, research, reading comprehension, and truth False Bias #11: Putin Is a Deluded Man Seeking Empire Whose Interest in History Reveals His Ignorance, Backward Views, and Crazed Longing for a Mythological Past. We’ve been talking about…
Snubbed president got tough with Zelensky – Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel has claimed Frank-Walter Steinmeier demanded an explanation from Volodymyr Zelensky after his visit had been axed
Germany refuses to ‘plunder’ army for Ukraine
However, according to Der Spiegel, the German president would not be placated by the offer, insisting that before agreeing any future events, the past grievances should be put to rest first.
Kiev comments on US congresswoman’s allegations
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has responded to Victoria Spartz, who claimed Zelensky’s chief of staff “raises many concerns”
Russia warns West about fate of weapons sent to Ukraine
On July 8, in an interview with Fox News, Spartz called on Congress to establish “proper oversight” of billions of dollars in assistance provided to Ukraine. Just a few days prior to that, the Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that “some of the foreign weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine are spreading throughout the Middle East region, and also end up on the black market.”
Western arms supplied to Ukraine offered on darknet – RT investigation
Tatarov became deputy chief of staff in August 2020. His appointment caused outrage for several reasons, including his alleged ties with Russia. The public organization ‘Family of the Heavenly Hundred’, which represented relatives of those killed during the Western-backed Euromaidan protests of 2013-2014, accused the former deputy head of the Interior Ministry’s investigation department of justifying and covering up “mass crimes and violations of human rights.”
Germany plans winter ‘warm-up spaces’ in case of gas shortage
The measure being considered by a number of German cities is aimed at those struggling to afford high heating costs, media report
Gas shortages could see German schools shut – official
“We are currently preparing for all emergency scenarios for autumn and winter,” the mayor told Bild. The measure comes as the Cities and Municipalities Association calls for similar practices to be adopted by cities all over Germany.
Russia can guarantee EU energy security – Moscow
The city of Dusseldorf plans to reduce heating temperatures for autumn and winter to save energy, Bild reported. The use of air conditioning in summer is to be reduced as well, it added.
The New Dark Age 