15 Feb, 2023 11:43

Kiev plotting Chernobyl ‘provocation’ – Moscow

Ukraine and its backers want to accuse Moscow of causing radiation contamination, the Defense Ministry has said

Kiev and its Western supporters are planning to accuse Russia of contaminating parts of Ukraine with radiation from the Chernobyl exclusion zone, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has warned.Norway was named as one of the alleged co-conspirators.

A statement from the ministry on Tuesday asserted that Kiev will accuse the Russian military of breaching safety protocols when it controlled the Chernobyl nuclear power plant last year. It will be claimed that Russian troops spread radioactive materials across Ukraine and looted the containment and control facilities, the ministry added.

The Chernobyl site, infamous for the 1986 disaster, was under Russian control between February 24 and April 28. In September, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on nuclear safety in Ukraine, detailing its visits to the exclusion zone amid the armed conflict.

The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed that despite some damage to equipment, Ukrainian personnel had maintained “the holistic security integrity of all major nuclear facilities.” While workers could not rotate for longer periods during the Russian presence, and had some additional exposure to radiation, “no health effects would be expected to be observed,” the report stated.

The IAEA also addressed Kiev’s claim of looting by “marauders” at the Chernobyl site. It assessed that the alleged incidents “did not pose a significant radiological risk” since “all activities involving the handling of radioactive material were stopped” under Russian control.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the accusations against Moscow will form part of apublicity campaign by Kiev to sway global public opinionin its favor next week, when the Russian military operation is set to enter its second year. The claims will be based on falsified or misleading evidence, the statement said. It added that Norwegian nuclear safety experts were involved in assessing the supposed radiation contamination of Kiev Region.

Ingar Amundsen, the head of the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (DSA), confirmed that the agency had deployed specialists to Chernobyl to assess the situation on the ground.

“Some radioactive dust was stirred up as a result of [Russian troops] driving into contaminated areas,” he told the Dagbladet newspaper, adding that there were “no registered health and environmental consequences.”

He denied that the DSA was involved in any scientific malpractice in Ukraine.

https://www.rt.com/news/571511-chernobyl-provocation-ukraine-norway/

Whoo Hoo – The Moment Has Arrived, Mitt Romney in Skirt Launches 2024 Presidential Bid

February 14, 2023 | Sundance |

We have a deep archived series of articles on Nikki Haley [SEE HERE] specifically because she is the most transparently manipulative and simultaneously predictable, conniving political entity in Republican politics.Yes, she’s worse than Monkey Pox.

Reminder, Nikki Haley in February 2021: …”“I don’t think [Trump’s] going to be in the picture,” she said, matter-of-factly. “I don’t think he can. He’s fallen so far.” […] “We need to acknowledge he let us down,” she said. “He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.”

Two months later, April 27, 2021, when asked about her 2024 presidential ambitions Nikki Haley says:…”Out of respect I would never do anything to go against [Trump], he knows that. I would have a conversation with him and talk to him about it should we decide we want to pursue it; but, um, no, I have a great respect for him, and I would never consider running against him.” (link)

Yes, the candidate of lightly held stances, an outlook subject to change based on the poll tested winds of the electorate, a person who frames her political bona fides through the prism of her gender in every single conversation, has officially announced she will be seeking the republican nomination. Whoo, hooo.

Recently, the insufferable Liz Cheney even polled with higher support amid Republicans; however, winning the GOP nomination is really not the goal for Nikki Haley here. She is trying to retain her professional finances by extending a career in politics that only coastal Republican donors care about.

Mrs. Haley will be financed by coastal Republican and Wall Street donors who are ultimately attempting to avoid another America First term of economic nationalism – the policy of President Donald Trump.

Following the arc of the Wall Street campaign design, at a particular point later in ’23 or early ’24,Mrs. Haley will drop out of the race and endorse Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Haley is betting her political capital on this plan.

Amid Haley’s charter financial backers are familiar billionaire political class names, including hedge fund manager Paul Singer and the control officer for the Club for Growth, David McCormick.

Haley’s major donors also include multinational billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, along with Miriam Adelson and her late husband, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.

Donor club members also include Pete Ricketts and Scott Bessent, very rich multinational businessmen with a history of influencing republican politics. Also, there are some very well-known democrats like Vivek and Lakshmi Garipalli, who are charter members of almost every major Democrat candidate – but also gave Haley $1 million.

(POLITICO) – Many of the GOP’s biggest donors are among those who funneled anonymous contributions to former U.N ambassador Nikki Haley’s nonprofit as she lays the groundwork for a prospective 2024 presidential bid, according to previously unreported tax documents obtained by POLITICO.

Haley’s nonprofit policy advocacy group, Stand For America, Inc., has received major donations from people including New York hedge fund manager Paul Singer, investor Stanley Druckenmiller, and Miriam Adelson and her late husband, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, the Internal Revenue Service filings reveal. (read more)

CTH has been warning about Nikki Haleyever since she asked Sarah Palin to help her win the South Carolina Governor’s race, and then stabbed Palin in the back with the most derisive negative commentary thereafter. Nikki Haley would never have been governor without Sarah Palin; those who know politics know this is absolutely true…. And Nikki Haley is worse than monkeypox. [Full Archive]

The Bush clan and professional political cocktail circuit was rebuked in 2016, so we can anticipate their strategy in 2024 will be with those strategic lessons at the forefront.

The currently visible outlook reflects the purpose ofMrs. Haley to be the managed lead attack against President Donald Trump, while the DeSantis managers extend the plausible deniability for his entry into the contest as long as possible.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/02/14/whoo-hoo-the-moment-has-arrived-mitt-romney-in-skirt-launches-2024-presidential-bid/

Important Takeaways from Ohio Gov's Train Derailment Briefing, Including a Shocking Revelation

Paula Bolyard1 of 2

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine took to the podium on Tuesday to update reporters and citizens about the devastating train derailment in E. Palestine, Ohio, on February 3. The small town has been reeling in the wake of the derailment and subsequent controlled burn of dangerous chemicals days after the wreck.

One of the most astounding revelations from the press conference (watch below) was thatthe train was not classified as carrying hazardous chemicals.

“I learned today from the PUCO [Public Utilities Council of Ohio] that this train was not considered a high hazardous material train,” DeWine said. As a result,the railroad was not required to notify anyone in Ohio about what the train was carrying.

“Even though some rail cars did have hazardous material on board, and while most of them did not, that’s why it was not categorized as a high hazardous material train,” said DeWine. “Frankly, if this is true, and I’m told it’s true, this is absurd. And we need to look at this. And Congress needs to take a look at how these things are handled. We should know when we are trains carrying hazardous materials that are going through the state of Ohio.” The governor called on Congress to investigate the matter and make changes to the law if necessary.

DeWine noted that around 50 railroad cars were involved in the crash; ten of those were hauling hazardous materials. He said that both the U.S. and Ohio EPA were on the scene almost immediately to slow the flow of contaminated water while firefighters worked to put out the fire. Two days later, “concerns began to arise in regard to the temperature in one of the cars,” which was described to him as “volatile.” He immediately activated the National Guard.

“The fear was that this car might explode, sending deadly shrapnel in all directions,” he explained. After meeting with those on the ground at the site of the accident, “It was clear at that point that we were faced with two bad options. One option was to do nothing and wait for the car to explode.” He was told there would be a “high probability” of a “catastrophic explosion” that would result in shrapnel shooting out for nearly a mile. “We then made the decision to go ahead with the second option, which was the controlled release,” he said. “We sent back law enforcement into those zones, the red zone and the yellow zone, for the third time, to knock on, literally knock on doors” to evacuate residents. They were only allowed to return home after “the monitoring showed that the air was basically what it was prior to the actual train crash, what we would have expected it to be at that time.”

Other takeaways from the press conference:

While it’s been widely reported that the response to the wreck has been minimal, there is, in fact, an ongoing, extensive response by federal, state, and local authorities.

EPA officials are tracking a chemical “plume” that is floating toward the Ohio River at a rate of one mile per hour. If necessary, officials can close drinking water intakes until the chemicals pass. “This strategy, along with drinking water treatment, like oxidation and advanced… treatment like activated carbon, are both effective at addressing these contaminants and helps ensure the safe drink a safety of the drinking water supplies,” said Tiffany Kavalee, the head of the Ohio EPA’s Division of Surface Water. “So we’re pretty confident that these low levels are not getting passed on to the customers.”

Bruce Vanderhoff, the director of the Ohio Department of Health, said the main concern at this point is drinking water, in particular, for those who have private wells. He urged both those with private wells and those on municipal water to use bottled water until more tests can be conducted. He also implored those with private wells to call the hotline so they can have their water tested at no cost. Bottled water is also being provided to residents. Vanderhoff said thatwomen who are pregnant or breastfeeding could be especially vulnerable, in addition to infants on formula that is mixed with water…

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/paula-bolyard/2023/02/14/important-takeaways-from-ohio-govs-train-derailment-briefing-including-a-shocking-revelation-n1670610

>>18351324

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According to Kurt Kohler, the on-scene coordinator of the emergency response for the Ohio EPA, the emergency phase response has multiple points of focus: the wreckage area where the cars are still being staged; Pleasant Road, “where we do know we have gross contamination present on the ground and still in the two ditches”; and the waterways, which have “been our targeted and our concern from the onset of this.” Emergency efforts include: dumping dirt into the creek and using containment booms to stop the flow of chemicals; building up aeration that helps dissolve the chemicals; active excavation of “grossly contaminated soil”; pumping water around so as not to “augment any contamination and continue to push high levels of contaminants downstream.” Kohler said they have had “boots on the ground all day every day since the onset of this incident” and he is “confident that we’ll get it to a stage where it’s safe to transfer over for mediation.”

The Ohio Department of National Resources announced today that 3,500 dead fish, including 12 different species, have been discovered in area streams, tributaries, and waterways. No endangered fish are among that number. Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of National Resources, said that wildlife officers “have been there every day on the scene, working with contractors who are in the water, doing the net sampling, making the estimates. And we will continue to monitor and watch what’s going on and eventually hold those responsible accountable for the loss of wildlife in the area.”

The waterways were last tested on Feb. 10. The report on the Ohio EPAs websiteshows “very low levels” of two contaminants, butyl acrylate and ethyl hexyl acrylate, which, according to the report, “dissipates quickly.” In addition, no vinyl chloride, which has been the most concerning for area residents, has been detected in any nearby waterways, including those that run into the Ohio River.

A reporter asked about individuals in the community reporting symptoms like headaches and sore throats. Vanderhoff replied, “It’s an equation of concentration over duration. The higher the concentration, the longer the duration, the greater the risk. Everything that we’ve gathered thus far is really pointing toward very low measurements.” He encouraged those with symptoms to contact their medical providers and notify the local hotline “so a team can get out and check their environment.”

Asked about the federal government’s response to the crash, DeWine said, “The federal government is conducting an investigation to determine why this wreck occurred.” He said President Biden called him last week and offered “anything we need.” DeWine has not returned the call, but “will not hesitate to do that” if more help is needed.

Bruce Baldridge, the director of agriculture, fielded a question about reports of animals dying in the area. He said his department has been in contact with area veterinarians and the state veterinarian, and they are telling folks, ‘if you see symptoms of your livestock, reach out to your local vet.'” He added, “To this day, there’s nothing that we’ve seen in the livestock community that causes any concerns to the state.”

DeWine said that Norfolk Southern has made a verbal commitment to cover the costs related to the derailment. “But, you know, I understand people’s skepticism, and I understand their anger. And if you know, if I lived in the community, I would be angry too.The railroad owns this problem. They will be held accountable.”

The governor said he’s had no indication pointing to deliberate actions as the cause of the derailment.

Make no mistake: This is still a very dangerous situation, and there are a lot of unknowns. Residents rightly fear there could be long-term health ramifications from being exposed to deadly chemicals. Only time will tell if officials on the ground have done enough to mitigate the risks.

Watch the press conference:

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/paula-bolyard/2023/02/14/important-takeaways-from-ohio-govs-train-derailment-briefing-including-a-shocking-revelation-n1670610

Brennan: Trump, Saudi Prince Relationship Raises ‘Legitimate Questions’ About Foreign Election Interference

Pam Key14 Feb 2023

Former CIA Director John Brennan said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that former President Donald Trump’s relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman raised “legitimate questions” about foreign interference in U.S. elections.(WTF?)

Brennan said, “I think it’s quite clearthat Donald Trump never believed that U.S. laws and ethics and principles apply to him. He was going to try to use every opportunity while he was president, and also, I think, in his post-presidency, to advantage himself financially, politically, whatever ways. So I do think there are serious questions that have been raised by this recent reporting about what might have taken place in the waning days of the Trump administration in terms of understandings or agreements. But also afterward, what is the relationship right now between Trump, Kushner and the Saudi Crown Prince? Trump is a declared candidate for the presidency of the United States. The fact that there’s a lot of money moving around in many different ways raises some very serious legitimate questions about whether or not this amounts to some type of foreign interference in the political processes here in the United States.”

He added, “So I do think it’s up to Congress. Hopefully, committees, ones that are not politicized, ones that are truly interested in trying to ensure that ethics pervade government service and continue after one leaves the office to make sure they are not going to use that time in office just to advance themselves in an unethical, unprincipled and even illegal way.”

(He’s still pushing his lies but its not Russia now its Saudi Arabia. When will the world be free of this batshit crazy asshole?)

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/02/14/brennan-trump-saudi-prince-relationship-raises-legitimate-questions-about-foreign-election-interference/

15 Feb, 2023 13:15

Russia makes claim over West’s ‘hybrid war’

Moscow’s rivals are seeking to turn it into a pariah, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said

The West is attempting to use the Ukraine conflict to portray Russia as a “rogue state” in the eyes of the world, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday. He stressed that the strategy has not been successful.

“The US and its satellite states are waging anall-encompassing hybrid war that they have long been preparing for, and are using Ukrainian radical nationalists as a battering ram against us,” Lavrov said in a speech in the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma.

They are not even trying to hide the goal of this war: it is not only to defeat our country on the battlefield and destroy our economy, but also to surround us with a ‘sanitary cordon’ andturn us into a type of a rogue state.

The statement came the same day that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled proposals for a new sanctions package against Russia, including additional export bans and measures to prevent the bypassing of restrictions.

Lavrov said that the West’s efforts to isolate Russia have failed because Moscow continues to develop relations with partners in other areas of the globe. He added that nations that have refused to back the “unprecedented”sanctions make up the majority of the world’s population.

The countries of the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and South America “don’t want to live in accordance with the West-centric order,”the Russian minister stated. “So it makes perfect sense why three-quarters of the world’s countries have not joined the anti-Russian sanctions and have a reasonable view regarding the situation in Ukraine.”

China and India are among the major economies that have refused to impose restrictions on Moscow. Denis Alipov, Russia’s ambassador to New Delhi, said on Tuesday that sanctions “had an opposite effect” and facilitated more trade and closer cooperation between Russia and India.

Beijing, meanwhile, has accused the US of fueling the Ukraine conflict and trying to weaponize the world economy for its own benefit.

https://www.rt.com/russia/571518-lavrov-west-hybrid-war/

>>18351491

4 hours ago

US and its satellites are waging all out hybrid war against Russia – Lavrov

Russian Foreign Ministry slammed the West for 'using Ukrainian Nazi forces as a ramp to destroy the Russian economy, and also to surround us with a cordon to turn us into an outcast country.'

https://rumble.com/embed/v270o5q/?pub=4

15 Feb, 2023 14:10

Andrey Sushentsov: Here’s why Ukraine’s Zelensky wants a long war with Russia

The Ukrainian leader has shown no interest in seeking a peace deal with Moscow, and it’s all part of a big gamble

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It is unlikely that President Vladimir Zelensky expects to win militarily. But it seems that he genuinely believes that he will succeedin turning Ukraine into something like Israel- a paramilitary state living with a sense of constant military threat.

Ukraine doesn’t have the military or economic resources of its own to achieve victory, and the resources provided by the West will never be enough to inflict a final defeat on Russia. Zelensky's calculation is likely based on the belief that by offering Ukraine as a tool for NATO to use against Russia, he will constantly mobilize Western support and thereby ensure his own survival, and that of his associates.

In the worst-case scenario, as he sees it,Zelensky is probably counting on emigrating to the Westwith his closest associates, where they will advocate a continued policy of Russian containment. But does he care about the interests of ordinary people in Ukraine?

The unprecedented hardships of war that the country now faces could have been significantly reduced if Zelensky had been willing to settle the crisis diplomatically. Russia has repeatedly taken diplomatic initiatives to resolve this conflict. In the first phase, for example, negotiations took place in Belarus and Turkey. However, under the influence of the US and the UK, Kiev has set a course to prolong the conflict, banking on Western military assistance to achieve its goals.

As Ukraine's own military and economic resources have dried up, the country has become increasingly dependent on Western supplies, and has ultimately become a tool to fight Russia. Nevertheless, Kiev still has the opportunity to begin talks with Moscow.

Zelensky could take the initiative to negotiate a status quo that is still comfortable for Ukraine. Of course, as the Russian military campaign progresses, the situation will change in ways that are far from favorable to Kiev. And the solutions put forward by the Russian delegation at the beginning of the crisiswill no longer be on the table. However, there is still the possibility of a sustainable peace, with reduced risks of escalation into Europe's biggest military conflict since the Second World War and a nuclear catastrophe.

Zelensky could still claim the laurels of a peacemaker who sacrificed some of his personal ambition in the name of saving Ukrainian lives and ensuring a peaceful future for his country.

A truce would alleviate the economic difficulties of Kiev’s supporters in the West, and thus generate some gratitude. Ukraine would also save a considerable amount of its military resources. Peace would obviously limit them, as deliveries would dry up, but those resources in situ would still be at the disposal of the Ukrainian government…

https://www.rt.com/russia/571525-zelensky-wants-long-war/

>>18351603

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Yet, Zelensky’s government acts as if it sees no value in preserving Ukrainian statehood. The administration is squandering citizens’ lives and the economic fabric of the country in the belief that this sacrifice is necessary to gain some possible, rather indefinite, advantage in the future. Instead of acting as a peacemaker, as someone who is prepared to make sacrifices to save the lives of his people, Zelensky acts like a gambler, while feeding the population military propaganda.

The unprecedented military, political and economic support Ukraine is receiving from abroad essentially covers up all of the mistakes by Zelensky's government. A strategy which is based on the axiom "war will pay for everything". At home, the militarist line has allowed the president to establish a political dictatorship and persecute his opponents in all spheres of state life, including religion. As a result, he has secured an unprecedented concentration of power in his hands and, for the first time in Ukrainian history, silenced all centers of opposition.

Zelensky need not worry about Ukraine's economic well-being in the short term: the foreign economic aid being handed to the Ukrainian government will suffice. Meanwhile, Kiev is still actively betting that Russia's $300 billion in foreign currency reserves, frozen in the West, will fall into its hands. What would amount to state-piracy would also allow it use the money as it sees fit.

As a result, Zelensky expects that even if he is defeated and loses part of his territory,he will remain in power as the military leaderthe West needs for the new Ukraine, which will be the main anti-Russian outpost on NATO’s eastern borders. One that will be armed to the teeth, saturated with Western economic aid and that will provide its citizens with an acceptable standard of living.

I believe that Zelensky is genuinely convinced he will succeed in turning Ukraine into something like Israel, aparamilitary state in a hostile environment, and living with a sense of constant military threat. I do not exclude the possibility that even in the worst-case scenario, where there is a complete collapse of his government, Zelensky expects to find himself and a group of his closest associates in exile in the West. Once there, they will actively advocate a continued policy of containment and defeat of Russia. History shows that this prospect has every chance of materializing.

15 Feb, 2023 14:21

‘Executed’ Wagner Group fighter shown alive to press

A video displaying the murder of a captured Russian soldier has turned out to be a hoax

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the private military company Wagner Group, has confirmed that Dmitry Yakushchenko, a soldier who was previously assumed by some to have been executed, is alive.

Yakushchenko came into the media spotlight this week, after a video purportedly showing his execution was published on social media. In it,he confessed to deserting Wagner and going to the Ukraine-controlled side. He claimed that he had been abducted in Ukraine for a “trial” before an unidentified person appeared to smash his head with a sledgehammer. The video was heavily blurred.

Since the ‘execution’ video was confirmed to be a hoax, Prigozhin claimed that Yakushchenko was captured after getting lost on the frontline and “acted like a real man, that is told lots of f**king lies” to survive. He backed the assertion that the man returned with a lot of “useful information.”

The Wagner boss referred to the reappearance of Dmitry Yakushchenko as the “cherry on top” of a press tour he gave on Wednesday. The man answered some questions during a brief interview, in which he claimed that he was beaten and “tortured” in Ukrainian custody.

Yakushchenko alleged that he was threatened with mutilation and that the footage would be sent to his family. In order to “save his life,” he was forced to say on camera “what they wanted to hear,” he said.

On Monday, Prigozhin himself released some footage of the man, showing him saying thathe was “forgiven” after bringing intelligence from Ukrainian captivity.

https://www.rt.com/russia/571523-prigozhin-sledgehammer-execution-hoax/

15 Feb, 2023 12:26

Zelensky decorates military unit with ‘Nazi’ title

A Ukrainian mountain brigade will now be called ‘Edelweiss,’ a moniker recalling a German unit involved in mass atrocities during WWII

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has awarded one of the country's combat units an “honorary title” that harkens to a notorious Wehrmacht division that was involved in numerous war crimes during World War II.

In a presidential decree published on Tuesday, Zelensky granted the name ‘Edelweiss’ to the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade due to “exemplary performance of assigned tasks during the protection of the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine” amid Kiev’s conflict with Moscow.

The newly bestowed title bears similarity to the one used by Nazi Germany's 1st Mountain Division, which took part in the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and raised a swastika flag on Mount Elbrus in a propaganda stunt during an advance into the Caucasus in 1942. The name ‘Edelweiss’ stuck because the chevrons on the unit’s uniform bore a depiction of the edelweiss flower.

The division’s history is besmirched by numerous war crimes. Among other atrocities, it was responsible for executing hundreds of partisans in Yugoslavia in July 1943. Two months later, Edelweiss also murdered more than 5,000 Italian soldiers who had surrendered to them on the Greek island of Cefalonia.

The Ukrainian brigade that now bears the same name was formed in 2015 and for about a year incorporated the nationalist battalions ‘Aidar’ and ‘Donbass’. The unit has seen combat first against the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and then against Russia after Moscow started its military operation in February 2022.

Zelensky has on numerous occasions found himself in hot water over Nazi-related controversies. Over the most recent weekend, he posted a photo to his Instagram account showing a Ukrainian soldier wearing the ‘totenkopf’ (death’s head) insignia, which is associated with the notorious 3rd SS Panzer Division, a unit infamous for committing war crimes during World War II.

Last May, he marked Victory Day over Nazi Germany by sharing an image showing a Ukrainian service member sporting the same symbol, prompting a public outcry. The photo was later removed.

https://www.rt.com/russia/571517-zelensky-brigade-nazi-title/