>>16171529 Obama judge won’t allow HRC tweet claiming muh russia as evidence in Sussman trial
On Wednesday, Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee, denied Durham’s efforts to bring the tweet up at trial, saying “the court will exclude that as hearsay” and that “it’s likely duplicative of other evidence” related to demonstrating the attorney-client relationship.
The judge is saying, “You can’t use this but I think there another way of introducing this“use better timing is my guess!”
>>16173339, >>16173385 Maria Bartiromo is a WEF Young Global Leader
Sone people may not be an asset but a friendly. Personally her voice drives me nuts. But you never know
28 Apr, 2022 20:12
US Congress approves WWII-like weapons program for Ukraine
Senate-approved “Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act” clears the House, waives restrictions of arms deliveries
The US House of Representatives has approved a bill that would remove several constraints on sending weapons to Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian offensive. Adopted by the Senate earlier this month, the “Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act” revives the program Washington used to send military equipment to belligerents in WWII while officially staying neutral.
(Senate votes after congress, so tye senate has not approved this yet)
The final vote on Thursday afternoon was 417-10, with three members not voting. All of the Democrats voted in favor, while all of the ten members opposed were Republicans.
Introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), the bill was passed by the Senate on April 6, but the Democrat-dominated House adjourned for a two-week Easter recess before taking it up.
It authorizes the White House to “lend or lease defense articles” to Ukraine or any “Eastern European countries impacted by the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine to help bolster those countries' defense capabilities and protect their civilian populations from potential invasion or ongoing aggression.”
Cornyn’s bill does not create a new program, but rather makes it easier for President Joe Biden to send weapons to Kiev by suspending limitations imposed by two existing laws, one of which caps the length of the aid at five years.
However, the whole thing is conditioned on Ukraine having to pay for the “return of and reimbursement and repayment for defense articles loaned or leased” to it. Kiev’s ability to make such payments is questionable, since the Ukrainian government is currently asking the US and the EU for $7 billion per month just to keep paying salaries and pensions.
The lend-lease bill is separate from the ongoing US effort to send Kiev weapons from the Pentagon stockpiles. Biden has already blown through almost $3.5 billion authorized by Congress for the purpose, and is seeking more funding. However, it risks being held up if the Democrats insist on bundling it with their Covid-19 funding plan, as Republicans have warned they would only support a stand-alone bill.
“We don’t have the mechanism yet,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.
The original lend-lease was enacted by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in March 1941 – nine months before the US entered WWII – and amounted to $50.1 billion (980 billion in 2022 dollars) by September 1945, when the program ended.
Most of the weapons and equipment went to the UK ($31.4 billion) with a $11.3 billion share going to the Soviet Union and another $7.4 billion to other countries. In theory, the aid was supposed to be repaid or returned, but the US accepted the lease of military bases abroad instead.
https://www.rt.com/russia/554628-congress-lend-lease-ukraine/
28 Apr, 2022 17:24
Kremlin accuses Britain of ‘threatening’ European security
(Well they really are!)
Putin's spokesperson has denounced the British foreign secretary’s calls to send ‘heavy weapons, tanks, aeroplanes’ to Ukraine
Moscow has warned London that by “pumping” Ukraine with weapons, Britain is undermining European security. The remark came after the British foreign secretary urged Western states to provide Ukraine with “heavy weapons, tanks, aeroplanes,” while also bolstering the defense capabilities of Moldova and Georgia.
Speaking to journalists by phone on Thursday, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the “tendency itself to pump weapons, including heavy weapons, into Ukraine and other countries is something that threatens the continent’s security and provokes instability.”
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss delivered her keynote speech on Wednesday.
She argued against the view that “we shouldn’t provide heavy weapons for fear of provoking something worse,” insisting that “inaction would be the greatest provocation” in the current circumstances.
Truss claimed that the “architecture that was designed to guarantee peace and prosperity has failed Ukraine,” with the “economic and security structures that were developed after the Second World War and the Cold War” having been “bent out of shape.” This, she suggested, requires a “new approach” which “melds hard security and economic security” and contributes to the creation of “stronger global alliances.” The foreign secretary urged “free nations” to be “more assertive and self-confident” and build their strategies on the assumption that “geopolitics is back.”
Truss (anyone with a name as Truss should never be in a position of leadership, its obvious why, imo) also proclaimed that the “war in Ukraine is our war,” with Kiev’s victory being a “strategic imperative” for Britain and its allies. She went on to call for “heavy weapons, tanks, aeroplanes” to be provided to Ukraine, adding that “we need to do all of this.”
In addition, the West “must ensure that, alongside Ukraine, the Western Balkans and countries like Moldova and Georgia have the resilience and the capabilities to maintain their sovereignty and freedom,” Truss emphasized.
According to the top UK diplomat, NATO should integrate Finland and Sweden “as soon as possible” if the two Nordic nations choose to join the military bloc.
In an apparent reference to Russia’s previous warnings, Truss described Britain as a “risk taker” which “has always stood up to bullies” and is “prepared be bold.”
The Kremiln’s response to those remarks follow Moscow’s repeated condemnation of NATO arms deliveries to Ukraine. Russia insists that the shipments only hamper the prospects for peace in the country. The Kremlin also made it clear that any military hardware deliveries would be considered a legitimate target once they cross into Ukraine.
“NATO is essentially going to war with Russia through a proxy and arming that proxy. War means war,” Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
https://www.rt.com/news/554686-kremlin-uk-threatens-european-security/
29 Apr, 2022 02:47
EU state halts Covid vaccination
Danish health officials warned the campaign could resume next autumn, however
Denmark has declared an end to its Covid-19 vaccination drive for now, becoming the first country to formally halt inoculations as officials point to increasingly strong immunity among residents.
The Danish Health Authority announced the decision earlier this week, saying that due to vaccinations and infections, “total immunity of the population is therefore high,” and that its vaccine drive would be wound down over the coming weeks.
“Spring has arrived, vaccine coverage in the Danish population is high, and the epidemic has reversed,” the agency said in a statement. “Therefore, the National Board of Health is now ending the broad vaccination efforts against Covid-19 for this season.”
Though it added that those who wished to complete their current round of vaccines would be able to do so, the health authority said it would no longer invite residents to make appointments for the shot beginning May 15
However, officials continued to recommend “vaccination for people at particularly increased risk,” who will have access to certain immunization sites that will remain open across Denmark, and warned that a new vaccine campaign may be launched next fall.
“The Danish Health and Medicines Authority's assessment is that there will probably be a need to vaccinate against Covid-19 again in the autumn,” the statement said, noting that the agency also expects to see “an increase in infection again as we go from autumn to winter.”
The country’s vaccination campaign was launched in late 2020 and has immunized a sizable majority of its 5.8 million citizens to date, according to the government, while 3.6 million have received booster doses.
Copenhagen scrapped most of its pandemic restrictions back in February, arguing the virus no longer posed a serious threat to its healthcare system, and has now become the first nation in the world to end its mass vaccination program – at least for the moment.
Despite the warnings about the fall and winter, senior health official Bolette Soborg voiced optimism, arguing that Denmark is currently “in a good place” and has “control of the epidemic, which seems to be subsiding.”
Those that you trust most…
https://www.rt.com/news/554700-denmark-halts-covid-vaccination/
28 Apr, 2022 11:05
Poland has secret plan for Ukraine, Moscow claims
Warsaw plans to deploy troops to occupy western Ukraine, Russian spy chief alleges
Intelligence obtained by Russia suggests that Poland and the US are working on a plan for Warsaw to regain control of Ukrainian areas that Warsaw considers as “historically belonging” to it, Moscow's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) chief Sergey Naryshkin has said.
According to the alleged plan, the first stage of this “reunification” will see Polish “peacekeepers” deployed in western Ukraine under the pretext of “protection from Russian aggression,” Naryshkin outlined in a statement on Thursday.
The details of the operation are now being discussed between Warsaw and the US government, he claimed, adding that the operation is designed to be executed without a NATO mandate, and only volunteer states taking part.
Warsaw has so far been unable to find any other nations to join its cause, he added. But the Polish authorities are unconcerned by this, as they want to minimize the number of “unnecessary witnesses” to their actions, Naryshkin said.
Despite their publicly declared goal of countering Moscow, the Polish troops would be deployed in parts of Ukraine where they’ll have almost no chance of engaging Russian forces, he explained.
According to Russian data, the actual “tactical objective” of the Polish troops will be taking control of strategic facilities from the Ukrainian National Guard. Poland’s intelligence services are apparently now searching for “reliable” members of the Kiev elite, who would be willing to form a pro-Warsaw counterbalance to Ukrainian nationalists.
The Polish government assumes that entrenching its forces in western Ukraine would, with a high probability, lead to the split of the country, he claimed. In this case, control over the territories where the peacekeepers are set to be deployed would remain in the hands of Warsaw, the spy chief continued.
The plan appears to be an attempt, he pointed out, to repeat an historic deal that was struck after World War I and saw Western nations accept Warsaw’s right to occupy, in the first instance, parts of Ukraine to protect its people from the “Bolshevik threat” and, later, to include those areas into the Polish state.
Ukraine's western frontiers were last redrawn after World War II when Poland agreed to part with the Eastern Galicia region and most of Volhynia, which were incorporated into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Warsaw was compensated with land which had previously been part of Germany, most notably gaining the port city of Gdansk (Danzig).
Nazi Germany invaded Poland in August 1939, paving the way for a six-year occupation, which ended in 1945 when the Polish lands were liberated by the Red Army.
In 1943, Eastern Galicia and Volhynia became the scene of mass killings perpetrated by the Ukrainian nationalist groups OUN-UPA (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists – Ukrainian Insurgent Army), which collaborated with the Nazis. Up to 100,000 people, mostly Poles and Jews, are believed to have been murdered back then.
A few years ago thePolish parliament recognized the crimes of Ukrainian nationalists against the Poles during WWII as "genocide." Members of the leadership which authorised the atrocities are now regarded as national heroes in Ukraine.
https://www.rt.com/russia/554671-poland-ukraine-spy-split/
28 Apr, 2022 22:14
China slams US and UK over Taiwan
The foreign ministry in Beijing “deplores” a US top diplomat’s comments on Taiwan and UK calls for “global NATO”
(I imagine all these countries that interfered in the last US presidential election, realize they are responsible for whats going on now)
Beijing has condemned statements from London and Washington about arming Taiwan, pointing out that such talk fuels separatism on the disputed island and goes contrary to their recognition of China. UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have both come out in support of sending weapons to Taiwan this week.
“We deplore and reject Secretary Blinken’s statement at a congressional hearing on April 26 that the administration is determined to make sure that Taiwan has all necessary means to defend itself against any potential aggression,” Xie Yongjun, head of the information department at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tweeted on Thursday in reference to multiple outlets just noticing Blinken’s statement.
Xie was echoing the words of MFA spokesman Wang Wenbin from the news briefing on Wednesday. Wang told reporters that US statements clash with their recognition of Beijing and the One China policy, and encourage Taiwanese separatists by selling weapons to the island.
“The US admits that Taiwan is part of China, but keeps talking about the mainland’s potential ‘aggression’ of Taiwan. Isn’t this self-contradictory since a country can not ‘invade’ part of its own territory?” said Wang.
“We have this stern warning for the US side: The historical trend of China’s reunification cannot be held back, and the one-China principle is what underpins peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Wang added, warning Washington to “not underestimate the strong resolve, determination and capability of the 1.4 billion Chinese people in defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity” or risk bringing “unbearable cost to the US itself.”
During Thursday’s briefing, Wang also addressed the speech by the British foreign secretary, in which Truss argued for “a global NATO” to engage in the “Indo-Pacific” and arm Taiwan the way the UK and its allies are now arming Ukraine.
“NATO claims to be a defensive organization, but in fact it is constantly creating confrontation and disturbances,” Wang told reporters. “NATO demands that other countries abide by the basic norms of international relations, yet has wantonly waged wars and dropped bombs in sovereign states, killing and displacing innocent civilians.”
“The impact of NATO’s eastward expansion on the long-term peace and stability of Europe is worth reflecting upon. NATO has messed up Europe. Is it now trying to mess up the Asia-Pacific and even the world?” Wang added.
Truss’s fiery speech also drew the attention of Global Times, the English-language state daily, which on Thursday featured an editorial calling London increasingly willing to serve as a “pebble” in Washington’s global hegemony.
Having left the EU and enjoying a special relationship with the US, the UK often says and does things “that are inconvenient for Washington and at times being even more aggressive,” the outlet noted. “Some politicians in London now increasingly see this as a source of uniqueness and superiority. The more they do this, the more they seem to feel the lingering warmth of the UK’s prior status as ‘The Empire on which the sun never set’.”
The US and UK actions amount to “a series of small-circle activities … in the name of the so-called common values and the culture that prioritizes Anglo Saxons,” said the editorial, adding that the world is increasingly recognizing this. “Truss and her ilk attempt to bring NATO to Asia and try to destabilize the Pacific, but they are doomed to fail. Treating China as a ‘systemic competitor’ is also definitely a big misjudgment in the ‘Global Britain’ strategy.”
(I hope Truss realizes she will be blamed for WWIII, because she will be)
https://www.rt.com/news/554697-china-us-uk-taiwan-reaction/
28 Apr, 2022 14:18
Poland still buying Russian gas – Gazprom
Reverse flows from Germany ramped up after direct supplies were halted, the energy major says
(Kek, there’s always a way around posturing for what is “right”)
Poland continues to buy Russian natural gas from Germany via reverse flows, after its direct supplies were suspended due to non-payment in rubles, Russia’s energy giant Gazprom said on Thursday.
“This week Poland refused to pay for the Russian gas with the new terms, in rubles. It was grandly announced that they no longer needed Russian gas and would not buy it any more. But in fact Poland keeps buying Russian gas after the direct supply was halted. It now buys the gas from Germany, and it comes back to Poland with the reverse flow via the Yamal-Europe pipeline,” Gazprom's official representative Sergey Kupriyanov said.
On Wednesday, Gazprom announced a complete halt of gas exports to Poland as Warsaw had failed to pay for its fuel in rubles in line with a new payment mechanism launched earlier this month. According to Gazprom, supplies will not resume until Warsaw complies with the new terms. Deliveries to Bulgaria were also halted, for the same reason.
Poland raised its bid for reverse gas supplies from Germany fivefold on Wednesday, data from the German operator of the gas transmission network Gascade showed.
A month ago, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his country will ban all imports of Russian gas, oil and coal by the end of the year. His position was reiterated on Wednesday by Polish Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Piotr Naimski, who said that Warsaw did not intend to buy gas from Russian companies any more.
At the same time the Polish PM sought to reassure his country that gas will continue to flow to Polish households. “We will do everything so that people can heat their homes and cook their meals,” Mr. Morawiecki said on Wednesday, after Gazprom turned off the tap. The EU branded Gazprom’s move as “blackmail.”
On Thursday, Poland’s Deputy Minister of the Interior and Administration Paweł Szefernaker announced that several dozen municipalities had been left without gas because of sanctions imposed by Warsaw on Russian energy giant Novatek.
https://www.rt.com/business/554682-poland-buys-russian-gas-germany/
Exactly like that