Yes, More Cowbell, Please.

 One trick ponies and Russia is about to throw in the towel. 

KYIV — President Donald Trump threatened new sanctions against Russia after a brief meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral Saturday. The meeting between the two leaders came amid a Ukrainian diplomatic blitz to head off a U.S. proposal to end the war with Russia on terms favorable to Moscow. In a post on his social media site, Trump criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for recent missile attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine, his second rebuke of the Russian leader since a missile struck an apartment building in Kyiv on Thursday, killing 12 people and wounding nearly 90 others. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions’?" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Too many people are dying!!!”

As you all know, sanctions against Russia have been extremely effective and left Russian economy in tatters, you know. About "too many people dying" Trump should have been thinking in 2017 when his admin greenlighted a serious rearming and reshaping VSU for future war against Russia. As is stated ad nauseam about wanting "to stop the war"--Russia is achieving, as she stated she would, military-political objectives of SMO. The whole idea of sanctions at this stage is risible. 

Meanwhile, Garland sent me yesterday this "opinion" by Marc Thiessen: 

President Donald Trump’s administration is negotiating trade deals with as many as 75 countries to increase their purchase of U.S.-made goods, according to the White House. Well, one country that is champing at the bit to purchase American goods is Ukraine, which has proposed to buy $50 billion worth of U.S.-made weapons to deter Russia. Trump should approve that arms sale as part of a final peace deal. A weapons sale would advance his goals of ending the war while creating good manufacturing jobs for American workers and strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base.

Mind you, this is the guy who wouldn't understand the first thing about war despite this CV. 

He is a neocon shill tied to American Enterprise Institute--a collection of morons with credentials pushing for all kinds of pseudo-strategic BS without understanding the fact that far from being a significant sum of money for real war ($50 billion), the US has ZERO military capability it can provide even for $500 billion which can change any outcome in 404. But for that, one has to have basic understanding of military affairs and what COFM is and how it is calculated. BA in political pseudo-science is not a good foundation for venturing into any kind of strategic decision making, even after attending the US Naval War College. You all saw, on the example of Sarah Paine--a professor of "strategy", no less--that their understanding of "strategy" is as my understanding of colonoscopy, or string theory when it comes to math apparatus in it. We are looking at the sheer catastrophe and implosion of American military expertise on the institutional level. It cannot be saved without it admitting that what is being presented as strategy is nothing more than a collection of palliative narratives. In normal human language--a pile of steaming shit. 

895!

No, not factorial--just 895)) He did it. 

Now, to a more serious affair. As you might expect, sore losers from all kinds of military porn sources bad mouth 2S43 Malva self-propelled gun. What they do forget that modern Malva has a new barrel, can shoot at 70 km and has a very good accuracy. Against this background, somebody comes up with a larger picture. 

This news was backed by images shared on a military-focused Telegram channel called BTVT.INFO. The photos showed a train moving at least eight of these powerful weapons across the country. This happened in February, and it signaled something important: Russia’s weapons factories are not slowing down, even under heavy international sanctions. These sanctions, mainly placed by the United States and NATO allies, were meant to weaken Russia’s military industry. But the picture of those Malva howitzers on the train tells a different story. Instead of shrinking, Russia’s artillery output appears to be growing. This raises serious questions about how effective the sanctions really are.

I can tell you immediately (again)--not very effective at all. What has been sanctioned by the West Russia simply substitutes domestically. It is like explaining to all kinds of nanometer fanboys that the fact that Russia created own 350 nm lithography means only one thing--next year it is going to be (getting ready) --130 nm and 90 nm (overwhelming majority of the industrial and military applications) and then onto 65, 12 etc. It is akin to explaining to fanboys why serial production (ongoing as I type this) of MS-21 was delayed--Russians completely russified this plane. Many people still cannot grasp global (yes, global) significance of all that. And PD-35 is coming ... 

Well, Too Bad.

I can sense the frustration, but Trump needs to understand the game--warfare, real one, not some BS from Afghanistan and Iraq. 

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he was “very angry” and “pissed off” when Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the credibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s leadership, adding that the comments were “not going in the right location.”  Agence France-Presse reported that Putin on Friday called for a transitional government to be put in place in Ukraine, which could effectively push out Zelenskyy. “If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump said in an early-morning phone call with NBC News on Sunday.

Well, I get his frustration, but he seems to not understand the reality still, despite obviously better (sort of) intel he begins to get. Nobody in Russia cares who Trump assigns the blame to--Russians have a very good understanding of the workings of American politics and military. That is why most of the comments in Russian social media as a reaction to NYT piece about US involvement in 404 was met with laughter and even mockery. Trump's time on SMO is running out--he, the US that is, in no position to dictate conditions, Russians are. 

Trump now begins to come across as this "tough guy" who never fought in real war with real enemies. 

He rages inside, because Russia stood against combined West and defeated it. He also doesn't understand the real war, because his "experiences" simply do not fit into the 21st century warfare but he cannot accept reality--this is precisely why the US loses its wars and then champions pseudo-military "excuses" for not winning those. Trump still has some lucid moments, but it seems his nature takes over him, despite the fact that on personal level I applaud some of his actions on the domestic front. 

Speaking of history. 211 years ago, Russian Army entered Paris:

Napoleon abdicated. 

Hedge Fund Managers Do Not ...

 ... geopolitical level thinkers make. They just don't.  

Washington is prepared to tighten the “egregiously weak” sanctions imposed on Russia by the administration of former US President Joe Biden if it helps accelerate a peace agreement in the Ukraine conflict, the US Treasury Department has said. The US sanctions on Russia, which were first imposed in 2014 after Crimea’s reunification with Moscow, have since been expanded through executive orders and were extended last week through March 2026. Russia considers them illegal and has repeatedly demanded their removal. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Economic Club of New York on Thursday that the US would no longer apply “lackadaisical” restrictions that allow circumvention. Bessent criticized the Biden administration for holding back on tougher energy sanctions over concerns about rising gas prices, questioning the rationale behind providing “substantial US military and financial support over the past three years” without enforcing matching restrictions.

Bessent, being gay (here is a hint for his attitudes towards Russia) and having worked in Soros Fund and being a product of degree mill from Yale, has a very faint idea about real world and especially Russia. It is the case with most US secretaries of treasury who preside over the finances of a bankrupt country, the US that is. But sure, let him try. 

How To Put It In Simpler Terms...

... regarding this thing: 

The US-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, will allow Ukrainian forces to target Russia’s Crimean Peninsula “more effectively,” the New York Times has reported, citing senior Pentagon officials. Washington secretly sent Kiev an unspecified number of longer-range ATACMS missiles last month, US officials confirmed earlier this week, after several outlets claimed that Kiev has already begun using the new weapon against Russian targets far behind the frontlines.

Ah yes, the water is wet, the fire is hot, and Biden Administration lives vicariously through Kiev regime. Russia gives the number of new delivery of ATACMS to be around 100 and most of those will be used in a desperate attempt to damage the Crimean Bridge. This is as far as Pentagon's military competencies extend, but what you are going to do? Simple: more of 404 will be taken by Russia for creation of a buffer (or cordon sanitaire), as Peskov quoted Putin today (in Russian). So, that means a complete removal of 404 cannon fodder from the left bank of Dnepr and, possibly, some territories on the right one. Which ones? It is for the General Staff to decide. Maybe 404 can ask Pentagon to provide those oil rigs with missiles and float them on Dnepr to deter Russian Army? Great operational thinking it will be. I am sure this plan will stun Kremlin and General Staff. 

To demonstrate, however, how "principled" combined West is:

MONTREAL/OTTAWA, April 23 (Reuters) - Canada has granted Airbus a waiver to allow it to use Russian titanium in its manufacturing after becoming the first Western government to ban supplies of the strategic metal in its latest package of measures triggered by the war in Ukraine. The move gives Airbus flexibility in its Canadian plants and is expected to allay concerns that its core operations could be hit by effectively banning the import to Canada of its European-built jets that rely most heavily on lightweight titanium.

You see, those people still live in la-la-land in which they do not recognize that in Russia they are looked at as lowlifes (not Airbus, the governments) and Russia merely sticks to contract obligations across the whole spectrum of industries, from oil, gas to titanium and other goodies, such as uranium, among many others. Combined West simply cannot declare war on Russia. No, not just for military reasons--only graduates of Top Gun: Maverick school of advanced military studies believe in the US military might--for economic ones, because that would make any contracts null and void and the "transition" from Russian energy to primarily agrarian and touristy societies in EU is not completed yet. The US tries to avoid such fate. Of course even the US is being forced to live on what it earns, but that will come slightly (very slightly) later. This activity by Russia is merely upholding her renomee as a reliable partner in any endeavor. 

 

Speaking of which, Evgeny Super and Nataliya Kirillova speak (sadly only in Russian) with people from one of the Russian companies which produces fully all components for controls of CNC machine centers. 

Remarkably, as it turned out, Russia produces all necessary hardware for both CNC and other multi-axis manipulators (aka "robots"). Russia is now in pursuit of her own fully independent software which will be on par with the best Western analogues. It is all about cooperation, because Russian firms in general have most of those constituent parts already available. Well, remember who Russia's PM Mikhail Mishustin is--he has a graduate degree in design of machining complexes. This is what "Titanium" firm makes:

The brains of machining centers (up to 6-axis). Well, it is not the first time for Russia to go it alone, and she usually succeeds.

Now to a very serious situation: two lowlifes who wore the uniform of Russian Army, evidently committed atrocity by executing seven people in three of the villages in Kherson region. The shells at the places of execution matched shells which those two used, they already admitted the guilt. They have been arraigned and transferred to Military Police, the investigation is ongoing and we may know more details as times passes. Remarkably, one of them has been... imprisoned twice before: once for manufacturing and distribution of drugs and second time... for murder. Do I sense a putrid stink of Wagner? (in Russian). Now comes the second issue--this all is a belch of a liberal Criminal Code pushed through by West's agents of influence, including moratorium on death sentence, in 1990s and of the practice of organized crime group aka Wagner recruiting criminals from prisons: Prigozhin loved his own kind. But let's wait for more details. These two murderers should face a firing squad, or be hanged in one of the villages they committed this crime.

What A Circus...

 ... yeah, I know. 

The US State Department has argued that Russia violated international sanctions on North Korea when President Vladimir Putin gifted a luxury car to DPRK leader Kim Jong-un. Asked about the move during a Wednesday press briefing, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Putin’s transfer of a Russian-made Aurus to Kim likely ran afoul of UN penalties on Pyongyang. ”UN Security Council resolutions do require all UN member states to prohibit both the supply of transportation vehicles and the supply of luxury automobiles to the DPRK. And if this is true, it would appear to be once again Russia violating UN Security Council resolutions that it itself supported,” he said. Miller went on to joke that Kim should have gotten “the extended warranty.”

LOL. The main question is what are they gonna do about it? Yes, I thought so. Just parade themselves as impotent clowns.

Sure, Sure.

In related news, the sky will fall on Earth. 

Germany is not daunted by the prospect of a protracted conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and will back Kiev for the next decade, Brigadier General Christian Freuding has said. He added that Germany is seeking to ensure that Ukraine retakes all the territory within its 1991 borders. Appearing at the Yalta European Strategy (YES) forum on Sunday, Freuding was asked whether Germany was prepared to support Ukraine if the hostilities with Russia ended up becoming a “long war” spanning several more years. The German military official replied by saying it was unrealistic to expect the conflict to end in the near future. Freuding went on to claim that “we’ve got the support of our parliament… for our military support for our Ukrainian friends up to the year 2032.” “We are ready and we are prepared to give long-term support… and we are ready to make time… our ally, and not time become [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ally,” he added.

Somebody needs to check the head of this idiot as well as heads of imbeciles who named the Ukie organized gathering Yalta European Strategy forgetting that it was at Yalta in 1945 where the decision on partition of Germany was reached, as well as more actions coordinated to finish off Nazism. The irony got lost on these creeps. But then again, what do you expect from them. 

This fits really well with Medvedev's reaction to EU trying to forbid Russians to travel to Europe. 

EU rules banning Russian nationals from bringing personal cars and smartphones into the bloc are downright insulting and degrading, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has insisted. He urged Moscow to suspend diplomatic relations with the bloc. In a statement on Telegram on Monday, Medvedev, who is Deputy Chair of the Russian Security Council, mockingly praised what he described as “straightforward and honest Brussels bosses.” “Directly and without beating around the bush, they told all Russians: ‘We see you as second-rate people.’” He went on to suggest that the sweeping restrictions were not a punishment for the government in Moscow, but rather “a real spit in the face of every single Russian citizen.” 

As for possible retaliation, Medvedev ruled out a symmetrical response to EU citizens. “Unlike many national leaders whose relatives worked in the [Nazi] SS, we are not racists,” he said, adding that foreigners who visit Russia tend to love the country. “It would be better to just temporarily suspend diplomatic relations with the EU. And bring diplomatic personnel back to our country,” the ex-president suggested, arguing that such a move would make European leaders “fill their pants” because “embassies are evacuated before very specific events,” and they would not know what to expect from Russia.

I am on record, suspension of diplomatic relations with EU should be not temporary but permanent because there is nothing to talk about with Europeans. As Irina Alksnis succinctly pointed out today:

Более сложным является вопрос: а почему собственно Европа не хочет видеть у себя россиян. Популярной является версия, что ЕС опасается пятой колонны в лице граждан с паспортами РФ, плюс в решении Еврокомиссии видят подготовку европейцев к прямому горячему конфликту с Москвой. Однако вряд ли наши туристы воспринимаются Брюсселем как реальная угроза в случае полномасштабной войны с Россией. К тому же у европейцев обширный опыт обращения с нонкомбатантами из вражеских стран, так что в случае чего концлагеря будут созданы молниеносно. И это также стоит иметь в виду согражданам, которых упорно тянет в Европу.  

Translation: A more difficult question is: why Europe itself does not want to see Russians. A popular version is that the EU fears a fifth column in the form of citizens with Russian passports, plus the decision of the European Commission is seen as preparing Europeans for a direct heated conflict with Moscow. However, it is unlikely that our tourists will be perceived by Brussels as a real threat in the event of a full-scale war with Russia. In addition, the Europeans have extensive experience in dealing with non-combatants from enemy countries, so if something happens, concentration camps will be created with lightning speed. And this is also worth keeping in mind for fellow citizens who are stubbornly drawn to Europe.

Read the whole piece (using translator), it makes some great points and explains why well-off Russian middle-class in Europe is a serious irritant for politicians and average brainwashed European. I am on record--European traveling to Russia, especially for the first time, could experience a deadly cognitive dissonance and cultural shock when encountering Russia's economic and cultural realities. Let's put it this way--European capitals look like shit-holes compared to most large Russian cities, let alone places like Moscow, St.Petersburg, Sochi and many others.

Color Me Surprised, Not.

The Guardian, as most of the Western MSM is a human and professional sewer. One cannot get the job in NYT, The Guardian or Times without being a prostitute, including literal meaning of this word, and an ignorant narcissist--a primary "education" one gets in Liberal Arts schools around the West nowadays. But when even such lowlife as Simon Jenkins begins to wonder:

I have asked for, but failed in all attempts to find, evidence that the UK government – or, I assume, any western government – did any forecast of the consequences of sanctions before imposing them. Elementary economics should have predicted that Russia’s huge dollar reserves, reputedly about $650bn, would protect its economy from severe damage. Predictable too was the impact of retaliatory sanctions on European energy and food prices. Was this never discussed? It would have been far better to concentrate all resources on aiding Ukraine on the battlefield. The modern economic sanction is a weapon not unlike America’s A-bomb in the film Oppenheimer: its rhetoric, its potency and its capacity to cause harm so exhilarates its creators that there is little thought given to its practical consequences or moral implications. It becomes an article of faith as much as a weapon of war – and as such unchallengeable.

One has to wonder if this classic product (or, rather, excrement) of UK's humanities degree mill has even rudimentary tool kit to "forecast" anything other than his next bowel movement. Yet, he arrives to a correct conclusion that nobody in the combined West did any forecasting, and the main reason for this is simple: they CANNOT do forecasting. Strategic analysis and forecasting in the West is absent as such--it cannot exist in the environment of ignorant and highly uncultured Western "intellectual elite" and its institutions because the West doesn't produce a serious intellect anymore, the one which has professional an human integrity to deal in facts not delusions. 

Jenkins, being Oxford's product in "philosophy and economics", of course, cannot grasp realities of real economy and warfare of Russia, not to speak of knowing Russian history and culture, yet he still comes up with wrong conclusion of resilience of Russian economy, attributing it to those proverbial $650 billion, half of which was stolen by the West anyway. It is difficult to explain to such a guy, who sat on several boards of all kinds of UK's orgs who participated in turning UK into shithole with the second world economy that Russia's resilience comes from a much larger number of sources than merely currency reserves. I guess he never heard of real economy, a gigantic resource extraction and processing sector, not to mention Russia's colossal military-industrial complex which since Soviet times had an extremely developed dual-technology and consumer market capacity. I am not talking about Johnny-come-lately "discovery" by UK's very own RUSI that, boy, warfare is actually about industries, and I don't mean industries like porn movies, growing pot and prostitution. 

The verdict is in--Western "elites" failed in every aspect of their activity and it WAS expected and was forecasted, by yours truly included, because of the systemic collapse of West's intellect and rational thinking which was a result of a complete corruption and degeneration of West's educational (and political) system which stopped producing people of true vision and intellect--only uncultured and intellectually feeble punditry, such as the author of this "revelation" in The Guardian where no person with honor and integrity would lower itself to write for.

OK, I Don't Know If It's A Joke...

 ... or a result of continuous abuse of all kinds of substances in Holland, but I think Russians should apologize to Estonians for making jokes about Estonians being the slowest people on Earth. Now we know who are the slowest in the head, and they are Dutch (LOL) allegedly intelligence services. 9 years after the removal of the legitimate government in Kiev sponsored by the West, and months after the start of SMO, Dutch intel people finally noticed, LOL)))

The Ukraine conflict is really about a greater confrontation between the West and Russia, while China challenges the world order based on Western values, according to the 2022 annual report by the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) of the Netherlands. Published this week, the report claims that Russia sees itself “not only at war with Ukraine, but also at war with the West,” while the West considers the conflict to be “also about our norms, values, freedom and prosperity.” According to the AIVD, while Ukraine is the military battleground, to Moscow the broader conflict is “about geopolitical relations in the world.” Russia believes it to be an existential conflict and is trying to “undermine Western democracies,” the Dutch spies have claimed. More than just a military conflict between two countries, the fighting in Ukraine “suddenly accelerated developments that have been going on in the world for a long time, changed the relationships between groups of countries, and can influence how countries interact with each other for a long time to come. In short, it turned out to be a geopolitical system shock,” the AIVD said.

Then RT concludes:

AIVD accused China of wanting to replace the “international order based on Western values,” with a world order in which Beijing would be on top. The AIVD findings come as the government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced plans to restrict exports of semiconductor-producing equipment to China. The US has been pressuring the Netherlands to do so for months.

Per this chip issue. For China the horizon of closing most of its needs in chip manufacturing is year-two maximum, Russia also is investing heavily both in chip production and development of lithography. For Russia this horizon is around 2026-27. This is what I learned just recently from not just professional Sinologist but a person directly involved with microelectronics and who permanently resides in China for many years. As any "sanctions" activity by the West this too will end up in a complete failure due to the fact that those people are not very good in strategic planning and assessment of resources. 

But the question stands--where were those Dutch spies, under what stone were they sleeping to not know that Russians have been stating openly about the conflict with the West for years, including from Putin himself, be that... drum roll... in his 2007 Munich speech to Russia's December 2021 Ultimatum. So, I guess we now know who runs Dutch national security circuit and the only thing we can say is that they are dutch (look up the street meaning of this term;)) Or as Russian anecdote about imprisoned Indians goes: and only three years after imprisonment did the Sharp Eye notice that their cell was missing the outside wall. 

Not May, But Will.

They really are that stupid. 

Some of the anti-Russia sanctions that were predicated on the Ukraine crisis may remain in force even after the conflict ends, a top official in President Joe Biden’s administration has told the Wall Street Journal. “We would probably feel, given what’s happened, that probably some sanctions should stay in place,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday in an interview on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia. She claimed that Russia hasn’t made any effort to seek peace talks “on any terms that are acceptable to Ukraine.” Yellen’s comments suggest that Washington may undertake a long-term campaign to “squeeze” the Russian economy, rather than merely trying to bring the Ukraine conflict to an end, the Wall Street Journal said. Any peace deal would involve a review of the penalties that the US and its allies have imposed on Moscow, Yellen said, adding, “I suppose in the context of some peace agreement, adjustment of sanctions is possible and could be appropriate.”

They think they play sophisticated game, while in reality they play in a sandbox with kids' scoops and buckets. It is also difficult to explain to an average US politician what real warfare is. 

Some US lawmakers have called the crisis a “proxy war,” saying it was an opportunity to invest in the destruction of Russia’s military without losing American troops.

I am now nearing an exhaustion pointing this out--we have to accept the fact of the American geopolitical and many military "professionals" being simply inadequate for grasping realities on the ground, so to speak. Russia was preparing for not just living under sanctions--she always lived like that--but for decoupling from the West since 2008, accelerating the process since 2014. Russian know what IS the game in the West and that is why the West is going down as I type this. When even shills like this begin to smell reality: 

Europe needs greater autonomy from the US in order to stop worrying so much about the outcome of elections, the French foreign minister has argued. Catherine Colonna also stressed that trans-Atlantic ties should remain strong. In an interview with Le Parisien newspaper published on Saturday, Colonna was asked for her views on the US midterm elections. The minister described the race as “interesting,” noting that the Republicans have not performed as well as predicted. The diplomat highlighted Europe’s reaction to the results, saying: “if [they] do not want to be held in suspense at each American election, they must find the path to greater autonomy,” although this “does not mean greater distance from the United States.”

I have the news for her:  Europe will do as told and France, which does not exist as France anymore, especially so. Or... I am not going to speculate what is the deal today with what seems to be a terrorist act in Istanbul, but anyone in Europe who dares to do (BSing is totally different affair) anything practical, however late it is, in terms of regaining any kind of sovereignty will learn really fast what it means to not obey orders. Another matter, Turkey is openly now in close ties with Russia (some see it eventually as economic and semi-military alliance in the future), France is not--she is Russia's enemy. Unlike Germany which was destroyed culturally and psychologically by the US, and now being raped economically, France surrendered her sovereignty completely on own volition. So, anything coming from Paris in terms of policy on the international arena is risible.  

But, but even these pathetic timid attempts by Europeans in finding their own voice (good luck with that) are a very serious indicator that they see the demise of Washington. After recent midterms it becomes clear that the US is not a coherent nation and that political system is completely broken, even when one assumes that DNC is not involved in electoral fraud. Per economy and MIC, here is everything one needs to know, especially after shocking for some GAO Report. CNN reports:

Putting it in layman's lingo--the US has no industrial capacity for a serious war. Simple as that. That is why, while the US lasts as  the "leader of the free world", Russia will continue to live under sanctions and Russians are perfectly OK with that. It is the ONLY tool in US arsenal ("of democracy") because the US of titans such as FDR or Ike is no more. SMO, meanwhile, continues and will continue until all Russia's geopolitical objectives are met, sanctions or not. 

On The Issue Of Being Slightly Pregnant.

By now, after the "dump" of some really interesting info-bombs from US MSM about US being in contact with Russia, as if thinking it was not enough, Bloomberg reports this: 

US Quietly Asks Banks to Keep Some Ties With Russia, Even as Congress Balks. Treasury, State prod JPMorgan, Citi to bank some Russian firms. Congress lambasted banks for continuing to do work in country.

Yes, we know that the US has been highly selective in terms of Russia sanctions it imposes--many things are simply removed from sanctions list--while being very insistent on Europeans to commit economic suicide. The US is trying to be slightly pregnant. But this stream of info "dumps" from MSM in the US is not accidental. I speak about it today in my video.

There is only so much that MSM brainwashing can do in terms of the effect of SMO on the economies of the combined West, as well as on the reluctance to provide Ukraine with what is touted inside combined West as super-pooper weapon systems. Who needs an additional embarrassment which is increasingly difficult to obfuscate and spin. And, of course, mid-terms are almost here. Can we get a ...
 

Believe me, we will need it, a lot...

At This Stage...

 ... I don't even know how to convey to anyone the stench of the lowlifes who populate Western media, but this is how Russians "suffer" from sanctions. I admit--it is impossible to explain to some dumb-ass with Ivy League degree in some pseudo-economics BS (they have zero mental faculties), but here it is. Will start from hundreds kilometers from St. Petersburg. 

Here is Russ buying shit in one of the Russian (German, wink, wink) supermarkets a few day ago.

As I already stated, US "elite" (Ivy League) universities produce imbeciles. So is London "elite" education. E.G. why the U.K. is over:

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has now emerged as the Conservative Party's most popular potential replacement for the current head of government, Liz Truss, a new YouGov poll has shown. The survey, which was conducted on October 17-18, revealed that 32% of respondents would like Johnson to return as prime minister, despite a series of scandals and cabinet resignations that precipitated his eventual departure. “Those who voted for Truss to take over are particularly keen on a Boris Johnson return if she left: 44% put him top of their list of potential successors,” the pollsters noted.

How can you explain to imbecile that he(she) is an imbecile--you cannot, because he (she) is an imbecile. 

Now, Russia Is Finished...

Because mighty UK finally pulled the plug, LOL)) That will show those Roosskies. 

The UK has placed new sanctions on Russia, blocking its citizens and businesses from purchasing an array of services from British firms, over the Kremlin’s decision to annex four regions of Ukraine. The new sanctions seek to further damage Russia’s economy by hindering the country’s access to IT consultancy, architectural, engineering, accounting, and commercial legal services from UK firms. Russia currently imports more than two-thirds (67 percent) of its services from countries that have already sanctioned the Russian Federation over its invasion of Ukraine. The Russian Federation is particularly on the UK for audit and commercial legal services due to London’s position as one of the world’s leading professional services hubs. The new sanctions expand on the UK government’s May package that banned service firms including consultancies and PR agencies from working with Russia. However, the May package let lawyers continue working with Russia, despite criticism of the role law firms have played in enabling Russian oligarchs, particularly through the use of libel threats. The new package is set to ban lawyers from providing “transactional legal advisory services” to Russian businesses, but will let law firms continue providing other limited legal services to the country. Ross Denton, head of international trade at Ashurst, said the “prohibition is likely intended to relate to new M&A and commercial contracts.” However, Denton warned the new sanctions could “encourage some law firms to start supplying services to Russian persons as the UK will have set out what services are prohibited, thus establishing what services would be legal.

You could see the thunder clouds gathering over horizon for Russia when UK committed the atrocity against Russians a few years ago by banning London's gay version of famous Tchaikovsky's ballet  The Swan Lake to travel to Russia, many Moscow intellectuals ended up trying to commit suicide. But now this, good Lord, what have you done Foggy Albion to Russians. Kremlin is desperately trying to come up with Declaration of Unconditional Surrender but... they have no lawyers to properly write it. So, no cigar, I guess. 

It is not an accident that Maxim Sokolov of Ria wrote yesterday a piece which explains that combined West is experiencing an anthropological catastrophe (in Russian), which is a euphemism for primarily degenerates constituting Western "elites" and it is difficult not to agree with Sokolov. Have you listened to Mr. Petraeus lately? The guy doesn't understand simplest military-technological things, because he spews an amateurish crap even many gamers from mama's basement understand better than him. Can you reason with these people? Nope. But even these morons, while trying to project the tough image evidently have some sense of self-preservation, despite being pathological liars. 

Biden adviser: US in private talks with Russia over nuclear weapons to avoid public ‘tit for tat’ 

Sure, the problem, of course, is in the fact, as I already stated, that you cannot negotiate anything with these people--you just have to tell them what expects them and for the cretin Petraeus who wants to sink Russian ships, somebody has to show him this news, which, for some reason, created panic in Western media. 

A top-of-the-line Russian nuclear-powered submarine has gone missing from its harbor in the Arctic along with its rumored "doomsday weapon," according to multiple reports. NATO has reportedly warned members that Russia's Belgorod submarine no longer appeared to be operating out of its White Sea base, where it has been active since July. Officials warned that Russia may plan to test Belgorod's "Poseidon" weapons system, a drone equipped with a nuclear bomb that Russia has claimed is capable of creating a "radioactive tsunami," according to Italian media. The drone can be deployed from the submarine at any time and detonated at a depth of 1 kilometer near a coastal city. Russian state media has claimed the device can create a 1,600-ft. wave that smashes into the coast and irradiates it.

Somebody has to explain to Petraeus and his ilk of "generals" who lost everything (wars) they ever fought, that Belgorod carries 6 Poseidon drones and those, having unlimited range and speeds in excess of 100 knots, are not interceptable by any existing ASW means and they carry not only nuclear ordnance, but also can carry a shitload of conventional explosives in lieu of nukes, and that means that a single Belgorod can sink 6 US Navy nuclear aircraft carriers. And I mean literally blow them out of the water by conventional explosives. Does he want to play this game? 

Somebody explain this to him, please. But don't hold your breath--the issue is anthropological. Plus, Belgorod is still in trials mode for weapon systems, wink, wink. 

From Different Corners.

As one Russian commenter succinctly noted--these were Americans who "aestheticized" modern war by means of Hollywood and counter-culture. Many people would be surprised how many Soviets have been influenced by this imagery. I am not saying it is bad or good, I am saying that this aesthetics survived and then spread. Here is how it fits perfectly.  He even called it--Good Morning, Vietnam!

In related news, the newest report from Russian stores (in this particular case famous huge Russian retail chain Lenta). See for yourself how Russians are suffering from sanctions and isolation. Report from 4 days ago. Horrible, horrible empty shelves.

And don't get me started on commercial aerospace industry. But then again, Michael Hudson IS on record--they don't teach real economics in Western universities.

Schizophrenia, Anyone?

National Institute of Mental Health defines schizophrenia as a serious mental illness and lists one of its major symptoms, among delusions and hallucinations, as: 

Thought disorder: When a person has ways of thinking that are unusual or illogical. People with thought disorder may have trouble organizing their thoughts and speech. Sometimes a person will stop talking in the middle of a thought, jump from topic to topic, or make up words that have no meaning.

Here is why this thing came to my attention (via Ria.Ru) which reviewed a public opinion poll by ELABE which was reported by French TV Network BFMTV. In this poll ELABE asked next question and received next responces:

Les sanctions économiques contre la Russie jugées pas efficaces pour mettre fin à la guerre. Des Français plus partagés sur l’efficacité du soutien militaire et financier à l’Ukraine. 74% des Français considèrent que les sanctions économiques prises par l’Union Européenne et les pays occidentaux contre la Russie ne sont pas efficaces pour mettre fin à la guerre (dont 51% pas vraiment et 23% pas du tout).

Translation: Economic sanctions against Russia deemed not effective in ending the war French people more divided on the effectiveness of military and financial support for Ukraine 74% of French people consider that the economic sanctions taken by the European Union and Western countries against Russia are not effective in ending the war (including 51% not really and 23% not at all).

There is absolutely nothing sensational about it, if not to consider the OTHER question in this poll:

Face à la pression sur le pouvoir d’achat, l’adhésion aux sanctions contre la Russie et au soutien à l’Ukraine faiblit dans l’opinion publique

Concernant le soutien à l’Ukraine et les sanctions contre la Russie: 40% des Français (-6 depuis le 24 mars) des Français estiment que le soutien à l’Ukraine et les sanctions contre la Russie sont la priorité, même si cela a un impact de plus en plus important sur leur quotidien et le pouvoir d’achat des Français; 32% (-2) qu’il faut continuer de soutenir l’Ukraine et sanctionner la Russie, mais si cela a un impact trop important sur leur quotidien et le pouvoir d’achat des Français, il faudra réduire nos sanctions contre la Russie et notre soutien à l’Ukraine; 27% (+8) que le quotidien et le pouvoir d’achat des Français est plus important que le soutien à l’Ukraine et les sanctions contre la Russie, il faut stopper les sanctions pour rétablir la situation économique et commerciale;

Translation: Faced with pressure on purchasing power, support for sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine is weakening in public opinion. Regarding support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia: 40% of French people (-6 since March 24) believe that support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia are the priority, even if this has an increasingly significant impact on their daily lives and the power of purchase of the French: 32% (-2) that we must continue to support Ukraine and sanction Russia, but if this has too great an impact on their daily lives and the purchasing power of the French, we will have to reduce our sanctions against Russia and our support for Ukraine.  27% (+8) that the daily life and purchasing power of the French is more important than support for Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia, the sanctions must be stopped to restore the economic and commercial situation  

In simpler words: sanctions do not work but 72% of French still support them. See definition of schizophrenia and thought disorder above. What can I say, the times when rational thought was being birthed in the confines of once great Sorbonne more than 700 years ago are long gone, and the ability to think straight is not a European value anymore. Schizophrenia descended upon Europe, yet, it MUST be understood that this poll also reveals something which I write about for more than a decade--a deep seated Russophobia of a general European population. Some, sometimes significant, exceptions merely confirm the rule.

But then again, rationality left what used to be Western Civilization some time ago, and events in Kharkov Oblast today demonstrate it perfectly with militarily useless PR-driven "offensive" which, as Russia's Permanent Representative to UN Nebenzya stated (in Russian), resulted in fields near Nikolaev, Kharkov and Zaporozhie, "seeded" with thousands of corpses of VSU servicemen, who are not allowed to retreat by "zagrad" detachments. This is the level of military "expertise" in Pentagon and London. Especially since they know they cannot fight such a war. Ah yes, there is other reason for this madness:

Most Americans, Even A Majority Of Democrats, Don’t Want Biden To Run in 2024: Poll

Believe me, it is a huge factor in militarily suicidal decision by Pentagon on this "offensive" in which many thousands of Ukrainians will be killed, and tens of thousands will be wounded. Hey, whatever it takes to save American "democracy", right?

A Friend Of Mine...

... sent me Daniel Larison's piece at his blog Eunomia where he contemplates economic sanctions. He refers to The Economist piece titled: Are sanctions on Russia working? My friend correctly states and I quote him:"Sanctions are another example of the intellectual bankruptcy of the Western ruling elite. Like a child with a hammer in a room full of glasses and dishware. As you never cease to point out, almost no one in Western top circles has a well-trained mind. Way too many law and business degrees (or worse, in political voodoo science!), with very poor background in math, physics, chemistry and such. They do not understand the energy-material world -- thermodynamics and the importance of those 92 elements." And Larison's piece, while concluding correctly that:

The flaws of broad sanctions have been well-known for a long time, so it wasn’t as if it took imposing them on Russia to recognize their limitations and ineffectiveness. It was entirely foreseeable (and foreseen) that waging economic war on a country as large and powerful as Russia would have adverse consequences for the senders of the sanctions and for the entire world. We know from experience that targets of the harshest sanctions regimes also tend to be the most intransigent, and broad sanctions often backfire and produce more of what they are supposed to discourage. We also know that sanctions usually do not really “work” at all in the sense of changing the target’s behavior in the way that the senders want it to change. Given all that, it should not come as news that the “sanctions weapons has flaws.” The question should be why we continue to use a weapon as blunt and crude as sanctions at all.

Is misplaced and, in fact, is somewhat misleading, because Larison's statement 'It was entirely foreseeable (and foreseen) that waging economic war on a country as large and powerful as Russia would have adverse consequences for the senders of the sanctions and for the entire world', is utterly false. Foreseen by who? If Larison has a short memory, for all my respect for his generally humanist aspirations, facts testify to exactly opposite. The whole Ukrainian "strategy" of the United States and EU since 2013 was and is based on a complete miscalculation and inability to recognize either the scale or power of Russia be that in economic or military terms. The Economist, as well as most of Western publications related to "economic" affairs (Forbes, WSJ et all) have been consistently wrong on "foreseeing" anything and, in fact, played a crucial role in creating an alternative universe narrative on economy of Russia and impact of sanctions. 

As Russians say today, when responding to the question of if economic sanctions work, 'yes, they do--as a boomerang'. But the best example of a systemic failure of Western economic, military, intel or media institutions to "foresee" anything is his very own (I guess he is employed there) Quincy Institute for (allegedly) Responsible Statecraft. Materials published in it re: SMO are the Exhibit A of a complete detachment from the military and economic realities of Russia. If a complete sophomoric delirium about SMO provided there by such "scholars" as Anatol Lieven is understandable, the position of a former cadre officer of the US Army Colonel Andrew Bacevich hardly differs from propaganda being spewed by other US military "experts" such as generals Petraeus or Keane. And that brings us to my position of the last decade at least--the West has a systemic cognitive problem, which, in the end, is a problem of competencies and professionalism. In foreign policy the United States is utterly incompetent because, and I quote Larison himself:

Unfortunately, the U.S. is remarkably bad at understanding these things accurately. This is not just a Trump administration failing. Most American politicians and policymakers routinely misjudge the intentions and goals of our adversaries, and they often invent a fantasy version of the regime in question that leads them astray again and again. One reason for this is that it is simply easier to project our assumptions about what a regime must want than it is to make the effort to see things as they do. Another reason is that many of our politicians and policymakers mistakenly think that if they try to understand an adversary’s views that must somehow mean that they sympathize with the adversary or condone its behavior. Instead of trying to know their enemy, our leaders would prefer not to for fear of being “tainted” by the experience. This lack of knowledge is compounded in some cases by the absence of normal diplomatic relations with the adversary. Our leaders are encouraged to take this self-defeating approach to international problems by a political culture that rewards the people that strike tough-sounding-but-ignorant poses about a problem and marginalizes those that seek to understand it as fully as possible.

And as Larison's "own" Responsible Statecraft outlet exhibits consistently, not only the US is "remarkably bad" in understanding its "adversaries", but truth is--often doesn't know basic facts of real economy, modern warfare, history and diplomacy, but most remarkably, fails to understand its own status, scale and position vis-a-vis the world outside. This huge issue cannot be rectified by mere "rethinking", US machine in producing real statesmen is broken completely and requires a complete removal. It failed miserably to react and adapt to tectonic shifts of modern world and exceptions in "foreseeing" things merely confirm the rule of modern American "elites" being a failure across the board. But then again, what did one expect with "scholars" like Lieven. 

In related sanctions matters, however, this is funny: 

Russia is flaring natural gas at the Portovaya plant near the Finnish border while drastically cutting gas flows via the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany, a Rystad Energy analysis shared with BBC News showed on Friday.  The plant northwest of St. Petersburg is flaring an estimated around $10 million worth of natural gas per day—gas that would have gone to Germany otherwise. 

Aw, poor-poor dears, they cannot sleep knowing that Russia can afford to do so, because Russia is not going to supply her enemies who conduct proxy war against her, and the window is closing fast. This, not to mention the fact that Europe has been written off by Russia, is what really matters. The US is next, but only after some necessary arrangements. 

UPDATE: Michael Hudson, after reading this piece sent to me (initially through Andrei Raevsky) this addendum: 

I have a comment ....about ... column today saying that sanctions don’t work. I think that’s not the point when it comes to U.S. sanctions. Suppose a bully is seen beating up people. Someone tells him, “This won’t change that guy’s behavior.” The bully will reply: “I don’t care. I like to hit people. That’s my philosophy.” I think this is the spirit behind US sanctions.

I agree, it is a philosophy. Especially, as Hudson adds these comments sent to me:

After I wrote it, I thought of some more examples. Take torture. Every country (and religion) has its own signature mode of torture). It’s pretty much known that torture gets false confessions. But nations still do this. Iran under the Shah has a “hot plate,” tying victims to what was a big frying pan and turning on the heat. The US has water boarding. It was pointed out to me that one country was exceptional. Russia simply used sleep deprivation to break down resistance to giving information. Apparently the Americans found that this was simply no fun. It’s like air force generals who like to bomb, and find opportunities everywhere. I’ve known plenty of these guys – and when it comes to Russia, it’s really part of a psychodrama of anger and revenge.

Pay attention to the highlighted conclusion by one of the best economic minds of our generation. He gets it 100%. Remember this? 

Never underestimate the drive to be "the best", when you know you cannot be. The psychodrama unfolds...

Well...

Kinda no comments are necessary.  

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch city of The Hague on Thursday said it would ask for a temporary exemption of EU sanctions against Russia, as it struggles to find a replacement for its contract with Russian gas supplier Gazprom in time. Sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine order governments and other public bodies to end existing contracts with Russian companies by October 10.

As report details:

For The Hague, this means it has to find a new supplier of gas to replace its existing agreement with Gazprom.The city said it held an EU-wide tender in June and July, but failed to attract any bids from potential suppliers.

Or maybe I need to comment just a teeny-weeny bit. And that goes extremely well with this UK piece of news. Thanks to Dean Nor for pointing this out: 

Ukrainian refugees and British hosts have hit out at the Homes for Ukraine scheme that has seen families on both sides feeling abandoned by the British government. A British mother who opened her door to two Ukrainians says she feels 'totally used and underappreciated' and has vowed to 'never again' take part in the scheme. Clara Maguire, 54, from Poole, Dorset, is one of a growing number of Britons who have quit the programme following a breakdown in relations with their displaced guests. Others claim they have been 'duped' by 'non-vulnerable' Ukrainians, while many have yet to receive a penny of the monthly £350 payments promised by the government - some six months after Vladimir Putin's tanks rolled over the border.

Just gets to show you: always study the subject, do your due diligence, before committing to any kind of sappy sentimental scheme concocted within deep recesses of inflamed and irrational minds such as BoJo's or other EU cretins, keeping in mind that it was combined West which unleashed the war in Ukraine in 2014 when overthrew corrupt but a legitimate government of Yanukovich. Welcome to the land of the consequences. You know, cause and effect--the concept long ago forgotten in what once was the realm of Enlightenment and rational thinking. It is especially painful, I am sure, in the land of Newton and Shakespeare. But then again, does such a society deserve a pity? 

EXCLUSIVE: Shakespeare's Globe Theatre is accused of 'violating history' by portraying Joan of Arc as non-binary in new play using the pronouns 'they' and 'them'. 

I thought so. Something tells me that Juliett was transgender and Romeo was gay. I believe 'violating history' is the only thing they teach in modern Western "elite" diploma mills, otherwise, how can you justify existence in the alternative universe.