Three people were reported killed when a Russian drone hit an apartment block in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone crashed into an apartment building in St. Petersburg this morning, wounding six people.
In other news, the Church of England has posted a job listing for an anti-racism official whose mission will be “deconstructing whiteness”.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, Insubria, JW, LP, McN, MM, Reader from Chicago, Roger, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Aggressive Climate Activist Confronts Sen Joe Manchin, Regrets It
Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) didn’t respond kindly when he was confronted by an aggressive climate activist in Massachusetts.
On Friday, Manchin was visiting the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge.
A video shared online shows an activist representing the “climate change” group Climate Defiance suddenly approached Manchin who was sitting down during the round-table discussion.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrats Panic as Supreme Court Dashes Hopes of Trump’s Jan 6 Trial Before November
Democrats are now facing the reality that their politically motivated case targetting President Donald Trump over Jan. 6 will not make it to trial before the critical November election.
Trump was given his biggest legal victory so far when the United States Supreme Court decided to take up his immunity case this week.
Just by agreeing to review the matter, the court has dramatically lowered the odds that Trump will face trial before the 2024 election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fentanyl is a “Chinese operation much more than it is a Mexican drug cartel operation,” Peter Schweizer, author of Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans, said during an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday.
Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) and senior contributor at Breitbart News, explained how the Chinese are using fentanyl as a weapon against the United States.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Family Court Jurist Who Messaged Plaintiff Mom on Swingers App Reassigned
The Bronx Family Court judge who messaged a plaintiff on a swingers dating app has been reassigned, The Post has learned.
Judge Cynthia Lopez was quietly reshuffled from the child protective division to the juvenile delinquency division, just two weeks after The Post exposed her apparent come-on to a woman whose custody case she was adjudicating.
“She was reassigned,” a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fired COVID Nurse Goes Public, Exposes Mass Vaccine Deaths
After she was fired for refusing to comply with her hospital’s vaccine mandate, a California nurse has gone public to blow the whistle on a major cover-up of deaths related to Covid mRNA shots.
Gail Macrae, a California intensive care unit (ICU) nurse, is speaking out to raise the alarm that the public is being misled about the injections and the true number of Covid patients.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Grand Jury Testimony From 2006 Jeffrey Epstein Case May be Released Because of New Florida Law
Grand jury testimony about the late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein may be released thanks to a new Florida law that clears the way for the release of the long-sealed documents.
Epstein, who committed suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in Aug. 2019, was first investigated by Palm Beach police in 2006 for abusing teenage girls at his mansion in the South Florida city, which led to a grand jury investigation.
A controversial deal greenlit by prosecutors in 2007 allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges and pled guilty only to two state prostitution charges, including procuring a minor for sex.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An inert grenade was discovered in the back seat of an Uber in Times Square Saturday — which the NYPD bomb squad struggled to reach due to anti-Israel protesters blocking traffic, The Post has learned.
Several protesters marching up to Times Square as part of the Millions March for Palestine were arrested for blocking the way of the police vehicle as it responded to the scene, police and sources said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hero Who Rescued Truck Driver Dangling From Kentucky Bridge Identified
The hero who bravely rescued a semi-truck driver who was left dangling from the Clark Memorial Bridge in Kentucky has been identified by authorities.
During the harrowing rescue mission, a firefighter could be seen rappling to the truck’s cab to pull the female driver out to safety.
The shocking incident took place on the massive bridge crossing the Ohio River between Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Attorneys who successfully argued that Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package was excessive are demanding a Delaware judge award them nearly $6 billion.
If granted, the legal eagles’ jaw-dropping payday — which they are asking to be paid in the electric car-maker’s stock — would shatter previous records for attorneys fees.
“We recognize that the requested fee is unprecedented in terms of absolute size,” the three law firms said in a filing in Delaware’s Court of Chancery requesting the fee.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Leftist Utah Art Teacher Charged With Sexual Abuse of 12-Year-Old Female Student
On Friday, Grand County School District, Utah, art teacher Robert Bruce Hucko, 70, was formally charged with a second-degree felony of sexual assault for allegedly inappropriately touching a 12-year-old girl in August. He frequently made left-wing posts online.
Court documents obtained by KSL state that on August 1, 2023, “Hucko entered [the 12-year-old’s] home while her parents were not present and remained there.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Massive Weekend Blizzard Pummels West Coast, Bringing Up to 10 Feet of Snow
Up to 100 inches of snow will bury parts of the Sierra Nevada this weekend as a massive blizzard pummels the West Coast with no signs of letting up until Monday.
Widespread travel shutdowns were in place in California and Nevada amid life-threatening conditions as fast-falling snow and hurricane-force winds reaching nearly 200 mph rocked high elevations.
Lake Tahoe’s Palisades Ski Resort recorded several wind gusts over 150 mph as the storm struck on Friday, including one measurement of 190 mph.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More Evidence Emerges of Congress Members Engaging in Insider Trading
Fresh evidence has emerged that shows members of Congress have continued to engage in insider trading — a practice that would land members of the public in jail.
Business Insider reports that new evidence has been found supporting the allegation that Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other members of Congress are engaged in insider trading.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Oregon Lawmakers Pass Bill to Recriminalize Drug Possession
A bill recriminalizing the possession of small amounts of drugs was passed by the Oregon Legislature on Friday, undoing a key part of the state’s first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law as governments struggle to respond to the deadliest overdose crisis in US history.
The state Senate approved House Bill 4002 in a 21-8 vote after the House passed it 51-7 on Thursday.
The bill now heads to the desk of Gov. Tina Kotek, who said in January that she is open to signing a bill that would roll back decriminalization, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Protest Halts Traffic on Ben Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A protest at the base of the Ben Franklin Bridge briefly halted traffic Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.
The rally started at City Hall, moved to the bridge, and then circled back to the city’s Old City neighborhood.
Protesters in support of Palestinians were demanding an end to all U.S. aid to Israel and an immediate ceasefire.
Multiple Philadelphia-based organizations attended the demonstration to show support.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The devasting impact of the Texas wildfires is beginning to emerge as the cattle industry braces for historic losses.
One of several wildfires raging in the Texas Panhandle has now grown to become the largest in state history.
The Smokehouse Creek fire has been burning since Monday and has so far destroyed over one million acres of land in Texas alone.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Triggered Mayor of Richmond, Virginia Says Trump ‘Not Welcome’ in Town Ahead of Rally
Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond, Virginia posted a clip online of him telling former President Donald Trump that he is “not welcome” to the city ahead of Trump’s campaign stop in the area even though he touted the city as being “more welcoming.”
The mayor was ticked off that Trump would be coming to the town for a stop and decided to oppose it publicly ahead of the rally.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Calls Out DA Fani Willis for Her ‘Sexcapades’ With One-Time Beau Nathan Wade
Former President Donald Trump called out embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Saturday, accusing her of lying about the money involved in what he described as her “sexcapades” with her one-time boyfriend and special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
“Where did Fani get all that cash?” Trump wondered on his Truth Social.
Willis and Wade, who were set to prosecute Trump’s alleged election interference case in Georgia, have been the subject of hearings before Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee involving their clandestine relationship and whether it posed a conflict of interest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Scores Saturday GOP Caucus Trifecta, With Victory in Idaho After Michigan, Missouri Wins
Former President Donald Trump racked up a hat trick of Republican caucus wins, as he was declared the winner in the Idaho caucus Saturday night after winning similar victories in Michigan and Missouri earlier in the day.
The wins brough Trump one step closer to sweeping the map and securing the 2024 GOP nomination over his sole remaining challenger Nikki Haley — who has vowed to stay in at least through next week’s 15 Super Tuesday contests.
Trump has defeated Haley in every single primary and caucus thus far, with Haley failing to even get within single digits of her rival. After his wins he took a shot a the person who would likely be his general election foe, President Joe Biden.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Would Beat Biden Handily if Election Were Held Today According to Latest Poll
Former President Trump would handily win the presidential election if it were held today — thanks in part to a stunning boost in support from black and Hispanic voters, according to a new poll.
The survey from New York Times and Siena College found the former president beating Biden by 5 points — with Biden getting the support of just 43% of the electorate compared to Trump’s 48%. A further 10% said they didn’t know or declined to answer.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Washington Post Reporter Says Shoplifting Not a Big Deal Because US Built on ‘Stolen Land’
A new Washington Post report suggested that the crime problem in major American cities has grown into a “moral panic.”
Post culture reporter Maura Judkis authored the piece in the paper’s Style section on Friday, with the headline “The zombie CVS, a late-capitalism horror story.”
In it, Judkis noted how a Columbia Heights, D.C. CVS had been looted and shoplifted from so much that there was hardly anything of value on store shelves until it was shut down this week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canada is Ready to Send Military Personnel to Ukraine for Training, But Not for Combat Operations
The Ministry of National Defence of Canada has announced its readiness to send military personnel to Ukraine, but not for participation in military operations.
The head of the department, Bill Blair, said in an interview with the Toronto Star that a limited contingent of Canadians could train Ukrainian soldiers in Ukraine away from the front line.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Justice Minister Defends House Arrest Power for People Feared to Commit a Hate Crime in Future
Justice Minister Arif Virani has defended a new power in the online harms bill to impose house arrest on someone who is feared to commit a hate crime in the future — even if they have not yet done so already.
The person could be made to wear an electronic tag, if the attorney-general requests it, or ordered by a judge to remain at home, the bill says.
Mr. Virani, who is Attorney-General as well as Justice Minister, said it is important that any peace bond be “calibrated carefully,” saying it would have to meet a high threshold to apply.
But he said the new power, which would require the attorney-general’s approval as well as a judge’s, could prove “very, very important” to restrain the behaviour of someone with a track record of hateful behaviour who may be targeting certain people or groups.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Saskatchewan Will No Longer Send Carbon Tax Funds to Ottawa
The Saskatchewan government has officially refused to send Ottawa federal carbon levy funds from natural gas after promising taxpayers relief.
SaskEnergy Minister Dustin Duncan said on a video posted to X by Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe that he was standing in Ottawa, where 40 years ago, Pierre Trudeau took a walk in the snow and decided to resign as Prime Minister.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Rules Police Must Obtain Warrant to Acquire IP Addresses
Police will now be required to get a court order or a warrant to obtain the IP address of computers belonging to individuals or organizations, following a Supreme Court of Canada ruling on Friday.
The issue at hand was whether or not an IP address alone, without that attached personal information, was protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms privacy expectations.
The court ruled that it was a reasonable expectation of privacy that a person’s IP address should require a warrant prior to a search, in a five-four split decision.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two BC Libraries Ban the Book “Grave Error”
At least two libraries in BC have refused patron requests to purchase the bestselling book “Grave Error: How the Media Misled Us (And the Truth About Residential Schools),” written by C.P. Champion and Tom Flanagan.
Published by True North and Dorchester Books in early December 2023 and sold exclusively on Amazon, the book moved approximately 500 copies on its release date, and nearly 2,000 copies in the first week alone. It is currently the #1 Amazon.ca bestseller in Canadian Literature.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Analysis Reveals Disparities in Middle-Class Tax Burden Across Europe
A recent examination of middle-class taxation across Europe highlights significant variations in the tax burden faced by different income segments, Euronews writes.
While the middle class in some countries enjoys considerable purchasing power, others struggle with economic challenges exacerbated by high tax rates.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cardinals Slam Pope Francis for ‘Vindictive’ Governance
ROME — An unnamed cardinal, after consulting a number of other prelates and summarizing their reflections, has published a sharp critique of the Francis pontificate and a proposal for moving forward.
The 1400-word text, published this week by the Catholic news site The Daily Compass under the title “A profile of the next Pope,” expresses deep concern over the fallout from the nearly 11-year pontificate of Pope Francis.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Finance Ministry Wants to Monitor All Digital Currency Transactions
The Ministry of Finance is advocating for comprehensive monitoring of all transactions involving digital currencies, aiming to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
They propose the introduction of a new law to achieve this objective, emphasizing the need for stringent oversight from the initiation of transactions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Left-Wing Extremists Target AfD Politician’s Mother in Arson Attack
An arson attack, allegedly carried out by left-wing extremists, targeted the car of a Leipzig AfD politician’s mother.
The victim, Marius Beyer, an AfD city councilor, and his family fell prey once again to left-wing extremist violence, Junge Freiheit reported. Last May, unidentified individuals slashed the tires of two family cars and spray-painted “Beyer, Nazi pig. Get out of Stötteritz! Refugees Welcome! 161” on a wall. Earlier, Beyer himself had been assaulted by unknown assailants.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungarian PM Calls for Peaceful Negotiations Between Russia and Ukraine
Victor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, has issued a call for immediate commencement of peaceful negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. He made this statement, emphasizing that European taxpayers can no longer sustain the financing of Ukraine.
Orban noted that time is ticking in the current situation in Ukraine, favoring Russia, and stressed the necessity of swift negotiations. He warned that the European public will soon start questioning why their money is being directed towards a war that is not promised to be won.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In the Netherlands, More and More People Feel Unsafe
Safety concerns have risen in the Netherlands compared to two years ago, with an increase in the number of individuals feeling unsafe, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
In 2023, 35 percent of Dutch residents reported a general sense of insecurity, while 15 percent felt unsafe in their neighborhoods, compared to 33 percent and 13.9 percent respectively in 2021, as reported by NL Times. Flevoland experienced the highest surge in insecurity, rising from 14 percent in 2021 to 17.5 percent in the past year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Over ex diplomat claim Shoah survivor only cares abt Jewish kids
Life Senator (post-communist pro-Soviet Union) and Holocaust survivor Liliana Segre said Thursday she was suing ex diplomat (woke far-left leaning) Elena Basile over her assertion that the Shoah victim only cared about Jewish children in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A lawyer for the 93-year-old Segre, Vincenzo Saponara filed Segre’s lawsuit against Basile, who in a video on social media had accused the life senator of only being concerned about the lives of Jewish children after the October 7 Hamas attacks that killed 1,200 people including minors and the Israeli response that has so far killed, according to Hamas, over 30,000 people in Gaza including many children.
In addition to criminal proceedings, Segre will also take legal action in civil court.
For this reason, she has instructed another lawyer, Daniela De Pasquale, of the Ughi and Nunziante law firm in Milan, to take all the appropriate initiatives in civil court to have the allegedly defamatory messages removed and to obtain compensation for the damage caused, with compensation going to charity.
In the video posted on February 6, Basile, 64, says Segre is “tormented only by the thought of Jewish children”, adding “the Germans too were very nice to Nazi children, do you want to imitate them?” in response, Basile said that “I am sorry because the Senator with her name and determination could contribute to the common good and to opposing double standards.
“Complaints and lawsuits fuel the climate of hatred and anti-Semitism”, said the former diplomat.
Basile, former ambassador to Belgium and Sweden, appears regularly on Italian TV where she is known for her controversial positions advocating the end of the Ukraine war without total victory for Kyiv.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Three-Term Ban a Limitation of Democracy — Salvini
‘Citizens must be the ones to decide’
Deputy Premier and Transport Minister on Friday reiterated his position in favour of lifting the existing ban on regional governors serving three consecutive terms in office, saying it is a limitation of democracy.
“If citizens find themselves good mayors or governors, they should be free to reelect them or to send them home, they are the ones to decide,” said Salvini, whose right-wing League party was behind a recent failed attempt at committee stage to change the rules on standing for election in a bill currently before parliament.
“In my opinion, the same applies as for parliamentarians: there is no limit,” he continued.
“Some (lawmakers) have been doing it for 40 years and people vote for them,” he added, concluding: “If we are the only ones who think this way and all the other parties are against it, I take note, but it would be a limitation of choice and of democracy for citizens”.
Last week the Senate Constitutional Affairs Committee rejected an amendment presented by the League removing the existing two-mandate limit to allow governors to serve three consecutive terms in office.
Representatives of Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy (FDI) party — the main party in the right-centre majority — and of the League’s other majority coalition partner Forza Italia voted against, together with the main opposition groups, the Democratic Party (Pd) and the Five Star Movement (M5S).
Salvini afterwards played down the rejection, insisting that in parliament the assembly, not the committee, is sovereign.
Meloni is said to be against dropping the two-term limit because she wants more regions to be in the hands of representatives of her FdI in order to reflect the fact that the party is now the driving force of the majority alliance.
Under the existing rules, several regional governors including the League’s highly popular Veneto Governor Luca Zaia face having to step down at the next regional elections — in Zaia’s case, in 2025.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Macron Calls for Summit With French Party Leaders on Ukraine Crisis
Macron wants to convene leaders of all parties in the French parliament to discuss the war in Ukraine, Le Figaro reports.
The publication writes that the President of France, “isolated among Western countries after statements about the potential deployment of ground troops to Ukraine,” wants to raise this issue at a meeting with leaders of French parties.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nearly One Person Attacked Every Minute in Multicultural France
A recent report from the ministerial statistical service for internal security highlights a concerning trend in France: in 2023, police and gendarmerie services recorded a staggering 444,700 victims of physical violence. This marks a significant 60% increase over the past eight years.
Contrary to claims that violence is merely a perception, the stark reality is evident in both news reports and official figures. The report underscores the severity of the situation, revealing that almost one person fell victim to physical violence every minute in France last year, French media reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Wilders Warns Against Left-Wing Cabinet, Urges VVD and NSC to Act
Wilders stresses the PVV’s readiness to compromise, stating, “We have made significant concessions repeatedly.”
He warns the VVD and NSC that failure to collaborate on a right-wing government could indirectly lead to a cabinet led by Frans Timmermans.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Thierry Baudet, leader of Forum for Democracy, challenges the emphasis on health in politics, questioning the preservation of individual freedom during a House of Representatives debate.
Baudet expresses concern over the government’s inclination to regulate various aspects of life, fearing the erosion of personal choice.
He raises poignant questions about the government’s role in dictating lifestyle choices, highlighting the potential consequences of excessive regulation on personal autonomy. Baudet envisions a future where the government dictates not only health but also personal decisions such as relationships and career choices, warning against the encroachment of technocracy on individual freedoms.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish Firearm Permits Reach Record High in 2023
The number of legal pistols and rifles in the hands of Poles has already exceeded 800 thousand, and in 2023, the number of issued firearm permits reached a record level, according to Rzeczpospolita.
Member of Parliament Jaroslaw Sachajko from Kukiz’15 admits to personally acquiring firearms, justifying it with concern for the safety of his family.
The latest statistics from the Police Headquarters confirm this trend, showing an increase in the number of new firearm permits in 2023 to 40.9 thousand, representing a rise compared to the previous year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Saxony-Anhalt’s AfD Calls for Depoliticizing the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Saxony-Anhalt’s AfD is pushing for significant changes to the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, advocating for its transformation into a State Secret Service.
Their proposal aims to eliminate constitutional protection reports and refocus the agency’s efforts on combating espionage and terrorism, while adhering to objective criteria.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The EU Has Unlocked an Additional 2 Billion Euros of Frozen Funds for Hungary
Hungary has managed to unlock around two billion euros of European Union funds after Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government met the European Commission’s requirements regarding education and gender equality. This information was confirmed on March 1 by a representative of the European Commission, Stefan de Kersmacker, as cited by Bloomberg.
According to de Kersmacker, the European Commission unlocked the latest tranche after Hungary fulfilled the so-called thematic conditions related to education and gender equality.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
— He tells the Mail: It would never happen in Britain!
Imam Mahjoub Mahjoubi found himself confronted by 15 plain-clothes police officers. They had emerged from a convoy of cars and descended without warning on his home in Bagnols-sur-Ceze
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Threats of Extremism and Terrorism in Belgium Increased by 41% in 2023
Terrorism and extremism threats in Belgium surged by 41% in 2023, according to the latest report from Belgium’s Threat Assessment Body (OCAD), as reported by the Brussels Times. The heightened threat level, particularly in Brussels, comes in the wake of several significant events, including a terror attack in October.
OCAD reported receiving 332 reports on terrorism or extremism in 2023, compared to 236 threats in the previous year. The increase was attributed to “major emotional trigger events,” such as the Israeli bombing of Gaza and the October terror attack in Brussels, where two Swedish football fans were fatally shot.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Two Women Shot by Gun Dropped During Moped Pursuit
Two women were injured after a dropped shotgun fired during a police pursuit of a moped.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were pursuing two people who failed to stop in Clapham at 16:55 GMT on Friday.
The moped also collided with a member of the public and crashed a short while later, the force said.
All three people have been released from hospital as police hunt the suspects whose “reckless actions” led to the gunshots.
The Met said that they had established that the shotgun went off as it struck the ground, having been dropped while the suspects fled on foot.
Two women, aged 27 and 36, who sustained shotgun pellet injuries, were not deliberately targeted, police said.
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Says Israel Has Agreed to the Framework for a Gaza Cease-Fire. Hamas Now Must Decide
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has essentially endorsed a framework of a proposed Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal, and it is now up to Hamas to agree to it, a senior U.S. administration official said Saturday.
The Israelis “have more or less accepted” the proposal, which includes the six-week cease-fire in Gaza as well as the release by Hamas of hostages considered to be vulnerable, which includes the sick, the wounded, the elderly and women, said the official.
“The Israelis have basically signed on to the elements of the arrangement,” the official said. “Right now, the ball is in the court of Hamas and we are continuing to push this as hard as we possibly can.”
The official briefed reporters on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing cease-fire talks.
| — Hat tip: McN | [Return to headlines] |
US Airdrops Food Into Gaza in Move Criticised by Aid Groups
US plan has been criticised as inefficient while Israel continues blocking most aid trucks from entering Gaza by land.
United States military cargo planes have air-dropped food into Gaza, in the first of series of aid drops as humanitarian groups criticise Israel for blocking access to the besieged and bombarded strip.
The US, together with Jordan’s air force, “conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Gaza … to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict”, US Central Command said in a statement on Saturday.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Drone Crash Damages an Apartment Building in St Petersburg, Russia State Media Says
MOSCOW (AP) — A drone crashed into an apartment building in St. Petersburg Saturday morning, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Six people received medical help after the explosion rocked the building, the agency said, citing the press service of the city’s health care committee.
The Mash news site said that the apartment building was hit by a Ukrainian drone. The Associated Press could not verify this claim.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Russia ‘Massing Forces for Breakthrough Attempt’
Russia is massing its forces around Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine as it seeks to make a breakthrough in the Donetsk region, according to Kyiv.
Russian forces appear to be making a push on the strategic city, which lies several miles to the west of Bakhmut, which fell to Moscow last May, said Illia Yevlash, a Ukrainian spokesperson for the operational group overseeing the eastern frontline.
Mr Yevlash added that the Kremlin is hoping to advance towards Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
It comes as Russia has seized the momentum in the two-year war and is slowly pushing Ukraine back as Kyiv struggles with supplying arms and soldiers. In recent weeks, the towns of Avdiivka and Petrovske have been captured, along with the villages of Stepove and Sieverne.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Launches Drone Strikes on Ukrainian Port City of Odesa, Kills at Least Three
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Three people were killed when a Russian drone hit an apartment block in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa overnight, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said Saturday.
A further eight people sustained injuries, authorities said.
Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported that the Odesa region was attacked by eight drones, of which seven were shot down by air defenses.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Grounds A-50s After Ukraine Attacks: U.K.
Russia has grounded it’s a-50 early warning and control planes after losing two of the valuable aircraft within a few weeks, British defense officials have said.
Reports that Russian forces have the upper hand on the battlefield in Ukraine, following their capture of Avdiivka in Donetsk oblast, have not been matched by positive assessments of Moscow’s air power following a string of reported losses.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Seven Killed in Russian Drone Attack on Odesa Apartment Block
Separate attacks killed an additional three people in Ukraine as Zelenskyy urges the West to deliver more air defences.
A Russian drone attack on an apartment block in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa has killed at least seven people, including a three-year-old and a woman with an infant child, regional authorities said.
“Rescuers in Odesa have just uncovered the bodies of a mother with a three-month-old baby,” Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a post on the Telegram app on Saturday.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Police raided locations in Vienna in response to suspicion of several serial rapes which include dozens of cell phone videos. The victim: an innocent 12-year-old girl. The perpetrators: some of them children between the ages of 13 and 18.
The current investigation into suspected serious sexual abuse of minors is one of the most shocking sexual offense cases in recent criminal history. The focus is on the destroyed childhood of a 12-year-old girl from Vienna.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Brit Jailed for Two Years for Posting Anti-Immigration Stickers Online
A British right-wing activist has been sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of inciting racial hatred for sharing stickers online that warn about the consequences of mass immigration.
Sam Melia, 34, was convicted at Leeds Crown Court on Jan. 24 for distributing printable stickers via a Telegram channel with the intent of stirring up racial hatred.
A regional organizer for the right-wing organization Patriotic Alternative, the young father set up a group called the Hundred-Handers on the encrypted messaging app. He amassed 3,500 subscribers to whom he offered ways to download the stickers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czech Ministry Prepares Conditions for For Long-Term Residency of Refugees
Many Ukrainian refugees want to stay in the Czech Republic, so the Ministry is working on conditions for their permanent residency. Minister Vit Rakusan emphasized social self-sufficiency as a key factor and plans to discuss the conditions with opposition groups.
With approximately 180,000 refugees expressing interest in staying, the Ministry is addressing the issue against the backdrop of over 385,000 Ukrainian refugees already in the country as of February 25, with over 117,000 of them employed by the end of January, according to the Labor Bureau. The path to long-term residency for refugees involves several potential avenues, currently under discussion.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Eritrean Migrant Slapped With 3-Year Prison Sentence for Rioting in Stuttgart
An Eritrean migrant has been handed a 3-year, 9-month prison sentence in Germany for his involvement in the riots that erupted in Stuttgart last September.
The unrest saw clashes between supporters of the Eritrean regime and local police, with asylum seekers from the East African nation reportedly taking part in the violence.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Europe will be flooded by ‘10 million migrants’ if Vladimir Putin wins his war in Ukraine, France’s foreign minister has warned.
Stéphane Séjourné said that the country’s collapse could see a wave of Ukrainian refugees flee across the continent after being displaced from their homes.
Speaking on France Inter radio on Friday, the Foreign Minister also signaled that Putin’s war against the West would not stop in Ukraine, adding that the French Government ‘have information’ to suggest Moldova could be his next target.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ex-Border Patrol Chief Ortiz Reveals He ‘Never Once Met With’ Biden or Harris During Two-Year Tenure
Former U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz has lifted the lid on the true extent that Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration has been ignoring the mounting crisis at the Southern Border.
On Thursday, Biden paid a visit to the nation’s border near Brownsville, Texas.
However, the trip was almost certainly hastily planned in reaction to President Donald Trump’s planned visit to a separate, more consequential section of the U.S. border with Mexico in a different part of Texas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungarian State Secretary Warns of Irreversible Consequences in EU Migration Policy
The Hungarian State Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office has cautioned about potential irreversible outcomes if the European Union’s migration policy remains unchanged, as reported by Hungary Today. Csaba Dömötör emphasized the importance of informing citizens of other nations about the events at Hungary’s southern borders.
He highlighted instances of migrant violence towards police and the high number of attempted illegal border crossings. Dömötör criticized Brussels for not providing financial support for border fencing while Hungary upholds EU border security. He expressed concern over the proposed migration package, which could enforce migrant distribution in Europe before asylum procedures conclude.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ICE Detains 6 Fugitives in Utah Vacation Town, 3 With Illegal Immigrant Status
MOAB, Utah — US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) enforcement operations have arrested 6 fugitives, at least three of which are illegal immigrants.
According to a press release from the ICE newsroom, the six fugitives were arrested in the vacation town of Moab, Utah earlier in February.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jihad in an Austrian Sex Studio: Afghan Stabs 96 Times
The incident sent shockwaves across Austria, garnering global media attention. More unsettling details have surfaced about the motives of the Afghan man who confessed to the brutal killing of three prostitutes in Vienna.
Claiming to have found justification in the Quran, he embarked on a spree of violence, stabbing his victims a staggering 96 times, nearly decapitating two of them, reports eXXpress.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Murdered Georgia nursing student Laken Riley might still be alive if it wasn’t for sanctuary city policies pushed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio and left-wing extremists on the City Council — who have “blood on their hands,” critics told The Post.
Nearly six months before the 22-year-old Riley was found dead Feb. 22 on the University of Georgia’s campus, her alleged killer Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was arrested in Queens on Aug. 31 and charged with endangering a child.
However, because of migrant-friendly changes made to the sanctuary city policy in both 2014 in 2017 by de Blasio and the Melissa Mark-Viverito-led City Council, the NYPD had no choice but to cut the Venezuelan-born Ibarra loose — instead of turning him over to federal immigration officials — because he didn’t have any major crime convictions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lenient NYC Judge Releases Unhinged Homeless Man Who Randomly Struck Woman in Head: Cops
A notoriously lenient city judge who recently sprung a Venezuelan migrant without bail after he stabbed a man in Times Square has struck again — releasing a vagrant who randomly bashed a woman in Union Square as she walked to work, cops said.
Jill Burke, 24, only learned her alleged attacker Eric Taylor was cut loose when she showed up to testify against him to a grand jury, The Post has learned.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New California Bill Would Make Illegal Immigrants Eligible for First Time Homebuyer Loans
Joaquin Arambula, a Democratic assemblyman from California, introduced Assembly Bill 1840 earlier this year, which could create an alternative way for illegal immigrants to achieve homeownership.
The bill is set to expand eligibility criteria for a state loan program to expand these loans to include undocumented migrants that are first-time buyers.
Arambula’s update to the bill states, “an applicant under the program shall not be disqualified solely based on the applicant’s immigration status.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ÖVP State Chairman on Gang Rape of 12-Year-Old: Vienna Can No Longer Look the Other Way
“Hardly a day goes by in Vienna without terrible news in the media. There must finally be an end to the city’s leaders turning a blind eye — things can’t go on like this anymore,” said the state party chairman of the Vienna People’s Party, city councilor Karl Mahrer.
His words come in response to a twelve-year-old girl who is to have been the victim of multiple gang rapes in Vienna. 17 young people are suspected—some of them underage and with a Syrian, Macedonian, and Turkish migration background.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Lifts Border Controls With Slovakia That Have Been in Place Since October
Poland’s Ministry of Interior has decided to lift the temporary border controls with Slovakia, which were introduced at the beginning of October, RMF24 reports.
The current control measures will be in place until midnight on March 2. The Ministry of Interior explained this decision by the stabilization of the migration situation on the so-called “Balkan route” and the disappearance of the threat of illegal migration at the Polish-Slovak section of the state border, the department clarified.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rally for Justice in Murder of Laken Riley Held by Georgia County Republican Party
On Saturday, demonstrators took to the parking lot of the Columbia County, Georgia, Republican Party headquarters to hold a rally seeking justice for slain nursing student Laken Riley.
In a post, Republican candidate for Georgia House District 125 and former PragerU personality CJ Pearson said, “Just a little over an hour away from my home, Laken Riley’s life was stolen from her by an illegal alien.” He added, “Today, we rallied to demand action that will ensure that what happened to Laken Riley NEVER happens again.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Sets ‘Seal the Border and Stop the Invasion’ as Top Priority in NC Rally
At a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, Saturday, former President Donald Trump vowed to “seal the border and stop the invasion of our country to our country” as a first priority in office.
In the statement, the former president said, “Among my first actions upon taking office would be to do a little thing that sort of sounds like common sense.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In response to a gang of migrants between the ages of 13 and 18 who are said to have repeatedly raped a 12-year-old girl over months, FPÖ city councilor Dominik Nepp has called for a reduction in the age of criminal responsibility.
17 migrants between the ages of 13 and 18 raped a 12-year-old girl together for months. They filmed and used it to blackmail their victim. The suspects are of Turkish and Bulgarian origin — they are presumed innocent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Department of Education to Probe Oklahoma School After Nex Benedict’s Death
US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) launched an investigation this week into the Owasso High School in Oklahoma after receiving a letter from the Human Rights Council (HRC) alleging the school “failed to respond appropriately to sex-based harassment,” in the wake of 16-year-old Nex Benedicts death.
In a letter to HRC, OCR acting regional director Karen E. Mines wrote the organization investigating “Whether the District failed to appropriately respond to alleged harassment of students in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title IX.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s efforts to embrace “woke” environmental, social and governance policies, commonly known as ESG, could “materially adversely” slam the investment titan’s core business, the investment giant admitted in a regulatory filing.
“Risk factors” for BlackRock’s stock price include the fact that “BlackRock’s business, scale and investments subject it to significant media coverage and increasing attention from a broad range of stakeholders,” the firm disclosed in its annual 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canadian Minors Get Testosterone After 10-Min Appointment in Quebec: Report
On Thursday, Radio-Canada revealed its investigation into the Quebec health system showed that a 14-year-old female would be able to get a prescription for testosterone in ten minutes.
The French news outlet posted the video on its website with the caption, “More and more teenage girls are choosing to change their gender around the world.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House Republicans Demand Google Reveal What Role US Government Had in Developing Woke Gemini AI
House Republicans are demanding documents from Google in an effort to learn what involvement the US government had in influencing the company’s woke artificial intelligence program, Gemini.
On Saturday, the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, insisting that all communications between the feds and Alphabet relating to Gemini be turned over to the committee by March 17.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Maine journalist Shawn McBreairty filed a lawsuit against the Brewer School Department and its superintendent in Maine after it attempted to silence him for reporting on the district allowing males to use the female restroom in schools.
According to McBreairty’s legal team at the Center for American Liberty, a group of students at the school drafted a petition that asked officials at Brewer High School to “change the policy and protect girls’ privacy.” It was having great success, but when the “radical Leftist school officials caught wind of the petition and immediately shut it down.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A video that has been described as “highly disturbing” shows students at Deer Creek High School in Edmond, Oklahoma sucking and kissing on people’s toes during a school fundraising event. The school has also defended the activity in a statement.
In the video, students are seen lying on their bellies while profusely licking and slobbering on the toes of people sitting down in front of them.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Francis: Gender Ideology is the ‘Worst Danger’ of Our Time
ROME — Pope Francis warned against the evil of “gender ideology” Friday and its tendency to obliterate the real differences between men and women.
“Today the worst danger is gender ideology, which cancels out differences,” the pontiff stated in off-the-cuff remarks before his opening address to participants in an international conference titled “Man-Woman Image of God” held in the Vatican’s synod hall.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Woke Church of England Posts Job for Anti-Racist Officer to ‘Deconstruct Whiteness’
The Church of England has sparked backlash after posting a job for an anti-racism official who will be tasked with the mission of “deconstructing whiteness”.
This week, the Church of England Dioceses in the West Midlands announced that it is looking for an “anti-racism practice officer” who will be paid £36,000 per year.
The posting stated that the position would entail identifying “internal and external resistance to addressing issues of anti-racism in a way that develops understandings of equality and positions everyone to take an equal role”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
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Sunday column:
Was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unprovoked?
Published on 3 March, 2024 by Karl-Olov Arnstberg
Jack Matlock Jr. was US ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991. Prior to that, he was senior director for European and Soviet affairs on Ronald Reagan’s National Security Council staff and from 1981-1983 was US Ambassador to Czechoslovakia. He is fluent not only in Russian but also in Ukrainian, Georgian and Czech. At the age of 83, he received a doctorate in Slavic languages from Columbia University.
This year Jack Matlock turns 95 and looks a little shaky but unlike Joe Biden, 13 years younger, he is crystal clear and still an active analyst of US foreign policy. I read with great pleasure a book he published in 2010: “Superpower Illusions: How myths and false ideologies led America astray-and how to return to reality.” That’s the basis for my column. It is not exactly flattering to American foreign policy. But it reinforces my view that the Russians can thank their lucky stars for the leadership of Vladimir Putin. His biggest mistake was believing for too long that the US could be trusted. He no longer does. As political scientist John Mearsheimer warns:
As I see it, the US is a ruthless superpower. The Russians should never have trusted the US. No country on this planet should trust the Americans /…/ Since Putin was not as tough as the Americans expected, they thought they could push him around.
The Clinton administration (1993-01) expanded NATO eastwards and bombed Serbia without bothering to get UN Security Council approval. Nevertheless, President-elect George W. Bush endeavoured to establish a personal relationship with Vladimir Putin. After their first meeting in June 2001, he said, according to the White House press release:
quote
I looked him in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We had a very good dialogue. I caught a glimpse of his soul; a man who is deeply committed to his country and its people. And I very much appreciated our sincere dialogue.
—
For this statement, Bush was ridiculed and claimed to be naïve. Most of the journalists and other critical commentators missed an important nuance, namely that when political leaders speak of a “sincere dialogue”, it means that they have had serious differences of opinion on several issues. In Bush’s case, it was about Russia’s lack of a free media and its war against the separatists in Chechnya (where, incidentally, al-Qaeda was active). For Putin, it was NATO expansion, US plans for an expanded missile defence system and US criticism of Russia’s internal policies.
Three months later, on 11 September 2001, these differences seemed to have disappeared. When the Twin Towers and the Pentagon were attacked, Mr Putin was the first foreign leader to call Mr Bush and offer his support in the fight against al-Qaeda terrorists. He saw the attack on the US as an opening to build a closer relationship with the US. Al-Qaeda was as much an enemy of Russia as of the United States. Putin was true to his word and cooperated with the US in hunting down the Taliban and Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, exchanging intelligence, allowing military overflights and not opposing temporary US bases in two of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, which were needed to support the US invasion of Afghanistan.
Putin even went further to signal that Russia was prepared to cooperate with the US. He closed the Russian naval base at Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam and the base in Cuba, which had been maintained throughout the 1990s. The US responded by expanding NATO eastwards to the three Baltic states, Slovakia and Slovenia, and then to Romania and Bulgaria. There were also plans to move the major US military bases in Germany to Romania and Bulgaria.
The US also withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM), which was the necessary cornerstone of the nuclear arms reduction agreements. This was despite the fact that Putin had offered to amend the treaty to allow the construction of such defences against rogue states. After leaving the ABM Treaty, the US began expanding its missile defences and planning to modernise its nuclear weapons and even develop some new ones. The Russians responded by also developing new improved nuclear weapons. Although the Bush administration agreed that strategic nuclear weapons should be further reduced, they refused to enter into an agreement with verification provisions. They also announced that some missiles taken out of active service – contrary to previous agreements – would not be destroyed, but kept in storage. They, or their parts, could be needed later.
continuation follows
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Part 2
The US also published a ublished a National Security Doctrine, which allowed the US military to invade any country deemed to be a potential threat to the country, and a Space Defence Doctrine, to reinforce US dominance in outer space. The US then invaded Iraq, despite Russian, French and German objections. They claimed that Iraq still had weapons of mass destruction. This was not true.
Putin reluctantly accepted all these US actions and provocations. Although he opposed the US invasion of Iraq, he did not try to rally other countries against it, as French President Jacques Chirac did. Recognising Russia’s weakness, Putin prioritised keeping the vast country together and safeguarding its economic recovery. His goal was that within a few decades Russia would catch up with European living standards and regain the regime’s ability to protect the country.
Successful integration into the globalised world economy would require, among other things, allowing Russia to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO). However, negotiations dragged on and the demands made by the US on Russia exceeded those made on China, which had become a member in 2001.
Back in time. In 1974, the US Congress had passed an amendment to the Trade Act, prohibiting normal trade relations with any ‘non-market economy country’ that restricted emigration. The aim was to force the Soviet Union to allow its Jewish citizens to leave the country if they so desired. As of 1990, the Soviet Union removed the barriers to emigration and Russia under Putin has never had any such restrictions. Nevertheless, this amendment is still in force, and as long as it is, Russia is not allowed to become a member of the WTO.
The rapid rise in energy prices that occurred shortly after Putin became president in 2000 enabled him to restore much of Russia’s economic influence, without waiting for WTO membership. Russia became the world’s second largest oil exporter and Europe’s top supplier of natural gas. Until the financial crisis of 2008, Russia had a very favourable currency balance, a budget surplus and an economy that grew at around 7% per year. Energy and other commodity exports enabled Putin to re-establish Russia as one of the world’s great powers.
The first public indication of Russia’s rise after the dissolution of the Soviet Union was when, at a conference in Munich in February 2007, Putin delivered a scathing critique of the “unipolar” behaviour of the United States. He accused the US of overstepping its national boundaries in every way and imposing its “economic, political, cultural and educational policies” on other nations. His words were particularly bitter when it came to NATO enlargement:
quote
I think it is obvious that NATO enlargement has no connection with the modernisation of the Alliance itself or with guaranteeing security in Europe. On the contrary, it constitutes a serious provocation that reduces mutual trust. /What happened to the promises made by our Western partners after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact? You broke them.
—
This time he was not quoting Secretary of State James Baker’s private pledge to President Mikhail Gorbachev and Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze, but a public statement by Manfred Wörner, when he was Secretary General of NATO. In a speech in Brussels in 1990, Wörner had said that “The fact that we will never place a NATO army outside German territory gives the Soviet Union a firm security guarantee.”
Putin also denounced US plans to deploy a missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic and warned that this could lead to a renewed arms race. He listed several other complaints about US and Western policies, including attempts to hide hostile actions under the guise of “promoting democracy”. However, Putin’s speech was not exclusively critical. He balanced his complaints with praise for cooperation with the US in such areas as nuclear fuel production and efforts to prevent further proliferation of nuclear weapons.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates responded to the harsh tone by remarking that Putin’s words reminded him of the Cold War, and that “one cold war is enough”. He promised to go to Moscow and explain that US policy was not directed against Russian interests. And so he did. And, according to international news agencies, President Bush clarified:
quote
The Cold War is over. Russia is not our enemy. We are working towards a new security relationship with Russia that is not based on the threat of mutual annihilation.
—
However, the policies that had provoked Mr Putin’s anger did not change. The problem with Russia was not a lack of communication, but the Bush administration’s refusal to take Russian interests and attitudes seriously.
land continued, and the US pressed its NATO allies to approve “action plans” to bring both Georgia and Ukraine into NATO. In April 2008, at the NATO summit in Bucharest, NATO leaders signalled that they welcomed Ukraine’s and Georgia’s “Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership”. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Russia would not accept NATO enlargement “without action”. Anyone who knows anything about great powers and security policy realised that this would lead to war.
By August that year, Putin had had enough and Russian forces invaded the Georgian Republic, occupying the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and officially recognising them as independent countries. They crushed the Georgian army, which had been trained and educated by the US. The Russian action was widely condemned as a direct aggression against a small democratic country. Questions were raised, especially in Europe and the US, as to whether Russia intended to take back parts of the former Soviet empire by force. However, this was not the case. After the blitzkrieg, Russia withdrew. The invasion was about stopping NATO’s expansion, nothing else. Here the US and NATO should have abandoned their ambitions to make Ukraine a NATO country. Ukraine is far more important than Georgia and now they knew that Russia would respond with an invasion. Instead, the US and NATO redoubled their efforts and promised Ukraine a NATO membership that the people had never asked for or sought. Above all, they wanted to be neutral, which is what Russia demanded.
The picture of the fighting between Georgia and Russia presented by the Western media was both distorted and incomplete. A closer look at the main causes of the growing tensions between the US and Russia reveals that each issue has deep, intertwined historical roots that are almost always ignored in media reporting. It is not possible to make an informed judgement on the intentions and capabilities of the Putin regime without understanding the background.
Note that this was written by a top US diplomat in a book published in 2010, four years before the Mayan coup. That the US plan was to use Ukraine, as a non-NATO member, to fight and weaken Russia was made perfectly clear by US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel: “We want to weaken Russia, and we do that by pumping in weapons and training Ukraine’s military so they can win for us.” What he did not say, but which was the real beauty of the crow song, was that in this way the US did not have to waste the lives of any NATO soldiers. Peace researcher Jan Öberg comments:
quote
It is incredible for me to see that European and American leaders now live so completely in their own secluded world. They think that by pumping even more arms and ammunition into a country that has paid a huge price in human life, namely Ukraine, they will win over Russia. They think they can use Ukraine to defeat their opponent without losing any lives. This is in fact the most cynical experience I have had in my lifetime. And I am fully on the side of the innocent Ukrainian people. They are victims of the game between NATO and Russia. So there we are. The EU keeps talking about further arming Ukraine and thus causing more bloodshed, instead of saying that it is time for all of us to save lives and talk to the Russians. We have isolated the Russians. We have cut off almost all relations with Russia. Whatever you think about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it was the wrong policy. Sanctions were the wrong policy because the invasion was not unprovoked.
—
Even stronger words are warranted: the invasion was not only expected, it was forced. A few months before, Mr Putin tried to contact both Joe Biden and Jens Stoltenberg. They turned their backs. Jens Stoltenberg later confessed (52:06):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhbDgWSUR44
quote
… and he even sent a draft peace treaty in which he demanded that NATO make a commitment not to expand NATO. That’s what he sent to us and it was a condition for him not to allow the invasion of Ukraine. Of course, we didn’t sign it.
—
Unprovoked, my [fundament]!
Непровоцировано, моя задница!
Безпровокаційно, моя дупа!
არაპროვოცირებული, ჩემი ტრაკი!
Unprovoked, never in hell!
Karl-Olov Arnstberg
All texts are © on this blog. It is allowed to distribute the texts provided that you always link to the source here on the blog.
https://morklaggning.wordpress.com/2024/03/03/sondagskronika-var-rysslands-invasion-i-ukraina-oprovocerad/
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this is a follow up
Enrichment & Corruption
Ukraine is Destroyed -Texas Border is NEXT Target
https://swebbtube.se/w/p3dKPfzAoCYTizrr8XZxZB
Ukraine on Fire
Oliver Stone
https://swebbtube.se/w/rYLVh24KnVgmhzcSohkxmc