When Congress writes and passes a bill Violates the 1st Amendment of all Americans, theres only one small Congressional voice crying in the Wilderness for justice and enlightenment. This is truly sad for our country!
https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1527336140931379200?s=20&t=cqlg9qxePw9g7EDDch3KGA
https://twitter.com/MZHemingway/status/1527353452346560529?s=20&t=cqlg9qxePw9g7EDDch3KGA
PA update: Oz leads McCormick by 1,241 votes (0.1%). It is inevitable that this will land in mandatory recount territory - a process that won't begin until next week and could stretch into June. But it's not clear who will be leading and by how much when the recount begins…
What we think is left to be counted:
31 precincts in Allegheny County due to technical issues. This should amount to 1,500-2,000 total GOP votes a& hey aren't likely to be counted until next week. This is McCormick's base & he's been beating Oz 39-33 in Election Day votes here.
Some precincts in Philadelphia have also yet to report their election Day vote. This should amount to ~900 total GOP votes and Oz has been beating McCormick by double-digits in the Election Day vote in Philly.
Between 10k-15k uncounted mail ballots from across the state….
…McCormick continues to outpace Oz in the mail vote; 17k were counted yesterday and McCormick won them at a 32-25% clip.
There will also be a small (maybe 2,000) pool of provisional ballots and an even smaller number of military ballots.
This will all play out in slow motion into next week. It is possible that with a strong performance with the remaining mail ballots and the Allegheny votes, McCormick could just catch Oz in the tally. But also…
…Oz could pad his lead with the Philly votes, and if he does even slightly better with the remaining mail ballots than he's been doing or if it turns out there's just fewer of them than we're now estimating he'll finish in first, maybe even by a comfortable-ish margin.
Again, though, wherever the initial count lands won't be known until next next week. And the margin is all but certain to be well within the 0.5% threshold that will trigger a recount.
Also worth noting that the candidate who trails after the initial count is complete can decline the automatic recount. This has happened several times since PA's recount law went into effect in 2004.
And a batch of ~200 votes from Philadelphia has come in, with Oz getting 105 and McCormick 29. This extends Oz's statewide lead to 1,316 votes.
https://twitter.com/SteveKornacki/status/1527268738445320193?s=20&t=uZVj3gKzoDgXeH9iuImVyA
Hey didn’t Pompeo say McCormick will win when mail in votes come in? How did Pompeo know this. Whenever Q said trust someone 8x out of 10, they weren’t trustworthy.
Pompeo has lost any ounce of trust I had in him, not only for this, but actively rallying against POTUS candidates he backed. And the numerous other things we’ve researched and found on him. He’s a proud Zionist you know, so he’ll support the Zionists running.
https://twitter.com/WadeMiller_USMC/status/1527327726914666498?s=20&t=uZVj3gKzoDgXeH9iuImVyA
https://twitter.com/waltermasterson/status/1527322131960213505?s=20&t=uZVj3gKzoDgXeH9iuImVyA
https://twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1525498296046845960?s=20&t=uZVj3gKzoDgXeH9iuImVyA
https://twitter.com/AuronMacintyre/status/1527326195313827840?s=20&t=uZVj3gKzoDgXeH9iuImVyA
I'm almost there. Almost to the point when I can watch Halt And Catch Fire again.
Most inspiring shit to watch for tech founders
HACF
Pirates of Silicon Valley
There Will Be Blood
what else am I forgetting?
1:35 AM · May 2, 2022q
I'm almost there. Almost to the point when I can watch Halt And Catch Fire again.
Most inspiring shit to watch for tech founders
HACF
Pirates of Silicon Valley
There Will Be Blood
what else am I forgetting?
1:35 AM · May 2, 2022
More from the comments that show promise:
deadwood (pmarca's orders)
the social network (duh)
triumph of the nerds
the founder (2016)
flash of genius (I just remembered this 1)
the big short
master and commander (?)
nuovomondo
1:58 AM · May 2, 2022
return to space (elon)
general magic (movie)
code rush (netscape)
they were there (IBM)
silicon cowboys (compaq)
alphago (deepmind)
american experience silicon valley (general)
something ventured (vc)
Revolution OS (linux)
2:18 AM · May 2, 2022
http://startup.com (dot bomb movie)
e-Dreams (failed 90s startup)
Nerds 2.0.1 (triumph of the nerds but internet)
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
Aardvark’d: 12 Weeks With Geeks (full product build)
betas (Silicon Valley precursor show)
2:22 AM · May 2, 2022
STEVE JOBS BY SORKIN how could I forget
The Hummingbird Project (some high frequency trading thing)
McCabe & Mrs Miller (some western movie)
Okay hopefully that's all because I'm tired of this goodbye
2:48 AM · May 2, 2022·T
https://twitter.com/pmarca/status/1521001866980577280?s=20&t=3orts8wt6WwDn2i5LYefRg
https://twitter.com/growing_daniel/status/1521000391856386055?s=20&t=3orts8wt6WwDn2i5LYefRg
Q warned us years ago with a total of 30 posts on the power of memes, just a couple includedHe knew the Janco’s of the world would accelerate the destruction of free speech!
2146
10-Sep-2018 7:23:00 PM EDT
8ch/qresearch
https://twitter.com/Thorlock1248/status/1039291230667137025
PREPARE YOUR MEMES.
(NON_NSA TECH TODAY CANNOT READ/FILTER)
Q
4658
10-Sep-2020 9:21:55 PM EDT
8kun/qresearch10597304
FB-TWIT using DARPA provided software to censor and restrict picture content using 'matching' [think reverse image] _upload one to find/locate all [cycling 5s].
>Meme combat approach
Adapt & overcome.
Q
4509
24-Jun-2020 1:01:36 PM EDT
8kun/qresearch9730975
You have been selected to help serve your Country.
Never retreat from the battlefield [Twitter, FB, etc.].
Use other platforms as a form of centralized command and control.
Organize and connect [bridge through linking].
Source meme(s) material from battlefield and/or garage [highlight & share][take & drop]
Mission 1: Dispute [reject] propaganda push through posting of research and facts
Mission 2: Support role of other digital soldiers [one falls another stands (rises)]
Mission 3: Guide [awaken] others through use of facts [DECLAS 1-99 material and other relevant facts] and memes [decouple MSDNC control of info stream] _ask 'counter' questions to initiate 'thought' vs repeat [echo] of MSDNC propaganda
Mission 4: Learn use of camouflage [digitally] _primary account suspended-terminated _use of secondary
Mission 5: Identify strengths / weaknesses [personal and designated target(s)] re: Twitter & FB [+other] example re: meme(s) failure to read through use of ALGO [think Tron (MCP_master control program)] _dependence on person-to-person capture [slow response time unidentified user(s)]
Game theory.
Information warfare.
Welcome to the Digital Battlefield.
Together we win.
Q
2397
03-Nov-2018 2:16:38 PM EDT
8ch/qresearch
==Keep your eye on the ball.
Midterms & Memes==.
[ ]
Remember, POTUS already ordered the DECLAS.
-[RR] pushed back hard
-OIG tasked to review [determine 'sensitive info']
-OIG works w/ HUBER (important to remember)
-HUBER reports 'directly' to SESSIONS (important to remember)
Was the DECLAS already cleared for release?
Was the gambit played by [RR] to stall & delay post election banking on [D's win House]?
POTUS AF1 [RR] An enemy who feels safe [& in control] is an enemy who…..
POTUS AF1 [RR] Mueller END
[Important to remember]
How do you navigate around installed BLOCKADE?
[MUELLER] designed to take-in evidence needed to ‘expose’ DS [DOJ block re: Mueller ‘evidence’ ongoing investigation].
[MUELLER] designed to limit POTUS’ ability to maneuver.
[MUELLER] designed to ‘stall-for-time’ until MIDTERM ELECTIONS to TERMINATE all HOUSE / SENATE ongoing investigations.
[MUELLER] designed to ‘safeguard’ D_PARTY_BASE false narrative re: RUSSIA COLLUSION [POTUS CHEATED – EVIL – SKY FALLING] in effort to DIVIDE and MOBILIZE for future protests, riots, threats, violence, FF’s, etc.
[MUELLER] designed to provide FAKE NEWS w/ ammunition to sway public opinion, obstruct foreign + domestic agenda, fuel impeachment/removal, fuel anti-POTUS [DIVISION] [prevent UNITY], etc..
[MUELLER] designed to demonstrate to foreign players that OLD GUARD still pulls strings.
[MUELLER] designed to mobilize D_PARTY for MIDTERM VOTE WIN.
[MUELLER] designed to push D_PARTY backers to DONATE [GOFUNDME – D_PARTY].
[MUELLER] designed as PUBLIC OUTCRY EXCUSE should criminal charges be brought against them [‘we are being ‘politically’ attacked because MUELLER…].
How do you REMOVE installed BLOCKADE?
DECLAS—DECLAS—DECLAS
How do you navigate around installed corrupt [FBI][DOJ]?
USE A STEALTH BOMBER
———————–
VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!
Q
https://twitter.com/pmarca/status/1520994997536903168?s=20&t=cqC29DR3hIoEdUSKZmtDeA
20 May, 2022 12:09
Elon Musk calls sexual misconduct allegations ‘political hit piece’
Business Insider claims the Tesla CEO is accused of paying off a flight attendant to settle a sexual misconduct claim (Kek another Stormy Daniels grift)
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk claims that recent sexual misconduct claims against him are a “political hit piece,” which should be viewed through a political lens. The billionaire allegedly had his company pay a former flight attendant $250,000 as part of a severance agreement in 2018 after offering to buy her a horse in exchange for sexual acts.
According to an article published by Business Insider, the flight attendant worked in the cabin crew for SpaceX‘s corporate jet fleet. During a flight in 2016, Musk allegedly asked her for a full body massage and then exposed himself to her, touched her leg and offered to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage.
The Insider states that the story is based on a signed declaration by a friend of the attendant who spoke to the outlet on condition of anonymity, citing fears for her safety, and on documents, emails and other records pertaining to the incident.
Insider also claims to know the identity of the flight attendant but will not disclose it because “she claims to be the victim of sexual misconduct,” adding that she has personally declined to comment on the story.
The flight attendant’s friend(kek they out flight attendants on Trump in the 1st campaign, not very original) claims that after refusing Musk’s advance, she felt that she was being pushed out of the company, and in 2018 hired a lawyer and filed a complaint to SpaceX’s human resources department. The complaint was reportedly “resolved quickly” after the company, Musk and the attendant entered into a severance agreement granting the woman $250,000 in exchange for a pledge to not file a lawsuit and the signing of a non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreement, barring her from disclosing any information about Musk and his businesses.
Musk denied the claims in a statement to the outlet, insisting that there was “a lot more to this story” and slammed it as a “politically motivated hit piece.” He noted that if he were actually “inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light.”
The billionaire also took to Twitter to respond to these allegations, urging that attacks against him “should be viewed through a political lens” and that they have become his critics' “standard(despicable) playbook”.
Replying to a group of Tesla owners on Twitter, Musk also stated that he had not responded to reporters from Business Insider, writing that “it was clear that their only goal was a hit piece to interfere with the Twitter acquisition. The story was written before they even talked to me.”
Continuing the thread, Musk added that “for the record, those wild accusations are utterly untrue” and issued a challenge to “this liar who claims their friend saw me “exposed””, asking her to describe any feature, like a scar or tattoo, that the public doesn’t know about, insisting that she “won’t be able to do so, because it never happened.”
The allegations come after Musk recently announced that he would be voting Republican in the upcoming midterm elections, stating that the Democratic Party, which he previously supported and considered “the kindness party,” had become “the party of division and hate.” Musk concluded by suggesting he would now become the target of “their dirty tricks campaign.”
Indeed, Musk has been facing a backlash on Twitter over the allegations and his endorsement of the Republicans; however the billionaire has still found a way to turn it into a meme, asking his supporters to refer to the scandal as “Elongate.”
(Someone should tell Elon he should feel proud, as the dark money groups are using all the tactics used on Trump. So he’s very powerful in his fight, not as powerful as Trump, but still kekkity. These idiots are not very creative! They are just recycling what failed to take down Trump.)
https://www.rt.com/news/555811-musk-sexual-misconduct-allegations/
20 May, 2022 09:47
Kiev wants Donbass authorities ‘physically gone’
Mikhail Podoliak, one of Ukraine's negotiators, said he wanted the very word 'Russians' forgotten in the Ukrainian regions currently not held by Kiev
(Picture: The head of the Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin answers journalists' questions at a briefing in Mariupol. © RIA/Sergey Baturin)
One of the top negotiators representing Ukraine in the stalled peace talks with Russia has apparently called for theextermination of “those who call themselves” the authorities in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republicsrecognized by Russia as independent states in late February.
Speaking to Ukraine’s ICTV channel on Thursday, Mikhail Podoliak, adviser to the Head of the Office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, expressed the wish that “all these criminal elements which call themselves the authorities there be gone, physically gone,” once the Ukrainian military retakes Donbass.
Podoliak went on to define Ukraine’sprincipal priority at this point as “liberating, and doing so in as tough a manner as possible with respect to collaborators as well as Russian troops” Kherson Region and Zaporozhye Region in the south of Ukraine. Retaking the areas would help Kiev regain access to the Sea of Azov, something Ukraine “definitely needs,” according to the adviser.
(He’s calling for a mass genocide on ethnic Russians and all those that support them. They will never give up trying to kill dissenters. These people are truly sick and evil)
The official added that he wants the word ‘Russians’ to be forgotten and consigned to history in Kharkov Region – which borders Russia, and where Kiev is mounting a counter-offensive – as well as in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions, which were recognized as independent by Moscow in late February.
The peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, which Podoliak had been actively taking part in, began in late February, shortly after Russia attacked the neighboring state. Several rounds of talks took place in Belarus, as well as via video link throughout March, with both sides reporting modest progress.
The two delegations met in Istanbul on March 29, with Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, claiming the following day that Ukraine had agreed in principle to become a neutral state, to renounce its desire to obtain nuclear weapons, and to conduct troop exercises only with the consent of the guarantor states, including Russia.
However, in early April, following the discovery of mass graves allegedly containing bodies of Ukrainian civilians in the town of Bucha, Kiev accused the Russian troops who had held the area of committing atrocities. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the supposed crimes against civilians severely complicated further dialogue. Russia has denied any involvement and insisted that the harrowing scenes in Bucha had been staged by Ukrainian forces to frame the retreating Russian troops. Moscow also claimed that Ukrainian officials had themselves moved away from some of the key points agreed upon in Istanbul.
On April 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the peace talks had “returned to a deadlock,” after Ukraine refused to recognize Crimea as Russian and the Donbass republics as independent.
In early May, Ukrainian newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda ran a report suggesting that it was UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to Kiev on April 9 that emboldened Ukraine’s leadership and led them to abandon attempts at a peaceful resolution to the conflict. According to the outlet, citing officials close to Zelensky, Johnson made it clear that the West was opposed to Ukraine signing any kind of agreement with Russia.
On Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko indicated that Russia was ready to restart the talks, adding that it was “our Ukrainian partners” who had put the negotiations on hold.
https://www.rt.com/russia/555793-ukrainian-official-donbass-authorities-physically-gone/
Someone should ask Cruz, Rick Scott and all the rest, was it worth it to put a death sentence of millions of ethnic Russians and others in Ukraine that support them? How much did you senators get paid or what kind of blackmail do they have on you, that you willingly take part in crimes against humanity?
GOP Senators that voted for that $40 billion to Ukraine, shows Americans you would cave just as bad when it comes to protecting conservatives, since you are doing that to innocent people in another country.
20 May, 2022 08:51
HomeBusiness News
Ruble smashes four-year high against US dollar
The Russian currency strengthens ahead of upcoming tax payment
The Russian ruble reached a four-year high on the US dollar and a seven-year high against the Euro on Friday. The ruble is being propelled by capital controls, the new ruble-based gas payment scheme and looming corporate tax dues, which are pushing up domestic demand for the currency.
Reaching 57.67 rubles against the dollar at 08:13 GMT represents the ruble’s strongest position since March 2018, according to data from the Moscow Exchange.The ruble also gained nearly 5% on the euro, with the exchange rate reaching below 60 rubles per euro.
According to Bloomberg, the Russian currency has become the world's best-performing currency this year despite its sharp drop in April sparked by unprecedented economic sanctions placed on Russia.
However, it has since strengthened due to measures introduced by Russia’s central bank and government. As part of the regulator's capital controls, Russian citizens and residents are allowed to buy euros, US dollars or other European currencies at the official exchange rate but cannot withdraw the foreign funds until September 9. People who held US dollar and euro accounts at Russian banks before March 9 are allowed to withdraw $10,000 or its equivalent for the period up through September 9. However, Russian citizens can buy any other foreign currencies, and ruble withdrawals are not limited.
The upcoming tax payment is also pushing the ruble higher, as it traditionally requires extra conversion of foreign currency to rubles.
Russia’s stock indices have also been on the rise. The dollar-denominated Moscow Exchange index grew by 0.33%, up to 2,444.57 points, while the ruble-denominated RTS index edged higher by 0.72%, up to 1,254.69 points around 07:04 GMT, data from the trading floor shows.
https://www.rt.com/business/555795-ruble-smashes-four-year-high/
20 May, 2022 11:18
Russians didn’t want to join NATO, US claims
The statement by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken contradicts what Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said
(Blinken just trying to harass Putin, it won’t work. Especially since Dubya admitted with the hoaxers he always wanted Ukraine in NATO, and to destroy Russia)
Russia “decided” it didn’t want to join NATO in the 1990s, even though “people talked about”it, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told television host Stephen Colbert on his show on Thursday. Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have maintained that their nation’s attempt to join the bloc was stonewalled by the West.
Blinken appeared on The Late Show to talk about the US’ Russia policy and the reasons Washington believes Putin was working against his own declared goals by attacking Ukraine.
“He wanted to prevent NATO from getting bigger with Ukraine. Now it actually is with Finland and with Sweden,” the US official said, referring to the membership applications that the two Nordic nations sent to NATO this week.
Colbert cited the opinion of Pope Francis that NATO’s expansion in Europe was partially to blame for the crisis in Ukraine, but the secretary said this was not the case.
“NATO is a defensive alliance,” he assured. “It has no aggressive intent against Russia. It’s never attacked Russia; it won’t attack Russia. It doesn’t intend to attack Russia.”
The host then suggested what he called a “crazy idea” that Russia should then be allowed to join NATO too. To that, Blinken said “back in the 1990s that was actually something that people talked about.”
“Well, the Russians decided that wasn’t what they wanted to do,” he added, as the audience laughed.
The same claim that Russia had a chance to become a NATO member but declined to do so has been made by a number of US officials, including former President Bill Clinton, who wrote a Russia-blasting op-ed last month that mentioned the issue but disputed Putin’s accounts of exchanges with him.
In February, Putin recalled how during Clinton’s visit to Moscow in 2000 he asked his guest how the US would react if Russia asked for membership in the alliance. “The reaction to my question was very restrained,” he said
“Yes, NATO expanded despite Russia’s objections, but expansion was about more than the US relationship with Russia,” the former US leader wrote in his response. He added that, “[the US] left the door open for Russia’s eventual membership in NATO.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on Clinton’s article in more definitive terms.
“I know for sure that the American side has repeatedly spoken about the impossibility of such membership. De facto, it was said that the doors, on the contrary, are closed, because it is fundamentally impossible,” he said.
Russia has repeatedly called out NATO, saying its expansion towards the Russian border posed a critical threat to Russian national security. During the build-up of tensions before the attack on Ukraine, Moscow made a last-ditch attempt to secure legally binding guarantees that Ukraine would not join the bloc but was told none would be given.
The US claimed that the open-door policy was essential for NATO,even though its founding document includes no such provisionand, on the contrary, allows any member to block the accession of new members. Incidentally, this policy has taken on new relevance after Turkey threatened to veto the applications of Finland and Sweden.
https://www.rt.com/news/555800-blinken-russia-nato-membership/
20 May, 2022 14:30
Anti-Kremlin exiles suggest way to tell apart ‘good Russians’
European governments could certify those who denounce the Russian government, the group proposed during a conference in Lithuania
(Why is Russia such a threat? They are free from the NWO!)
Veteran Russian anti-government figures have declared their intention to serve as representatives of the Russian people, ones who oppose President Vladimir Putin’s policies in Ukraine and consider his government illegitimate. These “good Russians” can sign up to the cause and potentially be certified by European governments, the group – which includes Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon – said on Friday. The idea was voiced during a conference in Lithuania that was broadcast on YouTube.
The proposal was presented by chessmaster and longtime critic of the Russian president Garry Kasparov. He said he and his comrades sought to welcome to their ranks “good, European Russians” – a term that he repeatedly used during the presentation – and suggested a simple way to tell them apart from the rest of the folk.
“The simple test to enter this category … will be a declaration that we will be offering for signing,” he said. (So the rest that dont sign will be canceled and harassed. Labeling Good or Bad is the ultimate Orwellian world)
The declaration includes three key statements: Putin’s government is illegitimate, the ongoing military attack against Ukraine is criminal, and Ukraine’s control of pre-2014 borders must be restored, Kasparov said.
Kasparov said the idea was that he and fellow opposition politicians would be given a mandate to represent the signatories politically and said he hoped for recognition in the West.
“There is a real opportunity that European governments friendly to us would consider certifying people who join our system and issue [the] relevant paperwork,” he said. The politician implied that the proposed certificate could be used to alleviate “concerns” that some people in the West have about Rusians living in their countries.
The opposition wants to build “a virtual South Korea” that is unlike “the North Korea in Russia” that Putin wants to create, Kasparov said.
The gathering in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, was organized by the so-called ‘Anti-War Committee of Russia’, a group that includes some of the most familiar faces of the Russian opposition.
Former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky spoke via a videolink, while Lyubov Sobol, an ally of jailed Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, delivered pre-recorded remarks. Businessman Evgeny Chichvarkin attended the event in person, as did Kasparov.
https://www.rt.com/russia/555815-russian-opposition-government-excile/
20 May, 2022 15:10
Russia outlines financial priorities
De-dollarizing the economy is critical, prime minister says
The US, EU and other Western nations are using their currencies as a tool of blackmail against Russia, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a council of CIS countries videoconference on Friday.
“The dollar and the euro are increasingly being used as an instrument of political pressure and economic blackmail,” the official stated.
According to Mishustin, in the face of sanctions Russia has to strengthen interaction with its partners and make more active use of multilateral mechanisms. In particular, agreements should be reached on a free-trade zone, cooperation in transport and logistics, as well as the use of national currencies in mutual settlements between CIS countries.
The prime minister stressed that Russia’s “focus remains on de-dollarization,” meaning eliminating the use of US currency in settlements.
Over the past two months, Russia has faced an unprecedented number of economic restrictions, ranging from the freezing of the country’s foreign reserves to bans on transactions with its financial institutions. As a result, many Western companies decided to stop doing business in the country. Russia may also face a technical default on its debt obligations, as the US has threatened to block payments on its dollar-denominated bonds.
However, Russia’s countermeasures, such as capital controls, a sharp hike to the key rate, and a new ruble-based gas payment mechanism, among others, have helped the economy to stabilize, and even allowed the ruble to rise to a four-year high against the dollar on Friday.
https://www.rt.com/business/555829-dollar-euro-russia-blackmail/
20 May, 2022 15:23
Russia warns of mounting threats to its security
Russia will form 12 new military units in its west to face the growing threat from NATO, Sergey Shoigu has said
The US and NATO have gradually ramped up their activities along Russia’s western borders over the past few years and tensions continue to grow, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has said. The minister made the remarks during a meeting of the National Defense Management Center in Moscow on Friday.
Apart from intensifying strategic activities, the US-led NATO bloc has also gradually increased training exercises near Russia’s borders, Shoigu pointed out. He noted that currently a series of exercises called the ‘Defender of Europe’ is being conducted involving up to 40,000 military personnel from 30 countries of the bloc. Redeployment of a full-fledged division force from the US to Europe has become the main feature of the drills, he added.
Therefore, tensions continue to grow in the zone of responsibility of the Western Military District. We are taking appropriate countermeasures.
“Over the past eight years, the intensity of US strategic bomber flights in Europe has increased some 15 times,” Shoigu stated.“Visits of American ships armed with guided missiles to the Baltic Sea have become a systematic occurrence. This year alone, they have visited suspected cruise missile launch zones off the coast of Kaliningrad Region six times already. Since 2016, 24 such events have been detected.”
By the end of this year, Russia will form 12 new military units in the Western Military District to face the growing threat from the US-led bloc, Shoigu said. The official did not provide any details on the size or exact nature of the new units.
The minister also noted that the “immediate neighbors” of Russia, Finland and Sweden, have formally applied for NATO membership, further contributing to the growing tensions. The two Nordic nations lodged their bids this week, yet faced opposition from Turkey, a major NATO nation, which claims that Sweden and Finland both harbor people it deems to be terrorists, namely members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The expansion of NATO and the alliance’s military buildup in Eastern Europe has been reinvigorated amid the Russian offensive in Ukraine launched in late February. Apart from Sweden and Finland seeking to join the bloc, Poland has expressed a readiness to build “permanent” military installations to house “light infantry units” of the alliance. Moreover, the three Baltic nations, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, are reportedly pushing for the creation of a rapid-deployment, division-sized force of some 20,000 troops. The unit would be placed on standby and be ready for deployment into any of the countries should they face a threat of any sort.
https://www.rt.com/russia/555817-us-nato-military-buildup/