25 Apr, 2023 14:35

US warns of new Russian offensive in Ukraine

The White House has pledged continued support for Kiev as it prepares for its much-touted battlefield push

Ukrainian forces could face more Russian attacks even as they prepare a counteroffensive of their own, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has warned.

“In the spring, when the weather improves, and it’s already starting to improve… we can expect the Russians to want to go on the offensive in some areas,” Kirby told state-run news outlet Voice of America on Friday.

“We want to make sure that the Ukrainians are able to better defend themselves against that and if they choose offensive operations of their own, that they’ve got the capabilities to conduct those,” he added.

Kiev has been promising for months to launch a counteroffensive against Russia sometime this spring, after receiving weapons and training for its troops from the US and other foreign backers.

However, the operation has thus far not materialized and may not kick off until the summer, according to recent remarks by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal. Some Ukrainian officials, including Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, warned against treating the much-anticipated offensive as a make-or-break moment in the conflict.

Several reports in the US media have indicated that the Ukrainian push – if and when it comes – may not result in significant gains.Skeptics cited battlefield losses, including among experienced soldiers, a shortage of artillery munitions and mounting pressure by Russian troops as factors that undermine the Ukrainian position.

The frontline city of Artyomovsk, known as Bakhmut in Ukraine, became the site of some of the bloodiest fighting this year. Russian forces have been gradually advancing and are now in the process of seizing the westernmost part of the city, which remains under Kiev’s control.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has declared the city a “fortress” and refused to pull troops out, despite repeated calls by US officials to do so, according to Western media outlets, citing classified documents allegedly leaked from the Pentagon. Zelensky reportedly fears that the fall of the city would hit morale and has continued to cling to it despite heavy losses by Ukrainian troops.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian private military company Wagner Group, which played a significant part in the fight for Artyomovsk, noted this week thathe expected Kiev to start its counteroffensive as soon as the city was captured by Russia.

“Zelensky will need a great victory. And he will start the counteroffensive for the sake of it,”Prigozhin said.

(Kirby is terrible at his job, his statements are sub-par propaganda, he doesn’t even believe it)

https://www.rt.com/russia/575311-kirby-russian-offensive-ukraine/

25 Apr, 2023 15:58

EU demands more online censorship

Twitter and 18 other large platforms will face fines if they don’t crack down on “disinformation”

The European Commission has designated 19 online platforms under its Digital Services Act, a move that opens them up to hefty fines if they target advertisements at certain users, publish illegal content, or fail to “address the spread of disinformation.”

In an announcement on Tuesday, the commission named 17 “Very Large Online Platforms” and two “Very Large Online Search Engines,” defined as those reaching at least 45 million monthly active users. Among the platforms cited areFacebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, while Google and Microsoft’s Bingare the two designated search engines.

The decision means that as of August, these platforms must be in compliance with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a wide-ranging piece of legislation that came into force in November.

To avoid fines of up to6% of their global annual turnover, the commission stated that these platforms must label all advertisements as such and avoid targeting ads at users based on “sensitive data” such as their ethnicity, sexuality, or political orientation.

Targeting ads toward children will no longer be permitted, and platforms will have to “redesign their systems to ensure a high level of privacy, security, and safety of minors,” the commission said. (Nothing wrong with that)

Regarding content moderation, platforms will be required to restrict the “dissemination of illegal content” and “addressthe spread of disinformation,” The entire text of the DSA mentions the word “disinformation” 13 times without defining it.Free speech activists have argued that the term is often used by governments to silence factually correct yet politically inconvenient narratives.

The commission also warned that platforms and search engines will need to address “negative effects on freedom of expression,” a requirement that could clash with the demand to tackle “disinformation.”

While the DSA was being drafted last year, EU officialssingled out Twitteras a company that would be forced to comply with its requirements. Immediately after billionaire Elon Musk bought the platform and set about rolling back some of its restrictive speech policies, EU industry chief Thierry Breton declared that “in Europe, the bird will fly by our European rules.”

Two months later, EU Commissioner for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova warned that Twitter would face “sanctions” if it breached the DSA. Jourova cited Musk’s banning of several prominent journalists – who shared information on his whereabouts – as potential DSA violations. (Actually that was a troll that was tracking his plane, where the otherdespised, not “prominent” journalistsrepeated it.)

https://www.rt.com/news/575321-eu-content-rules-twitter/

25 Apr, 2023 14:09

Biohazard risk in Sudan as warring faction seizes lab – WHO

Technicians have been denied entry to a facility where samples of diseases are stored, according to an official

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned of a potential biological hazard in Sudan on Tuesday, describing an armed faction’s seizure of a laboratory holding samples ofpathogens including polio and measlesas an “extremely dangerous” situation. (There’s a lot more dangerous things there then this)

“There is ahuge biological riskassociated with the occupation of the central public health lab… by one of the fighting parties,” Nima Saeed Abid, WHO representative in Sudan, told reporters in Geneva via video link. He said technicians have beenthrown outwith “no accessibility” to the lab, and no way to “safely contain the biological material and substances available.”

Nima said at least 459 people have been killed and 4,072 injured in the fighting that broke out on April 15 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The country’s capital, Khartoum, and nearby towns have been gripped by nearly two weeks of intense bombardment, causing severe food, water, medicine, and fuel shortages. Doctors Without Borders’ Operational Manager for Sudan, Abdalla Hussein, told RT on Friday that hospitals in Khartoum and surrounding cities have closed due to “heavy shelling.”

According to the Sudanese Doctors Union,13 hospitals have been bombedand 19 have been forced to evacuate, six ambulances have been attacked by military forces, and others have been denied passage to transport patients and receive aid since the conflict began.

The International Organization for Migration and the World Food Programme suspended their operations in Sudan after some of their employees were killed in the fighting. “In areas where intense fighting has hampered our humanitarian operations, we have been forced to reduce our footprint,” Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, said on Tuesday.

Over the past few days, tens of thousands of civilians – Sudanese and foreign nationals – are said to have fled to Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan. Laura Lo Castro, the UN refugee agency’s representative in Chad, stated that around 20,000 refugees have already arrived in the Central African nation, with up to 100,000 expected in the “worst-case scenario.”(I think the US & UN forces these wars so they can get more money)

Following unsuccessful attempts to establish a truce last week, the rival factions have now agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire beginning on Tuesday. Despite the deal, Al Jazeera has reported that intense fighting persists near the presidential palace in the northern part of the capital, and new clashes have erupted in the West Darfur city of Geneina.

https://www.rt.com/africa/575314-who-biohazard-risk-sudan/

25 Apr, 2023 16:15

China to bring ‘friendship’ panda home from US

Ya Ya was loaned two decades ago as part of an informal diplomacy program

After spendingtwo decadeson loan to the Memphis Zoo as a tool of Beijing’s so-called ‘panda diplomacy’ efforts, Ya Ya – a 22-year-old female giant panda – will be returned to China amid a hail of concern from animal rights and welfare groups over her health. The US zoo denies claims of poor animal care.

Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday that Ya Ya “will return to China within the next few days,” citing sources within the country’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration. The decision comes amid outcry from animal welfare watchdog groups InDefense of Animals and Panda Voices, which had issued calls for Ya Ya to be returned home “before her health worsens.”

Some observers had suggested that photos and videos of Ya Ya appeared to show that she was emaciated and was suffering from a skin complaint. It was also claimed that she was displaying unusual, repetitive behavior. The watchdogs had blamed the Memphis Zoo for the February death of Ya Ya’s mate, Le Le. In Defense of Animals said at the time that Le Le’s death had shown the zoo’s “utter inability to properly care for giant pandas.”

The Memphis Zoo, though, has sternly rejected any claims of the mistreatment of either animal. Its official website describes Ya Ya as exhibiting “outgoing” and “quirky”characteristics, and says that she “enjoys hanging out with her keepers at any time during the day.”

The zoo announced last December before Le Le’s death that both animals were scheduled to be returned to Shanghai following the completion of a loan program. Preparations have been made to prepare Ya Ya for the journey, which is expected to occur before the end of April.

Beijing has engaged in ‘panda diplomacy’ since 1972, when the country offered two animals to then-US President Richard Nixon. Eighteen countries currently have pandas on loan from China – the only country in the world where the animals exist in a natural habitat.

According to geopolitics expert Matthew Fraser, Beijing traditionally employs panda loans as a means of goodwill or to boost a trade deal. “When China takes back a panda, it is usually becausethe regime is very displeased for some reason,” he told the New York Times earlier this month.

Relations between Washington and Beijing remain tense over the situation with Taiwan. China views the island as a breakaway province that is part of its sovereign territory. The US diplomatically recognizes Beijing’s ‘One China’ principle but has maintained informal ties with Taipei.

(Besides the diplomacy fraction what else is China planning? China using leftists to yell about pandas)

https://www.rt.com/news/575323-us-china-panda-return/

Only One Question Remains as Susan Rice, Biden’s Shadow President, Leaves the White House

April 24, 2023 | Sundance |

In the game of test-match cricket, a game that can last three days at peak professional level, you have to ‘get out‘ to ‘get in‘. You have to ‘get out‘ of the clubhouse in order to ‘get in‘ to the game. The same is true for this story about Domestic Policy Advisor, Susan Rice, leaving the Biden administration.Rice has to get out of the administration in order to get in to the 2024.

Readers here will likely remember all previous discussion about the likely Democrat field for 2024. Susan Rice and Gavin Newsom are both key players in the DNC big club game. There is only one question at the core of the dynamic you need to ask,how will they off-ramp Joe Biden?

First, the White House announcement: […] “As the only person to serve as both National Security Advisor and Domestic Policy Advisor, Susan’s record of public service makes history. But what sets her apart as a leader and colleague is the seriousness with which she takes her role and the urgency and tenacity she brings, her bias towards action and results, and the integrity, humility and humor with which she does this work. I thank Susan for her service, her counsel and her friendship. I will miss her.” (link)

Susan Rice is the pliable foot soldier, theprotege’ of the Lightbringer, Chicago Jesus. Rice is the female version of the entire apparatus of the Obama team. Susan Rice is Barack Obama in female form, and as Ric Grenell said eloquently, Susan Rice is “the shadow president.”

ANewsom/Rice or Rice/Newsom ticket is a no brainer. Both are foot soldiers for the Lightbringer movement’s fundamental change agenda, although Rice is the apex player and Newsom is the ideological, intellectual andcognitive equivalent of John Fettermanwith better style. Most people still do not understand that BarackObama is not just a person, he is a completepolitical construct-a movement in a box- consisting of multiple component groups all working in synergy.

The focus of the Obama movement is domestic and ideological. The “fundamental change“, as outlined previously by the front man for the group, is domestic – exclusively domestic. The Lightbringer doesn’t care about foreign policy stuff; all of that angle is sold to the multinationals and highest bidders.

Foreign policy is not a thing forTeh One true bringer of enlightenment; their focus is USA domestically centered. In her capacity as Domestic Policy Advisor, Susan Rice was the guiding hand behind every element of Biden domestic policy.

The microphone from the Obama basement does not transmit into the earpiece of Biden; it communicates into thetwo-way radio of Rice.

If Susan Rice is departing, the question becomeshow the club removes Bidenfrom the 2024 race? There are a multitude of approaches and leverages available for the Lightbringer’s team, whichincludes Deputy AG Lisa Monacoat Main Justice.

The criminal activity of Hunter Biden, and the potential for outcomes – or lack therein, can be leveraged. The direct connection to the action of the principal, “the big guy” Joe Biden, could be leveraged.

The Biden administration’s interference in any number of related investigations can be leveraged, and… keep in mind…. it is not coincidental the evidence of the interference is manifest by the same team that would remove the principal. Yeah, think about that for a moment.

Put aside the 2024 contest participants for a moment (ie. the shiny things), and instead =focus on what peripheral risks exist to Joe Biden== that could be deployed at any moment to push him to a graceful off ramp.

There are many club-installed insurance policies, political landmines all around Joe Biden. Which one will they show him?

(They never thought he’d survive this long.)

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/04/24/only-one-question-remains-as-susan-rice-bidens-shadow-president-leaves-the-white-house/

Thoughts on Tucker Carlson’s Firing

April 24, 2023 | Sundance.1/2

This is a context you won’t find elsewhere {smiles}. The phone has been blowing up…. Context and some details matter.

First, Carlson was beingpaid about $20 million a yearby Murdoch. He had about 3 years left on his contract and will be paid the full contract amount. Carlson found out about 10 minutes before Fox Corp made the announcement. They did not “part ways,” Tucker Carlson was fired.

(Via WSJ) – Mr. Carlson, whose contract was renewed in 2021, will be paid out for the rest of his contract, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Carlson is paid about $20 million a year, one of the people said. Mr. Carlson found out he was being let go about 10 minutes before the network announced his departure, the people said. (link)

For financial context, remember Rupert Murdoch paid Megyn Kelly $15 million (Via Harper Collins) for the 2015/2016 operation against Donald Trump. Paying $60 to $100 million to get rid of Carlson’s antagonistic voice is small money to Murdoch Inc. in the grand scheme of things. [Murdoch has also paid for Ron DeSantis to oppose Trump]

Carlson will not be asked to sign an NDA, is not bound by a “non-compete” clausefollowing the contract nullification by Fox Corp, and will be free to do anything he wants in any venture. Additionally, he will be free to say whatever he wants about the issues at Fox and speak freely, or not, without any legal or contractual constraints. Keep all of that in mind.

Prior to 2021, Tucker Carlson was what you might call a Fox News loyalist. He was very loyal to the organization. During the COVID-19 era, Tucker Carlson moved his physical location away from Washington DC to his home in Maine. Fox built him a studio, and Carlson manifest his own destiny free from most production constraints.

Over the past 18+/- months, viewers have watched Tucker Carlson essentiallyred pill himself each evening. As he enjoyed the proximity freedom far away from the Eye of Sauron (DC’s control mechanism), Carlson’s eyes opened further to the reality of the situation that blankets our national consciousness.

Disconnected from the machine, free-range in his abilities, and with the intellectual curiosity of the average person, Tucker Carlson started to see the U.S. system as it is, not as media pretend it to be. This is the increasing red pill absorption you have noted daily. Along with that came a more pragmatic and brutally honest production quality to the content he shared.

Carlson’s influence grew as the audience grew;the more truth he spoke, the larger the audience. Thatfree-range influence became a liability to the system operatorsthat hold power, including Rupert Murdoch who is a part of that control system. In essence, and in the big picture, that’s what led to this event today…

(Really important to read the whole article)

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/04/24/thoughts-on-tucker-carlsons-firing/

>>18751336

2/2

Timing and Fox Digital. Fox had just settled a lawsuit with Dominion Systems that has been widely reported. The decision to fire Carlson had only one aspect connected to the Dominion settlement,financial timing.

Fox Corp is going to take a big hit in second quarter (Q2) earnings as part of the Dominion settlement. If you are going to take a big financial hit, it’s better to go ahead and clear the decks of all financial hits at the same time.

Paying out Carlson simply gets all the big hits in the same quarter.

Digital is where the action is.Digital subscriber services is where the futureof all content is focused. Understanding this reality gives you a scale of the darkness in the opposition elements facing our nation. Fox News digital is Fox Nation. Tucker Carlson and the show Tucker Carlson Today was the anchor of Fox Nation digital.

Fox Nation was struggling prior to Tucker Carlson’s long show broadcasts. The entire Fox Corp digital streaming service, Fox Nation, was anchored around the Tucker Carlson Today digital streaming service.Fox News has just torpedoed their anchor, shot their lead dog, destroyed the digital brand. That gives you some scale and scope to how the elements viewed the threat of influence that Tucker Carlson had become.

Fox Corp, and Murdoch’s stenographers at the Wall Street Journal (SEE HERE), will try to frame the Carlson firing as something of a palate cleansing. Claims of adversarial viewpoints, controversial views and conflicts with other Fox loyalists on the inside, will be used to frame the narrative. However, all of those false frameworks are just that, false.The source of the issue that led to the firing was 100% ideological.

During Tucker’s red pill absorption phase, he changed views on a variety of subjects from the FBI to the Fourth Branch of Government, to vaccination and COVID-19, to his views on Donald Trump as a disruption to an increasingly admitted corrupt political machine.

Context in the Tucker worldview expanded and he began toframe the conflict in a big picture of Good -vs- Evil. Unfortunately for Carlson, this view was from inside a multinational corporate system spreading the darkness. He had to be removed.

This is the reality of the situation as it unfolded. Accept it or not, it matters not. This is the Carlson reality.

Carlson wasconnecting the dots of manipulation beyond media, beyond social battles and constructs, and into the realm of finance, economics and ultimately behind the Potemkin Village of UniParty politics. Blackrock has an increased stake in Fox Corp.

Talking about what happens behind the false front of the DC village is always a threat. It is in the research and acceptance of the darkest pretending constructs that you realize how the illusions of choice are presented.

Tucker Carlson was no longer selling the illusions.

There are trillions at stake.

He was removed.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/04/24/thoughts-on-tucker-carlsons-firing/

Payback For Backstabbing – Lee Zeldin Endorses President Donald Trump

April 24, 2023 | Sundance |

A well-timed counterpunch against the duplicitous backstabbing by Ron DeSantis that took place in August of 2022 is delivered by former New York Congressman and former New York Governor candidate Lee Zeldin today. Zeldin endorses Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination:

If you have followed the deep weeds of GOP politics, you already knew this was likely.

At a key moment in the New York governor race, in late August of 2022, shortly after the Mar-a-Lago raid,Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was scheduled to be keynote speaker at a New York City Zeldin dinner/fundraiser. Before the fundraiser, DeSantis went to pick up a six-figure donor check from Billionaire developer Joseph Cayre of Midtown Equities.

Cayre told DeSantis that he supported Zeldin’s Democrat opponent Kathy Hochul. The contingency for the contribution appeared to be that DeSantis would cancel attendance of the dinner for Zeldin. DeSantis took the Cayre donor check andat the last minute cancelled his attendance at the Zeldin dinner. {GO DEEP}

[…] While unable to attend the evening event, DeSantis was in Deal, New Jersey, earlier in the day at the home of Jay Cayre, head of Midtown Equities, sources told The Post. (link)

Team DeSantis tried to sell a story about an emergency funeral the following day for slain police officer Jose Perez as the reason for his cancellation. However, we did a deep dive on the details and the timeline, and nothing matched the claims by DeSantis. {GO DEEP}

Officer Perez died on August 20th. The funeral was announced by the family and FDLE on August 26th, to be held August 29th.

When DeSantis left Florida on August 28th to pick up the check from Cayre and then attend the dinner later that night, he was well aware of the Perez funeral the next day. DeSantis took the time to pick up the check, then cancelled the evening dinner with Zeldin.

Two months later, long after the value of the fundraising would have been useful, on October 30, 2022, DeSantis made a return trip to New York to fulfill his obligation.

With only a week left before the 2022 mid-term election the value of the “fundraising window” had closed. DeSantis made an innocuous speech about police officer support, and then left New York. Essentially Zeldin was railroaded by the financial priority of the Florida Governor.

Actions create consequences.

Today, Lee Zeldin endorsed President Trump – who was very gracious in his appreciation and acceptance:

So, that’s how that happens….

(Proof that Desanctass will never be president or even resident!)

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/04/24/payback-for-backstabbing-lee-zeldin-endorses-president-donald-trump/

>>18751382

So its never been a new thing, even with Lincoln it was all lies. My guess there was never truly an American Press, it was always a foreign paid press. They had to destroy the idea of America’s freedom, but fortunately our founding fathers wrote a document to bind their power, and Donald J. Trump came along

>>18751372

I doubt Zeldin would ever backed Desanctass, DeSanctass was a well known jerk off in Congress

>>18751339

I actually think there may be a civil war going on and they will need to take him out. As much as it looked like Obama was running Bidan, what if, part of it was Bidan was blackmailing Obama. Its such a mess of disgusting people I need to consider every avenue. I believe Bidan has a WW mafia that would kill anyone for him, and vice versa

>>18751291

Yes very quickly