I Don't Know What's The Deal.

But there is very little doubt that the US illegitimately occupies part of Syria's territory and conducts a favorite business of training terrorists. 

BEIRUT (AP) — A strike Thursday by a suspected Iranian-made drone killed a U.S. contractor and wounded six other Americans in northeast Syria, and U.S. forces retaliated with airstrikes on sites in Syria used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, the Pentagon said. Activists said the U.S. bombing killed at least four people. While it’s not the first time the U.S. and Iran have traded strikes in Syria, the attack and the U.S. response threaten to upend recent efforts to deescalate tensions across the wider Middle East, whose rival powers have made steps toward détente in recent days after years of turmoil. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that the American intelligence community had determined the drone was of Iranian origin, but offered no other immediate evidence to support the claim. The drone hit a coalition base in the northeast Syrian city of Hasaka. The wounded included five American service members and a U.S. contractor.

I don't know who sent the "message", but this event is a great testament to a military fallacy of the American bases around the world, because not only they will continue to lose the "power projection" value but will continue to increase their value as fat and mostly indefensible targets against modern battlefield delivery systems. Nobody in their own mind would believe that US air defense systems such as Patriot PAC3 can handle a serious salvo of even relatively unsophisticated subsonic means of delivery. 

Meanwhile butt-hurt BSer Sebastien Roblin "reports" based on propaganda doctored "data" from 404 that Russia... finally ran out of tanks and reactivated T-54/55 ones. 

Russia is dusting off the cobwebs from military deep storage facilities in the country’s Far East, for the first time railing un-upgraded Cold War T-54B tanks westward, possibly bound for Ukraine. Now, a video of the T-54s transported by rail has surfaced. 

What uneducated hack Roblin doesn't know, because with degree in "conflict resolution" and "social and global studies" you can not know anything of value, is that Russia was using older T-54/55 since War in Chechnya not for tank operations but as a very helpful  artillery units for... drum roll... block posts, thus increasing their combat stability and as a good caliber response in case of attacks on numerous block posts. Generally Western pseudo-academic fields in "strategic studies", "conflict resolution" or "foreign relations" produce unemployable office plankton with minimal skills even for 7/11 janitor, but when you are also getting paid by Ukies, what kind of "reporting" one provides becomes abundantly clear. In general, SMO exposed all, without exception, US MSM and popular "alternative" media as uneducated hacks and unprofessional losers, including a large portion of the US "military experts" with hefty C.V.s in "fighting" in Iraq and Afghanistan, but with minimal expertise in modern wars and combined arms operations of scale. 

But that brings us to issue of military education in the US and the new crop of America's present and future military leaders. I wrote about it before and quoted Tim Bakken:

Academic standards are also nonexistent. I believe this trend started approximately ten years ago, and it has continued to get worse. West Point has stated standards for academic expectations and performance, but they are ignored. Cadets routinely fail multiple classes and they are not separated at the end-of-semester Academic Boards. Their professors recommend “Definitely Separate,” but those recommendations are totally disregarded. I recently taught a cadet who failed four classes in one semester (including mine), in addition to several she had failed in previous semesters, and she was retained at the Academy. As a result, professors have lost hope and faith in the entire Academic Board process. It has been made clear that cadets can fail a multitude of classes and they will not be separated. Instead, when they fail (and they do to a staggering extent), the Dean simply throws them back into the mix and expects the faculty to somehow drag them through the academic program until they manage to earn a passing grade. 

And this is one of very many testimonies of a collapse of professional military education in the US. 

In related news, I spoke today with Vera and famous Russian REAL war reporter Marat Khairullin--the rough estimate of just wounded in and around Bakhmut is roughly 20,000. As Marat says, who spends most of his days at the front line and communicates with serious tactical and operational level officers, they all are unanimous--combat medicine in VSU ceased to exist several months ago, and just inside Bakhmut today there are more than 2,000 wounded who still cannot get even stabilization procedures. That means they will be dead in a day or two. Reality of the 404 "offensive" is absolutely not what is being portrayed by Western media. This is not from some shitty TG channels, this is from people of repute and first hand operational (forget tactical) knowledge of the combat zone. Yes, Marat is a constant presence,  from the front lines, on Russian major TV networks. So, here is your SitRep of sorts for Friday.

Friday Is Coming...

 ... We know things which have been lost. But what is going to be taken to the future...

Or maybe this... 

Can you believe this seat of pedophilia and perversion once were making these masterpieces.  

But then there is this genius Canadian guy...

You remember this kid, right?

Simon is only good at plastic surgeries...  

So, enjoy... Friday is coming. 

P.S.  Before there was any Star Wars, Russians have been thinking about what they will take to the future in 1973. 

Enjoy...

Another American Icon Is Gone.

It is sad, but the new generations of cucks in the US is what kills anything good what was about the US. Another American icon is gone.

New York CNN  — General Motors announced Wednesday that it’s ending production of the latest generation of the Chevrolet Camaro, leaving the Ford Mustang as the last gasoline-powered American performance coupe. 

I owned Camaro after Porsche 928--I loved it. Not this one.

I used to own exactly like this one. Yes, it was red.

This was a beauty in every respect. Sad...

Great Talk.

 Judge and Larry. 

Some very good strategic talk.
 

Duh!

Wow, what a secret has been disclosed, not. 

Soldiers of Ukraine’s ‘Thor’ special operations group use satellite data provided by the CIA to choose targets when conducting drone strikes against Russian forces, the unit’s commander told the Times. The 27-man group, which is formally a police special operations unit, functions independently from the Ukrainian army and works in close collaboration with Ukraine’s military intelligence, the GUR, which provides them with ammunition and intel. According to the Times, the unit has complete license to select its missions, where they barrack and when they fight. The unit’s commander, whose name is said to also be Thor, claims he uses a special application on a tablet that is synced to a CIA satellite to select potential targets for their attacks. “We select targets in the program, and targets can be placed there both by the CIA satellite and by our own satellite, which our volunteers pay for. Information is collected from all kinds of sources there. We choose, then we arrive and conduct our own reconnaissance,” Thor told the outlet.

In related news--water is wet, fire is hot and the sky is blue. The US runs a tight routine here between completely discrediting itself as "the finest fighting force in history" which cannot fight a real war and a power who hides behind proxies. As I stated not for once, in real war with Russia the US satellite recon and navigation constellation would have been gone in about 72 hours. But then again, Washington knows the ultimate outcome, not for 404 which de facto doesn't exist as a real state anymore, but for itself. 

Medvedev, meanwhile, is on a roll:

Russia is rapidly boosting its military production capacity to meet the demands of the Ukraine campaign, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of the country's national security council, has told journalists. “Our enemies thought that our industry would be overwhelmed,” the official, who also has previously served as Russian president and prime minister, said by videolink on Wednesday. “There were endless claims: munitions are running out, tanks are running out, missiles are running out.” Medvedev said he'd witnessed military factories working round the clock during his inspections. And new manufacturing capacities are being built, he added. “Sure, we didn’t think it would be necessary sometime ago. But it became a necessity,” he said of the expansion.

And here is the trick, Western "democracies" and FIRE "economies" cannot do that even if they will allocate (print, that is) needed sums of money. Recalling what Jeffrey Sachs once said about Russia:"We cut the patient open and learned that it has a different anatomy." I continue to write about this for years--Russian economy differs dramatically from those of the combined West. As Medvedev stated:

Where Russia lags behind, Medvedev acknowledged, is in designing and producing large strike drones. However the country has “several models that have already gone into series production.” “I am certain that [putting these to use] is a matter of several months,” he promised.

This is the point, at this stage Russian Military-Industrial Complex and economy in general are the only entities in the world capable to R&D, introduce and ramp up dramatically the mass production of the advanced weapon systems in a very short period of time. Guess what Main Organizational Mobilization Directorate of Russian General Staff does? Yes, it constantly plans and counts, counts, counts and, believe me, they know how to count. They also know when and how NATO nations lose any capacity to measure up to a modern war--and that holds the answer to the puzzle of Russia's strategy in SMO.

Larry's Excellent Elaboration...

 ...on possible Bakhmut Offensive by VSU. 

I want to remind you of a point I have made in previous pieces on the Bakhmut situation — this is not the only point of attack for the Russian side. The Russians are pressing forward on multiple fronts and forcing the Ukrainians to make some hard choices about where to deploy scant reinforcements and munitions. Unlike Ukraine, Russia has trained, experienced and well-equipped reserves near the front. The Russian responses will either confirm the claims of Western analysts, who insist the Russians are inept and poorly trained, or it will destroy that meme. A Russian defeat in Bakhmut will not alter Russia’s objectives in this war. It would lead to a shakeup in military command and a significant escalation in Russia’s use of force against Ukraine. It would buy Ukraine some time and re-energize the West’s commitment to expand support to Ukraine.

This is a must read since Larry gives some very good operational and even strategic reminders. 

Garland, Scott and Me.

Discussing things. 

I think it was a good discussion.
 

Ouch!

It is clear that we are beginning to live in the wake of Moscow's Summit, which may well be defined as historic. But get this:

НИЖНЕВАРТОВСК (ХМАО), 22 марта. /ТАСС/. Россия намерена создать свою, альтернативную систему поставок энергоресурсов, что будет выгодно почти всему населению в мире. Об этом сказал первый заместитель министра энергетики России Павел Сорокин в ходе пленарной дискуссии "Образ будущего: прогнозы и возможности ТЭК" шестого международного молодежного научно-практического форума "Нефтяная столица". "Мы как продавали, так и будем продавать [энергоресурсы] и оставаться надежными партнерами. Прожить - все проживут. Но это большой шанс для нас и 7 из 8 млрд людей на планете создать альтернативную систему [поставок энергоресурсов]", - сказал он. "Мы увидели, что очень сильно увеличились логистические маршруты. Та система транспортировки нефти, которая существовала последние 50-60 лет, была сломлена. Рыночная экономика всегда стремится к наиболее эффективному состоянию, минимизации логистических издержек, маршрутов", - добавил Сорокин. По его словам, Минэнерго считает временной ситуацию с высокой стоимостью доставки российской нефти на внешние рынки, стоимость фрахта будет меняться в сторону снижения.

Translation: NIZHNEVARTOVSK (KhMAO), March 22. /TASS/. Russia intends to create its own, alternative energy supply system, which will be beneficial to almost the entire population in the world. This was stated by First Deputy Minister of Energy of Russia Pavel Sorokin during the plenary discussion "Image of the Future: Forecasts and Opportunities for the Fuel and Energy Complex" of the 6th International Youth Scientific and Practical Forum "Oil Capital". "We both sold and will continue to sell [energy resources] and remain reliable partners. To live - everyone will live. But this is a great chance for us and 7 out of 8 billion people on the planet to create an alternative system [of energy supplies]," he said. "We have seen that logistics routes have increased greatly. The oil transportation system that has existed for the past 50-60 years has been broken. The market economy always strives for the most efficient state, minimizing logistics costs, routes," Sorokin added. According to him, the Ministry of Energy considers the situation with the high cost of delivering Russian oil to foreign markets to be temporary, the cost of freight will change downward.

In reality, however, this trend was only one of many trends on Russia's decoupling from the West, and now that the Power of Siberia-2 received a huge boost the FUD crowd from Honk-Kong's own South China Morning Post started to spin.

China, Russia gas-pipeline statements raise questions on Power of Siberia 2 progress

• Putin says agreement with China, Mongolia to build Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline is ‘practically’ finalised, as Russia looks to divert gas from Europe to Asia
• But analyst says such deals between Russia and China ‘complicate the ongoing China-US confrontations’ and raise geopolitical risks among major economies 

Let me explain who those "analysts" are--those are primarily boys and girls with degrees in economics from Western schools and who are desperate now observing not just decline, but ongoing collapse of the combined West and understanding that their (lack of) skills, education and careers become absolutely meaningless in the emerging world based on tangibles, REAL economic development and geopolitical trends which all those "analysts" cannot grasp, because they were taught, basically, a pseudo academic shit. It can be stated very clearly that most Western "geopolitical risks assessments" are worthless garbage detached form the reality. 

Now, where are we going from here? Simple, everything alternative from finances to energy. Remarkably, the more combined West protests and tries to sabotage it, the heavier the economic and geopolitical consequences for it are. A classic no win situation, zugzwang, Catch-22, or damned if you do, damned if you don't. This is what General Kellogg calls "ACME professionalism". With generals like this... I think many of those American generals learned how to pronounce words Strategy and Operations, but in reality they do not know what those words mean. I do not exaggerate. It is now about 7 out of 8 billion people who deserved and want a better and peaceful life.        

But It Can Continue...

 ... and it will, despite Clare Daly saying that it cannot. 

She needs to understand that all NATO top brass, all those three-four star generals, do not know what real war is. Yes, they are that incompetent. Secondly, most of them are compromised and are not so much military men as politicos protecting their careers, including by toeing "a party line" formulated by even more incompetent and even more corrupt and cowardly West's political top. As I am on record--the only thing they can do is PR. Now, some of them begin to feel that they fucked up royally and some may face down the road some serious legal, forget about moral, they long ago lost morals, issues. 

Here Larry explains a bit the issue. 

Those creeps never knew what they were getting themselves into. As I am on record--Petraeus, Keane or Kellog wouldn't be allowed to command a fucking regiment, forget about division, let alone army, in Russian Armed Forces--this is how delusional they are operationally and strategically. And whilst it is good that some voices of reason are present in European Parliament, it has to be clearly understood that those are lone ones. 

I have a good acquaintance, who also reads this blog, and he was a member of the board in one of the major, in fact legendary, European economic institution. When we spoke to each-other on many occasions last year, this acquaintance stated that Europe will have any chance of reforming itself only when it experiences a catastrophic social and economic collapse. Yes, those very average Europeans. This collapse is coming. But to demonstrate an appalling state of Western Civilization, here is the news:

A disagreement between Paris and Berlin over nuclear energy and combustion engine vehicle policies is casting a shadow over an upcoming EU summit on Ukraine, Politico reported on Monday, citing multiple sources. According to the outlet, the impasse between Germany and France is feared to disrupt a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, in which the officials are set to discuss economic competitiveness, as well as ammunition deliveries to Kiev. The latest row was initially ignited after Germany tried to mount a late blockade of the EU’s zero-emissions legislation, which includes a ban on the sale of polluting cars and vans by 2035. Berlin wants a clearly-worded exemption for e-fuels – a synthetic alternative to fossil fuels that is beneficial to the German automotive industry. However, Berlin’s demand has already been rejected twice before in the European Parliament, as member states refused to back a binding loophole for such fuels last year.

Europe--this is YOU. You chose them. And you are beginning to pay the price. Here, meanwhile, are true American and British heroes. 

It long ago became more than just geopolitical clash--it became indeed a proverbial fight of good against evil. 

"I only wished to say that ideas that have great results are always simple ones. My whole idea is that if vicious people are united and constitute a power, then honest folk must do the same. Now that’s simple enough."

Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace.  

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words.

Here is a photo from Syria, from Aleppo. Syrians doing their own version of Immortal Regiment carrying photos of Russian servicemen who died fighting for Syria's independence and clearing it from ISIS plague.  

This is everything one needs to know about new world Russia and China are building. In related news, the names (identities) of foreign "volunteers" in 404 who executed Russian POWs in September 2022 in the town of Petropavlovka have been revealed--primarily citizens of the US, Poland, Finland and South Africa. One of them is a porn "star". I guess they better start thinking about laying very low for the rest of their lives.

In Order To Not Misread Things.

This is regarding Chinese peace plan. Read attentively Putin's words: 

"Безусловно, мы не обошли вниманием и ситуацию вокруг Украины. Полагаем, что многие из положений выделенного Китаем мирного плана созвучны российским подходам и могут быть взяты за основу для мирного урегулирования, когда к нему будут готовы на западе и в Киеве. Однако пока такой готовности с их стороны мы не наблюдаем".

Translation: “Of course, we have not ignored the situation around Ukraine. We believe that many of the provisions of the peace plan outlined by China are consonant with Russian approaches and could be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement when they are ready for it in the West and in Kiev. However, so far we are not seeing such readiness from their side."

Moreover, yesterday's statement from Russian Foreign Ministry reacting to some initiatives from the West leaves no doubt about the nature of "negotiations" (a euphemism for articles of capitulation) which may precede any "settlement". 

МОСКВА, 21 мар — РИА Новости. США, Великобритания, Франция и Германия не могут претендовать на роль нейтральных посредников в мирном процессе по Украине, поскольку они участвуют в конфликте с Россией, заявили РИА Новости в МИД. Так там прокомментировали предложение бывшего главы Мюнхенской конференции по безопасности Вольфганга Ишингера создать контактную группу по Украине, чтобы "запустить мирный процесс". Участвовать в ней, по его мнению, должны Вашингтон, Лондон, Париж и Берлин. "Официально нам об этой инициативе ничего не известно. <...> Тем не менее идея Ишингера вызывает закономерные вопросы. Прежде всего потому, что все упомянутые четыре страны сами являются участниками конфликта с Россией, который продолжается на территории Украины", — сказали в МИД, уточнив, что узнали о предложении из прессы. 

Translation: MOSCOW, March 21 - RIA Novosti. The United States, Great Britain, France and Germany cannot claim the role of neutral mediators in the peace process in Ukraine, since they are involved in a conflict with Russia, the Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti. So they commented on the proposal of the former head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, to create a contact group on Ukraine in order to "launch the peace process." In his opinion, Washington, London, Paris and Berlin should participate in it. "Officially, we do not know anything about this initiative. <...> Nevertheless, Ischinger's idea raises legitimate questions. First of all, because all the four countries mentioned are themselves participants in the conflict with Russia, which continues on the territory of Ukraine," the source said. Foreign Ministry, specifying that they learned about the proposal from the press.

 

So, the SMO continues until utter destruction of remaining VSU and their NATO "volunteers", and Russian Army continues to gain new territories. Moscow's position on any Ukrainian "settlement" is well articulated and reiterated by Kremlin on many occasions. Those are de facto articles of capitulation for the remnants of 404 and, by extension, of the West: demilitarization, non-block neutral status of Ukraine, acceptance of the territorial realities, removal of all sanctions from Russia etc. These are key points, there are many other ones, including implied, such as respect for Russophone population in the remnants of Ukraine, which by implication means autonomy and eventual declaration of independence for such oblasts as Nikolaev, Odessa and Kharkov. 

 

As much as Douglas Macgregor doesn't know the history of WW II (he could be surprised to learn that the kill ratio between Axis and the Red Army on the Eastern Front was 1.3 to 1 in favor of Axis), he is absolutely correct in pointing out that Ukraine already de facto ceased to exist as a viable state, and that it seems that the order "to disengage" was given in the combined West and the US is desperately looking for exit. Yes, the signs are already in place. As per review of the outcomes, many good ones, of very busy work of both sides in Moscow, I will try to make video tomorrow, but it is already clear that the break of Russia from the West has been accomplished, and Russia supported Chinese Yuan as the other intermediate reserve currency (Russian-Chinese payment are now 65% in Yuans and Rubles) before, I guess, new currency will be worked out. I know that Washington and Brussels are looking at the events in Moscow in sheer terror. This is your primer for Tuesday.

Same As With "Iranian" Drones.

To close this stupid issue of "Chinese weapons to Russia". When even these cretins cannot confirm it:

У Евросоюза нет доказательств того, что Китай поставляет оружие России, заявил глава дипломатии ЕС Жозеп Боррель на пресс-конференции по итогам заседания Совета ЕС в Брюсселе. Также, по словам Борреля, нет доказательств и того, что Китай планирует это делать, передает ТАСС. Ранее The Wall Street Journal писала, что Китай может  рассматривать возможность передать России беспилотники и артиллерийские системы для использования в зоне СВО. Напомним, Пекин заявлял, что Китай не является стороной конфликта на Украине и не поставляет никому оружие.

Translation: The European Union has no evidence that China is supplying weapons to Russia, EU diplomat Josep Borrell said at a press conference following the EU Council meeting in Brussels. Also, according to Borrell, there is no evidence that China plans to do this, TASS reports. Earlier, The Wall Street Journal wrote that China may consider transferring drones and artillery systems to Russia for use in the NWO zone. Recall that Beijing has stated that China is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine and does not supply weapons to anyone.

I repeat, again: every single US (or Western) MSM is a primitive propaganda outlet and tabloid. All of them, without exceptions. I hope we will stop asking these frivolous questions about Iran, China, Brazil, Zamunda, what have you trying "to supply" Russia with weapons.

China's Naval Problem.

I already mentioned it many times, including today in my latest video. 

Here is the illustration to China's naval (maritime) problem, and to how military professionals think. 

I deliberately chose the range of roughly 1,500 kilometers measured form Shanghai. As you can see yourself CBG-1, 2 and 3 stand for the US Navy's Carrier Battle Groups. Three of them deployed in shaded rectangles. Now comes the problem, it is purely operational and mathematical one. If one believes in accuracy of China's DF-21 ballistic anti-shipping missiles with their range declared as... 1,500 kilometers, it is their opinion and they are welcome to have it. But, if one considers this:

Which is, of course, good ol' carrier-borne F-18 Super-hornet and a missile known as AGM-158 JASSM, one should immediately get the pen and a piece of paper (or calculator) and should start counting. Each US Navy's Nimitz-class nuclear powered carrier (CVN) carries around, here is the data:

The 50 TACAIR air wing includes up to 82 aircraft. Typically this would be 12 F/A-18E/F Hornets, 36 F/A-18 Hornets, four E-2C Hawkeyes and four EA-6B Prowlers fixed-wing and helicopters, including four SH-60F and two HH-60H Seahawks. The carrier can also deploy S-3B Viking aircraft, but these were phased out and replaced with the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The S-3B Viking was finally decommissioned in January 2009.  

In other words, an average TACAIR has around 48 carriers of this said JASSM, whose range varies from 950 to 1,900 km (for XR version), which also is "extended" by the range of the carrier, which is a said F-18 in its different versions. Add here those roughly 600-700 kilometers and you get the picture: the air wing can launch a salvo of JASSMs BEYOND the range of the anti-CBG DF-21 missiles. Simple arithmetic: 950+700=1,650 km, or, in case of JASSM XR, 1,900 + 700 =2,600 km. But that is in case of the attack of the ground targets in the mainland China. JASSM, however, is also and even primarily so--anti-shipping missile. Yes, it is a typical American anti-shipping missile--subsonic and not particularly maneuverable. But... as you can count, JUST three US Navy CBGs you can immediately recognize that in their alpha-strikes, those three can have 48 x 3 = 144 strike aircraft simultaneously and each of those F-18s can carry... 4 JASSMs. Let's not be primitive and imagine that some of those F-18s will have pure air-defense configuration. So, let's say that we will have on average not 4 but 3 JASSM per F-18. Multiply: 144 x 3 = 432 JASSMs in the first salvo. 

Do you know what those are for in the first run? No, not Shanghai--those are for PLAN's surface fleet which will have to face this salvo. What do you think, will they successfully repeal it? Wanna try Salvo Model with coefficients which DO NOT favor Chinese surface fleet? Or, have you heard about USAF being trained with carrying same JASSMs (look up numbers of B-1Bs and B-2s). You may counter--but what about PLAN's carriers. Well... with 11-14 Virginia-class SSNs in the theater it is a very risky proposition for Chinese carriers to venture beyond First Island Chain.  So, that IS the naval (maritime) problem for China in case of even conventional attacks. Sure, the US will sustain losses here, but those shaded rectangles are still away from the A2/AD bubble. 

Now, Xi is in Moscow. Four and a half hour they talk with Putin God only knows what about. Tomorrow the "narrow format" meeting heavily dominated by Russian Military-Industrial Complex people and something tells me that this will be on the table:

This is sheer 1,000 kilometers dash at M=2.5 and then the launch of M=9 Kinzhal with the range of 2,000 kilometers. The targeting for the strike on CBGs is not such a big of a deal anymore. Chinese have their own thing, Russians have Liana operational. So, 1,000+2,000 = 3,000 kilometers and you cannot shoot down Kinzhal, unless it breaks down by itself, but the salvo of 6-8 Kinzhals. Boy, I do not envy those people on the carriers. You see how simple it is? China desperately needs to sort this issue out and I am anticipating first official statements tomorrow anxiously. It doesn't mean that hey will come up with the list--no, absolutely not, but we need to look for those subtle signs and words which will allow us to conclude that some huge steps have been undertaken by Putin and Xi. 

                          

                             Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum 

They Spoke...

...tete-a-tete for... four and a half hours. As Ria reports:

МОСКВА, 20 мар — РИА Новости. В Кремле завершились неформальные переговоры президента России Владимира Путина и председателя КНР Си Цзиньпина, они длились 4,5 часа. По окончании встречи российский лидер вышел на улицу проводить китайского коллегу. Они кратко пообщались у автомобиля и пожали руки на прощание.

Translation: MOSCOW, March 20 - RIA Novosti. In the Kremlin, informal talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping ended, they lasted 4.5 hours. At the end of the meeting, the Russian leader went outside to see off his Chinese counterpart. They briefly talked at the car and shook hands in farewell.

 

How I wish I was a fly on the wall in the room where this "informal" 4.5 hours long marathon was held. Can you imagine now US media-intelligence complex wrecking their brains trying to figure out what did they discuss there? I want to point out, however, that Putin marked the territory when stated that (in Russian) Russia respects China's position on Ukraine, that Russia attentively studied this proposition and... that it will discuss it later. In diplomatic lingo it means: we appreciate your effort but... Recall that Russian diplomacy repeated, again, fundamental demands for peaceful settlement in Ukraine: demilitarization, non-block (neutral) status and acceptance of the territorial realities on the ground. As you may have guessed it, Chinese proposal or no Chinese proposal, it is a no go. 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is authorizing another $350 million in military aid for Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, as Kyiv builds up its arsenal for an anticipated counter-offensive against Russian forces. "This military assistance package includes more ammunition for U.S.-provided HIMARS and howitzers that Ukraine is using to defend itself, as well as ammunition for Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, HARM missiles, anti-tank weapons, riverine boats, and other equipment," Blinken said in a statement. The United States has provided more than $30 billion in weaponry to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia, which invaded its pro-Western neighbour on Feb. 24, 2022. The latest U.S. assistance was announced days after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley held a call with their Ukrainian counterparts and spoke of their "unwavering support" for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had also joined the end of that call on Friday, the White House said.

This is your answer and, I am sure, Putin explained it to Xi in detail. The question is not about defeating 404--for all intents and purposes it doesn't exist as a viable state anymore. At issue is a demolition of the remnants of Pax Americana, and that means rearranging contemporary combined West into the entity, or entities, which will forget about causing wars and violence around the world for a long while. That's the prize and Russia is succeeding in capturing it. Xi knows it, he is a very smart and educated politician.

From Indian Diplomat.

Doctor Bhadrakumar doesn't mince words when speaking about Washington's paranoia. In fact, it is one of his more aggressive pieces in a while. 

The arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Vladimir Putin can only be seen as a publicity stunt by the Anglo-Saxon clique, with the US leading from the rear. Ironically, though, the ICC acted on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Iraq in 2003, which led to horrific war crimes but the “judges” at Hague slept over it. Both Washington and London admit today that the 2003 invasion was illegal — based on trumped up allegations against Saddam Hussein. There’s no chance, of course, that the ICC warrant will ever be taken seriously. ICC has no jurisdiction in Russia, which, like the US, is not a signatory to the Rome Statute. But the intention here is something else.

The mud-throwing at Putin is yet another display of President Biden’s visceral hatred towards the Russian leader that goes back to a joust in Moscow well over a decade ago when Putin told him off brusquely, and is timed to distract attention from the state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow on Monday, an event that not only has spectacular optics but is sure to intensify the “no limit” partnership between the two superpowers. The Anglo-Saxon clique is watching with dismay the talks in Moscow tomorrow. To be sure, Moscow and Beijing have decided to stand together to bury the US hegemony.

Bhadrakumar finds a superb definition to American, or, in a large sense, Anglo-Saxon clique's foreign policy or what passes for it anyway in the deep recesses of Anglo-Saxon geopolitical misery--mud throwing. It is, and as my previous post about miserable lies of Senator Kelly states--this misery begins to manifest itself through a complete loss of always in deficit professional and human class. 

But Bhadrakumar goes further and concludes, as many of us also did, that the game for the West is up. 

Again, Biden would have thought he was putting Putin on the mat with the Reaper stunt and the ICC scam. But Putin is nonchalant, choosing today to make his first-ever visit to Donbass. Putin toured Mariupol, the port city that was bitterly contested by the NATO operatives in league with the Ukrainian Neo-Nazi brigade, drove a vehicle along the city streets, making stops at several locations and surveying reconstruction works. It was a defiant signal to Biden that NATO has lost the war.

The desperation is palpable, and the anticipation for the results of tomorrow's summit in Moscow is filled with dread for a bunch of villainous amateurs who through electoral legerdemain occupied positions of power in Washington and not only drove through sheer malice and stupidity their (their??) own country into the ground but put the world at the precipice of a global war, without even understanding that they are completely exposed to a devastating response and those who will survive will be hunted down as war criminals.

As new Russian meme reads:

"If you don't understand what you are doing, neither does you enemy." (c) Joe Tzu.

Boy, The Guy Is A Sore Loser.

This is what happens when NASA has to catch rides to ISS on Soyuz ships and Kelly flew "combat missions" against non-existent Iraqi Air Force and Air Defense. 

Sen. Mark Kelly flew with Russian pilots as a US Navy combat pilot and as a NASA astronaut. He said the incident last week where a Russian fighter jet dumped fuel on and then clipped the propeller of a US military drone shows how "reckless" and "incompetent" they are. "I'm not surprised by this. I mean, I flew with Russian pilots, fighter pilots who couldn't fly formation. And I watched this video, and it's pretty obvious what happened. He lost sight of it, and he crashed into it," Kelly told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" Sunday.

This is really sad when the guy with Kelly's C.V. lowers himself to a petty exhibition of own complexes, but this is a reaction of classic sore loser, because Kelly wouldn't be able to fly real combat missions in SU-30SM, SU-35 or SU-57 because he simply doesn't have skills and experience to operate such technology. Now, seeing how Russian Air Force downs dozens upon dozens of Ukie combat planes beyond visual range got to him and his complex of inferiority reared its ugly head. Obviously, when the USAF tried to repeat that:

They really couldn't and fell far short. Kelly also has to recall that USSR ended WW II with the largest tactical operational Air Force in the world and with an incredible combat score. Same goes for outstanding operational tempo Russian Air Force demonstrated in Syria and in 404 despite the fact of flying in an extremely hostile air defense environment--the experience Kelly simply doesn't have and probably still has some reservations about him never graduating from Air Force academy instead of his merchant marine academic background. 

But, in the end, here is a whole regular tactical wing of SU-34s and SU-30SMs flying in formation in the weather conditions which would ground most air forces.

But Kelly, of course, knows all about it, right? He flew once 20 years ago with somebody. As I already stated, the way American institutions delegitimize themselves through incompetence, ignorance and down right sour grapes is not surprising. What is surprising is how many US military people lost completely all pretense of professional honor and reserve which characterizes real military professionals. Senator Kelly is an Exhibit A of this sad trend. 

How The World At Large Sees Things.

The speed with which Washington deligitimizes the remnants of the West's institutions is astonishing. It also explains what REAL influence Russia and her SMO provide on the rest of the world. 

As part of the new payment system launched last year, Indonesian President Joko Widodo called on Wednesday for his country to abandon the use of foreign payment networks like MasterCard and Visa and encouraged the public to adopt credit cards made by domestic banks. At a local business gathering, Widodo emphasized that "everyone [in Indonesia] should be able to use" Indonesian-manufactured credit cards so that "we can be independent," as he explained that the aim is to avoid risking transactions in case of a geopolitical disruption that could economically affect the country. According to the president, the initiative "shows that Indonesia is following the pace of digital technology transformation in the economic sector." "Be very careful. We must remember the sanctions imposed by the US on Russia. Visa and Mastercard could be a problem," he warned. 

We need to check now if Indonesia has human rights abuses, enough "democracy", or has WMD, wink, wink. Though, after what NATO saw in 404 with Russia fighting there with one left hand, I doubt they have any desire to get into the nation with population of  270 million and do the Island Hopping. But here is just one of very many signs of a global tectonic shift in perception of the West and the obvious fact, which some of our friends pointed out on discussion board about Xi's visit, I believe (correct, please, if I am mistaken), that most of the global South views current situation as Russia standing alone against combined West. This, rather well established, fact also contradicts somewhat Ischenko's latest piece about the thrust of Chinese initiatives, because the image of Russia standing alone and the rest of the global South only now beginning to wake up is firmly imprinted in the public opinion around the globe. 

China's initiatives, as well as Xi's visit to Moscow, apart from obvious huge practical significance for both sides and, by extension, for BRICS, serves also a good ol' truism, attributed to JFK, that "victory has hundred fathers, while defeat is always an orphan". But here is where Ischenko makes a mistake, no matter the spin, one obvious fact cannot be obfuscated in SMO--these are Russian Armed Forces alone who face down NATO's proxy and very real actual forces and do it extremely well. Larry wrote about it yesterday (see the link to his blog), and while the eyes of media are concentrated on the slaughter of VSU and NATO's "volunteers" at Bakhmut, elsewhere Russian forces advance steadily and the new cauldron is forming around Avdeevka. 

As SMO demonstrated fully--the fact which many observers, including Ischenko fail to grasp--political-diplomatic dances are not substitution for the practical military results achieved by people who fight. Especially in the realities of the warfare of the 21st century. Quoting Den Xiaoping: "diplomacy is the extension of the war by other, peaceful means". There is NO issue here about who was first, the egg or the chicken; conflict, war decides issues, sorry to upset those who think otherwise. But here we get into the intricacies of the modern war and its realities which many political scientists fail to grasp and continue to apply beaten to death outdated cliches in the world which observes events in the real time. Below is the demonstration of the political "science" meeting warfare realities in SMO.

I can only go so far in explaining an abyss of a difference between Captain Lepic's report to higher command on August 31, 1914 about German columns making a surprise turn from Estre-St. Denis to Compiegne and 80 hours which passed before French started to react to it, and between 2023 ISR in SMO allowing real time operational planning, developing command decisions and obtaining targeting. Same abyss which separates events of August 31, 1914 from events of 2023 strategically and operationally, separates old views on geopolitics and diplomacy from geopolitical realities of our time. There is a reason many Russian civilian leaders are educated in the Academy of General Staff. The faster people understand that, the better will be their level of awareness and preparedness. And I mentioned only one profound difference among very many--a list too long to post here. In the end, recall this:

   

I wrote it on purpose and warned. Much of it came true.

Larry's Superb Summary.

Read the whole thing at his blog--it is worth it. It is short and hits it out of the ballpark. 

Understanding the Scale and Brutality and the Global Stakes of the War in Ukraine

Recommend it very strongly. 

 

Pop-corn Time.

Do I need to comment on this? 

Banned From Russian Airspace, U.S. Airlines Look to Restrict Competitors. Because of the war in Ukraine, U.S. carriers have to take the long way on flights to and from Asia, giving an advantage to foreign rivals flying the same routes.

Ah, capitalism is a bitch when you lose in competition.  

WASHINGTON — Unable to fly through Russian airspace because of the war in Ukraine, U.S. airlines are stepping up a lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill and at the White House to address what they say is a growing problem: They are losing business to foreign competitors who can take passengers between the United States and Asia faster and more cheaply. Effectively banned from the polar routes that save time and fuel between the United States and an array of destinations on the other side of the world, U.S. carriers say they are being forced into an aeronautical version of Twister to get passengers where they want to go without taking undue risks. They have altered trans-Pacific flight plans to ensure they would have somewhere to land in an emergency, reduced passenger and cargo loads to hold down costs as they fly longer distances, and put on hold more than a dozen planned new routes to Mumbai, Tokyo, Seoul and other cities.

Did they try lobbying on Capitol Hill for the remnants of a common sense and a removal of corrupt chickenhawks? No? Well, there you go. They shoulda and woulda while they coulda, but they didna. Now they go traditional way of sore losers of trying to spoil it for everyone else instead of facing the music. Read the whole piece in NYT, it is free, unlike US sanctions on Russia. Cannot wait for Monday and hearing news (possible? who knows?) of a possible BRICS currency. We know it is coming sooner or later. Pop-corn time.

Well, It Is Friday...

... plus it is St.Paddy's Day. I am not eating corned beef and cabbage today (I do love cabbage, though--I am Russian, duh) and for Russians St.Patrick is an official saint of Russian Orthodox Church--can anyone explain why the patronim of  a fox in every Russian fairy tale is... Patrickeevna--and since it is an Irish thing, in the end, nothing beats making fun of... Estonian politicians, such as Rain Epler:

And listening to an Irish treasure:
 

Or to a new generation of Irish talent, drop dead gorgeous at that too:

Who's gonna hit the Red Button, who's gonna...

Enjoy. 

Who Will Take The Part...

... from Russian side during Xi's visit. While losers from AP bemoan Xi's visit to Moscow: 

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to visit Moscow next week, offering a major diplomatic boost to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the same day the International Criminal Court announced it wants to put the Russian leader on trial for alleged war crimes. Xi’s visit was the latest sign of Beijing’s emboldened diplomatic ambitions, and came amid sharpening East-West tensions over the war in Ukraine, now in its 13th month. The U.S. on Friday said it would oppose any effort by China at the meeting to propose a ceasefire in Ukraine as the “ratification of Russian conquest.”

They fail to understand, which is natural for Western office plankton due to it being uncultured ignoramuses, that it is, actually, the other way around. And here comes a bit of a framework. This is not me talking, this is real Sinologist:

Профессор РУДН Андрей Виноградов уверен, что США не хотят воевать с Китаем, но создают институты, которые нужны в условиях перехода к многополярному миру. "Их нельзя назвать в полной мере конфронтационными, но они будут противодействовать китайскому влиянию в Индо-Тихоокеанском регионе", — поясняет китаист.При этом Виноградов считает, что у КНР не так много вариантов ответа. Гонка вооружений выгодна скорее американцам, чем китайцам, которые должны решать проблему модернизации экономики. "Пекин не хочет повторить опыт Советского Союза, но Штаты ставят его в невыгодное положение. Китай мог бы противопоставить AUKUS если не собственный союз, то хотя бы военно-политическое сотрудничество с сильными игроками. Можно договориться с Москвой, но в нынешней ситуации есть риск, что это навредит", — отмечает эксперт.Как бы то ни было, США и их союзники продолжат окружать китайцев военными блоками. А те вынуждены будут проводить внешнеполитический курс, которого придерживаются с начала 1980-х: представлять интересы развивающихся стран и выступать за мирное урегулирование конфликтов. Пока у Пекина нет других вариантов, заключает Виноградов.

 

Translation: RUDN University professor Andrei Vinogradov is sure that the United States does not want to fight China, but creates the institutions that are needed in the transition to a multipolar world. “They cannot be called fully confrontational, but they will counteract Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region,” the sinologist explains. At the same time, Vinogradov believes that the PRC does not have many options for an answer. The arms race is more beneficial to the Americans than to the Chinese, who must solve the problem of modernizing the economy. “Beijing does not want to repeat the experience of the Soviet Union, but the States put it at a disadvantage. China could oppose AUKUS if not its own alliance, then at least military-political cooperation with strong players. It is possible to agree with Moscow, but in the current situation there is a risk, that it will hurt,” the expert notes. Be that as it may, the United States and its allies will continue to surround the Chinese with military blocs. And those will be forced to pursue the foreign policy course that they have been adhering to since the early 1980s: to represent the interests of developing countries and advocate for the peaceful settlement of conflicts. For now, Beijing has no other options, Vinogradov concludes.

I largely agree with Vinogradov here, with some minor caveats, and I write about it for years. Some of those things I wrote and continue to write often are met with disdain and disbelief by many enthusiastic supporters of China but I will repeat it again: China is still not in the same league militarily as US and Russia, granted that the US is in the process of departing from largely self-proclaimed military superiority. Still, China has a long way to go here. And that is where those first signals started to be sent out by Russia, such as yesterday with Konstantin Biyurulin of KRTV articulating the readiness of KRTV to transfer hypersonic technologies to friendly countries. Now Ria published the list and it is a peculiar one for special meeting in a limited capacity. There will be meeting in an expanded capacity too.

МОСКВА, 17 мар - РИА Новости. Зампред Совбеза РФ Дмитрий Медведев, глава МИД Сергей Лавров, вице-премьер Дмитрий Чернышенко, глава ЦБ Эльвира Набиуллина, министр обороны Сергей Шойгу, глава Роскосмоса Юрий Борисов и директор Федеральной службы по военно-техническому сотрудничеству Дмитрий Шугаев примут участие в первом раунде российско-китайских переговорах, которые пройдут 21 марта, заявил помощник президента по международным делам Юрий Ушаков."У нас намечено с учётом важности визита большое представительство... Переговоры в узком составе - в них предполагается участие Медведева, Лаврова, Чернышенко, Шойгу, я буду участвовать, Набиуллина, Шугаев, Борисов и посол Моргулов. Круг участников позволяет подсказать, какие темы могут быть затронуты", - рассказал Ушаков журналистам.

Translation: MOSCOW, March 17 - RIA Novosti. Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, Head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Head of Roscosmos Yuri Borisov and Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugaev will take part in the first round of Russian-Chinese Presidential Assistant for International Affairs Yuri Ushakov said. "We have a large representation planned, taking into account the importance of the visit ... Negotiations in a narrow format - Medvedev, Lavrov, Chernyshenko, Shoigu are supposed to participate in them, I will participate, Nabiullina, Shugaev, Borisov and Ambassador Morgulov. The circle of participants allows us to suggest what topics can be touched upon," Ushakov told reporters.  

Ushakov is correct--easy to understand once you see these names: Shoigu, Borisov and Shugaev. Those are movers and shakers of Russia's Armed Forces and Military-Industrial Complex and I can guarantee you that in Xi's shopping list there will be many very advanced toys present which China will need to push back on the US in general, and AUKUS in particular. Those toys will also serve as a deterrent. It is absolutely clear that China will ask for hypersonics and for aviation. Now, will China ask for S-500? Recall, that India stated that she will be the first recipient of this complex. China DOES need Russia's support and it will be fascinating to hear and see the results of this undeniably monstrously important summit in Moscow.  Per space--yes, I am sure the commitment to new space station and Lunar permanent station will be confirmed.

Why They Are "More Adequate".

Vzglyad's observer Dmitry Bavyrin asks this question. 

Пентагон резко снизил накал страстей вокруг упавшего в Черное море беспилотника. Его шеф Ллойд Остин лично позвонил Сергею Шойгу, назвал Россию великой державой и подчеркнул важность контактов с ней. Такое легко можно было представить десять лет назад, но для нынешней политики США это нечто невообразимое. Чем Остин отличается от тех американцев, которые засели в Госдепе и Белом доме?  

Translation: The Pentagon has sharply reduced the intensity of passions around the drone that fell into the Black Sea. His boss Lloyd Austin personally called Sergei Shoigu, called Russia a great power and emphasized the importance of contacts with her. This was easy to imagine ten years ago, but for current US policy, it is something unimaginable. How is Austin different from those Americans who settled in the State Department and the White House?

I answered this question many years ago and continue to answer it ad nauseam. The answer is because the US military is the one who does dying for American political circus populated by ignoramuses, chickenhawks and cowards who never bear responsibility for their words and actions. This, plus US military deals with tangibles--personnel, hardware, technology--some of it very advanced--plus they have to rely on more realistic view of the outside world and, especially, key enemy. Such as Russia. Most American politicians, media personalities and "intellectuals" are BSers with zero applicable skills in any meaningful field of human activity. That's the answer. 

I am on record--middle to middle-high level of Pentagon people, those colonels and major generals, and rear-admirals who have to deal with resources, operational planning and warfare are the last vestiges of professional competence left in any American governmental institutions. We know that CIA is being purged of people who try to deal with facts, US military was purged and partially corrupted by neocon and woke psychopaths, but the rest of US government institutions are de facto functional failures, which cannot perform effectively functions they have been created for. Same goes for many businesses, which are nothing more than financial manipulators producing nothing. So, yes--last American professionals ARE in Pentagon.  

That also explains a desperate attempts to simulate a useful activity such as by kangaroo ICC which issued today arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin. 

THE HAGUE (AP) — The International Criminal Court said on Friday it issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine. The court said in a statement that Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”

This is a logical conclusion to the activity of utterly corrupt European "justice" and just another proof of a correct Russian strategy designed to drown Europe in its own excrement and then see what kind of regimes' changes will occur there. To explain matters in more detail, the ICC President is this guy: 

Piotr Józef Hofmański (born 6 March 1956) is a Polish jurist and judge who has served as President of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since 2021. He has been a judge of the ICC since 2015. His election into the Presidency of the ICC is for a three-year term. Prior to his tenure as a judge of the ICC, Hofmański was a legal expert and advisor at the Council of Europe.

So, make you own conclusions. 

In related news, the date of Xi's visit to Moscow was announced and it is this Monday. As was correctly stated, many things would be discussed tete-a-tete and rightly so--there is a lot to discuss in terms of the configuration of a new gigantic block emerging in Eurasia. Prepare yourself for the Western media going apoplectic. Meanwhile, the price cap is working, working... ah, wait:

Japan purchased Russian crude oil at $68.5 per barrel in February, TASS news agency reported on Thursday, citing calculations based on statistics from the Japanese Finance Ministry. The figure is above the $60 price cap that Tokyo agreed to with its Western allies, in an effort to punish Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. Last month, Japanese importers reportedly bought 232,700 barrels of oil from Russia with a total value of 2.125 billion yen ($15.945 million). The average cost of a barrel from the February batch totaled $68.52, exceeding the Western price cap for Russian oil supported by Japan.

Not to mention others buying it way above this price cap. But, as I said, it is impossible to explain to Western politicos that they are dumb, because they are dumb--Dunning-Krueger for ya. For people whose only ability is to shake the air, it is inconceivable to relate to reality.