Anti-NATO protests in Europe
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One of the Biggest Propaganda Campaigns Ever
JAMES RICKARDS
FEBRUARY 28, 2023
It’s extremely difficult to find the truth about the war in Ukraine.
The first reason for this is because… it’s a war. Wars are always difficult to gauge in real-time. The phrase “fog of war” was invented to convey the uncertainty and imprecision about the progress of any particular war.
Still, there’s another reason the war in Ukraine is confusing for so many.
It’s because the Ukrainian propaganda effort is one of the most astonishingly effective concoctions of lies ever seen.
From the “Ghost of Kyiv” fighter ace to the “Heroes of Snake Island” to wildly exaggerated claims of Russian casualties to the suppression of any news that reflects badly on Ukraine, the Ukrainian propaganda machine has been firing on all cylinders.
This might be expected given that President Zelenskyy is a former actor and comedian. He’s used to the media stage and making up scenes for the audience. Zelenskyy is backed up by a small army of media advisers and amplified by sympathizers including President Biden, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and outlets like The New York Times.
Courage Under (Phony) Fire
The latest propaganda stunt was Joe Biden’s trip to Kyiv a few days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. Biden made a canned speech, authorized another $500 million in weapons and hopped back onto a train to Poland.
The propaganda pièce de résistance was when Biden and Zelenskyy walked into an open courtyard and the Kyiv air raid sirens began blaring. The Russians had been advised in advance that Biden would be there, and they agreed not to stage any raids during Biden’s visit.
In fact, there had been no raids for some time. No one saw any planes, drones or missiles. The sirens were just a stage effect intended to create a false sense of danger to be picked up as a soundtrack by global media.
Ukraine is losing the war badly but you can’t blame Westerners for believing otherwise. They’re all victims of the Zelenskyy-Ukraine propaganda machine.
What about the sanctions? How are they working out?
Sorry, but I Was Right
U.S. and EU sanctions on Russia because of Ukraine have been worse than a complete failure. They have failed to change Russia’s behavior, have failed to hurt Russia’s economy in a material way and have boomeranged to hurt the U.S., Europe and many Western financial institutions.
I wrote about this last year in March and April not long after the war began. My comments were greeted with skepticism (at best) and extreme criticism (at worse). No matter. I was right then and the evidence since has been overwhelming.
The Russian ruble is stronger today than before the war began. Russian oil and gas revenue is higher than it was before the war. Russian oil is being sold at a discount to India and China, but Russia is making up the discount in increased volume.
The Russian economy was only down about 3% in 2022 (earlier estimates expected it to fall around 20% or more), and the Russian economy is expected to show modest growth this year versus likely recessions in the U.S. and Europe. Russia and China are far along in developing an interoperative payments and settlement system for international transactions that will replace the SWIFT system that Russia was ejected from.
Actually damaging Russian institutions is extremely difficult because Russia has spent years preparing for just such a financial attack from the United States. Its banks are robust with good liquidity and access to interbank facilities, even without the benefit of SWIFT or Western correspondents.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to destroy the Ukrainian army with missiles from North Korea, drones from Iran and its own massive industrial capacity.
The Only Card the U.S. Can Play
So Ukraine is losing on the battlefield and the U.S.-led sanctions regime against Russia has failed. The only U.S. response is to escalate the conflict.
The escalation of U.S. weaponry provided to Ukraine is stunning. We started with Stinger surface-to-air missiles to shoot down Russian aircraft, and Javelin missiles, which are potent anti-tank weapons (although the British NLAW system being used in Ukraine is apparently better).
Next, we provided the HIMARS, which is a long-range heavy artillery piece with precision-guided shells. Ukraine has used it to good effect, although it seems the Russians have developed means to counter it.
Contrary to what the propaganda machine says, the Russians aren’t idiots. In fact, the very head of Ukraine’s military has said that “all military science is located in Russia.”
Anyway, since the delivery of HIMARS, the U.S., the U.K. and Germany have pledged to provide top-of-the-line tanks including the U.S. Abrams tank, the U.K. Challenger 2 and the German Leopard 2. Incidentally, there are unconfirmed reports that some Leopards are now appearing on the battlefield.
Then, without skipping a beat, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy demanded F-16 fighter jets. Biden said no, but he also said no to tanks at first. It’s likely just a matter of time before he approves the F-16s.
All of this has been backed up with billions of dollars of intelligence, surveillance and communications systems designed to spot Russian targets and direct the application of U.S. weapons.
That’s to say nothing about the actual presence of NATO forces on the ground in Ukraine. Some sources indicate that as many as 20,000 Polish troops are on the front lines dressed in Ukrainian uniforms, making them foreign mercenaries. U.S. and U.K. forces are also on the ground there not in uniform, which is a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Of course, this is no secret to the Russians. They recently warned us to withdraw all NATO personnel and equipment from Ukraine. If we don’t, the Russians renewed the warning that they could become legitimate targets.
Ukraine Is Losing
Still, none of this assistance has been particularly effective. Ukraine is losing the war badly as Russia slowly and methodically wears down Ukrainian forces along a broad front. Russia nearly has the strategically important city of Bakhmut encircled and will probably have it completely cut off before long, trapping 20,000–30,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
The loss of Bakhmut will be a significant defeat for Ukraine, as it will significantly weaken their defense line in the Donbas. They really only have one defense line to fall back to, and it’s notably weaker than the line they’re currently fighting to hold.
If Russia eventually manages to break through that last line, there’s very little between that line and the Dnieper River to stop them.
None of this is an indictment of the Ukrainian military, by the way. They’ve fought hard and bravely, and continue to do so. It’s just that they’re facing a superior force that significantly outnumbers them in tanks, aircraft, artillery and, importantly, ammunition. They’re simply outgunned.
Where’s the Cavalry?
Meanwhile, many of the weapons pledged (including the tanks) have not actually arrived and may not be ready for six months or more. Ukraine could sure use them now!
The F-16s in particular are a pipe dream because Ukrainian pilots don’t know how to fly them, and training can take almost a year. It’s possible that NATO pilots could secretly pilot them, but just think of the Russian propaganda victory if they shoot down and capture NATO pilots who aren’t supposed to be flying over Ukraine.
Still, apart from their effectiveness, another question arises. Can the U.S., the U.K. and Germany actually afford to provide these weapons without damaging their own readiness in the event of wars elsewhere?
The fact is Western arsenals have been badly depleted because of the weapons and ammunition provided to Ukraine. The European arsenals were not large to begin with, but even the U.S. supplies dropped into the danger zone. The situation is worse than that because the shortages cannot be made up quickly.
The U.S. has shut down many ammunition factories since the Cold War ended. These can be restarted but full wartime mobilization takes years, not weeks. World War II is a good example.
By 1943, the U.S. was producing wartime aircraft at a rate of almost 100,000 planes per year. But in 1941, that number was only 18,000. The Ford Motor Co. basically stopped automobile production and converted its huge River Rouge factory to aircraft production for the duration.
That fivefold increase in fighters and bombers took two years to achieve. It was not done in months. It’s fair to ask if this war is worth it in broad terms.
It’s even more pointed to ask if it’s worth jeopardizing U.S. national security by running down vital inventories of weapons to prop up a corrupt oligarchy in Eastern Europe.
The American people may discover the hard way that the answer to both questions is no.
JAMES RICKARDS
FEBRUARY 28, 2023
It’s extremely difficult to find the truth about the war in Ukraine.
The first reason for this is because… it’s a war. Wars are always difficult to gauge in real-time. The phrase “fog of war” was invented to convey the uncertainty and imprecision about the progress of any particular war.
Still, there’s another reason the war in Ukraine is confusing for so many.
It’s because the Ukrainian propaganda effort is one of the most astonishingly effective concoctions of lies ever seen.
From the “Ghost of Kyiv” fighter ace to the “Heroes of Snake Island” to wildly exaggerated claims of Russian casualties to the suppression of any news that reflects badly on Ukraine, the Ukrainian propaganda machine has been firing on all cylinders.
This might be expected given that President Zelenskyy is a former actor and comedian. He’s used to the media stage and making up scenes for the audience. Zelenskyy is backed up by a small army of media advisers and amplified by sympathizers including President Biden, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and outlets like The New York Times.
Courage Under (Phony) Fire
The latest propaganda stunt was Joe Biden’s trip to Kyiv a few days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. Biden made a canned speech, authorized another $500 million in weapons and hopped back onto a train to Poland.
The propaganda pièce de résistance was when Biden and Zelenskyy walked into an open courtyard and the Kyiv air raid sirens began blaring. The Russians had been advised in advance that Biden would be there, and they agreed not to stage any raids during Biden’s visit.
In fact, there had been no raids for some time. No one saw any planes, drones or missiles. The sirens were just a stage effect intended to create a false sense of danger to be picked up as a soundtrack by global media.
Ukraine is losing the war badly but you can’t blame Westerners for believing otherwise. They’re all victims of the Zelenskyy-Ukraine propaganda machine.
What about the sanctions? How are they working out?
Sorry, but I Was Right
U.S. and EU sanctions on Russia because of Ukraine have been worse than a complete failure. They have failed to change Russia’s behavior, have failed to hurt Russia’s economy in a material way and have boomeranged to hurt the U.S., Europe and many Western financial institutions.
I wrote about this last year in March and April not long after the war began. My comments were greeted with skepticism (at best) and extreme criticism (at worse). No matter. I was right then and the evidence since has been overwhelming.
The Russian ruble is stronger today than before the war began. Russian oil and gas revenue is higher than it was before the war. Russian oil is being sold at a discount to India and China, but Russia is making up the discount in increased volume.
The Russian economy was only down about 3% in 2022 (earlier estimates expected it to fall around 20% or more), and the Russian economy is expected to show modest growth this year versus likely recessions in the U.S. and Europe. Russia and China are far along in developing an interoperative payments and settlement system for international transactions that will replace the SWIFT system that Russia was ejected from.
Actually damaging Russian institutions is extremely difficult because Russia has spent years preparing for just such a financial attack from the United States. Its banks are robust with good liquidity and access to interbank facilities, even without the benefit of SWIFT or Western correspondents.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to destroy the Ukrainian army with missiles from North Korea, drones from Iran and its own massive industrial capacity.
The Only Card the U.S. Can Play
So Ukraine is losing on the battlefield and the U.S.-led sanctions regime against Russia has failed. The only U.S. response is to escalate the conflict.
The escalation of U.S. weaponry provided to Ukraine is stunning. We started with Stinger surface-to-air missiles to shoot down Russian aircraft, and Javelin missiles, which are potent anti-tank weapons (although the British NLAW system being used in Ukraine is apparently better).
Next, we provided the HIMARS, which is a long-range heavy artillery piece with precision-guided shells. Ukraine has used it to good effect, although it seems the Russians have developed means to counter it.
Contrary to what the propaganda machine says, the Russians aren’t idiots. In fact, the very head of Ukraine’s military has said that “all military science is located in Russia.”
Anyway, since the delivery of HIMARS, the U.S., the U.K. and Germany have pledged to provide top-of-the-line tanks including the U.S. Abrams tank, the U.K. Challenger 2 and the German Leopard 2. Incidentally, there are unconfirmed reports that some Leopards are now appearing on the battlefield.
Then, without skipping a beat, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy demanded F-16 fighter jets. Biden said no, but he also said no to tanks at first. It’s likely just a matter of time before he approves the F-16s.
All of this has been backed up with billions of dollars of intelligence, surveillance and communications systems designed to spot Russian targets and direct the application of U.S. weapons.
That’s to say nothing about the actual presence of NATO forces on the ground in Ukraine. Some sources indicate that as many as 20,000 Polish troops are on the front lines dressed in Ukrainian uniforms, making them foreign mercenaries. U.S. and U.K. forces are also on the ground there not in uniform, which is a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Of course, this is no secret to the Russians. They recently warned us to withdraw all NATO personnel and equipment from Ukraine. If we don’t, the Russians renewed the warning that they could become legitimate targets.
Ukraine Is Losing
Still, none of this assistance has been particularly effective. Ukraine is losing the war badly as Russia slowly and methodically wears down Ukrainian forces along a broad front. Russia nearly has the strategically important city of Bakhmut encircled and will probably have it completely cut off before long, trapping 20,000–30,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
The loss of Bakhmut will be a significant defeat for Ukraine, as it will significantly weaken their defense line in the Donbas. They really only have one defense line to fall back to, and it’s notably weaker than the line they’re currently fighting to hold.
If Russia eventually manages to break through that last line, there’s very little between that line and the Dnieper River to stop them.
None of this is an indictment of the Ukrainian military, by the way. They’ve fought hard and bravely, and continue to do so. It’s just that they’re facing a superior force that significantly outnumbers them in tanks, aircraft, artillery and, importantly, ammunition. They’re simply outgunned.
Where’s the Cavalry?
Meanwhile, many of the weapons pledged (including the tanks) have not actually arrived and may not be ready for six months or more. Ukraine could sure use them now!
The F-16s in particular are a pipe dream because Ukrainian pilots don’t know how to fly them, and training can take almost a year. It’s possible that NATO pilots could secretly pilot them, but just think of the Russian propaganda victory if they shoot down and capture NATO pilots who aren’t supposed to be flying over Ukraine.
Still, apart from their effectiveness, another question arises. Can the U.S., the U.K. and Germany actually afford to provide these weapons without damaging their own readiness in the event of wars elsewhere?
The fact is Western arsenals have been badly depleted because of the weapons and ammunition provided to Ukraine. The European arsenals were not large to begin with, but even the U.S. supplies dropped into the danger zone. The situation is worse than that because the shortages cannot be made up quickly.
The U.S. has shut down many ammunition factories since the Cold War ended. These can be restarted but full wartime mobilization takes years, not weeks. World War II is a good example.
By 1943, the U.S. was producing wartime aircraft at a rate of almost 100,000 planes per year. But in 1941, that number was only 18,000. The Ford Motor Co. basically stopped automobile production and converted its huge River Rouge factory to aircraft production for the duration.
That fivefold increase in fighters and bombers took two years to achieve. It was not done in months. It’s fair to ask if this war is worth it in broad terms.
It’s even more pointed to ask if it’s worth jeopardizing U.S. national security by running down vital inventories of weapons to prop up a corrupt oligarchy in Eastern Europe.
The American people may discover the hard way that the answer to both questions is no.
One of the Biggest Propaganda Campaigns Ever - Daily Reckoning
Jim Rickards Breaks It Down
dailyreckoning.com
Bad ideas need more lies to be told. good ideas need some lies if not as
many to gain public acceptance. In the end of the day propaganda works
beautifully in the democratic west.
$2 billion?
Fossil Fuel Industry Has Spent Nearly $2 Billion on Lobbying to Kill Climate Laws - Oil Change International
From 2000-2016, the fossil fuel industry spent nearly $2 billion lobbying to prevent climate action in the US, according to a new academic study published yesterday.
priceofoil.org
Well, since they've lost 160,000 so far I guess they need them.
Yes, hence "lots of lies" in the quote.
Propaganda works everywhere, so does spin.
And whether or not you want to classify spin and shading as "lies" or not is another debate.
But the main principle stands - Good ideas do not need lots of lies told about them in order to gain public acceptance. (people might want to click through to see a rather classic piece of internet writing from back in the day)
Bear in mind that most of those European countries have proportional representation and coalition governments. So a 5% shift to a rightie party in 1 election could spark a differently constituted coailtion with a different leader, but the change in policies and popular support is nowhere near what you would get with a FPTP system with only 3 or 4 parties like Canada or 2 parties like the US.I see no signs most of the anti-NATO protesters
belong to the far right.
At any rate Europe is already shifting to the right.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sweden's right-wing announces new government with far-right backing
The Sweden Democrats, the country's far-right party, remains firmly anti-immigration and anti-multiculturalism despite a polished appearance.www.lemonde.fr
The Far-Right Won in Italy – What’s Next?
Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the Brothers of Italy, won the September 25 legislative election and is the new President of the Council – Italy's equivalent to the Prime Minister. This is a major shift, not only in Italian political history, but also for the European Union, as one of the largest...www.mironline.ca
The far right wins a record number of seats. (Published 2022)
The party of Marine Le Pen secured enough seats to form a parliamentary group, giving it more clout, for the first time in four decades.www.nytimes.com
Polish PM hails far-right's 'great victory' in Italian elections
Poland's prime minister hailed on Monday the Italian far-right's "great victory" after Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy came out on top in the country’s general elections.www.thelocal.it
Why Hungarian voters embrace right-wing leadership, again
With around 91% of votes tallied, Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared victory Sunday. It's his fourth term since 2010.www.csmonitor.com
Frankie accepts your right to post whatever nonsense you want. And we reserve the right to chuckle at the stuff you post. That's democracy in a nutshell.
People in the west live in a news bubble, where the same ideas are hammered into your head over and over again by the news media who work in collusion with the government. So what you hear in the news is largely spin and propaganda. It is largely why it is very easy to whip up a panic here in the west. It is also very easy to make people believe in stories while keeping them isolated from the truth. Given most people are not really well travelled and get their knowledge primarily online or from TV, you can see how they truly believe that they are morally correct in what they believe in.
That is until you step outside of the bubble, travel the world and gain different perspectives, including watching different news media from different countries.
For example, I travelled to India for work during COVID in 2021 when air travel was very restrictive. It was hell. But when I landed in India, the delta wave peaked, and I found that people there didn't give a fuuccckkk. No masks, no social distancing WHILE India was running out of crematoriums for cremating their dead. They were running out of Oxygen tanks and people didn't give a fuck! People had this "Its business as usual" attitude but when I returned to Canada the streets were empty, businesses were going out of business and so on. Two very different approaches to life. There was also no vaccine propaganda, or whipping up panic on local news media calling for shutdowns and lockdowns etc.,
Hence why propaganda works beautifully in the west. It also explains why people are willing to fall for the very same narratives that have been used int he past, the same narratives people have been outraged by because they found out it was all lies in the end. But when it happens again, they buy into it all over again, without even considering how they are being manipulated. Its hilarious.
BTW it used to be the conservatives and neo-cons who were like this back in the day. Looks like currently it is the liberals and the democrats. Not sure how much partisanship plays a role in this though - meaning because the dems are supporting the war all liberals are backing the war. If it was the republicans in power right now, not sure what the liberals would say.
Doesn't that just mean that Indians get stirred up about the caste system and dowries, rather than science-based issues?
So the fact more died and they were careless where as here lives were saved and this was a good thing happening in India in your eyes?
More did not die, thats the point.
Canada's deaths/million = 1335
India deaths/million = 377
Despite being a country that is more densely populated and having a lower overall vaccination rate.
How does it mean that?
Canada's deaths/million = 1335
India deaths/million = 377
Canada also has a higher vaccination rate.
So explain the science here to me. Or is it, newsflash! PROPAGANDA?!
When it comes to COVID death rates, there are many stats out there. In the table below, the rate for some countries are surprisingly/unbelievably low.
Covid map: Coronavirus cases, deaths, vaccinations by country - BBC News
Covid map: Coronavirus cases, deaths, vaccinations by country - BBC News
That best you can do! LOL!
All This people lare waking up like Ron Paul, General McGregor and other conservatives like Tulsa Gabbard are telling the truth to the American people
Give up …. With the lies and propaganda…Just look at the fact …Urkraine is losing the war they will run out artillery shell by the summer ! NATO / USA couldn’t even beat a bunch a goat herders in Afghanistan and European and Germany people waking up to the fact they want peace with Russia! . Now you expect this US proxy war through Ukrainian will win against a superpower Russia . All this shows unnecessarily Ukraine lives & Russian lives will die until Russia deNazify Ukraine and get the unconstitutional surrendered of Ukraine this will happened.
The modern country Ukrainian and their border will change drastically. It will split into 3 part up …they Poland will get western Ukraine which historically part of Ukraine belong to Poland and Russia will get all the Ukraine territory they annex including Odessa. Then whatever left area of Ukraine territory will become a permanent neutral demilitarized zone and what ever left remnant of Ukraine government will run that territory providing Zelensky either fled to Florida or kill by his own generals or by CIA ( Remember CIA kill they South Vietnam leader government when they losing the war).
Then USA / NATO will pivot toward China only after Germany leaves NATO. NATO & Military Industrial Complex need a enemy and money to justify their military budget!
In a CNN panel last week, the head of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power issued some very revealing words on the Russia-Ukraine war, wherein she admitted that the US is at war with Russia but that it's "Ukrainians doing the fighting".
At one point in forming a response she actually gave what ranks among the most ridiculously simplistic clichés sometimes uttered by D.C. policymakers - that America stands up to "bullies".
"I think Americans understand bullies and the importance of standing up to bullies," she said. But here's where she said the quiet part out loud, letting it slip that in some sense the US sees Ukraine as a pawn in the greater geostrategic game of ultimately defeating Russia: She explained the need for a broad coalition of countries in order to show "This isn't just the United States and Russia, this in fact is Ukrainians on the front lines, Ukrainians doing the fighting..." The set of assumptions behind this statement by a top Biden admin official is very revealing, however casually she may have slipped it in. Watch the clip below:
PS. Here a joke for you!
A German walks into a bar and orders a fancy beer.
The bartender tells him : "100 euros!"
The German is shocked - "100 euros? yesterday it was only 10 euros !"
"Well, today it is 100 euros." - "But why 100, damn it?"
Bar tender : "I'll explain it,
-10 euros is the beer, -
10 to help Ukraine,
-20 assistance to European countries who have imposed sanctions and are not members of the EU.
-20 euros in aid to the UK, for successful implementation of sanctions against Russia. -Then 30 euros are sent to the Balkan countries as aid to buy furnace coal/keep their corrupt politicians. - and finally,
10 euros for a gas subsidy for the EU and fund to help maintain sanctions!"
The German silently with internal anger took out the money and gave the bartender 100 euros.
The bartender took them, entered in the cash register and gave him 10 euros back.
German in disbelief : "Wait, you said 100 euros, right ?
I gave you 100, why are you giving me back 10 euros?" ".....There is no beer."
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