What Kind Of Man Wears Rolex?

When you think of Political figures who wear a gold Rolex you might think of U.S. Presidents, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson or Bill Clinton, or even former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. When people think about Civil Rights Leaders who have worn yellow gold Rolex watches, they might think about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., or Jesse Jackson. One man who might surprise people with wearing a Yellow Gold Rolex President, is no other than His Holiness, The Dali Lama of Tibet.

As mentioned, The Dalai Lama typically goes out of his way to make certain his watches never appear to be fancy or ostentatious. His holiness does so, by typically putting them on inexpensive stretchable Speidel Twist-O-Flex watch bands. In this recent photo, we see the Dalai Lama with Prince Charles, and the Dalai Lama is wearing a yellow gold Rolex Day-Date with a cobalt blue dial.

http://www.rolexmagazine.com/2012/04/dalai-lama-rolex-keeping-time-of-his.html

From another site glorifying his love for watches…

“The Second War was still going on, and the Allies wanted to make a road over Tibet from Assam, in India, to China. So two American military representatives came with a letter from President Roosevelt and a box containing a gold watch. A Patek Philippe. I was very excited. It was a very beautiful, very smart model. I still have it and it still works.”

The watch is most likely a Patek Phillipe Perpetual Calendar Ref. 1526 from around 1942. No doubt it has been opened and dismantled more than once in it’s lifetime.

Besides this cherished first watch, His Holiness has also been photographed in public wearing a Rolex Day-Date and this two tone Rolex Datejust with a jubilee bracelet. I can only speculate what his collection might be worth should it ever go up on auction.

http://edgardaily.com/en/style/2016/the-dalai-lama-and-his-love-of-luxury-watches-30111

https://geopolitics.co/2016/12/19/mainstream-media-confirm-dalai-lama-is-a-cia-asset/

10 Apr, 2023 20:15

German media and think tanks ‘alarmed’ over RT’s influence

A significant percentage of the country’s population appears to support “pro-Russian” narratives, Bild reports

Russia is gaining clout over German public opinion, the tabloid Bild reported on Monday, adding that RT’s German-language news service, RT DE, is playing a central role in this process.

Germans appear to be particularly susceptible to what Bild described as Moscow’s “propaganda,” the newspaper said, adding that experts in the West are “alarmed” over this development.

The tabloid then blamed this tendency on the “historically friendly relations” between the two nations, as well as the “legacy” of East Germany, which was once a part of the “socialist camp” and “a large number of Russian-speaking people” living in Germany nowadays. The paper then admitted that pro-Russian views have been spreading both among native Germans and the Russian-speaking part of the population.

The Russian media, such RT DE and SNA – the German-language version of the Sputnik news agency – play a key role in this, Bild said, citing a report by the Center of Information Resilience (CIR), which is a group of “open source investigators” funded by the UK Foreign Office and the US State Department among others. Reports published by RT DE then find their way to “many German websites,” Bild reported.

Germany’s ‘Center for Liberal Modernity’ (LIBMOD) think tank even dedicated a lengthy analytical paper to RT DE’s role in modern Germany as part of its Adversary Analysis project funded by the German Family Affairs Ministry. There, it said RT DE was playing a “special role” in Germany as a “kind of a leading medium” at the center of a vast network of other like-minded new media outlets.

A survey carried out by Berlin Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy in November 2022 showed that one in five Germans agreed that Moscow had no other choice but to respond to NATO “provocations” by launching a military operation in Ukraine, the paper said. Another 21% of respondents “partly agreed” with this statement, it added.

Over 40% of Germans either partly or fully supported Russia’s position on the ongoing conflict, the report said, adding that the Russian narrative “fell on fertile ground” in Germany. The think tank then admits that RT DE relies on a vast network of authors, including German journalists, working for other “alternative media” and covers a broad spectrum of high-profile issues ranging from the refugee crisis to the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing conflict in Ukraine. That makes RT DE stand out from other “alternative media,” which usually focus on a specific narrow topic, the Adversary Analysis added.

“RT DE has put itself at the forefront of a whole series of ‘alternative media’ that agitate against the alleged ‘corona dictatorship’ and the ‘lying press’,” the report said, adding that RT DE has “the largest overlaps in terms of content and personnel” with some other German media portals that adhere to the “tradition of Ostpolitik [East Policy] relying on a dialogue and cooperation with Russia.”

https://www.rt.com/news/574504-german-media-alarmed-rt-influence/

10 Apr, 2023 20:15

Zelensky losing control of intelligence agents – media

The US believes that the Ukrainian intelligence service attacked a Russian plane in Belarus without Kiev’s permission, Breaking Points reported

TheUS believes that elements of Ukraine’s intelligence service carried out a cross-border attack on a Russian spy planein Belarus without approval from the Ukrainian government, Breaking Points journalist Saagar Enjeti reported on Monday, citing leaked documents.

The attack saw a drone inflict minor damage to a Russian A-50 early warning and control aircraft stationed at the Machulishchy air base in Belarus last month. Belarusian authoritiesarrested a number of suspects, one allegedly linked to the Ukrainian secret police organization, the SBU, which Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accused of orchestrating the attack with help from the CIA.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry “categorically” denied any involvement by Kiev, while Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podoliak blamed the attack solelyon “local partisans.”

ThePentagon, however, assessed that the SBUcarried out the attack without seeking the approval of President Vladimir Zelensky or his officials, Enjeti said in a video report on Tuesday. The alleged Pentagon documents containing the assessment were leaked on social media last week, and have since received considerable media attention.

The report on the plane attack raises the question of “how much control does Zelensky actually have” over his own intelligence apparatus, Enjeti said. “Perhaps this lends credence to the idea that there are a bunch of rogue elements inside the [Ukrainian] government that are basically doing whatever they want,” he continued, citing a string of terrorist attacks within Russia as potential SBU operations.

The Kremlin has repeatedly blamed Ukraine and its intelligence services for these attacks, which include the bombing of the Crimean Bridge and the assassinations of journalist Daria Dugina and military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky.

“Whenever Ukraine does something, who is doing it?” Enjeti asked.

“Zelensky presents himself as the leader … but obviously there areelements of the government there that don’t listen to him. Who knows what they’re going to drag us into.”

The US Department of Defense has not confirmed the authenticity of the leaked documents, although a department spokesman told reporters on Monday that the files posted on social media were “similar in format” to those used in Pentagon briefings and intelligence updates. The leak presents “a very serious risk” to Washington, he added.

Other files in the leak detail the US’ war plans in Ukraine, its surveillance of its allies, Kiev’s rapidly depleting ammunition situation, and other “sensitive” material related to Ukraine, China, the Middle East, and terrorism.

https://www.rt.com/russia/574502-ukraine-attacked-plane-belarus/

10 Apr, 2023 21:15

US DOJ opens Pentagon leaks investigation

Washington has escalated the hunt for whoever posted Ukraine-related classified documents

The US Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the publication of classified documents related to the Ukraine conflict, as the White House on Monday lectured journalists not to report on their content.

The Department of Defense has sent over a criminal referral to the DOJ to trigger the probe, according to Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh.

Meanwhile, an internal investigation has been launched to “review and assess the validity” of the documents, which “appear to contain sensitive and highly classified material.”

Photographs of scanned briefing slides were first posted on a messaging platform called Discord in January, but went unnoticed until last week. Since then, more documents have appeared on Twitter and Telegram as well, with the latest batch emerging on Friday.

According to Financial Times, their release has “sown chaos and paranoia among Washington’s national security apparatus ahead of a critical moment” in the Ukraine conflict, just as Kiev is about to launch a highly anticipated “counter-offensive.”

Pentagon spokesman Chris Meagher told reporters on Monday that he could not confirm the documents’ authenticity, but that they “appear to show documents similar in format to those used to provide daily updates to our senior leaders on Ukraine and Russia-related operations, as well as other intelligence updates,” while insisting that some “appear to have been altered.”

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House that he couldn’t confirm the validity of the documents, but that they shouldn’t report on them.

“This is information that has no business in the public domain,” Kirby said. “It has no business, if you don’t mind me saying, on the front pages of newspapers or on television. It is not intended for public consumption and it should not be out there.”

That has not stopped the US media from quoting anonymous sources from inside the Pentagon to describe the hunt for the leaker and the crackdown on the flow of intelligence inside the US military. Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported “a high level of panic” at the Pentagon, while Reuters quoted speculation about the possible source, ranging from a disgruntled employee to an “insider threat.”

Both Ukraine and Russia have downplayed the documents’ significance, however. The Kremlin said Moscow had long known about Washington’s direct involvement in the conflict, while military analysts speculated the leaks might be US disinformation. Advisers to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky also initially claimed the documents were disinformation, blaming Russia. By Monday, however, Kiev was already changing some of its military plans in response, according to CNN – while insisting the actual date of the “counteroffensive” was irrelevant because it was already underway.

https://www.rt.com/news/574503-doj-pentagon-leaks-criminal/

10 Apr, 2023 17:40

Kremlin comments on French peace pitch

Paris can’t mediate because it’s openly on Ukraine’s side, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said

French involvement in finding a settlement to the Ukraine conflict is difficult to imagine at the moment, because Paris has openly taken the side of Kiev, the Kremlin insisted on Monday.

“Paris can hardly aspire to be a mediator at this time, because Paris actually takes the side of one of the participants in the conflict,” Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that France is “directly and indirectly” involved on the side of Ukraine.

Peskov was commenting on reports from the recent visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to China. During a dinner with Macron in Guangzhou, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his visitor that Beijing welcomed French proposals for a political and diplomatic resolution of the Ukraine conflict, and would be willing to support them.

China has proposed a 12-point road map for ending the conflict, which the US openly rejected before any of its NATO allies – including France – or Ukraine itself had a chance to react.

If Macron has offered his own peace platform, it has not been made public yet. During his visit to China, the French leader demanded Beijing denounce the Russian “invasion” and side with the West, which Xi declined to do.

France has been on board with all ten rounds of EU sanctions against Russia, while sending Ukraine a variety of weapons systems, including Caesar self-propelled howitzers, Crotale air defense missiles, and AMX-10 light tanks. Paris has also trained Ukrainian troops on French soil as part of an EU program of aiding Kiev.

Macron drew criticism from the US on Monday for his comments about the EU’s “strategic autonomy” when it comes to relations with China. The French leader had said it was not in the bloc’s interest to stoke the conflict over Taiwan or “become followers on this topic and take our cue from the US agenda.”

Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the US was spending a lot of money on a “European war” and shouldperhaps leave the EU to “handle Ukraine” on its own instead.

https://www.rt.com/news/574497-russia-france-ukraine-mediation/

Geez Ukraine has said they are not interested in a peace plan and the US is forcing them to stay in this war.

10 Apr, 2023 13:34

Ukrainian air defense missiles to run out by May – WSJ

Kiev’s forces are burning through their Soviet-era stocks, thePentagon reportedly believes

Ukraine will run out of most of its anti-air missiles by May, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing classified Pentagon documents leaked on social media. Facing the prospect of Russian air superiority, Kiev has been asking for more air defense systems from the West for months.

According to a purported Pentagon presentation dated February 28, Ukraine is expending around 69 Buk missiles and 200 S-300 missiles per month, the newspaper reported. At this rate of fire, Kiev’s forces will be out of Buk ammunition by the end of this week, and will deplete its S-300 stockpile by May 3, it said.

Sourcing missiles for these Soviet-built platforms is proving difficult for Kiev and its Western backers. In their place, Ukraine has received three German Iris-T and eight American NASAMS anti-air systems. However, these systems consume around64 missiles per month, and their limited number cannot cover as much territory as Ukraine’s S-300s, according to the document.

To cover the shortfall, American military planners reportedly estimate that Ukraine needs 16 Iris-T or NASAMS batteries and 12 Patriot or SAMP-T batteries. US President Joe Biden has authorized the deployment of one Patriot battery, while Germany has pledged another and France and Italy have promised one SAMP-T system. None of these have reached Ukraine yet, a Ukrainian military spokesman told the Wall Street Journal.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has been asking the US and its allies for more air defense systems since last year, calling this equipment his “number one priority.” Zelensky and his aides have also pleaded for Western-made fighter jets like the American F-16, and while some European countries have said they are open to the idea, the US has thus far refused.

The Pentagon has not yet confirmed the authenticity of the presentation, which is part of a trove of secret documents leaked and posted on social media over the last week. Other files in the leak detail the US’ war plans in Ukraine, its surveillance of its allies, and other “sensitive” material related to Ukraine, China, the Middle East, and terrorism.

https://www.rt.com/russia/574478-ukraine-air-defense-out/

https://twitter.com/TruthNinja316/status/1645483497384194049?s=20

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1645483651675611136?s=20