UAE Says It Withdrew from U.S.-Led Maritime Coalition Two Months Ago (FJB)

John Hayward31 May 2023

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday announced that itquietly withdrew from a U.S.-led security coalition called the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) two months ago.

The government claimed the reason behind the departure was an “ongoing evaluation of effective security cooperation with all partners,” but some speculated the move was a sign of a growing rift between Gulf Arab states and America after PresidentJoe Biden drove Saudi Arabia into the arms of China and Iran.

Iran International noted on Wednesday that thewithdrawal time frameprovided by the UAE “roughly corresponds with Saudi Arabia’s decision inearly Marchto restore diplomatic relations with Iran, which has been much discussed as a shift in Riyadh’s regional policies.”

The rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran announced in March was brokered by China, which touted the achievement as proof that China has surpassed the United States as a diplomatic power.

It was also the next step in a Saudi realignment away from the U.S. that began when Biden vowed during his 2020 campaign to make the Saudis into a “pariah” among nations. Biden wound up begging the Saudis for oil after his approval ratings plummeted in office, but Riyadh evidently did not forget the insult.

The CMF is headquartered in Bahrain, along with the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. It is commanded by the same U.S. Navy Vice Admiral who oversees the Fifth Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT). The deputy commander is a commodore in the U.K. Royal Navy.

Before the UAE withdrew, CMF had 34 members, who volunteered to help with “countering illicit non-state actors on the high seas and promoting security, stability, and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters.”

Those waters include some of the most vital shipping lanes in the world, so the CMF focuses on activities such as “counter-narcotics” and “suppressing piracy.”

Iranian threats to shipping in the Persian Gulf have been in the news of late, including two tankers seized by Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces near the Strait of Hormuz in late April and early May. One of those tankers was bound for a port in the UAE when it was captured.

Iran International suggested the UAE and other regional powers have been uneasy ever since the Trump administration backed down from military retaliation against Iran for using its Yemeni proxies to bomb Saudi oil facilitiesin 2019.

The UAE was reportedly even more frustrated by the Biden administration’s passivity in the face of escalating Iranian assaults on Gulf shipping. Iran International suggested theEmiratis might have concluded the U.S. will not protect them, so seeking “diplomatic engagement” with Iran is the best way to secure UAE shipping lanes….

https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2023/05/31/uae-says-it-withdrew-from-u-s-led-maritime-coalition-two-months-ago/

https://twitter.com/RepMattGaetz/status/1664048669530660865?s=20

1 Jun, 2023 09:55

Ukrainian ‘terrorist’ attack thwarted – Moscow

Two of Kiev’s infantry mechanized teams tried crossing into Russia’s Belgorod Region, the defense ministry says

Russian forces have repelled an attempt by Ukraine to carry out “a terrorist act” against a settlement in Belgorod Region close to the border, the defense ministry has said.

The Russian military, together with border guards and other units of the Federal Security Service (FSB), “thwarted a new attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist act against the civilian population of the town of Shebekino,” the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

At around 3am Moscow time, two Ukrainian motorized infantry companies, reinforced by tanks, tried to cross into Russianear the settlement of Novaya Tavolzhanka and the Shebekino border checkpoint, according to the statement. The attempted incursion followed intensive shelling of the area from the Ukrainian side of the border, it added.

Three attacks by “Ukrainian terrorist groups” were repelled by Russian troops, the ministry said.Kiev’s units “suffered significant losses and were driven back… The violation of the state border was not allowed.”

The RussianAir Force carried out 11 airstrikes, while the artillery performed 77 fire missionsagainst the approaching Ukrainian units.Heavy flamethrowersystems were also used on two occasions, according to the statement.

More than30 Ukrainian “terrorists”, four armored combat vehicles, a Grad multiple rocket launcher, and a pickup truck were destroyed as a result of the failed incursion, the ministry said.

Shebekino, which is located approximately 20km (12.4 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border, has been the subject of increasingly intensive strikes from the Ukrainian side this week. On Thursday, shelling in the area left eight people injured, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. He added that Kiev’s forces had not been allowed to cross the border. He promised to evacuate civilians, saying that several hundred women and children would be relocated by the end of the week.

On Tuesday, a civilian was killed and several others wounded in Shebekino as more than 200 projectiles were fired at the town and nearby locations, according to Gladkov.

Last week, a Ukrainian saboteur group carried out an incursion into Grayvoronsky District in Belgorod Region.They were able to overrun several villages, but were swiftly pushed back to the other side of the border by the Russian military, suffering heavy losses. The attack left one civilian dead and several others wounded.

The Russian regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk, all of which border Ukraine, have been the targets of numerous drone and missile attacks by Ukrainian forces since the outbreak of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022. The strikes have targeted energy infrastructure and residential areas, resulting in several civilian deaths and many injuries, as well as destruction of property.

https://www.rt.com/russia/577279-ukrainian-terrorist-attack-thwarted-moscow/

1 Jun, 2023 08:35

CIA hacked iPhones of diplomats in Russia – FSB

Russian security officials claim to have uncovered a major surveillance operation exploiting Apple devices

TheCIA installed malware on thousands of Apple phonesused by Russian citizens and foreign diplomats working in the country, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has claimed.

The FSB said on Thursday that a joint operation with the Federal Guard Service (FSO) had “uncover[ed] a surveillance operation by American intelligence agencies, carried out with the use of Apple’s mobile devices.”

An assessment ofRussia’s telecom infrastructure revealed “anomalies”in the operations of some iPhones, caused by “a previously unknown malicious program that uses softwarevulnerabilities provided by the manufacturer,” a statement by the agency read.

Several thousand phones made by Apple were infected with the malware, according to the FSB.

Not only Russian citizens were targeted, but also “foreign phone numbers and subscribers that use SIM cards registered with diplomatic missionsand embassies inside Russia, including countries from the NATO bloc and the post-Soviet space, as well Israel, Syria and China,” the agency said.

The discovery ismore proof of the close cooperation between Apple and the US intelligencecommunity, the FSB claimed, adding that “the declared policy of ensuring the privacy of personal data of Apple users has nothing to do with reality.”

The FSB also accused Apple of “providing the American intelligence services with a wide range of opportunities to survey any persons of interest to the White House, including their partners in anti-Russian activities, as well as their own citizens.”

In March, the Kommersant newspaper reported that members of the Russian presidential administration had been told to discard their iPhones. According to the paper, the step was taken due to concerns that advanced cyberwarfare tools, such as the Israeli Pegasus software, could allow Apple gadgets to be breached, despite the producer’s claims of their enhanced security features.

Kremlin spokesmanDmitry Peskov declined to comment on the report, but noted that Russian officials were in any case barred from using smartphones “for work purposes” due to the potential vulnerability of devices. (Interesting declined to comment!)

https://www.rt.com/russia/577273-cia-hack-iphone-diplomats/

1 Jun, 2023 10:38

Germany tells Zelensky NATO can’t consider Ukrainian membership now

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock claimed that the doors of the US-led military bloc still remain open

Ukraine cannot join NATO while it remains locked in a conflict with Russia, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said. Last month, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also expressed skepticism about Kiev’s admission into the US-led military bloc.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Norwegian capital Oslo on Thursday, Baerbock claimed that the bloc’s doors remain open for potential new members. This applies to Sweden in particular, but also to Ukraine, she said.

“At the same time, it is clear that we cannot talk about new membership in the middle of a war,” Baerbock stressed regarding Ukraine’s aspirations.

German Chancellor Scholz said last month that Kiev’s potential NATO membership “doesn’t stand on the agenda anytime soon.” He cited a “whole range of requirements belonging to NATO’s criteria that Ukraine can’t fulfill at present.”

The chancellor argued that the bloc should for the time being focus on helping Ukraine to “defend its land” against Russian forces.

While some NATO members such as Poland and the Baltic states have long advocated a fast track for Ukraine’s accession, others, including the US and Germany, are reluctant to commit to such a scenario, the Financial Times reported in April.

Citing anonymous sources, the FT claimed on Wednesday that Ukrainian President VladimirZelenskyhad “made clear to NATO leaders that he will not attend the Vilnius summit [in July]without concrete security guarantees and a road map for accession.” (Zelensky is either stupid or he willingly sacrificed 100s of 1000s of men for his fame. Ukraine will never be in NATO because that will cause WWIII. Russia is not producing weapons 24 hours a day for this war, but for the future.)

Kiev formally applied to join the US-led bloc in September 2022, arguing that the collective defense it provides to members would ensure Ukraine’s security against Russia.

Moscow, in turn, considers NATO’s eastward expansion to be a threat to its national security, and has cited Ukraine’s aspirations to join the bloc as one of the reasons for the current conflict.

https://www.rt.com/news/577276-german-foreign-minister-ukraine-nato-membership/

(Watch the clip on next post from “White Tiger” to understand what the west is doing)

>>18934269

Hitler Seeking Clarity | White Tiger Full Ending Scene

If you want to understand what Russia has understood from the beginning, listen to Hitler’s admissions at the end of “White Tiger”. It makes clear what the West and Europe wants to do with Russia, they were hated along with the Jews. Russia has always presented a threat to the Globalist.

This movie is fascinating!

https://youtu.be/lO9dCBl6YjE

1 Jun, 2023 03:11

OPEC snubs major Western news outlets – media (KEK)

Reuters and Bloomberg said they were not invited to cover the upcoming meeting of oil-producing countries

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) hasrefused to invite reporters from Bloomberg News and Reutersto a scheduled event in Austria later this week, both outlets said on Wednesday.

Correspondents from theWall Street Journal were also snubbed, according to Reuters and Bloomberg.

Though staff from the three media agencies typically cover major OPEC meetings, Bloomberg said that this time organizers decided to send invitations directly to reporters, as opposed to providing accreditation to any journalist seeking to attend an event.

“We are disappointed that Reuters has not been invited,” a spokesperson said, adding that the agency has “reached out to OPEC for clarity on the matter.”

“We believe that a free press serves readers, markets and the public interest,” the spokesperson added. Bloomberg said it had contacted the OPEC secretariat, but received no reply. (But you aren’t a free press, you are biased and the mouthpiece of your masters!)

The agencies are still expected to send reporters to Austria, even if they cannot access the OPEC Secretariat, where ministers meet, according to theFinancial Times (FT), which confirmed that it did receive an invitation. The newspaper added thatDow Jones was also denied access, however.

FT cited people familiar with the matter as saying Saudi Energy MinisterPrince Abdulaziz bin Salmanwas behind the exclusion of prominent news organizations.

Reporters from other outlets, includingCNBC, as well as pricing agenciesArgus and Platts,told Reuters that theywere invitedto the Vienna event. (KEK thats gotta burn.)

OPEC – along with its partners in the broader OPEC+ bloc, which includes Russia – have been under pressure to support Western sanctions imposed on Moscow in response to its military operation in Ukraine. OPEC members have worked with Russia to reach an agreement on coordinated production cuts, which drew criticism from Washington.

OPEC members will gather on Saturday and Sunday for a regular biannual meeting to determine next steps after US crude prices dropped below $70 per barrel this week. The decline comes despite an agreement to further slash production in April, expanding output cuts initially set last year.

https://www.rt.com/news/577251-opec-snubs-reuters-bloomber/

https://twitter.com/RealJamesWoods/status/1663999211862650881?s=20

https://twitter.com/JohnBasham/status/1664071121560281088?s=20

Protecting Manchin

https://twitter.com/JohnBasham/status/1664054899330490368?s=20

FAUX is so Fucked

https://twitter.com/JohnBasham/status/1663691866238341121?s=20

Of course they have never saved Americans from Afghanistan or elsewhere, plus they agree with the Ukraine law

https://twitter.com/JohnBasham/status/1663676596329279490?s=20

Target spreading disinformation that the boycott is due to the upcoming 2024 election, and they still do not think they did anything wrong. Doubling down is akin to insanity!

https://twitter.com/manofbert/status/1661837566612750337?s=20

How to start to fix the EffBeeEye

https://twitter.com/KyleSeraphin/status/1663538466968182785?s=20