From Russian Foreign Ministry.

This statement has been already posted by Johnny Rotten, but it is worth again to remind everybody what is this all about. I spoke about this yesterday:

Today, Zakharova responded:

We noted yet another anti-Russia attack by German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholtz in his speech at the gala event devoted to the 70th anniversary of the German Economy Eastern Committee on December 12, 2022. It looks like he is trying to justify the federal government and himself for the failure of Berlin’s policy on Russia and the increase of economic problems in the country. He emphasised support for the Kiev regime and said that after “the end of the war” in Ukraine, Russia would ask Germany to resume economic relations with it. But we will not ask Germany for anything, and it is time German politicians realised this once and for all. Mr Scholtz himself can take the blame for compelling businesses to tighten their belts. 

It is worth mentioning, that for some inexplicable reason Germany still counts itself as a huge economy which it is not. German economy is dwarfed by that of Russia and, if to rub the salt into the wound, Russians actually live better. In my video I present a table comparing Russian and German economies. Here is corrected (for cars) and updated one. 

So, make your own conclusions. 

Now to this Patriot thingy. Can we, please, stop this charade. Since US media are not really reporting, one has to rely on Russian ones, which report this:

ВАШИНГТОН, 14 дек — РИА Новости. Белый дом не подтвердил включение ЗРК Patriot в будущий пакет военной помощи Украине, заявил координатор по стратегическим коммуникациям в Совете национальной безопасности Джон Кирби. "Я не могу подтвердить это сообщение", — ответил он на брифинге журналистам.

Translation: WASHINGTON, December 14 - RIA Novosti. The White House has not confirmed the inclusion of the Patriot air defense system in a future military aid package for Ukraine, said John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator at the National Security Council. "I can't confirm this message," he told reporters at a briefing.

Hey, don't look at me--I merely quote Kirby. But then again, knowing that Patriot "story" originated in the sewer of CNN, one can expect that, traditionally for US "journos", they simply made this shit up. In any case, it doesn't matter, since Patriot in any of its iterations will not make any difference whatsoever when faced with modern battlefield. As I am on record non-stop: does Pentagon need yet another embarrassment and reputational loss to its already laughable procurement policies? I thought so, it should concentrate on Maverick (Top Gun) franchise and make another one in which Tom Cruise shoots down International Space Station, which was captured by Russian terrorists, flying his F-14 Tomcat and then bombs Kremlin. Hey, but what do I know? 

 

Larry brilliantly addresses this whole issue as "fantasies": 

The propaganda flooding Western media about the situation on the ground in Ukraine surpasses anything I have seen in my 67 years of waddling around the world. Consider this whopper. Did you know that NATO is the big winner with respect to the war in Ukraine? (Before reading the following paragraph, please put on a neck brace to minimize your risk of whiplash.)

I agree, I never saw anything like this myself, including a complete unraveling of the US military mythology. Forget economic one for the combined West and here Mark Chapman does a very good job, including his virtuoso vernacular:

In fact, although I’m not a psychologist and don’t even play one on TV, the conclusion I have reluctantly arrived upon is that Ursula Von Der Leyen believes you and all the other European voters are stupid. Oh, the extent of the global lumpenproletariat assumed to be too stupid to reason for itself goes considerably beyond Europe, and it’s causing problems which extend well beyond its shores. But it is Europe which is Ground Zero for her unwavering line of self-stroking bullshit, and it is Europe which will bear its effects, perhaps and conceivably to its ruin. 

Enjoy, if you will. I certainly did.